Families Still Fighting Over Trump
New restrictions on indoor dining and a 10pm curfew have put local restaurant owners in a difficult place. With no more federal assistance on the horizon, restauraunteurs like Ike Gazaryan have seen their financial reserves dwindle. He says the federal government's two loan programs have almost run out for him. "WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO USE THAT MONEY, THE PPP MONEY AND THE SBA MONEY TO KEEP OUR EMPLOYEES EMPLOYED. AND KEEP THEM OFF UNEMPLOYMENT. I HAVE MAYBE $10,000 OF THAT MONEY LEFT." He's hoping that more people relying on delivery during this new lockdown will help drive business to his City Heights restaurant.. And that more government support for small businesses is on the way soon. Meanwhile, a San Diego Superior court judge is expected to rule today on a case brought by San Diego businesses -- they’re asking for a temporary restraining order on the California’s purple tier covid-19 restrictions – specifically those that shuttered indoor business operations. They allege San Diego county's rise in coronavirus cases is not a result of exposures at restaurants, gyms and other types of businesses that are being shuttered. And just a reminder with Thanksgiving approaching, the Centers for Disease control has advised against traveling for the holiday. "Celebrating virtually or with the people you live with is the safest choice this Thanksgiving," is the CDC’s recommendation. It’s Monday, November 23rd. This is San Diego News Matters from KPBS News...a daily morning news podcast powered by everyone in the KPBS Newsroom. I’m Anica Colbert. Stay with me for more of the local news you need to start your day. A COVID-19 vaccine could arrive sooner than expected. But the pandemic will have a long lasting impact on the City of San Diego’s budget. KPBS's Devin Whatley reports. The COVID-19 pandemic has created hardships for many people, and it has also dealt a massive blow to San Diego's budget. City Finance Officials released a five year financial outlook last week, showing that over the next three years, budget deficits are expected as the coronavirus has seriously diminished tax revenues. An 86 million dollar budget deficit is projected for next fiscal year, with $75 million and 59 million dollar shortfalls in the two years following. KPBS business commentator Miro Copic is co-founder of Bottom Line Marketing. "How the city's going to pay down the deficit? They're going to look at their reserve fund. So they put money into the reserve fund for real crises and this is one. They're going to be pulling that out over the next couple years." As if falling tax revenues weren't enough, the city's employee pension fund is 24 million dollars short of projections, and that will also have to come out of reserves. Copic also said if San Diego gets another infusion of money from the CARES Act, it would provide a huge relief for the budget...allowing the city to avoid cutting staff and funds to social services. SOQ. Devin Whatley, KPBS News. San Diego's cannabis industry is hoping to form a city-sanctioned business improvement district. KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it would be the first of its kind in California. AB: The district would be similar to the city's Tourism Marketing District, which collects a portion of hotel revenues to promote San Diego as a tourist destination. The cannabis business improvement district, or CBID, would use funds collected from legal retail outlets to try and stamp out the black market, which is unregulated and untaxed. Rocky Goyal is owner of the Apothekare dispensary. RG: You know one of the goals of our BID would be to bring general awareness to people, educate consumers — hey, guys, there is an actual legal marketplace and that's where you want to buy from. AB: A City Council committee gave unanimous approval to the proposal on Friday. It still needs support from the full council, mayor and a majority of cannabis retail outlets. Andrew Bowen, KBPS news. The first non profit breast milk bank to serve families in need has launched in San Diego. KPBS reporter Tania Thorne tells us more. Baby formula can cause a fatal bowel disease in sick and premature infants. That's why UC San Diego Health has launched the first non profit milk bank in San Diego. It's one of only 30 in North America. Dr. Lisa Stellwagen, the executive director of the milk bank will be running the program out of the San Diego Blood Bank. "The milk though is going to feed these tiny fragile babies so we have to be really careful that the milk is safe as it can be." Before moms can donate milk they must pass a detailed screening. The donated milk is then tested and pasteurized to eliminate any viruses. The opening of the milk bank creates a lifeline for sick or premature infants. Their goal is to target underserved communities throughout San Diego. TT, KPBS News. With California's 800-miles of coastline, there's a lot at risk as temperatures warm and seas rise. A NASA satellite launch that happened on Saturday aims to help communities better understand how to adapt to rising seas. CapRadio's Ezra David Romero reports. The Sentinel-6 satellite will be able to track sea level rise within centimeters. The goal of the mission is to unfold how much the seas will rise over the next decade. Ice melt has caused oceans to rise about 8 inches since 1880 and by the end of the century could rise four feet. Ben Hamlington is with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He says to know how sea level rise will impact the state will take a global understanding. "We know sea level is going up off the coast of California. Scientifically, the coast of California is a really interesting scientific problem because there are a number of processes at play. And really, you have to bring so many different observations to bear to try to understand sea level here." Hamlington says the satellite's accuracy will allow for insights into how rising seas may directly impact communities and businesses. In Sacramento, I'm Ezra David Romero Coming up on the podcast... As Donald Trump's presidency comes to a close, family rifts -- over his character and policies -- remain. "We can't talk. We can't even hang out together. It's too incendiary. It's like a tinderbox ready to go off." That story next after this break. The pandemic won't be the only reason for empty seats around the Thanksgiving table this month. With President Donald Trump still refusing to concede the election, many families remain fractured. KPBS's Amita Sharma reports on how some San Diegians are coping as Trump's tenure draws to a close. All it took was talk of the recent rise in covid-19 cases for Jonathan Hansen and his brother-in-law to get into a dust-up. The brother-in-law defended President Trump's pandemic response. Hansen disagreed. [Notes:00:33:34.900] "He started raising his voice, I raised my voice. I said a curse word." All in front of their kids...Hansen says he reached for his shoes to leave when his brother-in-law…. [Notes:00:34:04.330] …."got the shoes, chucked them out the door, and then just kind of pushed, like, open handed, punch out, just punched me out." Hansen says his sister then appeared and hit him too. He called police. [Notes:00:35:36.900] ".... I was in shock and this is my sister, who I love dearly. It's my brother-in-law who I also love dearly." Family fights continue to erupt nationwide as siblings, parents and children and couples divide over Trump. Rifts have developed over the president's comments about immigrants, women and minorities, the sexual assault allegations against him, his administration's caging of migrant children and his handling of the pandemic and now his false voter fraud claims in the race he lost to President-elect Joe Biden this month. [Notes:00:00:51.640] "I regularly hear people sharing about the pain they have that they can't talk with their brother anymore." David Peters is a San Diego marriage and family therapist. [Notes:00:00:51.640] "Their parents won't talk with them anymore, the family just can't relax together. People are afraid. People are hurting. People feel shamed and bitterness is rising." Peters says science explains how emotions get so charged. [Notes:00:01:34.240] "Politics in the mind sits in the same space as religion. It's that deep because it has to do with which tribe I'm with." Hansen, a real estate contractor, says he's puzzled that his siblings and parents -- all Mormon -- have supported a president, whose conduct contradicts their religion. [Notes:00:36:08.510] "It's not what we were taught growing up... to love one another, to turn the other cheek, to be compassionate, empathetic, to listen." He also wonders why his mom, a nurse, has been reluctant to wear a mask. [Notes:00:39:08.360] "She'll go off on, `Oh, that's an overreach of the government.'" Hansen says the cognitive dissonance is unbearable. [Notes:00:40:58.540] "We can't talk. We can't even hang out together. It's too incendiary." Retired teacher and Trump supporter Diane Pearson says political arguments with her youngest child Benjamin Goodwin -- a senior at UC-Davis -- have cut deep. [Notes:00:38:27.680] ...."I was even moved to tears several times...because I was so sad that after several years of college that he seems to have so far become pretty close minded." Pearson says she likes Trump because he opposes abortion rights. She also favors his immigration policy. [Notes:00:19:16.330] I think that the wall is a good idea. As for Trump's disparaging tweets, she gets the criticism. [Notes:00:21:56.160] But at the same time, he's got a certain decisiveness and power in making decisions that I agree with." But Goodwin doesn't get what he says is his mother's unconditional backing of Trump. [Notes:00:08:36.410] and this isn't just my mom, I feel like this is most Trump supporters, no matter what, they will find a way to defend him." Goodwin is half white and half black. His mom is white. He believes Trump is a racist. He says race forms the crux of the gap with his mom. [Notes:00:03:37.520] "I see things kind of from both a black and white perspective. My mom can only really see things from a white person's point of view." Family therapist Peters says he counsels his clients to apologize for heated exchanges, refrain from talking politics and to not give up…. [Notes:00:36:17.050] "The worst thing you can do is cut off relationships with family members." Jonathan Hansen and his girlfriend Chrystal Coleman hope to mend fences with his siblings and parents. But she says they wrestle with telling them that everyone makes mistakes and that Trump supporters were misled by his lies. :23:13" And then the other part goes, how could you not realize? How could you not see it? How could you not hear it? Your silence was your consent if nothing else and how do we get past that?" What Hansen knows for sure is…. [Notes:00:44:27.390] " I miss sitting with my mom and being with my mom who loves me, you know who. Raised me, took care of me, having tea with her, having a nice meal with her, laughing, talking about her grandkids." Amita Sharma, KPBS News. Reporting from KPBS’ Amita Sharma. That’s it for the podcast today. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
