A Logan Heights church is suing to remain a safe space for immigrant worshippers. And there is a growing campaign to fix a dangerous intersection in University Heights. We then turn to the South Bay where residents brace for sewage problems to worsen. And, in North County, tenants of an affordable RV park fight evictions leaving a nonprofit in the cold. Finally, hear from KPBS’ new Public Matters social media reporter Jake Gotta about getting good journalism in front of new audiences.
San Diego church sues to keep immigration agents out
May 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT
Good Morning, I’m Andrew Dyer in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, May 13th.
A San Diego church is suing the Trump Administration to keep immigration agents out.
Hear from its reverend next. But first... the headlines….
Governor Gavin Newsom is urging California cities to clear homeless encampments and his administration is ready to help them do it.
Tents and tarps lining streets and underpasses have become constant reminders that the state has a homeless population approaching 200 thousand people.
Newsom’s administration has drafted legislation cities can adopt to help in his goal.
Some homeless advocates have criticized the enforcement of encampment bans because people’s property and important documents can be lost. Also, shelter beds are often in short supply.
In addition to the legislation, the governor is also releasing more than 3 billion dollars for cities to expand housing and treatment options.
The city of San Diego’s camping ban went into effect in 2023.
An ongoing listeria outbreak has led one Southern California food producer to voluntarily recall several products.
According to the FDA, at least 10 people have been sickened after eating products from Fresh & Ready Foods.
The San Fernando-based company produces ready-to-eat foods sold in convenience stores, airports, hotels and hospitals.
Recalled products were sold in April with “use by” dates from Aprill 22nd to May 19th.
Listeria is a bacteria that can survive and grow while refrigerated. It’s most dangerous for infants, people who are pregnant and adults over 65.
After the hot weekend you can look forward to cooler temperatures this week.
Today (Tuesday) should be the coolest day with temps 5 to 10 degrees below average at the coast and 10 to 15 below average in the valleys and deserts.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.
Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
A LOGAN HEIGHTS PARISH IS JOINING A LAWSUIT TO KEEP CHURCHES OFF-LIMITS TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.
REPORTER KATIE HYSON VISITED TO SEE WHY.
Our Lady of Guadalupe parish calls itself an immigrant church. In January, the Trump administration took back a longstanding policy that churches, schools and hospitals were generally off-limits to immigration raids and arrests. That just sent, I would say, fear tremors throughout the community. That’s Reverend Scott Santarosa. He says one church member put it this way – She said, Padre, es como que están casándonos como si fuéramos animales. As if they're hunting us, as if we're animals. Santarosa says the pews became noticeably emptier. People were afraid. But then attendance rose again, even higher than before. A lot of parents who might be undocumented send their children, their adult children, to do errands for them . . . But what they can't send their kids to do is to go to church for them . . . And they're taking the risk. In a divisive time, he believes the lawsuit will find common ground. God doesn't really ask questions about whether we have documents or where we were born or whether the President of the United States or a priest or whether we're rich or whether we're poor, God loves us all because we're God's sons and daughters. I think everyone would agree with that. The parish is one of five plaintiffs in the suit, including four religious organizations. Katie Hyson, KPBS News
THERE'S A GROWING CAMPAIGN IN SAN DIEGO TO FIX A DEADLY INTERSECTION IN UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS. METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS AN ONLINE PETITION TO IMPROVE ITS SAFETY HAS MORE THAN 1,200 SIGNATURES.
AB: The campaign is asking the city Transportation Department to do a traffic study of El Cajon Boulevard, Park Boulevard and Normal Street. The five-way intersection is confusing and dangerous. It sees close calls almost daily. Two years ago a pedestrian was struck and killed trying to cross the street. The traffic study would cost about $600,000. City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn says that's a cost the city can afford. SW: Parking meter rates went up this year. That will add tens of millions of dollars in revenue. We should use a portion of the new parking meter revenue to fund the study and begin improving this intersection to make it safer for pedestrians, for bicyclists and for motorists. AB: City planning documents call for a roundabout at the intersection, but Whitburn says all options that improve safety should be considered. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
FOR YEARS, RESIDENTS IN SAN DIEGO’S SOUTH BAY HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH STRONG ODORS LINKED TO AN ONGOING SEWAGE CRISIS. VIDEO JOURNALIST MATTHEW BOWLER SAYS IT WILL GET A BIT WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER.
Nature nats with vo of crain in grass Its beauty is undeniable. More than 370 species of birds, including six endangered species, call this home. The largest coastal wetland in Southern California, the Tijuana Estuary. And every year billions of gallons of pollution flow from Tijuana into San Diego and out to sea. The beach here has been closed for more than 1,000 days. And things may be about to get worse. The County of San Diego is warning people about upcoming work in Mexico that could cause even more sewage to flow north. It's the second and final phase in the connection of a sewer line. Imperial Beach business owner Brandon Ruiz is hoping this will be one of the last times I.B. is subjected to the smell. It seems like almost a necessary step to ultimately getting rid of the stink. The county says people who are affected by the smell should do a few things: Limit outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and use air purifier with a HEPA filter. Matthew Bowler KPBS News
THE WORK IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN TODAY (MAY 13) AND TAKE ABOUT A WEEK TO COMPLETE
AN UPDATE NOW ON GREEN OAK RANCH IN VISTA, WHERE A LAND SALE THREATENED RESIDENTS OF AN AFFORDABLE R-V PARK.
SOME OF THOSE RESIDENTS ARE FIGHTING THEIR EVICTION.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER TANIA THORNE SAYS THAT’S AFFECTED AN ANNUAL EVENT FOR VETERANS.
The non profit, Solutions for Change, was slated to take over most of Green Oak Ranch at the beginning of this year. Their plan was to use the property to expand their program for homeless families. But that hasn’t happened, because there are still tenants living in the Green Oak Ranch R-V park. Hannah Gailey is with Green Oak Ranch Ministry, the former ranch operator. They’re still the landlord of the R-V park. The 5 remaining Rv. Park tenants are contesting the evictions. they just don't want to leave. They have a lawyer.While the legal fight goes on, no events or programs are happening on the property. Including the annual North County Veterans Stand Down event. Matt Foster is President of the event that was supposed to happen this Fall. we depend on the Green Oak ranch for the the the environment there, just to calm our veterans down and to make it the place that, you know, make our event the place that it is. It is now being postponed to next April. Tania Thorne KPBS News
THE KPBS PUBLIC MATTERS INITIATIVE HAS A NEW ADDITION...SOCIAL MEDIA REPORTER AND HOST JAKE GOTTA. HE SPOKE WITH REPORTER AMITA SHARMA ABOUT HIS FIRST STORY ON POWAY'S OWN SCANDAL AROUND THE ENCRYPTED MESSAGING APP SIGNAL.
Jake, why did you choose this particular piece to launch your reporting at KPBS? Well, I thought it was interesting how this one was an example of what we want to do here at Public Matters and talk about issues that are local, but also as they connect to the wider nation and the rest of what's going on. This story was an example of something that a city council member was doing here in Poway that was very similar to something going on at the national level. There are elected officials who are maybe using different communications methods. In this case it was Signal, which is an encrypted app to conduct official business. And that's going on here in the city of Poway, and it's also going on at the top level with some of the people in the current administration. So really a way to connect some of the stuff that's going on here with everything that's going on in the rest of the country. What is your vision for this new job? Well, exactly what I just said. I want to help people here in San Diego really follow along with everything that's going on and know how it's going to impact them in their daily life. I think what Public Matters is all about is not only getting people to know how they can be involved, but making sure that they're staying engaged. So how do you try to get people to stay engaged? I'm asking because I know that social media is all about the views, the likes, the followers. But you're starting at a time when so many people are turning away from the news. How do you plan to lure them back in? I think part of it is more that people are turning away from maybe some of the traditional outlets for news. I think there's an appetite for news and there's an appetite for that information, but people aren't necessarily going to the same platforms that they've always been to. So there's still people who watch TV and listen to the radio, but there's a lot of people who go on their phone on social media or on YouTube, and that's where they're looking for any sort of information or content. So there's some people that are getting some news fatigue, for sure, but there's also some people that just want to have that brought to them in a different form on a different platform. And that's what we can do here at Public Matters. As a social media host as well, I'm going to be able to bring this news and this content to a different platform, to these social media platforms. So that people are having it in an accessible way and it's always right in front of them at their fingertips. They don't have to go find it somewhere else. These days, I hear so many journalists and so many politicians say we've got to meet people where they are. When it comes to explaining what is happening to our democracy, what does that statement mean to you? Well, like I said, meeting people where they are is meeting people where they're going for their content, for their news. And a lot of times that's just on social media or on their phones. And that's just the way that people are going to be consuming information now. And so, like I said, we need to meet them there. And that means not only just putting this information out there, but also doing it in a way that's going to be approachable on these different platforms. So there's a different way to do a social media video versus a broadcast video. And there's going to be people who respond differently to those different types of content. So that's what we're going to be trying to pin down here. In addition to what you've outlined, six months from now or a year from now, what do you hope to be able to say about what you've accomplished?I want to say that we've gotten more people back involved in engaging with civic life and with what's going on, not just in the country, but here in San Diego. I want people to know that they can get all the information they need about stuff that's going on here in San Diego, how it impacts their life from our platforms on social media. They're not necessarily getting everything that they could out of local news here, and we want to be able to bring as much as we can to them. And then I want people to be following us at KPBS and at Public Matters and know that they can come to our platform every day to get the best information and to be informed about what's going on. And I think that if in a year from now I can walk around San Diego and know that people are following our content and they're staying engaged because of it, then I'll have done my job.Jake Gotta, I'm so glad that you've joined our Public Matters team and I'm really looking forward to your work.Thank you. I'm looking forward to it also.
THAT WAS KPBS'S JAKE GOTTA SPEAKING WITH AMITA SHARMA. YOU CAN FOLLOW HIS WORK ON TIK TOK AT KPBS SAN DIEGO AND ON THE KPBS INSTAGRAM.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Andrew Dyer. Thanks for listening and have a great day.