![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/MKF-Official-Photo-2014-jpgweb.jpg\")
<\/a>Over the past several months, I\u2019ve worked hard to create my\u00a0new\u00a0One San Diego budget \u2014 a balanced city budget that funds neighborhood\u00a0improvements, paves hundreds of miles of\u00a0roads and improves parks throughout San Diego. It\u2019s also the first budget\u00a0in years that our City Council passed by a unanimous vote across party lines.\u00a0As a result, this July the\u00a0city of San Diego started\u00a0repairing more streets, installing new streetlights and expanding recreation center and library hours.<\/p>\n
When I ran for mayor, I promised to dedicate half of all major revenue growth to improving our neighborhoods and aging infrastructure.\u00a0My One San Diego budget fulfills that commitment and more. It\u00a0doubles the amount of street repairs compared to the year I first took office.\u00a0In fact, we\u00a0are fixing more than 300 miles of roads in one\u00a0year alone. It\u2019s\u00a0the first step in my plan to repair 1,000 miles of streets over the next five years.<\/p>\n
We know that communities can only take full advantage of economic and educational opportunities when they feel safe and secure. So in January, I pledged to reduce the inequality in emergency response times in our city. My One San Diego budget adds an additional fire-rescue\u00a0fast response\u00a0squad to improve emergency response times in neighborhoods that need it most. It also funds four police academies and begins a new police contract to recruit and retain officers.<\/p>\n
Every San Diegan deserves the opportunity to thrive, particularly our children. It\u2019s why expanding neighborhoods services that benefit youth are a key component to this financial plan. The budget improves parks and playgrounds in every city council district, increases operating hours by 33 percent in 36 recreation centers, and triples Internet speeds at all branch libraries.<\/p>\n
From festive barbecues at our neighborhood parks to Comic-Con\u2019s spectacular showcase\u00a0in the Gaslamp,\u00a0summer is an exciting time for families and children in San Diego. It also serves as a time for reflection and marks an important halfway point in the year. As your mayor, I’m excited to share with you what we\u2019ve accomplished so far to improve\u00a0infrastructure, public safety and neighborhood services. This is how we create opportunities for every San Diegan \u2014 and make sure that promises made are promises kept.<\/p>\n
\u2014Kevin Faulconer is the mayor of San Diego. Learn more about the mayor at <\/em>sandiego.gov\/mayor\/about\/index.shtml<\/u><\/em><\/a>, reach him at <\/em>kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov<\/u><\/em><\/a>, or follow him on facebook.com\/kevinfaulconer<\/a> o @kevin_faulconer<\/a> en Twitter.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Tree lights fading<\/strong><\/p>\n I reported last Thursday eve [July 9] with a voicemail message left [we here at the paper assume this was with Downtown Partnership] and an acknowledgement received back that the recently installed tree lights on two of the trees on the north side of Island Avenue between Park Boulevard and 11th Street are no longer working [see \u201cDowntown Partnership News: Lighting up Downtown\u2019s life,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 1<\/a>].<\/p>\n This is a reminder to please look into this. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n \u2014Dean Brown, via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n Off-leash anguish<\/strong><\/p>\n While Clean & Safe is active in our Downtown (Marina District) neighborhood, I have noticed that the Clean & Safe team does not discourage, and in fact encourages, off leash activities by dog owners in and around Pantoja Park [see \u201cDowntown Partnership News: Keeping Downtown clean and beautiful, together,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 5<\/a>].<\/p>\n I have noticed team members actually throwing balls and frisbees, and socializing with people whose dogs are not on leash in Pantoja Park. Is there any way we can get these team members, for whom we pay assessments, to encourage people to obey the law rather than continue to break it?<\/p>\n \u2014Peg Battersby, via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n In the cover story of our last issue [see \u201cA class act,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 20<\/a>] we incorrectly identified the website of Knockaround Sunglasses, LLC. The correct website is knockaround.com. We regret the error.<\/p>\nLetters<\/h3>\n
CORRECTION<\/h3>\n