1 in 3 unsheltered San Diegans are 55 years or older
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s MONDAY, MAY FOURTH >>>> [ ONE IN THREE UNSHELTERED SAN DIEGANS ARE 55 AND OLDER]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
THERE IS NOW ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE A FEW DOLLARS ON YOUR S-D-G &E BILL.
S-D--G- AND E EXPANDED IT’S SUPER OFF-PEAK PRICING TO BE YEAR ROUND ON WEEKDAYS FROM 10 A-M THROUGH 2 P-M
PREVIOUSLY IT WAS EXCLUSIVE TO JUST MARCH AND APRIL
THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER FOR SDG&E SAYS THAT THE EXPANSION OF SUPER OFF-PEAK HOURS, GIVES PEOPLE MORE OPTIONS TO SAVE IN WAYS THAT WORK FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLDS
OVERNIGHT SUPER OFF-PEAK HOURS STILL REMAIN IN PLACE, BEGINNING AT
MIDNIGHT THROUGH 6 A-M AND ON WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 2 P-M
TO QUALIFY CUSTOMERS HAVE TO HAVE A TIME OF USE PRICING PLAN.
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THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW NOW, HAS SEEN A DECLINE IN THOSE EXPERIENCING UN-SHELTERED HOMELESSNESS
OTHER CITIES LIKE SANTEE, EL CAJON, ENCINITAS, LA MESA AND CHULA VISTA ALSO SAW A DECREASE IN THEIR NUMBER OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESS AS WELL
HOWEVER, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SHELTERED HOMELESSNESS INCREASED
THIS INFO COMES TO US FROM THE REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON HOMELESSNESS BY WAY OF THEIR ANNUAL POINT-IN-TIME COUNT
FIGURES COMING FROM THIS YEAR'S COUNT ALSO SHOW A DECLINE IN UNSHELTERED TRANSITIONAL-AGED YOUTH, UNSHELTERED VETERANS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN THEIR CARS
A PRESSING CONCERN FOR THE COUNTY IS AN INCREASE IN SENIORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
MORE ON THAT, LATER IN THE PODCAST
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MULTIPLE FIRE SERVICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE COUNTY WILL BE CONDUCTING PREPAREDNESS EXERCISES THIS WEEK
HEARTLAND FIRE AND RESCUE SAYS THE EXERCISE WILL TAKE PLACE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ON THE BARONA INDIAN RESERVATION.
ABOUT 750 FIREFIGHTERS WILL TAKE PART IN THE TRAINING
THE EXERCISES WILL INCLUDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, FIREFIGHTER SURVIVAL, STRUCTURE DEFENSE AND HOSE DEPLOYMENTS -- ALL UNDER SIMULATED EMERGENCY CONDITIONS OVER THE THREE-DAY SPAN.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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THE RESULTS OF THE ANNUAL CENSUS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS ARE OUT.
THE NEW DATA FROM THE REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON HOMELESSNESS SHOW ONE IN THREE UNSHELTERED SAN DIEGANS ARE NOW 55 AND OLDER.
MELINDA FORSTEY [FOR-stee] IS THE PRESIDENT AND C-E-O OF SERVING SENIORS. SHE SAYS MORE THAN HALF OF THEM ARE HOMELESS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
PITC2A [19s]
What we're seeing more and more every day is, often it’s just increased rents on a fixed income. So many of the seniors were serving, they've been in their homes for years. And unfortunately, you know, their $1,200 a month of income that they have is not keeping pace.
FORSTEY [FOR-stee] SAYS RENTAL SUBSIDIES AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION PROGRAMS CAN HELP KEEP SENIORS OUT OF HOMELESSNESS.
SHE SAYS BUILDING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS KEY TO SEEING LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS.
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THERE’S MORE BUDGET TROUBLE COMING FOR THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO. REVENUE FROM THE RECENT FEE FOR TRASH PICK UP IS FALLING SHORT AND COULD GO AWAY COMPLETELY. FOR THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF ‘WHY IT MATTERS,’ VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS.
TRASHFEE 1 (vosd) TRT (1:07) SOQ "why it matters"
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City of San Diego budget crunchers recently noticed something: More people had chosen smaller trash bins than they had estimated would.
That means they will pay a slightly smaller trash fee. And that means the city will collect about $9 million less next year than planned. It’s going to add to the city’s ongoing struggles with its structural deficit.
But the conservative Lincoln Club is collecting signatures needed to put a repeal of the entire trash fee on the ballot. They only need just more than 20,000 signatures, much easier than any other signature gathering effort.
That’s because the fee was imposed as part of California's regulation on fees, which allows them to be put on the ballot by citizens with signatures from just 5% of the city’s voters.
The city’s independent budget analyst told us the trash fee now makes up about the same amount of money needed to run the entire library system.
About half of city voters were already paying private companies for trash service. Those voters may not be motivated to support repealing the fee for their neighbors.
But the decision is almost certain to make the ballot and it will have major impacts if passed. For Voice of San Diego, I’m Scott Lewis, and that’s why it matters.
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CALIFORNIA IS LAUNCHING A YEARLONG EFFORT TO EXPLORE BUILDING A UNIVERSITY IN CHULA VISTA. SOUTH BAY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS A NEW STATE TASK FORCE MET FOR THE FIRST TIME FRIDAY MORNING.
CVUNI 1 (1:06) SOQ
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The atmosphere at Chula Vista City Hall was formal but celebratory. As the task force gathered for its inaugural meeting.
SOT
"This is a community-anchored effort, and we want to hear from and learn from and communicate how we're moving forward together."
Their assignment is to develop plans for a hybrid campus that hosts programs from multiple colleges and universities. It would be the first of its kind in California.
CARO3624_01 / 2:04
Now, we have to acknowledge several already providing services in South County, UCSD, San Diego State, San Marcos.
David Alvarez represents Chula Vista in the state assembly. He wrote the bill that created the task force. Alvarez says their goal is to bring these different university programs together into one place.
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They already have a presence in some way shape or form. We want to have a house for them through a university, an actual building, an actual campus.
Alvarez says the task force will look at what it would take to create this campus — how to build it, how to pay for it, and how it could be governed.
The task force is set to meet at least three more times between now and next year. It’s also planning to hold smaller meetings with the public.
Their final report is due in July 2027.
Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.
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FOR THE 250TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES THIS YEAR, KPBS IS LOOKING BACK ON SAN DIEGO’S OWN HISTORY.
IN PART TWO OF HIS REPORT ON MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, MILITARY REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS AFTER WORLD WAR TWO THE BASE COULD HAVE BEEN HOME TO A NEW AIRPORT.
MILHUBpt2 SOQ 3:51
San Diego historian Jim Newland says postwar sprawl makes it hard to imagine what the Miramar area looked like immediately after World War II.
JN: there really was no developed communities north of what today we would say is Mission Valley,
The Marine base at Miramar was in the sticks. With the war over and the former Camp Elliott units moved to Camp Pendleton, the base was closed.
Newland says that’s when there was talk of moving the airport to Miramar.
JN: It was still undeveloped area. And so that's sort of interesting, you know, in people trying to understand just how, you know, far out of town. It was right. It was still it was out there.
City leaders at the time didn’t think anyone would want to travel that far to go to the airport.
Col. Erik Herrmann is the commanding officer of M-C-A-S Miramar today. He’s thankful city leaders were somewhat short-sighted.
EH: they could have had this. And I'm glad that they didn't take us up on that,
The Marines did turn over some excess parts of Camp Elliott.
Tierra Santa and Mission Trails occupy lands once part of the camp.
San Diego’s postwar economy boomed. Aviation manufacturers employed thousands.
In Kearny Mesa, General Dynamics opened a massive plant called Convair Astronautics.
That’s where they began developing and building the first ever intercontinental ballistic missile– the Atlas. Newland says the government was pouring money into rockets.
JN: So it begins that whole, yknow, ‘hey we’re gonna spend all these millions on this. Oh, well that’s now, no, move on to the next thing,’ right? And so things like the test site for the Atlas, you know, they needed a place. And here was a remote part of this base that they could go, because a lot of it was very secretive, of course, because of the worries of the Soviet Union getting our technology.
That place was a remote area on the far eastern edge of the base. Most of the Sycamore Canyon Test Facility was built underground.
The rockets developed there didn’t only launch warheads — they were also part of the early Mercury space program.
In the 50s and 60s, THIS was the cutting edge of the arms and space race.
BITE FROM video: In 1955 …
The facility was abandoned more than 50 years ago.
And today it looks like something out of a zombie apocalypse videogame. All there is to see now are walls peppered with bullet holes, decades of graffiti and rattlesnakes.
By the early 70s,, Miramar was under the control of the Navy. Known as Fightertown, USA, it was home to the Navy’s elite air combat school, Top Gun.
At the end of the Cold War, the Defense department was downsizing its bases. All of them were on the chopping block — including Miramar.
JN: just about everything was on a consideration list is my understanding. And I think that's why there was such a a key fight
Instead, the Marines closed air stations Tustin and El Toro in Orange County moved to Miramar. The Navy moved its fighter wings to Lemoore in Central California.
Today, the base is home to the Third Marine Air Wing. Marine F-35s from the base deploy on San Diego’s aircraft carriers.
There’s 15 thousand acres of the base east of the 15. Herrmann says they’re special.
EH: Going 15 south down to San Diego, you see this expansive, massive unimproved land. you don't see houses, you don't see shopping centers. And it's it's kind of really special for us.
He says units from all over come to train at East Miramar.
EH: it's kind of best left, you know, unimproved to give that kind of sense of some ruggedness and, and really, prepare folks, for what they may see in a non built-up way.
Andrew Dyer, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
