This week, San Diego took two important steps towards combatting the worrying trend of hate in our communities. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, District Attorney Summer Stephan, and other local leaders announced a new fund that provides rewards for tips that help solve hate crimes. According to SDPD, "tips leading to the arrest of a suspect in a felony hate crime featured by Crime Stoppers could result in a $2,000 reward, supported by the fund."

Additionally, this week Chief Wahl introduced the creation of a dedicated Hate Crimes Unit within the SDPD. This Department focuses directly on hate crimes that occur in the City of San Diego; this differs from prior policy because in past years the investigation of hate crimes was spread among several divisions within SDPD.

These new tools will enhance our ability to deliver justice following instances of hate, as well as deter hateful people from committing acts of violence in the first place. Hate has no place in our city, so it's important that we take meaningful steps to combat the worrying trend of hate in San Diego. That's why I've focused on ways that I can help combat hate, such as co-sponsoring the Stop Hate Littering Act, which was recently passed into law by Governor Newsom.

Watch the full FOX 5 news story about the new Hate Crimes Fund and the Hate Crimes Unit on my Instagram here.

Every year, I submit an official memo to the Independent Budget Analyst outlining my priorities for our city's budget, which totals in the billions. This initial memo marks the beginning of an important process of collaboration and negotiation between city leaders. As District 7's voice in City Hall, my goal is to ensure that our neighborhoods benefit as much as possible from the projects and spending included in each budget.

My budget requests for Fiscal Year 2026 focus on the core priorities that I hear from you every day: repaving roads, upgrading parks and libraries, enhancing public safety, and more. Some key requests from my memo include:

• Comprehensive road resurfacing across District 7 to meet Pavement Management Plan goals
• Sidewalk repairs to improve walkability in our neighborhoods
• Necessary updates and fixes for our libraries
• Expanding the Smart Streetlight program with 500 additional cameras/readers
• Recruiting and retaining talented police officers
• Ensuring our homeless shelter system meets the needs of unsheltered individuals and families

You can read the full memo here.

Without a doubt, this City Council and Mayor are more focused on improving infrastructure than any leadership in recent memory. Need proof? The city recently reached an incredible milestone: more than $1 billion spent in Fiscal Year 2024 for Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs)--major infrastructure projects across San Diego. According to city staff, this is the highest figure in San Diego's history.

Two of these projects in District 7—the Navajo Pump Station project and a group of road repaving projects—as well as 12 other projects received industry and professional awards for their well-done execution.

While we’ve made great progress, there’s still much more to do. It's clear to anyone who lives in this city that our streets are cracked, our libraries are outdated, and our stormwater systems need serious upgrades, among other important infrastructure priorities. As your City Councilmember, I’m committed to continuing and expanding upon this work to improve our neighborhoods.

I want to give a big thank you to Linda Vista Update, a fantastic hyper-local community newsletter written by Steve and Betty Rodriguez, for all their reporting and work to keep our neighbors informed. In this week’s edition, they interviewed my rockstar community representative for Linda Vista, Miles Noel. The title? “Miles Noel Helps Out LV Residents.” I couldn’t agree more, LV Update! You can read the interview here and subscribe to the Linda Vista Update here.

Everything is on the line tonight. Nadia and I were at the ballgames on Tuesday and Wednesday to support our Padres, and we’ll be rooting hard tonight. BEAT LA!