California’s big-city mayors lobby state lawmakers for money to fund homeless programs
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson … it’s THURSDAY, MARCH 26TH>>>> [ 1 BILLION DOLLARS IS WHAT CALIFORNIA MAYORS SAY THEY NEED TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS ACROSS THE STATE
More on that next. But first... the headlines…#######
THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS YESTERDAY VOTED THREE TO ONE IN FAVOR OF MOVING FORWARD WITH A FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS PILOT PROGRAM
THE SOLE "NO" VOTE CAME FROM THE PROJECT’S ORIGINAL SPONSOR JIM DESMOND, OVER WHAT HE CALLS THE ADDITION OF A “NEEDLESS POLITICAL STATEMENT”
HE WAS REFERRING TO THE BOARD’S DIRECTION TO HAVE COUNTY STAFF INCLUDE AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE WAR AND TARIFFS ON INFLATION, ENERGY AND HOUSING COSTS.
THE VOTE DIRECTED STAFF TO REPORT BACK ON THE BENEFIT OF A PILOT PROGRAM FOCUSED ON INTEREST RATE BUY-DOWNS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND DOWN-PAYMENT ASSISTANCE
DATA FROM THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS SHOWS THAT AS OF LAST YEAR, ONLY THIRTEEN PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN THE COUNTY COULD AFFORD TO PURCHASE A MEDIAN-PRICED HOME
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YESTERDAY, THE COUNTY'S DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY SHARED NEWS THAT THE SAN DIEGO RIVER WHERE IT CONNECTS TO MEET DOG BEACH IN OCEAN BEACH ...IS NOW CLOSED
THIS NEWS COMES AS THE DEPARTMENT SAYS AROUND EIGHTEEN THOUSAND GALLONS OF SEWAGE WAS RELEASED
ITS ESTIMATED THAT AROUND HALF OF IT REACHED THE AREA THAT IS NOW CLOSED
BEACHGOERS ARE BEING ADVISED THAT OCEAN WATER CONTAINS SEWAGE AND MAY CAUSE ILLNESS
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NEW LIGHT BLUE RECYCLING BINS ARE BEING ROLLED OUT IN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO
THE BINS ARE HEADING TO HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CITY-PROVIDED TRASH AND RECYCLING SERVICES
THE CITY SAYS THAT THE NEW BINS ARE MORE DURABLE AND ARE EQUIPPED WITH SCANNABLE TAGS, MAKING THEM EASIER TO TRACK AND MANAGE
A MAJORITY OF CUSTOMERS SHOULD RECEIVE THE NEW BINS ON THEIR DESIGNATED TRASH DAY
WHEN CREWS WILL ALSO REMOVE THE DARKER-BLUE BINS
THE CITY SAYS IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS FOR ALL ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS TO RECEIVE THEIR NEW BINS
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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CALIFORNIA’S BIG CITY MAYORS… INCLUDING SAN DIEGO’S TODD GLORIA… WENT TO SACRAMENTO THIS WEEK (WEDNESDAY) TO PLEAD WITH STATE LAWMAKERS FOR A BILLION DOLLARS TO FUND HOMELESS PROGRAMS.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL REPORTS THE MAYORS SAY PROGRESS MADE REDUCING HOMELESSNESS WILL BE LOST WITHOUT THE FUNDS.
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MAYORSCONF 1 :47 SOQ
“LAST YEAR, THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO ACHIEVED A 14% REDUCTION IN HOMELESSNESS… PROGRESS THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE INVESTMENT BY THE STATE THROUGH HAP.”
THAT’S SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA… TALKING ABOUT PROGRESS MADE THANKS TO HAP… THE HOMELESS HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION PROGRAM. THE STATE CUT FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, BUT IN 2024-2025 IT RECEIVED ONE-BILLION DOLLARS. GLORIA SAYS THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH IF FUNDING ISN’T RESTORED.
“ANYTHING LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS REALLY DOES MEAN THAT WE'LL BE CLOSING SHELTERS IN OUR RESPECTIVE CITIES. I DON'T THINK ANY CALIFORNIAN WANTS THAT.”
THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE MUST HAVE A BUDGET READY TO SEND TO THE GOVERNOR BY JUNE 15TH. JC, KPBS NEWS.
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A UC SAN DIEGO RESEARCHER MEASURED THE IMPACT OF THIS WINTER’S MASS IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATION IN MINNESOTA.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SAYS THE FINDINGS SHOW DECLINING TRUST IN LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AMONG OTHER CONSEQUENCES.
ICESURVEY 1 (gs) 1:06 SOQ
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Operation Metro Surge was unprecedented in terms of scale – at its peak thousands of federal agents occupied the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
And now, UC San Diego professor Tom Wong published the results of a survey measuring everything from trust in local law enforcement to economic output.
“Learning about and understanding what happened in Minnesota has become incredibly important not just to document it historically but also to kind of think about if San Diego might be next or LA might be next – how might states and cities prepare.”
In the survey, almost 60 percent of Twin City residents say they are now less likely to trust local law enforcement. And that lack of trust means that people may not want to call 9-1-1 in the future.
“Large percentages of residents saying that they are less likely to seek help from law enforcement as a result of how ICE and Border Patrol conducted themselves during Operation Metro Surge.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the survey.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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AS THE UNITED STATES APPROACHES THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING, KPBS IS LOOKING BACK ON SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS IN OUR HISTORY AND REFLECTING ON HOW THEY IMPACT US TODAY.
MUCH OF SAN DIEGO'S EARLY DEVELOPMENT AS A CITY WAS TIED TO STREETCARS — SMALL ELECTRIC TRAINS THAT RAN ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN DUG INTO THE HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO'S STREETCARS, WHY THEY DIED OUT... AND HOW SOME ARE FIGHTING TO BRING THEM BACK.
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STREETCAR (ab) 3:58 soq
RADLOV0118.MXF 02;22;09;06
MD: We're walking along University Avenue, which was once part of the existing streetcar network.
AB: Michael Donovan lives in Hillcrest and thinks about San Diego's old streetcars all the time. He sees their legacy in the wide streets that streetcars needed to turn corners.
RADLOV0118.MXF 02;22;28;06
MD: It's interesting with the construction that's going on in the street here, they're actually having to dig up the old streetcar tracks that were there.
AB: The largest streetcar network in San Diego was run by the San Diego Electric Railway Company. It was founded in 1891. At its peak, you could ride streetcars to Balboa Park, Mission Hills, North Park, Normal Heights and Golden Hill. Even to the beaches.
RADLOV0125.MXF 02;37;11;02
MD: You have the red line here, which actually is the same route that the blue line trolley now takes. And you'll see that some of these other ones also follow the current trolley lines.
AB: Donovan is a co-founder of Vibrant Uptown, a grassroots community group that’s campaigning to bring back the streetcar to San Diego's urban core. The neighborhoods built around the streetcar are already denser and more walkable than the rest of San Diego, he says. And there are new apartments going up just about everywhere you look here.
RADLOV0119.MXF 02;25;08;09
MICHAEL DONOVAN
VIBRANT UPTOWN
MD: We don't have room for all the cars that are going to be here as we continue to build out these neighborhoods. So we need an option. It's not to replace cars, but it is to give us an option where you can fit 100 people in the space of a streetcar, as opposed to the amount of traffic it would take for 100 people in cars.
ethan elkind.mp4
EE: Yeah, well, they really started out as a way to develop the real estate of cities.
AB: Ethan Elkind is the Climate Program director at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley. He says streetcars were the dominant urban transportation mode for many American cities in the early 20th Century. Unlike the public transit we know today, streetcars were typically run by for-profit companies.
ethan elkind.mp4 00:01:25:05
ETHAN ELKIND
CENTER FOR LAW, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
EE: Real estate developers wanted to sell land, and a good way to boost the value of land was to build their own private streetcar systems. And that helped boost the price, and then they could sell the lots, and then people would just commute into where their jobs were, usually in the city centers, by riding these privately funded streetcars.
AB: Elkind says as the automobile became more widely available, streetcars got slower and were often stuck in traffic. He says the streetcar's collapse was mainly due to an unsustainable business model.
ethan elkind.mp4 00:03:13:16
EE: Once the real estate was sold off, there was no longer an economic incentive for these companies to continue operating the transit systems. In most cases, they sort of went to the local governments and said, all right, we're losing money on this system. And, you know, will you step in and rescue the system and now subsidize it and pay for it?
AB: That did not happen in San Diego. The last streetcar ride here was in 1949. Michael Donovan says, almost 80 years later, the time is right for a streetcar revival.
RADLOV0119.MXF 02;32;50;09
MD: Just because we changed something doesn't mean it was the right decision at the time.
AB: The county's long-term transportation plans include a new streetcar that would encircle Balboa Park. But it's not envisioned until 2050. Donovan says Hillcrest and the surrounding neighborhoods can't wait that long.
RADLOV0119.MXF 02;33;07;08
MD: We're gonna get 50,000 new people in this neighborhood. We're not gonna get 50,000 cars in this neighborhood. So maybe it's time to rethink and learn from what we did in the past and revive the streetcars that we once had through neighborhoods that were originally designed for them. So I think that's a great way to celebrate the history that we've made over the last 250 years.
AB: Vibrant Uptown has won endorsements for the streetcar's return from community planning groups and the mayor. Right now they're looking for $500,000 to fund a planning study that would look at possible routes and funding options. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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THE PADRES' SEASON OPENER IS TODAY (THURSDAY). IF YOU’RE PLANNING ON BEING THERE AND SNAGGING A PARKING SPOT ON THE STREET DOWNTOWN, KEEP IN MIND THAT SPECIAL EVENTS PARKING RATES ARE NOW IN EFFECT.
REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN HAS MORE ON HOW MUCH THE CITY COLLECTED IN FEES DURING THE PADRES GAMES LAST YEAR.
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DTPARKING 1(an) TRT: 0:54 SOQ
NATS
Parking downtown has always been tough … NATS … because of the limited spots.
NATS
And if you’re lucky enough to snag a spot on the streets … be prepared to pay more.
NATPOP “I’m not too many with parking fees and increased.”
Last September, the city quadrupled the meter rate from 2-50 an hour to 10 dollars an hour during special events within a half mile of Petco Park.
And also extended the enforcement period to 10 p-m.
Mark Bartlett says the high cost is making him think about taking public transportation to catch the game with his family.
“We would always park on the streets especially during a cut off time. It was a 5 or 6 p.m.. On a game night. Right? Because you would get away with all for free parking. But now, I know they're pushing it back specifically during Padres games, so it's kind of deter us from doing that now.”
The city says it made roughly 21-hundred dollars per game before the new rate went into effect. After the new rate, it was 23-thousand dollars.
AN/KPBS
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THE 15TH ANNUAL SAN DIEGO ARAB FILM FESTIVAL KICKS OFF THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AT THE MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS IN BALBOA PARK.
ARTS REPORTER BETH ACCOMANDO PREVIEWS THE FESTIVAL.
ARABFEST (ba) 1:40 SOQ
While so much of what’s happening now is about dividing people and emphasizing differences, film has the ability to bring people together, helping us appreciate our shared humanity.
JINANE ABBADI …That's what the festival is about. It wants people to engage in real human stories and it also creates empathy in a way that the news headlines often can't do.
Jinane Abbadi Gee-nen Ah-baad-ee is a board member of Karama and the San Diego Arab Film Festival.
JINANE ABBADI So our mission has always been to use film as a bridge to connect audiences with genuine Arab stories and perspectives. There's still a lot of misunderstanding about the region and the people, and film is one of the most powerful ways to to humanize these experiences. But one thing that we really try to emphasize is that the Arab world isn't one monolithic thing.
Larry Christian is president of Karama and chair of the San Diego Arab Film Festival Committee. He says Friday night is already sold out for the historical drama Palestine 36, about a Palestinian revolt against British rule.
LARRY CHRISTIAN Showing a historical context helps people to understand the identity, the motivation, and to empathize with the experience of Arab people. The community feels itself under attack and we want to provide a way for the community to get together and celebrate itself.
You can join the celebration and enjoy Arab food this weekend and again in April with the San Diego Arab Film Festival.
Beth Accomando, 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 Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
