San Diegans call for peace at protest
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson … it’s WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH >>>> [ WHY SOME SAN DIEGO-BASED IRANIANS SAY THEY FEEL BEWILDERED AS THE WAR CONTINUES]More on that next. But first... the headlines…#######
A GROUP BEHIND AN INITIATIVE TO REPEAL PARKING FEES AT BALBOA PARK IS COLLECTING SIGNATURES.
ACCORDING TO REPORTING FROM CBS8, THE INITIATIVE WAS FILED LAST MONTH WITH THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO
IT’S CALLED THE BALBOA PARK FREE PARKING RESTORATION ACT
FORMER CORONADO MAYOR AND CURRENT DISTRICT TWO COUNCIL CANDIDATE RICHARD BAILEY IS LEADING THE INITIATIVE
CBS 8 SAYS BAILEY HAS ALREADY GATHERED MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND SIGNATURES THROUGH THE INITIATIVE'S WEBSITE
IF TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND SIGNATURES IN SUPPORT OF THE MEASURE ARE COLLECTED, THE CITY WILL BE REQUIRED TO RE-HEAR THE ITEM
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A SAN DIEGO-BASED NAVY SHIP IS TASKED WITH RECOVERING THE ARTEMIS TWO ASTRONAUTS AND THEIR SPACECRAFT WHEN THEY SPLASH DOWN
THE U-S-S JOHN P MURTHA WILL BE IN PLACE FOR THE LANDING AT 5 P.M. ON FRIDAY THE NAVY SAYS ASSIGNED SAILORS HAVE BEEN UNDERGOING TRAINING IN PREPARATION OF THE RETURN
A U-S NAVY HELICOPTER SQUADRON FROM NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND WILL ALSO BE ON HAND TO ASSIST IN THE TRACKING OF THE CAPSULE AS ITS TRAVELS THROUGH THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
NAVY DIVERS WILL BE ON HAND TO RECOVER AND TRANSPORT THE ORION SPACE CAPSULE FROM THE WATER AND ONTO THE SHIP'S DECK
THE MISSION ACHIEVED A MAJOR MILESTONE AS ARTEMIS TWO ASTRONAUTS HAVE SURPASSED APOLLO 13’S PREVIOUS RECORD FOR THE FARTHEST DISTANCE TRAVELED AWAY FROM EARTH
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SDG&E CUSTOMERS CAN EXPECT A NATURAL GAS CREDIT ON THEIR BILL THIS MONTH
THE CREDIT COMES BY WAY OF THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE CREDIT
CUSTOMERS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR A CREDIT OF 32-DOLLARS AND 58-CENTS WHICH WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED TO THEIR APRIL BILL
LATER THIS YEAR, AN ELECTRIC CLIMATE CREDIT OF 49-DOLLARS AND 36-CENTS WILL BE APPLIED TO TWO SEPARATE BILLS
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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SEVERAL SAN DIEGANS OF IRANIAN DESCENT CALLED FOR PEACE AT A PROTEST YESTERDAY. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL WAS IN FRONT OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE WHERE THEY GATHERED AND TELLS US MORE
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IRANRALLY 1 1:13 SOQ
STORIES LIKE THIS OFTEN BEGIN WITH SOUNDS OF PEOPLE CHANTING IN PROTEST. BUT NOT THIS ONE. THIS PROTEST AGAINST THE IRANIAN REGIME AND THE ACTION OF THE AMERICAN AND ISRAELI GOVERNMENTS WAS SOLEMN… SIGNS HELD SAYING THINGS LIKE NO TO THEOCRACY - YES TO DEMOCRACY… AND MANY WITH PICTURES OF IRANIANS WHO’VE PROTESTED AGAINST THEIR GOVERNMENT, ONLY TO BE MET WITH JAIL OR EXECUTION. MONA MEMARIAN MOVED TO THE U-S WHEN SHE WAS JUST 18. SHE SAID AT FIRST, PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PROMISE TO SUPPORT THE IRANIAN RESISTANCE WAS WELCOMED. BUT NOW WITH THE ATTACKS ON THE COUNTRY, SHE SAYS SHE AND OTHERS LIKE HER - ARE BEWILDERED.
“It’s been over a month that he’s been escalating the attacks, the forces and everything, and that leaves us with the confusion of what did he say and what is he doing now and why is he doing this?”
MEMARIAN SAYS THE BEST THING FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE TO DO NOW - IS PRAY FOR PEACE. JC, KPBS NEWS.
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THE COMMISSION ON POLICE PRACTICES IS MEANT TO CONDUCT OVERSIGHT OF THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT…BUT REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS IT’S UNABLE TO REVIEW THE VAST MAJORITY OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE OF WHAT SOME ARE CALLING A LOOPHOLE.
MISC 1 s/s trt 1:17 SOQ (kh/mb)
When San Diego police arrested Muslah Abdul-Hafeez, he says they left his then-3-year-old daughter with a stranger in the shopping center.
SOT :11 A stranger, seen it was taken me, and she came and grabbed my daughter, and I just, I threw my phone to her, and I told her to call somebody.
The nonprofit Pillars of the Community filed a complaint and demanded an investigation.
SDPD labeled the complaint “miscellaneous,” saying it was “frivolous.”
The Commission on Police Practices, or CPP, is not entitled to review miscellaneous complaints.
But SDPD says it’s labeled 79% of complaints miscellaneous.
Mitchelle Woodson is the legal director for Pillars.
SOT :06 Is there any process that will hold them accountable, or will they just continue to find the loopholes?
Chief Scott Wahl agreed in August to send memos to the CPP for each miscellaneous complaint. But CPP says they haven’t received any.
An SDPD spokesperson says because of limited time and resources, they prioritize the most serious complaints for investigation. They are conferring with their union before they can expand which cases they send to CPP for review.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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A KPBS INVESTIGATION FOUND INFLUENTIAL DONORS HAVE BEEN GIFTING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO COUNTY SUPERVISOR OFFICES FOR YEARS.
REPORTER SCOTT RODD DUG INTO HOW THEY SPENT THE MONEY.
COUNTYGIFTS (4:54) SOC (FEATURE)
Swearing in ceremonies for county supervisors are usually unassuming affairs.
They’re often held during regular board meetings inside the county administration building.
But Democratic Supervisor Paloma Aguirre took a different approach last summer…after winning the District 1 special election. Her office threw a blow-out swearing in ceremony at the Waterfront Park.
Caterers served up food and drinks. A mariachi band played for guests.
[Mariachi band music]
Aguirre addressed the crowd after taking the oath of office.
[remarks from Aguirre]
The event cost upwards of $19,000. How did Aguirre pay for all this? With gifted funds the district office solicited from major corporations … including AT@T and Cox Communications…and local companies … such as a golf course developer in Borrego Springs.
A monthslong KPBS investigation found supervisor offices have received dozens of these gifted payments in recent years…totalling over $100,000. The money is deposited into an obscure account for “special events.”
Under state law, there are strict limits on gifts given to individual elected officials. But since these gifts were directed to the supervisors’ offices…there are no limits on how much donors can give.
KPBS found no evidence that the supervisors broke any laws. But former state regulators and good government advocates who reviewed KPBS’ findings expressed concerns.
MCMORRIS 1 [00:48]
“First of all, it’s complicated, but it also appears to be quite a gray area.”
Sean McMorris is with the government accountability nonprofit Common Cause California.
MCMORRIS [24:45]
“I think it definitely raises questions about … whether this is an appropriate way to go about collecting money like that.”
Nearly all of the gifted payments were received by the offices of three supervisors: Aguirre, Republican Joel Anderson and Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer, who chairs the board.
None of the supervisors agreed to an interview…and their offices did not provide expenditure receipts.
But documents obtained by KPBS do shed some light on how the gifted payments were used.
[Lawson Remer at state of the county]
That’s Lawson-Remer at her State of the County address last year. She solicited tens of thousands of dollars from donors to pay for catering, teleprompter services, and printed materials at the invitation-only event.
KPBS found some donors gave money to supervisors’ offices when they had pending business before the county. United Domestic Workers of America gifted nearly $5,000 for the State of the County address. Months later, the Board of Supervisors approved a new contract with the union that guaranteed substantial pay raises.
McMorris says these situations often don’t sit well with voters.
“There is an influence factor going on where the candidate knows who's giving, how much they're giving. In the public's eyes, that can influence possibly how an elected official votes on policy.”
In an email, Lawson-Remer’s press secretary said, “Every sponsor on this list gave to support a public event with full transparency, under county policy, and with zero strings attached.”
Anderson’s office used some of the gifted funds for community events.
The office also spent over $11,000 of gifted payments on mailers leading up to his re-election in 2024. Campaign finance experts told KPBS the expenditures deserve close scrutiny…since there are tight restrictions on publicly-funded mailers during election season.
Anderson’s office did not provide copies of the mailers or respond to emailed questions.
The purpose of some gifted funds remains a mystery. Over a dozen disclosures offer the same, vague description for how the money will be used.
WOOD
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“They’re supposed to say a specific description of the use.”
Abby Wood is a law professor at the University of Southern California and served on the state’s campaign finance watchdog commission.
WOOD
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“As somebody who studies these things and understands that we have them for anti-corruption reasons and also public trust reasons, that kind of raised my spidey senses.”
The county told KPBS it’s beginning a review of all gifted payments going back to 2019 to ensure the donations are properly accounted for and publicly disclosed.
SOC
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CESAR CHAVEZ’S NAME WILL BE REMOVED FROM ANOTHER BUILDING IN SAN DIEGO.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS THE SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD VOTED MONDAY NIGHT TO RENAME ITS BARRIO LOGAN CAMPUS.
RENAME1 1:20 SOQ
The community college district board met on Monday to consider renaming the César E. Chávez Campus
Celina Martinez is a student at San Diego City College.
MARTINEZ
The district should adopt this resolution to take into account of the trauma and abuse experiences of individuals like Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Esmeralda Lopez, and among the many other women worldwide impacted by sexual assault.
Esther Rivera attended the school. She said change is happening too quickly.
RIVERA
Si desaparecemos el nombre, desaparecemos parte de la historia.
If we remove the name, we remove part of history, she says.
Geysil Arroyo [HEY-sil] is the board’s president. She says she’s been reflecting on the broader community’s decision to remove Chavez’s name from buildings and street signs.
ARROYO
In our culture, we think of obedience, respeto, and, and those are the words that come to mind of why we’re acting so fast.
The board voted unanimously to temporarily change the name to the Harbor View campus.
ARROYO
I do want to be clear that doing that will not remove us, you know, from who we are.
The district plans to get community input and pick a new, permanent name by the end of Fall 2026. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
