Protestors at UCSD call for cease-fire in Gaza

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, March 7th.

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A huge crowd gathered at UC-SD yesterday afternoon to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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Cases of tuberculosis are up in the county.

Public Health officials are reporting a 17 percent increase in active T-B cases in the last year.

243 cases were reported in 2023.

T-B is passed through the air when someone who is sick with the disease coughs, speaks, sings or breathes.

Symptoms include a lasting cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss.

Medicine is available to cure people who are sick with the disease, and to help prevent people from getting sick if they test positive for it, but don’t have symptoms.

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San Diego Unified has approved mass layoffs as it navigates a 94-million dollar budget deficit.

The school board unanimously voted on the layoffs in a meeting earlier this week.

More than 400 positions are expected to be eliminated, including teachers, principals, special education staff, custodians and cafeteria workers.

Some district employees say there was already a staff shortage.

Kyle Weinberg is the president of the San Diego Education Association.

“This is no excuse to be paralyzed and resort to layoff notices as a blunt measure to a problem that requires a more skillful approach. Over 60 schools have special education vacancies and that could get a lot worse if educators decide not to apply for those positions when they see the headlines about the districts rash decisions to issue layoff notices."

The board says all employees facing layoffs will be notified by next week, but they will try to reduce the number of potential layoffs in the next several weeks.

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Make sure to take an umbrella before you head out of the door today, because more rain is headed our way.

The National Weather Service says the rain is mostly expected in the morning, and will clear up by the night.

Temperatures will stay cool through the day.

In the inland and coastal areas, temps will be in the low 60s, and in the deserts, it’ll be in the high 60s.

In the mountains, temperatures will be in the low 40s.

There’s also a Winter Weather Advisory in the mountain areas until noon today (Thursday)… where snowfall of up to 2 inches and gusts up to 45 miles per hour are expected.

Tomorrow, we’re back to sunshine-y weather.

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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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A huge crowd gathered at UC-SD yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Organizers had promised the largest protest ever on campus… and members of San Diego's jewish community called on the university to do everything in its power to protect jewish students… and create an environment that’s inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty and staff.

Karen Parry is the executive director of Hillel of San Diego.

She said she has one question for protesters.

“What does dialogue look like?  What does finding opportunities to build bridges look like?  We’re all in this world together and I think there are true opportunities to connect and I wonder what that would look like.”

KPBS put that question to one of the protesters, who did not want to identify herself.

“I would love to come together and work towards creating a bigger Jewish Voices For Peace because peace is something important to all of us.”

Jewish Voice for Peace is one organization that has staged protests since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last fall.

UC-SD is offering support programs for Jewish and Palestinian members of its community through tomorrow (Friday).

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It was a good election night for incumbents in the city of San Diego.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says the mayor and city council incumbents appear to be cruising to re-election.

"Gloria! Gloria!" AB: Mayor Todd Gloria was feeling good Tuesday at the election night party hosted by the county Democrats. He currently holds slightly more than 50% of the vote. He thanked his supporters and said his message is resonating with voters. TG: Tonight's results are an endorsement of continuing to do things that we have done together over the last four years. Pave more roads. House more homeless people. Build more affordable homes for working and middle class San Diegans and keeping San Diego one of the safest big cities in this country. AB: Police officer Larry Turner is in a distant second place with about 24%. He'll face Gloria in a November runoff — that is, if he can overcome a lawsuit claiming he failed to establish residency in the city of San Diego by the required deadline. Turner says the lawsuit, filed by Gloria's supporters, is nothing more than a political hit job. LT: They're just trying to do stuff to trick people before March 5. It didn't work. I hope they keep doing it. Go ahead and spend your money on a silly lawsuit. Spend your money on fiction stories. Go ahead. I'm just going to keep telling the story of hope. AB: In the special election to fill a vacancy in City Council District 4, Henry Foster III currently has more than 50% of the vote. If that majority holds, he'll be seated without a runoff shortly after the results are certified. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

TAG: The next round of unofficial election results will be posted by 5 P-M today (Thursday).

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The federal government is tightening the standards for acceptable amounts of soot pollution in the air.

Environment reporter Erik Anderson says the rules could push San Diego out of compliance with clean air laws.

Clean air advocates cheered when Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael Regan unveiled the new particulate pollution standards last month. Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency “The science is clear.  Soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution linked to a range of serious and potentially dangerous illnesses including asthma and heart attacks.” Particulate matter two-point-five represents tiny airborne particles that are easily inhaled. It takes roughly 30 of the largest particles to equal the width of a human hair.  Lowering the amount of airborne P-M two-point-five, from 12 micrograms to nine, lowers how much money the nation spends on health care. “An impressive estimated 46-billion dollars, that's billion with a B, in avoided health care and hospitalization costs by the year 20-32.” Soot comes from burning wood, dust, vehicle exhaust, factories, and basically anything that consumes fossil fuel.  In San Diego, air quality regulators say the biggest source isn’t factories or cars.  It’s homes.  That’s why the American Lung Association's Will Barrett says state clean air officials are looking for ways to phase out gas burning appliances. Will Barrett, American Lung Association “Because of the significant contribution they make to outdoor air pollution in this case, particle pollution.” Local regulators have time to consider how to move forward, and there is a chance San Diego’s pollution levels will meet federal standards when they take effect in 2026. But there is also a chance the county won’t.  Barret says that means reviewing existing pollution rules. “They'll have to evaluate if those are doing enough or if they have to tweak some existing rules or move ahead with new rules altogether.” San Diego Air Pollution Control District officials concede that the region will likely be out of compliance when the new standard takes effect.   Air Pollution Control Officer Paula Forbis says staff are already considering what can be done to reduce airborne soot and they are developing an outline. Paula Forbis, Air Pollution Control Officer “That plan is going to look at the sources that we regulate in San Diego County, predominantly stationary sources, and identify where we can achieve additional emission reductions from those sources in order to meet that standard.” She’s talking about sources like factories and power plants. Regulators also want to reevaluate whether homes are still one of the biggest sources of P-M 2-point-5 pollution, or whether that impact has been overestimated.  But Forbis says San Diego County has issues that local air quality regulators can’t fix.“The state, California Air Resources Board along with EPA has jurisdiction over motor vehicles. EPA has sole jurisdiction over sources, such as locomotives.” Also, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment finds the highest concentration of soot is near the international border.  Local regulators can’t do anything about dirty air that originates in Mexico.  The environmental Health Coalition’s Nicholas Paul says even federal officials concede that soot pollution hurts some communities more than most. Nicholas Paul, Environmental Health Coalition “Not being in attainment is heartbreaking because we know what that means for our communities.”The health impacts are real and tracked in the state’s environmental assessment tool, CalEnviroScreen.  It identifies San Diego’s portside and border communities among the most polluted regions in the state.  Paul says there has been progress.  The port has worked to electrify operations at the 10th Avenue marine terminal, but air pollution still afflicts nearby neighborhoods. “There is no safe level of P-M pollution, right!?  All that contributes to the asthma, the elevated cancer risk that we are talking about.” Only fifteen U.S. counties currently fail to meet the existing standard.  The EPA estimates 119 counties, including San Diego will fall short of the new lower standard. Erik Anderson KPBS News.

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The 163 freeway in Balboa Park is one of the most scenic drives in the city of San Diego.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says a coalition of civic groups want to let San Diegans experience those views... outside of a car.

AB: Park-Way for a Day is a proposal to close a portion of the 163 in Balboa Park to cars and open it to pedestrians and cyclists. The one-day event would feature art installations, music and activities in a part of the park that's normally flooded with traffic and noise. Brer Marsh is on the event's organizing committee. He hopes it will inspire people to see the freeway and Balboa Park from a new perspective. BM: "Having big, memorable civic events bring value to the neighborhood, they bring value to the city — cultural value and economic value. Yes, it's a minor inconvenience. But I would say it's worth it." AB: Caltrans held a similar but smaller event on the 15 freeway in Southeast San Diego last year. And an event on the 110 freeway in Los Angeles drew an estimated 45,000 attendees. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

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SD-SU had a special ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday (Wednesday), to officially open its new River Park in Mission Valley.

Reporter Melissa Mae says voters passed Measure G in 20-18, laying the foundation for this space.

MM: The 34 acre river park sits at the south edge of the Snapdragon Stadium parking lot. MM: San Diego State President Adela de la Torre says this park is an opportunity for the community to come together. AT “We as San Diegans need accessible, beautiful, green spaces and this is a space right in the city that everyone can come and join with their family members and friends. They can bring their furry friends and they can bring their children and they can bring their grandparents.” MM: This park includes recreational fields, more than four miles of walking and biking trails and a children’s play area. MM: More park space is expected to open in late April. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Tomorrow, a San Diego Restaurant Week spokesperson joins me on the podcast to talk about restaurants participating in the event and the deals you can snag this weekend. We’ll have that, plus the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.