Advocate reacts to White House announcing an end to temporary protected status for Somalis living in U.S.
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s THURSDAY, JANUARY 15TH>>> {TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR SOMALIS IS ENDING.
WE SPOKE WITH SOME LOCAL ADVOCATES ABOUT IT }That, next. But first... the headlines…
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YESTERDAY, A FEDERAL THREE-JUDGE PANEL RULED TO ALLOW CALIFORNIA TO USE ITS NEW U-S HOUSE MAP IN THE UPCOMING
20-26 MIDTERMS
THE MAP WAS APPROVED BY VOTERS IN A SPECIAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER
THIS LATEST RULING FAVORS DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO FLIP UP TO FIVE SEATS IN THE HOUSE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE CHAMBER
REPUBLICANS ARE EXPECTED TO APPEAL THIS DECISION TO THE U-S SUPREME COURT
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THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS VOTED IN
TERRA-LAWSON REMER AS CHAIR FOR A SECOND TIME
IT WAS CONFIRMED IN A FOUR TO ZERO VOTE ON TUESDAY
BUT SUPERVISOR JOEL ANDERSON DID CALL ON THE BOARD TO GO BACK TO ITS PRE-PANDEMIC POLICY OF ONE-YEAR TERMS
ADDING THAT HE FEELS EVERY DISTRICT SUPERVISOR SHOULD GET A CHANCE AT LEADING THE BOARD
MONICA MONTGOMERY STEPPE WAS ALSO VOTED IN AS VICE-CHAIR ALONG WITH PALOMA AGUIRRE AS CHAIR PRO-TEM
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AMTRAK SERVICE BETWEEN L--A AND SAN DIEGO WILL BE RESTORED TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS LATER THIS MONTH...
A 13TH PACIFIC-SURFLINER ROUND TRIP GOING BETWEEN THE TWO SO-CAL CITIES WAS ANNOUNCED TUESDAY
THE ADDITIONAL ROUND TRIP WILL START ON THE 26TH
A ROUGHLY TWENTY-SEVEN MILLION DOLLAR GRANT MADE THIS POSSIBLE
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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ANXIETY IS GROWING IN SAN DIEGO’S SOMALI COMMUNITY, AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCED THE END OF TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR SOMALIS LIVING IN THE U-S.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL TALKED WITH LOCAL ADVOCATES ABOUT THE SHOCKWAVES FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
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SOMALITPS 1 :56 SOQ
“We are just appalled by this enforcement because this is about enforcing taking away legal measures for anybody to immigrate legally.”
TAHZEEN NIZAM IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE SAN DIEGO CHAPTER OF CAIR… THE COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS. SHE SAYS TUESDAY’S REVOCATION OF TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS - TPS - IS RACIST AND UNFAIR.
“The Somali community here is a big contributor factor of the social well-being of this community. The San Diego Somali-led organizations are doing amazing work.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS SAY SOMALIA IS NOT AS DANGEROUS AS IT WAS WHEN REFUGEES FROM THE COUNTRY WERE GRANTED T-P-S STATUS.
BUT THE STATE DEPARTMENT STILL LISTS IT AS “LEVEL FOUR” - WHICH IS THE HIGHEST “DO NOT TRAVEL” WARNING. JC, KPBS NEWS.
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ON TUESDAY NIGHT, CARLSBAD’S CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CITY’S EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION OVER EROSION CONCERNS ON AN OCEAN BLUFF.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN SAYS IT’S TO EXPEDITE REPAIRS TO A STORM DRAIN DAMAGED BY RECENT RAINS.
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CBADBLUFFS 1(AN) TRT: 0:50 SOQ
The stretch of bluffs overlooking South Carlsbad State Beach is popular with walkers, joggers and bikers.
The city says the recent rains damaged the integrity of the storm drain pipe there.
Beachgoer Anjali Hebel (AHN-gel-ee HEB-uhl) says she’s not surprised.
NATPOP 3958 17;13;55;15 → 17;13;58;01 “This whole coastline has been kinda wrecked recently.”
In a statement, Carlsbad City Manager Geoff (Jeff) Patnoe says …
GFX
“The safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority. Proclaiming a local emergency allows us to act quickly, coordinate resources and reduce potential risks.”
The city has already started the repairs.
But Hebel isn’t too convinced. She’s still concerned about the integrity of the bluff.
I don't know, it's such a busy walkway, you see, like a bunch of people, like, always walking this path. Like, if something were to happen, that would be really tragic.”
While work is underway, the city says people should be cautious in the area.
AN/KPBS
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NATHAN FLETCHER IS DIPPING HIS TOES BACK IN THE POLITICAL WORLD
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER SCOTT RODD SAYS THE FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS REGISTERED TO BE A STATEHOUSE LOBBYIST.
FLETCHERLOBBY (:57) SOC (SS)
Fletcher left public office in 2023 after former Metropolitan Transit System employee Grecia Figueroa filed a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him.
Fletcher denied the allegations. And a judge dismissed the case last August.
Since then, Fletcher filed to become a lobbyist for the nonprofit Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions. The organization advocates for psychedelic-assisted mental health therapies for veterans.
Longtime Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli says Fletcher’s background serving in combat and as a state lawmaker will be an asset for the nonprofit.
MICHELI [5:22]
“Having a former service member, a veteran himself, advocating for it, I think brings a lot of credibility. You know, sometimes the messenger is as important — or perhaps even more important — than the message that is being delivered.”
Fletcher did not respond to a request for comment.
SOC
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LEADERS OF THE MANZANITA BAND OF THE KUMEYAAY [KOOM-EE-YIGH] NATION SAY THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY CONSULTED ON A MASSIVE SOLAR FARM CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN JACUMBA.
REPORTER ELAINE ALFARO SAYS THIS IS THE LATEST CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE MORE THAN 600-ACRE PROJECT.
JACUMBATRIBE 1 (1:12)
Johnny Elliott SOT
“Jacumba is like this unique area where we come and gather, we trade, we, you know, we have our ceremonies and dances and so that's why it's important for us to protect this area.”
Johnny Eagle Spirit Elliott is a Manzanita executive committee member. He remembers coming to Jacumba as a kid, learning from his family about the land and his history. But now the land is shifting.
Elliott and other tribal leaders say the county violated state law by not properly consulting with them on the solar project … even though they made several requests to be involved. Here is historical preservation officer Veronica Santos.
Veronica Santos SOT
“In the tribe's opinion, you did not follow what you should of, the law, by consulting with all the tribes that were in the original documents.”
County officials say they did reach out in 2019. But the tribe did not respond by their deadline. And the county says staff continued to contact leaders throughout the years-long approval process. Ultimately, the county gave the developer approval to consult with a Kumeyaay Native American monitoring company.
Now, county officials say they’re working with the developer to find a way to allow monitoring by Manzanita leaders.
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News.
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
