Good Tuesday morning, San Diego!
Several Hillcrest businesses say a surprise construction project to stop flooding has stopped sales as well. We're looking at the legal action some owners are now taking as their frustrations boil over.
Plus, a Team 10 investigation reveals reports of sexual assault at the San Diego’s safe sleeping site, and investigator Austin Grabish follows through with the city’s response to the allegations.
We’re in the middle of January, but meteorologist Megan Parry’s microclimate forecasts show some parts of San Diego County will feel a little more like summer over the next few days.
All of that and more news you can use in the Jan. 13 edition of the Streamline newsletter:
THE STREAMLINE:
ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Tuesday, Jan. 13 -- everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
TOP STORY
Business owners along 5th Avenue in Hillcrest say a major city project — and the fencing that comes with it — is crushing their bottom line.
Now, several owners have filed a claim demanding the city pay at least $200,000 to cover potential losses.
One of those businesses is Divo Diva, a Hillcrest shop that’s been open for about two and a half years. Owners say 2026 was supposed to be their breakout year, until the construction started.
Divo Diva co-owner Victoria Robertson said the city didn’t give businesses enough notice before beginning work.
The city, however, said it notified them three times -- once with a letter two years ago, then with door hangers in May, and again in December. But by the December notice, fencing was already in place.
Robertson said the impact has been huge, with sales down 20% this past holiday season compared to 2024.
“We’re at break-even point as of today,” Robertson told ABC 10News. “Which means every single day is critical for us to hit our numbers. If we do not hit our numbers, we’re trying to find the money from our own pockets to subsidize that.”
When ABC 10News reached out to the mayor’s office, a city spokesperson said they were not aware of the claim and could not comment.
The city said the construction on 5th Avenue stems from a legal settlement after nearby properties sued over flooding. They claim pausing the project now would cost $500,000.
City officials estimated the work will be complete by October 2026, and street closures may be scaled back before then.
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has launched another major drone and missile attack on Ukraine that targeted the country's power grid in freezing temperatures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia fired nearly 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight.
A strike in the Kharkiv region killed four people.
The attack left several hundred thousand households without power in the Kyiv region.
Russia launched a similar attack four days earlier in which Moscow used a powerful hypersonic missile.
The U.S. has accused Russia of escalating the conflict. Ukraine is seeking quicker air defense deliveries from the U.S. and Europe to counter the attacks.
CONSUMER
More scammers are turning to a new tactic to steal your money and personal information.
WATCH — Joe Ducey with the Better Business Bureau shows how defrauders are now posing as businesses and even the BBB:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
San Diego police are investigating a reported sexual assault at the city’s safe sleeping site — the latest concern just two months after Team 10’s reporting exposed multiple violent attacks at the taxpayer-funded homeless camps.
Team 10 has also uncovered that managers knew of prior allegations, and that a security guard was accused of soliciting sex from a client.
WATCH — Team 10 investigator Austin Grabish has the city’s response to the person behind this new report:
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