Efforts to curb incivility at public meetings face challenges
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, August 2nd.
Efforts to reign in disruptive behavior at public meetings face legal challenges. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######
Robert Logan the second, is now chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Logan previously served as the deputy fire chief overseeing employee services for the department.
He is replacing Colin Stowell, who is retiring.
At Logan’s confirmation hearing in July, he said he wants to increase transparency and collaboration.
He grew up in San Diego and began his career at the department as an E-M-T in 19-99 and became a firefighter the following year.
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The Registrar of Voters needs poll workers for the November presidential election, especially those who are bilingual.
The Registrar's office is recruiting people who speak Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as several other languages.
Poll workers are paid 145 dollars for each day worked.
On Election Day the stipend is 240 dollars to account for the extended hours.
More information on the requirements and how to apply, can be found at S-D Vote dot com
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The U-S Women’s soccer team will face Japan in the quarter finals of the Paris Olympics Sunday.
San Diego Wave F-C is hosting an official watch party to cheer on the team as they compete in the knockout stage.
Two Wave players, Naomi Girma (NAY-O-MEE GER-MA) and Jaedyn Shaw, are on Team U-S-A.
The party is at Fairplay in North Park and kick off is at 6 A-M.
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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 almost routine these days for some people to insult County Supervisors or heckle others trying to comment on public issues.
Now, Supervisors are attempting to reign in this disruptive behavior.
But as Amita Sharma reports, those efforts are being challenged in court.
A warning, this story contains offensive language.
As head of the nonprofit Project for Open Government – which states its mission is government accountability – Mat Wahlstrom has attended San Diego County Supervisors meetings. He’s well aware of the nastiness spewed by some members of the public toward supervisors and staff…comments like these.
“The protocols you guys are giving are killing people… you’re totally mind-fucking people.”
And Wahlstrom is turned off.
“I don't agree with the reprehensible and just repugnant comments by people at times.”
Supervisors immediately sought to limit the barbs and interruptions by imposing new rules on public comments in November 2022 after San Diegan Jason Robo….referred to then county public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten, who’s Black, this way.
“Wooten, you’re fucking “Aunt Jemima.”
But Wahlstrom says the supervisors’ fix went too far. He is suing the county on grounds that it is now trampling on the free speech rights of commenters no matter how profane or degrading…they are.
“Some people think that that's the only way that they're going to get across. And again, I may not agree with it, but so long as it does not cross that line, that bright constitutional line, it needs to be allowed.”
One change allows the chairperson of the board to reprimand a member of the public if their statements are deemed discriminatory or harassing, and even have a sheriff’s deputy remove the person. (check)
“The problem is with the definition of discriminatory or harassing remarks.”
Lawyer Cory Briggs represents Project for Open Government in its lawsuit against the county. He frequently sues local governments.
“...You are allowed to be critical of public officials and public employees. We can criticize the government strongly. This definition now allows one person, the chair of the board, to decide that he or she doesn't like the comments that are being made, and even if they're legally protected under this definition, can say, stop.”
The county did not respond to requests for comment. But its document highlighting the changes does indeed define discriminatory or harassing remarks as legally protected speech that disparages an individual or group based on their “perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, disability or other hate speech….but does not rise to the level of a criminal threat or inciting violence.”
“What the board of Supervisors can do is make sure there's no disruption of the meeting, that no one has the right to shout out during the meeting. Anybody who shouts out can be removed. If the public comment is getting out of hand, they can certainly limit the amount of time that they're going to devote to public comments.”
Constitutional scholar and UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky has advised local governments on managing nasty public comments, but is not involved in this lawsuit.
“But the difficulty is that they can't say we're going to have a civility code for how to speak. They can't say no profanities. They can't say no ethnic or racial slurs because that's protected by the First Amendment.”
David Loy of the First Amendment Coalition, who also isn’t a part of the lawsuit, says those Constitutional protections ensure that the government can’t crack down on dissenters.
“....This is why we have a First Amendment to ensure that we do not allow the government to censor people based on their viewpoint. And sometimes the price we pay for that is we have to tolerate speech that we don't like.”
Briggs says the case challenging the county’s rule change governing comments at supervisors’ meetings could go to trial later this year. Amita Sharma, KPBS News.
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An anti-human trafficking operation during Comic-Con led to more than a dozen arrests and 10 victims being offered services.
Reporter Katie Anastas says a task force of regional law enforcement agencies oversaw the investigation.
An undercover operation led to the arrests of 14 people attempting to purchase sex. Ten potential victims were found and offered services. One is 16 years old.
Dan Owens is the assistant chief of the San Diego district attorney’s sex crimes and human trafficking division. He says there are signs of trafficking to watch out for in both children and adults.
Tattooing, drug use and abuse, any signs of physical trauma such as bruising as a result, at the hands of their trafficker. We also see them engaged in what would be commercial activity, such as the use of multiple cell phones. [15s]
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department says the human trafficking task force has received 86 leads so far this year, resulting in 104 arrests and 52 victims identified, including 20 children. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for the desert regions of San Diego and Imperial County this weekend.
The announcement comes amid another year of record-breaking temperatures in Southern California.
Imperial Valley reporter Kori Suzuki spoke with one heat expert about how to stay safe this weekend.
There’s been a growing awareness of the dangers of extreme heat in North America. In 2021, a heat dome struck the Pacific Northwest and killed hundreds of people. And the climate crisis means those kinds of events are only becoming more common and more intense.
So what does this mean for all of us? And what can we do to stay safe?
If you identify yourself as somebody at risk I would recommend to stay in a cool place to limit your physical activity as much as possible and to drink a lot of water.
Tarik Benmarhnia leads the Climate Epidemiology Lab at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. He says certain people need to be especially careful. Like those with diabetes and heart or lung conditions. And pregnant people and young children.
If you don't identify yourself as a vulnerable individual, susceptible individual, just still be careful because heat affects everybody.
Benmarhnia says some of the key warning signs to watch out for are moist or pale skin, excessive sweating, difficulty breathing and dizziness or confusion. If you start noticing any of those symptoms, you should try to find a local cooling center or somewhere else with air conditioning.
The good news, he says, is that every heat death is preventable.
Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.
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Commercial flights are returning to Palomar Airport.
North County reporter Alexander Nguyen has more on what that means for the airport and North County’s economy.
Soon there will be more departures… … more arrivals and reunions … at Palomar Airport.
American Airlines recently announced it will soon offer daily flights to Phoenix Arizona from the county-run airport.
“It means increased economic activity for the airport in the region.”
Jamie Abbott is the county’s director of airports. He says the aviation industry supports about 26-hundred jobs at Palomar.
“It also means giving people the chance to fly out of their community instead of travel to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport or down to San Diego International to, to begin their travel. So it's I think it's going to be a great benefit for the residents of North County.”
American will offer two outbound flights to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport.
The flights will be operated under the American Eagle brand.
They are expected to take off starting February 13th.
Alexander Nguyen, KPBS News
That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by Emilyn Mohebbi and edited by Brooke Ruth. We’d also like to thank producers Brenden Tuccinardi and Bennett Lacy for helping the podcast team this week. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us on Monday to start your week with the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.\
