Storm gives San Diego a lightning show

Speaker 1: (00:00)

Thunderbolts enlightening. Very, very frightening. And San Diego,

Speaker 2: (00:05)

All of the counties. So every city, everyone got involved with it.

Speaker 1: (00:11)

I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Jade Heinemann. This is KPBS midday edition Environmentalists assess the damage from the Huntington beach oil spill,

Speaker 3: (00:29)

The major ecological disaster. We have over 140,000 gallons of oil in our coastal environment. And it's a major threat to wildlife, to birds, to fit

Speaker 1: (00:40)

Governor Newsome signs into law, a package of police reform bills and scary days are here again at San Diego's reopened haunted hotel. That's ahead on midday edition. Did you hear the thunder? Did you see the lightning today's big topic in San Diego is the incredible and most unusual thunderstorm. We had last night, much of San Diego experienced hours of thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. And that came less than 24 hours after a mile Santa Ana and another rain store may be on its way by the end of the week. So what the heck is going on with the weather? Joining me is national weather service meteorologist Alex tardy. And welcome back, Alex.

Speaker 2: (01:34)

Thanks for having me on,

Speaker 1: (01:36)

I don't remember a thunderstorm here in San Diego quite like last night. How unusual was that?

Speaker 2: (01:43)

Yeah, no matter how you look at it, whether you fall the weather or not, you probably couldn't help, but notice. And one of the things that made a significant, it was all of the counties. So every city Oceanside, Imperial beach, San Diego, Escondido, everyone got involved with it. Um, and it would rank up there as being unusual, not the most lightening we've ever seen, but there was thousands of strikes when you count everything in the cloud. And then the dangerous ones that hit the ground

Speaker 1: (02:17)

And there was even hail.

Speaker 2: (02:19)

Yes, we had places in Escondido where the strongest storms, thunderstorms produced hail as large as a half inch or marble size. And it wasn't just one or two. Uh, we saw photos of people with a whole bunch of marbles in their hand, which was Hale. And if you're wondering, that's why the raindrops were so large to when the rain first set in, it was melted Hale, uh, where most people were,

Speaker 1: (02:45)

What kind of damage did this storm do?

Speaker 2: (02:49)

Well, fortunately, we didn't get a lot of flooding. Uh, so in a situation like this, when you have a lot of thunderstorms over the course of several hours, we're talking, you know, 3:00 PM all the way up to 11:00 PM. When you have that many thunderstorms moving over the same area, you can sometimes get flooding and in some cases, dangerous flash flooding. So we didn't have that. Um, we did have some Palm trees that took direct hits and burned. We also had, uh, numerous power outages. I had one of my house, uh, briefly. We had one at our office here that was lingering overnight. So we had power lines and transformers that were hit by lightning. In fact, I can vouch. I saw one happen in real time where a main SDG transmission line got hit by a lightning bolt and sparks went flying.

Speaker 1: (03:40)

Now, this is the third electrical storm west of the mountains in a month here. Where are these storms coming from?

Speaker 2: (03:47)

Yeah, that's correct. In a nutshell, it's a tropical moisture, or you can call it monsoon moisture that comes up from the south. And the difference is that there's a weather disturbance. That's able to squeeze that moisture and instability and turn it into thunderstorms. So what's fascinating to me, you know, we hear all the time and we even learn in school. Well, you need a mountain. You need the sunshine to produce a thunderstorm. I don't think there's any mountains in Encinitas or in LA Jolla or in Mira Mesa. There certainly wasn't any sunshine at eight o'clock yesterday evening. So what's [inaudible] is that we have weather disturbances that are interacting with this moisture and instability, getting this spectacular light show.

Speaker 1: (04:33)

And are these storms movie who that are moving in from the south? Are they disrupting our usual weather pattern? Our fall Santa Ana weather pattern?

Speaker 2: (04:42)

I would say, they're not disrupting it. Um, you know, we are starting a new water year now, so this is perfect timing for that. And we're in the heart of just entering the heart of Santa Ana season, October and November. So all this rain is overall very beneficial to fire weather, uh, not really the water supply, but the fire weather. And I think these type of storms will be independent of what ends up happening this upcoming winter.

Speaker 1: (05:11)

So you don't see this anticipating a wet winter for us.

Speaker 2: (05:15)

Well, that's a great question. Something I was thinking about today and yesterday, so not full scientific proof, but we have looked at years like October, 2016, October, 2018. And why am I talking about those two days? Those two months had just the same type of weather, widespread showers, thunderstorms, wedding, rain over all of Southern California. And not only did it dip in the fire season or, or minimize it that fall where it wasn't as severe, it also ended up being a really wet winter. So we're not quite sure if there's a correlation there may be, but we can't quite say scientifically, just because we saw two recent years with very similar conditions, this coming year, we're going into LA Nina. That typically means drier than average. So we don't know if there's enough information to override that

Speaker 1: (06:09)

We're expecting another storm either later this week or Monday. Uh, any idea how that will compare to last night store?

Speaker 2: (06:18)

Yes, we are in a little bit of pattern of wet weather considering it's October. It's quite unusual. The storm system coming in Thursday night and Friday is much different. Uh, the moisture is coming from the south, but it's not as energetic. We, we won't see the instability and the amount of energy that produced all that lightening and heavy rain. So the storm on Friday starting probably Thursday night, we're expecting rain, but overall it should be light. Then you mentioned early next week, there isn't another storm coming down from the north this time that could bring a showers for sure, early next week, a little far away from now. So it's uncertain, but early next week could be yet another storm, uh, that brings us some showers, but coming from the north. So it would be cooler.

Speaker 1: (07:05)

I've been speaking with national weather service, meteorologist Alex tardy, Alex, thank you so much.

Speaker 2: (07:10)

Thank you again,

Speaker 4: (07:18)

As authorities work to address the spill of roughly 140,000 gallons of oil off the coast of Huntington beach, environmental groups are decrying the incident as yet another clear example of the dangers of offshore drilling that 13 mile oil slick is roughly the same size as a similar spill that plagued the stretch of Santa Barbara's coastline in 2015, as of now, authorities have closed on beach front areas along Huntington beach at Newport beach, while experts say the full extent of the damage will not be realized for years. Joining me now with more is Peter Stauffer environmental director of the Surfrider foundation. Peter, welcome to the program. Thanks

Speaker 3: (07:58)

For having me. So

Speaker 4: (07:59)

What are we seeing now in terms of the ecological and wildlife impacts of this spill?

Speaker 3: (08:05)

This is a major ecological disaster, you know, as you noted, we have over 140,000 gallons of oil in our coastal environment, and it's a major threat to wildlife, to birds, to fish. And right now officials are working to contain the spill and try and clean it out. But once you have a, the spill in the ocean, which is very dynamic environment, uh, it's very difficult to do. So

Speaker 4: (08:30)

Is there any sense that this bill could affect San Diego's coastline as well?

Speaker 3: (08:35)

It certainly could. You know, that's going to depend on, on wind and currents, uh, in the coming days, uh, and also will depend on how effective, uh, the current efforts to contain the spill are, you know, obviously efforts are being made with, uh, booms and skimmers, but again, you know, when you have that amount of oil in a large, in the ocean, very, very difficult to respond to it.

Speaker 4: (08:58)

Is there any chance last night storm could have affected the movement of the slick and its cleanup prospects.

Speaker 3: (09:04)

It may be, you know, we're getting regular updates from the unified command. You know, we have the us coast guard, California department of fish and wildlife along with the responsible party. And, you know, they are running point on this spill cleanup, but, you know, we are getting, uh, updates, uh, several times a day and that's something that we'll have to keep an eye on.

Speaker 4: (09:25)

And how is the Surfrider foundation helping with cleanup efforts at the scene?

Speaker 3: (09:30)

Well, you know, last night, our Newport beach chapter, uh, in our Huntington beach chapter, uh, met with city officials who are working on oil spill response. You know, it's really important to emphasize that oil is highly toxic. Uh, and so members of the public should not be participating in the cleanup, uh, unless you have the appropriate training, uh, and understand those protocols. But, you know, we have received tremendous interest from, uh, our volunteers, uh, and other members of the public that want to participate. So, um, you know, we are collecting names of, of folks and, uh, you know, we're providing updates to our network of volunteers of, of how they can support the effort.

Speaker 4: (10:12)

And you mentioned the oil is toxic. I mean, what does the cleanup effort on the ground to actually consist of?

Speaker 3: (10:18)

Well, again, you know, this is, uh, trained professionals from a variety of different agencies. And, you know, again, part of this is doing everything that's possible, uh, to try and keep the oil off the shoreline. Once it gets on beaches and into coastal wetlands, it really becomes a mess cause it's very, very difficult to clean up on those pollutants are, are persistent, persistent, you know, past oil spills have showed us those contaminants can remain in the environment, uh, for years or decades to come. So at this point, it's about containment and trying to respond. Uh, but this is going to be a long-term effort, uh, to try and respond and, and restore, uh, our coastal environment. Well, what's

Speaker 4: (11:03)

Used to contain and clean

Speaker 3: (11:05)

Up, uh, you know, in terms of containment, uh, skimmers are used, uh, which you may have seen images on, on television to these long skinny devices that floated the surface because oil floats at the surface that can be effective if, if wind and sea conditions are relatively mild, that that you can help contain the spill that way. And then of course, you know, once the spill, uh, comes into contact with the shoreline, that that's a whole different issue, very complicated to try and remove that from the coastal environment,

Speaker 4: (11:36)

How can we prevent these kinds of incidents from happening in the future?

Speaker 3: (11:39)

Sure. Well, you know, the best thing we can do is to stop any new offshore oil drilling. There actually is legislation in Congress that would permanently protect the California coast and other major regions of the U S from new offshore drilling. And, you know, the, the spill that happened, this was from a legacy lease that was issued in, in the early 1980s. And so really what, what we need to do is move forward with, uh, decommissioning these existing oil platforms as swiftly and safely, as we can.

Speaker 4: (12:10)

And as you say, the spill is a grim reminder of how dangerous offshore drilling can be. Do you think spells like this will serve as a wake up call to the consequences of that?

Speaker 3: (12:20)

You know, we certainly hope so. You know, there's been a tremendous interest in this, from the national media we've heard from, from supporters all around the world that are concerned about this, and we've seen engagement from elected officials at all levels. So yes, you know, we're hoping that this will spur some action, particularly at the federal level to pass a permanent ban on new offshore drilling off our coast.

Speaker 4: (12:44)

And those somewhat far out at this point, how do you think the question of liability will play into how the spill is dealt with?

Speaker 3: (12:51)

Yeah. You know, I would expect that we will see some significant fines and penalties for this or the Refugio oil spill. I believe that was, you know, in the neighborhood of $60 million. So, you know, obviously the amplify energy that the responsible party, they've got a long road ahead, they've got some significant obligations legally in terms of environmental mitigation and yeah, you know, that that process will be moving forward in terms of, uh, whatever fines or penalties. Um, maybe,

Speaker 4: (13:21)

And as we mentioned earlier, this spill is very similar to the one that occurred off the coast of Santa Barbara six years ago. Uh, what lessons can we learn from that?

Speaker 3: (13:31)

Well, you know, that effort was, uh, many, many months in terms of the cleanup and response. And so the penalties as you discussed, and you know, what we saw six years ago was, you know, the extent of the oil was actually much broader geographically than officials that have initially acknowledged. And so I think that for everyone involved to continue to do the due diligence and for members of the public to exercise caution check, before you go to the, to the coast check with your local government website, you know, if you live in orange county or San Diego county, uh, and of course just make sure that you honor, uh, any beach closures and beach advisories, how

Speaker 4: (14:12)

Can people get involved if they'd like

Speaker 3: (14:14)

To help? Well, you know, at surfrider.org, we do have a sign-up list for people who want to be kept updated and want to receive information on how you can potentially participate in cleanup and response. There also is an official website that's been set up that hopefully you can share with your listeners as well. And there's a way to receive regular updates and a volunteer form. If you have the appropriate training,

Speaker 4: (14:40)

I've been speaking with the Surfrider foundation's environmental director, Peter Stauffer, Peter, thanks for joining

Speaker 3: (14:46)

Us. Thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1: (15:00)

This is KPBS day edition. I'm worrying Kevin all with Jade Hyman early Monday morning scripts, neuroscientist, RDM Petah Putti, and got a call from Stockholm. He and his research partner, David Julius had just won this year's Nobel prize for medicine yesterday. We spoke about winning the Nobel prize, its impact on scripts research and San Diego's biotech community. Today we'll hear from the winner himself, our Dem [inaudible] talks about the journey that brought him to the U S and a career in science and why he refers to his prize winning discovery as the elephant in the room. It's a pleasure to welcome Nobel prize winner, RDM pedal Poodie into the show. And Ardam welcome.

Speaker 5: (15:48)

Thank you, Maureen will have to be here.

Speaker 1: (15:50)

Tell us about that phone call from the Nobel prize.

Speaker 5: (15:54)

It actually is quite interesting because as many of us, uh, with, with smartphones, uh, uh, non landline phones, I had my phone muted in the evening do not disturb. And so I had missed two, your four phone calls from Stockholm two in the morning. Um, interestingly, they had found my father's phone number in who lives in Los Angeles and is 94 years old. And they called him to ask how to get a hold of me. And it was actually my father who was able to call me and wake me up and tell me the news, which is a very, very special moment.

Speaker 1: (16:33)

I can imagine now because of your work and David Julius's work, we know more about how our sense of touch works. Why did you call that an elephant in the room kind of discovery?

Speaker 5: (16:45)

Well, it's, it's quite fascinating because, you know, for other senses, such as the visual system, we have figured out how, uh, the receptors and the cells work for decades and decades ago. And, and yet how we sense touch this enigmatic, uh, how, uh, proteins or receptors would translate mechanical information pressure into chemical signals was completely unknown. Many of these receptors existed, uh, but we didn't know what they were, and this is what we were very interested in. So my lab first worked on in parallel independently from David Julius on temperature sensors. And then the last 10 years, we've focused on pressure sensing both, uh, different aspects of touch sensation.

Speaker 1: (17:32)

And how would you like to see your work used in a practical application?

Speaker 5: (17:37)

We're, we're very interested in the possibility of translating this work. And as you know, basic science takes a long time to translate into medicines, tend to 20 years is the number often thrown out there and that's quite accurate. So I think we have from our work and our collaborators work, we have information that blocking these receptors could actually help people who suffer from New York pathic pain. The challenge is to find those blockers as well as to find a way to give it locally to areas that pain needs to be suppressed.

Speaker 1: (18:12)

The news conference you had on Monday with scripts, you talked about your personal journey coming from war-torn Lebanon to becoming an American Nobel prize winner. Can you share some of that with us?

Speaker 5: (18:25)

You know, all of this still has to sink in and it hasn't, but it is a pretty incredible story for me being an immigrant from Lebanon. When I came to USA as an 18 year old, didn't even imagine that there could be a career in science. It does not occur to me. I didn't know this was a professional, of course I've heard of scientists, but it was just kind of a foreign concept that didn't apply to me. And so I started as a pre-med student and, um, worked in a lab to get a letter of recommendation for medical school and just love doing the basic science and kind of shifted my career. And it's, I feel extremely privileged to, um, been working in this area since then. Uh, I should say that I feel tremendous gratitude, uh, for this nation for accepting me for, you know, I went to UCLA on Pell grants, both federal and state contributed to my education. And it just so, so wonderful to be, to be part of the system where, where it recognizes the importance of basic research, just for discovery sake, as well as for its potential for translation. What

Speaker 1: (19:38)

Really got you about science?

Speaker 5: (19:41)

I think it was just, uh, um, the idea that there are things of how our body works, that we don't understand. And if you did the research and you did it the right way, you would actually be the first person ever to know how that works. And that's a thrill. That's very, very difficult to explain by words, but once you feel it, it's, it's, it's very addictive and it's very gratifying.

Speaker 1: (20:06)

You think winning the Nobel prize actually means for you in your career.

Speaker 5: (20:12)

It's an added responsibility, I think, to, um, to have this incredible, uh, praise. And I actually feel very strongly that, you know, these prizes are given to one or two people, but there is so many people involved in this research. It's a community that we share and it's the work of many, but we're just representative. So it's a responsibility to, uh, to share the love of science with, with people and to acknowledge the people who have done actually the work in my case, it's a lot of, you know, brilliant young graduate students who are trying to get their PhDs and postdoctoral fellows both past and present who have been in my lab. Who've actually done the work with me.

Speaker 1: (20:56)

This must mean so much to your family, to your 94 year old dad, your whole family tell us about,

Speaker 5: (21:03)

Yeah, it is very special. And, you know, um, I come from a small Armenian community. There's a lot of Armenians in Southern California and I can already see the outpouring of pride and, uh, uh, very, um, sharing the joy with me. And so I'm, I'm very proud of my heritage as well as my adopted country of the United States. And it is a wonderful day to celebrate science and discovery.

Speaker 1: (21:31)

There's also about a million dollars that comes with the Nobel and he plans for that money.

Speaker 5: (21:36)

I really haven't had a chance to think about that. I will share it with David and I will be very glad to share it. And I hope to be able to give a little bit of it back to the scientific community in maybe encouraging the students, uh, of, uh, minorities to participate in science, which I think is something we need more of in sciences.

Speaker 1: (21:57)

I've been speaking with Nobel prize winner, our Dem pet a [inaudible]. And I want to say, congratulations, thank you so much for speaking with

Speaker 5: (22:04)

Us. It was a pleasure, Maureen. Thank you.

Speaker 4: (22:14)

Come January. First of next year, policing in California will be different. Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law reform bills that address use of force accountability and training for officers. It's a major step forward for communities who have been pushing for police reform. So what's in the legislation and what impact will it have on police and the people they serve joining me to discuss the legislation is community advocate, Genevieve Jones, Wright, who was also executive director of community advocates for just and moral governance. Genevieve. Welcome.

Speaker 6: (22:46)

Hello. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

Speaker 4: (22:49)

Police reform is something you've been advocating for first. What is your reaction to governor Newsome signing these reforms into law?

Speaker 6: (22:57)

It is about time. Our constitutional rights are virtually meaningless. If law enforcement officers in particular and other state actors can simply violate our rights with impunity and no repercussions. And with these laws being placed on the books, we are closer to having more checks and balances that are very much needed. We are getting very close to ending this culture of impunity for law enforcement officers and deterring and preventing unlawful misconduct. And

Speaker 4: (23:31)

One of the laws that stands out deals with accountability by creating a decertification system, it prevents an officer from being employed by another law enforcement agency. Should they be found to have engaged in misconduct? How important is this aspect of police reform?

Speaker 6: (23:48)

It's very important. California is seen largely as a leader on the criminal justice front, but in many ways we actually lag behind other jurisdictions. And SB two is an example of that before SB two was signed into law, California was just one of only four states that did not have a decertification process. And so I'm very pleased that we do now have this process in place, which puts us on the right side of things. But we also have to understand that last year SB two was introduced as SB 7 31. And for whatever reason, it was not signed into law then. And it was only signed into law just last week.

Speaker 4: (24:25)

And the new laws also address the use of restraints and rubber bullets. Can you talk a bit about that and what use of force legislation stands out to you?

Speaker 6: (24:35)

I obviously agree that we needed this law on the books, but at the same time, I think that there are opportunities for us to add to this law. And with this particular law that was carried by assembly woman, Lorena Gonzalez right here in San Diego, we are finally seeing these very basic standards that will help to prevent unnecessary use of dangerous weapons on people who are community members and who are engaging in their constitutionally protected right to peacefully protest. And now they can do that hopefully without risking being severely maimed or injured, as we have seen right here in San Diego county. When you look at

Speaker 4: (25:28)

Some of the cases that have happened here locally, how do you think these laws could have changed outcomes?

Speaker 6: (25:34)

I am thinking about Ms. Leslie for Cron, and I don't know that this particular law would have changed anything, which is why I think that we may need to come back and revisit it and make stronger language. And the reason why I say this is because although AB 48 requires officers to be trained on the use of kinetic projectiles and in chemical agents in a safe manner, it does not speak to the situations that made Ms. Fulcrums injuries arise. For example, we already had laws on the books through our local police department policies and procedures that prohibited, aiming these weapons at certain parts of a person's body. And Ms [inaudible] was shot in her head. And so that's already prohibited, but also what happened in Ms for Crohn's case was that the officer who used the weapon that blinded Ms. [inaudible], he was not trained on the use of that weapon.

Speaker 6: (26:43)

And he also shot that weapon at a very long distance, which data and the policy show was a very unreliable distance. We need legislation that will speak to officers, not shooting at unreliable distances and actually prohibiting that. We also have a lot of vague language about what situations can warrant the use of these types of weapons. And although we call them less lethal again, thinking about Ms [inaudible], she was blinded and it is a very subjective standard with the language and AB 45. And usually our courts and our prosecutors defer to officers. And what they say as it relates to what a dangerous situation is. There's also some concern about officers being able to create through their language, the need to use these types of weapons during peaceful protest. I believe that the majority of the protests in Lamesa were peaceful ones. Um, but folks can point and say that because there was a bank building on fire at one point that it was not peaceful. And then they can use that to justify the use of the weapons that were used on Ms. [inaudible]. And that is very concerning for me.

Speaker 4: (28:08)

How do you think these laws will ultimately change policing and the relationship between officers and the communities they serve here?

Speaker 6: (28:15)

I want to remain optimistic about the impact of such legislation. So I will say that these laws will hopefully start to challenge police officers in a way that they've never been challenged before that they will think twice and even three times before engaging in some of the behaviors they have engaged in before the use of lethal weapons, um, the use of excessive force that they will start to think about the repercussions and the consequences that can come upon them while engaging with community members. Well, more so than that, I really want these police officers to look at community members as the human beings that they are. And I'm hoping that some of this legislation will get us closer towards that end.

Speaker 4: (29:05)

I've been speaking with community advocate, Genevieve Jones, Wright, who is also executive director of community advocates for just and moral governance. Genevieve, thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 6: (29:16)

Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure

Speaker 1: (29:22)

As parts of the United States like Texas are restricting access to abortion in Mexico. Things seem to be headed in the other direction. The country's Supreme court in September handed down a ruling that decriminalizes the procedure it's been lauded as a major win for abortion rights, but restrictive laws remain on the books in most of the country, including in Sonora, KJ, zzz, Kendall bless to reports from the front terrorist desk in Elmo CEO,

Speaker 7: (29:58)

Hundreds of women marched on the streets of the Sonoran capital MOC L they're decked out in green bandanas and carrying brightly colored signs with Woody phrases that echo their chance calling for access to safe, legal abortion. It's September 28, international safe abortion day. When for decades, women across Latin America have protested to demand abortion rights. This year, the March comes just weeks after a landmark decision by Mexico Supreme court striking down an abortion law in the Northern state of Guila and ruling that all laws criminalizing abortion are unconstitutional

Speaker 7: (30:37)

Right after the ruling chief justice Arturo's Oliver took to Twitter to say everyone is pro-life, but the court's unanimous ruling recognizes the lives and dignity of pregnant people who have the right to seek abortions. The decision has been met with resistance from opposition groups, despite growing public acceptance in recent years, support for abortion rights remains a minority position in Mexico. Still the Supreme court ruling has brought activists, renewed hope has been protesting for abortion rights. Since the 1970s, she says, she's thrilled to see the fight continue, especially with so many young people now invested in the feminist movement. And while she calls the Supreme court's decision in bait, she has no doubt. It's a huge step forward. Not only keeping women and those who help them out of the criminal justice system, but also giving activists more leveraged to push for change nearby. Yolanda Vasquez says she credits women like broad day for helping to make this change possible.

Speaker 1: (31:38)

[inaudible]

Speaker 7: (31:41)

She says the court's decision is built on the shoulders of women who fought tirelessly for abortion rights. Still there's a long way to go. Particularly in states like Sonata is Gabriela era. She founded [inaudible], which provides legal services to women and girls in Sonora. So

Speaker 1: (31:58)

Nora is [inaudible].

Speaker 7: (32:01)

She says Sonora has some of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country. Those getting an abortion face up to six years in prison, twice, as long as the three-year cap in the now overturned go Huila law. At least six women are currently serving sentences in Sonora for receiving abortions. According to advocates, another 10 abortion investigations have been filed so far this year in this state nationwide it's more than 400 snore is current law only makes exceptions in cases of rape or health risk. And while the ruling should prevent future criminal investigations, it doesn't immediately make abortion more accessible in states like Sonora that will take legislative action or further challenges in court. [inaudible] calls it a public health problem because while only four of Mexico's 32 states have broadly legalized abortions. She says they happen every day, all across the country and abortion groups in Sonora say in the last 18 months, more than 5,000 women and girls have sought their help untold others have risked unsafe methods with experts, estimating that about a million abortions are carried out in Mexico every year

Speaker 7: (33:14)

As the protest wraps up, women gathered in front of the state Congress building now riddled with the pro-abortion messages and symbols and black spray paint. They chant legal abortion in the hospital Sanchez with the activist group media editor, they said Sonoran hospitals. Aren't living up to their obligations for care throughout Mexico prejudice, among medical professionals, a lack of training and laws that required doctors and nurses to report patients have created a hostile atmosphere for many people seeking abortion care. As they continue to fight for abortion rights, Sanchez says, activists know they can't just change laws. Culture and practices will have to shift to. I'm kinda blessed to know most of you.

Speaker 4: (34:05)

Well, the military has become more racially diverse. A recent survey found black, Latino and Asian service members. Don't always feel welcome off base and their civilian host communities, Deseret Diorio reports for the American Homefront project.

Speaker 8: (34:21)

The association of defense communities conducted the survey, asking service members and their families. What they think about the towns and cities. They call home outside the gate. Matt Boren is executive director of the group, which connects military bases with their host. Communities

Speaker 9: (34:39)

Started with the murder of George Floyd, the unrest and protests over the summer,

Speaker 8: (34:45)

Almost every black military spouse who was surveyed reported unequal access to employment and said the criminal justice system is unfair.

Speaker 9: (34:54)

Not surprising that these communities reflect what's going on in the society. Now

Speaker 8: (34:59)

Some black and Hispanic families say sometimes they don't even feel safe. Off-base Boren says that can make or break a service member's decision to stay in the military

Speaker 9: (35:10)

Career decisions. They'll leave the military rather than go to someplace where they don't feel safe.

Speaker 8: (35:15)

Now some local civilian communities say they want to fix that Caracas walk-ins is with the Huntsville Madison chamber of commerce in Northern Alabama. It's one of several chambers across the country that encouraged local military families to participate in the survey.

Speaker 10: (35:34)

We're in line with what we see in the United all over. We had several people who felt actually there was no issues of race here. And we had on the other hand, some that feel like we need more education. And that just as it not being,

Speaker 8: (35:49)

Walk-in says the chamber plans to increase diversity through a mentoring program and grants for minority owned businesses and round table discussions to learn more about the needs of military families.

Speaker 10: (36:01)

I will assume we know what people want, what they need. And so we want to hear it from

Speaker 8: (36:08)

Jennifer. Brantley is a lawyer and an entrepreneur. She says the survey results are pretty much in line with her own experiences. As a black professional, married to an air force chaplain. They've lived in Georgia and Nebraska. And now they're overseas in England,

Speaker 11: (36:22)

Little comments, microaggressions in the workplace, outright and appropriateness as a minority. You feel like you just have to sit there and take it. Or if you say anything, you become the bad guy or the angry black woman trope Brantley.

Speaker 8: (36:38)

He says the lack of diversity she saw in military communities led her to develop, find me mobile and app that connects black and Hispanic military members with local businesses like hair salons and restaurants.

Speaker 11: (36:50)

And it's more than haircare, right? For minorities. We need something that makes us feel safe, where we know both our presence and our dollars will be welcome. And I'm like, well, how about an app?

Speaker 8: (37:00)

He says, the path to equity is more complicated than an app or round table chats.

Speaker 11: (37:06)

It's more about education versus talking to people and talking at people. Every effort is appreciated, but we need to figure out what can we do to get to actual change, to get to people's hearts, to get to people's minds.

Speaker 8: (37:19)

Matt Boren at the association of defense communities says local inclusion efforts are important, but the militaries top leaders also need to act.

Speaker 9: (37:28)

It can't just be at the local level because installation leadership might feel that they don't necessarily have top cover that they should probably steer clear of that.

Speaker 8: (37:37)

Boring is supporting an effort in Congress that would require the defense department to survey military families every other year about the racial climate in defense communities. I'm Deseret Diorio on long island.

Speaker 1: (37:59)

This is KPBS day edition. I'm worrying Cavenaugh with Jade Hyman. The haunted hotel has spent 30 years scaring people in San Diego, but last year, the real world was scarier than any haunt and the attraction had to close for the pandemic, but it has reopened to scare you up close. And in-person KPBS arts reporter. Beth Armando speaks with owner Greg [inaudible] about what to expect.

Speaker 12: (38:30)

So Greg, tell me where we are standing right now. We are in the one of three

Speaker 13: (38:35)

Attractions at the haunted hotels disturbance. This happens to be the haunted hotel portion. It is three different mazes and we are in the largest wine

Speaker 14: (38:48)

And good luck making it out alive.

Speaker 12: (38:51)

How did the haunted hotel cope during the year where events in person couldn't take place?

Speaker 13: (38:57)

We, uh, we were closed both the haunted hotel and the trail. We did open the screams zone. We had a drive through, you drove through in your own car and it was successful.

Speaker 12: (39:09)

And what can people expect coming here to the haunted hotel disturbance?

Speaker 13: (39:14)

What we've done is we took the haunted hotel from downtown, which it was there for 27 years. What we've done is brought the whole event here, except we've expanded it. And we have added characters outside on the weekends. We're going to have a pizza trolley. We're also on weekends. We will be having serving alcohol for the first time at any of our events. Yeah. It's going to be an it's a party atmosphere. And then we have three haunts in and as well, you know, so that's what we're going for.

Speaker 12: (39:47)

What can people expect in terms of kind of the level or types of scarce

Speaker 13: (39:53)

To try to scare you as best and as, as deeply as we can, we were going for a little scar, we try and scar you just a little bit, but you're never going to get touched or hurt sometimes. Yes, an actor or a scary actor will get so close that they may bump into you, but it's not nobody's ever going to hurt you. You'll be absolutely safe. We do our best to scarier

Speaker 12: (40:18)

Kind of COVID restrictions. Are there, if any, do people have to wear a mask to get,

Speaker 13: (40:22)

We are kind of taking our lead from every other large company. We are encouraging everyone to wear my. If you're not vaccinated, we, we require that you wear a mask. Our, that goes with our employees as well. We just really encourage people to wear their mouse.

Speaker 12: (40:40)

And as someone who's been a hunter for years, what is the attraction for you to doing this?

Speaker 13: (40:47)

We're open and the doors are open and you start hearing those first screams. You go, yeah, it's working. And of course it does, you know, but, uh, you still need that kind of reassurance if it is, you know, and just, uh, people, when they come out, either they are laughing or they're crying or, you know, just super excited. And then, you know, you can hear them just talking. [inaudible] do you remember this? You know, and that is when you know, you've done your job and done it. Well,

Speaker 12: (41:21)

Yeah, I do a home hunt and I have to say that the sound of little children running from your house, screaming is like the happiest sound it is.

Speaker 13: (41:29)

And you know what? They will remember that they it's a, it's a good memory. I remember my first haunted house I ever went to, like it was yesterday and I was so scared, but I got out and got back in line. I wanted to do it again and again and again and again. So yeah, that's the part that we just enjoy.

Speaker 12: (41:50)

I think it is that draws people to haunted houses. Why do you think people do like to get scared?

Speaker 13: (41:56)

It's an adrenaline rush. First of all, you know, we were talking earlier about people who, the anticipation of it is sometimes just overwhelming. We were used to taking tickets in this grown man just came up, handed me his ticket. He had been in line and then walked straight to his car. He said, I can't take it. I just, you know, and he hadn't even experienced the hunt. It's a lot of it is just right here. You know, what your, what your fears are. And we try and kind of capitalize on that a bit.

Speaker 12: (42:28)

Now we're standing in the parking lot near target in mission valley. So you had to construct everything that is here. So what kind of work went into this? I mean, it's, it looks like it's mainly like flats and stuff that you use to build the may. So what went into this?

Speaker 13: (42:45)

You know, it doesn't just happen. A lot of people think you start building things and, uh, the week before you opened, no, we actually build, well, we built everything two years ago, three years ago. And then over this last year, we kept building, we built like different new facades and we built new rooms and things like that. We would add things that we didn't have that we wanted to put in originally. So we are working 12 months a year. It's not just the month of October it all.

Speaker 12: (43:17)

And do you have a favorite part of the haunt or you said you have three mazes. Do you have a favorite maze?

Speaker 13: (43:24)

I love certain aspects about each one of them. We have our, our freak fast, which is a 3d, you put the glasses on and you walk through that always. I'd love just because it's so just disconcerting and it's beautiful too. I mean, these guys are amazing artists and then the haunted hotel is just kind of such a classic for me. And then we have this kill Billy chaos area, which is just, I love the sound inside of it. I know that sounds weird, but it reminds me of my childhood when I was in Louisiana. Yeah. Every one of them has a different thing that I enjoy. Thank you very

Speaker 12: (44:03)

Much for talking about the haunted

Speaker 13: (44:05)

Hotel. Thank you, Beth.

Speaker 1: (44:07)

That was Beth haka. Mondo speaking with Greg [inaudible]. The haunted hotels disturbance is open through October 31st in the mission valley parking lot. And the haunted trail operates in Balboa park.