How an elementary school is preparing for El Niño
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH >>>> [ WE VISITED A SPRING VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THAT FLOODED IN 20-24 AS IT BRACES FOR EL NINO ]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
A FEDERAL COURT OF APPEALS RECENTLY RULED THAT C-B-P AGENTS CAN LEGALLY SEARCH YOUR PHONE AT THE BORDER
THE COURT RULED THAT SEARCHING THROUGH A PHONE AT THE BORDER IS NOW CONSIDERED “ROUTINE”
THIS DOES AWAY WITH OFFICERS NEEDING ANY LEGAL JUSTIFICATION SUCH AS PROBABLE CAUSE, REASONABLE SUSPICION OR NEEDING A WARRANT
THE CASE STEMS BACK TO A GREEN CARD HOLDER CONVICTED OF FINANCIAL CRIMES WHO ARGUED HIS FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED WHEN AGENTS LOOKED THROUGH HIS PHONE AND TOOK PHOTOS…
YAHOO NEWS SAYS THE RULING IS A SUBSTANTIAL FOURTH AMENDMENT VICTORY FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
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THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO SAYS ITS TAKEN MORE ACTION TO FIX A RECENT TRASH COLLECTION BILLING ERROR
CITY STAFF SAY CORRECTED DATA WAS SENT TO THE COUNTY TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR’S OFFICE ON FRIDAY AND THEIR BILLS WILL BE UPDATED
THE CITY SAYS ABOUT 44 THOUSAND SAN DIEGANS WERE OVERCHARGED AS A RESULT OF THE BILLING ERROR
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THE VACANT VILLAGE THEATER IN DOWNTOWN CARLSBAD HAS A NEW OWNER.
THE OWNER TOLD THE UNION-TRIBUNE THE BUILDING WILL BE PRESERVED AND THE GOAL IS TO TURN IT INTO A RESTAURANT AND BAR WITH LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
THE U-T SAYS THE THEATER’S BEEN VACANT SINCE 20-19…
ADDING THAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE SECURING A PERMIT AND FINDING SOMEONE TO BUILD OUT THE SPACE
THE U-T SAYS THE NEW OWNERS PLAN TO CONTINUE WORKING ALONGSIDE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE CARLSBAD COMMUNITY THEATER
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YOUR SAN DIEGO PADRES ARE POSTSEASON BOUND FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW
THAT’S A FIRST FOR THE TEAM
CONGRATS TO THE ENTIRE PADRES TEAM, OWNERSHIP AND STAFF AS THEY NOW SET THEIR SIGHTS ON CHASING THEIR FIRST WORLD SERIES TITLE
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News NowStay with me for more of the local news you need
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BANCROFT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SPRING VALLEY WAS ONE OF MANY PLACES THAT FLOODED DURING THE TORRENTIAL RAIN STORMS IN JANUARY 2024
EAST COUNTY REPORTER ELAINE ALFARO VISITED THE SCHOOL TO HEAR HOW THEY’RE PREPARING FOR EL NIÑO
SCHOOLFLOOD 1 (1:20) SOC
VALENTINA SOT
“Any time it rains I’m like ‘Oh no, I’m at school still. It’s going to flood again.’’”
Valentina Solis is a second grader at Bancroft Elementary school. Despite the sunny weather today, she remembers when the campus flooded in 2024.
VALENTINA SOT
“I started to worry because I saw the rain going all over and it was so rainy that I had to get picked up by my dad.”
Roughly 400 students and all staff members had to evacuate. In the months that followed, the La Mesa Spring Valley School District cleaned and repaired Bancroft’s campus.
Forecasters say this winter’s El Niño could bring historic rainfall. Now, assistant superintendent of business services, Tina Douglas, says the district is taking steps to prevent flooding.
DOUGLAS SOT
“Every time we know that there’s rain coming we always go out to those school sites specifically, to make sure that things are cleaned up to prevent and mitigate like any blockages.”
She says the district’s plan includes making sure gutters are cleared and the district has sandbags.
Valentina Solis is happy that her classrooms have stayed dry the last few years.
VALENTINA SOT
“I like this school … I love it so much because it reminds me of friends, memories and teachers that who are very nice. And I really like that.”
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News.
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FROM ONE LOCAL SCHOOL TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE
EVERY YEAR, DISTRICTS PROPOSE HUNDREDS OF BOND MEASURES.
IN THIS WEEK’S WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S JAKOB MC-WHINNEY (MIC-win-ee) BREAKS DOWN HOW THESE MEASURES WORK.
SCHOOLBONDS (vosd) TRT 1:17 SOQ "why it matters"
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Well over half a dozen districts from Vista to San Diego to Julian have put measures before voters this year.
Simply put, bonds are loans that school districts take out to pay for all kinds of facility construction. Those loans are then paid back, with interest, by local residents via taxes added to their yearly property tax bill.
San Diego Unified is a good case study in bond measures. For years, the district has been hit with recurring fiscal deficits that have led to layoffs, staff downsizing and service cuts.
That’s where bonds come in. The voter-approved measures function as an injection of cash that doesn’t drain money from districts’ general funds.
Since 2008, voters have approved four separate bond measures, totalling $11.6 billion dollars.
This year, San Diego Unified is asking voters to pass another bond measure worth $3.5 billion. Officials project it will cost taxpayers $8.1 billion to pay off the debt service for this bond. They say they’ll use the funds for things like renovating classrooms and building affordable housing for district staff.
District officials say they’ll be able to do all this without raising taxes because they’ll issue new bonds as old ones are exhausted. So, while the rate may not increase, taxpayers may be on the hook for bonds for decades longer than they would otherwise.
I’m Jakob McWhinney for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.
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IN OTHER ELECTION NEWS…
SANTEE RESIDENTS WILL DECIDE THIS NOVEMBER ON A PROPOSED ONE CENT SALES TAX INCREASE.
REPORTER JACOB AERE SAYS THE MEASURE IS PROJECTED TO GENERATE ABOUT $14 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY TO SUPPORT LOCAL CITY SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
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SANTEETAX 1 (:58) SOQ
Santee has never adopted a local sales tax measure since incorporating in 1980.
Currently, the sales tax is 7.75% … so on a $100 item you pay an extra 7 dollars, 75 cents.
Measure Y is asking Santee residents to add a 1% general sales tax for the next 10 years … bringing the overall local tax rate to 8.75 %.
The measure has been endorsed by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Mark Kersey (KER-see) is the organization's president and CEO.
“Whether its streets and roads in terms of being paved, whether its a fire station, whether its bridges, park facilities – these are all things we support and we believe folks would want to see in Santee as well.”
The city only receives the standard 1% share of the current tax.
If approved it would double to 2%. To pass, Measure Y must receive a majority vote. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS MET IN SAN DIEGO OVER THE WEEKEND
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS MAYOR TODD GLORIA HAS BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE ORGANIZATION SINCE JUNE
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MAYORSCONF 1 (ab) 0:44 soq
AB: Gloria says affordability is the top issue facing cities across the country. Next month, the Conference of Mayors will launch a national affordability tour. Gloria and other mayors will visit four cities to look at how they're addressing the rising cost of childcare, health care, housing and food.
TG: At every stop, we'll listen to residents and families who are feeling the squeeze. And we'll meet with local leaders and the people who are doing the hard work of delivering results. And we will highlight the solutions that can be strengthened and replicated in communities across America.
AB: Gloria shrugged off a question about whether the tour would impact his ability to do his job at home, saying it's important for San Diego's voice to be heard at a national level. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO’S CENTRAL LIBRARY CONTAINS THOUSANDS OF BOOKS - MANY OF THEM ABOUT HISTORY. BUT STARTING TOMORROW, THE LIBRARY WILL HOST AN EXHIBIT THAT GOES BEYOND BOOKS… TO TELL ABOUT A CERTAIN HORRIFIC HISTORY.
FOR OUR SEPTEMBER MUSEUM A MONTH, REPORTER JOHN CARROLL TAKES US TO RUTH… WHICH STANDS FOR “REMEMBER US THE HOLOCAUST.”
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MAMRUTH FEATURE 4:30 SOQ
TRACK:
The glass-walled room at the central library where RUTH is located is on the smaller side… but the history it represents is vast - the history of a dark time, reminders of an incomprehensibly profound evil one group of humans visited on another.
SOT (9499) 10:53:29 - 53:31
“It’s named after my mother Ruth Goldschmied.”
TRACK:Sandra Scheller is the founder and president of RUTH… a collection of artifacts that tell the story in a vivid, visceral way - of those who died, and those who lived through the holocaust. But before RUTH, Scheller and her late mother were focused on the mission of educating people about that horrific time from 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power, through 1945 when the allies defeated Nazi Germany.
SOT (9499) 10:59:52 - 11:00:01
CG: Sandra Scheller/RUTH Founder & President
“My mother and I were speaking all the time in the schools. We were going to this school, that school, this high school, this elementary school, doing talks.”
TRACK:
In 2018, Scheller broadened her reach - reaching the world stage from right here in San Diego.
SOT (9499) 11:00:04 - 00:18
“I put a proposal together to do art from the Holocaust to Comic Con and we’ve been there now for 8 years. Can you imagine? From 2018 until this last year, I have had a panel at Comic Con called Art from the Holocaust.”
TRACK:
Scheller says before her mother died, they talked about establishing a museum. After her passing, she did the next best thing… arranging an exhibit at the Chula Vista Library. Once that ended, she moved the exhibit to the library in Rancho San Diego. Next came a library in La Jolla, and now downtown San Diego’s central library.
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TRACK:
The exhibit includes artifacts that can make you angry… like a sign from a shop window reading… Juden sind hier unerwunscht - translation? Jews are unwanted here.
And there are artifacts that horrify… like a garment with a white X painted on the back - the Nazis did that to mark prisoners, a place to aim their guns if they tried to escape.
And all around… black and white pictures - the faces of innocent people caught up in the moment of madness… some seen in a second while looking at the photographer… a gaze of confusion, sadness, utter grief.
But also all around… the faces of survivors displayed in life-sized cutouts of those who lived to tell the tale… those dedicated to making sure this history never repeats itself.
SOT :02 - :04
CG: Courtesy Sandra Scheller
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m30IzY9_aCKOqOydhLJ5qEaREECfGhJS
“I’m a holocaust survivor.”
TRACK:
That’s San Diego County resident Simon Spiegelman… he’s now 98-years old. Sandra Scheller interviewed him recently, asking him what you might call the question of questions.
SOT :06 - :36
CG: Simon Spiegelman/Holocaust survivor
“I’ve been asked what my message to young people today and it would be that it’s very important not to believe the Holocaust deniers and to believe that this happened, it actually happened and that it can’t happen anywhere at any time again. And, it’s up to you, the young generation to prevent it from happening.”
TRACK:
A message years ago from another survivor propelled Scheller to bring RUTH to life.
SOT (9499) 10:56:42 - :57:14
“And one particular survivor came up to me. Her name was Gita… And she started crying and she said, the only way that I can see my family is when I close my eyes at night because I don't even have a photo. I'm jealous of what you have. So I went to the other Holocaust survivors and I made a promise to them. If I ever do this again, I will make sure that I will incorporate all the Holocaust survivors that I meet. that come to me.”
TRACK:
And so she has. The survivors and those left behind… the items that help tell the tale… all in a room that is now hallowed ground. The exhibit will be here for the next two years… after that Scheller hopes they have a permanent location for San Diego to have its own holocaust museum. JC, KPBS News
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That’s it for the pod today. This podcast is edited by Brooke Ruth and is hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great day!
