California Democrats are divided on a ballot measure to tax billionaires
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, AUGUST FIFTH >>>> [ CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS ARE DIVIDED ON A BALLOT PROPOSITION TO TAX BILLIONAIRES ]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
SAN DIEGO'S METROPOLITAN TRANSIT SYSTEM HAS BEEN NAMED THE MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY -- ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION.
THE AWARD HONORS EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND A COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
AN MTS BOARD CHAIR SAYS THE 2026 AWARD ACKNOWLEDGES THE PROGRESS MTS HAS MADE INCLUDING:
- STRENGTHENING PUBLIC SAFETY
- IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY
- EMBRACING INNOVATION
- AND RESPONDING TO CUSTOMER NEEDS
MTS IS ONE OF ONLY TWO TOP-4O TRANSIT AGENCIES IN THE COUNTRY TO RECOVER MORE THAN 95 PERCENT OF THEIR PRE-PANDEMIC RIDERSHIP
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A U-C-S-D STUDY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG [FRY-BURG] FOUND THAT SWITCHING TO A VEGAN DIET FOR ONE MONTH CAN MODIFY YOUR BODY'S AGING MARKERS AND INFLAMMATION LEVELS
A SENIOR AUTHOR OF THE STUDY SAYS THE REMARKABLE THING ISN'T SIMPLY THAT ONE DIET OUTPERFORMED ANOTHER... BUT THAT OUR BODY IS HIGHLY RESPONSIVE TO OUR EVERYDAY CHOICES
IN CLINICAL TRIALS... 48 PARTICIPANTS WERE GIVEN EITHER A MEAT-RICH DIET OR A VEGAN DIET
RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT THE VEGAN DIET PRODUCED FAVORABLE CHANGES IN GENE REGULATION -- INCLUDING A HIGHER PROPORTION OF THE T-CELLS THAT HELP REGULATE OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
AND THERE WAS LESS ACTIVITY IN CANCER-RELATED PATHWAYS
OVERALL THE EFFECTS OF THE DIET CHANGE WERE RELATIVELY SMALL, BUT THE SCIENTISTS SAY LARGER AND LONGER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM HOW SUCH MOLECULAR CHANGES TRANSLATE INTO DISEASE REDUCTION
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ITS NO SECRET THAT TO SAVE MONEY, LOTS OF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH ROOMMATES
WELL, A NEW REPORT FROM THE ROOMMATE-MATCHING PLATFORM, SPARE ROOM DOT COM SAYS THAT DOES NOT EASILY APPLY TO SAN DIEGO...
THEY NOW LIST SAN DIEGO AS THE SECOND MOST EXPENSIVE U-S METRO AREA FOR PEOPLE WITH ROOMMATES...
SPARE ROOM REPORTS THE AVERAGE ROOMMATE RENT HERE IS A LITTLE MORE THAN 13 HUNDRED A MONTH...
THAT’S HIGHER EVEN THAN LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO. ONLY NEW YORK CITY REMAINS HIGHER THAN HERE
10-NEWS SPOKE WITH MATT HUTCHINSON, THE DIRECTOR OF SPARE ROOM. HE SAYS LIVING WITH ROOMMATES IS STILL A GOOD COST-SAVING STRATEGY… BUT IN PLACES LIKE SAN DIEGO IT CAN BE A STRETCH
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 BALLOT PROPOSITION TO TAX BILLIONAIRES IN CALIFORNIA IS DIVIDING THE STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA HAS THE DETAILS
PROP 40 1 (jg/qo) [1:18] SOQ
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The California Democratic Party convened its executive board this past weekend in San Diego.
The party’s endorsement of Proposition 40, a one time tax on billionaires, was a split from high profile Democrats in the state.
Governor Gavin Newsom said in June, quote, “The fight belongs at the federal level” declining to support the state tax measure.
And Xavier Becerra’s office directed KPBS to an earlier statement in his campaign for governor that calls Prop 40 quote, “sketchy policy.”
Both Newsom and Becerra support more taxes on the wealthy in other forms. But San Diego County democratic party chair Will-Rodriguez Kennedy said the stakes are simply too high.
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“Because of the Trump administration's cruel cuts on health care and food assistance, people are literally going to die…What we're doing is we're asking people who are doing better off than they've ever done before to do a little bit more so that people literally don't die and starve in the streets.”
Nationwide, millions of people have lost access to food assistance and dropped Affordable Care Act insurance policies as a result of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and changes to subsidies.
County Supervisors Monica Montgomery Steppe and Terra Lawson Remer said hundreds of thousands of county residents could lose access to Medical as a result of the cuts.
Prop 40 would direct 90% of its revenue to healthcare and the other 10% to food assistance programs.
Jake Gotta, KPBS News.
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HUNDREDS OF UNSHELTERED PEOPLE GOT FREE CHECK-UPS YESTERDAY(TUESDAY) IN ESCONDIDO AT THE FIFTH ANNUAL COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE DAY
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN WAS THERE: ===
OUTREACH 1(AN) TRT: 0:46 SOQ
Getting blood drawn …
NATPOP “OK. How about over here?”
… or a simple check-up may be routine for most people.
But for people experiencing homelessness … this can be life-changing.
NATPOP “I think healthcare is a human right.”
Christian Absi is a physician assistant with the Neighborhood Healthcare street medicine team. They are one of the partners at the event.
He says events like this are critical because homeless individuals often do not seek care at clinics.
SOT Christian Absi // Neighborhood Healthcare
“I think being able to have an event like this to help really address a lot of just not only like, like their health care needs, but the needs as a whole, as a human being.”
That includes treating not only the symptoms but also providing the supportive care to go with it.
In addition to medical care, people at the event had access to showers, clothes and haircuts.
AN/KPBS
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RESIDENTS ARE RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT A HOUSING PROJECT IN ESCONDIDO. THAT’S BECAUSE THE HOMES WOULD SIT NEAR A NOTORIOUS HAZARDOUS WASTE CLEANUP SITE.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS THE CITY COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY) WILL DECIDE HOW THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD
The project would turn a long-vacant lot into five houses.
Neighborhood residents say they welcome new housing but worry about the land on which the homes would be built.
Heidi Whitman explains why. She lives directly across the street from the project site.
HAMILTON 1a 00:12
“Just upgradient of this project site is a state Superfund site. It is called the Chatham Brothers Barrel Yard site. It has been shut down since 1981 and has been officially deemed a cleanup since 1982.”
Groundwater monitoring shows contamination levels have been non-detectible. But in recent years, levels near the project site have increased slightly.
What the levels are directly beneath the project site are unknown. That’s because there are no monitoring wells on site.
Dan Weis (wise) is the project’s environmental consultant. He says groundwater testing is not the landowner’s responsibility.
HAMILTON 1b 00:04
“That's a Chatham Brothers issue. It's Chatham Brothers’ contamination.”
Weis (wise) tested shallow soil and soil vapor on the property.
HAMILTON 1c 00:09
“There were no contaminants of concern identified in the soil…and there were no detected concentrations of volatile organic compounds.”
Whitman says she wants the city and developer to do more in-depth studies on the property first.
The City Council could decide as early as Wednesday whether more is needed. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
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FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS, TIJUANA’S LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM WILL REPRESENT MEXICO IN THE LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS VISITED THE TEAM AS THEY PREPARED.
TJLLWS (gs) 3:18 SOQ
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CARLOS_2371Pi, pi, ripi, ripi Mexico - Pi, pi, ripi, ripi Mexico
These parents aren’t cheering for just any Little League baseball team.
CARLOS_2301 NAT POP bat hitting the ball
CARLOS_2371 Parents applauding
They are cheering for Mexico. For just the third time in history, a Tijuana Little League Team is representing Mexico later this month in the Little League World Series.
For 12-year-old Jorge Fonseca, this is a dream come true.
CARLOS_2308 00:00:27:22/ 21:37:04:30“Desde chiquito siempre era mi sueno ir a Williamport y por fin se cumpleo.”Ever since I was little, it’s always been my dream to go to Williamsport and I finally achieved it
Getting here, was no easy feat. Tijuana had to win multiple regional tournaments beating teams from Sinaloa, Sonora and Mexicali before making it to the national tournament. There, they defeated Matamoros in an 8-2 blowout.
CARLOS_2373 00:00:11:17 / 22:20:58:29“Los veo listo. Los veo con ganas.”They’re ready
Their coach – Francisco Fimbres – says the team is ready.
NAT POP CARLOS_2283 - from the pickle
Players train four days a week. Meet with a sports psychologist. And – starting next week – will wake up at 4 a.m. every day.
CARLOS_2373 00:03:19:16 / 22:24:06:23“Todo el mundo me pregunta. Oye pero porque a las 4 de la mañana?”Everyone was asking me, why at 4 a.m.?
Coach says that people called him crazy when he suggested the 4 a.m. wakeup calls. But the world series is in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which is 3 hours ahead. And the teams will have a 7 a.m. wakeup call. So his players need to get used to those early mornings.
They hope the hard work leads to a championship for Mexico – which hasn’t won one since 1997.
CARLOS_2373 00:02:41:15 / 22:23:28:31“Queremos darle un Campeonato a Mexico.”We want to give Mexico a championship
The last time Tijuana made it to Williamsport was 2023. That team made it to the semi-finals of the international tournament - beating teams like Japan and Venezuela along the way.
Nat POP - CARLOS_2353
The pitching coach Marcelo Santa Maria says it’s tough to compare the 2023 team with the current group.
But he says while the 2023 team was faster on the bases, this one hits for more power.
CARLOS_2374 00:02:03:06 / 22:27:50:08“Generaciones diferentes con diferentes caracteristicas pero los dos muiy buenos equipos.”
For parents, seeing their kids play in the Little League World Series is too much to put into words.
CARLOS_2366 00:00:53:35 / 22:09:15:31“No hay palabras para describer la emocion.”There are no words to describe the emotion
Martin Garcia played Little League in Tijuana. While he never made it to the big tournament as a kid, he’s proud to go as a father.
CARLOS_2366 00:02:38:28 / 22:11:00:20“Ahora voy como padre. Lo va vivir diferente. A traves de mi hijo.”Now I get to live it as a father through my son.
The league has come a long way since Gracia played on dirt fields when he was a kid. Now, they practice on a brand new field named after the Padres All-Star who helped pay for it - Frenando Tatis Jr.
But some traditions remain – like the post-practice tacos.
NAT POP - DJI_0017
Today’s menu – carne asada and chorizo tacos.
CARLOS_2384El major taquero de Otay!
The team flies to Williamsport next week. And Mexico’s first game will be against Australia on August 20 at 9 a.m. … Tijuana time.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. The pod today was edited by Mike {Mar-COT} & 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.
