Women are underrepresented in political office, with multiple studies showing they’re less likely to be recruited by local parties and less likely to see themselves as qualified in the first place.
But San Diego’s legislative delegation is different. Two members of it, who also happen to be two of the most powerful political figures in the state, spoke to us about how they ended up running for elected office.
For both, it came after heavy urging from political mentors, they told our Sara Libby, in this week’s edition of the Sacramento Report.
“Thinking back on how I was hesitant and unsure about running the first time, what I try to do now is tell potential candidates — particularly women — that they mustn’t let these opportunities slip away,” Atkins says.
Check out the rest of our dispatch about San Diego at the state the capital, as Governor Jerry Brown signs a flurry of recently passed bills, among other items.
Podcast: Inmates Moving and Out, Crime Rates Not Up
In the podcast this week, Andrew Keatts and Scott Lewis review some funny comments from the CEO of the company that owns the LA Times and Union-Tribune. They also break down the latest from the school board controversy we’ve been following.
The guest this week was Cindy Burke, director of SANDAG’s criminal justice division, and an expert on all things crime data.
She helped us understand new data coming out about the state’s prison realignment and what releasing inmates and moving some to San Diego from state facilities has done to crime rates. Bottom line: crime rates are not going up but a lot of questions remain.
• Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters highlighted our work on the school board story and our investigation last week into a solar deal last week.
Welcome Back to the News, Stadium Drama
The Chargers’ push for what they deem an acceptable new stadium dominated the news for the first six or seven months of the year, but it has faded the last few weeks.
It’s back.
If a report out of St. Louis is correct, Chargers owner Dean Spanos was angling to build a new stadium in the Los Angeles area earlier than previously reported — but with a deal far different than the current plan his franchise is pushing for.
Rather than a Carson stadium shared with the Oakland Raiders, Spanos in 2013 looked into sharing a stadium in Inglewood with the St. Louis Rams.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:
In 2013, Spanos approached Kroenke about pairing up on the Inglewood/Hollywood Park site, according to league sources speaking on the condition of anonymity. It’s the same general area the Oakland Raiders and even the NFL itself had previously considered as a stadium site.
Initially, Kroenke was not aware the 60-acre tract owned by Wal-Mart was available, according to sources. In any event, Spanos didn’t hear back from Kroenke for weeks. Spanos later learned that Kroenke had excluded Spanos and purchased the land himself.
The paper concludes it’s now hard to imagine the Chargers and Rams partnering on the Inglewood stadium, as many onlookers have suggested.
Maybe. Or we could take it as evidence that the Chargers’ would be interested in such an arrangement. If billions of dollars are at stake, hurt feelings might be manageable.
• Meanwhile, LA Daily News writer Vincent Bonsignore says it’s time for a summit between the Chargers, Raiders and Rams to figure out a mutually agreeable outcome for all parties. Bonsignore says league insiders have confirmed there’s interest in such an arrangement, but each team is hesitant to initiate the meeting.
• And over at CityLab, Kriston Capps makes a modest request: if we insist on building so many publicly funded stadiums, must they all be so ugly?
The Case of the Missing Bubba
In what might be called the crime of the century, a six-foot tall inflatable Chargers doll was reportedly stolen from a dental office in Poway. The missing lawn decoration, affectionately known by dental staff as Bubba, was last seen being carried off by a shirtless, shorts-wearing, middle-aged man on the bicycle.
Bubba’s former owner is on the lookout: “I’ve been driving around Poway kind of looking for him ever since,” he said.
Arne Out, John King In
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced he’ll be resigning his position in December. John King Jr., a former New York Education Commissioner who served under Duncan as deputy secretary of education, will take his place.
Duncan was emotional during a press conference Friday afternoon, but had plenty of praise for his pal President Obama, who he said he’s proud to have served. As the longest-serving member of Obama’s cabinet, Duncan ushered huge reforms — including the Common Core State Standards — and collected his share of scars in the process.
EdSource is out with some good context that describes the relationship Duncan held with California, and what the change might mean for the Golden State. Also, in case you missed it, now would be a good time to check Politico’s recent profile on Duncan – the man who goes by Cobra on the basketball court. So long, Cobra.
Bring Your Own Wienerschnitzel
Wiener Dog races. They’re happening. Show up to Qualcomm early Saturday to see who moves on to the Wiener Nationals. Be sure to stick around for the Dapper Dachshund Costume Contest and maybe the Football Furrenzy.
Most Popular Stories of the Week
The list of the top-10 most read stories of the week is up. Here are the top five:
- How Bad Urban Design Makes San Diego Feel Unsafe
- District Slams Counselor and Former Principal in Document Dump
- District Docs: Foster Wanted a Fake College Official to Question School Counselor
- School Board Set to Honor and Investigate Foster on the Same Night
- The Other Time Marne Foster Pressed a Staffing Change