Health expert urges COVID boosters
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, September 15th.
A health expert urges San Diegans to get their COVID boosters. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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Under legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday, county judges will soon be allowed to order treatment for people suffering from addiction and severe mental illness.
Newsom says the Care Court program is a “paradigm shift” in addressing the state’s homelessness crisis.
The program aims to connect people with services before they end up in a hospital or jail.
But civil and disability rights groups have compared it to forced treatment.
The A-C-L-U of Southern California said it plans to file a legal challenge against the new law.
Seven Counties including San Diego must start the program no later than October 1st next year.
The rest will follow by December 2024.
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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced the 16th in-custody death this year.
A 56-year-old man was found unresponsive in his jail cell at the George Bailey Detention Facility in Otay Mesa on Tuesday.
Jail staff performed medical aid, and the man was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death is under investigation.
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It’s looking like come January 1st, stores will not be allowed to sell flavored tobacco in Chula Vista.
The city’s council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the ban, but it still NEEDS A SECOND READING BEFORE IT’S FINALIZED.
The city will follow Solana Beach, Encinitas, San Diego, Imperial Beach and the county of San Diego in making it illegal to sell flavored tobacco.
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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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THE CHIEF OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAS SAID HE BELIEVES THE END of the Covid pandemic IS IN SIGHT, BECAUSE THE ORGANIZATION IS SEEING THE LOWEST DEATH RATES SINCE MARCH OF 20-20 WORLDWIDE… BUT HE DID CAUTION WE ARE NOT THERE YET.
DR. ERIC TOPOL WITH THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE in La Jolla, SAYS THE W-H-O ANNOUNCEMENT IS PREMATURE.
“It doesn’t go along with the data you know we’re still the deaths around the world are still 35 percent higher than their lowest point in the pandemic … we have one fifth of the world’s deaths even though we’re only four percent of the whole world’s population so we’re not as a country, as a region in such a great state yet, I hope we’ll get there …”
He says getting the new COVID booster shot is key to getting there.
The new booster approved by the CDC last week targets the highly-contagious omicron variant.
Topol spoke about that with KPBS's Jade Hindmon.
First things first - what are your thoughts on this Omicron specific booster that was just given CDC approval?
Do we know how long this booster is expected to provide elevated protection against the Omicron variant?
With flu season right around the corner, health officials are also encouraging people to stay current on their flu shots. Is it safe to combine this and the new COVID booster?
That was Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon.
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The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating two incidents at Vista High School.
One of them is described as a “student to student attack” involving members of the school’s football program… and Vista’s head football coach is now on administrative leave.
Video of the attack spread on social media.
Students and community members held a protest at the school yesterday.
Isidora Francisco De Hernandez is a mom in the school district.
“All of us as parents are suffering its not my son but im suffering too because i have kids.”
Investigators have not released information about the other incident, only saying that it happened the day after the locker room attack.
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Allegations of online transphobic bullying brought protest from students at the San Dieguito Union High School District board meeting last night.
KPBS Education reporter M.G. Perez explains.
The allegations come from a group of LGBTQ students and their supporters. They accuse San Dieguito School Board Vice President Michael Allman of allowing and agreeing with derogatory comments made on a private Facebook group he created. A recent string of comments in the private group Families for Students First made fun of transgender students who use pronouns they choose. Mace vee-MY-ster is a senior at San Dieguito Academy. “I think that our board has shown not only do they not care about student opinions which they’ve blatantly said but on top of that they are participating in the behavior that harms our LGBTQ+ community.” In an online public post, Allman said, “Everyone should be called by the pronoun of their choice without question, ridicule, or judgment. This is unequivocally what I believe, and no one should say otherwise.” MGP KPBS News
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Coming up.... Encanto now has a Black Arts and Culture District. We’ll have that and more, just after the break.
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The Ocean Beach pier is an iconic part of San Diego County’s coast line, but it may soon be torn down and fully rebuilt.
The initial steps to rebuild the pier started yesterday , with the city exploring cost and reconstruction options.
Corey Bruins is the President of the Ocean Beach Town Council.
“Over the past couple of years recently, really kind of the past five as the king tides come in seasonally it's really battering away at the end of the pier. So the city has been doing a lot of emergency repairs for a while.”
Over eight-million-dollars in state grants have already been set aside for the rebuild, but Bruins says the total cost could be more than 100-million-dollars.
A loose timeline expects construction to start in spring 2026.
The city is currently looking for the community’s input on the project through an Ocean Beach task force.
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The San Diego Black Arts & Culture District in the Encanto neighborhood is taking form.
KPBS reporter Jacob Aere speaks to locals about what the designation means for the city and its often overlooked Black communities.
Walk into the World Famous Imperial Barber Shop, and you’ll find it chock-full of paintings, photographs and artifacts that pay homage to Black history – in San Diego… and beyond. The shop sits in the heart of the recently designated Black Arts & Culture district in Encanto. Tau Baraka | World Famous Imperial Barber Shop “We’re wanting this community to actually grow. And art is the foundation of most growth.” Tau (Ta-oo) Baraka is the shop’s owner… and the art isn’t just inside. Its back parking lot features some of the district’s largest art pieces to date. Tau Baraka | World Famous Imperial Barber Shop “We’ve actually had artists come out here to paint certain arts about our expression of where we’re at mentally and culturally.” Art in the district comes in all shapes, sizes and colors, says local artist Kim Phillips-Pea. Kim Phillips-Pea | Southeast Art Team President “I’ve painted a number of murals on this street and in surrounding communities.” She was overjoyed when the district became official. Kim Phillips-Pea | Southeast Art Team President “I was crying … tears of joy of course. And the reason why is just because we see in other communities, like you go to Chicano Park, you immediately know where you are. You feel the sense of culture, you feel the sense of pride and so that is something that I’ve always felt we deserve and we need.” The new cultural district covers eight blocks along Imperial Avenue, including Marie Widman Memorial Park. That same part of town once hosted summertime street fairs. Dajahn Blevins | Urban Warriors CEO “Vendors from one end to the other, headliner bands. And just everybody would come out here in this wonderful weather in America's favorite city and just enjoy each other. This park became the staple of that and we want to bring that back.” That’s Dajahn Blevins, C-E-O of the nonprofit arts organization Urban Warriors. He says San Diego used to be known as “Harlem of the West,” and he hopes it’ll soon be that again. Dajahn Blevins | Urban Warriors CEO “So if we don't do this on purpose, create an epicenter to where people can come on a common ground and see people who look like them, see hair that looks like this, hear music that speaks of us … you can kind of forget who you are.” The arts district is part of San Diego City Council District Four, represented by council member Monica Montgomery Steppe. Monica Montgomery Steppe | San Diego City councilmember “We’re talking about preserving history…This is the district that historically has housed the African American community in San Diego. This is the district that experienced the redlining. This is the district where we formed community.” The designation means funding… to improve store fronts, enhance landscaping and support small, Black-owned businesses… as well as adding freeway signage. Grant funding will be overseen by the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts, which is forming an advisory council to get community input. Gaidi Finnie is the museum’s executive director. Gaidi Finnie | San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts “A lot of times when people come to San Diego, they wonder where the Black community is. I mean many people have that problem. So having an area to be designated and redeveloped gives us that designation for people to be proud of the area.” Finnie says the district will launch a website for the advisory board in the next two weeks. Phillips-Pea plans to provide her voice and vision for the district’s evolution. Kim Phillips-Pea | Southeast Art Team “A little bit of everything from storefront improvement, I'd like to see infrastructure changes as far as driving down Imperial, beautification when it comes to just the landscaping, trees – definitely more murals – but we just want to see love poured into the area.” Back at the World Famous Imperial Barber Shop, Baraka says he’s already starting to see the community’s economic growth… and is looking forward to the healing that this designation can bring. Tau Baraka | World Famous Imperial Barber Shop “You have to have a culture to build a community or it will always be a hood. So the cultural part of it has to come – whether its arts, whether its sports – there has to be something there that people can grab a hold to. And I believe that art is like the universal message for bringing people together.” Right now, art is bringing people together at Marie Widman Memorial Park on the last weekend of each month. The park will be one of the first places in the district to see upgrades. JA 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 Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
