{"id":437200,"date":"2026-08-19T10:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/437200\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:26:20","slug":"amazon-goes-to-the-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/437200\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Goes to the Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, visitors to one of San Diego\u2019s most popular beaches were treated to a special sight \u2013 a makeshift Amazon distribution center in the parking lot of Crown Point Shores. Former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez posted video of the scene<\/a> which showed delivery drivers ferrying packages from a large Amazon-operated Ryder truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It turns out this was part of Amazon\u2019s \u201cWalker\u201d program<\/a>, wherein a delivery truck parks somewhere and workers deliver packages by hand. Three delivery drivers previously sued Amazon alleging the company essentially forced them to pee in bottles<\/a> on the job. Amazon leaders must not have heard about the Mission Bay bathroom closures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Company representatives told SanDiegoVille<\/a> that the truck\u2019s choice of Crown Point Shores was actually a big oopsie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to a miscommunication, Crown Point Shores was used as a package transfer site,\u201d Amazon spokesperson Austin Stowe told the outlet. \u201cWe\u2019ve since corrected this error and added safeguards to ensure it doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Possible mayoral candidate and current councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera will hold a press conference today at 10 a.m. with union workers at Mission Bay to say the practice needs to stop for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Diego families have to get a permit and pay a fee to reserve a picnic table at Crown Point. Yoga instructors and DJs have to jump through hoops to bring community together. Meanwhile, a trillion-dollar corporation apparently decided it could run a delivery hub in our parks for free,\u201d he wrote in a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ICE Comes for Padres Coach<\/p>\n

The San Diego Padres\u2019 minor league catching coordinator, Oswaldo Pirela, was detained by ICE<\/a> on Sunday when coming back from a work trip. Pirela, originally from Venezuela, had been living in the U.S. since 2014 and has an ongoing asylum case. His family said he has an active work permit.<\/p>\n

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Pirela \u201cwas granted permission by the Obama administration\u201d to be in the country until 2018, and had \u201coverstayed his welcome.\u201d But in an interview with CBS, Pirela\u2019s sister said he sought asylum in 2014 and his case has been in limbo since<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

County Supes Ban ICE from Using Firearm Training Facilities\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, federal agencies like ICE have paid the county to use firearm training facilities in Miramar and Otay Mesa. On Tuesday, county officials voted to terminate these contracts, effectively banning the agencies from using the facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agreements between the county and federal agencies for the use of the training centers will end ten days after the federal government receives notice from the county<\/a>, according to Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Supervisors voted 3-2 on the decision, with Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond, the two Republicans, voting no.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Trump Administration wants to spend billions on this flawed deportation agenda, they can use their own federal resources to carry it out,\u201d said Lawson-Remer in a statement on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What the Flock<\/p>\n

Surveillance cameras and automated license plate readers have been around for years, but one company has taken the nation by storm \u2013 Flock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company manufactures and sells surveillance cameras to both municipalities and private companies and pitches them as invaluable crime-fighting tools. So far, there are about 120,000 cameras in 49 states and many cities, including San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But despite some municipalities\u2019 enthusiasm for the tech, opposition has exploded<\/a>, as Axios reported this week. A nationwide organization called DeFlock has sprung up that advocates against the cameras and tracks their placement. Vigilantes have begun vandalizing the cameras or removing them altogether<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In some cases, officers relying on Flock cameras have arrested the wrong people. A local man actually spent a month in prison<\/a> earlier this year after police arrested him for a crime he didn\u2019t commit using information from Flock cameras.<\/p>\n

Zucchet to Bailey: Your Argument Doesn\u2019t Hold Up<\/p>\n

For the past few months, former Coronado Mayor and current San Diego City Council candidate Richard Bailey has been all over town touting his plan to erase the city\u2019s budget deficit \u2013 just return to 2015-era staffing levels. The move, Bailey has claimed, would transform a $100 million deficit and turn it into a $300 million surplus all with \u201cno need to cut any services.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just one problem: it\u2019s part of a \u201cbudget fantasyland,\u201d according to former councilmember, and current head of the Municipal Employees Association, Michael Zucchet. He\u2019s out with a new opinion piece skewering the proposal<\/a>, which he says would lead to the firing of more than a thousand city workers, including nearly 350 cops and firefighters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t have it both ways \u2013 either Bailey wants to cut these services or his plan to \u2018fix\u2019 the city\u2019s budget is a fiction and a scam,\u201d Zucchet writes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Newly Homeless Again Outnumber Newly Housed<\/p>\n

The number of people becoming homeless in San Diego County outpaced the number moving into homes in July. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported<\/a> that 1,238 people became homeless for the first time and 1,087 exited homelessness.<\/p>\n

PSA: For most of the last few years, local efforts to house homeless residents haven\u2019t kept up<\/a> with the flood of people losing their homes. Without changing that equation, homelessness won\u2019t be reduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Correction: It\u2019s Not a CEQA Bypass; You Just Can\u2019t Sue Midway Rising\u2019s CEQA Work<\/p>\n

In yesterday\u2019s Morning Report, we incorrectly wrote that a new bill would give Midway Rising a wholesale exemption from CEQA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One lawmaker and Midway Rising\u2019s representatives pointed out to us that the project would still have to follow CEQA, get an environmental impact report and officially establish what would have to happen to mitigate that impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then, if the bill passes, the state would essentially validate all that work. Nobody would be able to file a lawsuit saying it was inadequate. When people don\u2019t like a project, they usually sue under CEQA and allege that it wasn\u2019t studied thoroughly or the proposed mitigation efforts weren\u2019t good enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The carve-out for Midway Rising means no one can sue on those grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, yes, it\u2019s not a CEQA exemption. It\u2019s a shield from the worst part of CEQA for developers: the lawyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Other News\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Diego braces for a super El Ni\u00f1o<\/a>. City officials plan to double the miles of storm channel maintenance ahead of what could be one of the rainiest winters in years. (Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego, or ICA, has laid off nearly half of its personnel<\/a> due to financial pressures. The layoffs affected all departments across the museum, including workers in operations, curatorial, facilities and education teams. (Union-Tribune)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Waymos are officially hitting San Diego streets<\/a>. Despite pushback from the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, the self-driving car company succeeded in getting a final permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to start picking up San Diego passengers. (Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Amtrak\u2019s Pacific surfliner route is getting a $150 million boost<\/a>. The federal grant money aims to improve railroad performance and expand passenger rail service. (CBS 8)\u00a0<\/p>\n

City leaders in El Cajon want to acquire and revive the Parkway Plaza Mall<\/a>. Officials want to acquire the 80-acre property and turn it into a bustling mix of housing, transit and more. (CBS 8)\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason San Diegans are seeing more mosquitos this summer<\/a>. The hot and humid weather led to a mosquito boom and the county is vulnerable to a pesky, invasive type of fly. (Axios San Diego)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Mart\u00ednez Barba, Lisa Halverstadt, Will Huntsberry and Fiona Bork. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.<\/p>\n

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