The city of San Diego’s Measure C hasn’t led to new services to address homelessness
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s MONDAY, JULY SIXTH>>>> [ WE’LL EXPLAIN WHY MEASURE C HASN’T LED TO NEW SERVICES TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS ]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
A RECENT REPORT SHOWS SAN DIEGO IS NOW THE SECOND MOST CHALLENGING MAJOR U-S CITY TO LIVE IN FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM TREE, GRASS OR WEED POLLEN.
SCRIPPS ALLERGY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE DIRECTOR DR. RONALD SIMON SAYS THERE IS ONE MAIN CULPRIT IN THE INCREASED POLLEN COUNT FOR SAN DIEGO.
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“I think the reason the weeds have really jumped up, and I think that's the thing that's made the biggest difference, is the way we have our rains now.”
BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, STORMS ARE BECOMING MORE EXTREME AND ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS ARE LIKELY TO DROP LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER AT ONCE.
HE ALSO SAID WHAT SETS SAN DIEGO APART FROM MANY OTHER AREAS IS THE LACK OF A TRUE COLD WINTER SEASON … LEADING TO NEAR CONSTANT EXPOSURE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF POLLEN.
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THE CITY OF CARLSBAD IS BREAKING GROUND ON A NEW PARK TODAY
ONCE’S ITS COMPLETED VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK IS EXPECTED TO BE THE LARGEST COMMUNITY PARK IN CARLSBAD
IT WILL BE JUST SHY OF 94 ACRES
IT WOULD ALSO BE THE FIRST PARK IN CARLSBAD DEDICATED TO HONORING VETERANS
PLANS FOR THE PARK SHOW NUMEROUS COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACES, A BIKE PARK, A VETERANS MEMORIAL PLAZA, AND HIKING TRAILS
MORE THAN HALF THE PARK WILL REMAIN PROTECTED HABITAT
CARLSBAD'S MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, PARKS AND REC STAFF AND MEMBERS OF CARLSBAD'S MILITARY AND VETERANS COMMUNITY ARE ALL EXPECTED TO ATTEND A GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY TODAY AT THE PARK'S TRAILHEAD
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PALOMAR COLLEGE IS DOUBLING THE SIZE OF ITS FREE TUITION PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR
THAT MEANS THE COLLEGE’S PROMISE PROGRAM WILL COVER 2 YEARS OF TUITION FOR UP TO THIRTY FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS
A STATEMENT FROM THE COLLEGE SAYS THE PROGRAM ALSO ASSISTS WITH THE COST OF TEXTBOOKS AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED ACADEMIC OR CAREER PLANNING
A STATEMENT FROM THE COLLEGE SAYS THAT PALOMAR'S PROMISE STARTED IN 20-17 AND HAD ROUGHLY 8 HUNDRED STUDENTS IN ITS FIRST YEAR
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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THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO IS SPENDING LESS MONEY ON HOMELESS SUPPORT THIS YEAR.
FOR THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF WHY IT MATTERS, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S MARIANA MARTINEZ BARBA EXPLAINS THAT MEASURE C HASN’T HELPED AS EXPECTED.
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Residents voted six years ago to increase taxes to fix city streets, expand the Convention Center, provide homelessness services.
Here was an advertisement run by supporters of the campaign in 2020 featuring the leader of Father Joe’s Villages.
“We have over 8,000 individuals on the streets, and we very much need to provide the services that they need as well as the housing. Yes! For A Better San Diego will provide those funds.”
But now, city officials are using that money to fill budget gaps and have not added new services for homelessness.
Last fiscal year, city officials allocated about $105 million on homelessness programs and services. This year they allocated about $102 million.
Proponents of the measure said its language was vague on purpose. It allows city officials to use the dollars how they see fit.
This year, the City Council made several cuts to close a $118 million budget deficit. In his initial budget, Mayor Todd Gloria said that even with help from Measure C, the city still faced a significant fiscal challenge.
I’m Mariana Martinez Barba for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters"
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AN AMBITIOUS EFFORT TO CATALOG THE TINY SPECIES LIVING ALONG CALIFORNIA’S COAST IS UNDERWAY.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS THE YEARLONG SAMPLING PROJECT IS STARTING IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
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Worms, tiny sea stars, and animals that look like a mound of moss. So many of these backbone-less species are abundant in California.
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“These are called nematode worms. And they're, really, a fraction of an inch long.”
Greg Rouse is leading the cataloging project. He’s a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
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“We think there are about 3,000 animal species, invertebrate animals along our California coast and about a thousand algae species.”
Because they’re so small, researchers believe there may actually be ten times that. They just don’t know for sure.
But that’s about to change. Scientists are beginning to create a record of them. They say it's California’s first DNA library of marine invertebrates.
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“It gives us a snapshot of what the current diversity is for California in a period when the warming of oceans is going to change their distributions.”
They already know that warming is causing some animals to migrate north.
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“We're getting species that previously were only known in Mexico.
The specimens are stored in research collections. And most get DNA barcodes.
That will make it easier to identify and protect them.
Additional surveys are planned at sites along the California coast over the next year. Tammy Murga, KPBS News.
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NEW SLEEP CABINS IN PACIFIC BEACH WILL SOON HOUSE SIX PEOPLE WORKING THEIR WAY OUT OF HOMELESSNESS.
PENNER FELLOW EMMY BURRUS EXPLAINS HOW THE PROGRAM IS HELPING PEOPLE ENTER PERMANENT HOUSING.
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The new sleep cabins will give six people who were previously unhoused a room to call their own. This group is already part of a program where they work to clean up public streets.
Dan Hickey graduated from an earlier iteration of the program.
“There was little steps and goals all along the way. And it was guided by my caseworker, Megan. And, let me tell you, she was an amazing asset to have”
CARYN BLANTON IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SHORELINE COMMUNITY SERVICES. THE ORGANIZATION EMPLOYS THE GROUP AND WILL SOON HOUSE THEM. She says neighbors were worried about the County of San Diego installing the sleep cabins, until they learned more
“Once we sort of explained that this was workforce housing for people who are doing work in your neighborhood, cleaning up your trash. Then it was like, oh, that makes sense.”
Blanton says program participants are eager to move in.
Emmy Burrus, KPBS News
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FOR THE 250TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES THIS YEAR, KPBS IS LOOKING BACK ON SAN DIEGO’S OWN HISTORY.
THE U.S. MILITARY CAN BE CREDITED FOR MUCH OF SAN DIEGO’S LAST CENTURY OF GROWTH.
MILITARY AND VETERANS REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS IT'S EVEN TRUE FOR THE REGION’S LARGEST UNIVERSITY.
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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.
