Bikes lanes and Park Boulevard
Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Tuesday, May 31st
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Bikes lanes and Park Boulevard
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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San Diego Catholic Bishop Robert McElroy will be made a Cardinal by Pope Francis.
Cardinals advise the pope on matters of church policy and they choose a new pope when the old one can no longer serve.
The pope normally promotes Archbishops from bigger metropolitan areas, so McElroy’s appointment to Cardinal was a surprise.
McElroy has a reputation as a progressive, who, for instance, has a welcoming approach to gay Catholics.
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Some of Governor Gavin Newsom’s major legislative priorities made it past a key deadline at the state capitol.
On Friday the bills needed to pass their house of origin.
Two gun control bills moved ahead, as well as the care court bill.
It would allow judges to mandate treatment for severely mentally ill people on and off the streets.
Another measure that moved is one that would allow nurse practitioners to perform abortions to increase abortion access.
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More teens are vaping now than before 2017 – a trend driven largely by vaping e-cigarettes.
That’s according to a new UC San Diego study released on monday.
2017 saw a 40% increase in e-cigarette sales, and that coincided with a notable increase in young daily smokers.
The study says more than 1 million American youths between 14 and 17 became daily tobacco users within two years of 2017.
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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.
Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was elected on a promise of drastically reducing emissions through big improvements to biking and public transit infrastructure. By 2035 he wants half of all trips in the city to be made without a car. KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen says the mayor's commitment to those goals is being put to the test with a street project in Balboa Park.
TG: If I had to diagnose the biggest problem that our city faces, it is that we are a big city that too often acts like a small town.
AB: That’s Todd Gloria speaking at a mayoral candidate debate in 2019. Big-city thinking was the central theme of his campaign. And a big part of that was making the city less dependent on cars — the city's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
TG: I'm the guy who wrote the Climate Action Plan. Now I'm running to be mayor to be the guy who implements the Climate Action Plan.
AB: But just how far Gloria is willing to go for that goal? Part of the answer could be on Park Boulevard in Balboa Park, where the city is preparing to replace an underground water main. After that's done and the street is resurfaced, city officials want to redesign it.
EH: Increased safety for all road users is one of our primary goals.
AB: Everett Hauser is a program manager in the city's transportation department. He says giving a dedicated lane to public transit on Park Boulevard would help the buses stay on time.
EH: This area is right smack in the urban core and serves a lot of people. It's some of the highest used bus routes in the city. So increasing that efficiency just makes transit use a more attractive option for people to get around.
AB: A protected bike lane would make the street much safer and more accessible for people who bike, especially the most vulnerable: children, seniors and people with disabilities.
MC: People need to feel safe with being able to bike.
AB: Madison Coleman is a policy advocate for the nonprofit Climate Action Campaign. On a short bike ride up and down Park Boulevard, where bikes currently share a lane with cars, it didn't take long for things to feel unsafe.
AB: A driver in a sports car zooms past us well above the posted speed limit — which is already 40 miles per hour. Coleman and other environmental advocates want the mayor to add both bus and bike lanes to Park Boulevard.
MC: It's really really important for him to stand up and be the model for the region to create really safe and efficient other transportation opportunities for people to feel like they can not rely on their cars as much as they probably do right now.
AB: Here's the catch: To add a bus and bike lane, the street would have to sacrifice a travel lane for cars and on-street parking, which is about 4% of the area's total parking. Peter Comiskey is executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, which represents the park's attractions. He says removing parking to add bike and bus lanes will make the park less accessible.
PC: Most of our visitors to the park — some 90% of people coming to the park, or over that on most days — would be coming in vehicles. And they're often coming in groups, very often families. Those families aren't able to use rideshare, those are not solutions for them.
AB: The city is studying other options that would preserve street parking — at the expense of bike and transit riders. But Comiskey says he doesn't like those options, either. He wants the city to finish a mobility and parking management study first.
PC: Historically a lot of the solutions that are forced into the park are done so because they're done in a very piecemeal and reactive way instead of having a really solid strategic approach.
AB: Meanwhile, the city's own measurements show it's behind on switching commutes away from cars. And the bus and bike lanes on Park Boulevard can happen for virtually no additional cost to the pipeline replacement project. Again, here's Mayor Gloria speaking as a candidate in 2019.
TG: When we have these fights about bike lanes and pedestrian improvements, this is often about a can of paint and the ability to just move forward with leadership. We have an adopted bicycle master plan that isn't always faithfully implemented. A mayor can tell a city streets division to start going out and making this happen. We're going to start supporting public transit and active transportation because it's critical to the future of our quality of life.
AB: Whichever design the mayor selects, Park Boulevard is set to be restriped by December. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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Monday marked the second anniversary of a social justice protest in La Mesa that later turned into rioting and looting in the city’s downtown.
KPBS Speak City Heights reporter Jacob Aere spoke with members of that community on what it means to reflect on the events of that day.
On the afternoon of May 30, 2020, people gathered in La Mesa to peacefully protest a police officer’s controversial arrest of a black man at a trolley stop earlier that week.
After night fell, rioting and looting broke out in the city’s main business district.
Pink Rose Cafe owner Nadia Zamora says hers was one of many La Mesa businesses that was damaged.
“ I feel like that awareness was brought on to La Mesa that was probably needed. I'm not saying that I justify anything with what happened, but it was an opportunity for the community to grow.”
Zamora went on to say that the two year anniversary is a reminder of how the La Mesa residents supported one another and have healed together. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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John Hemmerling, the Republican candidate for San Diego Sheriff, recently lost his endorsement from the San Diego Union Tribune, and he left his job in the city attorney’s office.
KPBS reporter Claire Trageser has more.
That happened after a video surfaced showing Hemmerling making comments about where transgender women should use the bathroom.
It was recorded by the news outlet Times of San Diego at an April candidate’s forum in Ramona.
The Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance the other day in the county that redefined what a woman is, where it included men.
He went on to tell the audience that the supervisors have an agenda.
They’re going to be asking them to enforce that out here, allow those men to go to the women’s bathrooms.
This week Hemmerling retired from the City Attorney’s office.
In a statement, Hemmerling said he left to focus on his campaign, and quote, “I apologize to those who took my comments to imply criticism of anyone based on their sex or gender identity.”
Claire Trageser, KPBS News
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Coming up.... Monday was Memorial day. We’ll have more on how San Diegans celebrated the day and also kicked off the start of the summer travel season. Those stories and more are next, just after the break.
A special ceremony was held on the u-s-s midway to honor the lives of the men and women who died in the service of our country.
kpbs reporter kitty alvarado was there and has more on the somber tributes to the fallen.
Memorial Day atop the USS Midway is special … dozens gathered on the aircraft carrier turned museum to honor the men and women who gave their lives for their country.
Navy Commander Steve Koehler says this freedom is fragile.
Steve Koehler
Commander, Navy 3rd Fleet
Today we remember that freedom isn’t free and the American way of life and the democracy that enables it must be guarded with unremitting vigilance and each of those brave Americans served a cause greater than themselves
Outside of the USS Midway another tribute was held to honor the fallen, their names were read out loud and a somber bell tolled after each one
Hunter Lopez 22 years old August 26, 2021 from old Indio, California Corporal United States Marine Corps.
Kitty Alvarado KPBS News
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Memorial day is typically the start of the summer travel season. And with pandemic restrictions easing … Many people hit the road over this weekend.
kpbs reporter alexander nguyen has more.
AT THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON MONDAY … THE FLIGHT BOARD SHOWED MORE THAN 60 FLIGHT DELAYS. IT’S A COMBINATION OF PENT-UP DEMAND … BAD WEATHER … AND A STAFFING SHORTAGE THAT CAUSED THOUSANDS OF FLIGHT DELAYS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND CANCELLATIONS THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
AIRPORT SPOKESPERSON SABRINA LOPICOLO SAYS WITH PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS EASING, MORE PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING. STILL … THE NUMBERS ARE 13% BELOW PRE-PANDEMIC LEVEL.
“BUT WE DO EXPECT THAT YOU KNOW THOSE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE, A LITTLE BIT. I'M NOT QUITE SURE IF WE'LL SEE 2019 NUMBERS, THIS SUMMER, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY POSSIBLE."
AT SAN DIEGO BEACHES, LIFEGUARDS SAY THE CROWDS ARE HIGHER THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST MEMORIAL DAY. AND WITH SCHOOLS ABOUT TO BE OUT FOR THE SUMMER … THEY EXPECT EVEN MORE PEOPLE TO FLOCK TO THE BEACH.
AN/KPBS
This Sunday The Old Globe Theatre presents Shakespeare’s famous battle of the sexes “The Taming of the Shrew.”
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando looks at the challenges of producing a 16th century comedy that many now perceive as sexist or even misogynistic.
The Taming Of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest plays. It looks to the turbulent courtship of Kate and Petruchio. Kate’s father is desperate to marry her off and Petruchio seems the right man for the job. But to modern audiences the idea of taming the fiery Kate may be problematic.
SHANA COOPER Yes, this is a play with a lot of baggage. I think every time I tell someone I'm directing it, they look at me like I'm crazy.
Shana Cooper directs the play and says there’s a challenging question at its core.
SHANA COOPER Is this a misogynistic play, or is it a play about misogyny? And I believe as written, it's a play about misogyny. But what that requires is an understanding of satire. And I think that's something that we sometimes struggle with as a culture is understanding.
Cooper has chosen to do the play in modern dress.
SHANA COOPER Doing this play in a contemporary setting requires that you wrestle, I think, even more deeply with the problems the play presents. It reminds us, at least for me, how much the struggles of this play and the struggles of gender and power are still in play for us.
The Taming of the Shrew kicks off The Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival this Sunday.
Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
