Immigration rights activists demand answers after arrest of cruise ship workers
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, MAY SIXTH>>>> [ A PASSENGER WITNESSED TEN DISNEY CRUISE WORKERS BEING DETAINED BY C-P-B} More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE PARKING AVAILABLE AT COUNTY BUILDINGS IN DOWNTOWN HAS BEEN GIVEN THE INITIAL O-K TO MOVE FORWARD
THE PROPOSAL DIRECTS COUNTY STAFF TO FIND WAYS OF MAXIMIZING THE JAMES R. MILLS AND CEDAR-KETTNER BUILDING STRUCTURES FOR PARKING, AS WELL AS THE ASH STREET PARKING GARAGE
IT ALSO LOOKS TO BOOST AWARENESS BY WORKING WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO INFORM THE PUBLIC OF THEIR EXISTENCE
COUNTY SUPERVISOR JOEL ANDERSON PROPOSED THE MEASURE AND SAYS THAT BETWEEN THE THREE BUILDINGS, THERE ARE 8 HUNDRED PARKING SPACES
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MORE THAN SIX THOUSAND SENIORS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUATE FROM SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS THIS YEAR
THAT'S SAID TO BE A ONE PERCENT INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR
SD UNIFIED ESTIMATES THAT NINETY-ONE PERCENT OF ITS SENIORS WILL GRADUATE ON-TIME
ALSO WORTH MENTIONING IS THAT MORE THAN 7 HUNDRED GRADUATING SENIORS ARE ON PACE TO EARN THE STATE SEAL OF BI-LITERACY
IT’S AWARDED TO HIGH SCHOOLERS WHO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER LANGUAGE
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THE THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL SAN DIEGO MUSIC AWARDS WERE LAST NIGHT AT
HUMPHREYS BY THE BAY
THE EVENT HONORS AND HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL MUSICIANS, ALL WHILE RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITY
MUSIC AWARDS FOUNDER AND ORGANIZER KEVIN HELLMAN TOLD CBS-8 THAT OVER THE LAST 34 YEARS THEY'VE RAISED OVER 915-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE GUITARS FOR SCHOOLS PROGRAM
THE PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED BY THE SAN DIEGO MUSIC FOUNDATION AND PROVIDES GUITARS AT NO-COST TO SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTY
THE ORGANIZATIONS GOAL THIS YEAR WAS TO RAISE 85-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO BRING THEIR OVERALL AMOUNT TO A COOL ONE MILLION DOLLARS RAISED
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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IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ARE DEMANDING ANSWERS AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS ARRESTED SEVERAL CRUISE SHIP WORKERS IN SAN DIEGO LAST MONTH. AN EYE WITNESS TOLD REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS THAT AGENTS DETAINED ABOUT TEN DISNEY CRUISE WORKERS.
CRUISEDETAIN 1 (gs) 1:11 SOQ
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At the end of a Disney cruise, one of the passengers saw Customs and Border Protection agents arrest several crewmembers.
Dharmi Mehta captured the arrest on video.
SOTWhy do they have Jordan?
She recognized several of the crew members.
CARO3702_01 00:01:05:05 / 08:20:17:20“One of the employees in restraints was a head server who had been serving me and my family for the duration of my trip. We got to know him fairly well – he was actually serving us 45 minutes to an hour before he was in restraints.”
Nearly two weeks after the April 23 arrest, Mehta is still searching for answers.
CARO3702_01 00:01:38:13 / 08:20:50:28“The big questions and concerns we had were what will happen to them, where will they go, how do they go home, do they still have a job?”
Immigrant rights activists say federal agents also arrested cruise ship workers on April 25.
Benjamin Prado is with Union del Barrio.
CARO3700_01 00:00:36:19 / 08:09:30:21“Now this forms part of a larger pattern”
KPBS reached out to CPB, the Port of San Diego and Disney Cruise Line for comment. None of them immediately responded.
According to Disney’s website, the company expects workers to obtain a passport, pass a background check, and obtain proper visas.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL IS REVIEWING MAYOR TODD GLORIA'S BUDGET PROPOSAL THIS WEEK.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE BUDGET WOULD GUT A KEY ELEMENT OF THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY.
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MULTIMODAL 1 (ab) 0:50 soq
AB: San Diego has nearly 3,000 miles of streets, and 12 traffic engineers dedicated to redesigning them with safety improvements — things like slowing cars, improving visibility and adding crosswalks and bike lanes. Gloria's proposed budget would eliminate that team entirely. Laura Keenan co-founded Families for Safe Streets San Diego after her husband was struck and killed while biking in 2021.
LK: The mayor says his number one priority is safety. And if that is truly the case, he needs to also prioritize traffic safety. And this multimodal team is responsible for making safer streets in a very cost effective, efficient way.
AB: Despite the cuts to traffic engineer positions, the proposed budget would increase total funding for the Transportation Department. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLYMEMBER CARL DEMAIO IS RUNNING TO KEEP HIS SEAT IN THE 75TH DISTRICT…WHICH COVERS MOST OF INLAND SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
REPORTER SCOTT RODD SAYS THE INCUMBENT HAS A STRONG EDGE OVER HIS DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER.
AD75 EXPLAINER (3:05) SOC (FEATURE)
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio entered the Legislature in late 2024 promising to ruffle some feathers. And he’s delivered.
Here’s a sampling of DeMaio’s remarks in the Assembly over the past two years.
https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/278208#t=766&f=0ca9cbc1e4f7129d1a5c5b7d3c0c0998
[12:45]
“[Assembly Member Demaio, you are recognized] // Mr. Speaker, permission to use a prop. // [We are not allowing props today, Mr. Demaio.] // “Then why have you become props to Governor Gavin Newsom's presidential campaign?”
https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/259499#t=880&f=73be62ef84f5713708a4350263d9aeec
[14:40]
“Let me just tell you, this is one of the most dishonest, destructive, irresponsible budgets I have ever seen. And in California, there's a lot of competition for that title.
https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/278293#t=790&f=b36d0473a60b712ec9a03a654bd17908
[13:13]
“You have high speed rail that's propped up by cap and trade, which is nothing more than grift!”
DeMaio defended this unvarnished approach to politics in a recent interview.
Carl DeMaio
Assembly Member, District 75
[4:01]
“You’re damn right people need to be a little hot under the collar and they need to speak up. We need to demand better from our politicians on both sides of the political aisle.”
DeMaio first entered public office over a decade ago when he was elected to the San Diego City Council. Since then he unsuccessfully ran for San Diego mayor and multiple congressional seats.
DeMaio has introduced a few dozen bills in the Legislature…which has a Democratic super majority. None have passed.
He says his top three issues are reducing the cost of living, removing special interests from politics and improving election security. [DeMaio led the signature-gathering effort for a Voter ID ballot measure that qualified for the general election in November]
On reducing costs, he said:
Carl DeMaio
Assembly Member, District 75
[1:01]
“Politicians that run the state have blamed everyone but themselves for the damage that they've done. It's been their reckless policies, their mandates, their costly regulations and taxes that have caused everything in California to be unaffordable.”
DeMaio’s challenger is Democrat Gerald Boursiquot. He says he’ll prioritize collaboration with other lawmakers if elected.
Gerald Boursiquot
Assembly Candidate
[9:22]
“I will work with anyone who believes in democracy, who believes in the rule of law, who is accountable to their constituents, and wants to help working people and the downtrodden.”
Boursiquot is an IT contractor, military veteran and a newcomer to politics. He has an uphill climb in the race. DeMaio has raised significantly more money than Boursiquot. And District 75 has more registered Republicans than Democrats.
Boursiquot says his top three issues are creating jobs in East County, bringing down the cost of living and building more housing.
He’s especially passionate about that last issue.
Gerald Boursiquot
Assembly Candidate
[3:36]
“I was personally homeless myself for nine months in uniform. So that's really personal for me. I don't believe anybody should go without a roof over their head and we really — government has a responsibility to making sure that its people are housed.”
DeMaio and Boursiquot are set to move on to the general election in November regardless of the June primary outcome…since they are the only two candidates on the ballot for District 75.
SOC
TAG OUT: YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANDIDATES ON YOUR BALLOT BY GOING TO KPBS-DOT-ORG-SLASH-ELECTIONS. THAT’S WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUR VOTER HUB – A NON-PARTISAN VOTER GUIDE AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH
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APPALLING… THAT’S HOW THE HEAD OF THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY DESCRIBES THE CONDITIONS FOR ANIMALS AT THE VILLA CHARDONNAY SANCTUARY IN JULIAN.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL HAS MORE ON THE RESCUE OPERATION THAT’S BEEN GOING ON SINCE LAST WEEKEND.
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JULIANANIMALS 1 :58 SOQ
THE HUMANE SOCIETY SAYS IT FOUND HUNDREDS OF ANIMALS… FROM HORSES TO BIRDS TO 431 CATS…FOUND IN VARIOUS STATES OF EMACIATION , WITH UNTREATED INJURIES… A LACK OF BASIC CARE. THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY GOT A WARRANT TO ENTER THE PROPERTY LAST WEEKEND… SINCE THEN SOME ANIMALS HAVE HAD TO BE EUTHANIZED… WHILE THE REST ARE GETTING THE TREATMENT THEY SO DESPERATELY NEED. HUMANE SOCIETY PRESIDENT AND CEO DR. GARY WEITZMAN SAYS THEY’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
“This turned out to be the biggest rescue cruelty case that we've worked on in our 146-year history.”
THE HUMANE SOCIETY’S LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING. THEY’LL TURN OVER THE RESULTS TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY WHO WILL DECIDE ON WHAT CHARGES, IF ANY ARE WARRANTED. JC, 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 subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
