On this week's episode of the VOSD Podcast reporter Bella Ross went down a rabbit hole involving an Avengers ad on the Gaslamp sign. For six days, you couldn't even see the Gaslamp sign — Marvel covered it with a massive wrap for "Avengers: Doomsday." Turns out, that's illegal. San Diego city officials have fined advertisers for building wraps for years, and the companies usually just eat the cost. But the fee against this marvel ad was a record-breaking $160,000.

So, who approved it? Bella dug in. The city is questioning the Gaslamp Quarter Association's director over allegations that he may have given the ad agency a green light he wasn’t supposed to — and possibly took $10,000 to do it. He's denying he approved anything. The Association has until Oct. 9 to respond, and the city could pull the association’s contract with the city over it.

The trash fee saga got worse, too. We knew the city overcharged thousands of residents for trash collection on their property tax bills, but it turns out a spreadsheet error also led to some being undercharged. Those who were overcharged are getting new bills, but the city will have to figure out how to get additional fees from those who were undercharged since a state law prevents them from sending updated property tax bills. Candidates running for City Council weighed in on the fiasco and they all agreed on one thing: The city needs to hire someone to run the city's operations.

Sacramento also handed Midway Rising a win with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a bill that protects the project from environmental lawsuits. Midway Rising still has a long way to go, but this was an important step. .

Our hosts also preview Politifest and who has dropped out.

0:00 PolitiFest Jitters & Turning 50
1:18 Show Intro & Teases: Avengers News, Getting Ghosted
2:43 PolitiFest Preview: Sessions & Guests
3:02 District 4 Shakeup
4:58 Henry Foster Stays In
9:43 El Cajon City Council Debate Still On
12:28 The Avengers Sign Scoop: Illegal Gaslamp Billboard
22:20 A Walk Through Downtown
35:38 Trash Fee Fiasco, Part 2: The Undercharge Problem
40:16 Council Candidates Agree: Hire a City COO
41:21 Mayor Gloria's Cross-Country Mayors Tour
44:10 Midway Rising Clears a Legal Hurdle in Sacramento
46:24 Politifest Preview: The Measure B Showdown
50:08 The Future of the Democratic Party Panel

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On the latest episode of the VOSD Podcast, our hosts explain why the mayor's support may be unwelcome assistance to one City Council candidate. Plus, a recap of Politifest.

First up! We revealed that Mayor Todd Gloria is working behind the scenes to make sure that Councilmember Henry Foster does not get re-elected.

As our editors wrote in the Politics report, the mayor "has described Foster’s downfall to them as his No. 1 political priority."

Our podcasts hosts explain why that support may not be something candidate Martha Abraham wants. She's running against Foster as an outsider who is fighting the establishment forces.

Behind voice: Our managing editor takes some time on the show to explain how Voice of San Diego reporters and editors handle anonymous sourcing and corrections.

Finally, our hosts pull clips from Politifest and breakdown some of the most interesting discussions from our annual event.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton joins Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis, Jakob McWhinney and Bella Ross at Politifest 2026 for a wide-ranging conversation. Topics include his path to winning, immigration enforcement, housing, environmental review, energy and climate, and AI policy. The session ends with audience and student questions.

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