San Diego County plans to sue the Department of Homeland Security
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Headline: San Diego County plans to sue the Department of Homeland Security
Description: First, we’ll tell you why San Diego County is planning to sue the Department of Homeland Security. Then, dozens of employees at San Diego Unified could be laid off at the end of the school year. Also, Lemon Grove community members are marking the anniversary of one of America’s first successful desegregation court cases. And, a new soccer park is coming to San Diego ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Plus, we tell you how one organization is expanding what’s considered to be art worth protecting. Lastly, director Maggie Gyllenhaal reimagines Frankenstein by centering the bride.
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH>>>> THE COUNTY PLANS TO SUE D-H-S OVER ACCESS TO THE OTAY MESA DETENTION CENTER. More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS VOTED THIS WEEK TO LOOK INTO REFORMING A PROGRAM FOR RESIDENTS WHO CAN’T AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE .
THE MOVE COMES IN RESPONSE TO FEDERAL CUTS TO MEDI-CAL .. WHICH COULD IMPACT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SAN DIEGANS.
UNDER STATE LAW… THE COUNTY SERVES AS A ‘LAST RESORT’ HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FOR SOME RESIDENTS.
BUT VICE CHAIR MONTGOMERY STEPPE SAYS THE PROGRAM IS ‘ANTIQUATED’ AS IT STANDS.
POSSIBLE REFORMS INCLUDE CHANGING ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS AND WHAT IS COVERED UNDER THE COUNTY PROGRAM.
A PROPOSAL ON THE CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM WILL GO BEFORE THE WHOLE BOARD THIS SUMMER.
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ON TUESDAY, THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL VOTED TO PLACE A MEASURE ON THE JUNE PRIMARY BALLOT THAT WOULD TAX EMPTY HOMES
THE MEASURE TARGETS HOMES THAT ARE VACANT FOR MOST OF THE YEAR AND ARE NOT CLAIMED AS SOMEBODY'S PRIMARY RESIDENCE
THE CITY'S INDEPENDENT BUDGET ANALYST ESTIMATES IT COULD GENERATE BETWEEN 9 AND 24 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE FIRST YEAR
COUNCILMEMBER SEAN ELO-RIVERA SAID THE TAX WOULD INCENTIVIZE ABSENT PROPERTY OWNERS TO PUT THEIR HOMES TO USE.
EMPTYTAX 1A 0:09
SER: The second thing it does is generate new revenue for general city services — services that support housing stability, homelessness prevention and the basic infrastructure that residents rely on.
OPPONENTS TO THE MEASURE SAID IT WOULD INFRINGE ON PROPERTY RIGHTS AND ADD TO AN ALREADY HIGH TAX BURDEN.
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A NEW FOUNDATION FUNDED BY THE ESTATE OF LATE MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER PAUL ALLEN JUST GAVE SCRIPPS INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS
SCRIPPS WILL USE THE MONEY IN THREE MAIN AREAS...
TO STUDY MARINE ORGANISMS
TO ADD ROUGHLY 50 OCEAN OBSERVING ROBOTS,
AND TO STUDY OCEAN CONDITIONS BENEATH ANTARCTICA'S THWAITES GLACIER, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DOOMSDAY GLACIER
A STATEMENT FROM SCRIPPS SAYS THE MONEY WILL HELP THEM LOOK AT UNDERSTUDIED PARTS OF THE OCEAN
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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SAN DIEGO COUNTY SAYS IT WILL SUE THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FOR ACCESS TO THE OTAY MESA DETENTION CENTER.
COUNTY SUPERVISORS WANT TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTION… AND THEY SET A YESTERDAY AFTERNOON DEADLINE FOR D-H-S TO RESPOND.
REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN SAYS D-H-S MISSED THAT DEADLINE.
DHSSUIT 3
The 5 p-m deadline came and went, and San Diego County did not receive word from D-H-S … so now it plans to sue.
Federal and county officials were turned away from the Otay Mesa Detention Center last month when they tried to inspect the facility.
On Wednesday, Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said Homeland Security has stonewalled the county long enough.
“This is not about politics. This is about public health and the rule of law. California law gives local public health officers the authority to inspect privately run immigration detention facilities operating in our communities.”
San Diego is the first county in the state to exercise that right. Lawson-Remer says this is uncharted territory.
The board of supervisors has authorized the County Counsel to sue CoreCivic … the detention center’s operator … D-H-S, ICE and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Lawson-Remer says the earliest the county will file the lawsuit is next week.
AN/KPBS
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DOZENS OF SCHOOL SECRETARIES, CLERKS AND OTHER STAFF COULD LOSE THEIR JOBS IN SAN DIEGO UNIFIED AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS IT COMES AS SAN DIEGO UNIFIED STARTS TO ADDRESS NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET DEFICIT.
SDLAYOFFS1 0:52 SOQ
On Tuesday, the San Diego Unified school board voted to eliminate 221 classified positions across the district. They include secretaries, clerks, classroom assistants and others.
The district expects 69 people will likely get layoff notices this month.
Dawn Basques [BASS-qwess] leads the district’s bargaining unit for office, technical and business services employees. She says the layoffs would affect some of the lowest paid employees of the district who play important roles for students.
BASQUES
They're the first ones who get them to school, to feed them, to talk to them, to give them Band-Aids when they hurt themselves.
The district says eliminating these positions will save about $19 million. In December, district leaders said they expected to face a $47 million budget deficit next year.
Final layoff notices will go out by May 15. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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THE LEMON GROVE CITY COUNCIL ON TUESDAY NIGHT RECOGNIZED THE 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF ONE OF AMERICA’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL DESEGREGATION COURT CASES.
EAST COUNTY REPORTER ELAINE ALFARO SAYS GENERATIONS LATER, COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE LEADING EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY AND LESSONS OF THE LEMON GROVE INCIDENT.
LGHISTORY (1:10) SOC
In 1931, Roberto Alvarez and other Mexican-American students were barred from Lemon Grove Grammar School. Their parents took the school district to court and Alvarez was the lead plaintiff. Here’s his son, Roberto Alvarez Jr.
Alvarez Jr. SOT
“I keep telling people it’s not about my family, you know, it's about the community. You know, they it was all those people that got together. They stood up and they did what was right. You know, in a time that was very very difficult.
In March of that year, the judge ruled in favor of the students and reintegrated the school, two decades before the landmark Supreme Court Case Brown v Board of Education.
95 years later, the Lemon Grove City Council Tuesday declared March as “Lemon Grove Incident month.” Alvarez Jr. says the history of discrimination in California is an important lesson, especially today.
Alvarez Jr. SOT
“We thought we had won a battle, you know, and I think we did win a battle. But you know, it's coming back to haunt us again. The same type of sentiment.”
There will be several events this month celebrating the anniversary.
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News.
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WE'RE LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM THE START OF THE 20-26 FIFA WORLD CUP... IT WILL BE HELD ACROSS THE U.S., MEXICO AND CANADA.
AHEAD OF THAT, SAN DIEGO HAS A NEW SOCCER PARK... WHERE PEOPLE CAN PLAY FOR FREE.
REPORTER JACOB AERE SAYS THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THE PARK WANTS TO MAKE THE GAME MORE ACCESSIBLE __________________________________________________
FREEFIELDS SOQ 4:43
*SOCCER NATS … fades to ambi throughout**
Young players run across new turf soccer fields on a warm winter day in City Heights.
Walls and netting keep the players and soccer balls inside the small courts.
**nats of kids playing**
This is the new Adam R. Scripps Street Soccer Park at Horace Mann Middle School. It’s only been open a few weeks, but it’s already very popular.
SOT 3137
Asiimwe Mugisa | Horace Mann Middle School Student
17:16:18 - 17:16:26 (:08)
“Most of the kids that usually go home after school, I see them come here and play with their friends, or come cheer around and watch or hop in games.”
Asiimwe Mugisa (uh-SEEM-way MUH-gee-suh) is an eighth grader at Horace Mann.
He’s been using the new park for hours every weekday.
SOT 3137
Asiimwe Mugisa (uh-SEEM-way MUH-gee-suh) | Horace Mann Middle School Student
17:18:46 - 17:18:58 (:12)
“It's just like a close place where we can all gather together without having to worry about rides, or whose parents will not let them go because it's a far place. Most of us live close to this area so it's easy for us to get to play here.”
He's getting a chance to hone his skills in a sport that has posed financial barriers. Youth soccer can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars every year in the U.S.
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Asiimwe Mugisa (uh-SEEM-way MUH-gee-suh) | Horace Mann Middle School Student
7:21:31 - 7:21:37 (06)
“Most of the reason why I haven't joined a soccer team yet, a club, is because of money costs and travel and stuff.”
The new park is run by Street Soccer USA.
The organization says its goal is to provide an alternative to the pay-to-play model for youth soccer… especially for those living at or below the poverty line.
SOT 3133 - 3134
Reed Fox | San Diego Street Soccer USA Director
16:59:52 - 17:00:02 (:10)
“So these street soccer parks, this is the first one in San Diego we built. They're free, they're open to the community. And they allow us and our partners to run free programs."
Reed Fox is director of the group’s San Diego chapter. He says Street Soccer USA is trying to capture the momentum of the upcoming World Cup.
SOT 3133 - 3134
Reed Fox | San Diego Street Soccer USA Director
16:59:40 - 16:59:52 (:12)
“This is part of Street Soccer USA 26 for 26 campaign, which is building 26 of these street soccer parks around the country in time for the 2026 World Cup coming this year.”
The park is available to Horace Mann Middle School during the school day.
After school and on the weekends, it's open to the public.
Fox says one to two hundred community members use the facilities each day.
SOT 3133 - 3134
Reed Fox | San Diego Street Soccer USA Director
17:03:41 - 17:03:54 (:13)
“Theres programs for middle school kids, high school kids, elementary school kids, girls specific programing, women pickups, adult co-ed pickups. We started a free program for military members and veterans that train out here.”
Hailey Gutierrez uses the soccer fields regularly. She often plays in co-ed games.
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Hailey Gutierrez | Crawford High School Student Freshman
17:47:55 - 17:48:09 (:14)
“My father has been playing soccer my whole life and when he wasn't able to play soccer he’d just coach. He became my coach when I was six and from there I just had a great passion for soccer.”
She's a 9th grader who plays soccer for Crawford High School, just across the street.
But during the offseason Gutierrez says she would be bored because she had no field to go to.
SOT 3143
Hailey Gutierrez | Crawford High School Student Freshman
17:55:01 - 17:55:17 (:16)
“Once this opened up, every day just got full. I'm so excited for it. When I have a lot of energy I just bring it out here. When I feel any emotion – like anger or stress – I just come here to shake my mind off it.”
At the park she plays soccer a little differently than when she's on the high school team. There she plays 11 players a side.
SOT 3139-3140
Kailen Aldridge | Street Soccer USA Coach
17:33:05 - 17: 33:11 (:06)
“So we play futsal rules. It pretty much means you have four to five players on a team.”
That’s not the only difference in this style of play, says coach Kailen Aldridge. Here, players can also bounce the soccer ball off the walls.
And she says if one team kicks the ball out of play into the netting above, the opposite team restarts play by setting and kicking it on the ground.
Traditionally, futsal is played on a hard surface, and an asphalt futsal court is in the works for the park.
**nat pop of kids playing**
Aldridge says her job goes beyond teaching players the rules. She says they offer 1 on 1 training sessions and much more.
SOT 3139-3140
Kailen Aldridge | Street Soccer USA Coach
17:30:16 - 17:30:25 (:11)
“If they are just doing pickup, we referee. We make sure to talk to the kids, see how their day is going. We run practices sometimes.”
She says they post a new schedule for the different organizations using the park every week on their Instagram page – @streetsoccersd.
SOT 3139-3140
Kailen Aldridge | Street Soccer USA Coach
17:29:54 - 17:29:30 (:06)
“If there's not a time slot for certain groups then it's just open play. So anybody can come at any time…”
Fox says a space like this hasn't existed in the region before.
The park gets financial support from the Adam R. Scripps and Alex Morgan Foundations.
Fox says he hopes this is the first of many street soccer parks they build around San Diego. Currently, they're looking to build a second site in Linda Vista.
SOT 3133 - 3134
Reed Fox | San Diego Street Soccer USA Director
17:07:30 - 17:07:44 (:14)
“I think there's no better city in the country for street soccer and what we're about because of the passion for soccer here, and the inequity in soccer here and the lack of spaces like this to play and free programming for kids.”
The park also has a clubhouse, and Fox says it will offer educational services in the coming months.
That includes help with school work and college applications, and job finding services with the help of local partners. JA KPBS News.
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RECENT PARKING FEE CHANGES AT BALBOA PARK HAVE PROMPTED MORE SAN DIEGANS TO THINK ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY --AND ABOUT WHO CULTURE BELONGS TO.
ARTS REPORTER JULIA DIXON EVANS TELLS US HOW ONE BALBOA PARK ORGANIZATION IS EXPANDING WHAT'S CONSIDERED ART WORTH PROTECTING.
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I like to think of us as like a hospital for artwork, right?
Leticia Gomez-Franco is the executive director of the Balboa Art Conservation Center, a nonprofit that helps museums and the public treat, protect and care for art.
When something gets damaged something gets broken, something is torn. it comes to a place like this
They're also detectives, solving mysteries about objects and art using forensic tools like imaging, and chemical testing.
These tools can be used in repatriation process.
Art conservators can detect the presence of pesticides and arsenic to help warn Indigenous communities before objects are returned.
some of these things can be lifesaving, and it isn't until we have the luxury of access that we can actually begin to think of how we can begin to repurpose these tools and these spaces for a broader use.
The Center is working to help more people care for their own objects, from preserving graffiti to storing heirloom quilts or saving photos from flood damage.
We are trying to democratize and demystify the work that we do here so that everybody could be a part of it.
Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS news
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ACTRESS-TURNED-DIRECTOR MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL HAS REIMAGINED MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN, WITH THE BRIDE AS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER.
CINEMA JUNKIE BETH ACCOMANDO SAYS IT’S FITTING THAT THE FILM HITS THEATERS DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH.
THEBRIDE (ba) 1:20 SOQ
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anted to create a Frankenstein monster of a movie stitched together from mismatched styles and genres, with reanimated parts from other films, then she succeeded.
CLIP The Bride back to life
Gyllenhaal has said she was inspired to make the film after seeing someone’s tattoo of Elsa Lanchester as The Bride. Only then did she watch the 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein. So Gyllenhaal did not come to this project out of love for the original film or Mary Shelley’s novel. Instead, she saw the iconic Bride as a character without a voice and wanted to give her one… along with a feminist agenda.
CLIP Did you do something wrong that you thought you might get away with?
Gyllenhaal sacrifices Shelley’s themes for a contrived feminist story in which women are silenced by literally having their tongues cut out by men. Then The Bride repeatedly screams at the audience, “me too.” In case we didn’t get the message. But Shelley and The Bride are not natural vessels for Gyllenhaal’s brand of feminism so the script contorts and strains to make them fit the agenda.
Gyllenhaal gets the romance and loneliness of the monsters right but then mocks them by using the Monster Mash novelty song as the button to their tale. Honestly, for a Frankenstein story reimagined as a feminist tale, I’ll take Poor Things or even Frankenhooker any day — more fun and more effective.
Beth Accomando, 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!
