Morning report: We have rental numbers for mega accommodations

After four closed City Council briefings, Mayor Todd Gloria is promoting an improved lease with lower rents for the Middletown warehouse he wants to convert into a 1,000-bed homeless shelter.

According to city budget analysts, its real estate consultant and an experienced industrial broker, it’s still not a good deal for the city in terms of traditional commercial real estate.

But Gloria and his team argue that the site is uniquely suited to be redeveloped into a long-term homeless shelter with a wide range of on-site services, making the property more valuable to the city.

The city council, reports our Lisa Halverstadt, must decide next week whether it is worth it for the city to pay a premium for the site. The city council is expected to vote on the proposed lease agreement next Monday.

You can read the whole story here.

Environmentalists blame Bird deaths during large fireworks displays

Bird conservationists say consecutive fireworks displays over the Fourth of July weekend likely resulted in the deaths of birds in the area, prompting environmentalists to once again call for an end to fireworks displays in San Diego.

Just days after SeaWorld and Discover Mission Bay detonated more than 1,000 pounds of explosives on July 3 and 4, biologists discovered the carcasses of unborn, chick and adult noble terns washed up on the shore of the Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve. Noble terns are a near-endangered species, meaning they could face extinction in the near future.

How it happened: The San Diego Audubon Society told our MacKenzie Elmer that the high frequency of hundreds of fireworks displays so close to the unofficial nesting site of over 7,000 seabirds on West Ski Island likely caused thousands of birds to flee in fear.

In the chaos, many eggs were probably pushed into the water and many chicks and adults probably fell into the water and were unable to get out.

Now environmental activists are demanding that state authorities ban fireworks in San Diego and opt for more environmentally friendly alternatives.

You can read the whole story here.

Border report: Activists demand better treatment of pregnant migrants in custody

A group of nonprofits and immigration reform advocates is calling on U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reduce the length of time pregnant migrants are held in immigration detention and ensure they are not separated from their families while in detention.

Currently, CBP releases children born in immigration custody and their families within 12 hours, but advocates say the same rules should apply to migrant women who are pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding and their families.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego, American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy sent CBP a letter signed by 138 organizations and more than 1,400 individuals advocating for the changes.

But this is not the first time organizations have tried to push for these changes for pregnant migrants. And until that happens, activists say, this vulnerable population will continue to be housed in environments that can pose serious health risks.

Read the border report here.

In other news

• UC San Diego plans to build a $2 billion village on the university’s main campus that could house up to 6,000 students to address an acute housing shortage and rising enrollment. The proposal is being reviewed by the University of California’s Board of Regents. (Union-Tribune)
• A federal judge last week ruled against two San Diego yoga teachers who sued the city of San Diego over updated street vending rules that make it illegal to hold yoga classes with more than four people in most city parks. The judge denied their request for a temporary restraining order against those rules. (10 News) Related: One of the yoga teachers in the case, Steve Hubbard, said he was charged again over the weekend for allegedly teaching a virtual class on YouTube from his home that people streamed in a nearby park. (Sandiegoville)
• CalMatters revealed that 31 percent of all political spending by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union that represents the state’s 26,000 prison guards, has gone to Governor Gavin Newsom since 2001. That equates to $2.9 million, including $1.75 million used in 2021 for Newsom’s anti-recall campaign. (CalMatters)
• The San Diego City Council on Monday unanimously approved Mayor Todd Gloria’s nomination of the city’s new fire chief, Robert Logan. He is set to begin in August, succeeding Fire Chief Colin Stowell, who is retiring. (KPBS) Gloria first announced the appointment on June 12. (NBC 7)

Note: There were problems with the links to the three opinion pieces in yesterday’s Morning Report. You can read the trio of opinion pieces Here, Here And Here.

The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Lisa Halverstadt and MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Lisa Halverstadt.