Teachers trained on protecting students from immigration enforcement
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20TH
TEACHERS ARE BEING TRAINED IN RESPONSE TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT NEAR SCHOOLS…More on that next. But first... the headlines….
THE SAN DIEGO BAY IS GETTING AN-ECO FRIENDLY UPGRADE…
TWO DIESEL-POWERED FERRY BOATS WILL SOON BE REPLACED WITH FULLY ELECTRIC VESSELS
TOGETHER THE BOATS WILL COST 21 MILLION DOLLARS.
FLAGSHIP ENTERPRISES, WHICH OPERATES THE FERRY, RECEIVED A 15.3 MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FROM THE CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD – COVERING A MAJORITY OF THAT PRICE TAG
THE NEW BOATS WILL HAVE MORE SPACE FOR BIKES AND STROLLERS
FLAGSHIP ALSO SAYS THE CURRENT PRICE OF NINE DOLLARS FOR A ONE-WAY TICKET WON’T INCREASE WHEN THE NEW BOATS BEGIN OPERATION IN FALL 20-26.
THE ROUTES TO AND FROM CORONADO ARE EXPECTED TO STAY THE SAME.
A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE COUNTY STARTING TOMORROW
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO PEAK THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
THE COAST IS EXPECTED TO BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH HIGHS RANGING FROM 72 TO 77, INLAND WILL HIT THE UPPER 70’S TO LOW 80’S WITH DOWNTOWN BEING MOSTLY SUNNY WITH A HIGH AROUND 78
OCEANSIDE POLICE ARE LAUNCHING A NEW DRONE PROGRAM TO ASSIST FIRST RESPONDERS.
THE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK THEY NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO DISPATCH A DRONE FROM A ROOFTOP DOWNTOWN AND REACH CRIME SCENES IN LESS THAN A MINUTE.
ONCE ON LOCATION, THE DRONE WILL PROVIDE INTEL TO OFFICERS BEFORE THEY PHYSICALLY ARRIVE
THE THIRTEEN MONTH PILOT PROGRAM IS BEING FUNDED BY A STATE GRANT WHICH COVERS THE DRONES, SOFTWARE AND STAFFING
THE USE OF DRONES IN POLICE WORK DOES HOWEVER CONTINUE TO BE A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC WITH CONCERNS ABOUT PRIVACY AND SURVEILLANCE.
THE CITY IS RUNNING WHAT THEY CALL A “TRANSPARENCY PORTAL” WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN VIEW DRONE FLIGHT ACTIVITY ONLINE.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
ON TOP OF GETTING THEIR KIDS OUT OF BED, PACKING LUNCH AND MAKING SURE THEY DON’T MISS FIRST PERIOD – SOME SAN DIEGO PARENTS HAVE A NEW SOURCE OF STRESS THIS SCHOOL YEAR. REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SAYS A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS ARE TRYING TO EASE THAT STRESS.
PATROLS 1 (gs) 1:05 SOQ
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BOWLER_2570 00:00:16:02 / 07:55:01:25“Let me give you some information we’re doing some awareness against ICE given that ICE has been snatching our parents recently. We want to tell the community that it’s safe to come to school.”
That’s Lincoln High School teacher Rene Zambrano handing out flyers in front of the school Tuesday morning.
He’s a member of Union del Barrio – they have trained more than 100 teachers on how to protect students from potential immigration enforcement near schools.
Organizers say demand is high – especially after federal agents detained parents near schools in Chula Vista and Linda Vista this month. News reports show similar arrests near schools nationwide.
Erendira Ramirez is an organizer with the Association of Raza Educators.
BOWLER_2550 00:01:39:27 / 07:32:42:10“You can approach people at any other time and yet you’re choosing as they are picking up their kids, as they are dropping off their children. That’s unacceptable.”
In emails to KPBS, the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed the arrests of parents near school campuses. But says agents are not targeting schools.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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PARKING FOR MAJOR EVENTS NEAR PETCO PARK IS GOING TO GET A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE IN SEPTEMBER.
REPORTER JACOB AERE SAYS THE NEW RATES WILL HELP THE CITY BALANCE THEIR BUDGET … BUT THERE’S PUSH BACK FROM LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.
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PARKPRICE 1 (ja) :56
The City of San Diego is rolling out special event pricing on downtown parking meters … that will affect locations within a half mile of Petco Park, starting September 1.
Rates will jump from $2.50 …. to $10 an hour, for up to six hours, during events that attract 10,000 people or more.
Michael Trimble is president of the Gaslamp Quarter Association. He’s worried about losing workers and customers … due to new parking prices.
“Earlier this year they raised it to 2.50 and now they're going to raise it to 10 dollars. That's a pretty significant change for approximately 100 days a year that's going to be happening.”
The San Diego Padres, East Village Association and the San Diego Chapter of the California Restaurant Association are also against the new parking meter rates.
A mayor of San Diego spokesperson says funds earned from the new program go back into the special event zone. JA KPBS News
CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS WANT TO CRACK DOWN FURTHER ON MICROPLASTICS. ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SPOKE WITH THE LAWMAKER WHO’S LEADING THAT PUSH.
GLITTER 1 1:11 SOQ
“What we’ve seen is in the last couple of years increasing research that has shown how dangerous plastic microbeads and plastic glitter are for our human bodies and for our planet.”
That’s Assemblymember Tasha Boerner. She introduced Assembly Bill 823, which would ban leave-on personal care goods and cosmetics with plastic microbeads and plastic glitter. Think products like polishes, eyeshadows and sunscreens.
Microbeads in leave-on products can be problematic because they don't break down easily. They can end up in the environment and the human body.
“We know that these plastics have been linked directly to things like cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive issues.”
Leah Kirpalani is the owner of Shop Good, a clean beauty boutique with locations in North Park and Del Mar. She says there’s a lot of cleaner options.
“Alternatives from an exfoliation standpoint could be things like pumice stone, crushed walnut shells, sea salt, sugar.”
If the governor signs the bill, the ban on leave-on products with microbeads would take effect in January 2029 and those with plastic glitter in January 2030. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
WHAT MAKES THE HUMAN BRAIN SO ADVANCED AND UNIQUE? RESEARCHERS AT UC SAN DIEGO HAVE PIN-POINTED ONE PART OF OUR DNA THAT IS A VERY STRONG CANDIDATE. SCI-TECH REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE HAS THE STORY.
BIGBRAIN 1 (tf) :51 …soq.
Our closest animal relation is the chimpanzee and our evolutionary split from them happened about five million years ago. Since then, some parts of the human genome have mutated very quickly and they’re called Human Accelerated Regions. UCSD professor Miles Wilkenson says one of them that’s very involved in brain development is HAR123, a gene enhancer.
“You know, I guess, as an analogy one can think of genes as being players in an orchestra, and enhancers are basically like the conductor.”
Researchers found that HAR123 was very active in creating precursor cells that became neurons in the brain. Wilkenson adds that studying a genomic region, so critical to brain development, could also help explain the causes of neural diseases like autism or schizophrenia. SOQ.
STICKER SHOCK FOR SAN DIEGANS CONTINUES TO WORSEN. THE COST OF FOOD, HOUSING, MEDICAL AND CHILD CARE HAS SOARED OVER THE LAST YEAR WITH SAN DIEGO SEEING THE HIGHEST PRICE JUMPS IN THE COUNTRY. CHRIS CATE, PRESIDENT AND C-E-O OF THE SAN DIEGO REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SPOKE TO REPORTER AMITA SHARMA TO BREAK DOWN WHAT THIS MEANS FOR LOCAL CONSUMERS AND THE ECONOMY…
CHRISCATE TRT: 4:41 Last words: “thank you”
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AS: So Chris, in the last year, food has gone up 4%, housing, 5%, medical care, 6. 8%, childcare, more than 9%. This is a strain, to say the least, on San Diego's finances. What effect is inflation having on San Diego businesses?
They are dealing with the same impacts as everyday San Diegans. They're just trying to run a business as well, too. And it's very difficult because they're experiencing those same inflationary pressures as everybody else.
Speaker 1
So far, many businesses have absorbed the cost of President Trump's tariffs. Elsewhere in the country, businesses are starting to pass those costs onto consumers. Do you expect the same locally? What are you hearing?
Speaker 2
Absolutely. We believe that the tariffs and the cost of those tariffs are going to be passed on to consumers. I think in the short run, business owners were absorbing those costs just because of the uncertainty and what was going to happen with tariffs, whether they were going to be deferred or what. But now that we've gotten past, I think that's honeymoon period, so to speak, and we're trying to realize the cost impacts of these tariffs, you're going to see those passed on to consumers. They have to go someplace.
Speaker 1
Meanwhile, unemployment has reached 5. 2% locally. If trends continue on Inflation, Tariffs, and unemployment, what's your prediction for the San Diego economy?
I'm not an economist, but I think you can see continued increases in inflation You can see rise in employment. You can see business owners begin to make the very difficult decisions to shut down their businesses or relocate elsewhere. All of the economic uncertainties definitely plays a detrimental role in our local economy and local business owners in San Diego, and we're going to have to adjust to that.
Chris, what effect have the ICE raids locally had on businesses and labor?
Speaker 2
I think, and I don't have scientific data to back this up. It's more anecdotal in nature. But I think that you see a lot of business owners and employees who are not engaging as normal. it's introducing that level of certainty for our business owners. They understand how they are able to proceed and not have, again, these actions coming before them and not knowing what's going to happen or what they believe is going to negatively impact their businesses and employees as well, too.
You said it's reduced the level of engagement. What do you mean by that?
Speaker 2
I think you have folks who are investing in their businesses or employees who are coming to work, who feel a level of certainty and are safe going to work. When you don't have that level of, or you introduce that level of risk or possibility for a business owner, you're going to revert back. You're not going to be as, I think, wanting to invest or wanting to be engaged in the community, things of that sort.
Speaker 1
But are you saying that the employees are just not showing up to work?
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's that's something that we're hearing as well, too. Absolutely. And that's a negative impact on our business owners. Okay.
Finally, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce in July expressed its concern with the US ambassador to Mexico about Tariffs on Mexican goods. Describe the impact, first, of those tariffs on the cross-border economy, and did the chamber's expression of concern move the needle on those tariffs?
Speaker 2
We hope so. I think what we have been trying to educate business owners, the general public, writ large in San Diego, is the fact that when you look at imports from Mexico, 40 % of those imports originate from the US. You have products that cross the border five or six times before a finished product is actually sold to consumers here on the US side. And so it's not as easy as just passing off a tariff or a cost, and that's it. The origination issue is a large one. And we have such a large presence here in San Diego and across the border with a wholesale of products ranging from automobiles to medical devices. And so this level of uncertainty and these cost impacts have huge impacts to our region here in San Diego. We're talking about tens of billions of dollars, thousands of jobs that are relying upon the binational cooperation that we have with Mexico.
What's the effect of that expression of concern?
We'll learn more in the coming months as we do our delegation trip to Mexico City as well and talk to leaders in Mexico and policymakers down there as well. But we hope that this review of USMCA is fruitful and our concerns are passed on to policymakers and leaders on both sides of the border.
Okay, Chris Cate, thank you so much for speaking with me today.
Thank you.
LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE MAJOR CONCERNS FOR YOUTH TODAY. ARTS PRODUCER ANTHONY WALLACE LOOKS AT A NEW APPROACH FROM THE U.K. COMING TO SAN DIEGO THAT USES A VERY OLD KIND OF MEDICINE.
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ARTRX 1 1:16 SOQ
Starting next month, teenage patients at San Ysidro Health will get an unusual prescription.
“Patients receive a prescription for 12 doses of arts and culture to be utilized over over a 12 month period.”
Chris Appleton is the founder and CEO of Art Pharmacy – an Atlanta-based group bringing “social prescribing” to San Diego. With nearly 200 local arts partners, young people can choose from…
“...Museum of Us, Oceanside Museum of Art, San Diego History Center, Disco Riot…”
Social prescribing is still uncommon in the U.S. , but it’s been growing in the UK for years.
“the UK has been the first country to have a whole national program of social prescribing.”
Its prominence is thanks in part to work of researcher Daisy Fancourt from University College London.
“When adolescents engage more in the arts, it actually helps to improve their levels of self-control And this then is related to lower engagement in antisocial behaviors like crime or substance use.”
Art Pharmacy started in 2022 and has brought its model to seven states.
“We see reductions in behavioral health admissions, behavioral health hospitalizations. These are very expensive costs for healthcare payers.”
Appleton says they will start in San Diego with several hundred patients and hope to expand to more health systems soon.
Anthony Wallace, 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 thank you for that. Have a great day!
