The Coastal Commission and the state’s climate, housing goals
Good Morning, I’m Erik Anderson, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, March 12th.
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Why critics say the Coastal Commission is working against the state's housing and climate goals.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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California State Senator Steve Padilla says now is the time for the state to do something about pollution from the Tijuana River Valley flowing into San Diego.
Yesterday (Monday) he announced a bill requiring large companies doing business in California to disclose their wastewater discharges that impact the state’s watershed.
Then, they’d have to either clean up the mess themselves or pay the state a fee to do it for them.
Imperial Beach mayor Paloma Aguirre says this is how multinational corporations polluting her city will be held responsible.
“This is the way that we hold them accountable and we are able to create and fund a resource so that we can begin to mitigate all of these impacts.”
The bill, S-B 11-78, is currently in committee in Sacramento.
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Cal-Fresh and new Disaster Cal-Fresh recipients in San Diego County can now use their E-B-T Card to purchase hot and prepared food at any authorized E-B-T retailer through April 3rd.
Typically, Cal-Fresh E-B-T cards can only be used to purchase nonperishable foods.
The temporary change is part of the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for the January storms and flooding.
If you’re experiencing challenges from the January storms, you can also still apply for Disaster Cal-Fresh through Friday.
That program provides a one-time payment to buy food.
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We may see some light rain in the county’s inland and coastal areas this morning and again at night.
Forecasters say patchy drizzle is expected before 11 A-M and then again after 11 P-M.
In between that though, the skies will go from cloudy to sunny.
Temperatures in the inland and coastal areas will be in the low 60s today.
In the mountains, temps will be in the high 40s, and in the deserts, it’ll be in the high 70s.
The patchy drizzle is expected to last through tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
And now that we’ve transitioned into Daylight Saving Time, here’s a little weather-related fun fact… the National Weather Service says the next time the sunset will be before 6 P-M… is October 29th.
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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.
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For more than 50 years, the California Coastal Commission has been tasked with protecting the state's coastline from unchecked development.
But critics say the commission has gotten too powerful and is working against the state's housing and climate goals.
Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says there's a growing appetite for reform in the state legislature.
CB: "When the kids were really little we would bike along here after it was safe and protected. Now with teenagers, they come and bike to the beach on their own." AB: I'm walking with state Sen. Catherine Blakespear along Highway 101 in Encinitas. When Blakespear was mayor, she got the city to add protected bike lanes here. CB: It's really important that we be able to connect our communities. AB: As nice as the bike lanes are, Blakespear says they could have been better. She wanted to reduce the number of lanes on Highway 101 from four to two. That would help cut back on speeding and make more space for pedestrians and cyclists. But taking street space away from cars requires a permit from the California Coastal Commission. CATHERINE BLAKESPEAR STATE SENATOR, District 38 CB: It can be tens of thousands of dollars, it almost always is, and it's on an uncertain timeline. And it requires a big process — so hiring people, having meetings, doing studies that might be redundant. It's just not a great way to run a system. We also see tremendous backlogs at the Coastal Commission, months and years of time it takes to get through. AB: The lack of safe bike infrastructure near the coast isn't just bad for the climate. There's a human cost as well. Last October, a 41-year-old cyclist was struck by an SUV driver in Point Loma. The city of San Diego had planned to install protected bike lanes on that road. But the plans collapsed under the Coastal Commission's permitting process. KPBS's reporting on the incident led Blakespear to introduce SB 689. CB: What my bill does is it cuts all of that red tape, and it says that if the bike lane is consistent with all the other plans and programs that cities have, they’re able to use what's called de minimus process to install a bike lane. So the Coastal Commission would be able to approve a project without going through the big rigmarole that’s currently required. DA: This is about making California available and accessible — including the coast — for people of all income levels. AB: State Assemblymember David Alvarez has a similar bill tackling the Coastal Commission's power to block housing. DAVID ALVAREZ (D) ASSEMBLYMEMBER, District 80 DA: When it comes to housing, the metrics are very, very clear. The coastal areas of California are among the most expensive in the entire country. And that means that it is excluding individuals in California from different economic background levels from having access. AB: Alvarez's AB 2560 would fastrack approval of apartment and condo buildings in the coastal zone that use the state's affordable housing density bonus program. That program lets developers build more homes if they set aside a portion for low- and middle-income households at affordable price points. The bill would not apply in the state's undeveloped coastal areas. DA: We're not talking about places that are not appropriately zoned for housing. We’re only talking about allowing more units to be built for low income individuals and middle income individuals on sites that are already going to be building housing to begin with. AB: The Coastal Commission declined KPBS' interview request. Officially, it has no position on Alvarez's bill — though it has opposed similar reforms in the past. Alvarez says the Commission means well, but that it values upholding bureaucracy over producing good outcomes. DA: I think you're seeing a response from the legislature. It's not just Senator Blakespear and myself, who are San Diegans. It's members actually up and down the state who are saying, you know, we need to look at this issue of coastal access in a way that really represents access for everybody and not just as a tool that sometimes different parties use in order to stop progress on specific projects, which is often what happens. CB: There's really a perception right now that the Coastal Commission is stopping us from being able to handle and address urgent problems. AB: Blakespear's bill does have support from the Coastal Commission. But the senator admits she limited the bill's scope to avoid their opposition. Both bills are going through committee hearings and have to pass the full legislature by the end of August. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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Last week the Pentagon lifted its three-month grounding of the V-22 Osprey, but it will likely be months before they return to full mission status.
Military reporter Andrew Dyer has more.
In under two years, twenty service members have been killed in four V-22 Osprey crashes. The vehicle had been grounded since a crash in Japan killed eight Airmen in November. The Pentagon now says the Ospreys will fly again. In San Diego, Naval Air Forces Command says the Navy will prioritize safety in its approach. In a statement, the service says a preliminary investigation into the Air Force crash found a quote “material failure of a V-22 component.” The Navy says maintenance and procedural changes will address that failure. Its most experienced pilots and instructor pilots will be the first to fly, followed by co-pilots. Ospreys will return first only to daytime flights. The Navy says it expects it will be several months before its Ospreys return to full mission operations. Andrew Dyer, KPBS News.
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A running club by and for women of color has taken off in south San Diego.
More than 500 people have run with Santa Mujeres since it began in 20-20.
Reporter Katie Hyson joined them on a Saturday run through Barrio Logan to see the impact.
We didn't see black and brown people in the running spaces. Virginia Camacho and her friend Priscilla Rojas were looking for a running club accessible to everyone. All colors, shapes and sizes. Free. We wanted a place that we know that our family and our friends would feel comfortable coming to. When they didn’t find it, they created it. Rojas says Santa Mujeres offers not just comfort, but safety. Every woman in our Running Club has experienced something like either being honked at, harassed, followed, like all of us. So I think having this community has made it safer for us. She says the representation has changed the course of many, who tell her – I wouldn't have started running if I didn't see someone that looked like me, had the same energy as me. Including Elzbeth Ruiz. I came and I introduced myself as: My name is Elzbeth, and I'm not a runner. And I've been coming ever since. This past year, Ruiz says she ran 24 races. Now I have a wall full of medals . . . and I look like a pro, but I'm not Santa Mujeres is eyeing a new finish line: nonprofit status. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.
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Professional basketball is coming back to San Diego.
North County reporter Alexander Nguyen has more on the team and where they'll be playing.
It’s been 40 years since the clippers played in san diego. and now, they’re back gillian zucker “the clippers nba g league team will be relocating next season to america's finest city rebranding as the san diego clippers.” … at least their g league – the nba’s minor league. They’ll be playing in frontwave arena … oceanside’s new multi-purpose arena. it has a capacity for 75-hundred fans and is set up to open in september. the clippers played in san diego from 19-78 to 19-84 before moving to los angeles. former sdsu star kawhi (kawaii) leonard and lincoln high grad norman powell are both currently on the clippers’ roster. powell was there at the announcement and noted that his career started in the g league. norman powell “knowing the journey my whole career and how hard i had to work to get here. it's definitely amazing to be first in line to be thought about to represent san diego as the face of basketball right now.” the clippers will finish out this season in ontario and will be playing in their new arena by fall. an/kpbs.
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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. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Erik Anderson. Thanks for listening and have a great Tuesday.
