Coast Guard And Scripps Oceanography Partner On Technology And More Local News

Speaker 1: 00:00 It's Monday, January 27th I'm Deb Welsh and you're listening to San Diego news matters from KPBS coming up. The blue technology center takes script's research and gives it a practical application in coast guard patrols and how to get paid for doing what you love in the new 21st century economy called the passion economy. Speaker 2: 00:20 There's a process of checking with the marketplace and understanding how to match your passion to what others Speaker 1: 00:28 people want. That more coming up right after the break Speaker 3: 00:37 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 00:38 the Scripps institution of oceanography is partnering with the us coast guard to make sharing technology easier. KPV as reporter Prius Schreder explains, flag officers from the coast guard and oceanographers from Scripps celebrated the launch of the blue technology center of expertise. Friday two coast guard service members will work at the center full time to help identify technology that it can use in their missions. Vice Admiral Mike McAllister says, the coast guard can use some of the unmanned vehicles that Scripps has developed. Speaker 4: 01:09 We're using unmanned surface vehicles as an example, allows us to detect when legal or illegal activity is going on and to take our precious few assets and put them in the right places at the right time. Speaker 1: 01:22 McAllister says the coast guard can also use the technology in its search and rescue efforts. Prius history, either K PBS news, the Navy's collaborating with SANDAG to redevelop a big property. It controls into a transit hub for San Diego KPBS. As Sarah [inaudible] says, the land is right next to downtown and the airport San Diego official signed an agreement last week with the Navy to take the next steps and redeveloping the property. The Navy plans to transfer its 70 acre old town complex, commonly known as nav war two SANDAG developments at the site would include a central station for buses and trains and possibly a people mover or shuttle to the airport. Miro Kopech was San Diego state and bottom line marketing says that both the Navy and the city are benefiting from this project. Speaker 2: 02:09 They aligned in terms of public policy because the city of San Diego really needs a destination for bus and rail as well as this whole airport hub to get travelers efficiently to the airport. Speaker 1: 02:22 In exchange, the County will build a highly secure facility to house thousands of Naval cybersecurity employees. Sarah gets Yonnie's, KPBS news, Jewish family services of San Diego is about to open its fourth parking lot for homeless people. This one's in the North County. KPBS has Sally Hickson has the latest, the incinerator. City council voted last week to approve the overnight parking lot for homeless people. After hearing about 100 residents speak on the issue, some of them passionately opposed to it. JFS CEO Michael Hopkins said the safe parking program has his staff working directly with the participants with the understanding that the ultimate goal is to find housing for each individual. Speaker 5: 03:04 If there's somebody who just wants to live in their car, it's probably not the best program for them because as I mentioned, uh, we are really committed to getting people into housing. So we're looking for folks that want to get out of their cars, get back into a house. Speaker 1: 03:16 Hopkins said each lot has food on site, bathrooms and fulltime security. The first three JFS, homeless lots are in the city of San Diego and are funded by the city. This forethought is funded by a grant from the state. Anyone interested should contact Jewish family services. Sally Hickson KPBS news, the city of lemon groves been financially struggling for years. Now a group of residents believe the only way to keep the city of float is to raise the sales tax. KPBS has Meyer troubles. He lays out the arguments for and against measure. S the group behind vote yes for the lemon Grove sales tax wants to raise the sales tax from 7.75% to 8.5% they petitioned and gathered enough signatures to qualify for the March ballot. Speaker 6: 04:01 People believe in lemon Grove and they see their city under threat. Speaker 1: 04:05 Former lemon Grove Councilman George gastral says, the money will mostly pay for public safety as fire and Sheriff's contracts go up each year. Bud Gasol says the measure goes beyond just more sales tax. Yes. Speaker 6: 04:17 Also more effective collection of online sales. The technical people call it T UT transactions and use tax. We just call it sales tax because that's what normal people understand. But transactions and use techs captures a lot of the online sales that are currently not being captured. Speaker 7: 04:36 We're not saying we're against tax, we're not against, we're not trying to shut the city down, but a lifetime tax in this city is wrong. Speaker 1: 04:42 Mary England served on the lemon Grove city council for 12 years. She says the majority of the people who signed the petition weren't told the whole story. Speaker 7: 04:50 So the sales tax is proposed right now for life cradle to grave. We believe it's totally wrong. We think it's a lazy way to fix a problem. Speaker 1: 04:59 England says there are other ways to decrease the deficit, like working with businesses to make them more successful, possibly selling parcels of land. My a triple C K PBS news. You've been hearing a lot about the coronavirus, but the flus killed more than 30 people in San Diego. That includes a 34 year old woman who had underlying health conditions, but was vaccinated KPBS health reporter Taryn Minto explains what this says about the vaccine's effectiveness. The woman tested positive for influenza B. This season's flu vaccine does protect against flu B, but there are multiple versions of it, and the one in the vaccine isn't well-matched to what is making people sick. But San Diego counties, Dr. Eric McDonald says this shouldn't deter people from getting a flu shot. Speaker 5: 05:44 The main message people need to have is that a vaccination is the most effective single thing that you can do to protect yourself against the flu. But no, no vaccine, including the flu vaccine is a hundred percent effective. Says this season's vaccine Speaker 1: 05:58 is well matched to the flu. A strain H one N one which is becoming more prevalent in San Diego. Taryn mento KPBS news, the economy is changing, but what is it changing into? Adam Davidson with NPRs planet money is out with a new book called the passion economy is meant to be a user's guide to making it in the 21st century economy. Davidson told midday edition host Jade Heideman that you should follow your passion and it's less risky than ever before. Speaker 8: 06:27 We're going through a massive transformation from one sort of economy to a very, very different economy. Um, I think it's a huge shift on the level of going from agriculture to industry. And I think that, you know, much of that dislocation, like any massive dislocation is upsetting and scary and causes real pain. But I also think there's another story that's happening that alongside the pain and dislocation, there's real opportunity in this new economy. And um, and, and that, um, there are lots and lots of people who are thriving in new ways, special ways. And so I was excited to be able to tell some stories of people who I think give us inspiring lessons and try and make sense of, of what those lessons are. And can you tell us about one or two of those people you mentioned? Sure. I, one of my favorites is, um, this guy, uh, Lance Cheney, who's in the brush brush business. Speaker 8: 07:28 He, uh, makes brushes and a very familiar story. They started competing with um, folks from, uh, China, uh, Chinese manufacturers who were exporting similar brushes to the U S and they were about to go under. But Lance took a new approach, a passionate approach if I can, where he said, I'm done, make mass producing brushes and trying to sell as many as I can. And he scoured the world looking for brush innovations. He had a huge early success with a special brush for nuclear power plants and it cost him about 12 bucks to make the brush. He was able to sell them for $6,000. Um, because you know, nuclear power plant will pay anything for it. Safer brush. It's now a standard of care. It's being used all over that nuclear power plants all over the world. And Lance just keeps finding new solutions. And in each of these cases he happens to have a creative passion for thinking about how to make brushes that solve problems. Speaker 8: 08:34 You know, I'm curious like what happened that brought you to the realization that the economy of the 20th century had changed? And when did you realize that? You know, it's funny, I feel like I weirdly first started thinking about it when I was in Iraq. I was a reporter for public radio in, in Iraq. And I remember this shoe factory, which like most business and Iraq was government controlled. And I walked into the shoe factory shortly after the ground war ended and all the staff were just sitting in the lobby not working. And I asked why they weren't making shoes. And the general manager said, well, we're waiting for a fax from the ministry of industry. And um, and I had been to the ministry of industry. It was a hollowed out shell. The building had been destroyed and I knew there was no fax coming. And I remember thinking, wow, these people are stuck in an old economy that's gone and isn't coming back. Then I came back to the U S and started covering a lot of pain and dislocation here and eventually the financial crisis. And over time I was like, I think that's happening here, that we're waiting for a fax from the ministry of industry and it's not coming. Speaker 1: 09:53 Hmm. So, you know, if I'm listening to this interview and I have a passion that I'd love to turn into a business, what are some of the steps I should be taking to make that happen? Speaker 8: 10:03 Well, I, I think there's really two steps. Two parts of it. I mean, there is an inward looking, there's a process of figuring out what makes you uniquely you. So, um, over time I think a passion is something you develop. But then there's a process of also checking with the marketplace and understanding how to match your passion to what other people want. And that's the tricky one because you know, there's not a guarantee that whatever you're passionate about is going to be a business. Speaker 1: 10:35 That was Adam Davidson with NPRs planet money. He's author of the book the passion economy. Thanks for listening to San Diego news matters. If you like the show, do us a favor and tell your friends and families to subscribe. Thanks.