Daily Business Report: June 11, 2026
Convention Center Expansion Money Now Paying for 2001 Expansion
By Scott Lewis | Voice of San Diego
One of my favorite random facts about the city of San Diego is that it loses money every year because of ongoing flooding of the Convention Center.
This year, the mayor proposed to pay $1.2 million on the “dewatering” of the Convention Center through a novel source: the money coming in from Measure C, the 2020 ballot measure that increased the hotel room tax in the city. The money from the tax was supposed to fund an expansion of the Convention Center, improved homeless services and road repair. For years, the city could not collect the Measure C money because of an ongoing court battle. Now, for the second year, it is collecting the tax.
The mayor also proposed that $3 million the city gave the Tourism Authority to market the Convention Center also come from the new tax.
Newsom’s Deep Financial Ties to Pentagon-Blacklisted Chinese Military Company
by Katy Grimes | California Globe
California Governor Gavin Newsom received $50,000 in campaign contributions from a top executive at a Chinese electric vehicle company (BYD) that Newsom fawned over during his 2023 visit to China. BYD is now on a Pentagon blacklist due to its ties to the Chinese military, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
If BYD rings a bell for California Globe readers, it should. In 2020, we reported that Gov. Gavin Newsom spent over $1 billion in taxpayer funds to buy masks from the Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD at the start of the COVID pandemic.
An electric car company suddenly pivots to making masks — and Newsom chooses them over American suppliers?
The Learning Curve: Grand Jury Slams Grossmont Union’s Board
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
A new report from the San Diego County Grand Jury slams the controversial decision by the Grossmont Union High School District’s board not to renew a contract with a nonprofit that provided mental health services to students.
The Grand Jury found the decision was “not based on performance concerns or misconduct,” but intended to restrict services for LGBTQ kids. The watchdog group also found the move was potentially harmful to kids, among other findings.
