San Diego climate advocates rallied in City Heights Thursday to encourage federal officials to do more to support legislation that aims to control climate change. Meanwhile, continued droughts are forcing the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask water agencies to voluntarily conserve water. Plus, the annual Vista Viking Festival will be online once again this year.

Starting next month Americans will be able to get booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine. Local immunologists talk about why they’re recommended. Meanwhile, the largest solar power generating facility in San Diego County is being built right next to the small east county town of Jacumba Hot Springs. But Jacumba residents overwhelmingly oppose the facility. Plus, the VA is looking for ways to help veterans succeed in college.

Morning rush hour is significantly lighter than before the pandemic, but afternoons can get busy as people working from their homes seek to get out of the house. Meanwhile, the Ramona Unified School District is reversing course, for now, putting on hold a recently adopted policy that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of mask wearing despite state guidelines requiring it. Plus, as the Taliban cements its control over Afghanistan, experts warn that instability will continue to plague the region for the foreseeable future as terror groups could regroup in the war-torn country.

San Diego County leaders and public health officials now recommend that all employers in the county begin requiring COVID-19 vaccines for their employees or require weekly testing. Also, the disastrous American evacuation from Afghanistan after two decades - we have local reaction. Plus, a robot tracking sewage for COVID-19 outbreaks at UCSD.

Vista Unified School District’s board meeting got interrupted three times last Thursday when protestors refused to wear masks. The leader of the anti-mask group “Let Them Breathe” was kicked out of the meeting. Meanwhile, a week after the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released an edited video of a deputy supposedly overdosing on fentanyl…. the unedited body cam video was released, leaving unanswered questions. Plus, scholars from UC Berkeley are questioning the legality of the September recall election in California.

A bonus episode of San Diego News Now featuring the KPBS Summer Music Series: Boostive.

San Diego county's overall population grew by nearly 7% between 2010 and 2020, but its white majority is shrinking, according to newly released census data. Meanwhile, we have a full explainer for the upcoming recall election, how it works, and what’s at stake for California. Plus, San Diego was well represented by skateboarders at the Tokyo Olympics this year.

Oceanside city officials have voted to move ahead with a plan to build underwater barriers to retain sand along the city's shrinking beaches. But the project will face opposition from beach communities to the south, and it is unlikely to win approval from the California Coastal Commission. Meanwhile, California could receive billions of dollars from the federal infrastructure plan approved on Tuesday. Plus, The Old Globe Theatre returns with ‘Hair.’

San Diego’s MTS is moving over to a new system that offers more flexible fare payment options. The goal is to ensure passengers don't overpay for bus and trolley trips. Meanwhile, Local contractors say they’re not being given an equal opportunity to be involved in Chula Vista’s billion dollar bay front development. Plus, will you need a booster shot for COVID-19?

Enforcing the The Department of Veterans Affairs’ mandate that frontline health workers get vaccinated is proving a challenge. Workers must get the shot by mid-September or they'll lose their jobs. Meanwhile, Chula Vista schools are looking to hire more online instructors amid Covid-19 cases in school. Plus, The United Nations report on climate paints some stark outcomes if no immediate changes are made in the amount of carbon released into the air.