What’s next as Title 42 ends today?

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, May 11th.

The immigration order, Title 42, ends today. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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The COVID public health emergency ends in the U-S today, after being in place for three years.

The end of the public health emergency is what’s triggering the end of Title 42.

It will also cause some health coverage and cost savings put in place during the pandemic to expire… and people will now have to pay for at-home COVID tests.

Plus, patients in some circumstances will no longer be able to use telehealth to get their prescriptions.

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There’s a new statewide hotline and website to report hate crimes.

Here in San Diego County, 86 hate crimes were reported by law enforcement last year.. 6-percent more than the previous year.

Capradio reporter Sarah Mizestan says it’s not a hotline that will respond to the crime or provide support for victims.

“What you’re doing when you call this hotline is you’re reporting something for the state to put down in their records so they can have a running tally and they can have this data over many years.”

The number is 8-3-3-8-no-hate.

The line is open Monday through Friday. from 9 a-m to 6 p-m.

Reports can also be made online, at c-a-v-s-hate-dot-org.

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The city of San Diego is preparing to launch a study to determine how much the city should start charging single-family homes for trash pickup.

It also will look into how to subsidize pickup for low-income families and how to reward people for producing less trash.

This comes six months after voters approved Measure B.

According to reporting by the San Diego Union-Tribune, the study will be done by a consultant who will be selected at the end of this year or early next year.

The study is expected to take two years.

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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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The controversial public health order that has blocked access to asylum for the last 3 years, expires today.

Title 42 created a backlog at the border and as it ends an influx of migrants is expected.

In response, the Biden administration announced last week that it would send 15-hundred active duty troops to the border.

While the bulk of the force involves US- Army soldiers, some Camp Pendleton-based marines are also being sent.

Military reporter Andrew Dyer has more.

about five hundred and fifty active duty troops have arrived at the u.s.-mexico border. that’s about a third of the number authorized by president joe biden to support customs and border protection as title forty-two expires, ending pandemic asylum restrictions. two hundred marines from the 1st marine division at camp pendleton will be among the 1,500 total troops mobilized, according to the marine corps. at a pentagon press conference tuesday, air force brigadier general pat ryder said troops will not be interacting with migrants in any way and are only fulfilling support roles. brig. gen. pat ryder, pentagon press secretary “they'll be there in support of customs and border patrol. they will not be conducting any type of law enforcement activities. ” military officials did not say when the marines will deploy from camp pendleton or where on the border they’re going. andrew dyer, kpbs news.

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Here in San Diego County, the chair of the Board of Supervisors says more federal help is needed in the region... to address the impacts of Title 42 ending.

Nora Vargas says local nonprofits have received 35-million-dollars in federal funding to help asylum seekers, and she says the county has a good working relationship with the Biden administration.

But she says help is needed for shelter locations and long term solutions.

Vargas also said the rapid response network is ready to provide resources to migrants - who may find themselves released on the street if shelters are out of room.

“We are doing everything that we can.but what's really important right now is that we share with folks that there is a place that if you see someone there that you think is, doesn't know where to go.they can call 211.”

Vargas also said there’s information on the county’s website for those who want to volunteer to help.

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Meanwhile at the border, U-S Customs and Border Protection is keeping 400 migrants in a makeshift camp in San Ysidro.

The camp is between the primary and secondary border walls.

Border reporter Gustavo Solis says the migrants have no protection from the elements, and the only food they receive from the government are two granola bars a day.

“There have been people who will come here and they will see and they can’t believe that this is happening on U.S. soil.” Pedro Rios is a volunteer with American Friends Service Committee – he has been coming to the border every day to give food and supplies to the people being kept in between the two border walls. This type of detention appears to violate CBP’s own Short-Term Detention Standards. Those rules say detainees are to be held in rooms that are safe, secure and clean. Alonso Alegre is one of the people being held outside. He owned a business in Colombia but fled to the U.S. with his wife and kids after criminals and local police tried to kidnap him. “Mi hijo me dijo ayer, el dia que llegamos. Me dijo, papa tu querias venir para estados Unidos para vivir como vagabundo si en Colombia estabamos super bien. No le pude explicar. Se me lloraron los hojos la verdad.” He says that his 7-year-old son asked him why did we come to the U.S. just to end up like bums. We were well off in Colombia. Alegre says he didn’t have an answer for his son. He started to cry. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News.

TAG: C-B-P did not immediately respond to questions about the camp.

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Coming up.... What one local hospital is doing to keep, and hire nurses. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

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Hospitals across the nation are experiencing a shortage of health care workers…and nurses are among those in high demand.

Health reporter Matt Hoffman has an update on what one local hospital is doing to retain and hire nurses.

Congratulations you obviously made a great impression It’s Career fair day at Palomar Health’s Escondido hospital.. The health system is looking to hire up to 250 nurses and many applicants were getting on-the-spot offers Wednesday. Palomar Health recently introduced a three year, 100-thousand dollar sign-on bonus.. Palomar’s CEO Dianne Hansen says it’s for new and existing full-time nurses.. The goal is to move away from contract nurses. We’re spending anywhere from 50-60 million this year in contract labor and so we wanted to take those dollars -- if we can save some of that money and put it toward that bonus program that’s what we’re trying to do To get a sense of how much this could cost the hospital -- if one thousand nurses got the full bonus , that would be 100-million dollars over three years. MH KPBS News. 

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This year’s winter may have brought a lot of rain, but reporter Melissa Mae tells us that it didn't eliminate fire season in the county… it is only delaying it.

MM: Over the weekend, our neighbor’s to the north in Alberta, Canada declared a provincial (pro-VIN-chull) state of emergency due to wildfires… Reminding us in Southern California of our vulnerability. MM: Fire Captain Brent Pascua with CAL FIRE says that the brush and vegetation is bigger and more abundant due to the heavy winter rains and it all needs to be cleared out now. BP “We look at Alberta and that should get us to say, ‘Hey, we don't want to be like that. Let's start clearing now. Let's start clearing early. So, that if something does happen like that we're safe, our property safe and you know we get a families out of harm’s way.’”  MM: Already, brush is starting to dry out and according to Pascua, it could even grow back before it dies out, creating more fuel if left unattended. MM: To find out more information about the upcoming fire season and how to best prepare for it, go to fire dot C-A dot gov. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

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In other environment-related news… California's marine protected reserves are helping revitalize the state’s nearshore underwater habitats, but just like a park on land, the areas require regular management.

Environment reporter Erik Anderson says a local conservation group is helping make sure that happens.

“So right now we’re in the Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve. ” Wildcoast’s Lillie Mulligan is steadying herself as waves rock her boat just west of the La Jolla Cove beach. Lillie Mulligan Wildcoast “A beautiful park, but where are the boundaries? You can’t exactly tell. The underwater park is located between the rocky cliffs of Point La Jolla and Scripps Pier.  It covers about a square mile. There’s another underwater reserve just north of the pier making this a pretty large marine protected area. Mulligan says the underwater scenery is just as spectacular as the scenery in many of California’s iconic parks. “You’d see a beautiful kelp forest beneath us with all the beautiful ecosystems that are replenishing within the marine protected area.  There’s our beautiful submarine canyons off of Scripps.  And this creates a beautiful area for biodiversity.  It's lush if you look beneath the water. But on the surface, those spectacular views are invisible.  Even kayakers who were recently getting a tour of the area had to use their imagination.  California Fish and Game commissioner Samantha Murray says the mostly opaque water keeps the park’s wonders out of view but the murky ocean can’t hide the success of California’s Marine Protected Areas. Samantha Murray California Fish and Game Commissioner “So far it looks great.  What we know is that in many cases, size and abundance, diversity and biomass of the fish inside is doing better than outside protected areas.” But maintaining and building on that success story takes work.  Wildcoast regularly surveys San Diego county’s marine preserves helping an understaffed Fish and Game department make sure the areas remain protected. Lisa Gilfillan Wildcoast “We are doing boat-based MPA watch so we are traveling through MPAs and we’re looking at how folks are using them.  And then keeping track of all those things. Lisa Gilfillan is a Wildcoast conservation manager.“And then we’re also checking on our M-2 radar units.  So we have three radar units in the area.  And part of what we’re doing is just making sure that they’re functioning properly.  So, we get on the boat and then we see what the radar is picking up on. And then we visually look for the same things that the radar is seeing just to confirm that they’re working properly.” That’s all aimed at making sure people take advantage of the opportunity to see the reserves, while at the same time protecting the biological riches that grow inside a preserve’s borders. In this marine protected area, fishing is not allowed. “For the most part. There are people interacting in these spaces the way  they should be.  Without taking resources.  Without taking fish or invertebrates for instance.  But there’s a few bad apples out there.  And yes, we’re able to keep an eye on those in some ways. But some do get away with it.” That even happens in the Channel Islands which are a good distance away from the mainland and most of the state’s people. Sanctuary superintendent Chris Mobley says there are more positives than negatives. Chris Mobley Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary “By and large, people are law abiding.  And once the law is on the books, even if they fought it tooth and nail as something they didn’t want, once it’s on the books we see a high level of compliance with the laws.  And most of the time when laws are being violated, it’s out of ignorance.  They didn’t know they were fishing in a closed area.” Restricting fishing is key to showing how those regions would develop without human interference, and that can help researchers better understand the impact of things like climate change.  Mobley says new remotely controlled underwater submersibles are helping science and making the case for the reserves. “When people see the video in a stakeholder meeting, their eyes light up and they say, ‘oh, I get it.'  They see all these incredible creatures, this really complicated structure on the bottom. How fragile it is.” Mobley says the key to keeping the Marine Protected Areas vibrant lies in the ability to make the invisible, visible. Erik Anderson KPBS News.

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Last week, we brought you the story of Kallie the tiger.

She’d been rescued from a roadside zoo and brought to Lions, Tigers and Bears in Alpine.

Kallie underwent a costly 10-hour surgery last weekend to place three plates in her right forearm.

It’s hoped the operation will eventually allow her to walk without pain.

Lions, Tigers and Bears president Bobbi Brink says the operation was a success, and Kallie is recovering well in a small habitat away from people.

Brink says you can’t put a cast on a tiger, so they’re hoping she’ll heal within a couple of months.

Next, Kallie will need an operation to clean and fix her de-clawed paws.

We hope you get well soon, Kallie!

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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 your daily local news. Plus, we’ll fill you in on what’s happening over the weekend in case you’re looking for something to do. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.