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Dear Neighbor,
I’m proud to announce a first-in-the-nation collaboration with Wounded Warrior Project to create a military- and veteran-relations position at the City of San Diego.
The position will be filled by a post-9/11 veteran with a service-connected disability, whose job will be to develop career opportunities within local government, strengthen partnerships with local military installations and veteran service organizations, and connect San Diego’s veteran and military community to City services and programs.
Roughly 15,000 people discharge from military service in our community each year, and this new hire will work to encourage and assist these public servants in coming to work for the City. They will also help the City better translate service members’ resumes and skills into one of the many job openings we have at the City.
We know these individuals are highly trained, have incredible skill sets, and have a public servant's heart, which is why we want them to bring those skills to the City and help serve our neighborhoods.
On top of working to connect service members with City jobs, this new liaison will also work to develop programs and services to help San Diego’s veteran and military community thrive.
San Diego is a proud military town that takes care of our service members, and I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity to partner with the Wounded Warrior Project on this innovative program as part of that commitment.
As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor.
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What to Know About the H Barracks Plan
Earlier this year, the City released our Comprehensive Shelter Strategy, a plan outlining short-, medium- and long-term solutions to get San Diegans experiencing homelessness off the streets and into permanent housing.
The Shelter Strategy identifies several possible options for underused City-owned land and other public facilities that could be put to use to help address this crisis.
H Barracks is City-owned industrial land located off North Harbor Drive between Kincaid Road and McCain Road, sandwiched between the San Diego International Airport and an inlet of the North San Diego Bay.
In about five years, the site will host a Pure Water recycling facility. In the meantime, it can be put to work helping address homelessness.
City staff is gathering community and stakeholder input that will be used to develop plans for the site. What is certain is that it will have what all City facilities serving people experiencing homelessness have: 24-hour onsite security, privacy fencing, connections to transit and transportation, and connections to services that will help people end their homelessness, like mental health resources, substance abuse counseling, case management, housing navigation and medical care assistance.
The City is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing homelessness from every possible angle, and projects like H Barracks are critical to our efforts to get people off our streets and into safe shelter and housing.
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Harrington Heights: Affordable Housing for Veterans and People in Need
Everyone deserves a roof over their head at a price they can afford, and every new housing project, big or small, helps us get closer to that goal.
I am happy to join Chelsea Investment Corp. in coming weeks to break ground on a $150 million affordable housing project in East Village.
Chelsea’s Harrington Heights project will provide permanent housing to homeless veterans and others. The 15-story project at 1320 Broadway will have 65 units set aside for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, 10 units set aside for veterans experiencing homelessness, 195 units set aside for low-income individuals and families, and 3 units will be for onsite managers.
The City is providing the 19,000 square-foot site and $10 million to go toward the project.
Social services, medical and health services and case management for tenants will be provided by Alpha Project, which will also provide adult educational and skill building classes such as computer literacy, job counseling, financial literacy, and health and wellness workshops. These services are available on-site at no charge to the residents.
When the project is complete, it will have a significant, positive impact on its residents and will serve as an outstanding example of what can be accomplished through innovative public-private partnerships.
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San Diegans Helping Us Reach Zero-Waste Goals with Record-High Diversion Rate
San Diegans are keeping a lot of waste out of our landfills!
The City of San Diego last year achieved a 71% diversion rate for the amount of waste diverted from the landfill – the highest our City’s diversion rate has ever been.
According to data provided by CalRecycle, the diversion rate of 71% for 2022 was based on all waste generated by those who live, work and play within San Diego city limits.
The record-high diversion rate shows that San Diegans are being diligent with recycling and otherwise keeping waste out of our landfills and helping the City move closer to achieving our Zero Waste Plan goals.
Read more on Inside San Diego.
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GETTING IT DONE: FIXING OUR STREETS | |
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Smooth Streets in Rancho Peñasquitos and Carmel Valley
Several streets in Rancho Peñasquitos and Carmel Valley are looking smooth with a fresh coat of slurry seal! Crews are working hard to keep roads safe for all of us. If there’s a road in your neighborhood that needs work, remember to report it through the City’s Get it Done app.
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Honoring Our Country’s Veterans
The Veterans Day Parade’s return was strong! San Diego is a proud military town and we love celebrating our veterans and their families through this beloved annual tradition. I also had the chance to attend the annual Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial event, which honors all our Nation’s Veterans and this year commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. We are all grateful for the service and sacrifice of all veterans and their families
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Breaking Ground on San Diego FC’s New Training Center
San Diego Football Club, San Diego’s new MLS club, broke ground on their new Training Facility and Right to Dream Youth Development Academy at Sycuan Reservation at Singing Hills. Emily Piatanesi, one of my Community Representatives, stopped by to celebrate this historic moment in San Diego Football Club’s history and help welcome this cutting-edge training facility and the highly anticipated youth soccer academy to our region. San Diego FC is already showing that they are committed to fostering talent and community development and are working hard to become the epicenter of soccer innovation and excellence in North America.
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Helping Plant Trees in Sherman Heights
In collaboration with Tree San Diego, the City of San Diego hosted a community event at Sherman Elementary School to celebrate Kate Sessions Day and recognize the start of the tree planting season. More than 40 San Diegans, including my Community Representative Lucero Maganda, joined the event to help plant tree species that included pink trumpet, tipu, Brisbane box, Englemann oak and coast live oak trees.
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Getting Noticed for Getting Things Done
The Chamber hosted their 11th annual Legislative Lounge – a lighthearted and humorous reception and awards ceremony that honors San Diego’s elected officials and their staff. This year, Adrian Granda, my Director of Government Affairs, got the “Staffer Who Really Gets $#!t Done” award, the top recognition for legislative staffers. I am so proud of Adrian and the rest of my staff who work hard every single day to get things done for San Diego!
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Join a City Board or Commission Today!
Chida Warren-Darby, Director of Appointments/Boards and Commissions, has been working hard to fill vacancies on our many boards and commissions that help advise various City departments, policies and practices.
To date, Chida and her team have appointed and reappointed approximately 102 people since the start of this calendar year.
If you’re looking to serve your city on one of our volunteer boards, please visit our website to see current openings.
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Weigh in on Future Development in Hillcrest
The City has released its first draft of the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment, and we’re now seeking your input.
A Focused Plan Amendment is a specific change or adjustment being made to a comprehensive land-use plan that is narrowly tailored to address a particular issue or development proposal without requiring a full-scale revision of the entire plan.
The Focused Plan Amendment amends the Uptown Community Plan. It seeks to further celebrate the LGBTQ+ history and culture of Hillcrest, while also providing new policy and regulations that will guide land use, mobility, urban design, public facilities and services, natural resources, historic and cultural resources and economic development. A summary of the amendments and more information on the amendment can be found on PlanHillcrest.org.
Please share any feedback by emailing comments to PlanHillcrest@sandiego.gov by Nov. 17.
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City of San Diego Solicits Feedback on How to Improve Digital Customer Service
The City of San Diego wants to hear from residents about its plan to improve the digital customer experience. Over the next six weeks, staff from the City’s Performance and Analytics Department will attend various community meetings to share its Digital Customer Experience Strategy (DCX).
A first-of-its-kind strategy, the DCX identifies gaps in how the City of San Diego currently serves people, suggests tangible ways to improve, and provides long-term recommendations to meet -- and ultimately exceed -- customer expectations.
Customer service is a key operating principle of the City’s Strategic Plan that aims to value residents, customers and employees by designing solutions and services that put people first. In addition to attending a DCX information session, people are encouraged to fill out the online survey in English or Spanish.
Information sessions will also be hosted on:
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023
- Citywide Digital Information Session, 6 p.m. on Zoom.
To learn more, visit the City’s website at www.sandiego.gov/digitalcx.
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Volunteer Crisis Interventionists Needed
The San Diego Police Department Crisis Intervention program is looking for volunteers to assist fellow San Diego residents during traumatic times in their lives. The Program was developed 30 years ago to provide short-term emotional and logistical support to individuals in the City of San Diego who've experienced traumatic events such as suicide, homicide, overdose death, or other serious life-altering incidents.
No experience is needed! All you need is a desire to help others. A comprehensive 100-hour training course will provide you with the skills needed to perform this valuable and rewarding service. Classes will be held on 1/20/24, 1/27/24, 2/10/24, 2/17/24, 2/24/24 & 3/2/24.
After that, there is a 20-hour-per-month "On-Call" commitment plus a short monthly meeting. If you're interested in discovering more, please join the San Diego Police Department for an Information Meeting on October 19th at 6:00 p.m. or October 21st at 10:00 a.m. at San Diego Police Headquarters at 1401 Broadway in Downtown San Diego.
Questions? Contact Officer Iversen at 619-446-1017 or to find out more about what Crisis Interventionists do here.
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San Diego K-12 Students Invited to Submit Essay for Annual ‘Mayor for a Day’ Contest
The 2023-2024 “Mayor for a Day” contest is now live!
The “Mayor for a Day” contest aims to foster and encourage leadership in young people living in San Diego
City of San Diego K-12 students are invited to submit a brief essay (approximately 500 words) or short video (no more than 3 minutes) on how you would make the City of San Diego a better place if you were the Mayor.
The selected winner will be given the opportunity to shadow Mayor Todd Gloria and other City Departments for a day and will be included in the State of the City address in January of 2024.
Please submit an essay or video by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 15, 2023.
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Beware of Water Update Scam
In response to recent reports of City of San Diego residents receiving a “water update” notice at their homes, the City is warning people to be aware.
The notices, which include a request to “Please call us ASAP,” appear to be from a private company that has no association with the City of San Diego and is not authorized to perform any work on behalf of the City. Residents contacted by the company are urged not to agree to services and not to provide personal information.
Report any suspicious personnel to the San Diego Police Department at its 24-hour non-emergency line at 619-531-2000 or Public Utilities Department’s emergency hotline at 619-515-3525 as soon as possible. Public Utilities Department customers can also contact the City’s Water Quality hotline at 619-668-3232 or email drinkingwaterquality@sandiego.gov during business hours.
Read more about this issue on Inside San Diego.
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San Diego Businesses Invited to Apply for Award-Winning Tourism Accelerator Program
The San Diego Tourism Authority is excited to announce the launch of its 2024 Tourism Accelerator program. San Diego travel and tourism hospitality businesses owned by women, veterans, people of color, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are invited to apply to the high-impact program that includes a suite of services and benefits valued at over $14,000.
Tourism Accelerator participants can expect a complimentary SDTA membership for one year, access to education, mentorship, alumni, and networking opportunities. This initiative helps local businesses reach the next level and achieve better results while encouraging inclusion and equity within the tourism economy.
Now in its third year, prior cohorts have seen success and emphasize the program’s potential to help small businesses to tap into the tourism industry.
Apply today! The deadline to apply is Nov. 22, 2023.
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Office of the Mayor
202 C St., 11th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
619-236-6330
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