Councilmember proposes rolling back special event parking fees
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s THURSDAY, JANUARY EIGHTH[ONE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IS LOOKING TO ROLLBACK SPECIAL EVENT PARKING FEES}
More on that next. But first... the headlines… ########
THERE IS ONLY ONE DAY LEFT TO NOMINATE A
ROCKSTAR SOCIAL WORKER FOR SOME LOCAL RECOGNITION!...
NOMINATIONS FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY’S SIXTH ANNUAL SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK AWARDS WILL CLOSE TOMORROW
HONOREES WILL RECEIVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DURING
THE AWARDS PROGRAM IN MARCH
THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION SAYS
THERE ARE ALMOST TWO HUNDRED SCHOOL SOCIAL
WORKERS ACROSS THE COUNTY
PLUS, DOZENS MORE SOCIAL WORK INTERNS PROVIDING SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
YOU CAN VISIT SD-C-O-E DOT NET TO HONOR SOMEONE
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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A FORMER SAN DIEGO CHARGER IS NOW CHAIRMAN OF THE SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ROLF BENIRSCHKE [BENNERSCH-CUH] IS A FAMILIAR FACE TO THE ALLIANCE FOR A FEW REASONS...
FOR ONE, HE'S PREVIOUSLY BEEN SERVING AS VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
AND TWO, HIS DAD, DR. KURT BENIRSCHKE [BENNERSCH-CUH]] PLAYED A PART IN ESTABLISHING THE ALLIANCE'S CONSERVATION RESEARCH PROGRAMS
THE ALLIANCE SAYS THOSE PROGRAMS LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR DECADES OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND INNOVATIONS
THE WILDLIFE ALLIANCE CONGRATULATED ROLF IN A LINKEDIN POST ADDING THAT HE WILL GUIDE THE ALLIANCE INTO A NEW AND EXCITING CHAPTER
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YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO TAKE THE COASTER BETWEEN SAN DIEGO AND OCEANSIDE THIS COMING WEEKEND
THAT’S BECAUSE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ALL NORTH COUNTY COASTAL RAIL SERVICE WILL BE SUSPENDED
THE NORTH COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT HAS PLANNED MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE WORK AND ROUTINE RAILROAD MAINTENANCE
THE TRANSIT AUTHORITY SAYS THEY’LL BE WORKING ON THE DEL MAR BLUFFS STABILIZATION PROJECT, THE BATIQUITOS (BATTA-KEETOS) LAGOON DOUBLE TRACK IN CARLSBAD AS WELL AS SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE ON LEUCADIA BOULEVARD
SERVICE IS EXPECTED TO RESUME MONDAY MORNING
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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PARKING DOWNTOWN IS MORE EXPENSIVE AFTER THE CITY CREATED A SPECIAL EVENT ZONE FOR PADRES GAMES, CONCERTS AND OTHER EVENTS.
VIDEO JOURNALIST MATTHEW BOWLER SAYS ONE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IS TRYING TO SCALE BACK THOSE FEES.
DTPARKING 1 (:51) SOC (wrap)
If you go to one of the Padres home games this year and park in the street near the stadium, it’ll cost you $10 an hour. That’s because you’re inside the current special event parking zone.
Councilmember Raul Campillo says the parking zone is too big and costs too much.
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Visting downtown San– Diego should be a welcoming and accessible and affordable experience, not punitive price gouging at the parking metter.
The current special event zone encompasses more than 85 blocks.
Campillo wants to shrink that by about 3 blocks on all sides, drop hourly fee to $5 and shorten special event time from 7 to 5 hours.
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We have to not just look at what we're charging at the meter, but what we're collecting in sales tax, what we're collecting, and other fees.
Campillo is hoping his proposal will go to the full city council around the start of baseball season.
Matthew Bowler KPBS News.
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THE GUNMAN WHO KILLED TWO PEOPLE AND INJURED 13 IN 2001 AT A SCHOOL IN SANTEE MAY BECOME ONE THE FEW AMERICAN SCHOOL SHOOTERS RELEASED FROM PRISON.
REPORTER JACOB AERE EXPLAINS WHY.
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WILLIAMS 1 (ja) :55 soq
A San Diego Superior Court Judge granted a resentencing for Charles Andrew Williams on Tuesday.
Williams was 15 years old when he shot 15 people at Santana High School – killing two students.
He pleaded guilty and was ordered to serve 50 years to life.
Williams may go free because of a 20-11 state law and a court of appeal decision in 2022 that allow juvenile offenders serving life sentences or the equivalent …to petition for resentencing.
Laura (LORE-uh) Sheppard is his attorney.
“I know it's not easy, I know his crime hurt a lot of people 25 years ago, but the law has changed in California such that a 14 or 15 year old can't even be prosecuted as an adult.”
San Diego County District attorney Summer Stephan says she will appeal the court's decision.
Williams is due before a San Diego County juvenile court judge next month. JA KPBS News.
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IN IMPERIAL BEACH, MANY ARE MOURNING GARY GATES – A RESIDENT AND MEMBER OF THE LOCAL UNHOUSED COMMUNITY. DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, A SHERIFF’S DEPUTY SHOT AND KILLED GATES NEAR THE IB PIER.
REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS THE SHOOTING HAS DRAWN NEW SCRUTINY TO HOW THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE RESPONDS TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES.
AND A WARNING – THIS STORY CONTAINS MENTION OF DEATH, POLICE VIOLENCE AND SUICIDE.
IBVIGIL 4:24 SOQ
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It’s a misty Sunday evening along the waterfront in Imperial Beach.
Normally, the entrance to the IB Pier is colorful and bright - the giant rainbow surfboards glowing in the sun.
Tonight though, the sculpture is lit by a somber orange glow of candles. As a little over a dozen people gather to hold a vigil for Gary Gates.
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Gates spent most days living here, along the waterfront. He had some rough edges. People who knew him said he wasn’t always rational or easy to be around.
But they also said he was honest and emotional. He loved feeding the pigeons. And played a video game where his character was a DJ.
Gates was also active on Facebook. His profile is full of videos of the ocean waves and people in the park. Here’s one of him talking with a city worker.
SOT – “I’ve been here a month, I’ve been sleeping here 7 weeks. And you come out here, yelling at me to leave this spot. You can’t do that.”
In the days before the shooting though, it seemed like Gates was in a dark place.
On Friday, December 19th, he posted about the challenges he’s faced in his life. About the costs of healthcare and the bureaucracy of California’s housing system. And how he might try to overdose on drugs or get a police officer to shoot him.
That night, the San Diego County Sheriff’s office says they got a call about Gates possibly overdosing near the IB pier. The sheriff’s office is the main law enforcement agency in IB, which doesn’t have its own police department.
Police say Gates was holding a knife and threatening to stab himself. The officers called in the county’s psychiatric emergency response team and crisis negotiators.
They say they got him to put the knife away and offered mental health services, but he declined. The police left.
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Two days later, they got a 911 call from Gates himself. Three deputies responded, body cameras rolling.
The videos show a bright Sunday afternoon along the pier. It’s the weekend before Christmas. In the background, there’s a powwow festival going on. You can see tents and a big crowd.
Gates says he wants to talk to one of the deputies, Maxwell Hammond. Hammond approaches Gates, who backs away from him. Come on, Gates says. Get your gun out.
Hammond keeps walking towards him. Gates takes out a knife as he walks backwards into the intersection. Don’t miss, he says.
Hammond asks one of the other deputies to get a bean bag, referring to a less-lethal shotgun. He and another deputy draw their guns. The third draws her taser instead.
Gates starts walking towards Hammond, who fires at least four shots. Gates falls to the ground. I forgive you, he says.
The next clip we see is Hammond applying bandages. An angry crowd has gathered.
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20260104_ksuzuki_ibvigil_iphone_interview / 4:21
Gary was asking for a sheriff to end his life and that they should be prepared for that scenario in the street and what to do do when that happens.
Danielle Richardson lives in IB. She’s a doctor in the South Bay and a member of the local Copwatch, an advocacy group that records police officers responding to calls.
Richardson says the deputies’ response raises a number of questions. She says they should have taken him to the hospital when they encountered him the Friday before.
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When somebody is a threat to their own life they have to be put on what we call a 5150 That's a medical hold for them to get emergency mental health treatment.
Richardson says they also should have taken the knife away from Gates. And deputies should have prepared to de-escalate if Gates did try to confront them.
Richadson also said Hammond, the deputy who shot Gates, didn’t handle the situation well.
20260104_ksuzuki_ibvigil_iphone_interview / 5:40
He didn't even make any lawful uh commands to Gary to drop his weapon. He just said, "Gary, no. No." That's not a clear command.
The shooting is now under investigation by police in the City of San Diego. That’s because of a county-wide agreement meant to avoid conflicts of interest.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to questions from KPBS.
In Imperial Beach, Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.
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TWO SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCILMEMBERS ARE CALLING ON MAYOR TODD GLORIA TO SUSPEND PAID PARKING FOR CITY RESIDENTS IN BALBOA PARK. THE MAYOR SAYS THAT’S NOT HAPPENING.
REPORTER ANDREW DYER HAS MORE.
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COUNCILMEMBERS KENT LEE AND SEAN ELO-RIVERA SENT A MEMO TO THE MAYOR YESTERDAY (TUESDAY) CLAIMING THE CITY’S ROLLOUT OF PARKING KIOSKS AND ITS ONLINE PAYMENT PORTAL HAVE CRITICAL PROBLEMS.
THE COUNCILMEMBERS SAY THE CITY HASN’T DONE ENOUGH TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND THAT THE SCRAMBLE TO PUT UP SIGNS AT THE PARK SHOWS THE SYSTEM ISN’T READY.
IN A 4-PAGE RESPONSE THE MAYOR SAID THE PROGRAM WAS IMPLEMENTED ON AN ACCELERATED TIMELINE CALLED FOR BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
GLORIA ADDED THAT REVENUE FROM THE PARKING FEES ARE BAKED INTO THE CITY BUDGET THIS YEAR AND ANY DELAY WILL LEAD TO AN EVEN LARGER PROJECTED DEFICIT.NEW SIGNS MARKING THE PARKING RATES WERE INSTALLED TUESDAY, INCLUDING AT LOWER INSPIRATION POINT WHERE PARKING IS FREE FOR THREE HOURS.THE MAYOR’S OFFICE SAYS PARKING KIOSKS COLLECTED $23,000 OVER THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF THE PROGRAM WITH ANOTHER $106,000 PAID VIA THE ONLINE PORTAL.ANDREW DYER, KPBS NEWS.
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OCEANSIDE HAS DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AFTER SAND BUILDUP DECREASED THE DEPTH OF ITS HARBOR.
AS NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN TELLS US … THE CITY HAD ASKED THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FOR AN EMERGENCY DREDGE.
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OSIDEDREDGE 1(an) TRT: 0:38 SOQ
NATS ocean sound
Currently … the depth of the mouth of the harbor ranges between 7 to 14 feet.
Ideally, it should be around 30 feet to allow boats to navigate the channel safely.
Jayme Timberlake is the city’s Coastal Zone Administrator.
SOT “We are always proactively managing it, but we. Did have two capsize. Events and then one run aground event over the last couple of months. And so that also is an indication that mariners are having trouble with the condition of the channel itself.”
That’s why the city has pushed the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the channel ahead of schedule.
The Corps has put out bids to start the dredging before the annual dredging in April.
AN/KPBS.
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NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER FLOODING IN JANUARY OF 2024, IT HAPPENED AGAIN LAST WEEK TO BUSINESSES ALONG MISSION GORGE ROAD IN MISSION VALLEY.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL CHECKED IN ON ONE LOCAL FLORAL SHOP TO SEE HOW THEY’RE WEATHERING THE LATEST STORM.
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POPPYFOLO 1 :47 SOQ
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THE SOUND OF WATER RUSHING INTO THE NATIVE POPPY FLORAL SHOP EARLY ON JANUARY FIRST. FOR CO-OWNER MEG BLANCATO, IT WAS A NIGHTMARE COME TO LIFE AGAIN.
“It was very overwhelming. It was early in the morning on New Year’s Day.”
BUT LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO YEARS AGO MEANT THEY WERE BETTER PREPARED THIS TIME AROUND. THEY NOW HAVE A DISASTER SPREADSHEET SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT TO DO…
We have a company rule. If you're not willing to part with it, don’t leave it below the four-foot line.”
BLANCATO SAYS THEIR MISSION VALLEY STORE WILL BE OPEN AGAIN BY VALENTINE’S DAY. BUT SHE SAYS SHE AND HER CO-OWNER HAVE HAD ENOUGH. THEY EXPECT TO BE IN A NEW LOCATION BY THIS SUMMER. JC, 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 subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
