New report finds that workforce reductions are hurting efforts to prevent ship fires
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19TH>>>> [ WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS ARE HURTING THE NAVY’S EFFORTS TO PREVENT FIRES… ]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines…########
NEARLY ONE AND HALF MILLION PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE OR DEPART THROUGH THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT THIS HOLIDAY TRAVEL SEASON
THE BIG TRAVEL RUSH BEGINS TODAY AND LASTS THROUGH MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH
THE AIRPORT ANTICIPATES 85 THOUSAND DAILY TRAVELERS DURING PEAK DAYS AROUND CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S EVE
WITH THIS IN MIND, THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY IS GIVING OUT SOME TRAVELING TIPS
FIRST – BE MINDFUL OF NORTH HARBOR'S NEW AIRPORT ROADWAY WHICH DIRECTS YOU TO TERMINALS 1 AND 2…
AND MAKE A PARKING RESERVATION OR USE THE NEW S-A-N PASS PROGRAM TO MEET YOUR GUESTS AT THE GATE
HAPPY TRAVELS!
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REAL ESTATE TRACKER COSTAR REPORTS THAT AVERAGE RENT IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAS FALLEN FOR SIX MONTHS IN A ROW)
ANNUAL RENT GROWTH DECLINED 0.3 PERCENT OVERALL
THAT'S SOMETHING THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE SAYS HASN'T HAPPENED IN FIFTEEN YEARS
RATES NOW SIT AT AN AVERAGE OF ROUGHLY TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED A MONTH
HOWEVER, DIVING A BIT DEEPER INTO THE COSTAR NUMBERS REVEALS A FEW THINGS …
EXPENSIVE AREAS LIKE DOWNTOWN ARE SEEING THE BIGGEST DROPS WHILE AVERAGE RENT HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED IN ESCONDIDO AND NATIONAL CITY
ANOTHER KEY FACTOR IS THE CURRENT VACANCY RATE WHICH IS THE HIGHEST SINCE 2009
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A FAN FAVORITE HAS RETURNED TO SEAWORLD !
ON WEDNESDAY, THE THEME PARK ANNOUNCED IT WOULD BRING BACK ITS PENGUIN CAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS
THE CAMERA PROVIDES FANS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WITH A CHANCE TO GET A LIVE AND INTIMATE LOOK INTO A PENGUIN COLONY AND HABITAT
SEAWORLD'S COLONY IS MADE UP OF NEARLY 2 HUNDRED PENGUINS FEATURING FIVE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF THE FLIGHTLESS BIRD
YOU CAN WATCH AS THEY PLAY, GET ROUTINE CHECK-UPS AND EAT!
SEAWORLD SAYS IT TAKES MORE THAN TWO TONS OF SNOW A DAY TO MAINTAIN THE PENGUINS HABITAT
IF INTERESTED, YOU CAN SEARCH FOR SEAWORLD PENGUINCAM TO VIEW THE LIVE STREAM!
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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AFTER A FIRE DESTROYED THE U-S-S BONHOMME RICHARD IN SAN DIEGO FIVE YEARS AGO, THE NAVY RENEWED ITS EFFORTS TO PREVENT SHIPYARD FIRES.
MILITARY REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS A NEW REPORT FOUND PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FEDERAL WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS ARE HURTING THOSE EFFORTS.
GAOFIRE 1 (AD) 1:14 SOQ
THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE SAYS THE NAVY DOESN’T HAVE THE FIRE SAFETY STAFF ITS OWN INVESTIGATIONS CALLED FOR AFTER THE FIRE.
AN A-T-F INVESTIGATION SAID THE FIRE WAS ARSON. BUT ALSO THAT CONDITIONS ABOARD THE SHIP DUE TO CONTRACTING WORK HELPED THE FIRE SPREAD OUT OF CONTROL AND DESTROY THE SHIP.
SHELBY OAKLEY MONITORS NAVY CONTRACTING AND SHIPBUILDING AT THE G-A-O. SHE SAYS OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS THE NAVY’S MADE SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO IMPROVE FIRE SAFETY, BUT …
IT'S JUST THAT, THOSE EFFORTS DIDN'T REALLY FOCUS ON WHAT THE CONTRACTORS WERE DOING AND HOW WE'RE OVERSEEING WHAT THE CONTRACTORS ARE DOING TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE…
16;41;07 - 16;44;17… TO ENSURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER, FIRE LIKE THIS.
THE NAVY’S INVESTIGATION CALLED FOR MORE OVERSIGHT OF CONTRACTORS DURING MAINTENANCE AND OVERHAUL. BUT THE GAO SAYS TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDERS RESTRICTING FEDERAL HIRING COMPOUNDED WITH BUYOUTS AND EARLY RETIREMENTS THIS YEAR ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTING THE SERVICE’S ABILITY TO FOLLOW ITS OWN ADVICE.
WE'VE BEEN SEEING IT ACROSS A NUMBER OF OUR OTHER EFFORTS, THAT THOSE HAVE BEEN HAVING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON STAFFING WITHIN, THE NAVY SPECIFICALLY, BUT OTHER SERVICES AS WELL, TOO.
WE REACHED OUT TO NAVAL SURFACE FORCE IN SAN DIEGO AS WELL AS THE WHITE HOUSE BUT NEITHER RESPONDED.
ANDREW DYER, KPBS NEWS
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THE ANNUAL POINT-IN-TIME COUNT IS COMING UP AT THE END OF JANUARY AND THERE’S STILL A MONTH LEFT FOR VOLUNTEERS TO SIGN UP.
PENNER FELLOW EMMY BURRUS REPORTS WHAT THE HOMELESS COUNT LOOKS LIKE FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.
POINTINTIME 1 (1:08) SOC (SS)
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“You go to the counting site, meet the organizer, meet some of the other volunteers. Very often there’s – somebody has brought donuts or coffee or something like that, you know a little camaraderie. And then you get a physical paper map, and on that map is your area to count.”
That’s Mat Brown describing what the 4 a.m. start looks like for the annual homeless count. He works at San Diego County’s Office of Homeless Solutions.
The nationwide Point in Time Count event is designed to tally the number of individuals experiencing homelessness. The data is essential for effectively distributing federal funds to local agencies.
This year’s count is on January 29. Residents interested in volunteering have just over a month before the registration deadline.
1,700 participants are needed to cover all of San Diego county.
Dijana Beck is the director of the Office of Homeless Solutions. She says the count is one way people can pitch in to help solve homelessness.
“They will just feel good about themselves knowing that they participated in something that brings a lot of funding to our region from the federal government.”
Anyone can sign up to volunteer and pick their location and time, either the early morning shift or evening for safe sleeping and safe parking sites.
Emmy Burrus, KPBS News
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THE GOVERNORS HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSOCIATION AND WAYMO RELEASED A TRAINING YESTERDAY. IT TEACHES FIRST RESPONDERS HOW TO INTERACT WITH THE DRIVERLESS TAXIS. REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS WHETHER SAN DIEGO NEEDS IT IS UNDER DEBATE.
WAYMO 1 trt :55 SOQ (kh/mb)
SOT :06 Waymo is taking what was once futuristic sci-fi and making it non-fiction.
The training teaches first responders what Waymo robotaxis are. How to disable the self-driving mode. And where to avoid cutting the cars if they’re rescuing someone from inside.
Waymo announced plans to expand to San Diego next year, starting with downtown.
But they need permits. And last month, the Metropolitan Transit System’s Taxi Advisory Committee voted to formally protest. Sean Elo Rivera chairs the committee.
SOT :10 That poses what I consider an existential threat to those who earn a living either driving a taxi cab or even driving rideshare.
The City of San Diego did not immediately answer whether the training will be required for its first responders.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD THE MESSAGE LOUD AND CLEAR…SPAYING AND NEUTERING IS THE SOLUTION TO OUR OVERCROWDED ANIMAL SHELTERS. FOR THREE STRAIGHT MONTHS, THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY HAS SET NEW RECORDS FOR THE NUMBER OF ADULT DOGS IN THEIR CARE.
EVENING EDITION ANCHOR MAYA TRABULSI WANTED TO GET A CLOSE LOOK AT HOW THE SHELTER GETS THE SURGICAL JOB DONE IN HIGH NUMBERS, DAY AFTER DAY.
SPAYDAY (mt/ks) TRT (4:13) SOQ
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[00:00]
It's 8:30 in the morning at the San Diego Humane Society and like every Monday the doors are closed to the public, but the veterinary team here is gearing up for a busy day. Inside the body center for shelter medicine, the calm before the very controlled and well orchestrated storm to spare and neuter as many animals as possible. By 9:00 a.m. the surgical list is set. Veterinary manager Sylvia Negi's first case this morning is Eor. Puppy Eor?
[00:30]
weighed 36 pounds today. A spunky four-month old puppy found wandering Barrio Logan. No microchip and not neutered. He's going to be pre-medicated for surgery. But what he does have is an imminent adoption by the family that found him. While Negi scrubs in, Eor pieces out. As Eor gets shaved, Leah a 4-year-old Siberian husky is having her bladder manually expressed.
[00:58]
So, their bladder when they are looking for for the uterus, it's right in the way. So, we like to express it. So, it's smaller and more out of the way. It's now 10:00 a.m. and Leah is being positioned for her spay. It's also EOR's time to shine under the surgical lights. Um, I'm going to begin the surgery. The surgery is a prescrotal neuter. The testicle One testicle is isolated.
[01:24]
And because of the high volume of space in neuters, smaller incisions mean faster surgeries. Less 7 minutes later. The testicles have been removed and getting him ready for the next part, which is the recovery part. The shelter space and neuter is between 30 and 50 animals per day here. 22,000 animals so far this year. It's impressive. I'm so proud of this team and the work that we do. Danielle Clem is the senior hospital director here.
[01:53]
Most that we've done was maybe 70 or 80 in one day. Last December, KPBS produced a special program detailing the overcrowded shelter crisis situation. Clem says the problem persists with record-breaking numbers in recent months. The organization is operating at 167% capacity for dogs.
[02:11]
Um, a spawner neuter might seem like just another elective procedure, but in the shelter setting, there's much more sense of urgency with that procedure because we know it's that animals ticket out of the shelter and into their new home. And that ticket is what they're hoping to give Leah the husky. She's being spawed on an adjacent table. May Female dogs take only a few minutes to be neutered. Female dogs, especially adult ones like Leah, take longer. How's she doing? Okay.
[02:39]
Negi's onto her next patient, also a female. So, you're actually doing an ovariohysterectomy, um which is a fairly complicated and extensive procedure. Um, just like in a woman, it's internal. Um, and so that's why it's more complicated in the dog. Spaying and neutering is more than just population control. Clem says that it can save your pet's life by eliminating innate but dangerous escaping behavior.
[03:06]
She says there's a common theme to most traumatic emergency cases that they see here. Most of those animals are intact and so by eliminating that urge to escape and to roam, we can keep our pets safer and healthier as well. The organization wants to take affordability off the table as an excuse. They offer low-cost spa and neuter to the community with more than 60 appointments every week. availability really shouldn't be an excuse either.
[03:32]
We have plenty of appointments that aren't getting booked and so I really encourage people to, you know, just make that choice and schedule an appointment. Next on the surgery list is cats. And by 2:00, the surgeries are wrapped. Remember Eor? His new family came to pick him up just a couple of hours later and along with his new life, he was bequeathed a new name. His name is Grover.
[03:59]
Cuz I think after We dropped him off here at the Humane Society. We pretty immediately knew that he was going to end up back with us. Maya Trabulsi. Bye. Thank you for adopting. KPBS News.
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AS WE DO FOR YOU EACH AND EVERY FRIDAY,
HERE ARE SOME THINGS TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE COUNTY
THIS WEEKEND
ON FRIDAY THERE IS A CHANUKKAH PARTY!
ITS CALLED ‘LIGHT UP THE NIGHT’ AND IS PRESENTED BY THE BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION
ITS A BRING YOUR OWN MENORAH EVENT THAT BEGINS WITH A MENORAH LIGHTING AND SERVICE AND THEN TRANSITIONS TO LIVELY ISRAELI MUSIC, CRISPY LATKES (LAT-CUHS) AND CRAFTS
THAT STARTS AT 6 PM FRIDAY, YOU CAN VISIT JEWISH IN SAN DIEGO DOT ORG FOR MORE
ON SATURDAY, …ITS A BATTLE OF THE BALLETS!
THE CITY BALLET OF SAN DIEGO,
THE SAN DIEGO BALLET AND THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BALLET ARE ALL PRESENTING THEIR VERSIONS OF ‘THE NUTCRACKER’
THEY ARE BEING HELD AT THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS IN ESCONDIDO, THE MAGNOLIA IN EL CAJON AND AT THE POWAY CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS.
SUNDAY THE SAN DIEGO BAY PARADE OF LIGHTS WILL TAKE PLACE
ITS THE 55TH YEAR OF THE PARADE
NEARLY 80 BOATS WILL BEFULLY DECKED OUT IN HOLIDAY LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS
THE PARADE STARTS AT SHELTER ISLAND AND ENDS AT THE CORONADO FERRY LANDING
ENJOY!
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is edited by Brooke Ruth and hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. Thank you to Quinn Owen for helping out this week. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
