Banning street encampments in San Diego
Good Morning, I’m Erik Anderson, in for Debbie Cruz. It’s Tuesday, June 13th.
Where will San Diego’s unhoused go, if encampments are banned? More on that next. But first, let’s do the headlines.
The San Diego City Council is voting today on an ordinance that would ban homeless encampments in public spaces.
The proposed law would prohibit encampments at any time, near schools, shelters, parks and open spaces.
It would also ban encampments on other public property, but only when shelter space is available.
The nonprofit Alpha Project operates four shelters in the city. CEO Bob McElroy says he’s pro enforcement but --
"Unless you have an alternative, a place for people to go -- then you’re criminalizing homelessness… but if you’ve got an option, get help or get in trouble i’ve seen that motivation work hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times over again where people have gotten the help."
The city of San Diego has roughly 24-hundred shelter beds, most of which are in use.
But the latest point in time homeless count data shows there are 32-hundred unsheltered homeless people in the city.
San Diego’s public school teachers are getting a raise.
Members of the San Diego Education Association cast votes for a new contract in recent days, and on Monday the union announced its adoption.
The new contract includes a 15-percent wage increase, and maintaining or boosting the current level of support staff.
The San Diego Unified School Board is expected to ratify the contract later this month, with the deal lasting through June 2025.
Some of Stan Kroenke’s money is coming to San Diego.
You may remember his name popping up during the Chargers relocation saga.
Now the real estate development group led by the billionaire owner of the L-A Rams is joining Midway Rising.
The San Diego City Council chose Midway Rising last year as the umbrella organization for the redevelopment of the Midway District, which would include a new arena.
Kroenke is perhaps most recently known for building SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the Chargers now play.
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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Earlier we mentioned the decision before the San Diego City Council today.
If approved, it would add a new layer of enforcement for homeless encampments in certain areas of the city.
If it’s approved , where would houseless residents go?
And, how might other communities be impacted?
Monday’s KPBS Midday Edition spent a lot of time on this topic, with Voice of San Diego senior investigative reporter Lisa Halverstadt lending some of her insight.
Here’s a portion of that conversation with Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon.
Tag: That was Voice of San Diego’s Lisa Halverstadt with KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon.You can hear more of that conversation on Monday’s Midday Edition podcast.
It’s on all major podcast platforms, and at KPBS-dot-org.
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As the city weighs a ban on tent encampments, San Diego Unified is considering options to help its unhoused students.
inewsource reporter Andrea Figueroa Briseño has more.
Almost twelve thousand students were homeless in San Diego last academic year, with the vast majority of them attending San Diego Unified schools. Now, the district may open its properties for overnight parking and camping. Central Elementary in City Heights, the Ballard Parent Center in Old Town and a lot across Cardinal Lane near Linda Vista are all under consideration. The board hasn’t yet made any final decisions. But school officials could partner with the city to help make it happen, and Mayor Todd Gloria is expected to discuss the proposal more during a presentation this week. For KPBS, I’m inewsource reporter Andrea Figueroa Briseño.TAG: inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS.
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High school students hoping to save money and time toward completing a college degree have triggered a dramatic increase in dual enrollment.
Education reporter MG Perez explains.
High school juniors and seniors get a head start on their higher education by taking college credit courses through a community college during the school year and summer session. The San Diego Community College District has more than 4-thousand high schoolers currently dual enrolled with one of its campuses. That’s a 30-percent increase in the past year alone. Breanna Hinojosa just graduated from Miramar College after starting in 2020 while still in high school. “I like the layout of college classes knowing what to expect and not just have things thrown at you.” Hinojosa saved time and money and it paid off. She’s been accepted to UCLA where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. MG Perez KPBS News. ##########
Rady children’s hospital is seeing an increase in kids being referred or diagnosed with ADHD.
Health reporter Matt Hoffman says the trend started during the pandemic.
Referrals and diagnoses for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are up 30% at rady children’s hospital. “This was something that obviously has caught our attention.” Willough Jenkins is a child psychiatrist at Rady’s. She has some ideas for what’s behind the increases. Just spending more time with your children you’re getting more data. So I think more parents were able to recognize my child is struggling more with their ability to concentrate -- their ability to focus. Jenkins says roughly 60-80% of kids with ADHD will use medication at some point and it can be effective with managing symptoms. During the pandemic, the CDC reported large increases among kids using prescription stimulants. Not everyone needs medication though. Having a more structured environment or things like physical activity can also help. Matt Hoffman, KPBS News.
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Coming up, local artists tell the stories of those who fought off plans to turn their neighborhoods into a freeway.
We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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The Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside celebrates its 225th anniversary today.
It was the 18th mission to be established in California and became known as the “King of the Missions” because of its size.
But the history of the mission is complex and North County reporter Tania Thorne tells us, it’s still on a healing journey.
Throughout the day, church bells can be heard ringing at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. But once in a while, you’ll also hear the chanting of the people native to the land where the mission stands. Today, the grounds of the Mission San Luis Rey serve as an active church, a meeting place for the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, and a historic landmark. The history of all the California missions is a complicated history. Gwynn Grimes is the executive director of Mission San Luis Rey. She says there’s no denying some of the mission's painful history, but the relationship between the church and the Luiseno people, is one built on healing. We obviously can't change it but we want to grow our relationship and make sure people know that the Luiseno people are still here, the Friars are still here. Mel Vernon is the captain of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. And he thinks his ancestors wouldn’t want them to suffer over old wounds. It’s best to have a positive outlook because we don't have to look very far in the past to find there are traumas that happen to everybody. Both Grimes and Vernon agree that healing is a process. Tania Thorne, KPBS News.
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KPBS is continuing its series on public art with a look at one project in the Southcrest neighborhood.
Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it emerged from the ashes of an abandoned freeway project.
“This park was I think the city's way of trying to heal an open wound.” Artists Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendon are walking me through Southcrest Trails Neighborhood Park. More than fifty years ago, the state government began seizing property here to build a freeway. But decades of community opposition put a stop to those plans. The husband and wife duo learned this history through meetings with local residents. “Members of the neighborhood and the community came out, shared stories of the loss of this land when it was seized for highway projects, the displacement of some of those families that happened back then, and then stories about the over 20 year struggle that they were in to have the city then redevelop it in a different way.” The artists were inspired to photograph people pronouncing the various names their neighborhood is known by — Southcrest, Shelltown, Chollas Creek and home. “And then we sculpted each of those faces to capture that syllable, cast 380 I think it was individual blocks that went into this plaza.” It shows a chorus of community members reclaiming both their land and identity. You can learn more about the history of this abandoned freeway project by listening to my podcast, Freeway Exit, wherever you get podcasts. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
TAG: Tell us about the public art you're interested in at kpbs.org/publicart.
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Pickleball isn't just a game you play with friends for fun anymore.
There's a professional tour.. and it recently stopped in San Clemente.
Melissa Mae tells us how the game is growing as a spectator sport.
The Professional Pickleball Association hosts the PPA Tour, which has grown to 64 full-time touring professional players and a 25 event season. The most recent tournament, the Orange County Cup, just wrapped up in San Clemente. Bryce Morgan is the president of the PPA Tour and says hosting a PPA event has changed. “At the beginning, we were looking for any facility that would have us and now it’s becoming a lot bigger of a conversation in terms of, do we have enough logistics on parking? Do we have space? Do we have enough tennis courts that will be converted to pickleball courts? Is there a pickleball facility that already exists that we can utilize?” The PPA Tour has events in Florida, Arizona and other cities in California, but not San Diego yet. But Morgan says they've been in contact with the owners of The HUB Pickleball San Diego about the possibility of bringing the PPA Tour here. Melissa Mae 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 Erik Anderson. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
