Two thirds of permits for housing are in walkable areas

 Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s MONDAY, September 8th>>>>

TWO THIRDS OF PERMITS FOR HOUSING ARE IN WALKABLE AREAS…

More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######

THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WILL VOTE TOMORROW ON A PROPOSAL TO EXPAND ITS IMMIGRANT LEGAL DEFENSE PROGRAM 

THAT’S THE PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES LEGAL REPRESENTATION  TO ADULTS FACING DEPORTATION WHO ARE DETAINED AT THE OTAY MESA DETENTION CENTER.

BOARD CHAIR TERRA LAWSON REMER WANTS TO EXPAND IT TO UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FOLLOWING THE END OF  FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROVIDING  LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN

WITHOUT THE EXPANSION OF THE PROGRAM  ROUGHLY 300 CHILDREN OF ALL AGES HERE IN THE COUNTY -WOULD HAVE TO FACE IMMIGRATION COURT PROCEEDINGS WITH NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION OR TRANSLATOR

WE’LL UPDATE YOU LATER THIS WEEK ON WHETHER OR NOT  LAWSON-REMER’S PROPOSAL PASSES. 

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THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL’S LAND USE AND HOUSING COMMITTEE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY ON THURSDAY TO ADVANCE A PROPOSAL TO CREATE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRESERVATION FUND

FOX 5 REPORTS THAT THE INITIATIVE WOULD COMBINE PUBLIC DOLLARS WITH PRIVATE INVESTMENT TO BUY APARTMENT COMPLEXES NEAR JOBS, SCHOOLS OR TRANSIT WITH THE INTENTION OF KEEPING RENT AFFORDABLE IN THE LONG-TERM 

HOUSING ADVOCATES SAY THAT PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS  URGENTLY NEEDED 

WHEN THE OWNER OF MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING WANTS TO SELL, THE FUND  WOULD BE ABLE TO BE USED TO BUY AND REHABILITATE , THE PROPERTY, SO A DEVELOPER DOESN’T BUY IT AND RAISE RENTS. 

THE FULL CITY COUNCIL IS EXPECTED TO VOTE ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRESERVATION FUND PROPOSAL THIS UPCOMING FALL 

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CHULA VISTA’S E-BIKE REGULATIONS ARE NOW IN EFFECT

THEY  REGULATE THE USE OF E-BIKES, E-SCOOTERS AND ANY SIMILAR DEVICES

OFFICERS WILL GIVE WARNINGS FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THE ORDINANCE WITH ENFORCEMENT STARTING ON DEC 3RD  

THE ORDINANCE BANS ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 12 FROM RIDING A E-BIKE AND WOULD MAKE IT ILLEGAL FOR AN ADULT TO KNOWINGLY ALLOW THEM DO SO

THE ORDINANCE ALSO STATES NO PERSON UNDER 18 CAN TRANSPORT PASSENGERS AND RESTRICTS ANY CLASS 3 E-BIKE, WHICH CAN GO UP TO 28 MILES PER HOUR, FROM SIDEWALKS 

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 MAJORITY OF NEW HOUSING IN SAN DIEGO IS BEING BUILT IN THE URBAN CORE, WHICH HAS SOME OF THE CITY'S MOST WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS. PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER JAKE GOTTA WENT TO NORTH PARK TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE SOMEWHERE YOU CAN EASILY WALK AROUND TOWN.

WALKABLE 1 (JG) TRT: 1:09 SOQ

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DO YOU LIKE WALKING AROUND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO A COFFEE SHOP - OR A GROCERY STORE - OR A PARK - OR TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ?

THEN YOU WANT TO LIVE IN A WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD

WHERE HOMES, JOBS, BUSINESSES, AND PUBLIC TRANSIT ALL COEXIST

UNLIKE SPRAWL, WHERE HOMES ARE SEPARATE FROM BUSINESSES

LUCKY FOR YOU, THE MAJORITY OF NEW HOUSING IS BEING BUILT IN SAN DIEGO’S URBAN CORE. WHICH HAS THE MOST WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS.

ACROSS THE COUNTY ROUGHLY TWO THIRDS OF THE PERMITS ISSUED IN THE PAST SIX YEARS ARE IN A PLACE WITH ABOVE AVERAGE WALKABILITY. THAT’S ACCORDING TO A RANKING FROM THE EPA

BUT THESE NEIGHBORHOODS ONLY EXIST WHERE ZONING ALLOWS IT

AND WHEN SAN DIEGO IS UPDATING ITS ZONING PLANS - LIKE IN CLAIREMONT - OR THE COLLEGE AREA -

PLANNERS ARE RELUCTANT TO ALLOW THE TYPE OF DENSITY THAT HELPS CREATE WALKABILITY

SAFE STREETS, SIDEWALKS, CROSSWALKS AND SLOW CARS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT TO WALKABILITY

THAT’S WHY THE CITY IS LOWERING SPEED LIMITS IN BUSY WALKING CORRIDORS

AND IS WORKING TO INCLUDE MORE PEDESTRIAN FEATURES WHEN THEY BUILD OR FIX ROADS

BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH HOUSING.

THESE WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE JUST A FRACTION OF THE COUNTY’S LAND. BUT, THEY’RE WHERE A MAJORITY OF THE NEW HOMES ARE BEING BUILT.

MEANING SAN DIEGO’S FUTURE IS GOING TO BE A WHOLE LOT MORE WALKABLE.

JAKE GOTTA, KPBS NEWS

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SAN DIEGO IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SUMMER COVID WAVE. HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS NEW FEDERAL VACCINE RULES ARE CAUSING CONFUSION, LEAVING PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS TRYING TO SORT OUT THE CHANGES.

NEWVAX 1 hd 1:04 SOQ

UC San Diego infectious disease doctor Davey Smith says changes to federal vaccine policy is causing confusion.

"That confusion leads to mistrust in us doctors, and us public health officials, and our government, and it really is frustrating for me when I'm talking to people about vaccinations."

Smith still recommends boosters for younger, healthy adults.

"Even people who are not older than 65 and don’t have an immunocompromising condition can get very sick…and there’s also the risk of long COVID."

He says boosters also help against new variants.

"When this new variant comes then more of us are going to be at risk, more of us are going to get infected, and the peaks are going to be higher."

As of August 28th, only 16 percent of the eligible population in San Diego County is vaccinated. Smith says the low rate, combined with tighter rules, and new emerging variants, could drive more infections up this season.

Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

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THE GAP BETWEEN GIRLS’ AND BOYS’ MATH SCORES NEARLY CLOSED BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. 

BUT A NEW DATA ANALYSIS FROM THE A-P SHOWS GIRLS HAVE LOST MUCH OF THAT GROUND. 

BOYS OUTPERFORMED GIRLS ON MATH TESTS IN NEARLY 9 OUT OF 10 DISTRICTS THEY STUDIED. 

DANIEL REINHOLZ [RYN-holtz] STUDIES MATH EDUCATION AT SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY. HE SAYS STEREOTYPES ABOUT GIRLS’ MATH ABILITIES CAN SHOW UP IN THE CLASSROOM. 

MATH2A [15s]

Who does a teacher call on, whose ideas get taken seriously? How do students respond to one another who's expected to do well? And so all of these small effects add up in ways that affect confidence, in ways that affect belonging.

THE A-P ANALYSIS INCLUDES 21 DISTRICTS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.      IN SEVEN OF THEM, GIRLS WERE SCORING HIGHER THAN BOYS ON STANDARDIZED MATH TESTS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. NOW, BOYS ARE SCORING HIGHER THAN GIRLS IN ALL 21 DISTRICTS.##########

ON FRIDAY, CYGNET (SIGNET) THEATRE HELD A RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THE JOAN AND IRWIN JACOBS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER,  KNOWN AS THE JOAN. 

ARTS REPORTER BETH ACCOMANDO SAYS IT'S MORE THAN JUST A NEW THEATER.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THEJOAN 1 (:43) SOQ

Cygnet Theatre’s artistic director Sean Murray has seen the company move from a strip mall to Old Town. Now he’s excited about what the new Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center offers.

SEAN MURRAY: There are two theaters. Next door in the same building is a 125-seat Blackbox Theater, the Dottie. We've taken all of our satellite spaces. We've had scene shops and rehearsal spaces and office spaces all over San Diego. We're able to combine them all into one space.

Cygnet will open Follies on September 13th as the first production in its new state of the art permanent home at Arts District Liberty Station.

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. 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!