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San Diego company at the forefront of nuclear fusion

 February 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM PST

Good Morning, I’m Katie Hyson, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, February 3rd.

A San Diego company is at the forefront of nuclear fusion. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

Students, employees and contractors at Palomar High School in Chula Vista were alerted of a possible TB exposure.

They could have been exposed last year between February 24th and June 5th, according to county health officials.

TB is an airborne illness. Symptoms include cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss. People can be sick for months before getting a TB diagnosis.

People who test positive for TB should get a chest x-ray and medication to prevent them from getting sicker later.

San Diego County is remodeling the Mira Mesa Epicentre into a community center.

The county aims to complete the project in the Fall of 2026.

The Epicentre closed in 2016 after the city of San Diego terminated its lease.

This new version of the Epicentre will have a multifunctional pickleball and basketball court, a community garden, rentable community space, a music room and more.At the groundbreaking last week, city of San Diego Councilmember Kent Lee stressed the need for more youth-focused spaces.

They need a place where they can study, where they can gather, where they can socialize. And that's what the vision for  this site has been in the past. And it turned out that was still the  need that folks identified today.

The Epicentre was also a concert venue before it closed. That’s no longer the case with the remodel.

February is museum month in San Diego County.

More than 60 museums and cultural institutions have half off admission. They include Birch Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the New Children’s Museum. You can get a printed museum month pass at more than 80 libraries in the county. Or you can download a digital pass on your phone.

But some museums will only accept the printed pass. See which ones at SanDiegoMuseumCouncil.org.

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

THE CREATION OF ENERGY FROM NUCLEAR FUSION HAS BEEN A GOAL FOR DECADES. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AT COMPANIES LIKE GENERAL ATOMICS IN SAN DIEGO ARE BRINGING US CLOSER TO IT. SCI-TECH REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE TELLS US ABOUT THIS QUEST TO PUT THE “SUN IN A BOTTLE,” AND USE IT TO PROVIDE WHAT WOULD BE ABUNDANT POWER.

In August last year the Control Room at General Atomics had something to celebrate with plasma shot number 200,000. Every shot is an experimental fusion of hydrogen atoms you smash together to generate the heat you need to produce energy. David Pace is deputy director of the fusion facility, run by General Atomics. “With fusion what we’re going to do is we take two particles, and if you smash them together hard enough, they release net energy. And what’s what we do. We want to smash together a lot of particles and make a lot of energy.” Nuclear fusion is what happens on the sun. The process leaves behind helium and energy, and none of that long-lasting nuclear waste that has bedeviled its power generating cousin, the nuclear fission power plant. Richard Buttery is the director of General Atomics DIII-D fusion reactor, which is funded by the department of energy. He says the promise of exploiting fusion on earth is a virtually limitless supply of energy. “Because the fuel we have is abundant around the world.  Deuterium. That’s one type of hydrogen that we use. You just extract that from seawater. The other fuel we want to usee, lithium, is something you can pull out of the ground. It’s common. It’s in your cell phone batteries. And the amount you need to do a lot of energy is very small.” The quest for fusion energy has been a long haul. Scientists have been pursuing it since the second world war. At General Atomics the fusion reactor is called a Tokamak, a technology that dates back to the 1960s. Originally developed by the Russians, it’s a donut-shaped oven that conducts the intense heat needed for fusion. Powerful magnets are used to control the energy. But for all the progress that’s been seen over the years, we still don’t have the technology to contain and release fusion energy so it can boil water, run a turbine and generate power. Pace says the challenge now is turning science into a fusion power plant. “We have a piece of science that we understand really, really well. But now we have to fold it into a physical device that takes you to the next step, that gets you close to producing electricity. And it’s really this integration and this full system approach that is just an incredibly challenging problem.” A possible answer to that problem is taking shape in France, an international project called ITER, latin for “the way.” It’s a Tokamak-powered facility that will be the closest thing the world has seen to a fusion power plant. ITER’s goal is to produce ten times the fusion energy it gets from an outside heating source. This year General Atomics will ship to ITER a magnet to contain its superhot ball of gas. And Buttery says this is not any old magnet. “This is a magnet that is so powerful that it could lift an aircraft carrier out of the water.” Work on fusion energy has gone on for so long, an old joke claims that fusion is the great energy source of the future and it always will be. It’s a joke shared with me by Innovation and public policy professor David Victor who co-directs UC San Diego’s energy decarbonization initiative. Even so, he says that recent progress toward the goal is no joke. “There are a lot of improvements in technology that make several different strategies for fusion energy at least seem a lot more plausible than they did even five or ten years ago. New kinds of lasers. In particular new kinds of magnets, really, really powerful magnets that can contain a fusion plasma.” But he says as we consider fusion, don't forget the potential for wind and solar. Even nuclear fission may have a future if the industry can build small modular units. Meanwhile, Buttery says private sector investment in fusion in the US has increased hugely, from venture capitalists to philanthropic groups. “At the government level, the United States is investing strongly in fusion and so are our competitors. China is actually outspending the United States by a factor of two, in this government funding.” Buttery says with increased investment, people in the fusion field believe we will have fusion power plants sometime in the 2030s. If that does happen, the question of whether you can draw power from one of them may depend on where you live. Thomas Fudge, KPBS News.

THIS WEEK PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN A CAMPAIGN TO UPEND FEDERAL SPENDING. MEANWHILE A LITHIUM COMPANY IN IMPERIAL VALLEY AWAITS OVER $1B IN FEDERAL FUNDS. INEWSOURCE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER PHILIP SALATA HAS MORE.

Within weeks, the race to extract lithium in Imperial Valley got a boost, then a twist. First the Biden administration’s Department of Energy announced it would loan $1.36 billion dollars to EnergySource Minerals.That’s if the company’s lithium extraction project meets certain qualifications. Then, one week after President Trump’s inauguration, his administration sent a memo to all federal agencies telling them to pause federal funding, including initiatives related to renewable energy. The move, blocked by a federal judge, then rescinded, raises questions about whether the loan is still coming. The U.S. currently depends on foreign suppliers for lithium, used to make electric car batteries, but Lithium Valley could change that. Imperial County Supervisor Ryan Kelley has remained optimistic. Here’s Kelley, speaking from a battery conference last December. So we still see the Salton Sea region as key, even with the change in election. Trump’s budget memo came after he rolled back a Biden administration goal for 50% of new cars sold in the U.S. to be electric. Kelley says projects in other states have an advantage. They have a story to say that the regulations in their neck of the woods are not California. Neither the company nor the Energy Department are answering questions about the loan. For KPBS, I’m inewsource investigative reporter Philip Salata

INEWSOURCE IS AN INDEPENDENTLY FUNDED, NONPROFIT PARTNER OF KPBS.

FLU CASES INCREASED IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY BY 14 PERCENT DURING THE WEEK BETWEEN JANUARY 18TH AND 25TH. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE LATEST COUNTY VIRUS REPORT. HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS LINGERING SMOKE FROM RECENT WILDFIRES COULD BE MAKING MATTERS WORSE.

Wildfire smoke contains tiny particles that can weaken your lungs. Polluted air makes it easier to get sick and harder to recover, says Dr. William Tseng. That could mean more severe illness for some. Fire and smoke can worsen your recovery. Tseng says for people with already weakened lungs, the risk is even higher. So if you have copd or pulmonary disease, and then on top of that you get an infection. Then, absolutely, you're more likely for things to settle in. To protect your lungs, Tseng also recommends limiting smoke exposure and improving indoor air quality. Putting a HEPA filter in your house, that would be very important. Not smoking is huge, staying away from smoky environments. Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF IN THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SAY THEY HAVE TOO MANY STUDENTS TO GIVE THEM THE ATTENTION THEY NEED. REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS THEY’RE CALLING FOR INCREASED STAFFING.

We can't support our students when we are over caseload year after year. Education specialist Jennifer Stanchak works with students who need extra support for reading, writing or behavior. Last year, she had 35 students. That’s 15 more than the limit the district and teachers union agreed on. It means less support for our students. It means less time that we have to work with our families. Union leaders say the district needs to do more to recruit special education staff. Deputy Superintendent Nicole DeWitt says the shortage is nationwide. What we've done internally is we actually have created pipeline programs, to help grow our own educators. She says the district has a paid teacher residency program and partners with local universities for a teacher internship program. Katie Anastas, KPBS News. 

AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE PODCAST, THIS MONTH IS MUSEUM MONTH ACROSS SAN DIEGO COUNTY. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL VISITED ONE MUSEUM THAT’S BEEN AROUND FOR DECADES… AND YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF IT.

“WE ARE HERE TO PRESERVE THE LEGACY OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.” THAT NEARLY 250-YEAR LEGACY IS PRESERVED AT THE COMMAND MUSEUM, LOCATED AT THE MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT IN SAN DIEGO. ASHLEY PETTERS IS THE MARKETING DIRECTOR. AND JOAN SCHWARZ-WETTER IS THE MUSEUM’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. “IT’S A PRIMER ON AMERICAN HISTORY, INTERNATIONAL HISTORY IN SOME WAYS, AND OF COURSE THE LOCAL HISTORY COMPONENT. YOU’RE GOING TO COME AWAY LEARNING A LOT.” THE MUSEUM SPANS TWO FLOORS… A RECEPTION AREA AND GALLERY DOWNSTAIRS… AND UPSTAIRS EXHIBITS FEATURING MARINES IN MANY CONFLICTS DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. SCHWARZ-WETTER SAYS VISITING THIS PLACE IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO.

A LIST OF MUSEUMS PARTICIPATING IN MUSEUM MONTH, GO TO SanDiegoMuseumCouncil.org.

Love comes in many forms — romantic, familial, friendship, love for pets or even a place.

This Valentines Day, KPBS wants to know your San Diego love story.

Maybe it’s about how you met your partner. Or how your dog or cat lights up your life. Or maybe your story is about family traditions, your best friend, the best place to watch a sunset … or even the best California burrito you ever had.

Text or call us with your story at (619) 630-8516. You can also send your submission at kpbs.org/lovestory.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS.org. I’m Katie Hyson in for Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.

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The creation of energy from nuclear fusion has been a goal for decades. General Atomics, a San Diego-based technology company, is bringing us closer to this clean energy. Plus, flu cases in San Diego County increased between Jan. 18-25. The lingering smoke from recent fires likely made matters worse — polluted air makes it easier to get sick and harder to recover. And ahead of Valentine's Day, KPBS wants to know your love story. Maybe it’s about how you met your partner, how special your family is or even about the best California burrito you’ve ever had.