Kaiser workers could go on strike
Good Morning, I’m John Carroll, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, October third.
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A strike could be on the horizon for Kaiser workers.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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San Diego officials are asking for your input on how the city should spend 135-million-dollars in federal funding.
The funds can be used for things like increasing the availability of affordable housing, improving parks and libraries, and providing services and shelters for those experiencing homelessness.
This city will be hosting workshops to get the public’s input on community needs.
Or you can take a survey online.
There are three workshops this week.
There’s one this evening at 5-30 at the Skyline Hills Library, tomorrow at 6 P-M at the Bayside Community Center, and on Thursday at 1 in the afternoon, at Valencia Park Malcom X Library.
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San Diego Major League Soccer is building a training facility and youth academy on Sycuan tribal land in El Cajon.
It will be the first professional sports organization to establish a dedicated professional training facility on a tribal reservation.
The new project will be built where part of the Pine Glen Golf Course and Singing Hills Hotel currently are.
It will feature a residential youth development academy.
It will also include five full-sized soccer fields and a new sports performance facility.
The project is expected to start next month.
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We got a little sneak peek of fall weather over the weekend, but that’s going to change this week.
The National Weather Service says starting today, temperatures will quickly rise to above average for this time of year.
But, today’s temps won’t be as hot as later in the week.
In the county’s inland areas today, temps will be in the high 80s, by the coast and in the mountains it’ll be in the low 70s, and in the deserts, temps will be in the high 80s.
Temps will reach the mid to high 90s tomorrow, through the end of the week, in some parts of the county.
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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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More than 75-thousand Kaiser workers nationwide could walk off the job tomorrow, including a few thousand in San Diego.
Negotiations are still underway as the largest healthcare worker strike in the U-S looms.
Health reporter Matt Hoffman has more.
There’s about 4500 hundred San Diego Kaiser workers represented by OPEIU local 30.. From ultrasound technicians, to certified nursing assistants, housekeepers and pharmacy techs.. Union leaders say facilities are understaffed, but local Kaiser officials push back saying they meet state staffing requirements. Kaiser’s latest offer includes raises from 12 to 14 percent over four years, which they say keeps pay above industry averages.. The coalition of unions wants 24 percent over the same time period. Without a deal, workers would go on strike from Wednesday morning to Saturday morning.. Kaiser officials say they’re continuing to negotiate and are optimistic, but should a strike happen hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. MH KPBS News.
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San Diego County Water Authority officials say the region should have plenty of water in the coming year.
Environment reporter Erik Anderson has details.
The Colorado River basin remains locked in a mega drought despite rainfall and snow that increased water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell this year. If the drought lingers, federal officials could cut back how much water flows to California, Nevada and Arizona. There are currently voluntary cutbacks in place which don’t affect San Diego. The Authority's Alexi Schnell says any mandatory cuts would have a local impact. Alexi Schnell, San Diego County Water Authority “If there was an actual cutback, not a voluntary reduction, but if there was an actual cutback to Imperial Irrigation District supplies, we would share in approximately six and a half percent of that. So, a very small percent.” San Diego County water officials say the region should have plenty of water in the coming year, even though there’s concern about the Colorado River. Erik Anderson KPBS News.
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Coming up.... What’s included in “Kids Free San Diego” this month. We’ll have that and more, just after the break.
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For the next installment in our public art series, producer Brenden Tuccinardi takes us to a giant mosaic.
It brings the underwater world to life in concrete and tile.
It’s Just steps away from a swing set, slide and jungle gym. In the background, you hear laughter of children and the sound of crashing waves. It’s another playground of sorts made out of concrete and tile. “The Map,” as it’s affectionately called, is a 2,500-square foot mosaic. It sits At the Walter Munk Educational Plaza at La Jolla Shores. This massive piece of public art depicts the Grand Canyons of La Jolla as well as over 100 species indigenous to California’s coast. All in hundreds of thousands of pieces of hand-cut tile. Making a mosaic of this size is not easy, and it’s only possible thanks to the technique called LithoMosaic. It was invented by artists Robin Brailsford and Wick Alexander along with concrete specialists. Robin Brailsford Public Artist “Well, I tend to be a person who thinks big. And this is a technique that really only works for big. So that kind of that, you know, fit right in for me.” The patented process is a remix of the classic mosaic technique of securing tile to a surface with mortar and grout. Instead, LithoMosaic uses monolithic concrete pours.“So LithoMosaic did two things: It allows us to work super large, one just went in this week in Tempe, Arizona that’s 750 square feet. And it also has figured out a way through the chemical balance of the concrete and with the techniques that we put into it to allow it to go in in a freestyle environments. So we have it in Alaska and Nevada, New Mexico places where you wouldn't normally be able to have mosaics. Brailsford also works with the artists Kelsy Hartley and Mariah Armstrong Conners. She says a new mosaic begins with research. When I have a project or when I have identified a site that I want to do for my own without a public art commission, I think of a… I study it really hard. I am there. I watch the sunrise, the moon set whatever. I talk to the people. I research a lot in the libraries. I read a lot of books. All my project proposals have extensive bibliographies for the research I've done. Brailsford and Alexander's home studio is nestled in the hills of East San Diego County. There, The shelves of books are evidence of that scholarly approach to public art. “We're at a funny point now where the house doesn't have very many walls and all the walls it can have either paintings or bookshelves. So, you know how many more books do we buy is the current problem?” Once the research is done, the next step is design conception. “I do all my LithoMosaic layouts. I paint them on clear plastic. Because I'm basically a glass artist and so most comfortable working in glass. That's why you know things that you're seeing that are older are glass. So anyway, I paint on both sides of a piece of clear plastic like this. And I can really get the effect that I want. And what the LithoMosaics are gonna be like.” Then the labor intensive work of hand-cutting and placing each piece of tile begins. In the LithoMosaic process, tiles are secured upside down to mesh with water based glue. After the layout is complete it’s time to install the mosaic. This is done by concrete professionals.“So they take it and they lay it upside down and the monolithic concrete pour. Pull off the plastic. And then they trowel it, trowel it, trowel it, and then when the concrete has begun to settle a little bit enough to hold the tiles in place, then they peel the mesh back and the tiles are actually there in place and no mesh and no grouting and no buckets and no back braking work on our part.” Back at the map we’re able to get a better idea of how the skilled craftsman install the mosaic. “Imagine putting this much tile in your kitchen. So what they were doing was on one end, they were troweling this one in and over here, they had the pumper truck and they were up to their ankles, you know, pumping in the concrete and leveling it and then bringing over the next one at the same time. And it's the ballet of the highest order of how they put it together.” All of this wouldn’t be possible without the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans. It worked with the city and community stakeholders to bring the mosaic to life. Munk is widely considered to be the father of modern oceanography. He was one of the first scientists to bring statistical methods to the analysis of oceanographic data. He died in 2019 before The Map was finished. But the mosaic continues his legacy of teaching the next generation about the oceans and the animals that call it home. And the beauty of public art is that it’s for everyone. “Well I was just talking about one of my collaborators, Kelsey Hartley on the phone, and she was pointing out that in this time right now, mortgages are expensive, COVID has left people without jobs. There's a lot of uncertainty in the world. And what's great about public art and something like this is you can really sort of interact and own it, you know, on your own. I love the fact that my things don't belong to anybody and they belong to everybody and you can be here at midnight, you can be here at 3 o’clock in the morning, you can be homeless, you can have the biggest house in La Jolla and you all get to experience it at the same in the same way.” From a 31-foot gray whale to a life-size human diver, The Map offers visitors a chance to explore the ocean without having to get wet. “You know, there you go. That's it . What more could I ask for.” BT, KPBS News.
TAG: To see more public art stories and tell us what art pieces we should cover, go to kpbs dot org slash public art.
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October is the month for kids to get-in-free at dozens of museums and attractions around the county.
Education reporter M.G. Perez brings us the details.
It’s the annual October event sponsored by the San Diego Museum Council…and this month a record 60-venues are opening their doors to kids for free …and in many cases it’s free for their family, too. 9-year old Ben Barbrick is already enjoying the San Diego Natural History Museum with his Mom and siblings. “you learn where things have come from in time and stuff like that..but also where things come from in the world.” all 18-museums in Balboa Park are free for kids in October ……so is the U-S-S Midway....the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum….and the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center…to name a few. First Five San Diego is one of the sponsors… Alethea Arguilez is the executive director. “the museums are doing such and amazing job of really meeting on the senses…what we see, what we hear, what we touch, what we taste, what we feel …it’s so important for our little ones and their brain development at this time.” For specifics and all the attractions included….CLICK on SAN DIEGO MUSEUM COUNCIL-dot-ORG. MGP KPBS News.
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October also marks Filipino American Heritage Month.
In order to raise awareness for Filipino cinema as an important art form and a powerful tool for representation, San Diego Filipino Cinema is holding its third annual San Diego Filipino Film Festival.
The festival kicks off tonight, but its opening and closing night films are already sold out.
Film critic Beth Accomando spoke with Benito Bautista, executive director and co-founder of San Diego Filipino Cinema.
Here’s that conversation.
TAG: That was Benito Bautista, executive director and co-founder of San Diego Filipino Cinema, speaking with KPBS film critic Beth Accomando.
The third annual San Diego Filipino Film Festival runs today through Sunday, at the Lot Liberty Station and A-M-C Plaza Bonita.
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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. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories, plus, we hear why the Environmental Health Coalition is asking the San Diego City Council to not to allow a Barrio Logan biofuels company to build a pipeline between two of its buildings. I’m John Carroll. Thanks for listening and have a great Tuesday.
