San Diego Schools To Welcome Kids Back

Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new system to replace the state's COVID-19 watchlist friday. It's a four-tiered and color-coded….with purple meaning the most restrictions and yellow for least. "We don't put up green because we don't believe that there is a green light that says go back to the way things were, or back to a pre-pandemic mindset." San Diego County scored a red, meaning it still has "substantial restrictions." But ….red does meas San Diego's restaurants, gyms, salons and places of worship are cleared to reopen indoor operations to some extent today (monday). In California, 38 counties containing most of the state's population remain in the purple. Over a hundred protestors organized by East County Black Indigenous People of Color marched through downtown Santee on Saturday. The group issued ten demands. One was directed at? the Santee City Council itself, demanding that a city diversity committee be led by a person of color. Monica, who declined to give her last name, is one of the march organizers. "Bringing diversity to the community is really important. I grew up here, and growing up there wasn't really a lot of diversity of all. So as soon as I was able to live, I did. But now there are people who live here currently and I just want them to feel comfortable, I want them to feel empowered. " Protesters also asked for the mayor and city council to denounce a group known as Defend East County, which often shares racist images on Facebook. Online-only classes start Today (Monday) for the San Diego Unified School District. The district says it will offer in-person classes starting in late September for students who are struggling academically. The list of eligible students includes some with special needs and those experiencing learning loss. San Diego Unified school board vice president Richard Barrera talked to KPBS Midday Edition on Friday. "It's about...a little over ten percent of the students in our district, so it's about 12,000 students, all elementary school students...and these are the students who we believe are most in need of having in-person instruction." The in-person classes will take place by appointment only. Later in the podcast, we have more from KPBS’ Matt Hoffman on east county public schools re-opening for in-person learning. On a Monday, August 31st, it’s San Diego News Matters from KPBS News...a daily morning news podcast powered by all of the reporters, editors and producers in the KPBS Newsroom. I’m Anica Colbert. Stay with me for more of the local news you need to start your day. Many San Diego establishments are cleared to reopen indoor operations today (Monday) with some modifications. The changes come from state health officials, but there is still a chance the county could be more restrictive. KPBS Health Reporter Tarryn Mento has more on this story. The reopenings come amid the state's new system that's broken up into four color-coded tiers based on daily case rates and testing positivity in each county. In San Diego, the state now says salons can open fully. Restaurants, places of worship, movie theaters and museums are limited to 25% capacity. While gyms are limited to 10%. County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten held an unplanned news conference to confirm reopenings can happen Monday. But she says she's a little worried. We didn't have any participation in the information before it was posted so we will be looking if there is the need to be more restrictive, I just can't tell you what that will be today and right now.To move to a less restrictive tier, counties must wait a mandatory 21 days and meet the tier's metrics for two weeks. Tarryn Mento. KPBS News. It has been a deadly few months for members of the armed services in our region. The Army announced the names of two soldiers killed in a helicopter accident Thursday night on San Clemente Island. KPBS Military Reporter Steve Walsh has the details. Army Special Operations Command says 22 year old Sgt. Tyler Shelton of San Bernardino and 33 year old Staff Sgt. Vincent Marketta of Brick, New Jersey died Thursday evening. They were part of an Army Special Forces aviation unit which was training at San Clemente Island. The Night Stalkers are based out of Fort Campbell Kentucky. They are known for conducting night operations. Three others were injured in the crash and were taken to local hospitals. THE two soldiers who died will receive the Army's Meritorious Service Medal. San Clemente Island is the Navy's only live fire range. In July, 8 Marines and a Sailor died when their AAV sank just off the coast. The training areas are routinely used by all of the services. Steve Walsh KPBS News Three decisions were made this week by California leaders to reduce pollution and to curb climate change. CapRadio's Ezra David Romero reports. Ports, Energy and electric cars. The California Public Utilities Commission voted to require utilities to better account for the impact of climate change. The decision means utilities will have to develop internal climate change teams to assess climate vulnerability.The commission also voted in favor of an electric vehicle infrastructure program for Southern California Edison. It means planting 40,000 new charging stations across Southern California over four years. Lastly the California Air Resources Board voted to clean up pollution from idling ships at ports. Over the next decade ships will be required to unplug upon arrival or have a device that captions pollution. Plugging in one ship for a day and turning off its engines is like taking 33,000 cars off the roads for that day. In Sacramento, I'm Ezra David Romero. When the state shut down because of the coronavirus back in March and April, Southern California freeways were suddenly,... remarkably clear. Now, though the flow of traffic on freeways is crawling back, it remains around 15 to 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels. Gustavo Dallardo is in charge of CALTRANS. He says fewer cars means more repair work is happening. “right now for example we’re able to start some closures in the early afternoon and go way into the morning. Normally we may not start these closures until nine pm at night or ten o’clock at night and we have to reopen the area by four o’clock in the morning But, he says, there is a downside. Vehicles on the road are driving faster and they are not slowing down...even as more cars and trucks return. For many, not me, one of the joys of Election Day is walking to your neighborhood polling place and being greeted by a friendly senior citizen ready to hand you one of the beloved "I voted" stickers. But that tradition is one of a number of things changing this election, thanks to COVID 19. KPBS’ John Carroll reports. For years now, the vast majority of voters in San Diego County have returned their ballots by mail. But because of the pandemic, people who want to vote in person or who have to for some reason will not be going to the familiar neighborhood polling place. Registrar of Voters Michael Vu says there will be 235-satellite locations open from October 31st through election day, November 3rd. "With more voters out there, with more poll workers going to be located there, with more voting booths to ensure that there's a level of social distancing and the fact that these locations are going to be open for 4 times as long." Vu says a lot of the people that typically staff polling locations are staying away now because they tend to be older and more vulnerable to the virus. So, in order to attract younger folks who normally wouldn't volunteer, they will be paid positions this year. Check the Registrar's website, sd vote dot com for information. JC, KPBS News. San Diego County's 2019 annual crop report was released this week… and it shows agriculture contributed nearly two-billion dollars to the regional economy in 2019. In the state as a whole, Agriculture brings in 50-billion dollars of revenue a year, much of it coming from industrial-sized operations. But most farms in San Diego County are between one and 9-acres. So, how can farmers here stay in business? San Diego County Farm Bureau Executive Director Hannah Gbeh farmers have stayed nimble… adapting to change by constantly innovating. "They're shifting their crops to really high value crops. They're shifting their crops that don't require as much water, as much input and they're reaping those benefits." The 2020 crop report won't be as bountiful as this one, thanks to COVID. But even then, Gbeh says the County's farmers are continuing to innovate to blunt the impact of the virus. Every year, KPBS collaborates with the San Diego Public Library and other partners to present "One Book, One San Diego." It's a program that encourages everyone in the San Diego and Northern Baja region to read the same books. "One Book, One San Diego" has announced the sections for 2020. KPBS's Devin Whatley has more. After receiving over 400 nominations, the titles for "One Book, One San Diego" this year zero in on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. "They Called Us Enemy" is the story of actor George Takei. The book explores Takei's childhood in internment camps. He was one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. "One Book, One San Diego" will host a free virtual event featuring an interview with Takei on Sept. 22. Also, Takei and his co-creators will speak to San Diego students in the fall semester about the lessons of his story for the next generation. The selection for childrens' books was "Write to Me" by Cynthia Grady and illustrated by Amiko Hirao. It tells the story of captive Japanese-American kids who wrote to their beloved San Diego librarian Clara Breed. For more information on event details and to register for the virtual event with Takei, go to kpbs.org/onebook. Devin Whatley, KPBS News. Coming up on the podcast…... Parents, teachers and students are getting ready to resume in-person classes as early as tomorrow. The bottom line is that our system is not really designed to function this way so we're reworking all of our systems It's up to individual school districts to craft reopening plans that protect students, their families and staff. We'll hear from two east county school districts who are eyeing returns to the classroom. That’s up next after this break. Parents and teachers are getting ready to go back to school. County officials say with a case rate below state targets, all schools can reopen starting tomorrow (Tuesday). Many have already started the year online with distance learning.. KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman takes us inside two East County schools to show us what classes will look like during the pandemic-- ___________________________________________ PUBSCHOOLS 1 (3:50) If they arrive healthy, they're going to remain healthy and we're going to send them home healthy at the end of the day Blossom Valley Elementary Principal Kirk Hoeben says they've proven they can take care of kids safely, Nats of legos hosting a summer daycare program where no coronavirus cases were reported among staff or students. 02;18;03;22 Kirk Hoeben, Blossom Valley Elementary Principal At all grade levels from k-5th grade and had an amazing group of teachers who volunteered to try this out and we were able to bring kids back safely Blossom Valley in El Cajon is part of the Cajon Valley School District and plans to welcome kids back after Labor Day weekend. Inside classrooms desks are spaced apart and each have clear plastic dividers sitting on top of desks. Hoeben says they've learned a lot from summer daycare- The daily arrival and departure of kids I think was one of the greatest challenges because normally you're not having to pay attention to things like social distancing do kids have masks Blossom Valley will keep individual classes isolated from each other.. That way kids can still go out for activities like recess. I think the biggest eye opener…. We know schools are a social place, but I don't think we realized how important, how critical that social element is both for kids and family All this an effort to make the return to the classroom feel as normal as possible, while protecting kids and families from the virus. The majority of our school district wants to go back to school. Cajon Valley trustee Jim Miller says to make in person instruction possible, all students and staff will be required to wear face coverings, and temperature checks will also be conducted daily. The district with more than 15-thousand students has been doing classes virtually for about a week now with positive results-- Jim Miller, Cajon Valley Union School District Trustee Are there going to be hiccups? Absolutely there's hiccups everyday in every profession whether there's a pandemic or not. The question is how do you overcome them Just a few miles away in Lakeside at Lakeview Elementary preparations are also underway to welcome students back to campus. Andy Johnsen, lakeside union school district superintendent The bottom line is that our system is not really designed to function this way so we're reworking all of our systems-- Lakeside Union School District Superintendent Andy Johnsen says they're doing things a little differently. They're committing to at least four weeks of distance learning. Classes started online last week and like Cajon Valley officials are giving parents the option to return to in person learning near the end of September. Johnsen We felt it was very important to give parents a choice so those parents who want to stay in distanced learning all year long have that option To make in person classes a reality again in the district with 5,000 kids - students and staff in all grade levels will be required to wear face coverings and encouraged to wash their hands every hour to hour and a half. Restrooms will be cleaned hourly and classrooms nightly. Johnsen So our maintenance and operations team actually designed and built these handwashing stations The district is hoping outdoor sinks will promote frequent handwashing.. Schools have also been asked to remove high-touch areas. Johnsen Our water fountains are turned off and all the kids will have a bottle filling stations where kids can get their water Classrooms here don't feature the plastic dividers that Cajon Valley is implementing-- Johnsen Tables facing forward and spaced out Lakeside union will also being doing daily health screenings-- Johnsen We do have thermometers we've got these heat sensing thermometers for all our staff so we are going to do temperature checks everyday for our students and staff That applies to anyone coming into the office as well. If a student feels sick or is exhibiting symptoms of the virus, they will be isolated on campus. But what about possible closures? San Diego County office of education superintendent Paul Gothold says if five percent of students in class get the virus-- Paul Gothold, San Diego County Office of Education That classroom would automatically shut down for 14 days if you're talking about an individual school again five percent is the metric The school districts will communicate with parents if a student tests positive or there's an outbreak. Administrators are asking for patience during this uncertain time. Matt Hoffman, KPBS News. That was KPBS Report Matt Hoffman. Are you taking your kids back to school? Are you concerned? Send us a voicemail or leave us an email with your questions or concerns about this crazy, unprecedented back to school season. You can text us or leave a voicemail message at (619) 452-0228‬ or send an email to podcasts@kpbsmedia.org That’s it for our podcast today. Thanks for listening.