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San Diegans show up by the thousands as part of national ‘No Kings’ protests

 October 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT

Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s MONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH>>>>  [THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE RALLIED DOWNTOWN FOR NO KINGS PROTESTS…]More on that next. But first... the headlines…

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A BUSY STRETCH OF INTERSTATE 5 ENDED UP BEING CLOSED FOR ABOUT 90 MINUTES SATURDAY. IT HAPPENED WHILE THE VICE PRESIDENT AND DEFENSE SECRETARY ATTENDED A LIVE-FIRE EVENT MARKING THE MARINE CORPS’ 250TH BIRTHDAY.

  SEVERAL SENIOR OFFICIALS DELIVERED REMARKS INCLUDING THE UNIFORMED LEADERS OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AND THE NAVY SECRETARY.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH TOUTED HIS EFFORTS TO END MILITARY DIVERSITY PROGRAMS.

VANCE 2A ( :09)

THE TRUTH IS, YOUR DIVERSITY IS NOT YOUR STRENGTH. NEVER HAS BEEN. YOUR STRENGTH IS IN YOUR UNITY OF PURPOSE.

THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT DEMONSTRATION THAT LED TO THE SHUTDOWN OF THE 5 FREEWAY WAS HELD SEVERAL MILES UP THE BEACH FROM THE EVENT VENUE AND BROADCAST TO THE CROWD VIA VIDEO.

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SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUPERVISOR TERRA LAWSOM REMER IS PRESENTING A PROPOSAL AIMED AT FIGHTING AGAINST THE            SALE OF COUNTERFEIT LAW ENFORCEMENT GEAR 

THE GOAL: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM IMPERSONATING LAW ENFORCEMENT WHILE MAKING IT EASIER TO IDENTIFY REAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS

THE COUNSEL IS EXPECTED TO LOOK INTO CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDERS AND PARTNERING ON THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL TO CURB SALES OF ICE JACKETS, PATCHES AND OTHER ITEMS  

THE PROPOSAL ALSO EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATION THAT REQUIRES IMMIGRATION OFFICERS TO CLEARLY DISPLAY IDENTIFICATION IN PUBLIC 

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THERE’S JUST REALLY SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE EMBARCADERO SITE NEAR THE RADY SHELL AT JACOBS PARK  

THE WATER IS RIGHT THERE, EVERYTHING IS PICTERESQUE AND IT JUST TRULY FEELS LIKE AMERICA’S FINEST CITY 

IT IS ALSO HOME TO THE HISTORIC SAN DIEGO ROWING CLUB…

AND THAT CLUB MIGHT JUST HAVE A NEW TENANT!

THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO’S BOARD  HAS APPROVED A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT TO LEASE THE SPACE. 

THE RUSTIC IS EXPECTED TO BE  A FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT AND BAR WITH INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SEATING AND LIVE MUSIC TO ENJOY THE VIEW WHILE YOU DOCK AND DINE

THEY MUST WORK TO OBTAIN ALL NECESSARY PERMITS AND COMPLETE A PARKING AND MANAGEMENT PLAN BEFORE OFFICIALLY GETTING THE GREEN LIGHT 

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

<<<UNDERWRITING BREAK>>

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<<<MUSIC BUMP INTO A BLOCK>>

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THOUSANDS OF SAN DIEGANS MARCHED DOWNTOWN ON SATURDAY AS PART OF NATIONWIDE “NO KINGS” PROTESTS AGAINST PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS IMMIGRATION AND FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS WERE AMONG THEIR TOP CONCERNS.

NOKINGS1 1:10 SOQ

[ambi “this is what democracy looks like”]

Protestors gathered at Waterfront Park and Civic Center Plaza on Saturday. Their t-shirts and signs expressed support for immigrants, workers and students.

Leticia Rodriguez came from Chula Vista for the march. She held a sign that read “democracy is dying” and “rest in peace, human rights.”

RODRIGUEZ

There’s people being taken without due process, people being sent – quote unquote ‘deported’ – to countries where they don’t belong.

Lawmakers and advocates have raised concerns about immigrants’ access to fair trials. The Trump administration has fired federal immigration judges and replaced them with military attorneys.

Other attendees brought up federal funding cuts and the government shutdown. Mark Grace works at a military base. He says he was furloughed on Oct. 1, and he’s gone without a paycheck.

GRACE

Luckily my wife and I were in a stable financial situation, but many people aren’t. And those are the people that I’m worried about.

Several local nonprofits have banded together to support military families and federal workers during the government shutdown. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

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THE SAN DIEGO AIRPORT AUTHORITY CONFIRMED ON THURSDAY THAT THEY ARE NOT PLAYING A CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO MESSAGE FROM SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY KRISTI NOEM. 

JAKE GOTTA HAS THE DETAILS.

DHSVID 1 (jg) 1:15 SOQ

THE SAN DIEGO AIRPORT IS ONE OF SEVERAL ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT IS CHOOSING TO NOT PLAY A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY BLAMING DEMOCRATS FOR THE ONGOING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY SAID IN A STATEMENT, “SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONTINUES TO OPERATE NORMALLY. OUR FOCUS REMAINS ON ENSURING SAFE, EFFICIENT AIRPORT OPERATIONS.”

IN THE VIDEO, SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM SAYS IT IS TSA’S TOP PRIORITY TO ENSURE SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRAVEL

“However, Democrats in congress refuse to fund the federal government. And because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”

EXPERTS SAY THE VIDEO VIOLATES A LAW CALLED THE HATCH ACT. IT SAYS EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES CANNOT ENGAGE IN, OR USE GOVERNMENT RESOURCES FOR, POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

SEVERAL OTHER AIRPORTS HAVE CONFIRMED THEY ARE NOT PLAYING THE VIDEO EITHER, INCLUDING IN CHICAGO, WHERE OFFICIALS TOLD NPR IT WOULD VIOLATE THEIR POLICIES AGAINST POLITICAL ADVERTISING.

SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MARNI VON WILPERT, WHO IS ON THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY BOARD, APPLAUDED THE DECISION TO NOT SHOW THE VIDEO.

“I was very proud that San Diego stood with other airports around the country and has chosen not to play a video that is against the law,” von Wilpert said. “It's unethical and factually incorrect. And instead we're focusing on travel safety, which we should be.” - Marni von Wilpert, SD City Council Member

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN HAS LASTED FOR TWO WEEKS SO FAR. SAN DIEGO TSA WORKERS SAY THEY’RE DISAPPOINTED, BUT STILL DOING THEIR JOBS.

“I’m disappointed they can't get their act together. It's very frustrating because we feel like we're pawns in this whole thing,” – Robert Mack, a lead TSA officer at the airport.

JAKE GOTTA, KPBS NEWS

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POLITICAL STABILITY IS THE BEDROCK OF A HEALTHY ECONOMY. THE UNITED STATES IS INARGUABLY STRUGGLING WITH BOTH.             DANIEL ENEMARK IS CHIEF ECONOMIST AT THE SAN DIEGO REGIONAL POLICY & INNOVATION CENTER. 

HE SPOKE WITH KPBS’S AMITA SHARMA RECENTLY ABOUT THE ECONOMIC FORECAST FOR SAN DIEGO AND THE COUNTRY.

ENEMARK PT 1 (as) TRT 3:42 "... and where no one else can afford to be."

Speaker 2 (00:00:00.00)Daniel, how would you characterize the state of the US economy right now, as well as the San Diego economy?Speaker 1 (00:00:07.27)The state of the US economy is weakening. It's actually been weakening for longer than we realized. The latest big revision, which is a typical process with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they go back and they revise their numbers based on a more complete census of businesses and hiring and all that stuff. It was the largest negative revision in recent history. And so there were about 900,000 jobs less than we thought there were, starting in April 2024. So this is not just the Trump economy, this is also the Biden economy. We simply haven't had as many new jobs created as we had hoped, as we had expected. And so we're already from a weaker position than we had realized, and it is getting worse month by month, unfortunately.Speaker 2 (00:01:08.01)And how is that filtering down to San Diego?Speaker 1 (00:01:10.11)A lot of the factors that are driving negative developments in the economy hit San Diego especially hard. For example, the uncertainty around trade policy, these high tariffs. Well, in your typical Econ 101 example of trade, you think trade is country A sells apples to country B, and country B sells bananas to country A, right? Those are finished goods. But what we do in San Diego is more like coproduction. In fact, the regional EDC has estimated that a typical component of a medical device might cross the border six or eight times in the supply chain process. When we are working so intimately with our partners in Mexico, trading components back and forth in a supply chain, we're really vulnerable to tariffs. And so a place that is engaged in as much trade as we are is perhaps more impacted than on average. Another area When you look at AI is potentially undermining some entry-level jobs, and particularly in what you might call the innovation sector, which is a huge driver of San Diego's economy.Speaker 2 (00:02:44.05)What worries you the most about where we might be headed?Speaker 1 (00:02:48.02)I am concerned about job losses. I'm concerned about a lot of the... The biggest impact when you have a downturn in the economy, Everybody worries about a recession, right? The biggest negative impact of a recession is not that a ton of people who would have had jobs don't have jobs. It's actually a pretty small portion of the workers who might be affected. It's that if you want to find a new job, it's much harder. And so when you lose your job, you spend more time unemployed. When you add to that our very high cost of living, that's a dangerous recipe. Recipe. My greatest fear is that San Diego becomes Santa Barbara, a place that's really nice for rich people to live and where no one else can afford to be.

TAG: THAT WAS ECONOMIST DANIEL ENEMARK SPEAKING WITH KPBS'S AMITA SHARMA.##########

EXPECT TO SEE FEWER PLASTIC BAGS AT THE CHECKOUT LINE. 

ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA SAYS A STATE INVESTIGATION FOUND MOST PLASTIC BAGS SOLD IN CALIFORNIA ARE NOT RECYCLABLE.

PLASTICBAGS 2A (00:09)

“Despite claiming and labeling their bags as recyclable, plastic bag producers have sold billions of plastic carry-out bags that aren't actually recyclable in California.”

THERE ARE SEVEN MAJOR PLASTIC BAG MANUFACTURERS SELLING IN CALIFORNIA. 

FOUR OF THEM  WILL NO LONGER DISTRIBUTE THEIR PLASTIC BAGS, FOLLOWING A SETTLEMENT WITH THE STATE. 

THE COMPANIES WILL PAY $1.7 MILLION DOLLARS IN CIVIL PENALTIES.

BONTA IS SUING THE OTHER THREE PLASTIC BAG PRODUCERS TO STOP THEIR SALES.

COME JANUARY, ALL PLASTIC BAGS WILL BE BANNED IN CALIFORNIA.

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PODBEHINDPKGEPISODE5TAMMYMURGA

(0:00) All right, SDNN listeners, it's time for another edition of our new segment, Pod Behind (0:05) the Package, where we talk about standout stories from my colleagues that create or (0:09) spark impact or inspiration. (0:11) In the newsroom, we call our broadcast stories packages. (0:13) And once per week, I bring in a reporter, anchor, or video journalist for a behind-the-scenes, (0:18) deep dive, and informal chat about a standout package they put together.

(0:21) Joining me is environment reporter Tammy Merga. (0:24) We're going to talk about her story under the headline that I invite you to visit on (0:27) our website. (0:28) Researchers link wildfire smoke to hundreds of excess deaths each year in San Diego County (0:32) by 2050.

(0:34) Tammy, how you doing? (0:35) Good. (0:35) Thank you for having me. (0:36) No problem.

(0:37) Thank you for being here. (0:38) First of all, congrats is in order on your first full package here at KPBS. (0:41) I wanted to begin with that.

(0:42) Talk to me first, before we even get into your package itself. (0:46) What even first led you to be an environment reporter? (0:49) Was it something that maybe an influence as a child? (0:51) Yeah. (0:51) Thank you for that question.

(0:52) That's a really great question. (0:53) I mean, I remember a very specific TED Talk that I saw about environmental justice, and (0:58) I think since there it kind of opened my eyes about the importance of having green spaces (1:01) in your community. (1:02) I grew up in an urban area, cities, so parks, being outdoors.

(1:07) Having the accessibility was really important to me, and I just always have it in the back (1:11) of my mind. (1:11) But then coming to San Diego, I covered the Tijuana River sewage crisis very often, and (1:16) hearing those people's stories I think was super important, and I just really kind of (1:19) thought, I got to continue this. (1:21) And there's obviously so many other issues, right, that we need to cover from a people (1:25) perspective.

(1:26) So, yeah. (1:27) Absolutely. (1:27) So, you classify it as environmental justice, which I love.

(1:31) I think of like, did you watch like Captain Planet growing up? (1:33) Oh, yeah. (1:34) When we put our fists together. (1:35) And we saved the earth.

(1:37) You know what I mean? (1:38) Yeah, absolutely. (1:39) That's you. (1:39) That's you.

(1:39) Congrats. (1:40) That's awesome. (1:40) That's really cool.

(1:41) Your piece takes a unique spin on the usual wildfire report, right? (1:45) At what point in the findings did you transition to more of a long-term impact versus just (1:50) what usually is reported, which is like wildfire damage to property and or the people it harmed? (1:54) Talk to me about when, either from the beginning, but when did your story take that spin to (1:59) the long-term, long effects on wildfire smoke? (2:02) Yeah. (2:02) So, we kind of just came across this. (2:04) We saw some of the headlines on it, and the headlines really looked at what it would look (2:08) like on a nationwide basis, right? (2:10) And every time there's data we like to scrap, well, what does that mean for San Diego? (2:14) And so, we really started looking at like, what are those long-term effects? (2:17) And we noticed that coupled with mortality rates, you have asthma rates as well.

(2:22) So, we started digging a little bit at kind of trickling down from California to San Diego. (2:27) And I think that's something that we didn't really focus too much in the story was, what (2:31) does it look like for California? (2:33) Because we always try to localize it as much as possible, but that was a really interesting (2:37) data point in the story. (2:38) I'm sorry, in the data that, you know, said California is projected to have more excess (2:43) deaths per year than any other state in the United States by 2050.

(2:46) I think let's just kind of pause and think about that, right? (2:49) Why here in California more than other places, and really has to do with, well, many reasons. (2:54) The climate here, you know, with the drier, warmer temperatures we have, it's going to (2:58) worsen with climate change if we don't do anything about it. (3:01) You have the Santa Ana winds, fire suppression that has allowed for more plants to burn over (3:06) the years.

(3:07) And of course, people, right? (3:08) People have a huge impact in starting sparking fires without us even knowing it sometimes. (3:14) So, yeah, we looked at that first and then started kind of working our way down into (3:18) what that means for San Diego specifically. (3:20) Talk to me about some of the voices and sources in your story.

(3:23) Carlos, Burke, do you find them one by one or were these two people that you had identified (3:28) like as experts in this space? (3:30) Yeah. (3:30) So, Marshall definitely stood out because he was one of the lead authors in the study, (3:35) but I'm always just kind of scanning through the names, like, there's got to be a San Diego (3:39) connection. (3:40) There's, I feel like there's always a San Diego connection, right? (3:43) And there was.

(3:44) Carlos Gold is one of the authors as well. (3:46) So I reached out to him and he was really great to point us to that local data. (3:52) So if we have a San Diego author, he's got to have some San Diego data.

(3:56) So that was really, he was really instrumental in bringing that laser focus to the area. (4:01) And he also pointed us to Marshall because Marshall is with Stanford University and they (4:07) produced in conjunction this really cool interactive map where you can look at how (4:14) over the past five years, how asthma rates have increased, mortality rates have increased, (4:18) the more you've been exposed to wildfire smoke. (4:21) So if you click on it, you can really see these, like, impressive spikes in 2007 and (4:26) in 2020 and why those two years, I'll just focus in 2020 in particular, 2020 in California (4:32) was a historic year with wildfires.

(4:35) We had the worst. (4:36) If you look at CAL FIRE's website, it'll tell you that. (4:39) And that was also the case here in San Diego.

(4:41) We had a really huge fire up in East County. (4:43) I think it burned more than 16,000 acres. (4:46) But that year, you know, with those fires, in addition to all the fires we had up north, (4:52) all of that smoke can travel for miles and miles and miles.

(4:55) So that can really affect people specifically who are, who have COPD, who have asthma, who (5:01) are more sensitive to things. (5:02) And one of the doctors that we spoke to alluded to that, that, you know, people with these (5:06) conditions, they just know the second they see an alert on their phone or in the news (5:10) that there's a wildfire, they'll try to do anything they can to escape. (5:13) And I think that's, that's really important, right? (5:15) These characters are telling us that even in areas that are lucky, like San Diego, we'll (5:21) still feel the impacts of wildfire smoke.

(5:23) Can you name drop that interactive map for our audience, where they can find it and so (5:27) on? (5:27) If you could just give us that exact info on that interactive map. (5:30) Absolutely. (5:31) It is called the, it's, as I mentioned, it's from Stanford University and it's called the (5:36) Environmental Hazard Adaption Atlas.

(5:39) And the website is AdaptionAtlas.org. (5:42) So as I mentioned, it really gives a good breakdown of the last five years across the (5:46) entire country. (5:47) And it also breaks it down by census tract. (5:50) So you can get down even deeper besides just the state and, and the, in the counties.

(5:54) Absolutely. (5:55) Was there any last tidbit, any extra sot, any story or point of view from someone that (6:01) didn't make the piece from your piece? (6:04) Yeah, definitely. (6:05) There was one part where Carlos Gold was telling me like, what can we do, right? (6:10) So I'll just say this, a quote, something that really stood out to me and did make it (6:13) into the story was this quote that he said, you know, our findings are just forecasts.

(6:18) And what that means is they aren't telling the future. (6:21) We have a role in shaping the future, right? (6:23) Like these are just projections of what can happen if wildfires get worse and we have (6:28) more smoke exposure, but we can try to do our best to prevent as much as possible, right? (6:32) But he said, you know, we can do, if accessible, right, get an EV car, an electric vehicle (6:37) car, right? (6:38) Consider that. (6:39) We have to do a better job of control burns.

(6:41) And also even something as simple as like appreciating firefighters work and being knowledgeable (6:45) of what they have to do. (6:48) Don't get in their way when they're fighting fires, flying drones, or being more conscious (6:52) about all your actions that you do that can spark fires. (6:55) So I think there's a lot of education still that has to be done, even if we live in a (7:00) state that is very, very prone to wildfires.

(7:02) Absolutely. (7:03) Absolutely. (7:03) Tammy Merga here with us on The Pod Behind the Package via San Diego News Now.

(7:08) Thank you for your time, Tammy. (7:09) Thank you so much for having me.

<<<SHOW CLOSE>>>

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 subscribing and supporting public media, have a great day.

Ways To Subscribe
San Diegans showed up in the thousands as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’’ protests. Then, after initial reports confirmed no closures, a busy stretch of Interstate 5 was closed for roughly 90 minutes on Saturday. Followed by, an economic forecast for the county. Then, we explain why you will see fewer plastic bags at the checkout aisle. Finally, we speak with KPBS’ environment reporter for this week’s Pod Behind the Package.