San Diego county officially sues DHS over access to Otay Mesa Detention Center
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11TH>>>> [SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAS FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST D-H-S]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS THAT ACROSS THE REGION THINGS WILL GRADUALLY BEGIN WARMING UP, STARTING TODAY
COASTAL TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE MID 60'S,
INLAND VALLEYS IN THE MID 70S AND OUR DESERT REGIONS
WILL LAND IN THE HIGH 70'S
STARTING THURSDAY AT 10 A-M UNTIL 8 P-M FRIDAY THERE IS A HEAT ADVISORY WARNING IN PLACE AS MOST AREAS ARE FACING RECORD HEAT
AFTERNOON TEMPS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ARE EXPECTED TO LAND TWENTY TO TWENTY FIVE DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE
AS WE APPROACH THE WEEKEND, TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO
BEGIN COOLING DOWN AGAIN
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LAST NIGHT THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL HOSTED AN EVENING BUDGET DISCUSSION
IT STARTED AT 6 P-M, GIVING RESIDENTS THAT WORK A NINE TO FIVE JOB, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR INPUT
CURRENT ESTIMATES SHOW A ROUGHLY ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY
MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET DEFICIT FOR THE 20-27 FISCAL YEAR...
EVEN AMID BUDGET CUTS THAT SOME CONSIDER TO BE DRASTIC OR CONTROVERSIAL
IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO JOIN LAST NIGHT'S BUDGET DISCUSSION YOU CAN STILL SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BY TAKING A SURVEY AT SAN DIEGO DOT GOV FORWARD-SLASH BUDGET SURVEY.
MAYOR TODD GLORIA SAYS HE WILL RELEASE HIS PROPOSED BUDGET
FOR 20-27 ON APRIL 15TH AND PRESENT IT TO CITY COUNCIL ON THE 20TH
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AS PART OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, MAYOR TODD GLORIA AND EACH MEMBER OF THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL HONORED A WOMAN OF DISTINCTION
TEN WOMEN IN TOTAL WERE HONORED
GLORIA NAMED MARIA CHAVEZ AS THIS YEAR'S CITYWIDE WOMAN OF DISTINCTION. SHE IS THE IMMIGRATION LEGAL DIRECTOR AT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANS.
GLORIA SAYS THAT THROUGHOUT CHAVEZ''S MORE THAN 17 YEARS IN NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP AND IMMIGRATION POLICY, SHE'S ADVOCATED FOR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND PROMOTED EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RESOURCES
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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YESTERDAY/ON TUESDAY, SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOLLOWED THROUGH ON ITS ULTIMATUM TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY… SUING D-H-S OVER ACCESS TO THE OTAY MESA DETENTION CENTER.
REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN SAYS THE ISSUE IS ABOUT STATE LAW.
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SUITFILED 1 :54 SOC
California law allows counties to inspect private detention centers for public health purposes.
San Diego is the first to try to exercise that right.
Federal and county officials were turned away from the Otay Mesa Detention Center last month when they tried to inspect the facility.
But for Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, the issue hits closer to home as a Jewish person.
SOT
“we have family stories about people who barely escaped a Holocaust in a country that was apparently ruled by law at the time, and then individuals were just arbitrarily detained and nobody inspected and nobody cared and nobody watched, and everyone shut their eyes. And then that's what happens.”
The county is also planning to file a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking immediate access to the detention center.
D-H-S has yet to respond to an email seeking comment. AN/KPBS
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SOME CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS ARE PUSHING TO REVERSE STATE CUTS TO HEALTHCARE FOR IMMIGRANTS.
KQED’S KATHERINE MONAHAN REPORTS.
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IMMIGRANTHEALTH 1 :50 OC: IN COMMITTEE
About three million Californians are expected to lose their Medi-Cal eligibility by 2028. That includes not just undocumented residents, but also DACA recipients, green card holders, and refugees.The governor’s office says federal budget cuts forced the state to reduce coverage.But state senator Maria Elena Durazo says cutting health care won’t actually save money. When people cannot see a primary care doctor, they do not stop getting sick. They wait. And then, when they can wait no longer, they show up in the emergency room. At ten times the cost of a routine visit. Think about that.Durazo and other state lawmakers have formed a coalition called Health4All. They're campaigning for the Medi-Cal Restoration Act, which is currently in committee.
TAG: THAT WAS KQED'S KATHERINE MONAHAN REPORTING.
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A SIMPLE BLOOD TEST COULD HELP PREDICT DEMENTIA RISK DECADES BEFORE SYMPTOMS APPEAR. THAT’S ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO.
HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO EXPLAINS WHY RESEARCHERS SAY IT SHOWS PROMISE.
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DEMENTIABLOOD 1 trt: 1:14 soq
Researchers analyzed blood samples from more than 2,700 women between 65 and 79 years old.
They measured a protein in their blood called p-tau217.
ALADDIN SHADYAB
We sought to determine whether this blood-based biomarker plasma p-tau217…whether it was associated with dementia risk in people who had no symptoms, who were cognitively healthy.
Alladin Shadyab (SHAH-D-YEE-AUB) says researchers then followed the women for up to 25 years to see who later developed dementia.
ALADDIN SHADYAB
What we found was that women who had elevated levels of this blood-based biomarker…had threefold higher risk of incident dementia.
He says what makes the discovery promising is how easily the biomarker can be measured.
ALADDIN SHADYAB
With a simple blood test, we can detect whether someone has changes in their brain that indicate Alzheimer's disease.
Today, doctors usually rely on more complicated tests .
ALADDIN SHADYAB
A cerebral spinal fluid test, which is invasive, or what's called PET imaging.
But he says the blood test is not ready to be used in doctors’ offices just yet.
He says further studies are needed to confirm these findings. But this blood test shows promise for research on factors that increase dementia risk.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS
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TODAY, S-AND-S FRIENDLY RANCH IS A GATHERING PLACE ROOTED IN COMMUNITY AND ANCESTRAL CONNECTION. IT BEGAN IN THE 19-80S WITH TWO SIBLINGS TRYING TO BUILD A LIFE IN SAN DIEGO.
ARTS REPORTER AUDY MCAFEE SPOKE WITH THEIR GRANDDAUGHTERS ABOUT HOW THEY ARE CARRYING THAT DREAM FORWARD.
SSRANCH (4:53) SOQ
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The two “S”s in S&S Friendly Ranch stand for siblings Sim Wallace and Sarah Buncom (BUN-KUM), the founders of the 10-acre ranch in the Tijuana River Valley.
After migrating from Texas in the early 1970s and settling in San Diego, the siblings were searching for a place to board their horses.
Diamond Brandon is Sim Wallace’s granddaughter and remembers the story of how her grandfather and his sister took over the land after the original owner could no longer care for it.
DIAMOND BRANDON: “When he came to this place, the owner at the time basically said he was getting older. His family didn't want to continue the work that he was doing and he told him, make him an offer. So he and his sister pulled their money together and it's been in our family since 1980.”
Brandon says that while the ranch continues her grandfather’s legacy, its purpose has evolved.
DIAMOND BRANDON: “I will say it's been such a beautiful experience,. I'm born and raised in San Diego and so I've seen Black businesses close, I've seen Black families displaced from neighborhoods that were typical Black. Um, I've seen the voice and representation of Black culture diminished. Um, and we're fighting to build that back up.”
Taught at a young age that when you have land, you build something not just for yourself, but for the people around you, Brandon created what is now the only Black-owned ranch in San Diego, a space she believes should be safe and welcoming for everyone.
Today, the ranch serves as an event space for the broader San Diego community.
DIAMOND BRANDON: “There are people who come for family reunions. We've had some Juneteenth celebrations out here. Most recently, we had over 700 people participate in Blacktober Fest with SD Melanin. Uh folks were into offer private events as well, birthday parties, anniversaries. Um, we've had a quince or two. It's been really dope.”
The ranch still includes some animals – 3 horses, a handful of goats and several chickens – but Brandon says they plan to phase that portion out because of limited staffing.
DIAMOND BRANDON: “We're very small and the other work is like pulling, so we don't ever want to have a situation where animals are not getting the care they deserve.”
In addition to hosting events, the ranch partners with community organizations. One of them is Azili (AH-ZEAL-LEE)Wellness – a collective focused on healing through ancestral practices and homegrown goods. The group began operating informally about 3 years ago and became an LLC in 2024.
Jazzay H’Armani Buncom is the co-founder of Azili and the granddaughter of founder Sarah Buncom. She also serves as the ranch’s director of agriculture.
JAZZAY BUNCOM: “I've learned that my people have been doing things like this for a long time and I've learned more of like where I come from and just how easier it is to step into those roles once I realize like it's not that crazy. It's not that new.”
Currently, agriculture takes up about one acre of the land, but they plan to expand to 2 acres by the end of the year. Buncom says part of Azili's work involves preserving seeds from the crops they grow. And With ongoing environmental challenges in the Tijuana River Valley , the ranch needs to be strategic about what they plant.
JAZZAY BUNCOM: Environmentally, it's important because seeds have memory just like people in our DNA and so if I wanted to make a seed here that's more water resilient, I can cultivate that um seed here for a number of years giving it less water, save the seeds that are doing the best with less water and every year those seeds will be better and better with just the bio region.
Lucie Cishugi(CHEE-SHU-GEE) is one of the owners of Azili. She met Buncom and Brandon after visiting the ranch several years ago. Over time, she became part of the team.
She says she's grateful to contribute to the land's deep-rooted relationship with San Diego.
LUCIE CISHUGI: “This space really allowed me to be a student and opened me up to students who were in transition of teaching without even knowing it like Jazzay um and through our friendship and relationship just being able to offer each other service when it came to literally their family's land, something that's very sacred to them.”
Cishugi says that after leaving the Democratic Republic of the Congo at 3 years old, her work at the ranch allows her to reconnect with her lineage.
LUCIE CISHUGI: “I'm working in soil, but I know there's soil in Congo. So, I'm like lowkey communicating with my ancestors too, and we're all talking and we're over here cultivating red burgundy okra, black eyed peas, that came from like Africa as well and are traveling through different families in the Americas to be back here on this land”
Brandon says without the physical and spiritual foundation that Sim Wallace and Sarah Buncom planted decades ago, the ranch would not exist in its current form.
DIAMOND BRANDON: Not because they bought it, but because they pour so much into the people still pushing it forward. Every word that comes out of my mouth, it is fostered by the love and the wisdom and the compassion and just heart for people that they poured into me and that they lived every single day.
Audy McAfee, KPBS News
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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; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
