San Diego News Now

San Diego news; when you want it, where you want it. Get local stories on politics, education, health, environment, the border and more. New episodes are ready weekday mornings. Hosted by Debbie Cruz and produced by KPBS, San Diego and the Imperial County's NPR and PBS station.
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Vote counts from the election are still underway. In today’s podcast, we’ll be updating you on the unofficial results that came in late last night. Those results will continue to be updated over the coming days, but we won’t have the final certified results until next month.
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Former Navy contractor Leonard Francis is due in a San Diego courtroom today. He’ll be sentenced more than 11 years after his arrest rocked the Navy. In other news, local activists honor the memory of migrants who died trying to cross the southern border last year. Plus, we have details on San Diego Beer Week, which runs through Sunday.
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A new poll of likely California voters, shows presidential candidate Kamala Harris underperforming in a state where she and president Joe Biden won handily four years ago. In other news, in the South Bay, where many residents have close ties to immigrant communities, voting isn’t just about civic duty, it’s a chance to make their voices heard in a system they say often overlooks them. Plus, San Diego is holding a virtual open house to collect input on how to improve street safety.
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A bipartisan group of San Diego County politicos gathered earlier this week to denounce Republican Assembly candidate Carl DeMaio. In other news, we go over the sales tax measures in the North County that are on the ballot. Plus, the executive director of Susan G. Komen San Diego joins the podcast to talk about breast cancer awareness and this weekend’s More Than Pink Walk.
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The San Diego City Council is moving to ban software used by landlords to set rental prices. In other news, how pollsters survey people in this era of cell phones, texts and social media. Plus, one border artist is reimagining abandoned Baja buildings as lost souls.
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A major project is now underway to fix and expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. In other news, residents in National City are calling on the city council to block a fuel transfer station from being built nearby homes. Plus, this election season, Americans have been exposed to a surge of unfounded claims, and disinformation is only expected to intensify.
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The general election is one week away, KPBS reporters talk about the San Diego city attorney race and the sales tax measures on your ballot. And the Coast Guard relieved two senior leaders in San Diego due to a “loss of confidence” following an investigation. Plus, Thursday is Halloween and indie theater Cinema Under the Stars is celebrating with an inaugural Halloween film fest.
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SB 9 allows homeowners to split their lots in two and sell off their excess land. After a slow start, the law is starting to produce results in San Diego. And, San Diego launched an online dashboard this week that aims to increase transparency and accountability around its climate action goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Plus, Balboa Park’s Japanese Friendship Garden has a new exhibition that’s perfect for Halloween.
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Shifting soil has plagued the coastal rail line between San Diego and Orange counties the past few years, often causing monthslong shutdowns. Now the project to fix the rail is getting a $125 million financial boost from the state. And last week, the Pentagon upgraded discharge codes for hundreds of LGBTQ+ veterans. The problem is it only applied to those forced out under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, leaving out the thousands separated before that became policy. Plus, a new documentary focuses on efforts to get Iraqi refugees living in El Cajon counted in the 2020 U.S. Census.
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Work is now underway at the Oceanside Pier to remove debris from a fire earlier this year. In other news, by the end of 2024, the city of San Diego is expected to lose more than 600 shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wants to address that by expanding the city’s safe sleeping site program. Plus, we hear from Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs about the upcoming election.
Debbie Cruz is the local anchor for All Things Considered and the host of the San Diego News Now podcast. Debbie has over 20 years of experience in the news industry. She joined KPBS in 2020.