First Responders in San Diego Have Rolled in Late to Thousands of Emergencies

The news nonprofit Voice of San Diego has an excellent but infuriating investigation this week of nearly two years' worth of data on how long it takes first responders in the city to actually respond to the most serious medical emergencies. The depressing picture described in the story recalls another related number recently in the news: that, on the eve of bankruptcy, police in Detroit have been taking on average 58 minutes to respond to 911 calls.

San Diego is hardly on the verge of collapse. But that's what makes this analysis all the more alarming: This is a portrait of a city, like so many others, that's struggling in an almost mundane way to provide basic services amid budget cuts, with the worst consequences falling on the communities with little political muscle to claim more resources. From the story: