Long-shuttered Starlight Bowl may reopen
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, August 12th.
The city of San Diego wants to bring the historic Starlight Bowl back to life. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
The San Diego Unified School District failed to properly address sexual harassment complaints brought by its students.
That’s according to the U-S Department of Education.
The department examined more than 250 reports and complaints made by students from 20-17 to 20-20.
It found that in many instances, Title Nine requirements weren’t followed.
San Diego Unified has agreed to a number of steps to improve its response to sexual harassment complaints, including training school staff on their obligations to respond to sexual harassment reports.
The C-D-C will begin investigating health impacts of cross-border wastewater contamination in San Diego.
Members of the state’s congressional delegation and San Diego County leaders asked the C-D-C for help earlier this year.
The C-D-C says they’ll start gathering data from different agencies, and once they have enough, they’ll evaluate whether the chemicals and contaminants in the water, soil and air may harm health.
The review process is expected to take between six and 12 months.
C-D-C staff are also working with San Diego County health officials to plan a short-term response to public health issues.
There’s a new e-bike safety permitting program for San Marcos students.
Students will need a permit if they ride an e-bike to Double Peak School, San Elijo Middle School, San Marcos High School or Mission Hills High School.
A permit can be obtained after completing a safety course co-sponsored by the city, San Marcos police and San Marcos Unified.
There are two classes left this month.
One tomorrow (Tuesday) at San Elijo Middle, and the second will be on August 28th at Mission Hills High.
There will be more classes offered next month and in October.
Sponsors say the program was launched to improve e-bike safety in the most impacted areas of the community.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO WANTS TO REOPEN BALBOA PARK’S STARLIGHT BOWL. REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS IT’S LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO LEASE AND RENOVATE THE ICONIC OPEN-AIR AMPHITHEATER.
The Ford Motor Company built the Starlight Bowl in 1935, as a place to showcase cars during the California Pacific International Exposition. Musical performances were held there until 2010. In his state of Balboa Park address Thursday night, Mayor Todd Gloria said he’s ready to bring it back. It is high time that this special corner of the Palisades be rehabilitated and put back into productive use for the benefit of the community, so that many more lifelong memories can finally be made here once again. The city has issued a request for proposals from those interested in leasing and renovating the Starlight Bowl. The request notes one of the main challenges of its location….[plane noise] its proximity to the airport’s flight path. Proposals are due Nov. 14. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
WORKERS ACROSS SHARP HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN THE COUNTY STARTED UNIONIZING LAST JUNE.
BUT THEY STILL DON’T HAVE A CONTRACT.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL SAYS THEY BEGAN TAKING THEIR DEMANDS TO THE STREETS ON FRIDAY.
Hundreds of Sharp healthcare workers represented by the Service Employees International Union marched and rallied in front of Sharp Headquarters in Kearny Mesa. Their demands include better pay and addressing what they say are staffing shortages. Among the protesters was Fatima Gholum. The single mother of two daughters says she just wants Sharp to bargain in good faith. “I love working for Sharp Grossmont and I love my team and I love everyone I work with side by side. I don’t want to leave that job because I can’t make enough. I want to stay there. I want to work for them, so please come to the bargaining table.” In a statement, Sharp says it has bargained in good faith … but the union has been slow-walking negotiations. The union denies that and says they’ll continue holding rallies until they get a fair contract. JC, KPBS News.
PROSECUTORS IN SAN DIEGO ARE PLANNING A CRACKDOWN ON WAGE THEFT.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS MANY VICTIMS OF WAGE THEFT HAVE NO IDEA IT'S HAPPENING.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office recently won a state grant to increase prosecutions of wage theft. DA Summer Stephen says it's rampant and underreported, largely because labor laws are complex and poorly understood by both workers and their employers. But she says ignorance of the law is no excuse. When you see a theft in a store, it's more visible and clear that it is theft. But it's just as clear to me and to our team that it's theft to take away someone's wages that they earned. Kyra Greene is executive director of the Center on Policy Initiatives, which studies wage theft. Greene says employers paying less than the minimum wage is among the most common offenses. California’s minimum wage is $16 an hour. But in the city of San Diego, it's $16.85. So one way that someone might be underpaid in terms of the minimum wage is that they might work some hours in the city of San Diego and some hours outside of the city, but be paid only the state minimum wage even when they're working inside the city of San Diego. If you think you might have experienced wage theft, you can contact the city or county Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement or the DA's Workplace Justice Unit. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
WE’LL HAVE MORE STORIES ON HOW WAGE THEFT MIGHT BE HAPPENING TO YOU IN THE PODCAST THIS WEEK.
NARCAN VENDING MACHINES HAVE POPPED UP THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY AS A TOOL TO REVERSE OPIOID OVERDOSES.
BUT THAT TOOL HAS HAD A SLOWER ROLLOUT ON TRIBAL PROPERTIES.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER TANIA THORNE TELLS US ABOUT RESOURCES NOW AVAILABLE AT ONE TRIBAL CASINO.
Over a dozen naloxone vending machines are available throughout San Diego County. But.. they're not all the same. The SMRT1 health interactive dispensing system has newer technology. And that newer technology has now made its way onto tribal land at Casino Pauma, where it supplies Narcan and fentanyl test strips… along with supportive resources between San Diego and Riverside Counties. According to the numbers, we don't have a big fentanyl problem. But as tribal council and as a community member, we know it's here. And so we thought it would be a great idea to not only service the tribe, but also the community as a whole. Chairman of the Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians,Temet Majel, said the tribal council approved the purchase of the vending machine unanimously. The machine is placed outside of the casino and can be used by anyone, without having to be a tribal member or casino patron. TT KPBS News
IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IN THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
MANY STUDENTS WILL ATTEND JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS’ TRAINING CORPS, A CLASS SPONSORED BY THE MILITARY.
REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS THIS YEAR’S CONSENT FORM IS RESURFACING YEARS OF DEBATE AROUND THE PROGRAM . . . AND ITS EFFECTS ON BLACK AND LATINO STUDENTS.
JROTC gives students 3 days per week of physical training. One day of life skills like leadership, finances and first aid. And one day where students march and drill in uniform. Back in 2008, Chicano students in San Diego began pushing back on JROTC. About 20 Mission Bay High School students walked out of school today to protest a Junior ROTC program on campus . . . They successfully campaigned to remove shooting ranges from schools. Back then, some students were automatically enrolled in JROTC. The district only started requiring a consent form in 20-23. The San Diego Chicano/Latino Concilio on Higher Education recently sent a letter to the Board of Education about the form. They’re concerned it still doesn’t give all the information students need for fully informed consent. It doesn’t specify that JROTC doesn’t meet any of the state’s public university admission requirements. Or that it’s taught by retired military officers. Jennifer Roberson is a district director. She says this year’s consent form was already sent to schools. But the district is willing to continue the conversation for next year. She says JROTC exists because students want it. Students are opting to be in the program. They know that it's voluntary, it's not required. But we do believe that the skills that they're being taught do prepare them to be future ready. Morse High School senior Joseph Cruz is one of those students who opted in. Coming out of middle school, you know, throughout the whole COVID era, I was pretty lost. He says JROTC helped. It’s given me the initiative I needed to pursue greater things. His sophomore year he led about 50 students as Company First Sergeant. Being able to have that daily exposure as a leader, having that experience, it's really built me up. He’s considering studying law at a military academy. That is a dream career of mine, being a Jag officer. He says military recruiters come to class often. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Mark Ayson is Hoover High’s senior army instructor. He says JROTC did start as a recruiting tool. But after the Vietnam War in the '70s, it kind of evolved from a military recruitment tool to becoming more of a leadership development class. School staff emphasize the class is about leadership. Not military recruitment. But the effect might be the same. Last year, an army-sponsored study found that army JROTC students are less likely to enroll in college after graduating high school. And those who don’t go to college are more likely to join the military. That’s concerning to local Chicano community leaders. Because in the San Diego Unified school district, schools with a higher percentage of non-white students tend to have much higher rates of JROTC enrollment. Nearly all Lincoln High students are non-white. In 2022, a third of their students enrolled in JRTOC. At majority white Point Loma High, that rate was just five percent. La Jolla High doesn’t have a JROTC program. Davíd Morales was part of the student movement against JROTC in 2008. Now, he’s a counter-recruitment activist. And pursuing a PhD in racial inequalities in education at Stanford. He says there’s a reason JROTC programs have lower enrollment at schools in wealthier neighborhoods. You have parents who are much more involved because they have the means and privilege to be involved and aware of what's happening. And they're not going to stand for their kids being constantly harassed by military recruiters or being pitched a job in the military. He also says students in lower-income areas are more susceptible to what he calls the deception of military recruiters. We've called this a poverty draft in some cases. It's where it's not mandatory, but because there are so few options, seemingly few options for some people, it's predatory, we think. He thinks alternatives to JROTC should be explored. There are other ways to engage in practice discipline that do not include weapons and blindly obeying and following orders that instead encourage critical thinking skills . . . that does not include careers in war-making . . . we must instead focus on careers for peace and social justice. Counter-recruitment activists are also calling for an evidence-based review of the effectiveness of the JROTC program. Whether it really accomplishes everything it claims. Katie Hyson, KPBS News
AS THE PARIS OLYMPICS WRAP UP, WE’RE HIGHLIGHTING SAN DIEGO’S MEDAL WINNERS.
THIS YEAR MORE THAN A DOZEN ATHLETES WITH SAN DIEGO TIES ARE BRINGING HOME SOME HARDWARE.
IN SKATEBOARDING, ENCINITAS RESIDENT JAGGER (JAG-ER) EATON WON SILVER IN THE MEN’S STREET COMPETITION.
IN WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVENS, FALLBROOK NATIVE KAYLA CANNET (KUH-NET), SAN DIEGAN SARA LEVY (LEE-VEE) AND S-D RESIDENT ILONA MAHER (ILL-ONA MAR) MADE HISTORY.
THE TEAM WON THE U-S’S FIRST MEDAL EVER IN AN OLYMPIC RUGBY SEVENS EVENT WITH THEIR BRONZE.
YOU CAN FIND THE LATEST NEWS FROM PARIS AT K-P-B-S DOT ORG SLASH OLYMPICS.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.
