July heat wave continues

S1: This week on Kpbs Roundtable. Intense heat has been the big story across much of the nation and around the world.

S2: Scientists expect that July will likely be the hottest month on record.

S1: San Diegans have been feeling the increases , but other parts of the US are under extreme heat warnings.

S3: People need to take heat seriously. It is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change , but I think that a lot of people still underestimate it.

S1: We're also diving into this summer's power outlook as more people crank up their air conditioners later to the summer. There's going to be more.

S4: Pressure on the grid because it's getting hotter.

S1: Don't go anywhere. Roundtable is coming up next. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. I'm Matt Hoffman. Intense heat has been the big story across much of the nation and around the world. The New York Times is reporting that over the past two weeks , they're likely the hottest ever. San Diegans have been feeling the increase in temperatures , too. We had our first big heat wave last week and higher than normal temperatures are expected to stick around for at least the next few days. Our inland areas and especially San Diego's deserts , they've really been taking the brunt of this heat. Temperatures in areas like Borrego Springs approached 120 degrees. All these high temperatures means people are using more power , especially with it's staying warmer after the sun goes down. But this year , power grid operator say they're more prepared to deal with the Heat's impacts. Joining us to discuss it all are Rob Nichols. He's the energy reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune. Kpbs environment reporter Eric Anderson is back with us , along with Kpbs. John Carroll and Los Angeles Times reporter Haley Smith is here again. She covers wildfires , drought and climate change. Great to have you all here with us. Haley , we'll start with you. You were actually down in California's Death Valley this week and it gets pretty hot there. Temperatures were near 130 degrees. Can you sort of paint a picture for our audience ? What is that kind of heat like ? Sure.

S3: So I grew up in Miami and now I live in Los Angeles. So I think I can safely say that I am no stranger to heat. But this was something else. We were within striking distance of the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet 134 degrees at Death Valley back in 1913. And it's the kind of heat that makes you almost instantly nauseous and dizzy. We could really only spend about two minutes in it at a time before needing to get back to air conditioning. The best thing I can equate it to is kind of imagine taking a blow dryer and putting it about two inches in front of your face and turning it on at full blast. And that's kind of what it feels like. But from all directions , it's extremely dangerous. And in fact , one of the park visitors that I met on Tuesday morning died that afternoon after attempting to hike in the park. His name was Steve Curry. He was 71.

S1:

S3: And I think a sign of how quickly weather and climate are becoming unhinged from their old patterns. Here in Los Angeles , we were under cloud cover from January until well into June. And the heat wave we are now has been somewhat milder than what they're experiencing in Arizona and Nevada and parts of the Central Valley here in California. But it is starting to heat up in earnest. As you mentioned , parts of LA could get up to 112 this weekend , as well as Riverside and San Bernardino County. But there are a few factors behind this heat. The first being that it is July , so some heat is expected and the second being that this mass of high pressure that is driving the heat wave has kind of parked itself over the southwest and it doesn't appear to be budging anytime soon. And that's why we're seeing so many records being broken. There are also larger factors at play here , including El Nino and climate change , which we can definitely get into later.

S1: And Eric , looking outside of San Diego , it's just been particularly hot everywhere , right ? Yeah.

S2: And the big the big reasons , I think , that are driving this heat across the planet. By the way , scientists expect that July will likely be the hottest month on record for the world. The worldwide temperature that's taken a bunch of different temperature stations , both on land and in the water. They expect it to be the hottest July ever recorded on the planet Earth. And there are a couple of things that are driving it. And climate change is one of them. You know , the world's oceans are heating up as well. There's an El Nino that's building in the southwestern Pacific , and that means that there's this big wide band of warm water hanging around the equator. And then as that warm water moves north , it's going to affect our weather patterns here , too. But all of those things together have have conspired to to raise the mercury globally. And as some climate scientists like to joke , you know , enjoy this summer , it's going to be the coolest summer of the rest of your life because things like global warming are going to keep marching forward.

S1: And let's bring in Kpbs John , Carol , John , it sounds like one of the few places escaping some of this early summer heat is the. Coast.

S5: I had noticed it. Some of my colleagues had noticed it in the newsroom that it seemed like coastal temperatures were staying quite a bit cooler for quite a bit longer than in years past. And stark contrast to the temperatures just a few miles to the east. Turns out not our imagination. National Weather Service meteorologist in the San Diego San Diego office , Brian Adams , told me. The very wet , cool winter we had cool down the Pacific and now those cooler water temperatures are helping to keep the air above cooler as well. So it's a nice summertime bonus for the folks along the coast and within a few miles of it. But that's about it. As soon as you get east , as my colleagues have been talking about , you get the hot weather.

S1: And we know that people who are inland , right , they can go to like lakes or maybe even some rivers to cool off or even some community pools. And those at the coast obviously have the ocean. But a lingering problem means that not everyone along the coastline can go out for a dip. How are some cross-border sewage flows impacting that ? Right.

S5: We're talking about the South Bay here. And this is something I spoke to researcher Tessa Tinkler about earlier this week. And it's no mystery. Erik knows way more about this than I do , but she just pointed out that the beaches are a big cooling off zone for folks who don't have a pool or air conditioning and they rely on the beaches to cool off. They can still go to the beach. And we saw some people out there earlier this week. But as signs on the beach from Border Field State Park up to Coronado will tell you you shouldn't go into the water because that sewage that's been there for weeks , months maybe now , I think has just been relentless. And of course , going into the water can make you sick.

S1: And obviously here in San Diego , San Diegans are feeling the heat. A lot more people running their air conditioning , but don't know. We might consider ourselves a little bit lucky because Phoenix recently broke a heat record and recorded its 20th consecutive day above 110 degrees.

S3: Phoenix has seen an increase in hospitalizations for heat related illnesses and also pavement burns because when it's 110 or 120 degrees , the asphalt can be much , much hotter. I actually spoke to a burn unit specialist this week who said sometimes people are passing out on the pavement , which just increases the amount of time they're exposed to it and severely compounds their injuries. It's also really dangerous because nighttime temperatures are remaining warm around 100 degrees. And that means that people's bodies are just having no chance for relief , which is so important even in a place like Phoenix that is somewhat acclimated to the heat.

S1: And anyone that has air conditioning knows that it can be really expensive to run. And those that live in homes without built in AC like myself , I know it can get really uncomfortable during these heat waves. Let's bring in the Union Tribune's Rob Nichols. Rob , it sounds like the county is expanding access to these so-called cool zones. It's sort of where people can go , I guess , and just sit in some air conditioning.

S4: It went into effect back in 2001 when California had the energy crisis. And it's basically aimed at people , seniors , people with disabilities , people who are very vulnerable during these heat events. And when it first opened , they had officials there told me they had about 20 cool zones across the county , and now it's up to 110.

S1: And do we know if people actually take advantage of those cool zones ? I think I remember reading your story recently that said , you know , they're particularly important for seniors on fixed incomes that maybe can't afford to run their air conditioning.

S4: And they didn't really say that they saw much of a of a of an uptick. But in some of the eastern areas of the county inland where it's really , really hot , they said that anecdotally they were able to see more and more people. And you bring up a very good point. I mean , if you're on a fixed income and your utility bills are already pretty high , if you're cranking up that air conditioner , that your bills are going to get even higher.

S1: And we know just how important those are. As Haley mentioned , you know , this heat can be deadly and people need to be taking it seriously. You know , earlier this week , Haley , we spoke to some meteorologists who said that they expect these above average temperatures to stick with us here in the short term. But in the long term , we sort of touched on this earlier. You note that climate change is playing a role here. What exactly do you mean by that ? Right.

S3: So as mentioned , we've got this heat dome hovering over the south. And that is contributing to some of these really persistent high temperatures. And as John mentioned , we also have the onset of El Nino , which is associated with hotter global temperatures , although it's still relatively nascent. So its effects probably won't really start to be felt until a little later this year. But all of that is happening against the backdrop of human caused climate change , meaning climate change that is unequivocally linked to the burning of fossil fuels. We know that climate change is contributing to warmer global temperatures , so any heat wave we experience is now going to be against this kind of warmer baseline. There's also some speculation that climate change is altering the pattern of the jet stream , and this is a really active area of research right now. So I just want to make that clear. But there's evidence that the jet stream is getting wavier. And the theory is that as climate change warms the Arctic , it's changing the temperature gradient from north to south. And creating this kind of wobble with the jet stream , which is allowing these weather patterns to kind of get stuck. And we're seeing that with this heat wave. We're seeing it in summer and in the winter , like with those atmospheric river storms earlier this year.

S1: And Eric , I know this is something that you follow closely.

S2: And they have been warming at a steady pace , even outside of El Nino. Researchers worry about whether they are reaching their capacity to absorbing carbon and absorbing heat. But when those oceans warm , it affects temperatures all around the planet. It affects all the temperatures on land as well.

S1: We know that these recent rise in temperatures , they're happening here locally. They come in stark contrast , Jon , to the May gray and June gloom. A lot of people were complaining about it earlier , but I bet a lot of people wouldn't object to seeing that marine layer maybe coming back in.

S5: Well , it hasn't left totally. It's a matter of fact , I'm looking out my window right now. It is not sunny , so we still are getting it. The meteorologist I spoke with said we can expect that to break down little by little the more we get into the summer. But let's just remember , the way I ended my story the other day was we were complaining all through May and June. And as Haley was saying , it goes back to January of this year about all those gray skies. Where's the Southern California sunshine ? Here it is. So , you know , enjoy. Guess.

S1: Coming up , what the hot summer means for electricity in California when it comes to our power grid. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. I'm Matt Hoffman. We're talking about the recent heat wave happening in San Diego and really across the world. We have the Union Tribune's Rob Nichols , Kpbs , Eric Anderson and John Carroll , along with LA Times reporter Haley Smith. Haley and some of your reporting , you and your colleagues at the Los Angeles Times , you wrote about what workers are experiencing in these triple digit temperatures. Not everybody can escape the heat , especially the outdoor farm workers. And you kind of had a stat that they're 20 times more likely to suffer heat related illness or death than the average US worker.

S3: So Cal , OSHA has heat illness guidelines or standards that apply to outdoor work sites , and it requires employers to do things like provide fresh water and access to shade at certain temperatures , cool down rest breaks. There's additional protocols once it gets to 95 degrees or hotter , like observing workers for signs of heat illness. But this is all complicated because oftentimes farm workers are paid by the day or the week , and sometimes they will push on in extreme conditions because they don't want to lose out on work. And the other thing that I think is worth mentioning is that we don't yet have such standards for indoor workers , like people who work in a factory , for example , where it can get really hot. So there's a major push for those protections , but it's still kind of winding its way through the rulemaking process. And it's been frustratingly slow given the urgency of the situation.

S1: So , guys , we know that air conditioning can be a lifesaver for people , especially living in parts of San Diego like the East county and the desert communities. But turning down the temp means cranking up the electricity. Now , let's dive into this , Rob. All Californians are familiar with things like flex alerts and rolling blackouts when basically the power demand is too high. Have we seen any of that with this latest heat wave ? No.

S4: So far , fingers crossed. The California Independent system operator , which manages about 80% of the electric grid for California , they said they've been monitoring this and they have not been they have not issued any flex alerts during this heat wave , as people probably recall last summer , at the end of August , the beginning of September , we had a record ten consecutive days of flex alerts. That's basically where the the California system operator asked people to voluntarily cut back on their energy usage to help keep the grid running smoothly. But so far , we haven't had anything yet during this heat wave. And I just looked at the websites this morning for today , for example , they're expecting to hit a peak demand of about 43,500MW , and they've got capacity for almost 53,000MW. So they've got a bit of a cushion. But we're going to just have to see what happens down the road. And also , as we get later into the summer , there's going to be more pressure on the grid because as Haley and Eric have pointed out , it's getting hotter. And also in California , September and October and even early October can be very , very hot. And that can put a lot of stress on the grid.

S1: And you mentioned Caso there. That's California ISO and they operate the state's power grid to Eric or Rob. Do we know why we haven't seen any of those rolling blackouts or sort of why ? You know , the demand on the grid hasn't exceeded it like it has in the past.

S2: Do we know why ? Yes , we do know why. It's because the state has contracted enough power. One of the issues last summer during that heat wave was is that a lot of the power that utilities had contracted for. Right. They're expected to buy enough power to serve their territory , plus a 10 to 15% cushion. A lot of that cushion electricity that they bought fell through some of that because of the heat. There was less hydroelectric energy in the system. And there were some other reasons why that backup power fell through. And that's why the narrow the margins were so narrow last year. That hasn't yet happened. This year , there appears to be enough electricity bought for demand and enough of the cushion , electricity , if you will , in the system. Maybe they took some cues from last year and did a better job securing that that extra power this year. But I think we should keep our fingers crossed and enjoy it because it means that we're not going to be dramatically changing our lifestyles because the power goes out in our neighborhood.

S4: And dovetailing onto that , the grid California grid has been adding a lot more battery storage. And real quickly. Little battery storage does is that helps fill in the gaps. When wind and solar are not producing electricity , you're not really able you're not able to generate any electricity from wind when the when the wind's not blowing , obviously , and when the sun's down , you're not able to get that from solar. So batteries are really important to be able to fill in that gap , be able to take store that electricity when there is a lot of solar on the system and then release it during the evening hours , especially in that early evening , late afternoon time when the grid is really under stress. And they've been the independent system operator working with the Independent , with working with the utilities here in California , has been adding a lot more megawatts from battery storage. I'll give an example. Four years ago , for example , just 250MW of battery storage was available in California's grid. Right now , 5600MW. And in 2035 , they're expecting 19,500MW and all the way up to 52,000MW by 2045. So every megawatt that the system operator can get on the grid is important. And battery storage figures to play a big role in that in the future.

S1:

S5: I read a thing from the governor's office , think they put out a news release within the last couple of weeks about adding that extra capacity Rob was talking about.

S4: And there's more and more of these battery storage systems being put into place. The California system operator and also the California Public Utilities Commission has ordered utilities like San Diego Gas and Electric to go out and and procure more battery storage capacity in the future. So theoretically , it should be able to work. We'll see what happens down the road.

S2: And just to jump in real quick , the one thing about battery storage , too , is that California's power picture has really kind of changed over the last ten years or so. The peak energy usage used to be in the middle of the day , but because there's been this proliferation of solar on rooftops and other renewable energy sources , that peak now has moved toward later in the day. And there have been times when there's been a surplus of electricity generated during the day , and that's where the batteries really kind of come in helpful and are very helpful. They take that surplus electricity that's generated in the middle of the day and the hottest part of the day , they put that in battery storage and they can use it when demand begins to creep up to between 4 and 9 p.m. in the evening time.

S1: And I think the state's power grid operators , they said that , you know , that more than 5000MW can power like 3 million homes , but just for a few hours on the battery power.

S4: As I mentioned , every megawatt that we can get in California is very helpful because we've just a couple of years ago , we had rotating outages because there was a lack of mega wattage. So batteries will be able to help down the road. The California policymakers are counting on offshore wind putting up floating wind turbines off the coast of northern California and contributing to the grid. So it's it's sort of an all of the above approach at this point.

S1: And Haley , we know that the Heat played a major role last September. I think Rob mentioned this earlier. That's when the state's power grid was sort of pushed to the brink , like ten consecutive days of flex alerts.

S3: Well , I was at a Patti Smith concert here in LA and the power went out. And then , as Rob mentioned , pretty much everyone in the state got an emergency alert on their phone asking to reduce their usage because the grid was so strained by millions of people running their air conditioners. And it worked. I mean , we were able to track energy use and within minutes saw a significant load reduction on the grid. But as my colleagues have just said , I think that incident really raised concerns about our aging power grid and how much it can handle as the world gets hotter. And I think it was a good wake up call for a lot of people that we really need to not only strengthen our grid , but also continue to invest in diversified , renewable energy. Like we just discussed , The state has been building up their reserves , also doubling down on or moving faster on bringing more renewables to prevent that kind of worst case scenario. But we've still got. Work to do.

S1:

S5: What happens when and this may have happened before , I can't recall what happens if the grid they put out the warnings. People do not consume or conserve rather enough.

S4: I'm talking about the state. Collectively , we've been able to avoid that the last few years. But what ends up happening is in order to keep the grid going , you do not want the worst thing that could possibly happen would be for the grid to fail because it would literally take a couple of days to get it back up and running again. So what grid operators do is they send out notices to the utilities across the state and Pacific Gas and Electric Southern California Edison. And they say , you need to shed load and that when they say shed load , that means they tell the utilities you need to take selected areas and and basically black those areas out. So that way the grid is able to maintain its operation because the way electricity works is , is that you need to be able to have enough electricity at the very moment simultaneously. You can't just say , okay , we're going to shut it down for a little while and come back up. You need to be able to have continuous power. So in order to do that , you need to force a reduction in load. So that's sort of like the the basic primer on that. Theoretically , the grid could shut down , but that's the worst case scenario , and that's something that grid operators , not just in California , but across the country , want to avoid.

S1: Hailey , go ahead.

S3: Yeah , just to kind of drive home how dangerous it would be if there were a grid shutdown or rolling blackouts of any kind. There was a study published a month or two ago about out of Phoenix , which found that if Phoenix experienced a blackout during a heat wave like the one that they're experiencing now , half of all the city's residents would need hospitalization and the city's death rate would increase over 700%. So really scary potential consequences for for from a major blackout. Wow.

S1: Wow. And it sounds like that usually people respond to those. I always wondered that if people were actually responding to those flex alerts. But , Rob , we also know that heat mix with high winds , it can cause power outages , especially for those in like more rural communities talking like Far East San Diego And some San Diegans will remember we had those a couple years ago. And , you know , businesses out there like they lose all their stock in their fridges. But our high winds are part of this latest heat wave.

S4: Now , fortunately , they are not there have not been any gusty winds associated with that and want to be able to make a bit of a distinction , because I think sometimes people get things get various power outages mixed up. If the California independent system operator tells the utilities you need to shed load , that is a power outage. A power outage can can ensue in certain areas. But that's because they're trying to keep the grid operational now when it's really windy. Utilities in California do what's called a public safety power shut off. And that's because with high winds , they're concerned that those high winds , those gusty winds are going to cause a power line to fall and ignite a wildfire in very dry conditions. And so those are two different sometimes people get them confused , but those are two different power outages. The bottom line , though , is the good news is this heat wave does not been accompanied by gusty winds and there has not been any public safety power shut off initiated by FDG. Meaning.

S1: Eric , go ahead.

S2: And it's worth noting that some of these climate change impacts are cascading effects. You know , as temperatures rise , it puts more stress on the electric system. If there's a wildfire in the backcountry that could interrupt some of the power highways , the transmission highways that we have , and that could be a reason why there are brownouts or blackouts in different parts of the county. So all of these things kind of work together. The heat , wildfire , wind and and power supply. And they all pose a threat to our ability to keep the lights on.

S4: And also , as Eric mentioned , about wildfire , if there's a wildfire over a large area that causes smoke and that smoke almost becomes very , very , very cloudy and that reduces solar output because it blocks the sun seat. So it's all , as Eric said , kind of a cascading thing.

S1: And I think we have a whole other roundtable with Eric and Rob where we dive into like , you know , obviously renewables are great and all that , but what happens when the the sun goes down ? That's a whole nother conversation where the state's trying to meet some different climate goals.

S3: This is sort of a California paradox where if we have dry winters , they tell us it's going to be a bad fire season. And when we have wet winters , it's going to be a bad fire season. But that does seem like what is happening here. All of that rain that we got this winter has led to a lot of vegetation growth. And now that the temperature is heating up , everything is drying out and curing and is could potentially be fuel for fires. So it sounds like the wet winter may be just delayed the start of fire season this year but did not stop it altogether. So I think we will start to see some more fires and potentially some really big ones in the next several months. I am definitely dusting off my fire gear right now.

S1: We know that San Diego's already seen some of those fires , thankfully. No , no large ones. But as we wrap up the show here , we want to hear from everybody. Just some final thoughts or what you guys are going to be looking ahead to. You know , summer is just starting here. We're already feeling the heat. Haven't seen a huge taxing on the grid. Maybe. But Eric , we can start with you.

S2: I think if you look toward the East county , it's going to give you a lot of information about what we have in store. For us , that's the place where it's going to be the hottest. It's a place where the wildfire risk is the greatest. I think it has the potential for the most catastrophic , again , potential but catastrophic event. That we can definitely link to this heat. But I don't want to understate what happens in other parts of California as well. And I want to remind you that heat is a bad thing for a lot of reasons , and it may not carry the punch , the destructive punch of a wildfire. It may not carry the damaging push of a hurricane , but it can still kill people. And it doesn't take a lot of heat to have a big impact on population centers like Los Angeles , like Sacramento , San Francisco and San Diego.

S4: Rob Yeah , well , a little bit of good news and all that rain and cloud cover that we got and precipitation and snowpack that we had up in the Sierra Nevada this this year really , really helped improve the conditions for hydro hydroelectricity. So you're talking about big power plants , hydroelectric power plants in the Sierra Nevada foothills like the Lake Shasta power plant , power plant , the Oroville Dam. They've all had a just about a record year as far as the capacity that they've got. And that's important because that can help as far as supplying mega wattage to the to the California independent system operator. When we have a wet year , as much as 21% of the instate power generation can come from hydro. And then on the other side , if we have a dry year , that can drop to as low as about 7%. So this year we'll cross our fingers. It's that that snowpack will be able to give people a little bit more cushion this summer.

S5: Jon Well , not being an environment reporter like our colleagues here , what I'm kind of looking at is the marine layer. Mean , is it going to continue to come around ? You know , in the mornings ? We're living in this upside down weather world right now , so who knows ? It may stick around and provide nature's air conditioning for some of us in Southern California. But that's kind of what I'm watching right now.

S1: And Haley , you have the final word.

S3: My final thought is that people need to take heat seriously. It is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change. But I think that a lot of people still underestimate it. So I would say learn the signs of heat , stroke , hydrate , drink a lot more water than you think. You need to check on your neighbors and your friends , especially older people , and never , ever leave pets or kids in hot cars.

S1: That's a great point. Don't forget about kids , but also your pets as well , too. I mean , they're obviously impacted by the heat the same way as us. I want to thank everyone for being here. The Union Tribune's Rob Nichols , Kpbs , Eric Anderson and John Carroll and the LA Times , Haley Smith. Thank you all. Thanks.

S5: Thanks. Thank you.

S4: Thank you.

S1: When Kpbs Roundtable returns. We're taking a look at some other stories happening in San Diego , including some of the local soccer players that are going to be in this year's Women's World Cup. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. And now it's time for the Round Table roundup where me and producer Andrew Bracken take a look at some other stories that are happening around San Diego. Andrew , what's up ? Hey , Matt. Great to have you here. All right.

S4:

S6: Many schools in South Bay , the Chula Vista and Sweetwater school districts return to school. It may sound a little unusual because it's the middle of July , but they're on the year round school schedule. So they had their first day of school this week. And here's a little clip of Principal Louis Sunstein , who's the principal of Montgomery High School.

S7: Every 9 to 10 weeks , we're on a break. So it just comes right about when you're starting to get a little burned out. We have that break to kind of recharge. So we're constantly doing that throughout the year. And I think breaking it up that way , it really has a benefit.

S6: So there you kind of hear they don't have that full traditional summer vacation , but they do have more frequent , shorter breaks throughout the year.

S1: And I think our education reporter , MG Perez , was saying that's designed to help with like trying to stop learning loss. Maybe that happens during the summer elsewhere , but it does sound kind of odd. Like I remember when I was a kid just waiting for summer , you know , to go out and hang out with my friends and not have school. But I also wonder to how that could impact families. Yeah , I don't know because I know you have a couple kids.

S6: So maybe you're not going to the same , you know , going on the same vacation as everyone else in San Diego at the same time , and that those frequent breaks are kind of helpful. So I've heard some good things. But yes , San Diego Unified still doesn't go back to school for a few more weeks.

S1: Got it. All right. Now , something else on your list has to do with sports and a sport that's huge here in San Diego. Soccer , right ? Yeah.

S6: I mean , you know , we've been hearing a lot about soccer and soccer in San Diego as we get more teams. The Women's World Cup just started yesterday and it's two host nations. Australia and New Zealand both started the competition off with wins. And they're actually also local Wave FC players playing in this year's World Cup , two of whom for the US team that includes Alex Morgan , the legendary American striker who's playing in her fourth World Cup. But she's also joined by newcomer Naomi Girma , a defender also who plays on the wave. And here's a little of what she had to say about the experience and going with Alex Morgan.

S8: A lot of the experienced players have been great and just like guiding the younger generation , we've got a lot of good support from them. And you know , I think the best advice you can get is from someone who's already been there and lived it and done it. So I think just being in the environment with Alex here at Wave and then also with the national team has been great to , you know , get advice from from her but also just to see the way she trains prepares and really is getting ready for the World Cup.

S1: And that is just really so cool because , you know , it just goes to show that , you know , the NWSL , that's the National Women's Soccer League , we have the wave here. It really is the top , top of women's soccer. And it's so cool that San Diego's going to have some representation on the world stage. And I think that they're expecting to break all sorts of viewership records this year and things like that.

S6: And they're going to show the US team and their first match against Vietnam as well as the wave game after that. And on the NWSL , there was more soccer news for San Diego , and that's that. The NWSL championship game will be held at Snapdragon in San Diego in November. So still a lot more soccer to come.

S1: It's a really nice stadium. We know. You know , there was a couple Super Bowls held here in San Diego , the MLB All-Star Game. So a lot of these leagues , you got to think , would want to bring , you know , the best of the best here because San Diego is such an awesome place to live. It might be a little bit expensive , but it's an awesome place to be. All right. Another story you have in there , it's a little bit closer to home.

S6: Yeah , we talked last week about the sale of the San Diego Union Tribune , and we're starting to hear a little bit more about what that sale is going to mean for the paper. And that's some very veteran reporters in the area have announced they're leaving the paper. That includes Gary Werth , who is no stranger to this program. He's covered homelessness in the San Diego region for many , many years. Greg Moran is another veteran investigative reporter who will apparently be leaving the Union Tribune. And that's that's just a couple names. There are many more. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. And I think that NBC seven , they had a story out that said also Dana Littlefield is going to be in there. I saw via social media Kate Morrissey who covers the border , also kind of a bit of a frequent flyer on this program , is also taking the buyout and leaving the paper. And it's really , you know , a sad day for our industry. These are all great , talented journalists that , you know , often got a lot of scoops with their connections. And so very , very sad to see them go. You hope that they will be replaced. But if you missed our discussion on the last roundtable , go back and check it out. That might not be happening. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. And I mean , similar to your comments , we received this listener comment from Pat Green in San Diego. Here's what she had to say.

S9: I think it's a sad day for the paper and for those of us who enjoy reading a print edition of the newspaper.

S1: And I know that some outlets had reported that the new owner of the Union Tribune , they were going to be offering some of these buyouts kind of remains to be seen how many reporters , producers , editors , their copywriters have taken that buyout before they address the need for any potential layoffs. So , you know , our heart goes out to our colleagues that are leaving. Maybe not maybe not leaving the industry totally , but , you know , leaving the San Diego Union Tribune. And it sounds like you have another thing on your list that relates to news , but technology sweeping in. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. And you heard from Pat's comment there. I think there is some fear of what this paper will now become. And now we're hearing more of these reporters leaving.

S1: You know , journalism is something that is vital to a community. And having less people covering San Diego's stories , you know , certainly is not a good thing. And it sounds like another thing on your list also relates to news , but maybe technology flying in here.

S6: Yeah , I mean , this is this is a connected story to what we just talked about. Google announced a new product , an AI product. We've been hearing about artificial intelligence and how it's impact on how we're living and working. Well , Google has this product , Google Genesis , they're calling it. It's a tool to write news. It's an AI tool to take facts , take some information and pump out news stories. Apparently , Google is approaching publishers like The New York Times , Washington Post , things like that as a potential tool to help create news. And it's just interesting in the wake of , you know , San Diego seeing this change in our major local newspaper.

S1: Yeah , I think that's that New York Times article that you're referring to that. Talked about this. And , you know , it is kind of odd to think about , you know , having news written by AI. I think one thing it will never be able to do , no matter how smart it gets. You know , there's this human connection that happens when when you go out there and you tell a story. And that's something that technology just can't hit on. So being being able to go out there , connect with people , laugh with them and cry with them , that's that's something that I think we have an upper hand on eye on and something that allows us to relate better and help tell people's stories , especially when they're going through hardship.

S6: Yeah , I agree. Matt. Here , here. I mean , we're we're biased obviously as working in journalism , but it's going to take a lot to replace good journalism.

S1: All right. And finally , it sounds like you have something relating to comic con , sort of something on everybody's radar , especially if you're living in downtown and maybe trying to get to your apartment this week.

S6: Comic cons in town. We've been hearing about it. If you live anywhere near downtown or work downtown , I'm sure you're seeing events go up , seeing people in the streets and Beth Accomando , the Kpbs arts reporter , she's been reporting a lot on all sorts of different interesting aspects of Comic Con , and she recently profiled someone in the legal community , Steven Chu. And it was just kind of interesting because it's kind of talking about , you know , his legal expertise becoming a federal magistrate , but also like how his passion for pop culture and for Star Trek and Transformers , how that kind of plays a role in his life. And he does , you know , all these kind of fun kind of legal panels involving pop culture , too. Yeah , it was just an interesting piece that just shows how important pop culture is in a lot of our lives here.

S1: Yeah , I thought it was super interesting because , you know , you might see people when you think of Comic-Con , you see all the costumes and everything like that , and you're like , you know , who are some of these people ? You know , Is it people that that they work in like the entertainment space or something like that ? But it just goes to show that there's a lot of real people that that like this sort of thing that like to go out there and have fun. And they relate to pop culture. And if you haven't seen the television story , it's up on our social media as well. I mean , it's just so visually great. I mean , you know , this guy's a federal magistrate. He's wearing , you know , the judge's robe and everything , and he goes in his office , hangs up the robe and then picks up. I think it's a Ghostbusters , whatever they use to suck them up. And it's just a really , well , well-told story and just kind of shows that , you know , everybody likes to like get a little bit of their con on. All right. Andrew Bracken here with the roundup. Thanks for being here. Thanks , Matt. That's going to do it for roundtable this week. If you have any thoughts on our show , leave us a voicemail. (619) 452-0228. You can also email us at Roundtable at pbs.org. If you missed any part of our show , be sure to check out the Kpbs Roundtable podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Kpbs Roundtable airs on Kpbs FM at noon on Fridays and again on Sunday at 6 a.m.. Roundtable is produced by Andrew Bracken. Rebecca Chacon and him are splitting our technical director duties this week. And I'm your host , Matt Hoffman. Thanks so much for being here with us. Have a great weekend.