A virtual border wall
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, April TWENTY-FIRST.
We know about the physical wall at the U-S Mexico border. But did you know there's a virtual wall too?
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
An amendment to the contract San Diego has with its ambulance provider Falck will be discussed today (Friday) at the City Council’s public safety committee meeting. The amendment proposes that Falck subcontract with another ambulance provider to speed up response times. Falck has previously been fined by the city for not meeting response time goals.
San Diego Fire-Rescue officials have said there have been times when no paramedic ambulances are available for 911 calls.
The company has blamed this on staffing issues.
This weekend might be a good one to go to the beach.
That’s because warm weather is expected today and through the weekend.
Coastal communities will see temperatures in the high seventies today. While East county could get up to the high eighties and desert communities will see temps in the nighties.
It’ll start to cool down Sunday along the coast. Communities further inland will see lower temperatures on Monday and Tuesday.
A deer mouse near Boulevard tested positive for hantavirus, county officials said. Hantavirus can be deadly in humans. Catching the virus is rare, however. It can be contracted from exposure to rodent droppings and saliva. If you find rodents in your home, officials recommend cleaning with a sponge or mop that’s been soaked in disinfectant. Don’t vacuum or sweep droppings.
Prevent hantavirus exposure by sealing external holes in homes and getting rid of rodent infestations.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
Democrats and Republicans remain split over the construction of a physical border wall. But there is bipartisan consensus to build a virtual border wall.
Border reporter Gustavo Solis spoke with experts who say the virtual option isn’t necessarily more humane or effective.
The border wall has been at the center of America's immigration debate ever since Donald Trump made it the centerpiece of his 2016 presidential campaign. TRUMP 0:13 “We’re going to build a wall. It’s going to be built.” But the other border wall - a virtual wall - has received much less attention. It is a mass network of nearly 300 surveillance cameras, motion sensors and military-grade drones. All spread across the borderlands. They’re hard to find and aren’t always in places you’d expect. There are several cameras right next to the border in San Ysidro. But there are also surveillance towers in residential neighborhoods and public parks. There is one in a community college. And even one near the Del Mar dog beach - 32 miles north of the actual border. Until a month ago, the exact location of these towers was a mystery. The Department of Homeland Security had not publicly disclosed this information. MAASS 00:01:03:10 Dave Maass, Electronic Frontier Foundation “But nobody really had a good sense of where these towers were.” Dave Maass is the director of investigations at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He spent months mapping them out. The result is the most comprehensive map of surveillance infrastructure along the U.S./Mexico border. Maass says the scope of this technology raises serious privacy concerns. MAASS 00:01:44:20 “In the imagination of people in DC and people in the national media, the border is just this desert wasteland. And the only people you would ever encounter out in the border are human traffickers, cartels and smugglers. Now folks in San Diego know that’s not true. People live along the border.” And those people are in a constant state of surveillance. MAASS 00:02:58:20 “In San Diego area it’s very industrialized on the U.S. side but it is very populated with residential neighborhoods on the Mexican side. And these towers can sometimes see up to seven point five miles. That is a lot of people’s lives that they could pry into and CBP really hasn’t earned the trust of members of the community here.” Customs and Border Protection says these towers give agents in the field a significant leg up against criminal networks. They are an essential part of border security. And on this issue, there is agreement on both sides of the political aisle. In 2019, Democrats promoted virtual borders as a more humane alternative to former President Donald Trump’s border wall. Here is San Diego Congressman Scott Peters describing the virtual border. PETERS 2:19 “It might be sensors and radar to spot moving people and objects in any weather or any time of day. It might be cameras mounted to drones to surveil places where the terrain is tough to monitor.” Peters did not respond to an interview request for this story. Despite bipartisan support, experts say these towers result in more migrant deaths. And they do nothing to prevent the most common method of drug smuggling, which is simply driving through a legal border crossing. Sam Chambers is a researcher at the University of Arizona. He studies how border walls contribute to border crosser deaths. CHAMBERS 00:05:56:04 Sam Chambers, University of Arizona “People moving around out of sight of these towers means they are taking longer journeys.” And they put themselves at risk of multiple health issues like…CHAMBERS 00:06:21:06 “Kidney damage, dehydration, heat stroke are increase in this. So It’s making the journey more dangerous and at greater risk of dying.” Victor Clark-Alfaro has been researching human and drug smuggling along the border since the late 1980s. When it comes to drugs, the federal government’s own statistics show that most enter the U.S. through legal border crossings. Clark-Alfaro says putting up surveillance towers in remote parts of the border isn’t going to stop that. MATT 0095_01 00:05:17:00 / 01:57:59:17 “Sabemos que uno de los lugares que mas Drogas Cruzan es el Puerto de dentrada de San Ysidro a estados Unidos. Ahi las torres no funcionan absolutamente para nada.” Clark-Alfaro says it’s really just a numbers game. And the numbers are stacked against Customs and Border Protection – especially in San Ysidro. Somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 vehicles cross that port of entry every single day. And CBP agents only have capacity to send a fraction of them to secondary inspection. Clark-Alfaro says the volume is overwhelming. MATT 0096_01 00:00:39:17 / 02:08:29:29 “Lo que se significa es que 49,000 vehiculos van a cruzar sin ser revissados. O quiza un poquito menos. Pero el volumen es enorme y eso representa una puerta de oportunidades.” Maass wants the virtual map that the Electronic Frontier Foundation created to lead to more informed policymaking on border enforcement. MAASS 10:44:08 “Hopefully by putting this map out there people can evaluate and say hey I didn’t know this was going in near my house. I didn’t know this was going in near my ranch.” Or at least let people know who is watching them. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
California’s status as a safe haven for reproductive rights could be undermined today (Friday), depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on access to a commonly used abortion drug.
Investigative Reporter Amita Sharma says the pending decision has patients, doctors and state officials on edge.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used in half of all abortions in the United States, be suspended. The issue is now before the Supreme Court. The justices will decide whether access to the drug should stay as is, be somewhat restricted or banned. Former San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam emphasized, whichever stay the high court upholds, its ruling is temporary. [00:12:28.440] “They are not necessarily decisions on the merits of the case, although whether you grant a stay or you don't grant a stay could in effect be a decision on the merits for the time being.” Meanwhile, Northern California abortion care Dr. Christine Henneberg says the stay on the use of Mifepristone has created anxiety and uncertainty among healthcare providers and patients. [00:10:49.380] - “ Fear and confusion. What can I do? What can I not do? Am I going to be personally criminally prosecuted? Am I going to lose my license? Is someone going to come after me for traveling out of state to obtain this medication? Where is it legal? Where is it not legal? Where is it available?” The Supreme Court’s self-imposed deadline to rule is 11:59 p.m. tomorrow. Amita Sharma, KPBS News.
Money is coming to help get families online in San Diego.
The San Diego Housing Commission announced yesterday that it is getting a 2 hundred and 30 thousand dollar grant from the F-C-C.
The money will be spent on outreach, and to help people apply for the "Affordable Connectivity Program".
Geoffrey Starks is a commissioner for the F-C-C.
He said one benefit is a 30-dollar discount on monthly Internet bills.
"Which for many means that their internet connection is free. If you participate in any federal low-income program, including federal housing assistance, you are eligible."
Commissioner Stark says more than 400-thousand San Diego households qualify.
The program also helps pay for devices like tablets and laptops.
Coming up.... Celebrating Chicano Park, Mother Earth and Shakespeare’s birthday this weekend. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
Yesterday (Thursday) was “FOUR-TWENTY”.… For millions of cannabis users, it’s the unofficial day when marijuana is celebrated.
In Chula Vista, a new dispensary described as “upscale” just opened. Reporter John Carroll went to check it out.
The feel inside HerbN Joy… spelled herb h-e-r-b, the letter N Joy… is more like a fancy boutique or an Apple store. There’s a huge video screen on one wall, and scattered throughout the store are little glass domes with marijuana buds under little spotlights, with tablets around them from which you can order your weed. That’s the fun part. But co-owner Jeff Linden says the process of getting a license from the city of Chula Vista was long and competitive. He says he and his co-owners were initially given a license, but then another operator appealed the decision and the city sided with them. Linden says he then appealed that ruling…SOT 6287 - 9:43 - 9:47 “And that took a while, but in the end the city got it right.” Right for Linden because he ended up getting the license, but the whole process took more than two years. JC, KPBS News.
San Diego is celebrating Chicano Park Day and Shakespeare’s 4 hundred and 59th birthday, this weekend.Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon spoke with Arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans about those celebrations
That was arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans speaking with Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon.
You can find details on all these and more, or sign up for Julia's weekly arts newsletter, at KPBS dot ORG slash ARTS.
Earth Day is also this weekend. One way to celebrate Mother Earth, is to register for the annual Creek to Bay Cleanup.
Creek to Bay takes place on Saturday with various clean up sites throughout the county. Visit clean SD dot ORG to see a map of the areas.
It was founded in 2002 by I Love A Clean San Diego.
Organizers say it is one of the largest single-day environmental action events in the ounty.
That’s it for the podcast today. KPBSers Lara McCaffrey and Matt Hoffman produced the podcast this week, with the help of Sr Producer Brooke Ruth..
As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
