Lawsuit filed against El Cajon over controversial license plate surveillance program
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson…it’s MONDAY, OCTOBER SIXTH
>>>> CALIFORNIA’S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST EL CAJON…More on that next. But first... the headlines…
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TODAY I’M PROUD TO SHARE THAT YOUR ENERGY BILL SHOULD HOPEFULLY COME IN LOWER THIS MONTH!
AS A CALIFORNIA CLIMATE CREDIT PROGRAM WILL GIVE SDG&E CUSTOMERS A ROUGHLY 80 DOLLAR CREDIT ON THEIR OCTOBER BILL
THE PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION AND THE MONEY COMES FROM THE STATE’S CAP AND TRADE PROGRAM WHERE POLLUTERS HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR EMISSIONS.
THE TWICE-A-YEAR CLIMATE CREDIT IS AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED TO YOUR BILL.
ALL OF OUR BILLING CYCLES VARY SO WE WON’T ALL SEE THE CREDIT AT THE SAME TIME
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AND ANOTHER WAY TO POSSIBLY SAVE ON ENERGY COSTS…
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER RECENTLY ANNOUNCED A PROGRAM WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING SOLAR POWER MORE AFFORDABLE WHILE ALSO STRENGTHENING THE REGION’S GRID
S-D-C-P IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT PUBLIC AGENCY AND SAYS ITS NEW SOLAR BATTERY SAVINGS PROGRAM IS BACKED BY FIFTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
THE PROGRAM PROVIDES UPFRONT REBATES ON PANELS AS WELL AS INCENTIVES FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO INSTALL NEW SOLAR-PLUS-STORAGE SYSTEMS OR ADD TO THEIR EXISTING SYSTEMS
SOME OF THE FUNDS WILL GO TO PROVIDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO PURCHASE PANELS IN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
COMMUNITY POWER WILL HOLD A SERIES OF CUSTOMER EDUCATION WORKSHOPS ABOUT SOLAR POWER AND THE PROGRAM.
MORE INFO CAN BE FOUND AT SD-COMMUNITYPOWER DOT ORG
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CHULA VISTA IS LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY ON ITS FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS
IT’S A FIVE-YEAR PLAN THAT OUTLINES THE CITY’S GOALS, POLICIES AND ACTIONS ON HOMELESSNESS WHEN IT COMES TO PREVENTION, SHELTER, HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES,
THE CITY IS HOLDING FOUR PUBLIC WORKSHOPS TO GATHER FEEDBACK ON THE PLAN.
THEY’RE BEING HELD THIS MONTH AND ARE ALL SCHEDULED FOR 6 P.M.
TODAY THERE IS ONE AT THE NORMAN SENIOR CENTER AND ON WEDNESDAY THERE IS ONE AT THE VETERANS PARK RECREATION CENTER
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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CALIFORNIA’S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST EL CAJON FRIDAY OVER ITS CONTROVERSIAL LICENSE PLATE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS REPORTS ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA CLAIMS EL CAJON IS VIOLATING STATE LAW BY SHARING DATA WITH OUT-OF-STATE POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
ELCAJONSUIT 1 (gs) 1:09 SOQ (SS)
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State law prohibits police departments from sharing data from license plate reader systems with law enforcement agencies outside of California.
BOWLER_3188 00:02:08:23 / 11:04:54:28“ALPR systems can collect and store location information that reveals where people live. Where they work, where they worship.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta says there’s a good reason for that law. When this sensitive information is shared outside of California, the state has no control over how it is being used.
He says other states could share that data with the federal government to help them search for immigrants.
In a press conference, Bonta said El Cajon is the only police department in the entire state sharing its license plate reader data with out-of-state agencies.
BOWLER_3188 00:04:59:08 / 11:07:45:15“And thus we are here because of El Cajon’s refusal to follow the law. We are hauling them into court to get them in compliance.”
The city of El Cajon did not respond to a request for comment. El Cajon Police Chief Jeremiah Larson previously told KPBS that he believes sharing this data outside of California makes El Cajon safer.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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IMMIGRATION ARRESTS ARE SHAKING ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITIES IN SAN DIEGO.
REPORTER KATIE HYSON SPOKE WITH LEADERS BREAKING THE SILENCE.
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There were more local arrests of AAPI people in one month this summer than all of last year, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement records.
Indroneal Banerjee is president of the AAPI Democratic Club of San Diego.
SOT :09 People who've been here for 40 or 50 years, who for the first time are afraid that if they go to the store or something could happen, they could disappear.
He says even people with legal status are scared to leave home. When they do, they bring their passports.
John Paculdo Koenigshofer is the club’s vice president.
He says international students are afraid to organize.
SOT :09 It’s making 20 year olds, teenagers, afraid to get involved because they don't know if they're going to be punished by the full weight of the federal government.
These experiences are universal to immigrant communities of color right now.
But Koenigshofer says AAPI people are underrepresented in conversations about immigration enforcement.
SOT :18 There's this culture among Asian-Americans that we should just go along to get along, right? . . . We don't really speak up when we're being treated the wrong way . . . And that's something that we need to push back on. And it starts by speaking out.
ICE did not immediately respond to KPBS’s questions.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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WHEN PEOPLE HAVE TO BE REHOSPITALIZED AFTER MEDICAL PROCEDURES IT LEADS TO HIGHER COSTS FOR PATIENTS AND HOSPITALS.
HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS A NEW STUDY BY UC SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SHOWS VIRTUAL CLINICS MAY HELP THE PROBLEM.
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READMISSIONS 1 :54 soq
After high risk patients leave the hospital, they are most vulnerable to complications in the first days. The goal of UC San Diego Health’s virtual care clinic is to prevent avoidable readmissions.
BOB LAGOMARSINO
The real benefit for me relates to geography.
Bob Lagomarsino lives in Sacramento. He traveled to San Diego for a specialized procedure. He was able to follow up with his doctor virtually.
DR. SARAH HORMAN
UCSD HEALTH
This is a video visit with one of our hospitalists within a week of discharge.
UCSD Dr. Sarah Horman found high risk patients who followed-up virtually were readmitted less often.
DR. SARAH HORMAN
Readmission rates for patients that we see are anywhere between 20 and 30% lower than patients that we don't see.
Horman says the model can improve health outcomes and cut costs.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News. ##########
THE FUTURE OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST COMMUNITY GARDEN IS IN LIMBO.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS GARDENERS WHOSE LIVELIHOODS DEPEND ON IT ARE ASKING COUNTY LEADERS TO HELP KEEP IT OPEN.
GARDEN trt: 4:24 SOQ
On a recent morning at the Tijuana River Community Garden, Ed Whited (white-ed) picks leftover tomatoes and squash from his summer crop.
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**NAT POP of Ed Whited picking jersey devil tomatoes**
“These are past their prime, but these are the Jersey Devil tomatoes. They kinda look like a big red pepper.”
He had been thinking about his winter crops. Now, he doesn’t know if he’ll have a garden to plant them in.
The county and city of San Diego recently posted warning signs in the Tijuana River Valley. They caution the public that toxic gases and chemicals have been detected there.
One of the signs is at the entrance of the garden.
Whited thinks that’s why the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego has decided to evict gardeners.
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“I think they've looked at this with all the recent publicity and said, ‘We have a liability here. We are worried that somebody will say they are hurt or, negatively impacted.’”
The Navy veteran earns money selling his crops at local farm stands.
**NAT POP of Ed in garden, birds chirping**
For the last 8 years, he’s also made friends and memories with his grandchildren.
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“My granddaughter, you know, it was a rainy day. It was, you know, one of those rare, winter, rainy days. It was beautiful. Nice and cool. We'd come out here and we picked for a while, and then it’d start raining, we'd go in the shed and sit down and talk for a while. Good memories.”
He’s not ready to stop planting here.
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“They told us we have 60 days.”
Bryan Rivera also leases a plot in the garden.
The Resource Conservation District rents the land from the county.
It has managed the garden for 23 years.
Late last month, they told Whited, Rivera and other gardeners the decision to close is…
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“Due to the pollution that surrounds us, since we are in the Tijuana River Valley, just a mile away, we do have the river. There is a crisis going on.”
In an email to KPBS, the district said the known and unknown health risks of the sewage crisis were, quote, “the primary factors that contributed to the difficult decision.”
About two miles from the garden is a sewage hot spot.
New data released in August showed that area is the largest source of the toxic sewer gas, hydrogen sulfide.
Researchers say it’s in the air residents are breathing.
Not enough is known about the long-term effects of exposure to hydrogen sulfide.
GARDEN_BOS.mp4
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“Gardeners and farmers recognize the potential health concerns in the valley. Yet they firmly believe that the benefits of this space far outweigh the risk.”
Areli Perez, works with the resource conservation district.
She told the board of supervisors losing the garden would devastate the community.
“We are calling on the county of San Diego to step in and ensure the garden's future.”
Rivera says in the year and a half he’s grown in the garden…
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10:41:46:21-10:41:50:29
“We have not had an incident where someone comes in and, ‘Hey, I got sick from your produce.”
He says, many depend on the botanical herbs and fruit he grows and sells.
**NAT POP of Bryan showing herbal garden**
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10:54:19:22-10:54:32:15
“This is our herbal garden. You could call this the CVS pharmacy. We always joke around. People come and say, ‘Hey, I need something from your pharmacy.’”
Rivera runs the business with his wife. It’s called Abriendo Caminos. Spanish for opening paths.
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“You can walk through my garden, like, I smell camomile, I smell lemon balm. I smell valerian root. I smell mugwort. I smell rue. So many great things. This place doesn't just benefit us, the humans. It benefits all the bio flora.”
With eviction looming, Rivera is unsure of his next steps. He says gardeners are scrambling to find a backup garden.
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“We've sat together and none of us have found something. It's nearly impossible.”
A county spokesperson said the county is, quote, “still assessing this property’s future use.”
Supervisor Paloma Aguirre told gardeners in a social media post…
GARDEN_Aguirre.mp4
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“We're going to be meeting with some of the farmers and gardeners in the next few days. I just want you to know that I hear you, I see you, I'm going to fight for you or to figure this out together. I stand with you.”
The district is offering plots at its Sweetwater Community Garden in Bonita.
But Whited says plots and amenities are limited there.
He wants gardeners to sign waivers to be able to stay at the Tijuana River garden. And he hopes another agency can step up to manage it.
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“I don't know what the right answer is going to be. All I know is, like I was told when I was deployed, the first answer is never the right answer.”
Tammy Murga, KPBS News.
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ACCESS TO ATHLETIC FIELDS IN JACUMBA (HA-CUM-BUH) HOT SPRINGS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR YEARS.
REPORTER ELAINE ALFARO SPOKE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT PLANS TO OPEN JACUMBA’S FIRST SOCCER FIELD.
JACUMBA SOCCER (1:13) SOC (SS)
If you want to play soccer in Jacumba…you have to settle on a dirt plot at the Community Park. There are no goals, no sidelines and no grass.
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Danny Leon | business owner and Jacumba resident
“This isn’t the typical place you would practice soccer if
you’re trying to achieve growth from the practices, you know.”
Danny Leon Senior is a parent who has lived in Jacumba for most of his life. His son Danny Leon Jr. plays soccer and is no stranger to the bumps and bruises you get from playing at the park
Danny Jr. Leon | Jacumba resident and soccer player
“There’s tons of rocks, but having that soccer field, no more rocks giving you bloody arms and legs and stuff.”
Leon Senior and local youth soccer coach Jess Price are leading a community effort to create Jacumba’s first soccer field.
Price says the practice space is desperately needed. Right now, players have to travel half an hour if they want to practice on a real soccer field.
SOT
Jess Price | AYSO coach
“I have nine kids on my U-8 team and they’re all from our
community here. But we’re all traveling to Pine Valley
because that’s the closest field we have.”
The new field would be a smaller turf pitch meant for players under eight years old. Eventually, they’d like to build a full-sized field too.
Volunteers will begin installing the new field in the coming weeks.
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News
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ALRIGHT SDNN LISTENERS, TODAY IS YET ANOTHER INSTALLATION OF THE ‘THE POD BEHIND THE PKG’
PKG IS NEWS-SLANG FOR A NEWS STORY. THE PREMISE FOR THIS SEGMENT IS SIMPLE: IDENTIFY STANDOUT PIECES AND STORIES FROM MY COLLEAGUES THAT CREATE OR SPARK IMPACT, INSPIRATION OR SOME SENSE OF FEELING!
ONCE PER WEEK, I’LL BRING IN A REPORTER, ANCHOR OR VIDEO JOURNALIST FOR A BEHIND-THE-SCENES, DEEP DIVE AND INFORMAL CHAT.
JOINING ME THIS WEEK REGARDING HIS PACKAGE WITH THE HEADLINE “BRAIN STIMULATION CAN WORK WHERE OTHER DEPRESSION TREATMENTS FAIL,” IS REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE. I STARTED BY SIMPLY ASKING HIM HOW HE WAS DOING.
0:00: Doing OK, man.
0:01: How are you?
0:01: Good, good, good.
0:02: And I know you mostly go by Tom and I feel like I volunteered to call you Fudge because I just think it's, I really do think you have like the best TV name in here.
0:11: Oh, OK, right.
0:14: I knew it was just a me thing.
0:15: Yeah, I don't know if I agree or not, but, but that's OK.
0:20: You first joined KPBS in 1998, and with that bring over 30 years of journalism experience.
0:25: The corporation for Public Broadcasting is winding down.
0:27: and funding cuts to PBS and NPR stations are being felt as the government is currently shut down.
0:33: As someone who myself aspires to have a 30+ year career in journalism and someone like yourself who's lived through multiple administrations, is there any light at the end of this tunnel, Thomas Fudge?
0:45: Well, they are unprecedented in that, you know, this has never been done before.
0:50: I mean, actually having Congress eliminating the funding, you know, for the corporation for Public Broadcasting.
0:58: My entire career in public broadcasting, Republicans have been threatening to do this, and I think they've always stopped short of doing this, you know, because a lot of them come from red states that are, don't have a lot of people in them, and sometimes in these small towns, you know, the public broadcasting station is the only thing they've got and I think that's why they've always Backed off, but now we have Donald Trump and it's, you know, it's a different political situation.
1:27: So, so it did come to this, and it's entirely possible that the money for the CPB is gonna come back, but I was talking with a friend about this and She made the point that, you know, sometimes it's easy to tear things down and it's harder to build them back up.
1:44: And so, you know, bringing back CPB is that something we're gonna be able to do?
1:50: I mean, the answer is yes, but it might require, you know, some vision and some work.
1:56: Absolutely, to say the least.
1:57: Transitioning now to your featured package, transcranial magnetic stimulation, AKA TMS.
2:03: With the headline, brain stimulation can work where other depression treatments fail.
2:07: I I welcome you all to visit that on our website.
2:10: It centers around Catherine who also has other family members who suffer depression, right?
2:15: Yeah, we talked about that and and she says it's stuck with her.
2:19: She talked to my story about what it felt like, and she felt like she had a terrific amount of energy.
2:24: I mean, she really sort of felt like a new person after.
2:28: Getting this treatment.
2:30: Now sometimes with with people who get TMS there is some maintenance treatment that goes on.
2:38: In other words, they do have to go back if they're kind of feeling blue again and it doesn't go away, they do go back and reconnect with with the provider and get a little bit, little bit more treatment.
2:50: So it's kind of like a a case by case basis.
2:53: There's no guarantee.
2:54: That you'll need 3 sessions or 1 session or anything like that.
2:57: Yeah, and there's no guarantee that this is going to work.
3:00: you know, there is kind of a requirement with something like TMS that you have to fail some other treatments, you know, in other words, you have the counseling, you take the pills, and they're just not working.
3:12: So then you move on to TMS.
3:15: But the doctor I talked to said that some of the people, some people he talked to wonder.
3:20: That has to be the case.
3:21: I mean, if, if TMS works, why can't you just go straight to that?
3:25: And so that's probably going to be a possibility in the, in the future.
3:29: I mean, this is a fairly new, this is a fairly new treatment and you know, why they insist that you use other medication before you go to TMS.
3:39: I'm not entirely sure and and that's what the doc said to me.
3:42: He said a lot of patients are saying, why can't I just go ahead and use this.
TAG: ONCE AGAIN THAT WAS REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE ON POD BEHIND THE PKG
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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 and supporting public media! Have a great day.
