Supreme Court Allows Remain-in-Mexico To Remain On California Border And More Local news

March 12, 2020 at 2:45 AM PDT

Speaker 1: 00:00 Speaker 2: 00:19 Speaker 1: 00:23 Speaker 3: 00:36 Speaker 1: 00:36 Speaker 2: 00:52 Speaker 4: 01:32 Speaker 2: 01:44 Speaker 1: 01:46 Speaker 5: 01:59 Speaker 6: 02:26 Speaker 5: 02:37 Speaker 1: 02:46 Speaker 1: 03:49 Speaker 7: 05:07 Speaker 1: 05:21 Speaker 8: 06:02 Speaker 1: 06:12 Speaker 1: 07:10 Speaker 8: 08:15 Speaker 1: 08:22 Speaker 8: 08:52 Speaker 1: 08:56 Speaker 9: 09:23 Speaker 1: 09:28 Speaker 9: 09:43 Speaker 1: 09:50 Speaker 9: 09:59 Speaker 1: 10:03 Speaker 10: 10:24 Speaker 1: 10:27 Speaker 10: 10:34 Speaker 1: 10:38 Speaker 10: 11:14 It's Thursday, March 12th I'm Deb Welsh and you're listening to San Diego news matters from KPBS coming up. The remained in Mexico program will continue for the foreseeable future along the Southwest border and when wartime veterans or their spouses can no longer live independently, a government program can help. It's definitely a stressful time for them that you can hear it in their voices. You know that more coming up right after the break. [inaudible] [inaudible] the Supreme court stayed an appeals court ruling Wednesday, which means it will allow the remained in Mexico program to continue for the foreseeable future along the Southwest border. KPBS reporter max Roland Adler tells us what was behind this decision. The program also known as the migrant protection protocols was put on hold by the ninth circuit court of appeals last month. The court found the program was unlawful. Its ruling said the program was placing asylum seekers needlessly endanger the appeals court then asked the Supreme court to decide whether to reinstate the program in a paragraph long decision. The Supreme court did just that saying the program can continue. While the cases argued in court, that process could drag on well into next year. Luis Gonzales and attorney with Jewish family service has been providing legal services to those sent back to Mexico. He says it's another challenge for families trying to find safety in the United States. People are just confused. People are get to the point where like they don't fully understand what's going on and I think that limits their ability to be able to decide whether they're going to move forward with their case. Max Riverland, Adler,K , PBS news. San Diego's economy is already being hurt by concern over the impact of the coronavirus KPBS reporter Eric Anderson says, major and minor conventions are canceling San Diego events. San Diego's tourism economy employs 200,000 people and generates $11 billion worth of economic activity every year. But this week the American association for cancer research canceled its March convention and event that would have brought 23,000 people here. Experimental biology. The parking expo and American medical group association also canceled San Diego events, tourism authority chief Joe Terzi says it's a fluid situation. The biggest impacts right now that we know of are to the downtown core around the convention center because of the cancellations we've had on some of the major conventions that have decided that they can't come. Tourism officials say they're working with clients, considering canceling events to see if those events can be rescheduled or postponed. Eric Anderson, KPBS news, the 27th San Diego Latino film festival is set to launch tonight at wants to assure people that it is indeed happening and is doing its best to keep everyone safe and healthy. KPBS arts reporter Beth Huck Amando has this preview of what screening at the festival programming crowd pleasing films is easy, but what I admire about the San Diego Latino film festival is that they dare to do more than that. So in addition to delightful escape as fair screening on opening and closing nights, you can also find provocative new work from our Touro rip Steen and genre bending films. In one of the sidebars, [inaudible] Esparza is exhibitions manager. We just have such innovative and bold films premiering at the festival that are envelope pushing but also very accessible and it won't be until viewers are halfway through the movie that they'll realize how subversive what they are watching truly is. Let San Diego Latino film festival expand your horizons with a diverse selection of films from around the globe. Beth like Amando KPBS news as the Corona virus continues to spread. Officials from the county's regional task force on the homeless met Wednesday to come up with a preparedness plan. Should the virus spread in San Diego KPV as reporter Prius reader was their official say public health nurses will be visiting bridge shelters to help screen homeless people for the Corona virus County supervisor Nathan Fletcher says outreach teams will be handing out hygiene kits and information cards to homeless people throughout San Diego to help them better understand the symptoms. As a region we should expect and prepare ourselves that the situation will get worse before it gets better. They're also working to come up with potential government buildings, motels or tents they could use should they need quarantine sites for the homeless. Pre-history, either K PBS news on affordable housing bonded San Diego is one step closer to the November ballot. KPBS Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says, supporters argue it's necessary to reduce homelessness. The measure would ask voters to approve $900 million in bonds, paid back by an increase in property taxes to pay for new affordable housing. The city council's rules committee voted Wednesday to continue to work on the measure which Councilman Chris ward called a no brainer. We know that San Diego likes far behind almost all major cities in the per capita availability of supportive housing and so this is the kind of measure that actually gets us to be able to have the kind of housing that we do need. Measure C on last week's primary ballot would have provided some funding for homelessness services and affordable housing. But with vote counting ongoing, it appears to be falling short of the two thirds majority. It needed to pass. That could increase pressure on city officials to find another source of new funding to deal with the housing crisis. Andrew Bowen. KPBS news last September, universal pull the hunt from release amid a series of deadly shootings and right-wing criticism led in part by president Trump. But the film opens on lucky Friday the 13th and KPBS film critic haka, Mondo has this review the hunt roofs on the classic premise of the most dangerous game. She see that article every year. These liberal elites kidnapped a bunch of normal folks like us and haunt us for sport. I'm Craig Zobell, director of that truly purpose vocative indie film compliance. I was expecting more from the hunt. I was hoping for a Savage satire about our current divisive politics, but all I got was a comedy that tries so hard to not target any one side too severely that it ends up not really saying much about anything. The film delivers some funny gags in one liners, but nothing terribly clever and with no real purpose in mind. The fact that it got temporarily pulled from theaters might be its best marketing tool. Beth like Amando KPBS news. When wartime veterans or their spouses can no longer live independently. A government program can help them pay for nursing homes, assisted living and home health care. The VA's aid and attendance benefit can make a big difference for people struggling to afford longterm care. But the application process is often long and complicated. Stephanie Columbian, he reports for the American Homefront project. 95 year old army veteran. Bernie Papa lick is attending a birthday party at an assisted living facility near Baltimore for a fellow resident music plays a staff pass around cupcakes for me like chocolate or strawberry. Both public's been at this facility for three years. Staff help him with daily needs and engage him in group activities like these parties and his favorite happy hour. We have wonderful, I couldn't be traded better living here. Costs [inaudible] about $6,000 a month. He pays for it with social security retirement funds and as of January, 2019 about $1,900 in monthly payments from the VA. They helped me out. I know Papa looks proud. The VA is recognizing his servants in world war II, but securing that recognition took his son Jean nearly two years, had his nearby home. The younger population drops a box of paperwork on his dining room table. There's bank statements, documents about his dad's service health records and the letters to and from the VA. It's about 25 or 30 pounds all together as soon to be added to with another a PO Jean Papa lick applied for aid and attendance for his dad. In February, 2017 his father was legally blind, had a partial dementia and struggled to get around and his net worth was less than the maximum amount to get the benefit then about $80,000 but as of late last year, it's close to 130,000 after months of not hearing from the VA except for a request for his father's medical records from Germany in 1946 Papa lick found out he was rejected. Yeah, I just couldn't understand why he wasn't approved and appeal also failed. It was only when Papa like vented on an online forum where dozens of others sought help with the benefit that a user pointed out the problem. The family friend, lawyer who helped Papa lick with the application filled out the wrong form so Papa lick applied again and six months later his dad started receiving the pension public's trying to recoup some of the thousands of dollars in benefits his dad would have gotten had they applied correctly. Well, thank God I retired because this has been my job since then. Basically it's been a strain. Applications go through several people at the VA, each investigating different parts of the claim like financial assets and tell status, so it can be hard to clear up confusion about missing documents or wrong forms, fill it Moleys with the Maryland department of veterans affairs. The last thing you want to do is get into a letter writing contest from the VA because it just adds time. Moni says vets and their families often wait until they need help to start looking into benefits so they're not prepared for the paperwork and patients it takes to get them. It's definitely a stressful time for them that you can hear it in their voices. You know, only urges people to go through an accredited veterans service officer to make sure everything's right the first time. Those people don't work for the VA but can be found at state city or County veterans offices. Then they'll have someone in their corner to advocate for them. So vets like Bernie poplin can get the benefits they deserve as soon as possible. Hey, back at the party, the veterans sat near the fireplace and smiled. He'll celebrate his 96th birthday in may. Oh beg a tow hundred then maybe I'll get it off today's show. [inaudible] reaching that milestone will come with a lot more assisted living payments, but gene PopLock says the aid and attendance benefit relieves some of that stress so the family can enjoy their time with their dad. I'm Stephanie Calambini in Baltimore. This story was produced by the American Homefront project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans funding comes from the corporation for public broadcasting. Thanks for listening to San Diego news manners. If you're not already a subscriber, take a minute to become one. You can find San Diego news matters on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Asylum seekers to the U.S. will keep being sent to Mexico, despite the program being deemed illegal by the Court of Appeals. Plus, a nearly billion-dollar housing bond moves forward in San Diego. And San Diego homeless providers try to address the coronavirus.