An update on May’s Islamic Center of San Diego attack
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER FIRST>>>> [ A NORTH CAROLINA TEEN IS FACING MURDER CHARGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO ATTACK] More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines…. ########
STATE LAWMAKERS RECENTLY APPROVED A LAST-MINUTE DEAL TO FAST-TRACK CONSTRUCTION FOR MIDWAY RISING
THAT’S A PROJECT TO BUILD A 25-STORY ARENA, 4-THOUSAND HOUSING UNITS AND NEARLY 15 ACRES OF PUBLIC PARKS IN THE SPORTS ARENA AREA
THE PROJECT HAS FACED LEGAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FOR YEARS
IT NOW HEADS TO GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM’S DESK…
HE HAS UNTIL THE 30TH TO VETO OR SIGN THE BILL
IF APPROVED, IT WOULD SHIELD THE PLANNED DEVELOPMENT FROM ENVIRONMENTAL LAWSUITS
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A WORKING PAPER RELEASED FROM A UC SAN DIEGO RESEARCHER AND HIS COLLEAGUES FINDS THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF A WILDFIRE CAN EXTEND FOR YEARS … AFTER THE FIRE
IT FINDS THE AVERAGE WILDFIRE VICTIM LOSES ABOUT 35 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN INCOME IN THE THREE YEARS AFTER THE FIRE
RESEARCHERS ALSO FOUND THAT POST-WILDFIRE, THOSE WHO REOCCUPY A PROPERTY TEND TO BE YOUNGER AND WEALTHIER THAN THOSE WHO LIVED THERE BEFORE
THE STUDY CALLS THIS “POST DISASTER GENTRIFICATION”
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HEADS UP IMPERIAL VALLEY RESIDENTS!
THE SIGN UP PERIOD IS NOW OPEN FOR I-I-D’S TREE-FOR-ALL PROGRAM
IT'S A LOTTERY ALLOWING RESIDENTS TO GET A FREE; PROFESSIONALLY PLANTED TREE AT THEIR HOME
THE UTILITY SAYS TREES CAN HELP REDUCE COOLING COSTS, IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, AND MAKE NEIGHBORHOODS MORE COMFORTABLE
I-I-D SAYS THEY PLANTED THIRTEEN HUNDRED TREES LAST YEAR...
THE LOTTERY OPENS TODAY AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP AT I-I-D DOT COM SLASH TREE FOR ALL
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SAN DIEGO HAS HUNDREDS OF NEW PET PARENTS AS THE HUMANE SOCIETY SAYS ITS ‘CLEAR THE SHELTERS’ DAY WAS A SUCCESS !
THE EVENT DID AWAY WITH ADOPTION FEES ON SATURDAY
IT CAME AT A VALUABLE TIME AS THE HUMANE SOCIETY SAID IT WAS OVER CAPACITY
DOGS MADE UP ROUGHLY 1/3RD OF NEARLY 3 HUNDRED NEWLY ADOPTED ANIMALS
THE HUMANE SOCIETY SAYS THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY FOR A DOG IS 59 DAYS, AN ALMOST THIRTY PERCENT INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR
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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A NORTH CAROLINA TEENAGER IS FACING MURDER CHARGES IN CONNECTION WITH A DEADLY ATTACK ON THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO LAST MAY.
PROSECUTORS SAY 17-YEAR-OLD SARAH LINDSEY SANTIAGO AGREED TO RECORD THE LIVE STREAM OF THE SHOOTING, THEN CIRCULATED THE VIDEO... ALONG WITH WHITE SUPREMACIST WRITINGS BY THE TWO GUNMEN.
WE ARE NAMING HER BECAUSE SHE IS BEING CHARGED AS AN ADULT UNDER NORTH CAROLINA LAW.
THE AIDING AND ABETTING CHARGES CARRY THE SAME PENALTY AS IF SHE'D COMMITTED THE SHOOTINGS HERSELF.
THREE MEN DIED IN THE ATTACK ON MAY 18TH.
YESTERDAY (MONDAY), THE ISLAMIC CENTER'S OPERATIONS MANAGER, SAMI KOUDMANI (Sammy Could-mah-knee), SAID SOME PARENTS STILL FEEL UNEASY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY.
ICARREST 2A :10 “It's a different feeling when you have children versus just the general congregation or some of the older guys. So, you know, there's definitely a little bit of maybe a different sentiment on that side of the fence."
KOUDMANI SAYS THE CONGREGATION IS STILL PROCESSING THE ATTACK.
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TODAY, THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL (TUESDAY) IS CONSIDERING REPEALING AN ORDINANCE RELATED TO BATHHOUSES.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS IT WAS PASSED IN 1988 AMID A PANIC OVER HIV AND AIDS.
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BATHHOUSE 1 (ab) 1:22 soq
AB: The ordinance begins by stating its intent: to stop gay and bisexual men from having sex and spreading HIV… by strictly regulating bathhouses. Council President Joe LaCava says the ordinance reflects homophobic attitudes and should be repealed. Patrick Loose leads the county's HIV and STD prevention efforts. He says by the time the bathhouse ordinance was adopted, gay and bi men had already begun changing their behavior.
PL: They had reduced the number of sexual partners. They had reduced or eliminated anonymous sexual encounters. They were adopting condoms to reduce the likelihood of transmission. And so this ordinance probably wasn't helpful in stopping HIV or in preventing HIV.
AB: The San Diego LGBT Community Center offers free HIV testing, treatment, education and support services. Spokesman Gus Hernandez says the bathhouse ordinance could contribute to stigma, which can undermine efforts to stop the virus.
GH: What we've seen here at the Center is when folks feel stigmatized, they are reluctant to find out even if they have HIV. They're reluctant to learn about their status because they're ashamed.
AB: Hernandez says the most effective HIV prevention tools are medications that can make the virus untransmissible through sex. The biggest barriers to those tools, he says, are poverty and lack of access to health care. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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A LANDMARK LEGAL SETTLEMENT WITH THE PARENT COMPANY OF FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, HAS SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE BACK IN THE HEADLINES.
HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO TAKES A LOOK AT A NEW STUDY THAT EXPLORES WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TEENAGERS TAKE A BREAK FROM THEIR PHONES.
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For about three weeks at a summer camp in Maine, 192 teenagers…inlcuding some from San Diego …had no phones.
Instead of scrolling, they were spending their days outside.
MATT PINES
Canoeing on the lake or learning how to play guitar.
Matt Pines runs Maine Teen Camp. He asked campers last summer what it was like to be without their phones.
MATT PINES
MAINE TEEN CAMP
We heard that they felt a lot less pressure.
Researchers from Sapien Labs and UC San Diego Health used a questionnaire at the beginning and end of camp that combines mental health and well-being into one overall score. By the end of camp, that score had improved by an average of 10 points.Susan Tapert is a UC San Diego psychiatry professor who consulted on the study.
SUSAN TAPERT
UC SAN DIEGO
The young people who came to the camp already at a somewhat higher level of distress, maybe showing some signs of depression, of anxiety, really benefited the most from this sort of detox period.…
Tapert says more studies are needed to determine which parts of the experience made the biggest difference.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
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THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CAFES ACROSS SAN DIEGO, BUT A NEWLY OPENED SPACE IN NORMAL HEIGHTS HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MISSION.
REPORTER JACOB AERE INTRODUCES US TO A GROUP OF WOMEN WHO ARE LEARNING LIFE LESSONS IN A NEW COUNTRY THROUGH THE FARM TO TABLE BUSINESS MODEL.
MAKECAFE (ja) TRT 4:21 SOQ
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*KITCHEN/FARM NATS … fades to ambi throughout**
On a small slice of land under the trolley tracks near Snapdragon Stadium … the earthy aroma of vegetables, herbs and other garden staples in the soil … fills the air.
This is the farm for Make Projects. Anchi Mei (ANCH-ee MAY) is Executive Director of the non-profit organization.
“So we’ve got right now we've got the height of summer – eggplant, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, and we're getting ready for fall.”
She says the farm is where refugee and immigrant women begin the first month of a 12-week paid job readiness program with the organization.
They primarily work with students from San Diego Community College District’s College of Continuing Education.
“… that has been the single greatest success is that we have that direct partnership with the ESL college... For now we're more than busy with all the population of students there.”
Olha Fochshan (OL-gah Fausch-chan) is a program participant.
“Of course we are the farm so it's all about harvesting, planting, seeding.”
She left Ukraine with her daughter about a year ago. Her husband is still there fighting as a soldier in Kyiv (KEY-ev).
Here in San Diego, Fochshan says she’s found a Ukrainian community to bond with away from home … but points out this program is teaching her the soft skills to thrive in the United States.
“... when I started to work with other women I see that okay were different, but what I can teach them and maybe what I can learn from them?”
Zahra Ahmed (ZA-ha-ra AH-hmed) was once a participant, who now serves as a program assistant.
She came to San Diego from Sudan in 2020. She says the program helped her face fears that come with relocating to a new country.
“Like if you have any issues speaking English or you’re feeling scared – its a new country, its a new language so you need to prepare yourself really good.”
Now she helps train other women who come from similar situations. She says they provide support in many ways, like case management.
“She have any other problem in her life or issue, she can tell us and we're going to help her. It's not just about work.”
Most of the food at the farm is sold in community supported agriculture boxes … but some is used at the organization’s new permanent home just a few miles away in Normal Heights, at Make Cafe.
“Its world driven flavors, but also very comfortable. Salads, bowls…”
Executive chef Ashley McBrady says the new location serves as both a public restaurant and hands-on training environment.
Make Projects previously operated a cafe at a temporary church site in North Park.
“We’re so fortunate to have such a beautiful space. The neighborhood has been really welcoming. We’re on our group 4 in the cafe.”
For now, each group is made up of three participants.
After spending four weeks at the farm, the groups learn how to prepare and cook food in the kitchen for a month. Then they work at the front of the house as baristas and cashiers to finish out the program.
"Reading a recipe is the same functionality as any other job – it's about showing up, intentionality, communication … and then just the drive.”
66-year-old Maria Castillo was working in front of the house, making drinks.
She was getting ready to graduate from the 3-month program. Castillo says it offered a change of pace and greater financial flexibility for her future.
“I always worked as a babysitter and never worked in a program like this or with coworkers. Only by myself in people’s houses.”
Castillo has straddled two countries and two cultures living between Sonora, Mexico and San Diego County for decades.
Now firmly in San Diego, she hopes the skills she’s learning here might help her launch a new career.
“I hope to have my own business – maybe its a… small dessert place, something.”
The cafe is 25 percent self-funded and 75 percent funded through grants and donations.
*kitchen nat pop*
For now, it’s open Thursday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch, with Wednesdays designated as a training day for staff.
Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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THE SAN DIEGO CENTRAL LIBRARY HAS A NEW COLLECTION OF BOOKS IN ITS CHILDREN’S SECTION.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS TELLS US HOW DECODABLE BOOKS HELP PARENTS TEACH THEIR KIDS TO READ.
DECODE1 0:55 SOQ
Decodable books teach kids how to match letters to sounds.
Each book focuses on a “code.” For example, a short “a” sound.
ARYA
“Zach's pal,” “Zach's cap,” “On dad's lap.”
The goal is to build kids’ ability to sound out words, even if they’ve never seen them before.
Neelum Arya’s daughter has dyslexia. She used decodable books to help her learn how to read.
ARYA
We read all of those books enough times where she could read them with fluency.
Arya worked with literacy advocates to bring the decodable collection to the central library.
Librarian Emily Derry says it will make the resource accessible to more parents.
DERRY
This is something that we've been wanting to do for a while, because we know that it's hard to find books in the collection that meet the children where they're at.
Families can find the books behind the children’s section’s front desk. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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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 day
