Why Are There So Many Broken Trash Bins In San Diego? And More Local News

October 14, 2019 at 3:59 AM PDT

Speaker 1: 00:01 Speaker 2: 01:03 Speaker 3: 01:17 Speaker 2: 01:22 Speaker 3: 01:23 mad Speaker 2: 01:27 Speaker 4: 02:11 Speaker 2: 02:17 Speaker 4: 02:22 Speaker 2: 02:38 Speaker 1: 02:40 Speaker 2: 02:47 Speaker 5: 03:06 Speaker 2: 03:19 Speaker 5: 04:26 Speaker 2: 04:31 Speaker 1: 04:39 Speaker 6: 05:06 Speaker 1: 05:46 Speaker 7: 06:11 Speaker 2: 06:38 Speaker 7: 06:49 Speaker 1: 07:06 Speaker 2: 07:18 Speaker 1: 08:02 Speaker 8: 08:37 Speaker 7: 08:52 Speaker 9: 08:56 Speaker 1: 09:01 Speaker 10: 09:18 Speaker 11: 09:49 Speaker 10: 10:17 Speaker 1: 10:28 Speaker 9: 10:42 Speaker 12: 10:58 Speaker 9: 11:14 Speaker 1: 11:35 Speaker 9: 11:51 Speaker 13: 12:00 Speaker 9: 12:12 Speaker 1: 13:13 Speaker 9: 13:40 Speaker 14: 14:24 Speaker 15: 15:24 Speaker 14: 15:35 Speaker 15: 16:47 It's Monday, October 14th I'm Tom fudge, and you're listening to San Diego news matters from KPBS coming up. Lots of San Diego has had problems with their trash bins. When we said that we have video of the driver actually smashing it on the ground. They said, well, you know, that's just part and parcel with it. We'll hear about the city epidemic that is broken trash bins and what might be causing it that more San Diego news stories coming up. Thank you for joining us for San Diego news matters. I'm Tom fudge. As everyone knows, there's no such thing as a free lunch or in San Diego or free trash bin. While people who live in single family homes don't pay for trash pickup, they do pay in other ways. Residents' was paying $95 to get a replacement trash bin. If there's this broken and KPBS investigative reporter are clear, Traegers here found that broken bins happen a lot. It's shocking. It's not something that we [inaudible] that's so it's been kind of a frustrating situation. I don't love it. No, I mean, I wish you, I didn't have to, so yes, I do mind frustration. Anger was all part of the the emotional package you're going. Yeah. That's the last thing that you would expect to see when you come home as the lid for your trash cans of way up in the air. Why are these people [inaudible] because of their trash bins? All of them had been damaged by city of San Diego trucks and all were told they'd have to pay for replacement bins at $70 each plus $25 for delivery and they're not alone. The number of replacement bins ordered by residents has increased by 42% over the last 10 years, up to more than 17,000 bins last year. If you lined up all those bins end to end, they would stretch almost 10 miles. That's like from ocean beach to SDSU and in 2018 residents spent more than $1 million on replacement bins, but the city says not everyone has to pay. We have a policy and the policy is if we break it, we will take care of. We're responsible for that. Eating Carter district manager with the city's environmental collection services. The drivers will actually let us know, you know, that we keep, they made a mistake, you know, it was broken. We did it. Um, we dragged it, it fell over. Um, we're responsible for it. They relay that to their supervisor and then we actually in turn will give them another container. But this is not always the case. When we said that we have video of the driver actually smashing it on the ground, they said, well, you know, that's just part and parcel with it. When Rancho Penasquitos resident, Ramon Harris arrived home to a broken, been a few months ago, he checked his security camera and saw the culprit. A city trash truck had skewered can and shook it back and forth trying to break free. But when he took that evidence to the city, it didn't matter. We told them specifically, we do have video of your drivers doing it. And they said, yeah, the, yeah, the, the drivers, you know, they'll, they'll from time to time, um, cause some issues, but that's not our, our liability. KPBS asked the city how many damaged bins in the last year were replaced for free? And the answer came back just nine. But what is causing the broken bins to begin with? In 2009, the city switched to a new type of bin that is less flexible and more easy to break eating. Carter with the city says the reason they use the new bins is simple. They're cheaper, it's a bidding process. Another issue is the trash trucks. Carter says they have a set speed for picking up trash, 10 seconds going up 10 seconds. But KPBS observed most trash pickups happening faster than that, which means the gripping action on the cans might not be as gentle, potentially causing cracks. And as any physicists will tell you, increasing the speed of picking up and putting down the can also increases the force when the lid flips back and swings into the can. But not everyone has the money or the willingness to pay for a new bin, including Rancho pennis, ketose resident, Ramon Harris. We have just left it like this. Uh, we don't want to pay for Ben because we obviously didn't do the damage. He says if he can't get a free one, he'll just wait until his falls apart. Completely. Claire Trigere, sir KPBS news. Tomorrow we'll tell you about the history of why San Diego guns get free trash pick up and how it's contributed to damage bins. San Diego gas and Electric's as rate payers won't be burdened with nearly $400 million in outstanding costs because those losses were written off two years ago. The costs are linked to the 2007 wildfires. Kay PBS science and technology reporter Shalina. Chad Leilani explains the utility already paid out two point $4 billion to send a lawsuits for property losses. A large portion of that was covered by insurance, but nearly $400 million in legal fees and fire damage claims were left FTG. Annie went to state courts and the California public utility commission arguing the fires were out of its control and rate payers should have to foot the bill. The courts and regulators rejected the utilities argument and last Monday the U S Supreme court refused to hear the case. The utility says it's parent company Sempra energy already accounted for the leftover costs as a loss in 2017 Shelina Trelawney K KPBS news, a nine year old asylum seeker from El Salvador has been kept in a San Diego County border patrol station for the past 10 days and that violates a longstanding agreement limiting the time a minor can stay in border patrol. Custody lawyers for the girl say she has become dangerously ill and needs medical care. Gay BBS reporter max Riverland Adler has the story. According to him, court filings submitted on Saturday. The girl and her mother had been repeatedly sent back to Mexico as part of the remain in Mexico policy under which thousands of asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico to Wade out their asylum claims. But after a hearing on October 4th they were detained at a border patrol station and have since been unable to meet with their lawyers. Both mother and daughter have become sick at the station and have not received medical care. The court filing States. Erica Pinero is one of the attorneys for the nine year old. The most disturbing thing we're hearing is that people are frequently getting sick either with respiratory illness or stomach illness and they're not receiving any medical attention. While on CBP custody. A decades old precedent known as the Flores settlement agreement limits the amount of time that a miner can stay in CBP custody to 72 hours. The Trump administration is challenging the agreement in court. CVP says it could not comment on the case due to pending litigation. Max Waveland, Adler K PBS news after going out of business toys R us is making a comeback with the help of target. Sarah cat Sianis tells us about the relaunch of toys R us.com target is helping to relaunch the toys R us website just in time for the holiday shopping season. The site which was up and running last week, direct shoppers back to target to complete the purchase toys then can be delivered or picked up in target stores. SDSU marketing, lecturer and cofounder of bottom line marketing. Miro Kopech says that this partnership is helping to rebuild the toys R us brand in the end. This is a potentially a marriage of convenience. The winter really is targeted because they're going to be seen as helping toys R us in addition to its online presence. Toys R us as partner with the Silicon Valley tech company to open a few new stores. Shoppers go there to interact with the products and then are directed to the website. Sarah cutsie, Yannis KPBS news, retired Marine Raiders are watching the headlines as events unfold from Syria. Gay PBS military reporter Steve Walsh says they can sympathize with those who say the Kurds have been abandoned. Raiders from camp Pendleton are among the 50 or so special operations forces pulled from the region now under attack by Turkish forces. They had been providing training and air support for the Kurds. Brian Buckley is a retired Raider who works with the Marine Raider foundation and runs battle brothers, which works with Marines transitioning to civilian life. He says, Marines are watching the headlines. Do you start seeing land that you've helped these people work to take and they were building up their security forces and are getting ready to go and then you leave and perhaps something tragic might happen to them. You're human being, you're just going to feel terrible about that. Friday there were reports of an explosion near a U S operations base in Northern Syria, but no us troops were harmed. Steve Walsh KPBS news right out loud, kicked off its second PO Fest at the Adobe chapel in old town over the weekend, but KPBS PBS arts reporter Beth hock Amando says, you have two more weeks to catch this celebration of the McCobb works of writer Edgar Allen Poe right out loud has a mission to inspire, challenge and entertain by reading literature out loud. One writer who's works lend themselves to being read aloud is Edgar Allen Poe, his dark, often paranoid tails building tensity through the very sound of the words he chooses. Travis Rett Wilson fell in love with Poe's writing as a child when his father read them. The Raven Wilson will be one of the performers at this year's professed and here he reads the opening of that famous poem. Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weak and weary over many acquaints and curious volume of forgotten law, but I nodded, nearly napping. Suddenly they came a tapping as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. TIS some visitor [inaudible] tapping at my chamber door only this and nothing more. Wilson performs this Friday and Saturday at PO Fest. The readings take place at the candlelit Adobe chapel in old town for some added atmosphere. Beth like Amando KPBS news more than a million homes in California have rooftop solar panels soaking up the sun. But during last week's intentional power outages, very few help to keep the lights on. Cap public radios. Chris Nichols explains solar on most homes only works when the customer is connected to the power grid unless you have your own solar battery storage, which is less common. The reason the panel shut off. Safety. According to Audrey Lee of the national solar company, Sunrun, it's actually a requirement for our solar inverters that they do shut down. And that's because in an outage we wouldn't want, um, the power from the solar to flow back onto the grid. And if there was a utility employee working on that grid, that back flow power, could we be very dangerous for them. Solar battery storage systems cost several thousand dollars. In addition to your panels. Lee of Sunrun says she expects strong demand for those given California's recent and widespread outages. And starting next year, a new law requires solar panels on all new homes in the state. Chris Nichols, CAPP radio news Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs recently claimed his city is home to the second highest rent increases in the nation capital public radio's PolitiFact report or examined that along with the factors driving up rent in the central Valley city. One bedroom apartments in are now out of reach for restaurant cook, Darla Williams and many other longtime renters in this city. So I can't even get a place. Um, I have to roommate with people now, you know, um, it's hard. It. People say, well, if you go out and get a job, you know what I mean? I have two jobs. Mayor Michael Tubbs says he's aware of these hardships and recently claimed Stockton has the country second highest rent increases. His office says he relied on data from the rent search website, apartment guide, but this and similar websites aren't always reliable. UC Berkeley housing researcher Elizabeth Kneebone says Stockton's rent hikes were 19th in the nation, not second when looking at census data though those figures lag behind, there is no one perfect data source to truly understand how all rents are working in a place. As for what's driving the rapid rent hikes and Stockton Peter Ragsdale of the housing authority of the County of San Joaquin says locals are being priced out by former Bay area residents willing to pay more income limits in the city of stock and have been rented relatively stagnant. We decided not to place a formal rating on the mayor's claim given the limits on rental data in Sacramento. I'm Chris Nichols. San Diego state university is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Chicana and Chicano studies department this year. The department was among the first of its kind when it was created in 1969 KPBS round table host Mark sours spoke with associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, Roberto Hernandez and with one of the students in the departments early years are Touro Casarez. I felt that, you know, my N all the other students that we were, that were involved in this plan, uh, were not really part of the process. We were not recognized on, uh, the campuses throughout California. And we felt that we needed to, um, create the steps in the, um, implementation of Chicano studies programs, a our language United us, since we had faced so much discrimination and we felt that, uh, we wanted to be part of an inclusion that included our identity in classes that would be taught in Chicano studies. So it was time to get a voice and a place at the table. Right. And, and both of you, what kind of impact has the Chicano studies had on students? All we need to do is look up towards places like it, a Sacramento and see that, uh, whether it be a state legislature, teachers across the County or across the state, across the nation, local political, local, political leaders all have backgrounds in Chicano, Chicano studies. And, and I say that to emphasize that one of the things that uh, we do separate the actual content of history if you will, or content of knowledge is to also provide a space where where individuals are empowered and have a better sense of self. And you know, studies have shown that the more students are able to have a sense of self and see even themselves reflected in the curriculum in the teachers that that's going to improve their, uh, possibilities for success. Our tourism. That's when, that's the time that we started having the high school conferences that you go on the high school conference, which is still going on. And Roberto, there's been a debate over what ethnic studies curriculum should look like at the high school level. And critics say, uh, these programs are too exclusive. You think that criticism is valid? Ah, no. Actually on the contrary. Right. I think what we need to do is we need to look at the history of not only ethnic studies, but the history of the traditional disciplines in the university to see how ethnic studies emerged as the voices excluded from the traditional departments. Right. Whereas some of the critics that have argued that it's exclusive, you know, have reduced it to simply histories of different communities. That actually to me is rather offensive in that it doesn't recognize ethnic studies for what it has historically been, which is the inclusion of those voices that have been excluded. I would love to not have to be, I would love for our histories, our knowledge to actually be part and parcel of the entire curriculum, but until the entire traditional curriculum, which to this day remains exclusive until we're actually part of the canonical writings and different disciplines. There will still be a need for Chicano, Chicano studies, ethnic studies, Africana studies, women's studies. Yeah. LGBT studies. Right. This is why we exist. Because of that need. I've been speaking with Roberto Hernandez, associate professor of Chicano studies at San Diego state university, and our Touro Casarez, founding director of the nonprofit Barrio station, serving Latino youth in Barrio Logan. Thank you both very much on thinking of San Diego state as holding a series of events to celebrate the history of Chicano, Chicano studies department. We've got a link on our website, kpbs.org.

By KPBS Public Media

Ways To Subscribe

In San Diego, there is no such thing as free trash bins. Residents must pay $95 to get a replacement trash bin if theirs is broken and broken bins happen a lot. Plus, San Diego State University is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Chicano and Chicana Studies Department this year. Also on today’s podcast, Write Out Loud kicked off its second Poefest at the Adobe Chapel in Old Town over the weekend. But you have two more weeks to catch this celebration of the macabre works of writer Edgar Allan Poe. And, SDG&E says ratepayers won't have to worry about being burdened with nearly $400 million in outstanding costs linked to the 2007 wildfires because the losses were written off two years ago.