Daily Business Report: May 15, 2026
Two County Unions Could Push for Raises if Sales Tax Passes
by Lisa Halverstadt| Voice of San Diego
Employees in two county labor unions will get a chance to seek pay increases if a proposed sales tax hike championed by the county’s largest union prevails in November.
The county Registrar of Voters is now vetting signatures for the half-cent sales tax measure to decide if it’ll qualify for the ballot. If it lands on the ballot and voters approve it, the measure could pull in $360 million annually for healthcare, child care, Tijuana River sewage solutions and public safety. It would also reopen labor talks for the Service Employees International Union Local 221, which is leading the charge on the measure and represents thousands of county workers.
SEIU Local 221 and Teamsters Local 986, which represents construction and maintenance workers, both have clauses in their labor deals triggering reopened pay negotiations if voters approve a measure that “generates revenue for the county’s general fund in 2026.”
Former Ocean Beach resident is on a hardcore foraging adventure.
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Special to Times of San Diego
Not every person who adopts a healthy diet undergoes the culinary awakening that has thrust Robin Greenfield into the national spotlight.
Greenfield, 39, is an extreme forager. He eats strictly off the land, which includes at times cooking deer killed roadside by cars.
Yet his lifestyle changes extend far beyond his diet. His largely demonetized life is devoid of credit cards and bank accounts. He doesn’t own a cell phone, although he possesses a computer for managing speaking engagements and educational foraging lessons that he conducts throughout the country.
South County Report: Tiny Bonita Museum Pursues New Artistic Dimension
By Jim Hinch | Voice of San Diego
For Chula Vista metal sculptor Michael Leaf, art is not simply a calling. It literally called to him from what Leaf described as “another dimension.”
Now, Leaf, along with leaders of the tiny Bonita Museum, are seeking to leverage Leaf’s otherworldly, larger-than-life metal designs into what they hope will become South San Diego County’s first truly regional artistic attraction.
This month, museum leaders are unveiling four Leaf sculptures that they said will be the first installments in a planned sculpture garden featuring artists from throughout South County.
