NC teen indicted with filming Mosque attack charges considered 'new' as far as far-right extremism
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND>>>> [ MORE DETAILS ARE BEING RELEASED AROUND MAY’S ATTACK ON THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
A DEBATE WAS HELD LAST NIGHT AT THE GRAND RITZ THEATER FOR TWO CANDIDATES RUNNING TO BECOME ESCONDIDO’S NEXT MAYOR
THEIR DEBATE CENTERED AROUND THE PRESSING ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS
THE MAYORAL CANDIDATES EACH REPRESENT DIFFERENT METHODS ON HOW TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS
DANE WHITE IS A REGISTERED REPUBLICAN WHO HAS BEEN SERVING AS MAYOR OF ESCONDIDO SINCE 20-22…
WHITE SUPPORTS “TREATMENT-FIRST STYLE POLICIES” …WHICH REQUIRES THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO COMPLETE ADDICTION TREATMENT FIRST .. BEFORE BEING GRANTED HOUSING
ON THE OTHER SIDE IS ENDORSED DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE ELIAS VELAZQUEZ [ILLY-AS); AN INFORMATION DIRECTOR AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR AT AN OCEANSIDE-BASED NONPROFIT WHO ADVOCATES FOR THE “HOUSING FIRST” MODEL.
THE CANDIDATES WILL FACE OFF ON ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER 3
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A NEW FREE, ONLINE DRIVING SIMULATION GAME IS LOOKING TO HELP YOUNG OR SOON-TO-BE DRIVERS MAKE SAFER DECISIONS BEHIND THE WHEEL
‘THE ROAD AHEAD’ IS A WEB-BASED GAME FROM BOTH THE CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY AND CALTRANS
THE ONLINE GAME PUTS USERS IN FIRST-PERSON, SIMULATED DRIVING SCENARIOS LIKE DEALING WITH DISTRACTED, IMPAIRED OR SPEEDING DRIVERS
PLAYERS MUST MAKE DECISIONS AND ARE ABLE TO SEE THE CONSEQUENCE OF THEIR CHOICES … WITHOUT THE ACTUAL THREAT OF AN INJURY OR ACCIDENT
STATE OFFICIALS SAY TEENS FACE AN ELEVATED CRASH RISK DUE TO FACTORS INCLUDING INEXPERIENCE, INACCURATE PERCEPTIONS OF RISK AND AN OVERESTIMATION OF DRIVING ABILITIES
THE OFFICE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY SAYS THAT IN 20-24, MORE THAN 450 DRIVERS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 20 WERE INVOLVED IN A FATAL TRAFFIC CRASH
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TWO LOCAL NON-PROFITS ARE PARTNERING UP TO HELP PROVIDE STABLE HOUSING FOR SINGLE MOTHERS AND FAMILIES ALIKE
BY JOINING FORCES, THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS PLAN TO COMBINE THEIR RESOURCES, PROGRAMMING AND HOUSING STABILITY KNOW-HOW
CITY HEIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ALSO KNOWN AS CITY HEIGHTS ‘CDC’ SAYS THEY’VE BEEN MANAGING MORE THAN 4-HUNDRED AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS AND PREVENTED MORE THAN 3-HUNDRED EVICTIONS
AND NON’-PROFIT NEW LVL’ [LEVEL] SAYS THEY SPECIALIZE IN HELPING TO PROVIDE STABILITY FOR AT-RISK SINGLE MOTHERS WHO COULD LOSE THEIR HOUSING
THEIR PLAN IS TO REACH SAN DIEGANS IN-NEED BEFORE A HOUSING CRISIS BECOMES ACTUAL HOMELESSNESS
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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AUTHORITIES SAY THE NORTH CAROLINA TEEN GIRL CHARGED THIS WEEK IN CONNECTION WITH THE SAN DIEGO MOSQUE ATTACK THIS SPRING WAS PART OF AN ONLINE SUBCULTURE OF HATE — SOMETHING THAT IS BECOMING MORE COMMON AMONG PEOPLE ACCUSED OF EXTREMIST VIOLENCE.
ONE EXPERT TELLS REPORTER ANDREW DYER THAT THE CHARGES IN THIS CASE ARE SOMETHING NEW FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN IT COMES TO FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM
RADICALIZED 1 (ad) (1:06) SOQ
JO: “There exists in our world an underground subculture. It's an echo chamber of intense hate…”
The district attorney for Forsyth County, North Carolina — Jim O’Neil — says the charges underscore how dangerous online spaces can be for young people.
17-year-old Sarah Santiago faces three counts of first degree murder and one of conspiracy. She’s being charged as an adult.
Peter Simi is a sociology professor at Chapman University. He’s been studying extremist political violence since the mid-90s.
He says kids and adolescents are getting online / on social platforms / at younger ages. Platforms that feed them content.
PS: it wasn't that long ago that for a child to seek out this kind of stuff, they would have had to make a bit of an effort. The material’s finding people as opposed to people finding the material.
Simi says law enforcement has gone after foreign extremist and terrorist communities online this way before but for domestic extremists, this week’s charges are something new.
Andrew Dyer, KPBS News.
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WE ARE LEARNING MORE TODAY ABOUT THE INDICTMENT RELATING TO THE DEADLY MAY SHOOTING AT THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO.
AUTHORITIES NOW SAY THE GUNMEN HAD ALSO INTENDED TO ATTACK TWO OTHER LOCATIONS IN SAN DIEGO.
AS REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN TELLS US, THERE IS GROWING CONCERN ABOUT THIS NEW ERA OF FOSTERING HATE.
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ICREATION 1(AN) trt: 0:46 SOQ
The May 18th shooting at the Islamic Center claimed the lives of three men.
Authorities say it could have been worse. The gunmen were planning to target a nearby Jewish temple and Black students at a local high school.
Tazheen Nizam is the executive director of CAIR … the Council on American Islamic Relations, San Diego.
Tazheen Nizam // CAIR SAN DIEGO
“People who hate a certain type of community bigotry usually hate other communities as well. We saw that when the attack on the Chabad Poway happened. Right before that, the same person had tried to burn down a mosque in Escondido.”
Nizam says Islamophobia has been on the rise since the Sept. 11th attack 25 years ago.
San Diego Unified School District says it was not notified that any local schools were intended targets. AN/KPBS
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SAN DIEGO COUNTY COULD START TREATING SEWAGE THAT SPILLS INTO THE TIJUANA RIVER FROM MEXICO.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS COUNTY SUPERVISORS APPROVED A MULTI-STEP PLAN ON TUESDAY TO EXPLORE BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE
TREATMENT 1 TRT 00:44
The South Bay Treatment Plant is meant to keep Mexico’s wastewater away from the Tijuana River.
But after heavy rains or when the plant reaches capacity, millions of gallons leak into the river.
County leaders want to add another line of defense with a new treatment plant.
Supervisor Jim Desmond voted in support of the effort.
TREATMENT 1a 00:05
“We should do anything we can here, within reason, to provide relief for San Diegans and San Diego County.”
But Supervisor Joel Anderson said treatment would be too costly.
TREATMENT 1b 00:03
“That could lead to billions. The county just doesn't have that kind of money.”
The county will spend the next year and a half developing concepts for treating river flows. The work will be funded with $1.8 million in reserves. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
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A BILL TO REGULATE HOW HUMAN REMAINS ARE DISPOSED WILL BE CRUCIAL TO HELPING SAN DIEGO’S MIDWAY RISING PROJECT BREAK GROUND. IN THIS WEEK’S WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS A LEGISLATIVE TRICK THAT LAWMAKERS USED TO HELP THE DEVELOPMENT.
GUTAMEND 1 (vosd) TRT (1:08) SOQ “why it matters”
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California Senate Bill 344 would have clarified that it’s illegal to scatter human remains from a dock in a bay. Last year it passed the state senate and it just needed to go through the Assembly.
Then it was abandoned.
But now it will help the Midway Rising project.The bill was plucked from obscurity and given a new job.
Midway Rising would build 4200 homes, a new arena and more on 50 acres of land owned by the city of San Diego in the Midway District.
The development group and the city must certify the environmental impact report by Dec. 4. The report analyzes the damage and traffic the project would create.
Opponents often stop projects by arguing environmental impact reports are inadequate.
Lawmakers have now re-written the bill about disposing human remains to protect Midway Rising from lawsuits.
It’s called gut and amend. The bill on human remains had already cleared legislative hurdles. With a two-thirds vote, they can now enact it immediately.
And suddenly opponents of Midway Rising lost one of the best tools to stop it.
I’m scott lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.
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A NEW CALIFORNIA LAW MAKES IT A CRIME TO LOITER WITH THE INTENT TO BUY SEX. BEFORE IT PASSED, CRITICS WARNED OF RACIAL BIAS.
REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS SAN DIEGO POLICE DATA MIGHT BE PROVING THAT TRUE.
JOHNS ft. trt 4:53 SOQ (kh/mb)
A new billboard went up earlier this year, on Main Street in Barrio Logan.
“Buyers of Sex Beware,” it warns. “California law, AB 379, makes it illegal to loiter in an area for the purpose of purchasing sex.”
The law went into effect in January. The City of San Diego and Mayor Todd Gloria sponsored it. Proponents argued it was needed to combat sex trafficking.
SOT :04 Think of street level prostitution and human trafficking as hand in hand . . .
Lieutenant Daniel Hall oversees San Diego Police Department’s enforcement of the law.
SOT :12 . . . cont. Chances are no one woke up and said, this is what I want to do with my life and try and become a street level prostitute . . . chances are there was abuse involved, coercion involved.
He says going after street prostitution makes San Diego less appealing to traffickers.
San Diego police data only show a single citation under the general law against buying sex in the first half of this year.
Hall says that’s because this new law – against loitering with intent to buy – is a more efficient use of resources. It’s easier to bring cases to court.
SOT :08 . . . We have made a concerted effort to employ this new law to hopefully create a better and more efficient impact.
They made 95 citations and arrests under the new law through July of this year. Nearly all were in Barrio Logan and National City. It’s by the naval base. The neighborhood is mostly Latino and low-income.
Hall says it’s a known area of prostitution.
SOT :06 You have kids trying to get to school that are seeing this. You have businesses that are trying to operate with this activity going on.
Their data show they cited mostly Latino and Black men. Only 12 were white.
Hall says that’s not intentional.
SOT :11 There's no identity of the driver of the vehicle that's known in advance. You just have the actions of the vehicle . . . *fade under*
Actions like circling around. Stopping to talk to someone who looks like they could be a sex worker.
SOT :04 We find out who the race and the gender can be once we go up to the car.
But studies show no connection between race and the likelihood of being a sex client.
In other words –
SOT :08 Everybody, wants to have sex work services. It’s not only specific Black or brown community.
Jamie Arangure is a sex worker. And she advocates for other workers through her organization Proteyo Trans Latinas.
She says the new law targets San Diego’s most vulnerable workers.
SOT :04 The streets is like more like dangerous but more cheaper.
More dangerous, and cheaper, than finding clients online or at motels.
She says street workers are often desperate for income. Many don’t have the same access to traditional employment. Some, like Arangure, are trans immigrants.
SOT :14 They wants to find a job, but they've been discriminated, so they cannot pay the bills and how they gonna survive? They need to eat . . . They don't have any other options.
Arangure says business has slowed since the law went into effect.
Minouche Kandel warns the law is endangering workers, too.
SOT :04 They cannot take the kinds of safety precautions that they need to,
She’s an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California.
SOT :10 cont. . . . because their clients are worried they're going to get arrested, and are saying, get in the car, get in the car, so they might not have the time to check, oh, does the car open from the inside? Does it have a handle? Am I going to be trapped?
She says loitering laws like this one have a long history in America of being used to control Native, Black and LGBTQ+ people.
And not all sex work is trafficked sex work.
This law targets potential clients, not traffickers.
She gave a hypothetical.
SOT :13 When we see trafficking in other industries, let's say, like, in agriculture or the garment industry . . . we don't say, ‘Oh, we're gonna outlaw the manufacture of clothing, or we're gonna arrest people who are purchasing things at the Gap.’
Kandel says if the city’s goal is to reduce sex work, research supports a public health approach.
Providing sex workers with housing, mental healthcare and paid job training.
Not policing.
She sees it as an issue of autonomy.
SOT :06 Two consensual adults engaging in sex work is, you know, having control over your body.
Arangure doesn’t think any law can get rid of an ancient industry.
SOT :08 No matter . . . any laws they're going to do it’s still gonna be the sex work. Because sex work is work.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is edited by Joe Guerin. This podcast is hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great day/weekend.
