How one local mom saves money at the grocery store
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson…it’s WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH>>>> [ONE LOCAL MOM GIVES US ADVICE ON HOW SHE SAVES MONEY AT THE GROCERY STORE]THAT’S next. But first... the headlines…#######
CHULA VISTA'S CITY COUNCIL JOINED THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO
MONDAY IN WEIGHING IN ON FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.
THE CHULA VISTA COUNCIL VOTED 4 TO ZERO TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION CONDEMNING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE LED TO LOSS OF LIFE, DESTABILIZED COMMUNITIES AND DIMINISHED PUBLIC TRUST.
THE COUNCIL ALSO ORDERED CITY FLAGS BE LOWERED TO HALF-STAFF THROUGH MID FEBRUARY IN HONOR OF RENEE GOOD AND ALEX PRETTI [PRED-EE], BOTH KILLED DURING IMMIGRATION PROTESTS IN MINNESOTA
WHILE THE VOTE ITSELF WAS UNANIMOUS, PUBLIC COMMENT SHOWCASED A MUCH MORE DIVIDED ROOM
CBS-8 SAYS SUPPORTERS OF THE MEASURE SAID THEY FEEL THAT SILENCE CAN NO LONGER BE AN OPTION …
WHILE OPPONENTS SAID THEY FEEL THE CITY IS OVERSTEPPING AND SHOULD NOT BE GOING AGAINST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
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CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM WAS IN SAN DIEGO MONDAY TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE STATE’S EXPANDED DRUG ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS
NEWSOM SAID MORE THAN 50 MILLION FENTANYL PILLS VALUED AT OVER 5 HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED SINCE 20-21
HE SAYS THEY WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT BY DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE MEMBERS AT THE STATES PORTS OF ENTRY AND BY PLACING C-H-P CRIME SUPPRESSION TEAMS IN HIGH-CRIME AREAS
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THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY IS INVITING YOU TO A BABY SHOWER
ITS A VIRTUAL BABY SHOWER TO HELP STOCK ITS WILDLIFE NURSERIES
S-D-H-S'S PROJECT WILDLIFE PROGRAM CARES FOR MORE
THAN 10 THOUSAND ORPHANED OR SICK ANIMALS EACH YEAR
DURING THE SPRING BREEDING SEASON, THEY PROVIDE CARE FOR
AN ARRAY OF VULNERABLE ANIMALS LIKE BABY RACOONS, SQUIRRELS, DUCKLINGS, BOBCATS AND MORE
ANIMAL LOVERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN PURCHASE
ITEMS LIKE SPECIALIZED FORMULA, ENCLOSURES AND MORE
YOU CAN VISIT S-D HUMANE DOT ORG FORWARD SLASH BABY SHOWER IF YOU’D LIKE TO DONATE
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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K-P-B-S's NEW SERIES "PRICE OF SAN DIEGO" EXPLORES HOW PEOPLE ARE MAKING ENDS MEET.
REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS BRINGS US GROCERY SHOPPING ADVICE FROM A LOCAL MOM…WHO SAYS PLANNING AHEAD HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE.
GROCERIES1 1:17 SOQ
The cost of food has gone up by more than 25% since the pandemic. The reasons include everything from tariffs, to bird flu, to the weather. Standing outside Food 4 Less in Santee, Alli Powell remembers noticing how high her grocery bills were getting a few years ago.
POWELL
I was going to the grocery store without a plan. We were eating out a lot, and it just got overwhelming. I realized how much money I was spending.
She wanted to make a change. She started planning meals for her family of four each week. Before going to the store, she takes stock of the perishable items at home.
POWELL
Fridge, pantry and freezer. Everything is checked.
Her budget is $150 per week at the grocery store and $250 every four to six weeks at Costco. She shares her weekly grocery hauls on an Instagram account called “Grocery Getting Girl.” This time, she’s under budget.
POWELL
I spent $107.27.
Powell suggests keeping an eye out for sales – if those discounted items are already on your shopping list.
POWELL
The gold potatoes were on sale for $3. Normally those are five. That was awesome…
One other tip she shares? Leave the family at home when you go shopping.
POWELL
Because when your kids and your significant other come along, that bill starts going up because they're throwing things in the cart.
Find more stories of how families are saving money at KPBS.org/priceofsandiego. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, BLACK DEFENDANTS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN WHITE DEFENDANTS TO FACE CHARGES THAT CAN LEAD TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE. EVEN FOR THE SAME CRIME.
IN PART TWO OF THIS TWO-PART SERIES, REPORTER KATIE HYSON LOOKS AT HOW THAT GAP HAS WIDENED UNDER THE CURRENT DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
SPECIALS PT 2 trt 4:44 SOQ (kh/mb)
For people convicted of murder, special circumstance charges can mean the difference between the chance at parole and dying in prison.
It wasn’t something Daniel Trautfield used to worry about.
DANIEL TRAUTFIELD / SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CONVICTION PROJECT
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:58:45:19 - 00:58:54:16
SOT :09 I thought that our system would only, you know, give them life without parole if the things that they had done were truly egregious.
Trautfield now directs the Special Circumstances Conviction Project at U-C-L-A.
He says there are about 5-thousand people serving life without parole in California. Far more than nearby states.
When Trautfield started meeting them, they weren’t who he expected.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:48:16:19 - 00:48:32:19
SOT :16 These are people who are in wheelchairs, who are walking around prisons with walkers, who have, you know, been there for decades. People who have fully rehabilitated, who are leading, you know, rehabilitative work in California prisons.
He says the U.S. is one of the only Western countries to sentence people to life without parole.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, it doesn’t deter crime.
Trautfield says pulling together data to see patterns in these sentences is challenging.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:06:38:22 - 00:06:56:06
SOT :18 Many county DA's offices are, haven't been and, in some ways are still not particularly diligent in keeping records of the convictions and charges, and sentences that they have administered.
And he says what records they do keep are hard to access.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:25:55:08 - 00:26:05:00
SOT :10 We have to rely on data provided by the DA to then address the DA's history of racialized sentencing and charging.
But recently, his team received what he calls a windfall of data from San Diego County.
All cases with at least one first-degree murder charge since 19-96.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:35:06:16 - 00:35:18:11
SOT :12 The concerns that community members raised really bore out in the data.
Trautfield says San Diego’s District Attorney’s Office charges fewer people overall with special circumstances compared to nearby counties. But the racial disparities in who they charge are much more extreme.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:40:21:14 - 00:40:34:16
SOT :13 The laws are so broad that essentially, you know, a vast, vast number of people are eligible for these specials, and it's at the complete discretion of the DA to bring those specials forward.
The data show this gap has gotten much wider under Summer Stephan than it was under the previous District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:31:21:01 - 00:31:46:12
SOT :25 Under Dumanis, black people were essentially five times more likely to be exposed to life without parole through felony murder versus under Summer Stephan approximately 23 times more likely to be exposed to to life without parole through through felony murder. So that's a huge increase. And that increase doesn't really, can't really be explained by other types of changes in the county.
To control for possible differences between cases, his team then looked at cases with two or more murder charges. Those are automatically eligible for a special circumstance.
After Stephan took office, the rate of that charge against eligible people fell for every group. Except for Black people. It rose for Black people, by more than 17 percent.
The Public Defender’s Office has accused the District Attorney of having no standard criteria for when they charge specials. Leaving the door wide open for bias.
The District Attorney’s Office declined an interview, but told KPBS by email that they charge special circumstances whenever there’s enough evidence, regardless of race. They say the disparity doesn’t reflect intentional choices by their office.
State lawmakers passed the Racial Justice Act in 20-20 to help reduce disparities in sentencing.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 00:25:12:01 - 00:25:24:04
SOT :12 The problem is that oftentimes the district attorneys are opposing this work, as fervently as they can and really don't want to see these sentences change.
The Stanford Law Group and the N-double-A-C-P Legal Defense Fund released an analysis in November. It says no California judge has granted a petition under the Racial Justice Act for disparate sentencing.
Trautfield says the most effective tool to reduce these disparities is voting.
DanielTrautfield.mp4 01:02:01:18 - 01:02:19:02
SOT :18 It's really important for people in San Diego to consider what DA best reflects the values of their community, and really pay attention to how different DAs will enact their discretion.
San Diego will hold its next District Attorney election in 20-28.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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CALIFORNIA PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS HAVE MORE TIME TO MEET THE STATE’S NEW STAFFING RULES.
HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS HOSPITALS ARGUED A JANUARY DEADLINE WOULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF PATIENT BEDS.
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PSYCHSTAFF 1 trt: 1:17 SOQ
BRANDY WELCH
I have worked without ratios and with the ratios.
Brandy Welch has been a registered nurse for 28 years.
BRANDY WELCH
It makes a difference in the safety of our patients, as well as our own safety, but also the amount of care that we can give them.
Under the proposed rules, psychiatric hospitals would need one nurse for every six adult patients or five pediatric patients. Facilities that don’t comply could face daily fines.
Le Ondra Clark Harvey runs the California Behavioral Health Association.
LE ONDRA CLARK HARVEY
We support adjustments that are going to help people thrive, but we don't support them under extreme time pressure. That doesn't allow us to put the needed people in place.
Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital in San Diego says last year it took an average of 67 days to hire a registered nurse.
Harvey says when hospitals can’t hire fast enough, beds may disappear, leaving patients with fewer options.
LE ONDRA CLARK HARVEY
In California, we have about 17 to 20 beds per 100,000 people. Ideally, we should have about 50 beds.
Several psychiatric facilities in San Diego County submitted letters asking for a year, but the state says the rules will take effect June 1.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
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SAN DIEGO'S SNAPDRAGON STADIUM IS GOING TO HOST OLYMPIC SOCCER MATCHES!
REPORTER JACOB AERE SAYS IT WILL BE ONE OF SIX U-S VENUES FOR THE 2028 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S OLYMPIC SOCCER TOURNAMENTS.
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SNAPDRAGON 3 (:48)
San Diego’s soccer scene keeps on growing….
San Diego State University’s home field … and the home field for San Diego’s two soccer teams … will now host international teams for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Emily Neenan is Chief Business Officer with San Diego Wave FC.
“There’s so much credibility here. I think between both the men's team and the women's team now, our fans have showed up since day one. And I would argue they're not just here to support the clubs, but they elevate the game.”
Organizers of the games say Snapdragon Stadium could host matches up through the Olympics soccer semifinals.
The schedule for both the women's and men's soccer tournaments will be announced before the first tickets are released in April. The L-A summer games happen in July 2028. JA, KPBS News.
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CINEMA JUNKIE BETH ACCOMANDO HAS A SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE FOR SUNDAY -- A LIVE MOVIE CONCERT CELEBRATING THE MAGICAL WORK OF A FILMMAKING PIONEER
MELIESFILMS (ba) 1:14
Georges Melies was a magician who, in the late 1800s, in the infancy of cinema, wanted to see what magic he could create on screen.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS ALCOLÉA: At this period, you just have, like tools, scissors, and glue. So everything was in his mind, and that's incredible, just incredible.
And that inspired Jean-Francois Alcolea to create a tribute to the cinematic innovator with Right in the Eye: Live Movie Concert of Georges Melies Films. The show’s title plays off the famous image of Melies’ Trip to the Moon in which a rocketship hits the moon, right in the eye.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS ALCOLÉA: Basically it’s a live movie concert, which means music and silent film and live music...You have musicians on stage who are playing more than 50 instruments.... So It's a whole experience in the light design, set design...So this is a journey through magic.
Seeing Melies' films on a big screen with an inventive soundscape is a rare and wondrous opportunity not to be missed.
Beth Accomando, 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 have a great day.