National Guard recruiting challenges
Good Morning, I’m Erik Anderson in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, December 23rd.
The National guard faced some challenges recruiting enough troops this year. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
######
Right after the holidays is when San Diego County has historically seen its largest spikes in COVID and the flu.
Right now about 20 Californians are dying per day from COVID.. And this year the flu has been particularly bad.
Here in San Diego County influenza cases are slowly dropping, but Dr. Jyotu Sandhu with Sharp Rees-Stealy says don’t take it for granted.
“Flu is really a problem right now. In fact I have multiple patients who have had influenza who never got a flu shot and now they’re regretting it saying it was worse than their covid experience.”
Health officials say people can take steps to reduce the burden by not traveling or going to parties if sick, wearing a mask in crowded places and taking parties outdoors.
########
It is the time of year where tides hit their peak.
High tides on the coastline could reach seven feet today and tomorrow.
Normally, high tides are four to five feet.
San Diego lifeguards say King Tides bring extreme low tides as well.
Which means a wider walking area on the beach this weekend.
Coastal officials say King Tides are also a reminder of the hazard of rising sea levels, because of climate change.
########
If you’re dreaming of a cold Christmas this weekend, you can expect the opposite in San Diego County… because it’s going to be a sunny one!
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will be up to 17 degrees above average across the county over the holiday weekend.
Temps are expected to reach 73 degrees tomorrow and 77 on Sunday.
Then next week we can expect some cooler weather and possible rain.
#########
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
##########
The National Guard came up about nine-thousand troops short of its recruiting goal this year.
That's led Guard leaders - both at the state and federal level - to try new ways to persuade people to join.
From Long Island, Desiree D'Iorio reports for the American Homefront Project.
This holiday season, the 42nd infantry division of the New York Army National Guard has took its concert band on the road. *begin music*. They brought holiday classics to community centers across the state, starting at the Warrior Ranch on Long Island, where veterans and civilians train rescued horses. Staff Sergeant Pamela Pfiel plays the flute. “We're really excited about bringing some holiday music to as many veterans as we can, but also just community members.” The performances are part outreach and part recruiting, with Guard members front and center in the communities they serve. “The band is a very forward-facing unit. We kind of look at ourselves as musical ambassadors to our communities, and we like to bridge that gap between the military and our civilian population.” In part because of outreach like this, New York was the only state in the country to meet its recruitment goal for the Army National Guard this year. Thirty-one states fell short of their Army recruiting goals by over 40% according to the National Guard Bureau, the federal office that oversees the states. Treating every event like an opportunity is part of a strategy, according to Lt. Col. Josh Heimroth. He’s in charge of recruitment and retention for the New York Guard. “There's no one way of doing business. You've got to have multiple lines in the pond to catch the fish.” He says after soldier safety, the top priority is recruitment. That means large scale efforts like job fairs and social media outreach, but also small things recruiters need that sometimes get overlooked. “That could be as little as making sure their computer’s up and running, they have a fuel card and a vehicle that can get them to and from their appointments.” At a roundtable discussion in September, National Guard leaders said recruiters have had a tough year. General Daniel Hokanson is chief of the National Guard Bureau. “They have told me pretty much in every location I go, just how difficult the current recruiting challenges are that they're facing. For many of them, it's unprecedented in their time as a recruiter.” There’s competition from other industries and universities. He says the labor shortage doesn’t help, and meeting the physical requirements to serve can be hard. Hokanson is pushing for major reforms to recruit new troops, and keep the ones who are already serving. Among his ideas: year-round government financed health care. “When we look at recruiting and retention, really the most important aspect of that, the ability to be ready whenever we're needed, health care is absolutely critical to making that happen.” Hokanson says out of about 440,000 guardsmen serving today, 60,000 don’t have health insurance at all. But year-round health benefits would be expensive - over 700 million dollars by Hokanson’s estimate - and congress would have to authorize it. Meanwhile, some states have undertaken their own initiatives to attract recruits. A handful of states are paying finders fees to current guardsmen who bring in new troops. And Tennessee is among several states that have set up programs to help recruits pass entrance exams. Major General Jeff Holmes is the adjutant general of the Tennessee guard. “We've partnered with our state institutions and colleges, and so they're providing courses that you can go and take and learn to test again.” Holmes says Tennessee also offers health and exercise training for potential recruits who don’t meet height and weight requirements. “There are certain things red lines that I would say that we cannot really sacrifice on the military side. However, we do have to recognize what society is providing us.” Back at the horse ranch on Long Island, flute player Pamela Pfiel says any time the band plays for the public, it’s an opportunity to talk up the benefits of National Guard service. “We only get together one weekend a month, two weeks a year. The rest of the time, we are civilians out in this community so everything we do we know can potentially bring people into our ranks.” END OF SLEIGH RIDE & APPLAUSE I’m Desiree Diorio, on Long Island.
This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans.
Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
##########
While the Supreme Court weighs arguments over lifting Title 42 to let asylum-seekers into the U-S once more… local leaders are worried about resources to help those migrants.
KPBS reporter Jacob Aere has the latest.
East county leaders say the El Cajon Transit Center is an anticipated drop-off location for hundreds of asylum seekers… if the Supreme Court lifts a Trump-era rule known as Title 42. The Biden Administration wants that to happen after Christmas. But District Two Supervisor Joel Anderson says the county needs help to handle the expected arrivals. “There's nothing around here at all that can help shelter, clothe, feed and give wraparound services, medical services to these asylum seekers.” Anderson is not the only local leader to express concern about the end of Title 42. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria had a meeting with officials from the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
##########
As the number of unhoused people in San Diego continues to hit record highs, police have stepped up enforcement of laws that generally target homelessness.
But as inewsource’s Jake Harper reports, those cases … go nowhere.
San Diego police data shows that officers have arrested more than 100 people so far this year for blocking sidewalks and sleeping where they shouldn’t.. That’s more than three times as many as last year. At the same time, the City Attorney’s Office has declined to prosecute most of these cases, and the ones it has pursued have ended in dismissal. Homeless advocate Michael McConnell says the disconnect is a problem, and that these arrests are punitive. They’re just trying to disrupt and agitate the people so that they just move somewhere else. A spokesperson for the city says that police are simply enforcing laws on the books to maintain health and safety in San Diego. For KPBS, I’m inewsource reporter Jake Harper.
This story included reporting from inewsource reporter Cody Dulaney.
inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS.
##########
Coming up.... We revisit one of our favorite stories from 20-22… about a Spider-Man exhibit. We’ll have that story and more, next, just after the break.
##########
Students at a San Diego elementary school are hoping to spread some festive cheer to orphaned kids in Mexico.
KPBS reporter Claire Strong went to meet them.
"I've been making this letter for the kids to, you know, give them a little surprise and make their day" Jason and his 6th grade classmates at Del Mar Hills Academy are hoping to put smiles on the faces of children less fortunate than themselves this holiday season. They’re writing handmade Christmas cards in Spanish to kids in Baja California, who’ve been orphaned. Spanish teacher, Andrew Burke, hopes the experience will teach his students empathy for others. “By writing the letters students share a little bit about themselves, their interests, where they're from, they're families and it's just a nice way to connect with people who on the surface you might not think you have much in common". Once finished, the cards will be sent to Corazon de Vida - a nonprofit which provides funding to more than 10 Mexican orphanages. Claire Strong, KPBS News.
##########
There is still a little time to check out an exhibit honoring Spider-Man at the San Diego Comic-con Museum.
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando gave us a look inside when it opened back in July.
Spider-Man may turn 60 this year but the iconic Marvel superhero will forever be ingrained in our pop culture consciousness as a teenager says Ben Saunders. BEN SAUNDERS When Stan Lee and Steve Ditko initially came up with Peter Parker and Spider-Man, they were playing with a relatively new concept, even in just sociological terms. And that's the concept of the teenager. I’ve got to test myself, got to learn the full extent of my newfound powers. BEN SAUNDERS And it's a period of life that is marked by uncertainty about identity and rapid mood swings and periods of bravado and periods of self doubt and impulsiveness. And they took all of that and they made the hero that, which is something we hadn't seen before. Spider-man theme song In honor of Spidey’s 60th anniversary, Comic-Con Museum is inducting him into its character hall of fame. It’s also hosting Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing - The Exhibition. Saunders is one of the curators. BEN SAUNDERS We have 60 years worth of pop cultural material to draw upon from across pretty much every available media platform. That's because Spider-Man has won people over generation after generation. Co-curator Patrick Reed was won over as a kid. PATRICK REED … You see someone who can climb up a wall, someone in an amazing colorful costume with their face hidden behind a mask. Someone who's shooting webs from their hands and swinging over the city… and the sort of innate magic of it and excitement and joy and just sheer wow. The exhibition captures that wow factor by bringing comic book panels to life on massive walls and allowing visitors to pose with life size Spidey statues. Spider-Man where? Where? I get so flustered when I meet a celebrity. PATRICK REED We are very conscious of the innate power of the museum medium to tell stories. It is based around historical artifacts, objects, original comic book art, film props and film costumes, original objects from the 60 year history of Spiderman. But then we also use all sorts of modern techniques -- lighting, projections, high definition digital canvases -- to tell the story in a more kinetic way. And in ways that might surprise you, says Saunders. BEN SAUNDERS We made the decision quite early on not to have a lot of actual comic books. But what they do include is a lot of the original art that was used to create those comic books. BEN SAUNDERS The originals are usually two or three times the size of the comic book page. They're black and white, pencil and ink. You can see all the paste ups, all the corrections, all of the white out, all of the lettering that's been stuck on and is starting to peel off. It’s a way to peel back the curtain on the creative process BEN SAUNDERS It comes down to the miracle of human creativity, in that it began with somebody working at home at a desk with a pencil. And there's something about the romance of that creativity and of the way these things have just rise up from the Bristol board and become what they have become in our collective imaginations. Spider-Man and Peter Parker have become a source of inspiration, urging us to be better even as they struggle with their own failures, says Saunders. BEN SAUNDERS Peter Parker can help us figure out also what's valuable about trying to figure out who you are in a world where things not only go wrong, but often are wrong, to try and figure out what your sense of justice actually might be in a space like that. Whatever life holds in store for me I will never forget these words, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.” BEN SAUNDERS: I mean how much better off would we all be if there were more people in the world in positions of power who understood that some responsibility comes with that role? It's a good message. And it’s just one of the messages that comes through in Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing - The Exhibition will be leaving the Comic-Con Museum next month.
##########
That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast was produced by KPBS editor Nic McVicker and Producer Emilyn Mohebbi. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Erik Anderson. Thanks for listening. Have a great weekend and happy holidays.
