An effort to change how California primaries are held could land on the ballot
<<<HEADLINES>>>
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s FRIDAY, JULY 17TH>>>> [ A POTENTIAL CHANGE TO HOW CALIFORNIA PRIMARIES WORK]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
CAL FIRE SAYS CREWS ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS FIGHTING THE THORN FIRE BURNING IN EAST COUNTY.
THE AGENCY SAYS THE FIRE BEGAN WEDNESDAY IN A HOME OR VEHICLE IN THE CAMPO AREA. IT QUICKLY SPREAD.
AND EVACUATION ORDERS WENT OUT FOR PEOPLE TO SHELTER AT THE GOLDEN ACORN CASINO, JUST OFF OF INTERSTATE EIGHT.
THAT’S WHERE THE RED CROSS’S CINDY MCGRATH WAS WELCOMING EVACUEES YESTERDAY… SAYING THEY WERE READY FOR WHATEVER COMES NEXT.
THORNFIRE 2A :09
“We could get more evacuees. We could get to go home. We just don't know yet. We're waiting for word from headquarters and word from the fire department, of course.”
AS OF THURSDAY, THE FIRE HAD BURNED OVER 12 HUNDRED ACRES.
########
AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW WAS DONE ON THE COUNTY'S CONTRACTING PRACTICES
IT FOUND THERE’S A NEED TO IMPROVE THE COUNTY’S OVERSIGHT AND VETTING OF CONTRACTS WITH THE OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS IT HIRES
REPORTING FROM THE VOICE OF SAN DIEGO SAYS THE REVIEW CALLS FOR THINGS LIKE:
-BETTER DOCUMENTATION AND RECORD KEEPING
-A SYSTEM FOR COUNTY STAFF TO COMMUNICATE CONTRACT ISSUES TO COUNTY LEADERSHIP
- AND FOR MORE RESOURCES TO OVERSEERISKY CONTRACTS
VOICE SAYS COUNTY OFFICIALS BEGAN EVALUATING RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REPORT ON MONDAY, BUT HAVEN'T SHARED WHAT THEY PLAN TO CHANGE JUST YET
########
WE'VE BEEN UPDATING YOU ON THE MORE THAN 7 HUNDRED ANIMALS THAT WERE RESCUED FROM A PROPERTY IN JULIAN BACK IN EARLY MAY...
NOW, NEARLY SIXTY HORSES HAVE ALSO BEEN REMOVED FROM THE VILLA CHARDONNAY PROPERTY
MOST OF THEM WERE SENT TO AN EQUESTRIAN CENTER IN EL CAJON...
WHILE FOUR OTHERS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY'S ESCONDIDO CAMPUS FOR MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL NEEDS
S-D-H-S SAYS IT TOOK THREE DAYS TO TRANSPORT THE HORSES
AND THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC INTEREST FROM PEOPLE HOPING TO ADOPT THE HORSES
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
<<<UNDERWRITING BREAK>>
######
<<<MUSIC BUMP INTO A BLOCK>>
#########
AN EFFORT TO CHANGE THE WAY PRIMARY ELECTIONS ARE HELD IN CALIFORNIA IS CLOSER TO MAKING IT ON THE BALLOT.
PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA SPOKE WITH LOCAL POLITICAL LEADERS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL CHANGE.
TOPTWO 1 (jg/qo).wav [1:17] SOQ
CALIFORNIA’S PRIMARY SYSTEM – WHERE THE TOP TWO CANDIDATES ADVANCE REGARDLESS OF PARTY – COULD BE COMING TO AN END.
SECRETARY OF STATE SHIRLEY WEBER RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT PROPONENTS OF A NEW BALLOT INITIATIVE AIMING TO END THE TOP TWO PRIMARY CAN BEGIN COLLECTING SIGNATURES.
IF SUCCESSFUL, THE CAMPAIGN WOULD ALLOW PARTIES TO HOST THEIR OWN PRIMARIES ONCE MORE.
IT’LL NEED MORE THAN 800,000 SIGNATURES TO QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT IN 2028. THEN, IF VOTERS APPROVE, IT WOULD TAKE EFFECT IN 2030
OPPONENTS HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO EMERGE WITH CONCERNS THE REPEAL COULD RESULT IN PRIMARIES CLOSED TO INDEPENDENT VOTERS
BUT LOCAL PARTY LEADERS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE SUPPORT THIS CHANGE
“Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, or an independent, you deserve a real choice in November. That's what this is about. So let's enable choice.”
COLE MARTING IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SAN DIEGO YOUNG REPUBLICANS. HE SAID THE TOP-TWO SYSTEM HAS BEEN BAD FOR DEMOCRACY.
AND WILL RODRIGUEZ-KENNEDY, CHAIR OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AGREES THE SYSTEM ISN’T WORKING FOR EITHER PARTY.
“And in some cases, it's led to a situation where a party gets shut out. And in California, that's just not fair. I mean, there, whether it's the Republicans or Democrats, when that happens, an entire party is, is disenfranchised.
IF IT MAKES THE BALLOT AND VOTERS APPROVE IT IN 2028, CALIFORNIA’S EXPERIMENT WITH THE TOP TWO PRIMARY SYSTEM WOULD COME TO AN END.
JAKE GOTTA, KPBS NEWS
##########
MOST PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT SECONDHAND SMOKE. BUT A NEW SDSU STUDY IS LOOKING AT ANOTHER FORM OF EXPOSURE THAT CAN LINGER LONG AFTER THE CIGARETTE IS GONE.
HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO EXPLAINS HOW RESEARCHERS ARE MEASURING THIS HIDDEN INDOOR POLLUTANT.
---
You can't see it.
You may not smell it.
But scientists say if someone smoked inside a home even years ago... the chemicals may still be there.
Georg Matt
They attach themselves to surfaces, to clothes, to upholstery, to carpets, to walls.
It's called thirdhand smoke.
Georg Matt
When people smoke tobacco, or vape, they leave behind a chemical residue.
Georg Matt is director of the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at SDSU. His team analyzed more than 3,000 surface samples to create what he says is the first way to measure how much thirdhand smoke is left behind.
Georg Matt
If someone has smoked in a home for 5, 10 years and for a generation, tobacco smoke has literally penetrated each and every square inch of that home.
Unlike secondhand smoke...
Georg Matt
Thirdhand smoke exposure can also take place through the skin.
The new scale isn't a do-it-yourself test for homeowners or renters. Instead, it gives environmental testing professionals and property managers a common way to assess contamination and determine if a full-gut remodel is needed.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
##########
SAN DIEGO LEADERS SAY ANY RENEWAL OF THE U.S. - MEXICO - CANADA AGREEMENT MUST INCLUDE SOLUTIONS TO THE TIJUANA RIVER SEWAGE CRISIS.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS THEIR DEMAND YESTERDAY IN OTAY MESA COMES IN RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S REFUSAL TO RENEW THE TRADE DEAL.
USMCA 1 trt: 00:54 soq
San Diego leaders say Trump’s decision has created an opportunity for the U.S. to strengthen the USMCA.
San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre represents District 1.
USMCA 1a 00:05
“We should not extend the USMCA until we have clear accountability measures.”
The Trump administration already has an agreement with Mexico that promises to end cross-border pollution.
But San Diego Assemblymember David Alvarez says renewing the USMCA with enforcement provisions makes it more likely to happen.
USMCA 1b 00:15
“As Tijuana continues to grow, as you see, growth in the region, just generally those flows can become larger over the course of time, and therefore the current solution doesn't become a real solution. It becomes a temporary solution.”
U.S. and Mexican officials are slated to continue negotiations next week in Mexico City. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
##########
SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOLERS SECURED A MEETING THIS WEEK WITH THE COUNTY SHERIFF. THEIR GOAL? REFORM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. REPORTER KATIE HYSON FOLLOWED THEIR EFFORT.
YOUTH ft. trt 4:59 SOQ (kh/mb)
*nat pop* burst of laughter/giggles, fade under
Seven high schoolers crowd around a fold-out table in a stuffy, converted garage.
It’s summer, but their laptops are out.
*nat pop* So the transitional program is just a systematic way to get people out of solitary and back into general population . . . fade under
They’re discussing a policy proposal for Sheriff Kelly Martinez. Reforms to solitary confinement.
It’s far from their goal of ending solitary. But it’s a first step.
Nikhil Plettner Booker founded the group. He’s 17.
SOT :08 I won't get too into it for the sake of, like, the privacy of my peers and my family. But needless to say, there are some, some personal connections . . .
He says he’s not the only team member personally impacted by the justice system. And some have had loved ones held in solitary confinement.
While they can’t change the whole system at once, solitary feels like something they can tackle.
SOT :08 It is very specific, but it's also emblematic of a larger system which fails to address the root causes of why crime occurs in the first place.
They started as a club at San Diego High School last year. They’ve already found more than 50 teenagers willing to give their free time to the cause.
You kind of do what you have to do to bring your membership up. And what we found is like getting pizza is very helpful for our club.
They formed a group independent of the school – Youth to End Solitary S-D.
He says being so young can sometimes work against them.
SOT :13 We get the cliche like, ‘Oh, thank you so much for doing this. You know, you know, ‘It's good for you young people, doing this work’ and, and, it comes off nice, but at the same time, it, it it takes away from the seriousness that we bring to the conversation.
But it can also work for them.
SOT :13 Our youthfulness has been able to open some doors that haven't been available to other people, you know, when, when we asked for people in the sheriff's department to get us a meeting with the sheriff, we specifically said, ‘Mention to her that, you know, we're high schoolers.’
He says they’ve already met with California legislators and the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Review Board.
But the sheriff is different. She might need more convincing to get on board. And getting a half-hour of her time is a feat in itself.
SOT :09 We've spoken to a lot of other not for profit organizations that are involved with criminal justice reform, and they've failed to get meetings with the sheriff.
They built relationships within the office first.
An assistant sheriff offered a tour of George Bailey Detention Facility.
There, they came face to face with what they‘re trying to end.
SOT :07 You see videos, you see photos of, of our research and when we watch documentaries and whatnot. But it was . . . definitely different actually going to a wing.
An ongoing lawsuit alleges little to no mental health treatment in the county’s solitary units, and almost no human contact.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson David Collins declined to comment on pending litigation.
He says 188 people are currently being held in administrative separation. That’s their term for solitary. 50 have serious mental illness.
Plettner Booker again.
SOT :09 We actually saw inmates in the administrative separations . . . and that physical proximity to them, you know, was very, I'd say moving for me and I’d say a lot of the other team.
He says it was difficult to see people in the cages meant for exercise.
Solitary is meant to be secure housing for people considered a danger to themselves or others.
Sheriff’s Office policy says it “shall not involve any other deprivation of privileges” beyond what’s necessary for safety.
But the temporary security comes at a cost.
The United Nations considers more than 15 consecutive days in solitary to be torture.
In San Diego, thirteen people have died in solitary since 20-15, according to the Sheriff’s office.
SOT :09 She's trying to tackle in-custody deaths because it is a very prevalent issue, and we're trying to to get her to realize that, reforming solitary confinement is going to be needed . .
Their core asks for the sheriff were a two-week cap on solitary. A transitional program between solitary and general population. And a list of violent offenses that warrant placement in solitary.
Plettner Booker felt cautiously optimistic.
On Wednesday, they walked through the doors of the Sheriff’s headquarters. 45 minutes later, they walked out.
It wasn’t exactly what Plettner Booker hoped.
SOT :10 I've wanted for, for stronger commitments by the sheriff's office to implement parts of our proposal . . . But regardless, it wasn't a flat out no, which is, for us, a success.
Ashley Ordaz is their legislative director.
SOT :08 There are certain times where, you know, kids have ideas and they do go up to adults and they kind of get shut down. But we started this by going to each other instead of going to adults first.
To other “kids with ideas” who want to make a difference, she says –
SOT :10 Just get a group of people, meet at a garage and plan . . . All you need is like some heart, some goals and a little bit of joy.
The students all say they’ll keep pushing.
Katie Hyson KPBS News
##########
AS WE DO FOR YOU EACH AND EVERY FRIDAY, HERE ARE SOME WEEKEND EVENT IDEAS FOR YOU AND YOURS
ALL WEEKEND YOU CAN PUT YOUR BEST INVESTIGATIVE FOOT FORWARD AND TAKE PART IN AN INTERACTIVE, MYSTERY-SOLVING THEATER SHOW
DECODING DA VINCI IS PRESENTED BY ART POWER AND TAKES PLACE AT UC-SD
VISIT ART POWER DOT UC-SD DOT E-D-U FOR MORE INFO
ON SATURDAY THE PRIDE PARADE KICKS OFF AT 10 A-M!
ITS THE REGION’S LARGEST SINGLE-DAY EVENT
AND OF COURSE THERE IS ALSO THE PRIDE FESTIVAL ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
VISIT S-D PRIDE DOT ORG FOR MORE INFO
ON SUNDAY, MANY EYES WILL TURN TOWARDS THE 20-26 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL MATCH!
ANYONE WHO LOVES SOCCER AND WHALES, CAN WATCH THE FINAL INSIDE OF SEAWORLD’S ORCA STADIUM
BUY A SEAWORLD ENTRY PASS TO WATCH ARGENTINA AND SPAIN BATTLE IT OUT AS ORCA WHALES SWIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!
WHATEVER YOU DO THIS WEEKEND, ENJOY!
<<<SHOW CLOSE>>>
That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is edited by Brooke Ruth and hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
