Plans are underway to open shelters in San Diego that provide safe haven for people with addiction issues. These harm reduction model shelters are new for the city. Meanwhile, a leading local doctor thinks reinstating a mask mandate will help the county through this fourth wave of COVID-19. Plus, we look back at previous recall efforts in California ahead of September’s recall.

Kim Desmond, the City of San Diego’s first Chief Race and Equity Officer, began her new role this week. Meanwhile, twenty-three Cajon Valley School District students are stranded in Afghanistan and haven't been able to make it back to school. Plus, the recall campaign now aimed at Governor Gavin Newsom was fueled in part by parents who were angry with how he handled public school closures during the worst months of the pandemic.

Due to rising COVID-19 cases, Scripps Health is postponing some medical procedures to help healthcare workers manage. Meanwhile, San Diego State University started the fall semester Monday morning, with many students back on campus for the first time since the COVID shutdown. Plus, a dizzying selection of 46 candidates appear on the ballot in California's recall election. We have a closer look at four of them — three Republicans and one Democrat.

The bipartisan federal infrastructure package currently pending in Congress could lead to major improvements to San Diego's transportation system. Meanwhile, masks are required in schools across the state, and also in daycare centers for kids two and up. But at least one North County daycare center is letting parents make the choice whether to mask their kids. And, some Vietnam veterans say the Afghanistan withdrawal has triggered symptoms of post-traumatic stress, while others are voicing frustration and powerlessness.

The KPBS summer music series continues on San Diego News Now with this bonus episode featuring: latin jazz musician Bill Caballero

San Diego climate advocates rallied in City Heights Thursday to encourage federal officials to do more to support legislation that aims to control climate change. Meanwhile, continued droughts are forcing the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask water agencies to voluntarily conserve water. Plus, the annual Vista Viking Festival will be online once again this year.

Starting next month Americans will be able to get booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine. Local immunologists talk about why they’re recommended. Meanwhile, the largest solar power generating facility in San Diego County is being built right next to the small east county town of Jacumba Hot Springs. But Jacumba residents overwhelmingly oppose the facility. Plus, the VA is looking for ways to help veterans succeed in college.

Morning rush hour is significantly lighter than before the pandemic, but afternoons can get busy as people working from their homes seek to get out of the house. Meanwhile, the Ramona Unified School District is reversing course, for now, putting on hold a recently adopted policy that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of mask wearing despite state guidelines requiring it. Plus, as the Taliban cements its control over Afghanistan, experts warn that instability will continue to plague the region for the foreseeable future as terror groups could regroup in the war-torn country.

San Diego County leaders and public health officials now recommend that all employers in the county begin requiring COVID-19 vaccines for their employees or require weekly testing. Also, the disastrous American evacuation from Afghanistan after two decades - we have local reaction. Plus, a robot tracking sewage for COVID-19 outbreaks at UCSD.

Vista Unified School District’s board meeting got interrupted three times last Thursday when protestors refused to wear masks. The leader of the anti-mask group “Let Them Breathe” was kicked out of the meeting. Meanwhile, a week after the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released an edited video of a deputy supposedly overdosing on fentanyl…. the unedited body cam video was released, leaving unanswered questions. Plus, scholars from UC Berkeley are questioning the legality of the September recall election in California.