SDSU athletics on rape allegations
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, August 30th.
S-D-S-U’s athletics director denies the football program ignored rape allegations. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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San Diego County is holding two monkeypox vaccination events this week in the South County.
The events are tomorrow and Thursday at the Chula Vista Bayfront Park.
The appointments were announced through the county monkeypox text service yesterday, and were filled an hour later.
But appointments are expected to be released next week for another vaccination event in the North County.
To sign up for the text service, text ‘C-O-S-D MONKEYPOX’ to 4-6-8-3-1-1.
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The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning for all of San Diego County, starting today through Monday.
Temperatures could be as much as 15 degrees above normal
A climate activist with San Diego350 says the heat can be life-threatening, especially for the unhoused.
Dozens of cool zone sites will be available across the county.
You can find a location by calling 2-1-1… or going online to cool zones dot org.
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Father Joe's Villages announced yesterday that it received nearly 550-thousand-dollars from the state to keep homeless people and their pets together with pet-friendly shelter programs.
It will support expenses for staffing, pet supplies and food, veterinarian care and more.
The grant will also make it easier for clients to leave their pets in a safe crate or cage while they search for jobs or go to work.
Father Joe's staff believe that by looking after pets, more people are likely to seek services which could help end their homelessness.
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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
KPBS REPORTER KITTY ALVARADO spoke with SDSU students about how recent allegations of rape have been handled at the university.
She brings us this report.
For a group of female students at SDSU, that was heading to class the university’s handling of rape allegations against three former football players a is a painful reminder of what they’ve felt for a long time, among them, sophomore Isabella Jacobs It’s not that I feel completely unsafe around campus it’s just feels almost betrayal because it’s proof that they really they don’t value the safety of women here as much as they value football players Also sophomore Eileen Solano As as woman this hurts more because our president is a woman too and I feel that there should be more support the emails that are being sent out are not supportive at all I don’t like how the situation is being handled by the school. Last week, former star punter Matt Araiza and two other former SDSU players were accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a then 17-year-old girl last October at an off-campus party. The former players have denied the accusations through their lawyers. The San Diego Police Department referred the criminal case to the DA’s office, which to date has not pressed charges. SDSU officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kitty Alvarado KPBS News
Fallout from the allegations of rape against the three former S-D-S-U football players continues.
Over the weekend … the N-F-L’s Buffalo Bills released punter Matt Araiza … and the Aztecs also cut Zavier Leonard.
Yesterday, S-D-S-U athletics director John Wicker denied the football program ignored the rape allegations.
KPBS reporter Alexander Nguyen has the details.
In a news conference Monday … both Athletics Director John Wicker and football coach Brady Hoke walked out after being pressed by reporters on the rape allegations in a civil suit filed last week. About 15 minutes later … wicker returned to address the issue. When asked if the program was doing enough to protect students … he became emotional. Again, one of our pillars is to create great human beings. And it's hard when the training you provide may not have been enough Wicker confirmed that shortly after hearing of the allegations last fall, the department brought in a rape survivor to address the team. AN/KPBS
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For twenty years, America fought battles in Afghanistan… but they also fought for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people….with mixed results.
J. Malcolm Garcia is a journalist from San Diego who spent time in Afghanistan getting to know some of the people in the country… and what they thought about their lives and the war surrounding them.
J. Malcolm Garcia’s book is called ‘MOST DANGEROUS, MOST UNMERCIFUL: STORIES FROM AFGHANISTAN.’
He joined KPBS’s Maureen Cavanaugh to talk about what drew him to the stories he tells in his book.
These stories cover a span of about 10 years of your experiences in Afghanistan. What brought you to the country in the first place?
The first essay in the collection Most Dangerous, Most Unmerciful…introduces us to how you got on with everyday people in Afghanistan. It seems you were accepted with courtesy…is that a trait of the Afghan people?
Where does the title Most Dangerous, Most Unmerciful come from?
You tell the stories of people who tried to carry on with their lives amid the backdrop of war….In the essay Mother’s House….it’s the story of addiction care worker Laila Haidari – what drew you to her story?
This essay collection is the latest in a series of books you’ve written telling the stories of ordinary people caught up in war and conflict. One of your previous books profiled people caught up in unrest in Central America and Mexico. Do you find common themes about how people deal with the trauma and anxiety of war?
What are you hoping readers take away from these stories?
That was journalist J. Malcolm Garcia, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh.
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Coming up.... San Diego Unified students are back to school with no mask requirement. We’ll have that story and more, next, just after the break.
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Students in San Diego Unified are back in school for the fall semester.
Most of them returned to campus Monday.
KPBS Education reporter M.G. Perez has more.
Students went back to school with no requirement to wear masks on campus. The County Health Department’s count of COVID cases has dropped enough for the San Diego Unified School district to allow its mask mandate to end. Health officials are still encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19 …especially those 4 year olds starting transitional kindergarten. Susan Barndollar is the district’s executive director of Nursing and wellness who says monkey pox is also on her radar. “If we should get a case …just like with COVID…we follow what the public health nurses tell us to do…and we may put extra measures in place to prevent that spread.” Here in San Diego County, so far, there have been no cases of monkey pox in children. MGP KPBS News
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“What kind of person do I want to be?”... It’s a question that every child will find themselves asking at some point.
It's a delicate balance for most parents to steer their child in the right direction, while also giving them the freedom to be who they are.
Add in a child's own curiosity and self-discovery as they grow more aware of the world around them.
A new children’s book by San Diego author Matt De La Pena explores all of this with a core message: their future is being written every day.
He joined KPBS’s M.G. Perez to talk about his latest book, “Patchwork.”
Matt, let’s start with you telling us about the title of this book - why “Patchwork?”
What was your inspiration for the core message directed to readers?
Your co-illustrator has received a lot of praise for the way her art style complements your writing. How did you connect for this collaboration?
Emotional and physical growth can be really tough for a child….how do you approach this in “Patchwork?”
That was San Diego author Matt De La Pena speaking with KPBS Education reporter M.G. Perez.
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Digital Gym Cinema kicks off a new weekly film series tonight called D-G-C Video.
The films won’t be screened off old V-H-S tapes, but the series is meant to hearken back to the cult favorite staff picks you used to find at your favorite video store.
KPBS film critic Beth Accomando has this preview.
Depending on your age, the mention of a video store will either stir nostalgia or blank stares. Digital Gym Cinema is hoping for nostalgia with its new weekly film series says exhibitions manage Kristian Perez Franco. KRISTIAN PEREZ-FRANCO DGC Video is a new film series highlighting cult classics, forgotten video store relics, I suppose, that we're excited to bring to the Digital Gym Cinema at its new location here in downtown. Now located at Park and Market in East Village, Digital Gym Cinema wanted to cultivate a new audience with innovative programming. DGC Video is like having video store staff picks but on the big screen. KRISTIAN PEREZ-FRANCO We get to completely curate everything and make sure that we are adding to the discussion, adding to the conversation and making things just more accessible to the community. Part of that access is the video store notion of checking out a movie, and patrons can swap DVDs in the DGC Video collection found in the lobby. On screen tonight and projected at the state of the art micro-cinema is the gorgeous martial arts fantasy House of Flying Daggers. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
You can find the D-G-C series schedule at digital-gym-dot-org.
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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 Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
