It was a commentary on the San Diego Union Tribune website earlier this week that has drawn even more attention to the city of San Diego’s ongoing biggest problem. The problem of homelessness.
It was written by a visitor to San Diego who was working at Comic-Con last month. And it has been the talk on some of the talk shows and on line this week.
He wrote that he was “astonished and horrified” by what he saw in the Gaslamp Quarter, describing it as being “plagued by individuals evidently intoxicated, littered with glass pipes and needles and “sidewalks covered in feces and urine. He wrote that “these dangerous and unsanitary conditions are a disgrace, posing serious risks to both residents and tourists. And added, “I strongly advise staying away from the San Diego Gaslamp District for your own safety.’
Obviously not what the mayor and other city officials and community leaders and tourism folks want to hear.
It’s not the first time a visitor or someone who lives here in recent years have complained about makeshift tents and people sleeping in front of empty storefronts.
Mayor Todd Gloria says the problem of homelessness and its impact on the city is one he is focused on and in an interview with KOGO News this week, describes what he is doing to make things better so visitors and residents don’t tell people to stay away from downtown.
You can hear the interview with the mayor tomorrow on San Diego’s Weekend News hour at Noon.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: AFP via Getty Images