San Diego students across the county are heading back to school
<<<HEADLINES>>>
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s TUESDAY, AUGUST ELEVENTH>>>> [ WE’LL TELL YOU WHAT SAN DIEGO UNIFIED DISTRICT LEADERS WANT TO SEE MORE OF AS STUDENTS HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL ]More on that next. But first... the headlines….########
WITH NEARLY 1-HUNDRED THOUSAND STUDENTS HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK, THE CITY IS IMPLEMENTING REDUCED SPEED LIMITS
THE CITY SAYS THEIR OVERALL GOAL IS TO MAKE SCHOOL ZONES SAFER
THIS ALL STEMS FROM BACK IN MARCH, WHEN THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A COMPREHENSIVE SPEED MANAGEMENT PLAN
THAT PLAN, CBS-8 SAYS TARGETS ROUGHLY TWENTY PERCENT OF THE CITY'S ENTIRE ROAD NETWORK
AREAS THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF A SCHOOL AND NEARBY STREETS COULD HAVE THEIR SPEED LIMITS REDUCED
AND HEADS UP FOR SOME OF OUR SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO PARENTS !
CBS-8 SAYS NEW, REDUCED-SPEED SIGNS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN GOING UP IN OTAY MESA, SAN YSIDRO, SKYLINE, NESTOR AND PARADISE HILLS
########
FOR STUDENTS IN THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT … THEIR RETURN COMES WITH INCREASED LIMITATIONS ON TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
THIS COMES AFTER PARENTS ASKED THE DISTRICT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK INTO LAPTOP USE IN CLASSROOMS.
VOICE OF SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORTER JAKOB MCWHINNEY (MICK-win-knee) JOINED MIDDAY EDITION TO TALK ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT RESULTED.
SCHOOLTECH 1A TRT 0:14
“there has been this growing body of evidence um that that uh points to the fact that that kids maybe aren't necessarily wired for learning on screens that potentially, you know, the overload of technology that we've brought into classrooms isn't serving kids' best interests.”
SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SAYS UNVETTED STREAMING SERVICES AND YOU-TUBE ARE NOW BLOCKED ON STUDENTS’ COMPUTERS…
AND TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS ARE NO LONGER USING COMPUTERS
########
THE UNION-TRIBUNE SAYS NEARLY A DOZEN SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART EMPLOYEES WERE LAID OFF LAST WEEK
THIS LATEST ROUND OF STAFF CUTS COMES AS THERE IS UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING ARTS AND CULTURE FUNDING BOTH LOCALLY, AND NATIONWIDE
THE U-T SPOKE WITH THE MUSEUM OF ART'S C-O-O WHO SAID THE ORGANIZATION IS RESPONDING TO INFLATION AND RISING OPERATIONAL COSTS
THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM COUNCIL SAYS THAT THE MUSEUM OF ART IS THE REGION'S LARGEST, OLDEST AND MOST VISITED MUSEUM...
THE MUSEUM ALSO RECENTLY PASSED THE 100-YEAR MARK
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
<<<UNDERWRITING BREAK>>
######
<<<MUSIC BUMP INTO A BLOCK>>
##########
AS S-D UNIFIED RETURNS TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK (MONDAY) FROM SUMMER BREAK. DISTRICT LEADERS HOPE TO SEE MORE HIGH SCHOOLERS EXPLORE COLLEGE, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS THIS YEAR.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS MET SOME EMERGING ENGINEERS IN SAN CARLOS:
FIRSTDAY1 1:09 SOQ
It’s the first day of school at Patrick Henry High School. Students walk past cheerleaders holding green and gold pom-poms as the band plays.
In the quad, a robot launches yellow, grapefruit-sized foam balls into the air.
AGUILERA
That’s the spindexer, so it spins and it shoots out of the shooter.
Patrick Henry’s robotics team built it.
AGUILERA
When I joined, I never looked back. Best decision of my life. And now I feel like I really do make an impact on the team.
Ruby Aguilera manufactured the parts. She also taught a group of freshmen and other new team members how to repair and operate it.
AGUILERA
I like being around people who just like learning.
Aguilera is part of the engineering pathway at Patrick Henry. It’s one of several college, career and technical education pathways in the district. Students can join as early as freshman year.
Kerri Rose oversees Patrick Henry’s program.
ROSE
They travel with each other, like through the pathways. So keeping school exciting, engaging and a place where you want, where you want to go each day.
Other pathways include graphic design, patient care, architecture and child development.
This year, district leaders plan to add more workplace visits, job shadows and internships. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
##########
PUBLIC HEARINGS THIS WEEK COULD INFLUENCE THE FUTURE OF OIL PRODUCTION AND OTHER PROJECTS OFF CALIFORNIA’S COAST.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS HOLDING MEETINGS AS IT CONDUCTS A NEW EXAMINATION OF THE STATE’S COASTAL AGENCIES.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARGUES THAT CALIFORNIA MAY BE INTERFERING WITH OFFSHORE DRILLING AND ROCKET LAUNCHES.
STATE SENATOR CATHERINE BLAKESPEAR REPRESENTS PARTS OF THE COUNTY’S COASTLINE.
COASTAL 2A 00:15
“We're finding ourselves with the federal government trying to basically put heavy industrial uses off the coast of California. And this is objectionable in every way because when we drill, we spill.”
SHE HOPES THE PUBLIC WILL TELL THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT THE COASTLINE.
VIRTUAL MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR TODAY (TUESDAY) AND TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY).
##########
AS K-P-B-S HAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, CITY BUDGET CUTS HAVE FORCED THE CLOSURE OF BATHROOMS AROUND MISSION BAY.
BUT FOR THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF WHY IT MATTERS, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS WHY THERE’S STILL PLENTY OF MONEY TO FUND NEW PROJECTS NEAR THE WATER.
MBROOMS (vosd) TRT 1:01 SOQ "why it matters"
__________
Richard Bailey – a candidate for the City Council seat that represents Mission Bay – recently made a video about how odd it was that the city closed a restroom it had just built.
<< BAILEY BITE >>
"Spending tax dollars to build facilities with no plan to fund their maintenance is, unfortunately, a pattern at City Hall."
A lot of people are upset about the restroom closures at Mission Bay.
But at the same time, there is a ton of new construction of facilities in the park. New bathrooms, parking lots, basketball courts and more.
How is it possible that the city that can’t keep bathrooms open is also building so many new things?
It’s because of a ballot measure voters approved 18 years ago.
It was called Proposition C in 2008. It’s having a major impact on one of the region’s largest parks.
Here’s how it works. The city owns the land around Mission Bay. All of the hotels, SeaWorld and other commercial entities there have leases. They pay the city rent.
But that money can only be used to build things. The City Council and mayor decided they couldn’t actually afford to keep them open.
I’m Scott Lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.
##########
IF SDG&E IS GOLIATH … THEY COULD BE CONSIDERED A BUNCH OF DAVIDS. THEY’RE OFFICIALLY CALLED INTERVENORS … AND MANY OF THEM FIGHT ON BEHALF OF RATEPAYERS.
PUBLIC MATTERS REPORT KEVIN TREVELLYAN SAYS NOW, THEY’RE GEARING UP TO BATTLE A PROPOSED RATE HIKE :
—
<<Mitchell walking through the front yard - “This is Kimball Valley… You can see how much chaparral we have here, and how healthy it is. >>
Diane Conklin and Joseph Mitchell bought a house on a ridge in Ramona in 1999 because they love the open space.
[0:10] Conklin sitting outside - “It’s an antidote to life today. To look out the window. All I have to do is look out the window.” - Mitche ll “We spend a lot of time doing that.”
They also understand their beautiful view… comes with the existential threat of wildfire.
<<Mitchell - “This looked like a moonscape in 2003 after the fire came through.”>>
That’s the Cedar Fire, which Mitchell says burned down two-thirds of their neighborhood. Their house survived though. They had just received a permit for a home defense sprinkler system. Mitchell, a particle physicist, built it from scratch.
[0:06] Mitchell1 - “I said, you know, I'll give it a good test this weekend. And the next day was the Cedar Fire.”
Three years later, in 2006, SDG&E announced plans to build a high-voltage transmission line through the same valley scarred by the Cedar Fire. They called it the Sunrise Powerlink.
The couple opposed the Powerlink right from the start. They channeled their advocacy through a small nonprofit they’d started a few years earlier, the Mussey Grade Road Alliance. Eventually SDG&E rerouted the project south.
[0:04] Conklin - “If neighbors come together and fight, they win.”
Since then, Conklin and Mitchell have continued fighting utility plans during state regulatory proceedings. And in the process, have become members of a somewhat exclusive club. They are among a handful of groups statewide called intervenors.
They comb through arcane documents, sometimes numbering thousands of pages, to advocate for things they believe the utility should better prioritize.
SDG&E is owned by Sempra, one of California’s largest companies. Conklin says it doesn’t matter how small the intervenors are in comparison, or how technical the subject matter is.
[0:24] Conklin - “It matters how factual you are. And it matters how principled you are. And so in the end, I think that the bugaboo about it being complicated – well, everything's complicated. ”
The Mussy Grade Road Alliance’s latest project is SDG&E’s request to raise customer rates about 8-and-a-half percent starting in 2028.
The utility, intervenors, and regulators will now hash out whether the request is reasonable. It’s part of a complicated 18-plus month budgeting process, called a general rate case.
SDG&E spokesperson Anthony Wagner says a lot of intervenors have sharp pencils when it comes to utility proposals… but they help make the process more fair and transparent.
[0:10] Wagner - “All viewpoints inform the scrutiny of what our original proposal is. And it helps make our policy document better.”
SDG&E says the rate request prioritizes affordability and service reliability.The five voting members of the California Public Utilities Commission will have ultimate say.
##########
A UC SAN DIEGO RESEARCHER HAS WON AMERICA’S OLDEST SCIENCE PRIZE. HE IS ONE OF FEW TO WIN THE AWARD IN 240 YEARS.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REPORTER CARLY KAY SAYS HIS WORK TRANSFORMED WHAT SCIENTISTS KNOW ABOUT PLANET EARTH AND GREENHOUSE GASES.
SCIENCEPRIZE 1 (00:51) SOQ
__________________________________________________
Mark Thiemens is a scientist at UC San Diego. He studies isotopes. They’re like elements found on the periodic table. But they have a different number of neutrons. He’s gone to remote places like the south pole to study them.
Now, he’s being honored with America's oldest science award.
6s
I thought when I go there, I’m going to go collect it as fast as I can before they can say they’ve made a mistake
Thiemens discovered a way to measure isotopes in meteorites. The technique has been used to reveal the mysteries about earth. Ancient ones like the earth's origins. And modern ones, like how to track harmful greenhouse gases.
The American Philosophical Society gave Thiemens this award. It is given to scientists who fundamentally change what we know about the natural world. Carly Kay, KPBS NEWS
<<<SHOW CLOSE>>>
That’s it for the podcast today. Today’s podcast was edited by Brooke Ruth and hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. 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.
