City’s first ‘Smart Meters’ installed Downtown
On Oct. 29, Council President Todd Gloria presided over the launch of the city’s first installation of Smart Meters, which replaced 200 traditional coin-operated machines throughout Downtown streets.The new meters will accept credit or debit cards and will also allow the city to gather better utilization data to assist with overall parking management, policy and strategy.
The new technology will use existing meter poles and replace approximately 97 percent of San Diego’s existing coin-operated meters, with initial installs taking place in the Gaslamp Quarter first, then other neighborhoods, to include East Village, Cortez Hill, Marina District and Core Columbia. Uptown and Mid-City locations will follow in 2015. “Bringing smart parking meters to San Diego was on the short list of things I wanted to accomplish during my tenure as mayor, and I know San Diegans and visitors will notice the improvement this week upon their installation,” said Council President Gloria at the unveiling. “San Diego is a city of innovation and people here should not resort to the antiquated practice of searching for coins for parking meters. With more user-friendly parking meters, customers will be able to more easily patronize the small businesses throughout Downtown, Uptown, and Mid-City, contributing to the economic development of our City.” Signing off on the project was Gloria’s last act as interim mayor last February. Also in the works is a pilot program allowing customers with the ability to pay with their pay phones.
Midterm election results bring changes to San Diego
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, San Diego voters had the opportunity to head to the polls to decide state, local and national races, as well as several propositions, during the final midterm election of Barack Obama’s presidency. Only one-third of San Diego County’s registered voters participated in the election, and the state’s voter turnout was the lowest in decades. San Diego’s lone City Council race went to Republican newcomer Chris Cate, who bested Democratic opponent Carol Kim by a margin of nearly 10 points. Council Democrats will now hold a 5–4 majority on the Council, a downgrade from the veto-proof supermajority of 6-4 held for a brief period following Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s inauguration this spring. The state-backed Proposition 1, which will authorize a $7.5 billion bond for various water infrastructure projects, passed by an overwhelming margin. San Diego County Water Authority chair Mark Weston told KPBS that the bond contains $70 million directly available to San Diego, with another $3 billion that San Diego County plans to compete for. California voters also approved Proposition 47, which will soften penalties for lower-level drug and property crimes, among other violations. Authored by former Police Chief Bill Lansdowne but opposed by other local law officials, including Lansdowne’s successor, Shelley Zimmerman, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said the measure will save state and local criminal justice systems hundreds of millions annually. The Los Angeles Times reported that the measure will cut penalties for one in five of the state’s lawbreakers. Nationally, Republicans won the necessary number of seats to gain a majority in the U.S. Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives. Conservatives now hold a majority in both chambers of Congress.
Peters and DeMaio await vote count
Rep. Scott Peters (D–52) who represents a portion of the coverage area of Downtown News, was still in a hotly contested race against former City Councilmember Carl DeMaio at press time and too close to call, with less than 1,000 votes separating the two. Peters was first elected as the representative for district 52 in 2012, during the same election cycle that DeMaio lost his bid for mayor of San Diego. The most high profile contest in the region, the D52 race received a great deal of national attention as well, due in part because if elected, DeMaio would be the first openly gay Republican to hold a congressional seat. Various other rumors and scandals came to light on both sides during the campaign, with both candidates spending millions of dollars on attack ads. The winner is expected to be named once all mail-in and provisional votes are counted, later this week.
Atkin’s Snoopy Plate program still needs sales to debut
Balboa Park receives grant to enhance its technology
On Oct. 29, it was announced that funds from a $1 million grant issued by the James Irvine Foundation would go toward several technology upgrades in Balboa Park. Money will be used by the Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) to double the size of the park’s Wi-Fi network, enlarging it to roughly 250 acres. The increase will make the network “one of the largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi spots on the West Coast” according to a press release from Mayor Kevin Faulconer. The BPOC and the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership will also use the funds to create a smartphone app offering self-guided tours around the park, its museums and cultural institutions. Several other tech-related upgrades are also slated to utilize the grant money.
Unique public restrooms set for Downtown installation