We know the upcoming round of contract negotiations between San Diego Unified and the teachers union is bound to get heated — especially with teacher evaluations on the table.
But there’s another factor in the mix that could blow up the way all California teachers work, and it’s something the district and local teachers have virtually no control over: It’s a court case called Vergara v. California, being battled out in Los Angeles.
The case “could set off a mushroom cloud that will envelop school districts across the state and beyond,” Mario Koran writes in a new piece explaining the case and the local impact it could have. The Silicon Valley mogul who’s leading the charge against the state wants to throw out the “last in, first out” rule for laying off teachers, revamp the tenure system and make it easier to fire ineffective teachers.
Your Child Is a Gang Member. Sincerely, SDPD
Thanks to a new state law, the police must notify parents once officials enter a child into the CalGang system, which documents gang members. With the notice, parents can contest their child’s gang status, and they at least aren’t blindsided by it with enhanced charges in court.
Locally, though, police aren’t finding much of a response — or any response, really — when they send out such letters, Megan Burks reports. No parents have tried to appeal their kids’ classification as a gang member. A few have talked to police early on, but they often go silent. Police think they’re afraid to move forward.
“If I had even half a success story, I’d share it,” one local gang officer told us. “But I don’t.”
What to Eat Right Now
Eater San Diego’s Candace Woo stopped by the VOSD Radio and Extended Podcast to talk about what local ingredients are in season (spot prawns and sea urchin, anyone?) right now.
She also talked about the food trends and neighborhood pockets she thinks are heating up around town.
I co-hosted the show this week, and got pretty hangry by the end:
A Flood of Gun Permit Applications
A case with San Diego roots has spurred a flood of permit applications for concealed handguns.
A federal court struck down the strict rules for getting such permits, and now officials have seen about eight times the usual amount of requests, the New York Times reports.
San Diego officials are sticking with the strict rules until the court decision is finalized. In Orange County, though, the permit requests are surging.
“If you’re not a convicted felon, you are going to get a concealed-weapons permit,” San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore told the Times. “That’s not the case in California. That frustrates a lot of people.”
Quick News Hits
• Privacy watchers around the nation will be glued to a Supreme Court case being argued Tuesday. The Supremes will decide whether San Diego police were justified in looking through a defendant’s phone, where they found video and photos that helped convict him of attempted murder. (AP)
• The L.A. Times says outlet malls, including the Outlets at the Border opening here in October, are a hot destination for luxury fashion brands. Since 2006, 40 outlet centers have opened in the U.S. but only one new regional mall has emerged.
• San Diego might want out of its role in helping govern San Diegiuto River Park.