Camp Pendleton fire highlights active early fire season

Good Morning, I’m Andrew Dyer in for Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s Thursday, June 11th.

San Diego’s city council saves arts and culture funding and keeps its FLOC cameras.

More on that next. But first, the headlines….

U-S Central Command says it disabled another oil tanker in violation of its blockade of Iran. The strike late Tuesday was the second such strike in as many days.

The Pentagon says the ship was attempting to transport oil from Iran. It was struck in its engine room.

This after an empty ship was struck Monday attempting to reach an Iranian port.

The strikes come amid renewed hostilities between the U-S and Iran after the two countries failed to reach a long-promised peace deal.

At least four San Diego based warships are involved in Iran operations including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three destroyers.

A new bill provides $70 billion dollars for immigration enforcement through the end of Donald Trump’s second term.

The president signed the bill yesterday. It includes $38 billion for ICE and $26 billion for the Border Patrol.

The bill passed the House by just two votes earlier in the week.

It’s been held up since January … when immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens during immigration operations in Minneapolis.

A new bill would strip disgraced labor leader Cesar Chavez’ name from a Barrio Logan post office.

San Diego Representative Juan Vargas and California Senator Alex Padilla introduced the legislation in both the House and Senate this week.

It would rename the post office for Armando Rodriguez, a San Diego Mexican-American educator and civil rights advocate.

He also served in the administrations of presidents from both parties in various roles.

Rodriguez died in 20-19.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CITY’S NEW BUDGET WITH A VOTE LATE TUESDAY NIGHT

AT THE MEETING, THE USE OF AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS BECAME THE FOCUS OF PUBLIC COMMENT AND THE COUNCIL’S DISCUSSION.

PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA HAS THE DETAILS.

the council voted unanimously to approve a  budget for the 2027 fiscal year.at tuesday night’s meeting, automated license plate readers, or alprs, were among the most hotly debated issues.several members of the public shared their support for these cameras, while those opposed expressed concerns about surveillance and data sharing with federal agencies like ice.Ultimately the contract with flock safety costs just 2 million dollars, out of a budget of more than 6 billion. But council member sean elo rivera suggested that money go to covering remaining cuts to arts and culture and parks and libraries.“Do we want to spend scarce resources on a 24-seven ai powered surveillance? or do we want to use those dollars to keep parks open, restore library hours, and create opportunities for young people, families, and seniors in our rec centers?”The motion to cancel that contract failed 5-4. The council did approve a motion to restore most arts and culture funding, some library and rec center hours, and the multimodal team of traffic engineers – all public priorities raised throughout this budget process.The budget now goes to the desk of mayor Todd Gloria.Jake Gotta kpbs news.

NEW FEDERAL WORK REQUIREMENTS TIED TO PUBLIC BENEFITS ARE ALREADY TAKING EFFECT FOR FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS. SIMILAR CHANGES TO MEDI-CAL ARE SCHEDULED FOR NEXT YEAR. HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS AS PEOPLE TRY TO NAVIGATE BOTH SYSTEMS…ADVOCATES REPORT CONFUSION IS GROWING.

San Diego County says between CalFresh and Medi-Cal, about 400-thousand people could be affected by the New federal work requirements.CalFresh work requirements went into effect June 1st.But many people may still qualify for exemptions.Josue Castro oversees the CalFresh program at the San Diego Food Bank.

“Our team has been very focused on connecting with the community, letting them know what the requirements are, and then how we can help find exemptions.

Work requirements for Medi-Cal are not scheduled to take effect until January 1st, 2027.Linda Nguy is a policy director for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.It’s understandable that there is confusion because this is a brand new requirement that has never been imposed.

She says the exemptions aren’t exactly the same for cal fresh and medi-cal. So qualifying for one program doesn’t necessarily mean the same rules apply to the other.San Diego County says residents with questions about eligibility can call 211 for assistance.Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

YESTERDAY, A FIRE BURNED OVER 500 ACRES NEAR CAMP PENDLETON’S FENCELINE WITH OCEANSIDE.

IT IS ONE OF SEVERAL THAT HAVE STARTED AROUND THE COUNTY IN RECENT WEEKS.

FIRE CAPTAIN OSCAR SOTELO OF CAL FIRE SAYS DRY CONDITIONS MEAN FIRES ARE STARTING EARLIER THAN NORMAL THIS YEAR.

FIRESEASON 2A :17 “We had very little rain this year down here in southern california and a little warming spell in March that really brought up the temperatures and contributed to the fuel-moistures drying up and curing the fields.”

SOTELO SAYS CALFIRE HAS A FEW NEW FIREFIGHTING TOOLS THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN USING… A NEW FIREHAWK HELICOPTER... AND AN AIR TANKER STATIONED AT THE RAMONA AIRPORT.

ABOUT TWICE A DAY, SAN DIEGO LAW ENFORCEMENT CHARGE SOMEONE WITH RESISTING AN OFFICER – AND NOTHING ELSE. IT’S MUCH MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN TO A BLACK PERSON. IN PART TWO OF THIS SERIES, REPORTER KATIE HYSON TELLS WHAT THE DATA SHOW, AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.

You want me to tell you why I stopped you or are you going to keep on talking over me?Why’d y’all stop me?Keshawn “Shaheed” Price was leaving a high school football game in September when San Diego police officers stopped him.Allegedly for speeding. Price says that’s impossible since they were behind two buses.I got my ID and my license and I got my  insurance, but y’all stopping me and putting lights in my kids faces and all that, y’all don’t need to be doing that.His 14-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter were in the back seat. I don’t feel safe with y’all pulling me over! The front passenger was filming. He asked them to call his wife.Officers ordered him out of the car. I don’t have to get out of the car!They handcuffed him.  And his kids. He says it was his children’s first interaction with police.I felt like I was being robbed and like my kids being kidnapped, honestly . . . it was the worst feeling ever . . . Just like not being able to do nothing. Knowing that everything they’re doing was transgressing on my rights.They took Price to jail for resisting an officer. His next court date is this month.Price works for a nonprofit that assists people impacted by the local justice system. He says he and his colleagues had already noticed a pattern of standalone resisting charges.So we was already like kind of like strategizing around it just like talking about it. But when it happened to me it was like, wow.They requested data from the City Attorney. All cases where the only charge was resisting from January 20-24 through October 20-25.That data show Black people are about nine times likelier than white people to be charged by San Diego law enforcement with resisting and nothing else.SDPD spokesperson Cesar Jimenez said by email that this statistic doesn’t tell the whole story.He says every citation for resisting is based on probable cause.The data includes more than 13-hundred cases where the only charge is resisting. That’s about 2 a day. San Diego’s City Attorney declined to prosecute about a thousand of them. The person's charge, it gets dismissed, a judge never sees it. And then rinse and repeat over and over and over. Scott Holmes is a civil rights attorney and law professor in Durham, North Carolina. And no one is keeping up with the magnitude of the problem, or quantifying it or presenting it to the public.Holmes noticed a pattern with his clients and started researching resisting charges.There was a high correlation between people being stopped without any reasonable suspicion or any grounds, and then arguing or complaining about it, and then ending up with a resisting charge to punish them for arguing about their interaction. Holmes found in Durham, ninety percent of people charged with resisting and no other major offense were Black. And most of those charges were never prosecuted.To him, that’s a red flag.It really is a signal more that the police have engaged in misconduct than the person is guilty of the crime. He says many of these cases are unconstitutional.If the person is only charged with resisting arrest, the question is well, arrest for what? What was the legal duty that brought this person before you that made them obligated to comply with your orders?Generally, an officer has to have reasonable suspicion to detain somebody. Heated words aren’t enough.Unless your words are fighting words or you're actually verbally threatening the safety of the officer, you can express your disapproval of how things are going in the most strong terms and be fully protected under the First Amendment. SDPD spokesperson Cesar Jimenez said if someone believes their rights have been violated, they can file a complaint.KPBS recently found the city board tasked with police oversight doesn’t get to review the vast majority of these complaints.Holmes again.The purpose of the charge in that moment is to control that person and send a signal to everybody else that this is not the way you deal with the police. You have to obey us. And . . . the impact of it is to dissuade other members of the vulnerable community from asserting themselves.Holmes says using criminal laws to control Black people has been a tactic since slavery ended.He offered a solution.When officers charge resisting without legal grounds? They should be held liable.It’s a crime. And if prosecutors started prosecuting it as crimes . . . then police would stop it, the way criminals are supposed to be deterred by criminal prosecution.Katie Hyson, KPBS News. 

HAZARDOUS BEACH CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE SAN DIEGO COAST UNTIL THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THAT MEANS BIG WAVES, DANGEROUS SWIMMING CONDITIONS AND A HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK.

CHRISTIAN MAINE HAS BEEN SURFING FOR FIFTEEN YEARS. WEDNESDAY’S CONDITIONS BROKE HIS BOARD IN HALF.

BEFORE GOING OUT INTO BIG SURF… MAINE SAYS ITS IMPORTANT TO ASK YOURSELF…

Can I even get out?  Like Is there a rip that I know I can get through? And just be honest with yourself and be like is this past my limit or not?

BUT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS RECOMMENDING STAYING OUT OF THE WATER UNTIL CONDITIONS ARE BACK TO NORMAL.

THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR OPENED YESTERDAY.

FOR MANY SAN DIEGANS, IT MARKS THE OFFICIAL START TO SUMMER.

NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN WAS THERE FOR ALL OF THE OPENING DAY EXCITEMENT.

Lisa Cartegena (cart-eh-hena) and her family were among the first attendees through the gates at the San Diego County Fair this year.She wanted to get the kids to spend some time outdoors.“I'm just going to watch and walk around, get some exercise and just let them enjoy the unlimited wristbands and rides and food.”And all the kids could think of were the rides.“I'm looking forward to going on the rides the most. We are going on some intense rides today.”Cartegena says part of the reason they were going on opening day was the $5 admission special. Fair organizers say they’re trying to keep the fun affordable with deals and discounts. For more information on that, visit s-d-fair-dot-com.Alexander Nguyen, KPBS News

That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is edited by Brooke Ruth. Today’s show was hosted and produced by me, Andrew Dyer. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.