S1: Hey there , San Diego , it's time for KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. On today's show , community members in southeastern San Diego had hopes for a new park in Emerald Hills , but a multi-unit housing development is moving ahead after a city council vote last week. We hear what happens when the issues of housing equity and environmental justice collide. San Diego needs more housing , but many long forgotten neighborhoods also need more green spaces. Where does that leave San Diego's Emerald Hills community? Then , several California school districts say social media use has led to a student mental health crisis and are looking to hold tech companies accountable. Plus , San Diego's journalism community mourns the loss of an important voice. It's all ahead on KPBS roundtable. Community members in southeastern San Diego have lost a decades long fight over a hilltop in Emerald Hills. They had been pushing for a park there , but now a housing development is coming. It's a story that KPBS reporter Katie Hyson has now been following for years. Katie joins us now to tell us the story from the beginning. She covers racial justice and social equity here at KPBS. Hey , Katie. Welcome.
S2: Hi , Andrew.
S1: Great to have you here. So I want to start , you know , with the setting here at the center of the story is this hilltop that you describe in much of your reporting here. It's in San Diego's Emerald Hills neighborhood. Tell us more about it.
S2: So people might know it for the two radio towers that sit on the lot , but most people probably haven't seen the views from this lot. It gives this incredible 360 degree view from La Jolla all the way down to Mexico. It's been privately owned and not open to the public , but the neighbors whose backyards back up onto the lot are able to climb up and see it. And one of them is Kenny Key. Here's how he described the views.
S3: Every morning I'm able to wake up , look to the east and see the sun come up over San Miguel. And then I track the sun all the way over. And I catch sunsets going down between Coronado Bridge.
S1: I mean , I can really just picture that image. I think I have been to that spot and I know it is a very unique place , you know , overlooking , like , as you mentioned , into Mexico. So we heard there from from Kenny Key. That's one voice of many that you talked to in this community. How would you describe the community here and the people that live there?
S2: So when the neighborhood was built around this hilltop , redlining had only recently ended. And so it was considered this come up for black families in San Diego. And you have a lot of older neighbors there. A lot of them grew up playing on that hilltop. And , you know , like most neighborhoods in southeast San Diego , it's majority black and Latino and low income faces a lot of the inequities and underinvestment that kind of stacked up after redlining. But there's also a lot of pride in the history and the legacy that black San Diegans have built there.
S1: So tell us more about the community's vision for this space. You mentioned it was , you know , private land , but that it sounds like the community really , you know , cherishes this , this , this plot of green space. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. I found letters back from the 70s of neighbors wanting a park in this area of green spaces that includes this hilltop. Um , the 2015 community plan flagged this lot as a potential park space. Um , most neighbors took that as kind of a promise of a park there. Um , because the views are so iconic. They really saw this lot as a potential game changer for Emerald Hills , that it could be this destination park , like Kate Sessions that could draw in more investment and money into the area. And they wanted something that really honored the legacy of the neighbors who have built that community.
S1: So you mentioned there. You know , the vision was kind of years building for years. But in 2022 , city staff announced a large housing development would go up there. But then residents found something odd in the zoning code. What was that?
S2: The neighbors were confused because if you look at a zoning map , it looks like it only allows about 70 homes there. But the developer was planning for more than 120. So the neighbors were digging for answers for months through that , like more than a thousand pages of laws and public records. And these are people working jobs and raising families and using their free time to do this. And they finally see this little asterisks and this footnote in city code. It's called footnote seven. And it allowed for much denser housing , but only in the Encanto and Southeastern planning areas , which are majority Black and Latino and low income. And it did that without the normal process of changing zoning code.
S1: So how did the community react to that you mentioned? Just , you know , the the community effort , the digging , the research there. As you know , it's not easy to kind of figure some of these laws out or just the rules around housing. But how did they react once they figured out this? Footnote seven.
S2: People were shocked. They felt bamboozled , like this was a continuation of a history of racist policies and housing and zoning , and they felt like it had been done behind their backs. One neighbor phrased it as feeling like they were , quote , cut out of backroom deals. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. So that led to the city taking action on this and ultimately removing the footnote from the city code. Can you walk us a little bit through that process.
S2: The community members really rallied to push back against this footnote , and they were really organized in their effort to get the city council to repeal it. And so the city finally did that last year. Okay.
S1: Okay. So when footnote seven was removed , what what did that mean for this housing development that we're talking about here today.
S2: So I've heard I've heard legal arguments for and against this. But city staff say their hands are basically tied by state law and that any applications that were considered complete while footnote seven was still in place have to be allowed to move forward. And so that includes this development on the radio towers hilltop.
S1: So then , um , now it looks like so this development would move forward then with the 120 units even after footnote seven was removed. That's right. Okay. So let's talk more about the development itself. I mean , what kind of housing is it bringing to Emerald Hills?
S2: So like we said , 123 homes. Each of the owners of those homes could add up to two accessory dwelling units. Um , 13 of those homes are set aside as affordable housing. In this case , that means that they're priced where households making the median income in San Diego could afford to purchase them. Okay.
S1: Okay. Um , and I guess how much of that housing would be affordable for Emerald Hills Hills residents specifically , then.
S2: If you look at census data for Emerald Hills in the surrounding neighborhoods , the average households there earn significantly less than the median income for San Diego , so even the affordable units won't be affordable to most people living in the area.
S1: So , Katie , I mean , as as we both know , housing is just , you know , such a big issue here. It's one of San Diego's biggest challenges. We need more homes. We need more homes that people can afford to to live in. Um , and I think a lot of housing discussions often get framed in this sort of gimme versus Nimby. That's. Yes. In my backyard. No , in my backyard. We've seen a lot of new state laws take effect over the past few years , making it easier to build a housing. Right , because we need it here in San Diego. But this store , this story that you've been working on , it just seems to have a lot more layers to it. I mean , expand on that. Let I mean , I'm wondering how you see it. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. There's no doubt that we're in a housing crisis. I do think it's oversimplifying to boil this particular debate down to Nimby versus Nimby. For several reasons. These neighbors are not anti housing in general. I would not describe them as Nimby. Their frustrations are really about this specific lot , and wanting to see this lot become a park because of its unique potential and the history and what they feel were promises from the city. Um , the planning , the Community Planning group chair actually proposed a land swap solution , so that's where the city would identify an equal amount of land somewhere else for the developer to build that development , but leave this lot for the park. Um , the council didn't address or discuss that proposal. Um , there's also layers of equity issues here. So the city has identified this area as is being overburdened by pollution , heat. Lack of green space. And then there's the fact that footnote seven only applied to these neighborhoods. So the city council repealed it , but they haven't tried to make lots smaller across San Diego yet. And community members point to this property that's almost exactly the same size in La Jolla , where developers are only proposing 18 homes compared to the 123 coming to the Emerald Hills hilltop. And here's Kenny Key , the neighbor again.
S3: We need more than housing. We need amenities that were promised to us in the 70s and denied us up until this very day.
S1: Again , he's kind of emphasizing how long this issue has kind of been brewing here. You mentioned pollution. You mentioned , you know , this issue of green space , the push for park and Emerald Hills , you know , fits into a broader effort to build green spaces in these , you know , these neighborhoods that not had it historically. Where does that issue stand? And yeah , how does Emerald Hills fit into it? You mentioned this other example in La Jolla , but tell us about how where Emerald Hills is fits in.
S2: The trust for public Land actually measured San Diego's park equity this year. And they found that residents living in San Diego's black and Latino neighborhoods , like Emerald Hills , have access to 64% less nearby park space than those in white neighborhoods. The city knows this is a problem. They've set goals for park equity and climate equity , and they say they want to bring more parks to this neighborhood. But a common concern I've heard from neighbors is that you can't build more land , right. So the city has these intentions. But if the only remaining green spaces are developed one by one , there's going to come a point where the city can't magic a park out of land that doesn't exist. Right?
S1: Right? So , um , all of this is , you know , this backstory to this city council meeting that happened last week. Um , tell us what happened.
S2: It was an intense meeting. There was a lot of public comment , mostly in support of the appeal and against the development , especially from the people who actually live in these neighborhoods. Um , but all but one of the council members were against the appeal. Raul Campillo was the only one to vote in favor of the neighbors appeal. And so it was rejected. And the development is going to move forward.
S1: And among those that voted for it or sorry , you know , voted down the appeal included the council member in that district. Right. So what argument did council member Henry Foster , the third , who represents Emerald Hills , that area , but also the the former city council member , they're now county board supervisor in that area. Monica Montgomery Stepp , what arguments did they make in favor of the development?
S2: They spoke pretty passionately about this. They both highlighted the racist history of large lot zoning , how large lots were historically used to keep minorities out of white neighborhoods , and they both shared how they want everyone in their district to have the same opportunities of home ownership that they have had. And it seemed to matter a lot to Monica Montgomery. She sits on the county board now , as you mentioned , and not the city council. So she came down seemingly on her own time to speak during public comment.
S1: So you mentioned the strong community response. Tell us more about what you heard from community members.
S2: Well , there was pushback to both those points that Monica Montgomery Stapp and Henry Foster made. Um , first , that the footnote didn't really combat the racist history of Large Lot since it only applied to majority black and Latino neighborhoods. So it was almost the reverse , like taking large lots from minorities while leaving them in white neighborhoods. And many neighbors pointed out that , you know , they're not going to be able to afford even the homes set aside as so-called affordable. So those arguments didn't seem to land with the people opposing the development.
S1: And again , that's like 13 affordable housing units right out of the 120. So even just a small number there. So , you know , as we were discussing , there's just so many issues at play in this story. Housing equity , environmental justice. What do you think it symbolizes about the relationship between communities and the politicians that are meant to serve them?
S2: That's a great question. I mean , first of all , say no community is a monolith. So , you know , not everyone living in this area is against the development , but it is a significant group. And in the meeting , there seemed to be this disconnect between what elected officials were saying was best for these neighbors and what they were saying was best for themselves. And public comment ultimately didn't seem to affect the council's remarks or the vote. And I think the room was feeling that. I saw neighbors walk in with a lot of optimism and fight , and by the end of the meeting , you could feel and hear the defeat and disappointment in the room and the the developer and foster both stressed how much community outreach was done , but it it didn't seem to affect the end decision. And so it kind of begs this question of the roles of public comment and community input and how much they're really taken into account in decision making.
S1: And how much impact they ultimately have. Exactly. What kind of responses have you had to the story? I mean , you've been covering it for a couple of years now , right? Like what? What have you been hearing?
S2: I've been both surprised and not surprised at the size of response to this story. Like on one hand , it sounds like a very boring story. The context is so dense and hard to follow. When I pitched it to my editor , I said , look , it's it's about a footnote in city code , but I promise it's a good story. And it's actually been one of KPBS most viewed discussed stories since we began following it. And ultimately , I think that's because in these 31 acres , all these layers of history and inequities and local politics and power imbalances come to a head like this is one plot of land. But to the neighbors , it's so much more than that. And it really tells a much bigger story of San Diego.
S1: You know , you've talked about just how dense and complex this issue is , but at the same time , a lot of the folks that unearthed that have kind of dug into it have been community members. Um , you mentioned their feelings of disappointment last week of some of them that worked on this issue. But I'm just wondering how our community members reflecting on their efforts as they look to the future of Emerald Hills , even after last week's decision? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. On one hand , I'm seeing , you know , disappointment in this moment. But I have to say , as an outsider , I don't think I've ever seen an issue mobilize neighbors quite like this one. And I think it's laid this foundation for these communities to advocate for themselves , to local government. It's almost like these neighborhoods unionized. And I'm seeing people who weren't familiar with , you know , civics or how to navigate these things , educate themselves in real time. And I think that's especially remarkable for an area that has less resources. The community planning group chair is Sage Gonzalez , and she said something about this that has stuck with me.
S4: Organizing a community that's already really working hard just to live in this time is asking a lot. I think burnout is real , and when you are in communities of concern like ours , you wonder if that's not the ploy , right? This is is this the plan?
S2: But the neighbors are organizing despite all of that , and I've already seen that start to impact politics here. And I think we'll continue to see these neighbors be real players on local issues.
S1: Well , and there's an election coming up in the fall. That's right. So there's a lot more to come , I'm sure. I've been speaking with Katie Hyson. She's racial justice and social equity reporter for KPBS. We're going to have links to all your stories on that. And I'll be talking to you more about it. Katie , thanks so much for being here.
S2: Thanks for having me.
S1: Up next is social media use to blame for young people's mental health struggles in recent years , a federal lawsuit filed by school districts across the country argues it is and want tech companies held responsible. We'll dig into it next. KPBS roundtable. Welcome back to KPBS roundtable. I'm your host , Andrew Bracken. A big topic for lawmakers around the world right now is should kids be on social media? Some countries , like Australia , have passed outright bans for children , arguing the technology is not safe for kids under the age of 16. Here in California , lawmakers are considering a bill that could reshape social media use by kids. If not , ban it completely , and another state law soon taking effect will require more parental consent around social media use by young people , but legislation is just one piece of it. We've also seen a wave of lawsuits against tech companies behind these platforms , and school districts across the country , including some here in San Diego , are also taking action. I'm joined now by Vonnie Maria. She covers student health and well-being for Ed Soares. Varney , welcome to roundtable.
S5: Hi , Andrew. Thanks for having me. Welcome.
S1: Welcome. It's great to have you here. So , Varney , tell us more about this lawsuit. And , you know , the parties involved here.
S5: So more than 1000 school districts across the country , including at least a dozen in California , are suing social media companies , alleging that they've knowingly designed their platforms to addict children and that the platforms are harming their mental health , that it's contributing to this rise in student depression , anxiety , suicidal ideation , eating disorders , and a host of other mental health issues that we've seen rise over the years. And in turn , they're saying that has shifted the cost of addressing this crisis to schools. They've had to expand counseling , crisis intervention and campus safety efforts. They've had to educate more students about online safety and cyber bullying. So they're seeking both financial compensation and injunctive relief. Um , there. Uh , each school district , um , will try to come up with a number to offset what they say has been an increase in the costs associated with this mental health crisis. And they're also looking to force social media companies to make structural change. So redesign features like infinite scroll autoplay algorithms , algorithmic recommendations that they say are keeping students on platforms for longer and are more likely to harm their mental health.
S1: Yeah , and I want to dig more into those design features you mentioned a little bit later , but you know , your story talks about this lawsuit and involves over a thousand school districts among them. There are a number in California that you write about , LA unified being the largest , but there are a few here in San Diego County as well. Right. Mhm.
S5: Mhm. Yeah. So some of the districts in San Diego County include Oceanside Unified , Coronado Unified , Temecula Unified and Ramona Unified. I think what's interesting about having several districts from San Diego County as part of this lawsuit , is it kind of , um , uh , it signals this trend that we've seen in the area , which is , um , this heightened awareness and attention to the student mental health crisis. The San Diego County Department of Education , which oversees these districts , has been considered one of the state leaders in trying to address student mental health. They've led this new suicide risk screening program. They've expanded services with wellness coaches , health centers , counselors , social workers. So I think it makes sense that you have several districts within the county that would join this lawsuit and kind of want to try to tackle the problem from , um , from all fronts. Like you mentioned in your intro. Yeah. Some of these districts are also , um , are smaller districts who in particular that monetary relief would be a big deal for them. They have a higher ratio of counselors to student. They have a higher burden on their support staff. They've relied a lot on grants. Um , that might be coming to an end soon. Um , so any kind of monetary relief would really help them meet the demand for mental health support for kids.
S1: And , you know , you mentioned just it sounds like a lot of investment went into mental health by school districts , including the ones you mentioned here in San Diego. You know , how much is the financial picture of these school districts playing into what they're looking for and why they chose to join this lawsuit?
S5: I think it plays a huge factor , and I think this lawsuit is of the moment , you know , because we've seen this rise in student health , student mental health issues , but also because we've seen recent threats to the support system available to students. For example , the Trump administration has been trying for over a year now to try to cancel about $168 million in school based mental health grants to California schools , which fund hundreds of social workers , counselors , mental health support staff. And that is still , um , still in litigation. We still don't know what's going to happen with that. And the state also rolled out. It's a new way to try to sustainably fund mental health services in schools , um , which is through students health insurance plans. They those plans can now reimburse , you know , school social workers and support staff , for example. Um , but that rollout hasn't kept pace with both federal cuts , potential federal cuts , um , and also the sunsetting of a lot of Covid era mental health grants that the state had given to schools. Um , as part of its $4.9 billion Children and Youth Behavioral Health initiative , which came to an end , um , this year. So I think because of , um , that precarious financial picture , kind of that need to fund mental health support from all avenues possible feels really necessary right now.
S1: Um , I mean , there've we've seen a number of pretty high profile rulings against some of these tech companies on this issue over the past year or so on , you know , young people using social media and the harms that that they argue caused by social media use. Can you talk about some of the cases that kind of paved the way for the school districts to file the suit? Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So one you might have heard about was in March , there was a 20 year old plaintiff named Kayley Glen Mills from Chico. She won $6 million for Meta and Google , um , suing for very similar reasons that the school district was doing. She said they designed their platforms to addict her , and that led her to increased symptoms of depression , anxiety and eating disorder , even suicidal ideation. And so she she won that argument. I think that was , um , uh , taken as a positive signal for the school district's lawsuit. I think what's different about this , the school district lawsuit from , um , from Kaylee's lawsuit is the sheer scale , Even though she had won her arguments that the platform was designed to to addict her and had harmed her. That verdict , that jury verdict , only applied to her. It didn't necessarily say that structurally , social media platforms have harmed young people like her. What's different about school districts? The school district's lawsuit is they're representing hundreds of thousands of students across dozens of school districts. And if they can successfully argue that these platforms were designed to harm children , to design , to keep them on the platforms for longer , that's the reason a lot of them are saying that this is the best case yet , to try to actually force social media companies to make structural design changes.
S1: And , you know , another sort of case you reference or , you know , past cases involving school district were how they took action on nicotine and vaping. Can you talk a little bit about that connection and how school districts are approaching? You know , what they learned through those efforts and how they're connecting it to the technology? Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So this lawsuit really follows in the playbook that was set by school districts case against Juul , which is an e-cigarette company , in 2019. Um , thousands of school districts had sued Juul for allegedly , um , targeting um children and causing them to , um , form addictions to nicotine. And they ended up winning about $1.2 billion. Um , which they did. Um , um , they did use , uh , in large part to fund a lot of the , the support services that students were needing to deal with their addictions to vaping. But what's different between the vaping cases and the social media case is this argument of addiction. We have established science that people can form addiction to nicotine and to vaping. Um , but what the science says about social media is not as clear. We have researchers that are saying kids , kids , teens. Um , people of all ages really can form harmful and compulsive habits related to social media use. Um , but they haven't seen clear markers of a clinical addiction , for example , building up tolerance or having withdrawal symptoms. Um , that you see in addictions to substances like nicotine or alcohol. And that's really been at the core of the social media companies defense in these lawsuits. They're saying , um , you know , there was a recently a settlement , uh , there was a bellwether case that had a settlement with a Kentucky school district. Um , Breathitt County School District. Um , and what they said in that in their argument against their case is , um , you know , the school district had referred thousands of students to a counseling care center , but not one of those referrals. Um , diagnosed with them , diagnosed them with quote unquote social media addiction. So that's been social media companies defense , which is that this this might be harmful , but it's not necessarily , um , a medical concern. And this is not like a nicotine addiction. Um , school districts , on the other hand , are saying they don't necessarily need , um , scientific proof that this is a clinical addiction. They're using thousands of counseling , referrals , expense reports , documented disciplinary incidents , um , documented cyber crimes and cyber bullying to show that , you know , regardless of whether scientists say this is a medical , uh , you know , qualified addiction or not , students are really suffering and this has correlated with the increase in their social media use.
S1: So in your story , you also spoke with the San Diego High School student , just , you know , here about his experience with social media. He goes to Mount Everest Academy here in San Diego. What did he have to tell you? And what did you take away from from what he shared about his experience?
S5: Yeah , I spoke to a student , Vahan. He lives in San Diego. He. I think he had a really interesting , uh. Uh , he says he has a really interesting and nuanced relationship with social media. He got on social media when he was in middle school , I think about 12 years old. And very quickly he was on Instagram mainly , and he was fed a lot of content about acne. And he was himself dealing with acne as a normal teenage boy would. But that content really made him feel insecure. It really , um , he said it was fear mongering about how you know how bad he looked and how this would last a long time if he didn't take extreme measures and that kind of , um , that kind of really , um , was a hit to his confidence. And that lasted for a long time. And at the same time , he says , you know , young people right now don't necessarily have anywhere else to go. They don't have , um , third spaces the way previous generations did. And so he's hoping that with this lawsuit there's more attention towards , um , how towards helping students build healthy relationships to social media. And you know , you mentioned how Australia has this blanket ban on kids under a kids under 16 using social media. And California is considering the same ban. Um , he was more proponent of let's use this lawsuit as a jumping point to see how we can redesign social media , which is what the lawsuit is trying to do. And , you know , efforts to ban kids under 16 would not do it , would still allow platforms to have the same design features that are allegedly addicting children. And he thinks this lawsuit is the is the right argument to make.
S1: You mentioned , you know , these these specific features that get a lot of the focus here. Endless scrolling is one these algorithms autoplay. There's so much going on here. Um , we've seen tech companies start to make changes in the wake of maybe this legislation , some some of these lawsuits. How effective have those efforts been in addressing safety concerns around social media? Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So we're seeing new features rolled out , like Meta metas teen accounts on Instagram and Facebook. TikTok has things like family pairing and default screen time limits. Um , YouTube also has like supervised experiences that , you know , parents can supervise their kids use of YouTube. Um , but what these school districts are arguing is that these are not enough. These are , um , kind of Band-Aid solutions. That's also what the student that I spoke with told me is that , um , again , the lawsuit wants to structurally redesign these features. None of these new features , like teen accounts , would get rid of Infinite Scroll. They won't get rid of algorithmic recommendations , which , you know , this , uh , the student I spoke to said can often , um , prey on a young person's insecurity. So it doesn't matter whether to them. It doesn't matter whether , uh , there's a screen time limit , whether parents are supervising what content they're looking at. At the end of the day , um , the content that they're looking at , whether for a minute or an hour , is , is still going to harm their mental health. And it just seems like this lawsuit. Um , it seems like , uh , the school districts don't believe that there's heft to these new features. And the lawsuit is , again , um , vying for more structural change that we haven't seen yet.
S1: Well , just so much happening in the space , and it seems to be changing week by week. So hopefully we can catch up with you again as this , you know , this lawsuit proceeds. I've been speaking with Vonnie Sohn gonorrhea from Ed Soares. She covers student health and well-being there. Vonnie , thanks so much for being here.
S5: Thanks so much for having me.
S1: And just one quick clarification. We mentioned Temecula Valley Unified School District there. That's in nearby Riverside County. Coming up , a remembrance of San Diego journalist Kelly Davis. This is KPBS roundtable. You're listening to KPBS roundtable , I'm Andrew Bracken. San Diego's journalism community lost an important voice. Kelly Davis devoted her career to exposing injustice in San Diego. Her investigative work uncovered the long standing issue of deaths in San Diego County jails and after a long battle with cancer. Davis died earlier this month. She was 53. Jeff McDonald is a watchdog and accountability journalist with the San Diego Union Tribune , where he collaborated often with Kelly and Jeff wrote a remembrance of Kelly Davis soon after her passing and joins me now. Jeff , welcome to roundtable. Hello.
S6: Hello. Thanks so much for this invitation.
S1: Yeah , we're happy to have you here to talk more about Kelly Davis and her work. Um , you know , you wrote in your piece about , you know , how her death leaves a hole in the San Diego County journalism community. Tell us more about Kelly Davis and the impact her journalism has had.
S6: Well , Kelly was a quite remarkable woman , uh , even beyond her expertise as a journalist. Um , I think her , uh , her sense of right and wrong , uh , really drove her into journalism in the first place and directed , uh , you know , how she approached stories and which stories she wanted to to cover. Um , so I just think it's a terrible loss for the community. And , uh , the challenge will be on myself and my colleagues across the community to pick up that torch and run with it.
S1: You know , I want to talk more , dig into her her career a bit more. But you write about her , quote , policy chops and her ability to kind of really just do this deep digging. Uh , investigative journalism often requires. Talk to me about what that work entails and how Kelly approached it.
S6: Oh , it's , uh , a lot of reading. She , uh , she could quote the sheriff's policy manual. Um , not quite by heart , because there are a number of different policy manuals , each one of them. Many hundreds of pages. Uh , the reason that matters is because when stuff would happen inside the jails or , uh , you know , out in the community , She would know how the sheriff policy should dictate how deputies or jail guards or whomever should behave , and she was able to much more quickly than I identify lapses in policies or violations. And she was just a terrific researcher who had no problem doing the legwork that investigative journalism requires.
S1: You know , when I think about Kelly Davis and the all the times we've had her on our airwaves here on KPBS , I think about her reporting into the issue of San Diego jail deaths. That reporting goes back , you know , went back more than a decade. Talk to us about the significance of that work.
S6: Well , I don't think you have to look any further than the reaction from the community of family members who lost people in custody or were injured in custody. when she was named journalist of the year , uh , three years ago by the Society of Professional Journalists here in San Diego. Uh , more than a dozen of those family members came to the ceremony and lined up to just tell their stories about how Kelley's work , uh , almost single handedly gave voice to them , uh , at times when they were not learning facts and not getting answers , uh , from the sheriff or the county council , uh , because of civil liability issues. Um , it was a remarkable evening. And that wasn't the only time , uh , we hear from family members all the time how grateful they are to have somebody like Kelly to listen to their stories and , um , report the humanity behind the names of these , um , people who die in custody , not just their their crimes or what they did to , uh , you know , get incarcerated.
S1: You know , you mentioned that that journalist of the year award she won. Um , I know that was a memory for you. You were there. I was also at that ceremony. And you write. That was like a really powerful moment. You also collaborated with Kelly on a 2019 series called Dying Behind Bars. You know. Remind us about that series and what you took from from working with Kelly during that time.
S6: Well , that that series , uh , not just a high watermark in my career , but a huge privilege to partner with Kelly. Shia , we've been friends for years. Uh , even while she was at CityBeat , where she broke a lot of new ground on jail deaths prior to 2019. Uh , she called me one day. I had written about a recent jail death , and , uh , I'd done more than just a brief story identifying the victim and whatnot. Uh , I talked about the recent spate of deaths and the background and some of the problems that contribute to these deaths. And she called me one day early in 2019 , and we were talking and she told me what a great job she thought I'd done on that story. And I , I said , well , you know , that story kind of , um , bothered me a lot because we both written that story so many times and nothing seems to be changing. This is at a time when , you know , ten , 15 , almost 20 people in the high watermark died in custody in one year , uh , back in those days. And so we had the idea of doing a series to kind of push the issue onto the front burner of the public agenda , so to speak. And , uh , you know , to the Union Tribune's credit , uh , she was a freelancer at the time. And I told my bosses , I said , look , I could I could do this , uh , and it'll be pretty good. Um , but if we bring in Kelly , it'll be much better and much more authoritative. And they didn't hesitate. And we spent months looking at records , reading court files , talking to family members , attorneys who represent victims. And that was a three day series that , uh , you know , it did change. Uh , change policy. It got some new legislation , prompted a state audit. Uh , the former sheriff resigned on the day that audit was released. So I think , uh , I think , uh , she made her mark on this community. And we all will be hard pressed to live up to that going forward.
S1: You mentioned her time with the CityBeat. San Diego CityBeat was free progressive Halt Weekly here in San Diego for a long time. Ran , you know , for about 15 years. Um , we went into the KPBS archives here , and we actually have an appearance from when Kelly appeared on Midday Edition back in 2012. This was for City Beat's ten year anniversary. Um , and here she is talking about an ongoing series they did interviewing people experiencing homelessness in San Diego. Here's that clip.
S7: The goal was to put a name and a face to San Diego's homeless population to. And we did the series at a time when we felt not much was going on with not many policies were being enacted to , to try to , to solve homelessness. Fortunately , things have shifted since then. We did the series back in 2007. But yeah , so when you say underdog , I immediately think of of story. You know , things like that that we've we've done. Geoff.
S1: Geoff. How does you know , hearing that fit into your memory of Kelly Davis and the stories she told?
S6: Well , um , I'm really glad to have heard that , but it of course breaks my heart that she's not still at work. Um , what a great encapsulation of how she approached her job , though. She , uh , you know , insisted on drawing attention to issues that don't normally get , uh , top billing among elected officials and policymakers. And , uh , like I said , I think she left an indelible mark on this community. And , uh. Well , just hearing her voice , I can tell you that whenever she went on your show , she. She was always nervous. Uh , never wanted to say the wrong thing. And she spent hours preparing for even a 10 or 20 minute interview because she was so committed to getting it right. And , um , I was obviously a huge fan. So thank you for sharing that. I've seen her on your show many times , of course , but , uh , to hear it is , uh , again is just a huge treat.
S1: Jeff , you know , in in the piece you wrote , you talk about many of Kelly Davis's accolades as a journalist and , you know , all her accomplishments there. But you also tell us about her as a person can , you know , share that part of her with us.
S6: Well , she was a very creative person. Uh , not surprising. Uh , most journalists are , uh , her medium of choice before journalism was music , and she was in bands and played shows and was part of the underground scene in the Southern California , mostly in Los Angeles , but across San Diego. Uh , they , they , they they recorded records and videos.
S1: Open for rent for Radiohead , I think , too , right?
S6: Yes , yes. She shared the stage with a lot of , um , people that , uh , you know , highly regarded in music. I didn't , um , I didn't appreciate that about her at the time. I was aware of it. Um , but , you know , we were professional colleagues in journalism and , uh , you know , I was hugely proud she would. She was still taking guitar lessons up until , uh , I believe this year , certainly last year. Um , even though she was that accomplished , uh , very gifted writer , even outside of journalism. Uh , she wrote a piece for the The Voice when her sister died , um , that got picked up nationally. Uh , that was just incredibly moving. Uh , her sister was an artist as well , and she had died from ALS about a decade ago and was one of the first people to , um , choose to end their lives under the right to die law that California enacted , um , a decade ago. Um , so she was hugely well rounded and , uh , had a lot of interest. Uh , she loved writing about fashion and cocktails and , and all nightlife and all sorts of things beyond jails. Um , so , uh , I was a huge fan , and I just , uh , you know , I'm going to miss her dearly.
S1: Well , on , you know , that discussion about our music , here's a little bit of one of the bands she played in this is super 31 with Never Said Goodbye. Uh , Jeff McDonald's , a watchdog and accountability journalist with the San Diego Union-Tribune , he wrote a touching tribute to Kelly Davis , which will link to. You can also find it in San Diego Union-Tribune. Com. Um , Jeff , thanks so much for being here. We really appreciate it.
S6: I appreciate you having me. Thank you so much.
S1: And that'll do it for our show this week. Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks to all my guests. If you have any thoughts on today's show , you can always email us at roundtable at KPBS or leave us a message at (619) 452-0228. Roundtables. Technical producers Brandon Truffaut. The show was produced by Ashley Rusch , Brooke Ruth's Roundtables senior producer , and I'm your host , Andrew Bracken. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend. Happy Friday.
S8: And the ending was.
