Sweetwater Union High School District held its first graduation ceremony in Tijuana
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson, it’s MONDAY, JUNE FIFTEENTH>>>> [ A HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT IN SOUTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY HELD ITS FIRST GRADUATION CEREMONY IN TIJUANA]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….########
HEADS UP FOR ANYONE TRAVELING ON SAN MARCOS BOULEVARD BETWEEN KNIGHTS REALM AND RANCHO SANTA FE ROAD!
TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY, STARTING AT 7:30 A-M, CONSTRUCTION CREWS ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW AND MAKE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ALONG THE ROAD
CREWS PLAN TO REMOVE A LEFT-HAND TURN RUNNING EASTBOUND ON SAN MARCOS BOULEVARD INTO THE SHOPPING CENTER…
EXTEND MULTIPLE LEFT-TURN LANES HEADING WESTBOUND ON SAN MARCOS BOULEVARD....
AND EXTEND MEDIAN FENCING IN FRONT OF A HIGH SCHOOL TO GUIDE STUDENTS TO CROSS THE STREET AT CROSS WALKS
THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS SAYS TO EXPECT DELAYS AND IS ASKING DRIVERS TO PLAN AHEAD
CONSTRUCTION IS SCHEDULED TO END EACH DAY AT 4:30 P-M
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TRADER JOE’S IS COMING TO CLAIREMONT
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE SAYS THAT WHILE AN EXACT ADDRESS HASN'T BEEN RELEASED JUST YET, THERE IS A PENDING APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE TO SELL ALCOHOL AT … THE CLAIREMONT TOWN SQUARE
THE NEWSPAPER SAYS THAT ADDING A TRADER JOE’S AT CLAIREMONT TOWN SQUARE COULD HELP REVITALIZE THE SHOPPING CENTER
AND IN OTHER GROCERY-RELATED NEWS, WHOLE FOODS MARKET IS SET TO MAKE THEIR RETURN TO ENCINITAS AT THE ENCINITAS MARKETPLACE SHOPPING CENTER, ALONGSIDE WHAT WILL BE THEIR SECOND TRADER JOE’S LOCATION AS WELL
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AS THE 20-26 FIFA WORLD CUP ROLLS ALONG, YELP SAYS THE BEST SPORTS BAR IN THE COUNTRY IS RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD
SHAKESPEARE PUB AND GRILLE HAS BEEN IN SAN DIEGO SINCE 1990 AND WAS RECENTLY RANKED FIRST OVERALL OUT OF YELP’S TOP ONE HUNDRED SPORTS BARS OF 20-26
YELP SAYS THE LOCAL HOT-SPOT PAIRS A TRADITIONAL BRITISH PUB WITH THE SUNNY BACKDROP OF SO CAL
THE PUB IS KNOWN FOR BRITISH STAPLES LIKE FISH AND CHIPS, SHEPHERD'S PIE, AND BANGERS AND MASH, AS WELL AS AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF BRITISH ALES, COCKTAILS, TEAS AND SNACKS
THE REVIEW WEBSITE SAYS SHAKESPEARE’S IS A GO-TO SPOT FOR SOCCER FANS AND A POTENTIAL HOT SPOT DURING THIS YEARS WORLD CUP
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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IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR – STUDENTS ACROSS THE REGION ARE GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL. ONE DISTRICT IN SOUTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY HELD A CEREMONY IN TIJUANA.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS IT LET STUDENTS CELEBRATE WITH FAMILY MEMBERS WHO CAN’T CROSS THE BORDER.
3:26 (ends with 2s of applause after SOQ)
(graduation music)
Students in graduation caps and gowns walk to their seats in the gym at Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior. It’s a university in Tijuana.
They’re from more than a dozen high schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
(nats)
In the bleachers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings cheer them on.
Beatriz Flores Carrillo is here celebrating her grandson. [RADIO: She says it’s a step forward. And she’s excited because he’s done so well.]
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BEATRIZ FLORES CARRILLO, GRANDMOTHER
Es un paso para adelante. Y me emociona mucho porque siempre ha salido bien sobresaliente.
[It’s a step forward. And I’m very excited because he’s always done outstandingly well.]
Her daughter, Ruth Jimenez, says the celebration wouldn’t be complete without her.
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RUTH JIMENEZ, MOTHER
It means a lot, because she’s been with us and my kids, she’s been with them since they were little. So she’s a second mom to them.
This is the first time the Sweetwater Union High School District has held a graduation ceremony in Tijuana. Some universities have done the same in recent years, including San Diego State University and Southwestern College.
The high school district looked to those ceremonies as examples. They surveyed students and parents to see if there was interest. Superintendent Moisés Aguirre says families are grateful.
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MOISÉS AGUIRRE, SUPERINTENDENT
It really allows us to turn the narrative of the border into something positive. It's a place of coming together, not a place of conflict.
Jaime Rojo Marín’s daughter crossed the border every morning to go to Chula Vista High School.
JAIME ROJO MARÍN
Estoy completamente feliz y orgulloso por mi hija, porque es una persona muy dedicada, somos unas personas muy dedicadas a lo que hacemos, amamos lo que hacemos y siempre para adelante.
His daughter, Sade Rojo Ramirez, spoke at the ceremony. She told her classmates that they were there because of the people who believe in them.
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SADE ROJO RAMIREZ
Familias que tomaron una decisión trascendental enviar a sus hijos, a sus nietos, a sus sobrinos, a estudiar al otro lado de la frontera, sin certeza sobre el resultado, sin garantías de llegar hasta el final, solo con la fe puesta en un futuro mejor.
…without guarantees of making it to the end, only with faith in a better future.
She says high school wasn’t without its challenges. She was learning English. She’d wake up before dawn to cross the border.
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It was a sacrifice because the line, it’s like two hours to cross every day.
But, she says, there were also moments of victory, like the day she understood an entire class taught in English.
Or the day she earned a spot on her school’s honor roll. She says the first thing she did was share it with her parents.
SADE ROJO RAMIREZ
Porque ese papel no solo estaba mi nombre, estaba su sacrificio, su esfuerzo, su fe inquebrantable en mi. En este momento entendí que no solo estaba avanzando yo. Los estaba poniendo en alto a ellos.
…she realized it wasn’t just her who was moving forward. She was also lifting them up.
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Two hundred students walked across the stage.
At the end, they moved the tassels on their caps from the right to the left.
District leaders hope this is the start of an annual tradition that brings students and their families together.
BOWLER_7700 …tres. Felicidades, generación 2026.
Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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RIDERS ON SAN DIEGO’S PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS COULD BE PAYING MORE, AS EARLY AS THIS FALL… IF THE REGION’S PLANNING AGENCY APPROVES A FARE INCREASE TO HELP COVER THE DEFICIT.
PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA DETAILS HOW A NEW PROPOSAL WOULD SHIELD LOW INCOME RIDERS FROM THAT PRICE HIKE.
MTS FARES (jg/qo).mp4 TRT 1:09 SOQ
the san diego metropolitan transit system, or mts, is facing a structural budget deficit that started back when ridership collapsed during the covid 19 pandemic
that’s why the board voted to recommend fare increases earlier this year. the san diego association of governments, or sandag, is set to consider the higher fare structure in july after it moves through the transportation committee.
but on thursday the mts board approved a plan to protect lower income riders from those higher fares
city council member and mts board director sean elo-rivera introduced a plan to freeze fares for riders who are enrolled in calfresh, medical, or calworks. here’s what he told kpbs about the plan.
“first and foremost is protecting people who are vulnerable, who depend on our system.”
the plan was approved by the board despite some questions about the impact on revenues; mts staff was unsure of how many regular riders would qualify
higher fares wont be enough to cover long term deficits anyway. by 2030, the agency has to look for other revenue sources regardless
mts staff made clear a local sales tax measure – which voters would need to approve in 2028– would be the most viable long term strategy
jake gotta, kpbs news
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A WARNING TO OUR AUDIENCE…THIS NEXT STORY DISCUSSES SUICIDE.
A LONG-EXPECTED SUICIDE BARRIER IS COMING TO THE SAN DIEGO-CORONADO BAY BRIDGE. STATE COASTAL COMMISSIONERS GREENLIT THE BARRIER LAST WEEK. REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SPOKE WITH A RETIRED FIREFIGHTER WHO TRIED FOR YEARS TO GET A BARRIER BUILT THERE.
SUICIDE 1: trt 57 SOQ
In 2019, Caltrans added bird spikes to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge as a deterrent.
But it remains the second most frequently used bridge for suicide in California.
Now, a more permanent solution is coming. State Coastal Commissioners have approved Caltrans proposal to build an 8-foot-tall, steel-mesh barrier. It will go atop the bridge’s guardrails.
Commissioner Vivan Moreno says installing the barrier …
SUICIDE 1a 00:10
“is going to save lives, supporting first responders who have the difficult job of leading rescues and also ensuring ongoing access to the coast.”
Wayne Strickland was one of those first responders. He’s a retired firefighter who has long pushed for a barrier on the Coronado bridge.
SUICIDE 1b 00:10
“Things do get better. And, of course, preventing this well-known suicide hotspot is going to save a lot of lives.”
Caltrans expects to begin construction this fall and have it ready by 2028. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
ANCHOR TAG: If you or someone you know needs help, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting the number 9-8-8.
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A NEW EFFORT BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RAMP-UP DEPORTATIONS MADE ITS SAN DIEGO DEBUT FRIDAY WHEN DOZENS OF IMMIGRANTS WERE SCHEDULED FOR MORNING HEARINGS WITH THE SAME JUDGE.
REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS LAWYERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DUE-PROCESS.
MEGAMASTER 1 (:59) SOQ
Master hearings are routine in immigration court. They usually come early in the process.
Court observer Ken Nollett has been attending the hearings in San Diego for months. He says normally on a busy day one judge might have 20 cases.
Bowler_7812.mxf 12;03;14;15 - 12;03;18;20Ken Nollett, volunteer court observer
This morning in courtroom six, it was about 90 cases.
The justice department began holding these so-called Mega Master hearings around the country last month.
Nollett and others say people are having hearing dates changed with little notice from immigration officials. This matters because a judge can order that someone be deported if they don’t show up to their hearing.
Nollett says more than half the people scheduled Friday were no-shows due to the short notice.
Immigration lawyer Paulina Reyes says the court has set people up to fail.
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Paulina Reyes, directing attorney, Immigrant Defenders Law Center
“I think that this new policy and practice is designed to get more in absentia orders, to get more people removed without due process.”
In a statement to KPBS, the Justice Department's immigration office says the schedule changes are meant to clear up court backlogs..
Andrew Dyer, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is 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. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
