Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Are we fluoridated? Or not?

Dentist sues city for not releasing documents

On May 20, David Kennedy, a local dentist who was turned away after requesting documents pertaining to the addition of fluoride compounds in the city's water supply, filed what is the latest legal complaint against the city for violating state records acts.

According to the complaint, the city "systematically failed to reply within ten days as required by the [Public Records Act]. In some categories they did not reply at all. In other categories, the response was a partial disclosure of documents, claiming the remaining documents were forthcoming (which was never the case). In response to some categories, the city asserted the deliberative process privilege to shield disclosure of documents that would embarrass the City or show the City has acted against the popular will of the people of San Diego."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Questions of whether or not the city should fluoridate the water supply date back to 1954. At the ballot that year, residents passed a proposition that prohibited the city or any agency from adding any fluorine compound to San Diego's drinking water. Similar outcomes at the polls occurred in 1968 and in 1978.

In 2009, things changed. That year San Diego received a $3.9 million grant from the First 5 Commission, an organization that advocates for healthy decisions in children five years or younger, to pay for two years of fluoridation. The treatment began in 2011 and lasted through 2013.

In September 2013, Kennedy began requesting to see documentation on the grant and whether the treatment continued, and, if so, who was paying for it. Shortly after, city officials notified Kennedy that it had over 4 gigabytes of emails and other documentation for him. But before handing all of the documents over, the city attorney's office had to review the material.

More than seven months later, the review continues, says the complaint.

This isn't the only instance where San Diego officials have been accused of withholding documents from the public. The city is embroiled in several lawsuits, including two that name city attorney Jan Goldsmith directly.

A spokesperson for mayor Kevin Faulconer says that despite the expiration of the grant, the Public Utilities Department continues to fluoridate the water. At press time, the mayor's office was looking into the source of funding.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise, The Avengers and Zeros ‘77, Small Business Saturday In Escondido

Events November 28-November 30, 2024
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?

On May 20, David Kennedy, a local dentist who was turned away after requesting documents pertaining to the addition of fluoride compounds in the city's water supply, filed what is the latest legal complaint against the city for violating state records acts.

According to the complaint, the city "systematically failed to reply within ten days as required by the [Public Records Act]. In some categories they did not reply at all. In other categories, the response was a partial disclosure of documents, claiming the remaining documents were forthcoming (which was never the case). In response to some categories, the city asserted the deliberative process privilege to shield disclosure of documents that would embarrass the City or show the City has acted against the popular will of the people of San Diego."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Questions of whether or not the city should fluoridate the water supply date back to 1954. At the ballot that year, residents passed a proposition that prohibited the city or any agency from adding any fluorine compound to San Diego's drinking water. Similar outcomes at the polls occurred in 1968 and in 1978.

In 2009, things changed. That year San Diego received a $3.9 million grant from the First 5 Commission, an organization that advocates for healthy decisions in children five years or younger, to pay for two years of fluoridation. The treatment began in 2011 and lasted through 2013.

In September 2013, Kennedy began requesting to see documentation on the grant and whether the treatment continued, and, if so, who was paying for it. Shortly after, city officials notified Kennedy that it had over 4 gigabytes of emails and other documentation for him. But before handing all of the documents over, the city attorney's office had to review the material.

More than seven months later, the review continues, says the complaint.

This isn't the only instance where San Diego officials have been accused of withholding documents from the public. The city is embroiled in several lawsuits, including two that name city attorney Jan Goldsmith directly.

A spokesperson for mayor Kevin Faulconer says that despite the expiration of the grant, the Public Utilities Department continues to fluoridate the water. At press time, the mayor's office was looking into the source of funding.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader