Roundtable: Journalists killed in Tijuana

Speaker 1: (00:01)

They work to find the truth. And now they're dead. Local journalists unite after their colleagues in Mexico are targeted hundreds of city jobs can't be filled. How is this affecting the services that San Diegos rely on and taxpayers versus the NFL? The case that demands payback for losing the chargers. I Matt Hoffman, and this is K PBS round table. Even under the best of circumstances. Working as a reporter in Tijuana is a tough beat, but over the past few weeks, we've been reminded of just how dangerous it can. Sunday night brought news that another reporter Lordes mal Lopez was murdered outside of her home. Here's some of our K PBS coverage from reporter kitty Alvarado.

Speaker 2: (00:57)

This is journalist Lu mal in 2019 pleading with Mexican president Andre Lopez for help because she feared for her life on Sunday. She was gunned down, outside her home in Tijuana. She's the second well known reporter murdered in the border city in less than a week. Marto Martinez was shot and killed outside of his Tijuana home on January 17.

Speaker 3: (01:22)

I really want to say to you that my, my country, my city is safe for everyone, but it isn't true. No more.

Speaker 2: (01:37)

Alina Corpus has been a border region journalist for over 20 years. Mal, Nado and Martinez were her friends she's devastated over their deaths. She says, reporters in the region are feeling very vulnerable.

Speaker 3: (01:50)

I feel ly hopeless and later what happened was shot. So no, no, we don't feel safe in Tijuana.

Speaker 1: (02:03)

Nearly 150 journalists have died in similar violence since 2000. That makes Tijuana one of the most dangerous cities in the world for the press. Our guest today is Andrea Lopez via Fonda from voice of San Diego. She also leads the local chapter of the national association of Hispanic journalists. They offer a place for networking and community building on both sides of the border and welcome to round table, Andrea. Hi Matt. Thanks for having me. Of course. So we know San Diego is home to several professional organizations for journalists and NA H J specifically includes those who also work in Tijuana as the chapter president is their particular message that you're hearing from members as they sort of reflect on what's going on here. Well, we're hearing

Speaker 4: (02:44)

Lot of people are obviously, you know, heartbroken, so many people were, were close to, and, and I think there is obviously a lot of fear, right? Because of what's happened. You know, people are obviously afraid. There's also a lot of frustration about the systems in place that offer journalist protections, but obviously are not working well. And I think there's also a deep, desired kind of, um, empowerment to, to say, you know, enough is enough. We demand justice and we're not gonna back away from this

Speaker 1: (03:18)

Fight. The reporters killed in recent weeks are Jose Luis, Gabo, Marto, Martinez Escobel and Lords Maldonado Lopez. Uh, Andrea, how were they known and regarded within this community of cross border journalists?

Speaker 4: (03:31)

You know, unfortunately, I, I didn't have, you know, the, the benefit or I wasn't lucky enough to know any of them, but from what I've seen and her from some of our members who did work with them closely, I mean, it's just, it's incredibly sad. Mato was a photo journalist and he often documented crime in the city of Tijuana. You know, he, he not only worked with news organizations in Tijuana, but he also worked as a fixer for the San Diego union Tribune, the BBC and the LA. So he was someone that a lot of people knew and he touched a lot of lives, uh, Lu. This was also remembered, um, by so many people, I was, you know, just seeing tweets of, of people who knew her, who were describing her as a brave and dedicated journalist. You know, you played that clip earlier of her, you know, saying what she was dealing with. And, you know, she, she was kind of a, a voice during one of Matos of vigils, you know, demanding justice. So she was definitely a, a very strong person

Speaker 1: (04:29)

In the coverage this week. We saw that video from 2019 when Laura Small Nado Lopez spoke to Mexico's president directly, it was during a news conference. And she told him that she feared for her life. What can journalists do to defend or protect themselves without stopping their work altogether?

Speaker 4: (04:44)

Yeah, I mean, and, and that's a great question. And I think that's a question that so many journalists and, uh, you know, organizations that kind of look to these kinds of issues are really just grappling with and pushing back against, because both cases here, here in Tiana, obviously they they're under investigation, but I think it's clear, especially in Lu this case that she had made it clear that she felt her life was in danger, you know, enough where she was telling the Mexican president, you know, what she was dealing with. She was enrolled in a system that's meant to protect journalists like her who had been threatened, threatened, or have a fear for their life. And, you know, and, and this still happened to her. So I think right now, just, there's a lot of questions about these systems in place. And obviously that their people are feeling who that they're not effective, right? They're not protecting journalists.

Speaker 1: (05:34)

Yeah. She definitely appealed to the highest power. You can go. I'm talking with Andrea Lopez via Fonda from the national association of Hispanic journalists in San Diego and Tijuana, and Andrea, there's been a series of protests and demonstration since these killings, what, what have we seen in recent days there? And what's their message been?

Speaker 4: (05:51)

It's been incredible to see so many journalists from I mostly Mexico, right there, there are so many protests and vigils. And like I said, we're, we're seeing journalists kind of rising up and saying enough is enough. And this is not something new for journalists in Mexico. I mean, Djuana and other parts of Mexico kind of experience these points in, in history where, where they witness more violence or more threats. So the, this isn't something new for them. But I think that what we're really seeing is, you know, journalists demanding accountability, I think often when individuals who are responsible for these crimes are caught, they're, you know, held somewhat accountable, but not, not significantly in a way that that makes a difference. And yeah, people people's lives are at risk right now.

Speaker 1: (06:37)

So you mentioned that a lot of these demonstrations are happening on the other side of the border, but this Friday night, there's a vigil that's gonna be held here in San Diego. How can people participate in what's sort of going on there? Yeah.

Speaker 4: (06:47)

So our chapter is organizing a vigil in front, um, in little Italy in front of the Mexican consulate to honor the lives of these journalists. And so we'll be on, on Friday starting at 6:00 PM. Hopefully we'll have some journalists from Tijuana, join us and, you know, tell us a little bit about their colleagues. I mean, it's been so difficult just seeing, you know, people posting things on Twitter. I think one that really, you know, took me back was someone said, um, and, and I'll, I'll, I'll translate it, but, you know, he wrote, so, um, this journalist was saying this week, I've been afraid to go out and do my job, the job that I deal with every inch of my being. Right. And, and it's just so hard to, to hear that. Do

Speaker 1: (07:36)

You hear from some of your members that report a cross, the border that they get threats a lot or, or what sort of their experience been like reporting on the ground?

Speaker 4: (07:44)

Yeah, so not a lot. I mean, and this has always kind of been a, a dynamic for, uh, journalists in, in San Diego or American journalists in general, right. They don't face the, the same dangers that many journalists in Tijuana face on top of that. You know, there's a lot of protections in place just in general, the, the ability to, to leave the country. If you do feel your life is in danger. I mean, just having life, life insurance or health insurance, just, it it's, it's completely different, completely different experience. Um, yeah,

Speaker 1: (08:18)

We're definitely dealing with a lot right now, the cost of living keeps rising. The pandemic's ongoing, and now this flare up of targeted violence, how does this weigh on the mental health of those who do this kind of work and how important is it to have these opportunities to come together and, and talk about this?

Speaker 4: (08:34)

Yeah, I mean, it's super important. I think one thing our chapter, you know, has, has been really good at is building community. And not only that, but building a sense of, you know, that we're a family and we always say our N HJ from media, we're a family we're here for each other, you know, through the good times and the bad times. And, and like you said, Matt, I mean, this pandemic has, has been hard on reporters. I mean, a lot of reporters have covered, you know, really tough stories. And you know, now with everything going on, it's just, it's super important to get together, check in on each other, you know, EV even from the public hearing, nice comments about the value of journalism and our work can mean a lot can go long way. Have

Speaker 1: (09:15)

You gotten any assurances? I don't know whether it be your organization or some of the others that the Mexican government is gonna do something, uh, to try and stop this.

Speaker 4: (09:23)

We've seen some things here and there, but I think more than assurances, right? I think at this point it's gone on for so long that I think people wanna move past assurances and at actually see some sort of action. Uh, so that'll be interesting to, to see how government in Mexico kind of deals with, with everything.

Speaker 1: (09:44)

NA H J is just one resource here in our cross border region. Can you recommend any other organizations that have a focus on journalism and press freedom here?

Speaker 4: (09:52)

One specifically that comes to mind that would be a good resource to just kind of get to know is actually the, the Tiana group you'll see soy. They, they collect a lot of donations to help journalists and Tiana. So if you're interested in supporting them, that would be an organization here in San Diego. We have, uh, San Diego association of black journalists, Asian American journalists. And of course S PJ the society of professional journalists here in San Diego and others. So there, there's definitely a strong journalism community here in San Diego, and we all really support each other.

Speaker 1: (10:27)

Andrea Lopez via is the chapter president for the national association of Hispanic journalists in San Diego, anti Tijuana. She's also the managing editor for voice of Diego. Always good to have you here, Andrea, and thanks so much for your time.

Speaker 4: (10:40)

Thank you, Matt.

Speaker 1: (10:48)

A big part of what makes a city a community are the services that it provides. Librarians, trash collectors, maintenance teams, even lifeguards at a swimming pool. All of them are needed to build a safe and enriching place to live. But what happens when it becomes harder and harder to find people to do those jobs, the city of San Diego is going through it right now. Lisa Hal stat explains what's going on in one of her latest pieces for voice of San Diego. Welcome back to round table. Lisa, thanks for having me. Of course. So let's jump into this. You write that this city started this new new year short, about 1900 workers. What kind of positions are we talking about and is this impacting city business?

Speaker 5: (11:25)

So we're talking about lifeguards at city pools, as you said, city rec center and library workers, park, maintenance workers, workers in the city department that approves building permits, city engineers, trash truck drivers, lots of different city jobs with is the impact of this. While openings of city pools, a lack of lifeguards have met fewer pool hours. As KPBS has also reported the struggles to fill positions also mean park maintenance and library and rec center amenities might not be meeting residents expectations. So residents are also possibly noticing that some things are taking longer than they did pre pandemic as well.

Speaker 1: (12:01)

We've heard this phrase, uh, the great resignation to describe what's happening in the workforces, both public and private across the country. Is that part of what's going on here? Yes.

Speaker 5: (12:11)

What I heard from union lead and city officials is that some city employees have been retiring and some in some cases sooner than they might have otherwise. And also moving on to other jobs that pay better or offer better benefits than the city of San Diego.

Speaker 1: (12:25)

Well, we know that a big perk of a job in local government is a pension lease, but that was put on hold for new hires backed by a 2012 ballot measure. Can you explain what happened there and is that still contributing to this current problem?

Speaker 5: (12:36)

It absolutely is. So back in 2012 city voters approved proposition B, which halted pensions, as you said, a big park of a lot of government jobs, um, for new employees. So new hires were getting 401k retirement plans. Instead, this measure also capped the city payroll essentially for five years. So city employees were not getting across the board annual raises, which all of us workers know are a big deal on something that we want. So a court ruling invalidated proposition B and the city's been trying to figure out, uh, what to do next. It did start offering pensions to new city workers in July. It's still working out exactly how to credit city employees who had started appropriately, but say that, you know, they started at the city of San Diego, not receiving pensions and how to make sure that they are kind of made whole in terms of their retirement

Speaker 1: (13:33)

Savings. I'm talking, came with reporter Lisa Habers stat from voice of San Diego and Lisa, even if the city could offer more competitive pay here, many applicants don't wanna wait months to be hired. How long does it typically take to fill a position at the city and what stands in the way of that process going faster? Well, the city

Speaker 5: (13:49)

Told me it took an average of 114 days to bring on a new employee last fiscal year, which is a long time to be waiting. That clock starts essentially when a department requests to fill a position and ends when that new worker starts. Apparently the timeline had been 98 days before the pandemic, which still isn't great, obviously for any of us, who've ever applied for a job and are wondering, am I gonna get it or not for and waiting for that call right now, the city has a lot of required, bureaucratic steps. It has to take before it proceeds. Hence these really long timelines, the city departments have to do a formal requisition when they wanna hire a new employee, then they post a job and then they put together what they determined to be an eligible list. If that list is already ready to go, then that needs to just be certified. But shorter version is they've got a lot of bureaucratic steps to follow that other employers don't. And that can mean that the city loses out on potential employees who get a call back from another employer before they hear back from the city.

Speaker 1: (14:52)

And as everyone knows, housing in San Diego has always been a bit more expensive compared to other cities, but it's really been escalating over the past year or so. Lisa, how much do people need to earn to afford actually living in the city? And how does that compare to what some of these jobs are actually paying?

Speaker 5: (15:06)

So the university of Washington has a project where they calculate what folks need to make in different parts of the country to make ends meet without public assistance. And in San Diego county last year, that figure came to at least $18 and 43 cents an hour, or just under $39,000 a year for full-time jobs and a single person. We all know that required wages certainly would be higher for people with children and others just support. Not all city jobs are paying those rates or are paying pretty close to them. In some cases, I think a really good example is ground maintenance workers. Those are folks that do basic maintenance work in city parks. They got a raise this year, but they're making roughly 37,000 between 37,040 $4,000 now. And a union leader told me that some ground maintenance workers are working second jobs to make ends meet.

Speaker 1: (15:57)

And Lisa, the city is trying to be competitive here though, right? I mean, in some sense, what, what are some of the new steps that they're taking? Not only to try to retain current employees, but also to attract new

Speaker 5: (16:06)

Ones. They are definitely trying to take steps to make jobs more attractive. Mayor Todd Gloria's first, bud Judi mayor included raises for city workers per their labor deals. Most city workers got a pay raise this fiscal year and another next year that it will amount to about a 10% raise Gloria and the city council also just backed a new city compensation philosophy that the city council approved this week to try to guide the city, to pay wages that at least match some median salaries, um, offered by other competing governments and to provide cost of living increases. The city has also taken some specific steps to try to make certain jobs more attractive. For example, they did give raises to SP extra raises to ground maintenance workers. They did a special pay adjustment for city lifeguards and they also have approved sign-on bonuses for new trash truck drivers, but they've got a lot of work

Speaker 1: (16:58)

To do you spoke with the union representative for this story? Is there anything that stands out to you from that conversation? I mean, are they saying that they're happy about how this administration is handling all this?

Speaker 5: (17:08)

So union leaders, I spoke to certainly said that they appreciate the renewed interest in the topic and the fact that this is now an agenda item for a lot of city leaders, they're really recognizing that the city needs to work on hiring and retention, but they also really emphasize just how much of a hole the city is in here. They say that these challenges that the city faces, uh, with hiring and retention are years in the make. And now they're exacerbated by the job trends that we've all seen during the pandemic.

Speaker 1: (17:39)

Okay. So we know that these jobs are out there. If people are interested in working for the city, what's the best way they can find out some more information. So

Speaker 5: (17:46)

I would recommend checking out the city's website, which is San diego.gov, San Diego spelled out. And you should be able to find a little icon or button somewhere on the homepage, advertising the city's open

Speaker 1: (17:58)

Jobs. Lisa Hals stat covers local government for voice of San Diego. Always good to have you here. Thanks so much for your time, Lisa, thank you

Speaker 5: (18:05)

So much for having me

Speaker 6: (18:14)

San Diego didn't lose the chargers. The chargers just lost San Diego. They're losing out on our strong marketplace. They're losing out on our unmatched quality of life. And probably most importantly, they're losing out on 56 years of dedication of loyalty

Speaker 1: (18:33)

Of family for San Diego charger fans. That moment still stings. It's been five years since the team bailed on our city to move north and eventually play their games at SoFi stadium up in Inglewood, that same building will host the NFC championship game this weekend. And then the Sioux super bowl football is back in the news this week. Not because of that, but because a former city attorney who is no stranger to lawsuits is now suing the NFL. He wants the kind of payday that the city of St. Louis recently gotten a case tied to the Rams departure. Let's check back in with former chargers, broadcaster Lee, Hacksaw Hamilton for his take on what's happening this week. And what's happening on the field this weekend.

Speaker 7: (19:12)

Hey Lee, nice to chat with you. The minute this story broke, my heart ate. You know, I spent 13 years as the voice of the chargers and I stood in front of their facility. The night they moved to Los Angeles and watched fans burn their gear and protest, uh, to this day. I don't think the community has ever given the NFL or Roger Goodell or the Spanish family for what happened to 56 years of loyalty in San Diego.

Speaker 1: (19:37)

And we know that some of the particulars of the lawsuit, you know, this it's alleging that the chargers and the NFL broke their own relocation policies, but that aside lead, do you see this going anywhere?

Speaker 7: (19:48)

It's going to be a challenge. It's gonna be a, a run uphill. I project immediately the national football league is going to attempt to throw all types of roadblocks in front of this. They will ask for a dismissal of the lawsuit. Uh, they will ask that the case maybe go to arbitration. And I think they will also ask for a possible change of venue to either Los Angeles or to San Jo valley, which kind of is the home of the Spanos family that owns the franchise. This will not be easy, but as we saw in the St Louis lawsuit, the judge threw six different motions. The NFL fired at them to try to stop the Rams lawsuit. The judge rejected all the motions and ordered the case to go forward. The settlement actually happened.

Speaker 1: (20:33)

Yeah. And lawyers are basically saying, Hey, look, the city of St. Louis, they got 700 million. We can do the same thing. But Lee, uh, the chargers situations, the same as the Rams in terms of relocation,

Speaker 7: (20:43)

There are some things that are similar stand Croy of the Rams and Dean Spano. So the chargers, the lease expired in their old stadiums, both stayed away from any negotiations with the respective cities, despite the fact St. Louis and San Diego put packages together to buy land and to fund construction, St. Louis had a $965 million stadium land proposal in front of Croy, never came to the table. San Diego onto Kevin Faulkner. The city and county had a $1.2 billion stadium package. Spanos never came to the table. Those are the similarities. There is one thing I want you to consider in the differences between what happened in St. Louis and what happened in San Diego go. And I think this is because Spanos and his lawyers predetermined. We're gonna put our own stadium ballot up for a vote. Tailgate park had no chance of surviving. I think they intentionally put tailgate park down next to Petco park up for a vote. And if it, they could go to the league and say, there we go. We showed you. We tried, they voted it down. We can move. I firmly believe that was an intangible part of the Spanos game plan to get to Los Angeles,

Speaker 1: (22:01)

San Diego, mayor, Todd, Gloria, and current city attorney Mara Elliot. They put out a statement, wishing Micah, Gary, the attorney here success in, in his lawsuit. They mentioned how costly it is to Sue an organization like the NFL. And they say, it's an uphill battle. Do you think it's a good strategy? Not to have the city formally involved? Like it was up in St. Louis.

Speaker 7: (22:19)

You've got to understand that this will be very complicated. I thought Kevin Faulkner should have attached San Diego to the St. Louis lawsuit because there were some similarities, but I will also tell you, there are some real differences here that we must pay attention to. Matt. One is, is the question just about the amount of money San Diego committed to the chargers over many, many years and never got anything really back in return. And then the owner walked away from the city. You know, there was a super bowl expansion, 78 million in a construction of all those extra seats. There was the ugliness of the ticket guarantee. 36 million San Diego had to eat there. 1.3 million practice facility, the city built for the chargers. Now there's a lot of sentiment that because these things were included in old is they should go forward to the next set of negotiations. And that's not the case. According to the legal people that I talked to, that the old leases expired and what happened in the past was in the past. I think that's the thing that's infuriated. Everybody in San Diego is the spans family. Never put a penny of their own money into the construction of the stadium. I'm

Speaker 1: (23:30)

Talking with former chargers, broadcaster, Lee, Hacksaw, Hamilton, and Lee in a couple of weeks. The super bowl is returning to Southern California. Where about 19 years from the last, when San Diego hosted it back in 2003. And one of the reasons people wanted a new stadium here is to host this event. And I'm curious, is it still the same windfall for cities that it's been in the past

Speaker 7: (23:51)

Super bowls, I think are tremendous for communities image. I think the number of people who come from out of town spend enormous amounts of money, be it hotel rooms, car rentals, restaurants, et cetera. So I think there is a windfall, but I will also tell you, the league owners make phenomenal amounts of money as a byproduct of the super bowl, whether it's at sofa, stadium or Tampa or Arizona, or in some other city. So you understand why San Diego needed a new stadium, wanted a new stadium to keep its franchise. And at the same time, somewhere down the, the road, get the benefit of another super bowl or two as part of the rotation did not happen.

Speaker 1: (24:31)

And finally, there's four teams that are left. Who do you see advancing beyond this weekend?

Speaker 7: (24:36)

Kansas city, Cincinnati, the Beng are the Cinderella team. I just think Kansas city's got way too minutes, too much. The fire power for Cincinnati to hold up. The only way the Bengals can be in this game is to make it a throwing game and to go down the field a lot and pick on Kansas city's defense on picking the chiefs to win 49ers Rams. These two coaches know each other. San Francisco has beaten the Rams six times in a row, but Rams are playing vibrant football. They have much more high octane offense in San Francisco has if San Francisco gets on top 49ers, have a chance to shorten the game. Well, that's

Speaker 1: (25:20)

A familiar voice for San Diego sports fans. You can follow hacksaws work at Lee Hacksaw, hamilton.com, including his daily best 15 column and Lee. Thanks so much for your time.

Speaker 7: (25:31)

My pleasure. We'll see where the lawsuit goes. Nice to be with you.

Speaker 1: (25:34)

Thanks so much for tuning into this week's edition of K PBS Roundtable, and thank you to my guests. Andrea Lopez via FAA from the national association of Hispanic journalists, Lisa Halstadt from voice of San Diego and former chargers, broadcaster Lee, Hacksaw Hamilton. If you missed any part of our show, you can listen anytime on the K PBS round table podcast. I'm Matt Hoffman. Join us next week on round table.