San Diego County Sheriff’s Office nearly tripled number of inmates sent to ICE custody
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, APRIL FIRST>>>> [WHY ARE COUNTY JAILS TRANSFERRING A GROWING NUMBER OF INMATES TO ICE CUSTODY? ]More on that next. But first... the headlines…#######
THE PERSONAL FINANCE WEBSITE WALLET HUB RANKED WHAT THEIR ANALYSTS BELIEVE/THEY FEEL ARE THE HEALTHIEST CITIES IN AMERICA FOR 20-26
FIRST PLACE WAS AWARDED TO SAN FRANCISCO WITH SAN DIEGO COMING IN STRONG, AT SECOND PLACE OVERALL
WALLETHUB SAYS THEY UTILIZED 41 KEY INDICATORS ACROSS MULTIPLE CATEGORIES INCLUDING FOOD, HEALTHCARE AND AVAILABLE GREENSPACE
THE WEBSITE RANKED SAN DIEGO TENTH OVERALL IN THE NATION FOR ITS ASSORTMENT OF HEALTHY RESTAURANTS AND SAYS SAN DIEGO HAS THE SIXTH-MOST HIKING TRAILS PER CAPITA IN THE NATION
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COUNTY HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE ANNOUNCED THE RE-OPENING OF AVENIDA LUNAR BEACH IN CORONADO
THE BEACH'S WATER QUALITY SAMPLES WERE ABLE TO MEET HEALTH
STANDARDS SET BY THE STATE
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY SAYS THAT
CLOSURES ARE STILL IN PLACE FOR IMPERIAL BEACH, TIJUANA SLOUGH, AND SILVER STRAND AND NORTH BEACH IN CORONADO UNTIL SAMPLES CAN CONFIRM THOSE AREAS ARE SAFE
UNTIL THEN, THE PUBLIC IS BEING ADVISED TO AVOID ALL WATER CONTACT
IN THOSE AREAS AS IT’S IMPACTED BY SEWAGE AND COULD CAUSE ILLNESS
YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION ON ADVISORIES AND CLOSURES AT S-D BEACH
INFO DOT COM
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UC SAN DIEGO'S MEN'S SOCCER TEAM AND THREE OTHER CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS WILL COMPETE IN THE PAC TWELVE CONFERENCE NEXT SEASON
ITS PART OF A PARTNERSHIP DESIGNED TO STRENGTHEN AND SUSTAIN DIVISION ONE SOCCER OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE WESTERN U-S
THE PAC TWELVE AND BIG WEST CONFERENCE WILL FEATURE CROSSOVER MATCHES BETWEEN BOTH CONFERENCES
UC-SD'S MEN'S SOCCER COACH JON PASCALE [PASS-KALL}SAYS IT WILL GIVE THE TEAM AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY NEW, QUALITY OPPONENTS AND ESTABLISH A CROSS-TOWN RIVALRY WITH SAN DIEGO STATE
AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED, SDSU WILL OFFICIALLY BECOME A PAC TWELVE SCHOOL ON JULY 1ST
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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LAST YEAR, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SHERIFF KELLY MARTINEZ TRANSFERRED ALMOST THREE TIMES MORE JAIL INMATES TO ICE CUSTODY THAN IN 2024.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SAYS THIS DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ICE TRANSFERS HAS RENEWED CALLS TO END THE PRACTICE.
TRUTHACT 1 (gs) 1:12 SOQ _________________________________________________________
Under California’s sanctuary laws, county sheriffs can transfer inmates to ICE custody – as long as they’ve been convicted of certain crimes or ICE has a federal warrant.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s department transferred 83 people to ICE in 2025, up from only 30 in 2024. The main reason for the spike is a big increase in warrants from ICE.
Sheriff Martinez presented the numbers at an annual forum last week. Where San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said any type of cooperation with ICE fuels fear in immigrant communities.
TRUTH ACT 00:01:09:22“I don’t need to repeat this, but we know we’re living in a time where fear is real in our communities. I would even call it terror.”
Immigrant advocates at the forum renewed calls to end all ICE transfers. They point out that transfers are discretionary. And sheriffs in other counties like Los Angeles have stopped the practice.
But Martinez has no plans to stop. She says it’s safer for ICE agents to pick up their targets in jail instead of going out into the community and potentially arresting people with no criminal history.
TRUTH ACT 00:02:58:04“If they’re going to go into the community there will be collateral damage and that’s my bigger concern.”
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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THE STATE AUDITOR HAS ANNOUNCED IT WILL AUDIT SO-CALLED “FUSION CENTERS” IN CALIFORNIA.
REPORTER SCOTT RODD SAYS THESE CENTERS ALLOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE AND INVESTIGATION LEADS … BUT SOME STATE LAWMAKERS WORRY THERE’S A LACK OF OVERSIGHT.
FUSIONAUDIT 1 (1:08) SOC (SS)
Fusion centers emerged following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to break down information silos in law enforcement. There are about a half-dozen in California, including the San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center.
Mike German is a former FBI agent and national security expert who has studied fusion centers for decades. He says it can be hard for the public—and even lawmakers—to understand how they work.
“FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials operate within these fusion centers with access to all of their federal systems sitting side-by-side by with emergency response personnel, public health personnel, law enforcement personnel, and these unknown private sector entities with no clear regulation about how they're supposed to share information. they're collecting about the rest of us and what they do with it.”
The state audit will examine oversight of these fusion centers and whether information sharing with federal immigration agencies follows California’s immigrant sanctuary laws.
In a statement, San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center director Roy Frank said his organization is transparent and will comply with the audit.
SOC
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THREE NONPROFITS IN SAN DIEGO WERE AWARDED NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON TUESDAY.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY SDG&E AND CITIZENS ENERGY CORPORATION.
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EVGRANT 1 (ab) 0:53 soq
AB: Citizens Energy is a nonprofit founded by former Congressman Joseph Kennedy II. Their EV grant program this year is giving vehicles to the Chicano Federation, Healthy Day Partners and Serving Seniors. Melinda Forstey is president and CEO of Serving Seniors, which provides food and wellness programs to older adults living in poverty. She says the EVs will save the organization money on gas.
MF: So in a typical day, one vehicle may drive up to 200 miles at a time sometimes. We serve meals from Oceanside to Imperial Beach to La Mesa. So the amount of energy we're going to be able to save with these vehicles is really remarkable.
AB: The EV grant program from SDG&E and Citizens Energy aims to provide $14 million to organizations supporting low-income and marginalized communities. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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THINGS ARE GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRICE SAN DIEGANS ARE PAYING FOR GAS.
REPORTER JOHN CARROLL HAS THE LATEST NUMBERS.
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GASPRICES 1 :52 SOQ
GAS PRICES IN SAN DIEGO CONTINUE TO MOVE IN ONE UNWELCOME DIRECTION… UP. TRIPLE-A SAYS THE AVERAGE PRICE FOR A GALLON OF REGULAR IN THE COUNTY IS NOW AT $5.95. DIESEL IS WELL ABOVE SEVEN-DOLLARS A GALLON. WE TALKED TO DRIVERS FILLING UP AT A CHEVRON STATION ON PARK BOULEVARD. SAN DIEGO RESIDENT ROBBIE HOLLEY HAD A MESSAGE FOR POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON.
“Oil prices, Iran and everything going on right now, it’s just a mess, it’s just a mess over there and it’s messing us up and it’s messing everybody else up too, so the message is just clean up the Iran mess and get oil back, get it back down to where it should be, right?”
WHEN THE SUMMER BLEND OF GASOLINE ENTERS THE MARKET THIS WEEK, TRIPLE-A SAYS THAT COULD ADD ANOTHER 20-T0-25 CENTS A GALLON TO OUR ALREADY HIGH PRICES. JC, KPBS NEWS.
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IT USED TO BE SAN DIEGO’S MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, BUT NOW IT’S DEDICATED TO SEALS, NAVY SEALS THAT IS. FOR APRIL’S MUSEUM A MONTH, WE HEAR FROM JOHN CARROLL AGAIN AS HE TAKES US TO A PLACE THAT TELLS THE STORY OF SOME OF THE MOST ELITE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
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MAMSEAL 4:45 SOQ
TRACK:
Across the street from downtown’s Santa Fe Depot is a 10,000 square foot building that provides its own kind of transportation…
((NAT HERE OF INTERIOR?))
Inside these walls, visitors are transported into the formerly secretive world of the United States Navy’s Sea, Air and Land teams… the SEALs.
SOT (3846) 22:30:40 - 30:46
NO CG HERE
“A museum’s job is to present facts, not opinions but facts.”
TRACK:
Brian Drechsler is the executive director of the Navy SEAL museum, San Diego. He’s a retired Captain and SEAL himself.
SOT (3846) 22:30:56 - 31:09
CG: Brian “Beef” Drechsler/Navy SEAL museum executive director
“When you look at Naval special warfare and 80 years of rich, adaptive, innovative history and telling that story accurately, I do think is very important.”
((NATS IMMERSIVE THEATER TRAINING FILM))
TRACK:
One of the first things you see after entering this 2-story museum is an immersive theater experience. 3 huge screens in front of you and to your sides show a film of the intense training that turns men into SEALS... right here in Coronado. Drechsler says on average, only about one in five that try to become a SEAL, actually make it.
SOT 22:28:44 - 28:52
“Right now, it’s 70 weeks just to get a SEAL trident, and then you do an 18-month training cycle. So two and a half years of training before your first deployment.”
TRACK:
As you wind your way through the first floor, you come to two interactive touch screens… the wall of remembrance. The screens let you see and read the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
SOT 22:26:18 - 26:23
“We’re trying to do things in a blended format, so there’s written word, there’s artifacts…”
TRACK:
Lots of artifacts - think equipment the SEALS use to accomplish their missions… high-powered weaponry… and equipment… like Diver Propulsion Devices… where a seal lies on top of a little sub with a propeller… and a Seal Delivery Vehicle. The one in the museum hangs from the ceiling on the second floor. It had to be brought in using a crane through a window… all of it, critical for clandestine underwater transport. As important as those are, you probably wouldn’t call them high-tech…
((NAT/VIRTUAL REALITY MISSION))
But there is something else that is about as high-tech as it gets… a virtual reality mission where you sit in what’s called a 4-D chair wearing V-R goggles to experience what it’s like being a SEAL on a secret mission… this one to rescue hostages on a tanker. I tried it and let’s just say, it feels unnervingly real.
SOT 22:25:34 - 25:36
“We’re getting fantastic feedback.”
TRACK:
The museum has only been open since October of last year, but Drechsler says so far, so good. He says from active duty, to veterans to just everyday folks… people are loving what they see here… He says part of what makes the experience of this place so special is the volunteers that interact with visitors.
SOT 22:25:57 - 26:16
“You got parents that love bringing their children here. They talk to our docents. Most of them are former SEALS and former SWCC with vast experience and they can tell them about the teamwork, the discipline and what it takes to be part of this great community.”
TRACK:
The SWCC or Swick Drechsler mentioned there is Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen… the companion organization to the SEALS. The groups trace their origins back to the 1940’s… with specially organized maritime commando units during World War II.
TRACK:
During your visit here, an overarching theme becomes apparent… service above self. Drechsler calls it the story of common people with an uncommon desire to serve.
SOT 22:32:59 - 33:15
“You have to want it for the right reasons, so I think it’s that desire to serve, that commitment to the team and the desire to be part of something bigger than yourself, is absolutely required to be in this organization.”
TRACK:
Drechsler and his staff are more than happy to share the process of applying for service in the SEALS… but the goal for visitors when they leave is inspiration… to serve. You hear about that from those who’ve been there.
((NATS FROM VIDEO))
TRACK:
A large video screen features retired SEALS talking about the importance of service. Next to it, a smaller interactive screen gives suggestions on the innumerable ways we can all serve.
SOT (3846) 22:38:01 - 38:21
“Hey, the SEALS are hiring if you want to join, but so is the Navy, the Army, the Marine Corps and if that doesn’t interest you, be a first responder. Volunteer at an assisted living facility, mentor, start a neighborhood watch, so it’s about serving something, being part of something bigger than yourself.”
TRACK:
An uncommon message from a museum… come to learn about Navy SEALS, leave with a desire to make the world a better place. JC, 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 have a great day.
