San Diegans protest war in Gaza
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, November tenth.
Protesters call for a Kearny Mesa defense contractor to stop arming Israel.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
Healthcare workers approved a new four-year contract with Kaiser Permanente after a three-day strike.
The deal includes 25-dollar minimum hourly wage in California, with more raises in the coming years.
It also requires management to address the staffing crisis.
Kaiser’s vice president says the deal will not affect prices for their nearly 13 million patients.
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Selling home-cooked meals will be allowed to continue in the county.
The program was set to expire next year, but the Board of Supervisors voted for it to continue.
There are currently 61 home kitchens permitted.
They allow people to enter the food industry who might not be able to afford restaurant space or overhead costs.
Most of the county’s home kitchens are women and minority owned.
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Snapdragon Stadium will host the championship game of the National Women’s Soccer League tomorrow (Saturday).
O-L Reign will take on Gotham.
Megan Rapinoe will face Ali Krieger in the final game of their careers.
Both soccer legends have announced their plans to retire.
San Diego Wave was eliminated in their semifinal match against O-L Reign last weekend.
The final kicks off at 5 p-m.
And tickets are still on sale for 25-dollars.
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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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Thousands of people worldwide took to the streets yesterday (Thursday) in support of Palestine.
In San Diego … hundreds took part at several locations , to call for an end to the war in Gaza and for the U-S to stop arming Israel.
Reporter Alexander Nguyen has the story.
“Cease fire now, cease fire now . . .” The protest started early Thursday morning in front of Northrop Grumman’s office in Kearny Mesa. “Shame on you, shame on you . . .” They want the defense contractor … one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the world … to stop arming Israel to put an end to what they are calling the “genocide of Gaza." Subrein Damanhoury is from the San Diego Chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement. “They are contributing to the ongoing genocide by either sending funds or missiles or bombs to Gaza in order to continue the genocide on the Palestinian people.” During the protest, news broke that Israel had agreed to a 4-hour a day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza to allow civilians to flee. Damanhoury says that’s just putting a pause on genocide. Alexander Nguyen, KPBS News.
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The Navy is investigating a Navy SEAL for alleged associations with extremist groups.
Military reporter Andrew Dyer has the story.
Chief Special Warfare Operator Bryce Henson has appeared at no fewer than a dozen political rallies across Southern California in the last 16 months. Last month, he was featured prominently in a Los Angeles Times investigation into extremists at the heart of several anti-LGBTQ+ protests at school board meetings. A Naval Special Warfare spokesperson in Coronado tells KPBS they’ve launched an investigation into allegations one of their sailors violated the military’s policy against participation with or supporting extremist causes. Photos and videos from at least a dozen rallies throughout the region – including two in Santee after a trans woman used the women’s locker room – show Henson with alleged hate group members, including men with Proud Boys and Nazi tattoos. Service members are barred from advocating for extremist causes. The Pentagon updated its policy on extremism among service members in 2021 in the wake of the attack on the Capitol on January sixth of that year.
For more on Henson and to see some of the material turned over to the Navy, visit KPBS dot org.
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California regulators have made changes to proposed solar rules for complexes with more than one electric meter.
Environment reporter Erik Anderson says solar supporters say there’s not much improvement.
The new proposed rules do make it easier for rental complexes to add solar arrays by allowing for a form of virtual net metering. That’s a way to share the benefits of solar between owners of the building and renters. But the proposed decision still shuts out schools, farms and small businesses. And multifamily apartment buildings cannot use solar to offset electric bills for car charging or powering common areas. The first plan released a few months ago, eliminated virtual net metering for most complexes with more than one meter. Utilities argued it would be too complicated and expensive to figure out. Solar advocates say the revised plan still undercuts the financial incentive to add solar and it will discourage adoption of the climate friendly technology. Erik Anderson KPBS News
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Scammers have been stealing millions of dollars a month from low-income Californians’ EBT debit cards.
Yet the state still hasn’t put in needed protections to keep those cards secure.
Calmatters reporter Jeanne Kuang has more…
The state uses EBT debit cards to deliver benefits like food stamps and cash assistance for living expenses. Scammers steal these EBT card numbers through a process called “skimming”...where thieves install a hidden device at checkout counters or ATMs that copies a card’s information when users swipe to pay. The reason these cards are extra vulnerable is that they don’t have the security chips that now come standard on credit and debit cards. The state’s lost at least 100-million dollars to fraud on EBT cards since the summer of 2021. When that fraud happens….taxpayers foot the bill. County welfare fraud investigators say they’ve been asking for security updates on the cards for years. Yet, the state says the earliest the EBT cards will get chips is summer 2024.
That was Calmatters Jeanne Kuang
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Coming up.... The San Diego Symphony kicked off their inaugural performance of the statewide California Festival in an unexpected place.
“To come here is I think important as we look for cultural bonds and connections.”
We’ll share where the concert took place and give you a listen, plus more, just after the break.
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Volunteers spent yesterday (Thursday) repairing and upgrading the ecologically sensitive land near the mouth of a north San Diego county lagoon.
Environment reporter Erik Anderson says they hope the hard work pays off.
Volunteers repaired fences, planted native plants and placed oyster wattles near a hiking trail to control erosion. The conservation group WILDCOAST helped organize the event because coastal ecosystems are good at fighting climate change. WILDCOAST’s Carlos Callado says they can store two-to-five times more carbon than terrestrial ecosystems. “When you have these areas surrounding the lagoons we call them transition zones where, as sea level rises, salt marshes can migrate upward into these areas. And even when they become submerged and intertidal. They still act as functioning healthy ecosystems that are blue carbon ecosystems.” The group organized the volunteer event to build community appreciation of the lagoon. Erik Anderson KPBS News
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Construction of a new training facility and youth development academy is underway for major league soccer’s newest expansion team, the San Diego F-C.
Reporter Melissa Mae was at the groundbreaking yesterday.
The groundbreaking ceremony opened with a series of bird songs that are a part of the Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation’s oral history. Tribal Chairman Cody Martinez is San Diego FC’s Vice-Chairman and says the facility is being built on sacred ground. “A Kumeyaay village of Matomo. The history is here. You can feel the history in this land and so I think our partners in Right to Dream and the Mansours recognize that from the beginning.” The 28 acre project includes five training fields and a sports performance center for both the first team and academy teams. San Diego FC leaders say they will also be the first MLS club to develop young female talent in their academy. The club expects to enroll the first academy recruits in the fall of 2025. Melissa Mae KPBS News.
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From the northern border with Oregon, to right here in San Diego County, the first-ever California Festival is in full swing across the golden state.
The festival features classical music, with a focus on new composers.
KPBS reporter John Carroll gives us a listen to the San Diego Symphony's recent performance... which did not happen in California.
((nats/orchestra tuning up)) Fresh off a national tour that ended with a performance in Carnegie Hall last month, the San Diego Symphony was on the road again last week… out of the United States, but close to home. “To come here is, I think, important as we look for cultural bonds and connections.” That’s symphony CEO Martha Gilmer… and “here” is Tijuana… the Cecut… Tijuana's cultural center… the symphony presenting a free concert for our southern neighbors. At a pre-concert news conference, Gilmer and the consul general of Mexico in San Diego, Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, spoke of the transcendent meaning of this cultural event. “Their work has to benefit everybody, it has to reach every member of this single region. Although it’s composed by two regions, it’s in the end one sole region.” “The need for understanding and compassion and communication in our world is more important than ever and music can help us do that.” Back to the main purpose of the California Festival… showcasing works that are five years old or less… like David Chesky's the Abreu Danza, number four. “San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra are the anchors for the California Festival which is a 3-week period of time and we’ve invited many, many musical organizations around the state, 100 as a matter of fact, to perform new music, to showcase new composers.” But not just new composers… some of a previous era who broke the norms of their day were included… like Richard Strauss and his famous also Sprach Zarathustra… The piece requires the full 90-member orchestra… and that includes an organ! As you might imagine, moving the full orchestra here, including two harps, a marimba and of course the organ was quite the logistical challenge… a job which primarily fell to the symphony’s vice president of impact and innovation, Laura Reynolds. “It's a complicated jigsaw puzzle of packing that our incredible production team put together, so yes it has taken months of planning to figure out how many musicians, how many instruments, how we’re going to get it across the border in both directions.” The Cecut Theater seats about a thousand people, and it was full… I'm told hundreds were turned away. If the reaction of the audience was any indication then this visit, this performance was on so many levels a rousing success! It happened on Día de los Muertos, also the 200th anniversary year of the establishment of relations between the U.S. and Mexico… a day as Martha Gilmer said - to heal the wounds of our souls through friendship and music.
That was reporter John Carroll.
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast was produced by KPBS Reporter Katie Hyson and Producer Emilyn Mohebbi and edited by KPBS Senior Producer Brooke Ruth. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Tune in on Monday for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
