Daily Business Report: October 21, 2026
San Diego will seek EMS bids despite questions over former chief’s role with potential bidder
By Andrew Keatts | Times of San Diego
The city of San Diego still plans to seek bids from private companies to run the city’s Emergency Medical Services system.
The city is doing so despite potential conflicts of interest from one of the largest ambulance providers, American Medical Response, which now employs the city’s former fire chief, Colin Stowell.
Two years ago, Stowell kicked off the city’s effort to remake its EMS system. He told a City Council committee he and a consultant would issue a request for proposals to companies capable of reorganizing and improving San Diego’s troubled ambulance service.
ICE Appears to Be Ramping Up Enforcement in San Diego
by Kate Morrissey | Voice of San Diego
Many media outlets have reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up its efforts in San Diego as part of Operation Safe California in the 45-day window prior to the November election.
At first, I wondered if the headlines were an attempt by ICE to scare people and to drum up support from President Donald Trump’s base going into the midterms. The fear of a potential ICE raid in immigrant communities can be as paralyzing and life-altering as the devastation following an actual raid.
I and some of my peers have worried about journalists spreading this message before we knew whether arrests were actually increasing and the effects that could have on people’s lives and well-being if it turned out to be a ruse. But, we will likely have to wait months to have clear data confirming whether and how much ICE arrests increased because data about these arrests are not immediately available.
Manchester Group Promises Housing Will Be ‘Major Part’ of NAVWAR Development
by MacKenzie Elmer | Voice of San Diego
Housing will be “a major part” of whatever final plan moves forward to redevelop 70 acres of U.S. Navy land near downtown San Diego, representatives for the developer Manchester Financial Group confirmed.
Voice of San Diego broke the news last week that Manchester has been exploring the possibility of building a 400-megawatt data center there.
Manchester representatives have said the company has explored many possibilities for developing the land. In a recent statement provided to Voice, they said the final project will absolutely include housing, though it’s unclear how much.
