A Christian police support organization has hired a former San Diego County sheriff\u2019s deputy who served prison time for sexually assaulting women \u2014 women who had called emergency services seeking help.<\/p>\n
The Christian Law Enforcement Fellowship\u2019s president said the former deputy, Ricky Fischer, had experienced religious redemption and was ready to minister, to male officers only, just as the organization had done for Fischer during his incarceration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho better to minister to cops who are in trouble than a cop who has been in trouble who has now been forgiven by God?\u201d said retired San Diego Police Department Capt. Jerry Hara, the fellowship president.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because of Fischer, county taxpayers paid out $10 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the survivors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read the full story here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Midway\u2019s Legislator Did End Up Speaking About Midway Legislation<\/p>\n The Politics Report Saturday led with our attempts and failures to get Assemblymember Tasha Boerner to tell us what she thought of the legislation drawn up to support Midway Rising, one of the largest proposed development projects in the state. The bills would help developers put up more than 4,200 new homes, a new arena and more in her district.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet did not vote on SB 958. She didn\u2019t vote for it or against it. Just didn\u2019t vote. If the governor signs SB 958, opponents to projects like Midway Rising would no longer be able to sue arguing that the developer did not study the impacts of the height of the planned buildings adequately. Boerner didn\u2019t want to discuss it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, another San Diego Assemblymember presented SB 344 to the Assembly floor and a different San Diego Assemblymember spoke against it. But Boerner said nothing and then also didn\u2019t vote on it. SB 344 would expressly protect Midway Rising from lawsuits over environmental impact.<\/p>\n Sunday we got a statement from Boerner: \u201cI didn\u2019t vote for SB 958 and SB 344 relating to the Midway Rising project. If we want to address California\u2019s housing crisis, we need to allow for public scrutiny, and the public to sue when appropriate, to correct legitimate concerns and mistakes when assessing impacts. I agree we need to address the housing crisis, but we must do so in a way that does not sacrifice protections, especially environmental ones, we already have in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Didn\u2019t matter: The Assembly passed the bill with the needed two-thirds vote and it sailed through the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n More from the Politics Report: We also wrote about gambling and the Padres, the cops and the cops\u2019 accountability agency and why the Prebys Foundation bought the dilapidated California Theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Politics Report is good but it\u2019s for members here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n More from the Sacramento Report: With just three days left before the midnight deadline, Sacramento is rushing to finish its work. A San Diego lawmaker is trying to ban ICE\u2019s controversial shock gloves before session ends, sparking a fight between civil rights groups calling the gloves inhumane and police unions calling the ban government overreach.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another bill was proposed that would make it easier to place people with severe mental illness in court-ordered care.<\/p>\n Read the Sacramento Report here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Podcast: The Voice of City Workers<\/p>\n Michael Zucchet is the general manager of the largest union of employees of the city of San Diego. Scott Lewis did a one-on-one interview with him for this week\u2019s podcast. Zucchet made the case that critics of spending at City Hall are talking about millions of dollars in a much much larger budget of billions and that real cuts in spending need to accompany service cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n He acknowledged that worthwhile cuts and efficiencies were found after voters refused to approve a new sales tax and those changes would not have happened had the tax passed. He said it\u2019s probably time to begin discussions about actual service cuts. \\<\/p>\n The conversation also digs into labor costs and pensions, a trash-bin \u201clid lifter\u201d mandate, and questions over the Port Commission\u2019s handling of Harbor Island.<\/p>\n Listen to the full episode here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Judge Won\u2019t Make Fletcher Accuser Pay Agency That Fired Her<\/p>\n A San Diego Superior Court judge on Friday ruled against forcing an ex-Metropolitan Transit System staffer who accused ex-Chair Nathan Fletcher of sexual assault and harassment to cover the agency\u2019s more than $775,000 in legal fees and costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n We broke the news<\/a> last week that MTS sought to force Grecia Figueroa to pay up after Judge Matthew C. Braner dismissed Figueroa\u2019s case against MTS<\/a>. Braner ruled her firing was based on performance issues.\u202fBraner also later threw out the sexual harassment case against Fletcher<\/a>\u202fbecause Figueroa had deleted evidence detrimental to her claims.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But Figueroa is appealing, and Braner ruled Friday that her appeal means it\u2019s too early to force her to pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also noted in the more detailed tentative ruling Thursday that he would likely deny the request anyway. Defendants can\u2019t usually collect attorneys fees unless a judge finds \u201cthe action was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.\u201d Braner wrote that he didn\u2019t find Figueroa\u2019s claims met those definitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n