The road to recovery from last month’s storm

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, February 22nd.

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One month ago today, we experienced record breaking rainfall.

We’ll hear how San Diegans who suffered losses in the storm, are recovering.

That’s coming up next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######

Community leaders in North County say migrant drop-offs may start again at local transit centers… now that San Diego’s Migrant Welcome Center is shutting down today (Thursday).

A manager with Oceanside’s Housing Department says that word came, in a meeting with C-B-P.

Last fall, nonprofits like the North County L-G-B-T-Q Resource Center stepped up to help the migrants.

Max Disposti is their executive director.

“We're definitely going to evaluate what we're going to do, but it cannot be anything close to what we did months ago.”

Interfaith Community Services also helped migrants last year.

But they say their resources were stretched thin before… and as the number of migrants increases, they cannot meet the needs.

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We’re getting a little break from the rain with warmer and sunnier weather for the rest of the work week.

The National Weather Service says high temperatures are expected to be up to 7 degrees above average by tomorrow (Friday).

Today will start off cloudy, but then sun is expected to come out by the afternoon.

Temperatures in the county’s inland and coastal areas are expected to be in the low to mid 60s, in the deserts, it’ll be a bit warmer… with temps in the low 70s, and in the mountains, it’ll be in the low 50s.

Forecasters say there’s a chance of rain again Sunday night.

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Rizo-López Foods, Inc. dairy products sold in the state have been recalled, because of a possible Listeria contamination.

The products recalled include some cheeses, like cotija, crema Latina, crema Mexicana, panela and queso fresco.

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in children, older people and people with weakened immune systems.

If you’ve purchased these Rizo-López Foods items, you should throw them away or return them.

And clean and sanitize any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with them.

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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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One month ago today, disaster came to San Diego, when a heavy downpour soaked the city.

Now, reporter John Carroll checks in with some who suffered losses from the storm, to see how their recovery is going.

“We used to walk through there and we walk around the neighborhood and we go to the playgrounds and the parks.  I mean, we really enjoyed it.  It was beautiful.” Jessica Calix talks to us about what life used to be like in her Southcrest neighborhood.  The 4-plex where she lived is just yards from the Chollas drainage channel. “Most of the people that were in their homes when it happened, they can’t even talk about it because it’s so painful.” Now, Calix and her 8-year old son are living in a hotel, but they can only stay there until early March.  She’s not sure where they’ll go after that, but she’s optimistic the federal disaster declaration for flood-impacted parts of San Diego will help. “I still don’t even understand how that much water got in here.” Natalie Gill owns Native Poppy floral gift shop and warehouse in Mission Valley.  She lost thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in the flood. But, she says once her customers found out what happened, they started placing pre-orders… getting Gill the cash she needed to get back to something approaching normal. “Our community has been supporting us through, we haven’t had a ton of help from other government organizations or insurance.” Two San Diegans… a month later crediting the community with helping them on the road to recovery.  JC, KPBS News.

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This week, KPBS gathered 15 community leaders from across the South Bay at the San Ysidro library.

Reporter Katie Hyson heard what’s top of mind as the election approaches.

Everyone in the room agrees. They knew the floods would happen. They’d reported the storm drains for decades, they say, and were ignored by local government. News publisher Fanny Miller says the Latino community often bears neglect in silence. But with the waters rose an anger she rarely sees. And I'm really happy that they're pissed off because when something like that, you know, it affects you? That's how people get involved. She hopes that anger will drive people to the polls. But those most affected – low-income people of color – face added barriers to voting. Miller says first or second generation immigrants often don’t understand the systems here. They don’t know who to hold responsible for what happened, or how. API Initiative leader JoAnn Fields says for many, including Filipino residents, most public information isn’t available in their primary language. And the flood just compounded these issues, says retired educator Norma Cázares. Trying to, you know, make voting a priority is going to be very difficult, if not impossible, because they are on survival mode. They say it’s crucial to overcome these barriers, but it’s hard to see how, with less than two weeks left to vote. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

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We’ve been bringing you information on the local races on the ballot, in an effort to help you prepare to vote in the primary.

Up next is California’s 80th assembly district.

It occupies the southwestern part of San Diego County.

It’s home to National City and Imperial Beach.

Reporter Tom Fudge tells us about the race, where a democratic incumbent faces a republican with a military background.

The 80th assembly district is heavily Latino and heavily Democratic. Democrats comprise 49% of registered voters in the 80th District while Republicans are only 16%. The incumbent Democrat is David Alvarez, a lifelong San Diego resident and former San Diego city councilmember. On California’s housing shortage, he says he has sponsored bills to make it easier to build affordable housing, and we need to do more to pave the way to affordability in all communities. ASM. DAVID ALVAREZ  (D) DISTRICT 80, ASSEMBLY D-80 CANDIDATE “We are putting forward some proposals to make sure housing gets built everywhere and it’s facilitated everywhere. So that those roadblocks that cities often put up will no longer be impediments to building housing. We also need to fund programs that help subsidize housing. Alvarez’s challenger, Republican Michael Williams, spent most of his career in the Navy, working in intelligence. He says the private sector needs to be given more freedom to respond to high demand for housing. And though not everyone will choose to live in pricey San Diego, the financial incentives to meet demand will fill many of the gaps in our supply. MICHAEL WILLIAMS RETIRED NAVY,  ASSEMBLY D-80 CANDIDATE “So I would think the builders, if they’re allowed to build a variety of houses that are affordable. It may be that they’re using containers stacked on each other. It could be tiny homes sold as a future solution to housing shortages. All of those are options that can be used to house our people.” For more information on the candidates and other primary elections, check out the Voter Hub at KPBS.org. SOQ.

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Benjamin Franklin built America's first library in Philadelphia in 17-31.

More than a century later, industrialist Andrew Carnegie funded 17-hundred new libraries, dubbing them palaces for the people. 

These democratic cornerstones are now increasingly under attack amid the nation’s current divide.

Investigative reporter Amita Sharma spoke to a San Diego librarian who’s had to confront attempted censorship.

A handful of people lined up outside Rancho Penasquitos Library on a chilly morning last week…like eager shoppers on Black Friday.  Ambi of early morning library patrons (Hello)“Morning. How are you? Good. Wow. Everybody's showing up today.” Rancho Penasquitos librarian Adrianne Peterson greets them with matched enthusiasm. The 30-year-veteran of libraries studied art as an undergraduate, but switched to library sciences for grad school after some self-discovery. “....I learned about myself as I got older, that what's meaningful to me is to help people. And being in a library, being a librarian is a way that I could help every person every day, from the littlest kid to seniors and everybody in between.” Peterson says libraries offer so much more than books - early literacy programs, resume building and helping people get their high school diplomas. At a time of fraying social bonds and epidemic loneliness, she notes that libraries are one of the last shared spaces open to everyone. ”...You don't have to pay to come to the library. The library is here for everybody. Doesn't matter who you are, rich or poor, educated, whatever your religious beliefs are, we don't judge. We don't tell you what to read.” So she was shocked last June when she got a ransom note of sorts from two Rancho Penasquitos women objecting to a Pride Month display. ”...I received an email that was addressed to saying that we protest this type of material being on display, and we've checked out the materials, and we will not return them until you remove the display.” The women eventually returned the books, but not before media coverage set off an effort to compensate the library for the threat. ”My phone rang off the hook. And people sent books. I had Amazon packages piled up on my desk, and they asked, can we make a donation? Can I go buy some books at Barnes and Noble and drop them off to replenish your display? And on and on.” Peterson says she drew two lessons from the incident. Support for libraries and inclusivity is far greater than for censorship. But San Diego is still not immune to people trying to control what others read. Most of the challenges are to books on race and LGBTQ topics. “It's the two issues that we just can't get away from in our country. We want to categorize people and try to look for something that's different about them and make that a challenge when it really shouldn't be.” Robyn Gage-Norquist leads the San Diego city library system’s reconsideration committee, which reviews book challenges. “What's happening is that people are now being frightened. They're told to be scared of these books and that we're taking them out to protect you.” The concept of public libraries is really kind of radical. Jennifer Jenkins is San Diego Public Library system’s deputy director of customer experience. To be able to have that democratic approach to providing information so that you have an informed citizenry, informed constituency is, I think, threatening because knowledge is power.” Back in Rancho Penasquitos, librarian Peterson says libraries and democracies share the same values.  “Most people are tolerant and encouraging of others and that we should all learn how to be a team and find our similarities rather than our differences.” And she hopes the library can help with that. Amita Sharma, KPBS news.

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A veteran residential and rehabilitation center is marking 10 years in San Diego.

Military and veterans reporter Andrew Dyer has more.

After 14 years of service in the navy john cubbage, says post traumatic stress disorder cost him his marriage and derailed his life. he sought care at the philadelphia va.  which led him to the aspire center in old town john cubbage navy veteran, aspire resident “i loved it so much, that, after my time here is finished, i'm going to stay in the area.” aspire is a 40-bed residential facility where post-9-11 veterans living with ptsd receive treatment, intense therapy and skills training. since opening in 2014, the va says it’s helped almost a thousand veterans. but there’s only one aspire, and it’s here – cubbage says it’s not enough. john cubbage navy veteran, aspire resident  “this place should not be unique. you know, i had to travel thousands of miles to get here, you know? ” the va says all veterans from the program are discharged into stable housing. andrew dyer, kpbs news.

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If you think of bugs only as pests to be exterminated, think again.

Arts and culture reporter Beth Accomando says bugs can be delicious and good for you.

According to Brooklyn Bugs’ chef Joseph Yoon, crickets are the gateway bug that can lead someone to an addiction to insects in their diet. And that’s a good thing. JOSEPH YOON When I began to realize that edible insects and insect agriculture can have an impact on food security, on environmentalism, sustainability, health and nutrition, workforce activation, and livelihoods, this gave me a tremendous sense of inspiration and motivation. Yoon is an edible insect ambassador. For Friday’s Bug Banquet at San Diego State University, he will be preparing 10 dishes including a gateway bug offering and scorpion kimchi. Beth Accomando, 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. Join me again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.