Congregation looks to the future after tragedy

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, April 28th.

The Poway congregation attacked by gunman four years ago is determined to move forward.

More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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Another setback for commuters who ride the train between here and Orange County.

A landslide in San Clemente yesterday, has again closed the tracks in the area.

It’s about 2 miles north of where the Orange County Transportation Authority is finishing construction work from the last landslide.

Metrolink and Amtrak service will not be available between the two counties.

It’s unclear for how long, but the train tracks were not damaged.

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The San Diego City Attorney's Office wants the California Theatre building in downtown declared a public nuisance.

And to fine its owners up to 25 hundred per day for each alleged violation of the city code.

The 96-year-old theater located on C Street has been abandoned for

more than 30 years.

It was purchased by Caydon Property Group in 20-19.

But, reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune says the building was put up for sale last year.

The City Attorney's Office says police have been called to the building 68 times since 20-19 for various crimes, and the building has become a hazard.

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The Padres and Giants are set to play a two-game series in Mexico City this weekend, marking M-L-B's first regular-season trip to the Mexican capital.

The games tomorrow and Sunday will be played at the home stadium of the Mexican baseball league’s Diablos Rojos.

The stadium opened in 20-19, and was built by and named after Padres minority owner Alfredo Harp Helú.

This is the fourth time the Padres have played regular-season games in Mexico, but this series will put them on the biggest stage they’ve ever been on in Mexico.

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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.

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It’s been four years since a gunman burst into the Chabad of Poway synagogue and opened fire on the last day of Passover.

Longtime member Lori Kaye was killed and three others injured.

Rabbi Mendel Goldstein was in the synagogue the day of the tragedy…

He says he teaches his congregation the way to deal with antisemitism is to do good.

“And that’s how we can outsmart antisemitism, realizing that we have so much to accomplish, so much more to bring to the world and despite the darkness we may see and experience, one candle can push away all that darkness.”

Rabbi Goldstein says while he and his congregation mourn the loss of life, they are determined to move forward - in faith.

The Anti-Defamation League says antisemitic incidents in the U-S rose 36-percent in 20-22, compared to the previous year.

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A former Chula Vista resident was arrested earlier this week, following an antisemitic incident that shocked the world.

Here’s more from inewsource reporter Jill Castellano.

"CASTELLANO: In February, a message appeared on the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam claiming the diary of the Holocaust victim was a forgery. On Tuesday, police made an arrest in the case – a 41-year-old living in Poland. The man was former San Diego County resident Robert Wilson, extremism experts confirmed. He actually shared a video online this week of Polish officers coming to his house. WILSON: “I don’t do anything illegal. My lawyer told me not to open.” CASTELLANO: Wilson is a known neo-Nazi and member of the Goyim Defense League hate group. He fled to Poland last summer after being charged with a hate crime in San Diego."

inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS.

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The COVID pandemic impacted many people’s mental health, especially childrens’.

Education reporter M.G. Perez tells us about new state funding to support students and prevent suicides.

The wellness room at Black Mountain Middle School in Rancho Peñasquitos…is the largest in the Poway Unified district. It’s designed as a safe space for any of the 11-hundred students on campus to stop by, take a break…and calm down…when something upsetting happens. Erfan es-MAY-ee-lee is an 8th grade student who uses the room to talk things over with friends. “yeah it’s always good to talk to a friend because you know you’re not alone and you can talk to someone who might be feeling the same way as you.” The wellness room has tools and toys funded by a new 7-million dollar state grant that will pay for mental health programs over the next four years…benefiting students at more than 4-hundred schools across San Diego County…in an effort to prevent and eliminate suicides. Heather Nemour is the county grant coordinator offering guidance to school districts that need the support “they all say we don’t have enough mental health professionals …and frankly they never will. What’s really critical and the research shows is that school climate is very much connected to mental health and wellness for students”. Mental health programs will be funded through the 2025 school year. MGP KPBS News.

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, you can contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, any time.

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Research at UC-SD shows that bioengineering can extend the life of cells.

Sci-tech reporter Thomas Fudge tells us what that means for human longevity.

Nan Hao, a professor of molecular biology at UCSD, led the research. He says his team managed to reengineer a gene circuit that guides cells to one of two cellular tracks that cause it to age and decline. So that a cell, following its direction, will keep changing between two tracks. And it never gets a chance to accelerate. The oscillation of the cell between the different biological aging tracks reduces damage and causes the cell to live longer. So far Hao has tested this process on yeast cells. Human cells are next. He says the point is not to cause people to live longer. It’s to reduce age-related diseases. “Our goal really is to extend the healthy lifetime.” When asked if people will live longer, healthy or not, he said probably. SOQ.

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San Diego’s road-paving program known as Sexy Streets launched more than a year ago.

As inewsource reporter Crystal Niebla explains, some neighborhoods are seeing more progress than others.

Mayor Todd Gloria said his Sexy Streets program would improve 54 miles in historically neglected neighborhoods. About half of the roads are either repaved or work is underway. But the sequence of paving was largely decided by contractors. Rancho Bernardo has seen the most miles paved so far, while other areas like Kearny Mesa haven’t seen any work yet. Staff say crews are moving from north to south across the city and tackling some of the program’s more simple projects first. Sexy Streets is still expected to wrap up by 2024. For KPBS, I’m inewsource reporter youCrystal Niebla.

inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS.

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Coming up.... The 4-1-1 on the San Diego Book Crawl happening this weekend. We’ll have that, just after the break.

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It’s that exciting time a year again for all book lovers. The San Diego Book Crawl is back for its 6th year. And, this book crawl is expected to be bigger and better than ever.

Joining me is KPBS Arts producer and editor Julia Dixon Evans. Welcome back to the podcast, Julia.

Well, first and foremost, what is a book crawl? 

So why has it grown so much? Is it because there are now, more independent bookstores?

This year they're also adding an author ambassador, Lizz Huerta. Tell us about Lizz? 

You mentioned prizes? 

So how can we find our way?

I’ve been speaking with kpbs’s Julia Dixon Evans, it was a pleasure speaking with you Julia, thanks for joining us on the San Diego News Now podcast. Have a great weekend!

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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by KPBS Senior Producer Brooke Ruth and Producer Emilyn Mohebbi. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.