Former U-T editor says publisher pulled ICE editorial, then fired her

Good Morning, I’m Andrew Dyer, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, June 19th.

UCSD researchers are hoping for an earth-shaking breakthrough in steel construction.

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

Officials say the runway lights that were out the night a jet crashed in Tierra Santa last month, hadn’t worked since 2022.

The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the fatal crash yesterday (Wednesday).

Six people were killed on board the Cessna jet when it crashed into a military housing neighborhood on May 22nd.

It was attempting to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

According to the N-T-S-B, the jet was only 60 feet above the ground when it struck power lines and crashed. It should have been at 200 feet.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The Regional Task Force on Homelessness says it over-counted the city of El Cajon’s homeless population during January’s point-in-time count.

The results of the count were released in May and showed that homelessness dropped across the county – except in El Cajon.

Now, the task force says its initial count included at least 24 people who lived outside El Cajon’s city limits.

Going forward the report will clarify that El Cajon’s count includes some surrounding unincorporated areas.

The organization also says it’s possible some people were counted twice in this year’s count .

THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD VOTED UNANIMOUSLY YESTERDAY [Wednesday] TO NAME FABIOLA BAGULAAS THE DISTRICT’S SUPERINTENDENT.

BAGULA HAS BEEN INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT SINCE SEPTEMBER.

SHE’S ALSO BEEN THE DISTRICT’S DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, A PRINCIPAL AND A TEACHER.

BAGULA IS A FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE GRADUATE AND THE FIRST LATINA TO LEAD THE DISTRICT.

BAGULA took over AFTER AN INVESTIGATION INTO FORMER SUPERINTENDENT LAMONT JACKSON FOUND CREDIBLE CLAIMS THAT HE ACTED INAPPROPRIATELY TOWARD TWO FORMER EMPLOYEES.

ONE OF THOSE EMPLOYEES ALSO ACCUSED BAGULA OF CREATING A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT, BUT THOSE CLAIMS WERE NOT SUBSTANTIATED.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.

Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

Next week, the seismic shake table at UC San Diego will test the strength of a ten-story building made from cold formed steel. Science & technology reporter Thomas Fudge tells us about this recycled material and what it offers.

UCSD’s earthquake shake table now has a building towering above it. Its load-bearing system, its walls and roofing are all made from cold formed steel or CFS. It’s made out of used steel that’s melted down and pressed into a material that is less than a tenth of an inch thick. Processing and shaping make it surprisingly strong but also very light. UCSD structural engineering professor Tara Hutchinson says the light weight is a big deal…. when a building’s caught in an earthquake. “Now if you’re in a seismic realm, an earthquake realm, lightweight materials are fantastic because the forces that we generate are proportional to the mass that we put into the structural system. It’s called cold formed steel because its final formation is done at room temperature. If the shake test goes well on Monday, building codes may allow CFS to be used in taller structures. Thomas Fudge, KPBS News.

THE NEWS MEDIA’S STATUS AS A CHECK ON THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER ATTACK. AND IN SOME CASES, IT’S UNFRIENDLY FIRE FROM WITHIN NEWS OUTLETS. LONGTIME OPINION EDITOR LAURA CASTAÑEDA SAYS SHE’S A CASUALTY. SHE SAYS THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE FIRED HER SHORTLY AFTER MANAGERS NIXED AN EDITORIAL ON THE ICE RAIDS IN LOS ANGELES. SHE SPOKE WITH REPORTER AMITA SHARMA.

Laura, describe the circumstances that precipitated your firing last week from the Union Tribune.Well, this was not the only incident, but we wrote an editorial, the editorial board, on the ICE raids and the protests, the peaceful protest in Los Angeles that turned violent. That editorial was pulled by the publisher, Ron Hassey, and told one of our team members that it was one sided and they were not going to publish that piece.What is your response to the idea that the piece was one sided?There is absolutely no way that I can agree with that. I work with two very professional journalists. We talked about the piece, the piece was written by the three of us and we stand by every single thing that was in that editorial. There was no way it was one sided. What's the other side?How would you characterize the pulling of the editorial on the ICE raids in LA and the elimination of your job hours later?The two go hand in hand. No matter what they say, you cannot kill an editorial at 11 or 12 o'clock in the afternoon. And then by 4 o'clock in the afternoon I can't get into my computer or my email. Nobody told me what was going on. I think I'm calling it and I get a call back from the number two guy in the company telling me that my position has been eliminated. And I point blank asked him if this was connected to that editorial not being published. And I told him that I felt that was censorship. And he insisted that one had nothing to do with the other. I don't believe it.Were there any events before last week that signaled that management at the Union Tribune had changed course on its editorial policy?Absolutely. One of the things that they did is they destroyed our Community Voices project. We had a project where we handpicked a lot of community leaders from all walks of life, different age groups, genders, races, religions. And they were writing about a variety of topics. And all of a sudden, most of them people of color and women, their voices were shut down and they would not run their pieces. They also pulled an opinion piece that a student wrote at UCSD over protests that were going on.And what were those protests about at UCSD?Well, it was when the war started between Israel and Palestine and one of the students wrote and we tried to get the other side, obviously, but trying to find the students from the Palestine group was difficult because their student group had been disbanded on campus. So it was two very different pieces and they didn't want to hear it. We've been told not to run pieces that have the word genocide, to stick to local issues. We're not going to write about this. We're not going to write about that. Well, you know what? You can't set the agenda all the time. We work in editorial and opinion. That's the job that we were hired to do. And to silence all of these voices is ridiculous because that's exactly what that project was meant to do.So journalists and news outlets these days are scared to report and write about topics or issues even if they're true. Do you see what happened with you at the Union Tribune as part of this?Yes, I do. And it is ridiculous because we are supposed to be the eyes and the ears of the community. You know, see something, say something. They are trying to set the agenda. They are trying to control the narrative. And that's not journalism. There's two sides to every story, not one. And the rich people who own these papers and television stations across the country should not be setting the agenda.Why did you decide to speak out today?Because it's not right. I have been retaliated against because I brought two claims to the Human Resources Department. Women at the San Diego Union Tribune are not treated fairly. I'm a brown woman over the age of 40. And these guys who own this paper and the three male supervisors that I have reported to don't like it. And they want to silence me. And I will not stay silent. And I hope that other journalists will speak up as well.What's next for you?You know, I've had a migraine for two days. I don't remember when was the last time I ate. And I feel sick to my stomach over this whole thing. But I am going to take a deep breath and try to figure out what my next step is. I know that I will only get involved in a situation that allows me to tell the truth because the truth matters. And I will always be a storyteller. I will always mentor journalists. I'm also the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, San Diego Tijuana Chapter. So I hope to set a good example about journalism and where we are from here.

KPBS REACHED OUT TO THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE FOR COMMENT. A REPRESENTATIVE ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT:  "THE DECISION TO ELIMINATE CASTAÑEDA’S POSITION HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY EDITORIAL, AND IN FACT SHE DID NOT WRITE THE DRAFT EDITORIAL SHE FALSELY CLAIMS LED TO HER DISMISSAL." 

SAN DIEGO WAS FACING BIG BUDGET CUTS THIS YEAR BUT THE CITY COUNCIL WAS ABLE TO AVOID SOME OF THEM. IN OUR LATEST WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO CEO SCOTT LEWIS SAYS THEY'RE MAKING SOME RISKY BETS TO PULL IT OFF.

Most San Diego City Council members were very pleased with themselves last week. They reversed big budget cuts to library and recreation center hours that the mayor proposed. Where did they find the money? The council made some big bets. They said the city could get more than $9 million from some new sources. And if they win those bets, it will change life in San Diego a bit.Let's start with parking: The City Council wants nonresidents to pay to park their vehicles in Balboa Park. Of course then people will just park for free at the zoo. So they want the zoo to charge too and they want some of the money that comes in. That’s going to be a big negotiation.Then there are the billboards. The Council is seeking every dollar it can find. So it decided to make a deal with three main companies that control billboards in the city. If they get rid of one of their billboards, and pay the city millions of dollars, they can turn the other ones into digital billboards. Digital billboards can change more often and make far more money. The Council estimated it can get $3 million next year from these deals. But if my in box is any indication, people are going to fight those billboards. That means the council's bet on future money won't pay off. The Independent Budget Analyst warned the council it was getting into dicey territory. These may or may not … … to additional riskNow the mayor made more changes to the budget that he says will cut about a quarter of the council’s new spending. But he’s keeping the library and recreation center hours. The council will decide whether to override his changes.I’m Scott Lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.

ORGANIZERS OF SATURDAY’S NO KINGS PROTESTS ARE NOW SAYING 69-THOUSAND PEOPLE SHOWED UP IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO… NINE-THOUSAND MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT.

REPORTER JACOB AERE LOOKS AT WHAT CROWD SIZES CAN MEAN FOR A POLITICAL MOVEMENT.

“For a politically focused protest, this was the biggest in our history. And that's significant – it means San Diegans are really motivated on this particular set of issues.”Carl Luna is Director of the University of San Diego's Institute of Civil Discourse... and he's been observing political engagement in the region since the 1990s.He says San Diego is normally a town where it's challenging to politically activate the masses.“You can go back to the George Floyd protests – those tended to be sporadic and in the hundreds to low thousands. You go back to the civil rights movement – Martin Luther King Jr. came here to talk in the 1960s – those crowds were in the hundreds to low thousands.”Luna said the next largest political protest in San Diego was the 2017 Women's March where over 30,000 people showed up.the san diego police department says they don’t track crowd sizes independently, but take the information from organizers … as they’re focused on keeping everybody safe. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.

TODAY IS JUNETEENTH — MARKING THE DAY IN 1865 WHEN THE LAST ENSLAVED PEOPLE IN TEXAS WERE FREED. SAN DIEGO’S WORLDBEAT CULTURAL CENTER IS CELEBRATING WITH EVENTS LIKE A HARRIET TUBMAN BIRD WALK AND QUILTMAKING. ARTS REPORTER BETH ACCOMANDO HAS MORE.

Worldbeat Cultural Center founder Makeda Cheatom launched the Threads of Freedom program last Juneteenth. It’s a space for exploring the art and history of quilting.

MAKEDA CHEATOM We had tons of sewing machines and kids learning this. So much fun. 

Kim Ballentine Lane is a quilter and the director of Threads of Freedom. 

KIM BALLENTINE LANE Last year, Threads of Freedom had a community event. I volunteered, but also helped with the creation of the community quilt. And each person, we were asking them to create whatever was on their heart or on their mind. 

That quilt is now part of this year’s exhibit, which highlights connections between past and present. 

KIM BALLENTINE LANE …because many of us saw our grandmothers or great grandmothers making the quilts or making sure we were wrapped in a quilt. We felt so special and loved because this is something from their home. 

That is why she encouraged Cheatom to bring in a family quilt. 

MAKEDA CHEATOM She said bring that quilt out. But it's all tattered. But it tells a story, and it makes me proud… So we want everybody to come out and check this and learn how to make quilts again. 

And the designs themselves tell stories. Lane points to a quilt she made. 

KIM BALLENTINE LANE This is an underground railroad sampler quilt, and I took these patterns from Eleanor Burns and Sue Bichard. They have a book called the Underground Railroad Sampler Quilt.

She refers to the pattern squares as codes for those using the Underground Railroad. 

KIM BALLENTINE LANE It was taking a journey from slavery to freedom and in taking that journey, quilt blocks were the road map. And the signs and symbols behind the quilt blocks were like a map. And we're really trying to highlight the underground railroad. Yes, I made this quilt.. it was an educational piece. I mean, this is a history book because you can break it down by the color, you could break it down by the fabric, you could break it by the design. 

While Lane’s quilts and the exhibit reflect a deep connection to Black history, some scholars question whether Underground Railroad quilts and their secret codes actually existed. The quilt code theory was introduced in a 1999 book called Hidden in Plane View, which referenced a single story passed down to one of the authors. 

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY  When it was published, it created this frenzy, which in some way was good because it got folks looking at quilts made by Black folk.

Tracy Vaughn-Manley is an avid quilter and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Black Studies at Northwestern University. 

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY  On its surface, it's quite a captivating story that there were these ways in which those who were attempting to escape enslavement had a code and had these codes, this unspoken thing, and that were leading them to freedom, that were leading them to safe houses. It's a real feel-good, triumphant story. I can completely understand the allure of the lore. 

Marsha MacDowell is a Professor of art at Michigan State University and directs the International Quilt Index, a digital repository of quilt stories. She  concedes the story might be true but context matters. 

MARSHA MacDOWELL I would have liked to have known more the context of when she told that story and why she told it, in this instance, to a white customer who was at her booth in a marketplace in Charleston. This goes to authenticity of sources. And yes, she was an authentic source for that story. But you can't jump to the conclusion that that story was fact. 

Or that it was part of a wider practice, says Vaughn Manley.

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY  I want to strongly say I'm not going to fully assert that it is not true. But up until this point, major historians who have devoted their life's work to studying every aspect of enslaved life in America, can find no evidence… 

And then she says there’s the question of materials. 

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY  …Did they have the luxury of the textiles to make these intricate designs? No… I can't underscore enough, how expensive textiles were. Textiles were not cheap. To be able to have a textile to use for a particular design, to have enough for the background, the economics of it don't support it either. 

Still, Vaughn-Manley understands why the story persists. 

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY  … For those who have ancestors who directly suffered at that time, that generations of their families suffered in unmentionable, unthinkable ways. To say that someone had a quilt out that lent to their potential escape from this, or that there was some agency involved. But if you have to look back at that time, to be able to do so under this mythology of quilts being used to liberate people, there's a heroism in that. 

MacDowell says these modern Underground Railroad quilts still hold value.  

MARSHA MacDOWELL … these quilts provide a tool to examine African-American history. They provide a tool to examine quilt history. They provide a tool to think about how people are creative in the face of horrendous situations. I think they still have power… It's just that the original story upon which it was predicated, I would not be the person to say that it was a quilt-making activity that happened across the country at that time. 

Vaughn-Manley adds that quilts reflect the essence of America. 

TRACY VAUGHN-MANLEY … You take bits and pieces that are odd, don't fit together, that are different color, pattern, stripe, texture, et cetera. You put them all together and you have this beautiful thing. I think that that is a way to use quilting to talk about America… Again, we love stories…I understand its appeal, but it doesn't make it true. I don't think that this is something that has been erased. I think this is something the evidence tells me that this is something that never was.

Threads of Freedom is one part of the Worldbeat Cultural Center’s Juneteenth celebration, and just one piece of its year round mission to honor Black and African culture. 

MAKEDA CHEATOM This is our history. It's our civil rights. We all got to be a part of keeping our history because it is being erased, and it's ridiculous. 

You can partake in quilt making this Sunday at Worldbeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park.Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

THE WORLDBEAT CULTURAL CENTER’S JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION RUNS THROUGH SUNDAY AT ITS BALBOA PARK HOME.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. San Diego News Now will be off Friday for the Juneteenth holiday but we’ll be back Monday. The podcast was produced this week by David Jones and me – Andrew Dyer. It was edited by Brooke Ruth.

Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.