Daily Business Report: November 2, 2026
How Candidates Plan to Solve San Diego’s Bonkers Infrastructure Backlog
By Mariana Martínez Barba | Voice of San Diego
It’s no secret the city of San Diego is short on cash – and the backlog to fix critical infrastructure keeps growing.
That backlog includes basic infrastructure like stormwater channels, roads, streetlights and more. According to an IBA analysis of the city’s capital outlook, the city needs $12.8 billion for infrastructure needs over the next five years.
But city officials have only identified $5 billion to fund the need, leaving a capital funding gap of $7.8 billion. Currently, stormwater needs make up 65 percent of that gap.
by Katy Grimes | California Globe
California high-speed rail CEO Ian Choudri resigned on Thursday, citing a need to focus on personal and family priorities, a few weeks after he was stripped of contract authority after a damning audit.
Choudri’s resignation followed a rocky tenure marked by a recent Inspector General investigation into nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel expenses to “questionable locations that appear unrelated to state business,” including trips to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room, a tiki bar and a cigar lounge over a two-year period, according to an investigation released by the inspector general that oversees the agency.
His replacement was announced after the Globe reported on the resignation. The California High-Speed Rail Authority board named state Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw Interim CEO.
Japanese food truck and Gladstone’s coming soon, Square Pizza and humorous wines
by Frank Sabatini Jr | Times of San Diego
Gluten-free Japanese food truck is born
Look for the upcoming debut of a food truck named Tako Pug, which fills a neglected niche in the world of Asian cuisine.
North Park residents Ron and Christina Tolle hope to wheel out the truck in the coming month with a menu of Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian dishes that are entirely gluten-free. The concept reflects his Japanese heritage and her quest for flavorful Asian food since being diagnosed with celiac disease last year.
The married couple each left corporate jobs to pursue the culinary venture, although he worked as a chef in the early 2000s at Roppongi in La Jolla, and Lowe’s Coronado Bay Resort before that.
