Morning Report: Not Everyone Is Ready To Welcome Billionaire Philanthropist Back

By Voice of San Diego, the Voice of San Diego

March 6, 2023

T. Denny Sanford’s return to the philanthropic spotlight is generating both praise and controversy.When news broke in 2020 that the La Jolla billionaire was the subject of a child pornography probe, some local organizations quickly distanced themselves. National University officials went so far as to pause the renaming of the entire institution to honor him.

But South Dakota authorities concluded there were no prosecutable offenses within their jurisdictions, and now some San Diego universities and nonprofits are back to publicly celebrating Sanford’s largesse.

Sanford is set to receive a lifetime legacy award this month at UC San Diego. But his appearance at a recent fundraiser benefiting child victims of exploitation caused friction internally. Some guests were upset by how it might look to the children they were serving.

Sanford has maintained his innocence in court papers, arguing that someone hacked and used his email. He was not charged with a crime in South Dakota, and the U.S. Department of Justice, despite media reports suggesting the inquiry had been referred to federal authorities, has declined to comment.

In the meantime, Sanford is fighting the release of documents in South Dakota that established probable cause for search warrants executed before its investigators closed the case file.

Read the story here.

Politics Report: Gloria Moves Homeless Czar in Org Chart Shake Up

In a special dispatch for the Politics Report, Lisa Halverstadt writes that a reorganization effective last week shifted the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department under the city’s neighborhood services division.

What it means: The department will no longer reside in the Mayor Todd Gloria’s office. A spokeswoman for the mayor said that change, and some others, reflect the new city COO Eric Dargan’s vision.

The change returns the department to the reporting structure that existed under former Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

Read more on that change in the Politics Report here.

Also … Officials with the San Diego Housing Commission had a reason to smile this week after a city audit was released.

The Politics Report is available to Voice of San Diego members. Become a member today and subscribe here.

Let’s Talk About the Schools Guide

We’re hosting free community workshops to discuss our new Parent’s Guide to San Diego Schools. We’ll answer your questions about school choice, enrollment deadlines, performance data and more.

Learn more and get your copy of the guide here.

In Other News

• A federal court sentenced Giovanni Tilotta, the owner of Honey Badger Firearms, to six months in custody, six months home confinement, on Friday for conspiring with several others — including a former sheriff’s commander and jeweler — to illegally traffic firearms. A U.S. Department of Justice press release said Tilotta’s conviction last year is believed to be the first conviction of a civilian retail gun store owner in the Southern District of California in more than two decades. A jury found him guilty last year.
• A downtown business group’s latest monthly census showed the first (small) drop in street homelessness downtown in months. The Downtown San Diego Partnership tallied 1,837 people downtown and areas just outside it during its Feb. 23 count. That’s still up 27 percent from last February.
• The U-T has more details on where the city wants to install 500 streetlight cameras and license plate readers. District 8, which is mostly working-class Latino, would have the most devices, followed by District 3 encompassing downtown and neighborhoods around Balboa Park.

• ICYMI: In the latest Cup of Chisme newsletter Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, managing editor of daily news, shares a story of a University Heights resident’s concern with public safety and how police officers are responding to calls for service. Read it here.
• The Union-Tribune broke the news on a 10-page complaint submitted to an assistant city auditor accusing the city’s real estate director of limiting lease timesto bypass City Council oversight, failing to seek real estate staff’s take on the controversial 101 Ash St. lease buyout and more.
• The Union-Tribune reports on a new study commissioned by the county found San Diegans at risk of incarceration are struggling to access services that could help them avoid that outcome.

The Morning Report was written by Jesse Marx, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, Megan Wood and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.

Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news organization supported by our members. We reveal why things are the way they are and expose facts that people in power might not want out there and explain complex local public policy issues so you can be engaged and make good decisions. Sign up for our newsletters at voiceofsandiego.org/newsletters/.