New polling shows race for 48th congressional seat is tight

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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, JULY 29TH>>>> [ THE RACE TO LAND A 48TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SEAT IS TIGHTENING ]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######

SINCE THE CORONADO BAY BRIDGE FIRST OPENED BACK IN 1969, IT’S BEEN LINKED TO MORE THAN 470 DEATHS BY SUICIDE...

THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER

VOICE OF SAN DIEGO REPORTS THE CORONADO BRIDGE HAS BECOME THE DEADLIEST BRIDGE IN AMERICA 

AND NOW, VOICE SAYS, CALTRANS IS PROPOSING A SOLUTION

145 MILLION DOLLARS WOULD GO TOWARD INSTALLING EIGHT-FOOT TALL METAL MESH BARRIERS RUNNING THE LENGTH OF THE BRIDGE. 

THE PLAN ALSO INCLUDES A-I POWERED CAMERAS DESIGNED TO DETECT UNUSUAL ACTIVITY LIKE A STOPPED CAR OR A PEDESTRIAN ON THE BRIDGE 

EXACT DETAILS AND AN EXACT TIMELINE ARE STILL FORTHCOMING

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A VIRAL VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA SHOWS A LOCAL TEENAGER DARING TO JUMP INTO THE OCEAN FROM SUNSET CLIFFS

BUT THE TEEN CAN BE SEEN HITTING A ROCK ON THE WAY DOWN… BEFORE FALLING INTO THE WATER 

FOX-5 NEWS SAYS WITNESSES RUSHED TO HELP THE TEEN WHO APPEARED UNABLE TO MOVE

RESCUE WORKERS WERE CALLED TO THE SCENE AND THE TEEN WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT 

NOW FOX-5 SAYS A DAY AFTER THE INCIDENT, THEY SAW MORE TEENS ATTEMPTING SIMILAR JUMPS FROM THE CLIFFS

SAN DIEGO FIRE RESCUE IS REMINDING US THAT CLIFF JUMPING IS NOT JUST DANGEROUS BUT IT'S ILLEGAL 

THEY SAY CHANGING TIDES, HIDDEN ROCKS AND OCEAN SWELLS  MAKE EACH JUMP … UNPREDICTABLE

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THE 2026 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER ALL-STAR GAME KICKS OFF TODAY IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA FEATURING SOME LOCAL REPRESENTATION

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS, SAN DIEGO F-C WINGER ANDERS DREYER [AHN-DERS DR-YER] HAS BEEN NAMED TO THE STAR STUDDED ROSTER

IN 15 REGULAR SEASON GAMES, DREYER HAS SCORED SIX GOALS AND ASSISTED ON NINE OTHERS

THE TEAM SAYS HE CURRENTLY LEADS THE LEAGUE IN ASSISTS AND KEY PASSES

THEY ADD THAT DREYER IS THE 2ND FASTEST PLAYER IN LEAGUE HISTORY TO SCORE 20 GOALS AND 20 ASSISTS. THAT’S SECOND ONLY TO SOCCER SUPERSTAR LIONEL MESSI

GOOD LUCK TO ANDERS AS HE REPRESENTS OUR REGION IN THE M-L-S ALL-STAR GAME TONIGHT

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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NEW POLLING DATA SUGGEST THE RACE FOR CALIFORNIA’S 48TH CONGRESSIONAL SEAT IS VERY CLOSE. THIS IS THE RE-DRAWN DISTRICT THAT INCLUDES MUCH OF EAST COUNTY AND HAS HISTORICALLY FAVORED REPUBLICANS.

PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA HAS THE DETAILS…

48 POLL 1 (jg/qo) [1:12] SOQ

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The first general election poll released for the 48th congressional district has the two candidates neck and neck as the campaign ramps up.

San Diego county supervisor Jim Desmond and city council member Marni von Wilpert came in first and second in the primary in June.

a survey of 500 likely voters conducted by democratic firm lake research partners was released last week.

48 percent chose von Wilpert and 46% chose Desmond, with 6% still undecided.

but Desmond had a 2-point lead among those who strongly supported either candidate, according to the poll.

but because these results are within the margin of error, ucsd political science professor Thad Kousser said the two are statistically tied.

“So that means that their best guess is that marni von wilbert is leading 48 to 46. but it could be that she's leading 52 to 42. or it could be that Jim Desmond is leading.”

In a statement to kpbs, the Desmond campaign said he has a quote “strong record of delivering results…which is why even the democrats own poll shows this race is within the margin of error.”

The von Wilpert campaign shared the poll in a press release. They continued to try to tie Desmond to president Donald Trump.

California's 48th district could be one of just a few elections in November that decides who controls the house of representatives.

Jake Gotta KPBS News

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Meanwhile, state officials were sued this week after changing the official language for a ballot initiative that would create stricter voter ID rules. 

Public Matters reporter Kevin Trevellyan [TREV-uh-lyn] has that story: —

Republican San Diego Assembly member Carl DeMaio is a leading supporter of Prop 39, which will be on the November ballot. But he recently told KCRA 3 that California’s Democratic attorney general rewrote the initiative’s title and summary to quote “rig” the process.

DeMaio [0:06]: “So that voters are confused and are prejudiced against voting for the initiative.”

A pro voter ID group filed suit Monday… saying the language is misleading, and should be changed before the state publishes a voter information guide.

Kousser [0:03]: “That’s a charge people have been making for generations in California.”

Thad Kousser [COW-zir] is a political scientist at UC San Diego. He says lawsuits tend to happen when states task partisan elected officials, like the attorney general, with finalizing ballot language.

He says the way an initiative is phrased can impact whether voters support it.

Kousser [0:08]: “So these court battles, there are high stakes to them because there are instances in which that language can matter.”

Kousser [COW-zir] says well-funded outreach campaigns can make the initiative language itself less significant to the outcome of an election.

KT, KPBS news.

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A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION... ALLEGING THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS ILLEGALLY SURVEILLING PEOPLE WHO ARE MONITORING ICE OFFICERS AS THEY CARRY OUT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.

THE SUIT ACCUSES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OF USING SURVEILLANCE TOOLS TO TRACK PEOPLE WHO ARE LEGALLY OBSERVING THESE ACTIONS. 

JOHN DAVISSON IS WITH THE ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER, THE LEAD PLAINTIFF IN THE CASE.

OBSERVER2A 0:18

It's really about challenging this attempt as part of a broader campaign by the administration to intimidate people who are engaged again in nothing more than peaceful legal observation and protest by collecting their data and in this case, punishing them by revoking their global entry status.

GLOBAL ENTRY STATUS ALLOWS PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENINGS AT U-S CUSTOMS. 

ANOTHER PLAINTIFF IS SAN DIEGO RESIDENT ANNA WALKER. 

SHE SAYS SHE HAD HER GLOBAL ENTRY STATUS REVOKED SHORTLY AFTER FILMING AN INCIDENT AT THE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT.. AND OBSERVING OTHER IMMIGRATION AGENT ACTIVITIES IN SAN DIEGO.  

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BUDGET CUTS CAUSED THE CITY TO CLOSE 13 PUBLIC BATHROOMS IN MISSION BAY PARK. NOW, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER RAUL CAMPILLO IS PROPOSING TO RE-OPEN THEM. 

BUT, AS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REPORTER CARLY KAY SAYS, THE MAYOR DISAGREES. 

MBBATHROOMS1(CK) TRT: 55 SOQ

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When you gotta go, you gotta go. But finding a bathroom in Mission Bay Park isn’t that easy. Nearly half of them are closed. It’s the result of a city budget cut. For Angela Rivera that means park visits with her grandkids look a little different.

“ The bathrooms were closed. So sadly, we had to use an alternative which was a tree.” :05

Council member Raul Campillo has a plan to end these emergency bathroom breaks. He says he found money in the city budget that could be used to reopen the bathrooms. But the Mayor has rejected the proposal.

“We need to take care of this because it's a public health issue. It's a disservice to residents of the city of San Diego. They shouldn’t have to walk 30 mins to the next restroom. They might point and say we have 15 of them open. Well, that means instead of walking a few minutes, you have to walk 30 mins. That’s unacceptable. We can do better as a city. ” :17

The extra money comes from a ballot measure that was cut. It costs 540-thousand dollars to maintain the bathrooms. Carly Kay, KPBS News.  

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LAST WEEK, PORT COMMISSIONERS USED A NEW POLICY FOR RENAMING LOCATIONS TO COMMEMORATE THE KUMEYAAY  (koo-MAY-eye) PEOPLE’S HISTORIC CONNECTION TO THE SAN DIEGO BAY.

MIDDAY EDITION HOST JADE HINDMON SPOKE WITH BOBBY WALLACE OF THE BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS ABOUT THE NAMING OF A BEACH AT SPANISH LANDING. WALLACE IS A PROMINENT KUMEYAAY (koo-MAY-eye) LEADER AND ADVOCATE.

KUMEYAAY (midday) TRT 4:36 last words “thank you”

this is KUMEYAAY Terrestre inventory and um naming of the beach uh the unnamed beach to KUMEYAAY Beach was one step um in the right direction um for I would say generational trauma. We all have to go down and drive past things called Mission Valley or Mission Beach or Mission this or Mission that.

And that's part of the generational stuff that my people see every single every single day stole. So the commission and naming the beach following the criteria that they had to follow was just really beautiful. It made me feel my ancestors sort of speak. Yeah, no, I I can understand that for sure.

Now, you mentioned the the commission and I know it had the support of the Kumi Cultural respiration uh committee. Can you tell us about that committee and why it was created? Uh, the committee was created to ensure that we have fair and equal value um here throughout our territory.

Um, you know, we we have been here for so long and there are bones and there's ashes of our people. Um, I would say as far as the Channel Islands all the way down to San Canta to the outskirts of the desert and back to the ocean.

So uh this committee was formed to have justice for our ancestors and the people that are living and the people that are going to come after us. Well, you know, in terms of the naming process, this was really a first for the Port of San Diego. Did the process feel legitimate and inclusive as you went through this?

Yeah, it felt really sincere and looking at the mannerisms of the commission. Um, to me, it felt so sincere. Um, it felt legitimate. It felt like um a family kind of affair.

And you know the request to the port to to make this change said quote this would be a small step forward in acknowledging the existence of the Kumi people since time immemorial.

Um do you think this is really part of of the responsibilities local governments have? To acknowledge indigenous in his history in public spaces. I think it is a responsibility for so long we've gone through all these different kind of changes take for for instance the mission project all the little kids have to do in school.

We know that those things again in it goes back to trauma and you know post-traumatic stress disorder. in those things that are embedded within our DNA and we have to release these things and this is one step further in the flight to help our people and make our people better. We can only do this together, all of us. Mhm. Indeed.

So, with that in mind and the trauma, I mean, this was an unnamed beach at Spanish Landing Park. Um, what stories does the name Spanish landing tell us about San Diego's history and what stories does Kumi I Beach instead add?

Yeah, you know the Spanish landing, you know, these are all things and it's a falsehood, it's a sense of falseness within here in San Diego because the Spanish didn't discover actually, we've been here since our beginning.

We know these things and truth telling is a big part of you know a healing of one of one's people so we take the Spanish landing it's great to acknowledge that the Spanish came here for some but we've been here for time memorial we've been here for so long and we're always going to remain here these lands where people thrive for 10, 12,000 years.

Bobby, thank you so very much. Okay, you guys have a great day and thank you

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THE WILLOW ROAD PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE IN SAN YSIDRO FEATURES A NEW WORK OF PUBLIC ART. 

REPORTER JULIA DIXON EVANS TAKES US TO THE BRIDGE TO LEARN HOW A MURAL DOES MORE THAN ADD COLOR.

ALEBRIJE 2A (1:22) SOQ

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At first glance, it might just seem like a painted sidewalk.

But the new mural on a San Ysidro footbridge offers some surprising functions that go beyond the art.

"it is helping preserve the pavement. The materials can help also reduce ground temperatures because of the reflectivity.

Nick Buenviaje works on community projects for CalTrans, and partnered with BLK Box Gallery to design the mural. It's inspired by Mexican folk art "alebrije" creatures.

A geometric design spans the bridge with five bright colors — Some sections use paint formulated to glow in the dark.

"...they absorb the sun throughout the day and then at night illuminate….

You can even tell the difference between a sunny day and a cloudy day in terms of how much it glows.

Along the path, stenciled silhouettes highlight neighborhood life and history — like children walking to school or a family planting a tree.

The mural’s benefits may also help make the bridge — and the community — safer.

there are studies shown that when you beautify an area, it decreases vandalism, decreases the littering. And we saw studies of how it can increase active transportation and walkability within a neighborhood.

Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS news.

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That’s it for the podcast today. Today’s pod was edited by Mike Marcotte (mar-COT) and 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.