How can we keep living here? It’s a question I’ve repeatedly heard from residents and one I’m not sure our region and its leaders have answered.

Two weeks ago, I attended a community meeting at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Logan Heights. The neighborhood’s City Councilmember Vivian Moreno was there to hear their concerns. Homelessness? Bike lanes? No, it was the cost of living.

“Prices keep going up and we don’t see how we will continue to live here,” one woman said in Spanish.

The ladies in the row behind me agreed. They whispered about how expensive rents have become. A second woman said many are at the mercy of property owners.

Moreno explained what the City Council has done to protect renters from evictions. She gave reasons why she didn’t support rent control and why there’s such a long waiting list for housing vouchers. (The crowd groaned when she shared waits for Section 8 vouchers can be as long as 15 years .) They cheered when she suggested the group’s next speaker be someone from the San Diego Housing Commission.

As I sat there, I noticed the angst among those in the room. The people gathered were mostly families, but some were young single men and older women. They all spoke Spanish. The organizers served coffee and pan dulce. A little girl poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed some sweet bread before heading back to her seat. All the while, Moreno spoke about what the city can — and can’t — control about rising housing prices and rents.

I thought about the first woman’s question. How will these families keep living in San Diego?

I’m not sure they got an answer at that meeting.

Have you considered moving away? Let me know at [email protected].

Fewer Kids Are Missing a Lot of School

Nothing stresses out our education reporter Jakob McWhinney more than chronic absenteeism. That’s what schools call when a student misses at least 10 percent of days in school.

High chronic absenteeism in schools is alarming because the more kids miss school, the more they fall behind in class and the more time that teachers spend catching them up. It also hurts a school district’s bottom line.

McWhinney has done extensive reporting on the issue, as well as what schools are doing to curb it. Some have made progress.

New school data shows that chronic absenteeism rates in the county are down. The numbers are still higher than they were before the pandemic, but fewer kids are missing a lot of school.

Read the story here. He also included a graph where you can search your child’s school and see where it stands on chronic absenteeism.

Things Got Hot in National City

Jim Hinch, our South County reporter, has been crushing it lately. If you haven’t subscribed to his newsletter, I strongly recommend it.

He reports in a new story that there’s a lot going down in National City. First, the City Council voted to censure newly re-elected Councilmember Jose Rodriguez for allegedly violating the city’s code of conduct.

One councilmember described an exchange between him and Rodriguez as “sparks fly” on social media. Hinch will follow what this means for Rodriguez and what’s next.

The City Council also voted to re-appoint GilAnthony Ungab as the city’s representative on the Port of San Diego’s seven-member Board of Commissioners. Some were encouraging the Council to open up the position instead, but as Hinch writes, that didn’t sit well with councilmembers who feel the port isn’t looking out for the city’s interests and residents. You can read the full story here.