How San Diego County is responding to federal budget cuts
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s THURSDAY, AUGUST 28TH >>>>
HOW IS THE COUNTY RESPONDING TO FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS?
More on that next. But first... the headlines….########
THE USE OF PEPPER SPRAY IN COUNTY JUVENILE HALLS COULD SOON BE COMING TO AN END.
THE U-T REPORTS THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON TUESDAY VOTED TO HAVE THE CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER RESPOND WITHIN 60 DAYS WITH A STRATEGY TO PHASE OUT PEPPER SPRAY AND TO REDUCE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS AND ROOM CONFINEMENT.
PEPPER SPRAY IS ALREADY BANNED IN MOST U-S JUVENILE DETENTION SYSTEMS
THE VOTE TAKES PLACE AS CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA IS CONDUCTING A CIVIL-RIGHTS INVESTIGATION INTO THE COUNTY’S JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES
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A GRASSROOTS ORG HAS STEPPED UP TO DELIVER FOOD AND SUPPLIES FOR FAMILIES WHO SAY THEY’RE TOO AFRAID TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF LOCAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
OUR NEWS PARTNER 10NEWS SPOKE TO LISA MONTES AND AMY BRYAN WHO FOUNDED SOMOS TIAS.
CLIP: We had to step up because food is a basic right.
THE ORG STARTED IN JANUARY AND NOW HAS ABOUT SEVENTY VOLUNTEERS WHO DELIVER FOOD AND SUPPLIES TO ROUGHLY 50 FAMILIES EVERY WEEK,
SOMOS TIAS STARTED IN SOLANA BEACH BUT NOW ALSO SERVES ENCINITAS, ESCONDIDO AND SOON, LINDA VISTA
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THE SDSU AZTEC FOOTBALL TEAM IS SET TO START THEIR SEASON TONIGHT AT 7 PM (THURSDAY) AGAINST STONY BROOK AT SNAPDRAGON STADIUM
BUT THERE’S ALSO CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN THE AREA , AND THAT COULD MAKE IT MORE CHALLENGING TO GET THERE AND TO PARK
AS GROUND JUST BROKE ON THE FIRST PHASE OF A RESIDENTIAL AND RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO THE GAME BUT WANT TO WATCH YOU CAN CATCH IT ON K-U-S-I.
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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 COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IS IN CHARGE OF GIVING OUT FEDERAL MONEY, ESPECIALLY TO PEOPLE IN NEED. AND THAT MEANS FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS HAVE HAMPERED THAT WORK. IN OUR LATEST WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO CEO SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS THE COUNTY’S PLAN FOR MANAGING THOSE CUTS.
VOSDRESERVES (public matters) TRT: 1:00 last words: “why it matters”
The federal budget cuts are having big impacts across the region. But one of the agencies most directly affected is the county of San Diego.
Put simply President Trump and Congressional Republicans wanted to cut programs and services directed at the poorest people.
Last year, Democrats on the county Board of Supervisors came up with a plan. The county has about $3 billion in reserves. And they want to use half of it to offset federal budget cuts and keep people connected to services they need. .
There is one problem. They need one of the two Republicans to support the plan. And yesterday, both voted no.
They’ll vote again in September, and if they can pass it then, there will be another big consequence. It’ll trigger immediate bonuses for all county employees.
In labor negotiations last summer, county leaders agreed to pay the bonuses if they were able to make the change to the reserve policy.
Now remember, the county didn’t create a new revenue stream, it plans to tap into a savings account. The situation in Washington isn’t changing any time soon so we’ll have to see what their plan is for balancing the budget.
I’m scott lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.
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SAN DIEGO REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT PETERS AND COMMUNITY ADVOCATES ARE CALLING ON CONGRESS TO PASS A NEW LAW THAT WOULD RE-START AFGHAN REFUGEE RELOCATION.
PETERS IS ONE OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF THE ENDURING WELCOME ACT, A BI-PARTISAN BILL INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE LAST WEEK.
HE SAYS THE NEW LAW IS NECESSARY FOLLOWING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CRACKDOWN ON IMMIGRANTS.
AFGHANMIDWAY 2A :10
IT'S REPREHENSIBLE THAT WE'RE FAILING OUR AFGHAN ALLIES NOW. NOW, EVEN AFGHANS WHO MADE IT TO THE UNITED STATES ARE AT RISK OF LOSING THE STABILITY AND SECURITY THAT THEY HAVE FOUND HERE.
AMONG THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE LAW IS THE REESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR AFGHAN RELOCATION EFFORTS, OR CARE, WHICH TRUMP SHUTTERED LAST MONTH.
THE BILL IS UNDER REVIEW BY THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
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CITY CREWS ARE NOW CLEANING UP HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS IN AREAS OF DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO THAT USED TO BE OUT OF REACH. REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS THAT ALSO MEANS OUTREACH WORKERS ARE MAKING MORE OFFERS OF SHELTER TO PEOPLE LIVING NEAR FREEWAYS, BUT FEW ARE ACCEPTING.
STATECAMP1 3:00 SOQ
For the last couple of years, more and more people have been camping along San Diego’s freeways.
On city sidewalks, they’re told to move every couple of days. At onramps and underpasses, they’ve found a way to stay for weeks at a time.
If someone is left somewhere for months at a time, they build an area, they build a community, they build all this stuff,
Franklin Coopersmith is the deputy director of environmental services for the City of San Diego. He says that gives people fewer opportunities to accept help.
and it's really hard to get people to say, hey, would you like to drop all of that right now and come to a place that you don't know? That's a very hard thing to get someone to do that's been out for a long time.
A new agreement with the California Department of Transportation is giving the city more access to those encampments.
For the next year, the state will reimburse the city up to $400,000 for clearing encampments along five miles of freeway through downtown, Little Italy, Sherman Heights, East Village and Barrio Logan.
Rather than doing like the whole San Diego area and having to contribute so many resources that we truly don't have to cover that many miles of freeway, we knew that we could at least commit to our hardest areas, which were downtown.
So far, the city says it’s cleared 57 encampments and more than 88,000 pounds of trash along freeways. Just sixteen people have accepted offers of shelter and support services.
I would say it is a low percentage at this point that are saying yes.
On a recent morning, city crews cleaned up trash and belongings left behind by campers on a patch of dirt next to an onramp to interstate 5.
Juan Carlos Rivera declined the offer of shelter.
A lot of us got a lot of stuff we're not willing to give up yet.
He says he’s been homeless for a year and a half. He has arthritis in his knees and uses a wheelchair. He’s already lost many of his belongings.
Right now, I don’t even have a tent. Somebody stole it.
Father Joe’s Villages street health team also helps people like Rivera. Jenni Wilkens leads the team. She says their patients don’t know where to go.
Shelter beds are not readily accessible. They're not always available. So it's not like they can just decide to move into shelter if there's no bed available. So it's been really just kind of, a lot of tension in the community overall.
In the last year, the city’s shelter system lost hundreds of beds, and just 12% of people referred to shelter got it. At the same time…
We saw the need increase by 15% over the year.
Casey Snell oversees the San Diego Housing Commission’s homelessness programs.
Sorry it’s not better news.
San Diego is just one city with encampments near freeways, and just one city working with Caltrans to remove them. Riverside announced a two-year agreement with Caltrans earlier this month.
Chula Vista is pursuing one, too.
In the meantime, San Diego’s city workers are making their rounds…picking up trash and making contact with people living on the fringes. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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ONE OF SAN DIEGO'S NEWEST TROLLEY STATIONS IS ALSO ONE OF ITS LEAST POPULAR. A KPBS ANALYSIS OF TROLLEY RIDERSHIP DATA FOUND THE CLAIREMONT DRIVE STATION ATTRACTS FEWER PASSENGERS THAN ANY OTHER STATION ON THE BLUE LINE.
ETHAN ELKIND (**rhymes with mind**) IS CLIMATE DIRECTOR AT UC BERKELEY'S CENTER FOR LAW, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. HE SAYS THE CITY'S RESTRICTIVE ZONING AROUND THE STATION LIMITS ITS POTENTIAL, AND THAT ALLOWING MORE APARTMENTS NEARBY WOULD BOOST RIDERSHIP.
BLUELINE 2A 0:10
EE: So it's a way to accommodate new residents in a much more sustainable manner and help shore up the finances of these transit systems, which are facing fiscal cliffs all across the country.
SAN DIEGO IS PLANNING TO UPDATE THE ZONING AROUND THE CLAIREMONT DRIVE STATION. BUT THOSE PLANS WOULD STILL BAN APARTMENTS ON MOST PROPERTIES WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE TO THE TROLLEY.
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THE TRAVELING EXPERIENCE AT THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE.
THE NEW TERMINAL ONE IS SCHEDULED TO OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 22 WITH SEPARATE ROADWAYS FOR DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS, PLUS FIVE MORE GATES THAN THE OLD TERMINAL.
BEATRICE ARZATE (AR-ZAH-TAY) IS A JUNIOR AT UC SAN DIEGO. SHE WALKED OFF HER FLIGHT INTO THE OLD TERMINAL ONE YESTERDAY (WEDNESDAY).
TERMINAL1 2A (:12)
“Usually I'm flying out of Terminal 1, so I think that's why I'm most excited about it. Because this is usually where I’m going and it feels more like a treat to go to terminal 2 because it's so much nicer – so they'll be more even now.”
THE NEW TERMINAL INCLUDES MORE PLACES TO EAT, INCLUDING A CELEBRITY-CHEF B AC KED MEXICAN RESTAURANT ... MORE PLACES TO SHOP … AND MORE SPACE TO MOVE AROUND.
DEMOLITION OF THE OLD TERMINAL 1 IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN AROUND THE LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER.
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THE WHITE HOUSE RECENTLY PUBLISHED A LIST OF ARTWORKS IN SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS IN WASHINGTON D.C. THAT IT DEEMS OBJECTIONABLE. ONE OF THE WORKS ON THE LIST WAS CREATED BY ARTIST HUGO CROSTHWAITE (YOU-go CROS-thwayt). REPORTER JULIA DIXON EVANS SAYS THE ARTIST SEES THE ACTIONS AS A DISTRACTION — WITH SERIOUS RISKS.
SMITHHUGO 1 (1:20) SOQ
Crossborder artist Hugo Crosthwaite was commissioned by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to create a portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci, which was unveiled in 2022
"it's me placing him in history and not just, you know, standing him out of history"
Earlier this month, the White House announced a comprehensive review of Smithsonian museums, to ensure the institution, quote, "celebrate(s) American exceptionalism" and "remove(s) divisive or partisan narratives."
Last week, the White House posted an article titled "President Trump is Right About the Smithsonian," listing works and programs focused on race, immigration and sexuality — including Crosthwaite's stop-motion portrait.
"I got the feeling that even the Trump administration hasn't even seen the portrait. it seemed to me like they just saw oh this is about Fauci then we hate it"
Crosthwaite says the move is designed to instill fear, but believes that governmental control of art could lead to significant consequences.
"it's this idea of that trying to rewrite history, trying to erase our diverse experiences, no? And the danger of that, of course, is that, you know, we're condemned to repeat terrible mistakes, if we don't look objectively at our history."
Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS.
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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 subscribing by doing so you are supporting public media and I thank you for that. Have a great day!
