SDSU athletes received sexual violence training amid rape allegations

S1: More scrutiny of sdsu's handling of rape allegations against three football players.

S2: And their complicit in their silence and their complicity in their inaction. So a response is warranted.

S1: I'm Andrew BOE and with Maureen CAVANAUGH. This is KPBS Midday Edition. A dangerous heat wave is approaching San Diego County.

S3: It's a dome of hot air , so it's going to start our temperatures off really warm by Wednesday and then we're just going to be stuck.

S1: We'll also get a rundown of important bills that have crossed the finish line in the California legislature. And have you noticed more ants infesting your home ? If so , there's a reason. That's ahead on KPBS Midday Edition. The SDSU football team is gearing up for its first game of the season on Saturday at the brand new snapdragons stadium. That was a subject athletic director John Wicker was hoping to talk about at a press conference yesterday. But media at the presser were more interested in getting answers on the university's handling of rape allegations against three former Aztec football players. KPBS reporter Alexander Wen has been covering the story and he joins me now. Alex , welcome. Andrew.

S4: Andrew. Thanks for having me.

S1:

S4: But when reporters pressed them on the rape allegations , they initially refused to answer and then walked out as more people are starting to ask questions about that. And then several minutes later , only Wicker returned to address reporters questions. Hoke also returned a little bit later after that , but only to talk about football.

S1: Now , one bit of information that the university has since confirmed is the connection between this allegation of gang rape , which happened back in October , and the decision to bring Brenda Tracy to speak to SDSU athletes. Now , she's a survivor of a gang rape allegedly committed by Oregon State football players , and she's since become a public speaker on sexual violence. Tell us about that decision to bring her to campus.

S4: Well , yes , she's been giving talks to university since 2016 about her experience as a rape survivor and hoping that her message of not being complicit and speaking out against sexual violence resonate with these young men. Now , I talked to her this morning , and this is what she has to say about her work.

S2: My work has had an impact. And whether that's on a campus as a whole , I've seen a lot of impact happen at schools like UTSA , football teams like Stanford or this , you know , individuals that come to me and talk to me and disclose their stories or they're getting help now. I think my work does make an impact. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it did. But I can only do so much. I'm one person , and when I leave a campus , I obviously give people a call to action and I tell them how I was affected with my own story. And then what they do with that information and how they then do their own work is their choice and their decision. But then they also have to live with the.

S3: Consequences sometimes of those decisions as well.

S1: Now , Alex , Brenda Tracy came to SDSU not even knowing that they called her there because of a specific allegation of gang rape. What was Tracy's message to the football team ? Well.

S4: When schools bring her in , she tells me that it's normal and it's sort of usual course of action that they say , well , there's this incident that happened and she didn't really go into detail about it. But her message to the students there is that there's always going to be people who do bad things. But what's more important is that 90% or so of the people who are good people need to speak up and create a community where the people who do bad things don't feel emboldened to do bad things. And that's her big message. Be part of the solution.

S2: You're part of the solution to the problem. Are you part of the good guys or not ? And then you need to all align yourselves together. The 90% of the good men need to be louder than that one athlete. And we need to create communities where the good people are letting these perpetrators understand , like , you're not safe here. This is not acceptable behavior. The problem is that so many people are complicit in their silence and inaction. They're just not doing anything. They're acting like it's not their issue , not their problem. But every single one of us creates the culture that we live in and the environment that we live in. And so.

S3: What role.

S2:

S1: And they made that decision at the request of Starr. They were concerned that a university investigation could interfere with their criminal investigation.

S4: Obviously , she says that a criminal investigation and a Title nine investigation could go hand in hand and that the university could work together to do some sort of investigation or not. But she says the university has a responsibility to protect students. First and foremost.

S2: Title nine and the criminal process are two separate processes , and they're two separate processes for a reason. The school has an obligation to. Prioritize student safety and they were aware of a criminal act.

S3: Obviously , there's a police.

S2: Investigation going on. They're aware of a serious incident that could potentially threaten the safety of other students on their campus. So to do nothing is not okay. They should have had done their own investigation and not deferred to the police. It feels very convenient that they deferred to the police rather than doing some of their own investigation to make sure that everybody on that campus was okay.

S1: Alex , you got a statement from the parents of Matt Arisa , who is one of the accused football players in this case. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.

S4: Just to give you a little background on Matt. He's a local kid. He went to Rancho Bernardo High School and was a standout football player there before coming to San Diego State. They said he's been canceled and that there was a war waged on him. In the statement , they say people have taken his information , referring to the attorney for Jane Doe. This information as factual when it is not. We do not wish this experience on anyone but questioned why our son was the only one receiving this kind of treatment by social media and national news media. Now they say that people should let the justice system run its course and that there have been multiple witnesses that dispute the claims made by the now 18 year old woman.

S1: I've been speaking with Alexandra when KPBS reporter. Alex , thanks for your reporting on this.

S4: Thank you for having me.

S5: An excessive heat warning went into effect for San Diego this morning and it will extend into next Monday night. Forecasters say we're in for a long stretch of very hot and unusually humid weather. Highs in the eighties , nineties and even one hundreds inland will feel even hotter because of the humidity. It's time to remember all we've been told about coping with high temperatures. From keeping hydrated to checking up on neighbors who may be in danger from the heat. And joining me is Alex Tardy , warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Alex , welcome back.

S3: Thank you for having me on.

S5: Just when we thought the summer heat and humidity couldn't get much worse , we get a forecast like this.

S3: So here we are , end of August , almost Labor Day weekend. Everyone's going back to school , college and vacation summers over , so to speak. But what we're looking at is a strong upper level , high pressure system. So basically a block in the atmosphere that is going to set up right over Southern California. And it's a dome of hot air. So it's going to start our temperatures off really warm by Wednesday and then we're just going to be stuck and we're going to look at those type of warm , unusually warm temperatures , hot temperatures and a lot of places away from the beaches all the way through the holiday weekend.

S5: And so this is just happening in Southern California. Yes.

S3: Yes. So it's it's literally right over the top of us. So it's central southern California. It'll be the desert southwest as well. But because they've had so much monsoon moisture , the real impact is going to be our region in southern California in areas away from the traditional hot desert. So they'll be hot , but it's all relative will be much hotter than than usual for us.

S5: Now , obviously , this is not a Santa Ana because it's not dry heat.

S3: And that's our free air conditioner. We won't be seeing the Santa Ana winds and we're going to retain some of that monsoonal moisture. Our ocean temperatures are in the seventies. The combination of retaining some of that monsoonal moisture that that we had during August and the warm ocean temperatures , what that means is it's going to feel a little stickier and especially at night. And that keeps our overnight low temperatures warmer than we might normally see. So we don't get much a break even at night.

S5:

S3: So what we call that is a cumulative impact. So as you go into the heat wave , you know , one or two days , not so bad , but then when you don't get the cooling at night and then it carries over to three or four days , it's a cumulative impact. So your home and your business doesn't cool off as well. You have to run your AC more to compensate that if you don't have air conditioning. It really can become impactful as you go deeper into the heat wave with the combination of the nighttime warmth and the daytime heat.

S5: And what are the temperature forecasts for San Diego along the coast and inland ? Yeah.

S3: So starting at the beaches , the beaches will be the only place that really sees relief. But even there , you know , there will be limited low clouds and fog. So temperatures will get up around 80 on the beach. Now , when you go in just a mile or two , we're talking temperatures well in the eighties for several days , maybe even touching 90 on the coast. So that includes , you know , like downtown San Diego , you know , getting well into the eighties , maybe even touching 90. Now , when you get into I-15 corridor , all bets are off and you're going to be well into the nineties , not just for one day , you know , on Wednesday , but but multiple days. And some of the peak of that , he will not occur until the weekend time frame when we're all out and about mountains. Not much relief. Eighties and nineties. And then , of course , the deserts , it's relative for them , but even for the desert , it's going to be between 110 and 115. So no matter where you are , you're going to be seeing most places experiencing temperatures in the upper eighties and well into the nineties.

S5:

S3: So during the daytime , when you're when your temperature gets to its maximum , you know , it gets to 100. Humidity usually is at its lowest point. But what happens is in the morning and at night when you lower down , that really raises the humidity and those warm nights. And so the the really muggy , sticky feeling is that early morning or overnight period , and that's when the humidity will be highest. The humidity will be high enough to reduce some of our fire threat , but it won't eliminate the fire threat , especially in the afternoons.

S5: Now , people should take this kind of heat seriously , shouldn't they ? Yes.

S3: You know , we call heat waves anywhere in the country as kind of a silent killer. A lot of times what happens ? Is it's hard to recognize it. It's the heat exhaustion. You know , you're out for 2 hours in the direct sun or you're hiking , you're doing garden work , you're exercising. You're just maybe not paying attention as much. And sometimes it sneaks up on us in the form of heat exhaustion. And often , like in sports , people don't realize it until like an hour or two after the game or when they're in a cool place and they're having trouble cooling down or they're continuing to sweat.

S5:

S3: So take it serious. Like you mentioned , check the forecast. Really try to avoid the peak of the day , you know , 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Really try to do that. And if you must be outdoors , stay hydrated where appropriate clothing take breaks in the shade frequently more than you normally would , even if you're in good shape. This type of heat wave can affect elderly and the young , but it can really affect all of us when it comes to these type of warning level heat waves. So plan accordingly and change your plans if you can. Otherwise , just take it slow with breaks.

S5: You mentioned people who don't have air conditioning. There are quite a few people in San Diego who don't have air conditioning. And I read that it's a good idea to find somewhere cool to cool off for at least a couple of hours a day.

S3: And you're right in San Diego. You know , even in my neighborhood where I live , you know , several of my neighbors don't have air conditioner. They don't even have the option. And so in those situations , no matter what it is for you , there's always cooling centers , which are typically libraries. And to one one San Diego information will provide locations of that. There is the mall , the traditional mall or department stores , and those are always a great place or the movie theater during the peak of the heat to just get out of it and take a break.

S5:

S3: And we know for sure it's going to continue through Labor Day weekend. So right through Monday , we're hopeful there is some indication of of a decrease in a breakdown , so to speak , in the heat wave next Tuesday. But it may return again as we go into the second week of September. So for right now , it looks pretty sure it's going to hang in there strong all the way through Monday on Labor Day.

S5: And it may last until the middle of September.

S3: Yeah , may have another resurgence. So if we do get a break after Labor Day weekend , that will be noticeable. And that will be thankful for that , for sure.

S5: Yes , indeed. I've been speaking with Alex Tardy , who is with the National Weather Service in San Diego. Alex , thank you.

S3: Thanks for having me on.

S5: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Andrew Bowen in for Jade Heineman. Lawmakers in Sacramento are working furiously to decide on hundreds of bills before this legislative session ends tomorrow at midnight. And the topics involved couldn't be more serious , from climate and abortion to working conditions and housing. These are not partisan battles in the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature , but rather a tug of war of compromises between progressive and moderate members of the party and with Governor Newsom. Joining me is calmatters reporter Emily Hoven. And , Emily , welcome.

S2: Thanks for having me , Maureen.

S5: So the legislature passed one significant bill yesterday. It would set up a council to determine wages and working conditions for employees at major fast food restaurants. But it barely passed in both houses.

S2: So there wasn't a vote to spare. And , you know , basically , it would create this council that would have state appointed members and from the governor , members of unions , members of business groups to sit down and work out these statewide standards when it comes to wages , working conditions , benefits , things like that. And a lot of the pushback that we're hearing from business groups and , you know , many of the moderate Democrats in the legislature is why are we having people that are not elected representatives making these decisions ? And also some fast food franchises and restaurants are not going to be able to afford this. So those were some of the major points of contention that we were hearing.

S5: And what's being called a housing streamlining package has also passed. What's that about ? Yeah.

S2: So there was you know , how is the intensity one of the most controversial issues in the legislature ? Obviously , California having a massive housing crisis and affordability of homes. And so there was this very rare compromise that came together at the last minute. There had been two major housing bills put forward , and one was backed by a very powerful union in California and another was backed by affordable housing developers and another union. And at the end of the day , lawmakers said , you know what ? We're just going to move forward with both of these bills and we're going to let developers decide which option they want to take. They can either choose to have basically strict stricter labor standards or stricter affordability standards. And so they kind of came to the conclusion , very interesting to let the market decide what works better.

S5: It's surprising the number of climate action related bills that are being considered at the end of the session. Probably the biggest one concerns Governor Newsom's proposal to keep the nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon open years longer than planned.

S2: And it keeps the core of the governor's proposal , which is to extend the lifespan of Diablo Canyon and pass the planned 2025 closure and give the operator of this power plant a forgivable loan of as much as $1.4 billion to basically keep this plant running. Where they differ is that Newsom had said , okay , let's let's allow this plant to keep running up until 2035 , if necessary. And lawmakers said , no , no , no , no , we're going to stick at 2030. The power plant is very controversial. There's people that oppose nuclear energy. And there's also concerns about the marine life and radioactive waste and earthquake faults nearby that kind of have raised a lot of safety concerns about about this plant. And so I think lawmakers are trying to stick this this middle ground where we'll extend it a little bit , because we do need to shore up the state's energy grid , especially with these heat waves coming up. But we also don't want to write a blank check to PGE and have this plant go on for a lot longer than we originally agreed on having it run for.

S5:

S2: Right now , the state has a goal of slashing 40% of its emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels. And even though California's not currently on track to meet that existing goal , the governor wants to ramp it up to 55% cuts in the same timeframe by 2030. He also has proposed and lawmakers are going to vote on a bill that would create 3200 feet setbacks between new oil and gas wells in sensitive areas like schools and housing , houses and child center. And he also wants to establish in law a goal that was originally set , set by former Governor Jerry Brown to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and no later than 2045. And there are a couple of other ones , but those those are the main ones. And so it'll be interesting to see what lawmakers , whether lawmakers decide to enact this this last minute and very ambitious package.

S5: At the last minute. On Friday , the governor included funds in his budget to pay for travel expenses for women coming to California for abortions.

S2: And I think that as the governor has been ramping up his own attacks against red states like Florida , Texas and other states that are enacting abortion bans and seeing the quantity of states that are moving to enact those types of types of bans. Following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe versus Wade , I think he was persuaded that it's probably the right thing to do to help pay for these women to travel to California. A lot of the advocates made the point that it's all well and good to see that California as a sanctuary for out-of-state women seeking abortions. But if those women had no way of getting to California , then we're not really serving as a sanctuary. And so I think that the governor decided , okay , we're going to unlock up to $20 million of state money to pay for those women to come to California.

S5: Now , at the beginning of the week , legislators had over 500 bills to consider before Wednesday night.

S2: That's that's the million dollar question. I think for every reporter watching it. We're all scratching our heads. You know , last night the Senate was actually voting on bills until 1230 in the morning. And there are a lot of possible reasons for this. I think some of it is just the negotiations take a long time. People don't want to give an inch. I mean , even with the housing deal. Right. It came together at the last minute because there was no other alternative. So sometimes I think having that deadline , it forces lawmakers to act in some way or another. I also think that for very controversial bills , they usually don't vote on the very , very , very controversial ones until the actual last minute of the session. And I think after that session , they go back to their district. It might allow them to kind of avoid some of the political fallout or repercussions or questions from reporters that they might get if they were still in the Capitol , you know , just doing their normal business.

S5:

S2: Yeah. And so , you know , there's going to be behind the scenes lobbying going on with different interest groups pressuring him to act one way or another. They're going to be right on his doorstep up until the day that he decides what to do on that.

S5: I've been speaking with Calmatters reporter Emily Hoven. Emily , thank you.

S2: Thanks so much , Maureen.

S1: Yesterday , San Diego Unified students returned to class for their first day of the new school year. With the excitement of school starting comes the reality that many children are still feeling the effects of extended school closures during the coronavirus pandemic. A new book from journalist Anya KAMENETZ documents stories of trauma and resilience among students and their families. And it questions the decision to keep schools closed for so long as they were in many parts of San Diego. KAMENETZ spoke with KPBS education reporter MJ Perez about her book The Stolen Year How COVID Changed Children's Lives and Where We Go Now.

S3: So in your book , we hear from kids and families from a wide variety of backgrounds all over the country.

S2: One is that they were stretched to the breaking point by the very stresses of the pandemic economic , social , the fear , the political division. And the other thread , of course , is the love. I mean , every family I talked with , as hard as it was , they found solace in being together even during the darkest parts of this pandemic.

S3:

S2: That's an average , obviously. Some kids are fine right now and some kids might never catch up. We also know that there's been a huge downturn in public school enrollment as well as in college going. You know , some of those kids are homeschooled or they're in private schools and they're going to be fine. But some of those kids have dropped out and they have drifted into paid work , and that's very bothersome for the future of this country.

S3: In your introduction , you write that you were thinking of this book as a little like restorative justice or therapy.

S2: I mean , everybody who has a child understands that you're affected differently by the sound or the sight of a suffering child. And unfortunately , that sentiment oftentimes leads us to not pay attention to what is actually happening. So I wrote this book to make sure we took a good , hard look at what happened to kids during the beginning of this pandemic. And with that hope in restorative justice comes , you know , figuring out what the harms are and we redress it. And in a therapeutic context , you start talking about what happened , because again , that's going to help you identify how you're going to feel better about it.

S3: So we have been here before in the sense that your book talks about other examples where schools were closed down in the impact. One of those was in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Tell us what happened to those kids. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. So I was down there as a young reporter. I went to high school in New Orleans as well. And what we found is that kids were out of school usually for a few weeks. The public schools in the city shuttered , were closed for the fall semester of 2005 and mostly never reopened because they were all replaced with charter schools. Over time , those kids suffered extreme academic setbacks. That took a couple of years actually to recover the ground that they lost , even though they weren't out of school very long. And the impact on youth in general. We saw a downturn in college going , a downturn in high school graduation rates that persisted for up to a decade after the storm.

S3: So your book talks about schools are much more than just places of learning , but also essential for food and nutrition , childcare and health care. Do you think that government and school officials could have done more to fill those gaps while schools were closed ? Absolutely.

S2: They could have and should have. I point to countries in Europe that despite the fact that they struggled as well with the pandemic and various waves of the pandemic , they made a concerted effort to prioritize children for reopening. And that's exactly what we never did in this country. We obviously had red states that opened everything up with almost no precautions. And then we had blue states that allowed our bars and restaurants to be open while schools and daycares were shut. And that's the part that's so hard for me to understand , not only as a reporter , but as a parent.

S3: So full disclosure , I was a special ed teacher with San Diego Unified for seven years before taking this job. You profiled those students with special needs who were especially impacted. Tell us about them. Yes.

S2: Yes. Thanks for bringing that up. So , you know , 14% of kids have disabilities. It's not some tiny margin. And for the most part , what families told me was that Zoom was not an effective delivery system for the education , the socialization and the therapies that those kids needed. And what you see with kids with disabilities is that not only do they not make progress , but they can go backwards , they can regress because these are developmental disorders and they follow developmental pathways. And so we're seeing so many struggles and with oftentimes the school struggles and the social struggles , some mental health struggles as well. I mean , one of the most heartbreaking families that I talked with was it was a child in Hawaii , and she had multiple severe disabilities. She was autistic and non-verbal , but she loved school and she was in a mainstream classroom. Her classmates surrounded her with love and affection. When she was cut off from all of that , she had no real way of understanding why. And she became horribly depressed and regressed in a number of ways. And her mother says that she just she's never been the same.

S3: So there is another population that you address. And that is students along the US-Mexico border. Closer to home for us here in San Diego. Tell us about the experiences of those children.

S2: Yeah , you know , I mean , this would have taken a whole other book and I hope that there is another book out there. But as we know , you know , MPP , the Remain in Mexico policy created a really upsetting situation on the U.S. border. And what I talk I talked to professionals , a lawyer and a couple of psychologists who dealt with kids in that situation and occasionally migrant children who did cross the border during the pandemic were quarantined all by themselves. So it was a really awful situation. And , you know , the long term issue as well. Obviously , there's been an interruption in kind of immigration patterns. And so we're seeing that now with with the flow of kids over the border and trying to resettle them and reintegrate them , which is obviously a long term concern.

S3: Anya , you say in your book that the story is not over.

S2: It was really disappointing when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. You know , as a huge Democratic victory on climate and on health care. But they left out the provisions that had been in the broader Joe Biden's broader agenda when it came to children and families. And a lot of people thought this was going to be the moment that we'd finally get subsidized child care , federally guaranteed paid leave and a child tax credit. So I really hope that those and I just hope that I would exhort anyone who is paying attention to politics and wants to get involved to say , you know , this , this can't wait any longer.

S3: I like to end on an encouraging note.

S2: And all of the families I followed during the pandemic , they all felt that they were silver linings in simply being able to be together when the world stopped. And so I think I hope that we all kind of get a chance to keep that in mind as we go forward to a more normal and a busier world , that that there's something really magical about being able to be together with your loving family when you can.

S3: I have been speaking with Anya KAMENETZ , author of the new book The Stolen Year How COVID Changed Children's Lives and Where We Go Now. Anya , thank you.

S2: Thanks for having me.

S5: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hyneman. It happens to the best of us. You wake up one summer morning , casually stroll through your home and are confronted with ants. Ants swarming on the cat food , ants marching into your garbage. Ants claiming a beachhead in your bathroom. Where do they come from ? Why are they here and what can make them go away ? Professor David Holloway is in the Department of Ecology , Behavior and Evolution at UC San Diego. He studies the intricate structure of and colonies. The different species advance in California. And why those tiny ants in your sink may be a problem for our ecology. Professor Holloway , welcome.

S3: Thank you. It's good to be here.

S5: The kind of ants I usually see these days are extremely small , not the bigger ants that I remember at picnics on the East Coast.

S3: But the most common ant that comes into people's homes , especially at this time of year , is the Argentine ant , which is a species that's been in California for over 100 years.

S5: So you say they've been here for about a hundred years.

S3: As their name would imply that they're native to southern South America , northern Argentina and surrounding regions , but have been introduced into new environments all over the world.

S5:

S3: The Argentine ants in California form what are often called super colonies. And what biologists mean by this is that the workers from different locations tend to not act aggressively with one another. The super colonies are made up of of ants that live in individual nests. And what makes the Argentine interesting is that they will relocate their nest often throughout the year in response to changing environmental conditions and to opportunities such as food in people's homes.

S5:

S3: The Argentine out is a is an interesting species , because in addition to being an urban pest where it comes into people's homes , it's also a conservation problem in the displacement of native ants is a is a well-documented phenomenon associated with Argentine innovations. But Argentine disrupt ecosystems in a variety of other ways as well. They interfere with plant pollinator interactions. They also interfere with seed dispersal mutualism. And another way in which they affect our local ecosystems is that there are organisms that prey upon mate , events that don't peri upon Argentine ants. And one that seems to have declined locally is the coastal horned lizard. Coastal horned lizards consume arthropods but but seem to like large body dance , which is harvester ants , carpenter ants , things like that. But they don't feed on on Argentine ants.

S5:

S3: And this will bring them into people's homes. And when they come into people's homes and they find food , they'll also take advantage of the food as well. The Argentine out will also come into people's homes at the start of winter because they'll get flooded out of their nest sites so that the period of the year when when Argentine aren't seen most conspicuous pests tend to be July through through the first part of the first part of winter , November. December.

S5: But sometimes you find lines of ants in a closet or some other place where there's no water , there's no food.

S3: And in people's homes , this can sometimes result in them coming into portions of the house where where there aren't obvious sources of water or food , but they tend to be temporary visitors in those areas and they will go away if there is not a suitable mess site.

S5: Now , occasionally you'll see one or two ants on their own.

S3: Scouts will look for food in some cases. They'll look for new nest sites. And the Argentine air has a very. Well developed chemical recruitment system. So it's a if a worker is is looking for food , say and finds what seems to be a good find , it will lay down trail pheromones from that food source back to the nest and workers will smell that trail from home and go out to the food. And if they like that food , they'll lay down more trail pheromones. And within minutes you can , depending on how far the food is away from the nest within a short period of time. In any case , you can get a large number of ants traveling from the nest to take advantage of food.

S5: Now , if you see an ant , the first reaction for many people may be to get out the can of raid.

S3: And there are a variety of products available that one can use to kill ants. Doing so is is often unnecessary because as we've discussed , ants are typically temporary. Visitors inside homes and pesticides have well known environmental impacts. Many of the pesticides that are commercially available can be environmentally persistent and be carried in stormwater into freshwater ecosystems where they have effects that are far reaching and extend well beyond use outside of the house , for example. The other thing I can say is that despite the fact that Argentine ants are usually perceived as a nuisance inside the house , they are completely harmless. They don't sting , and they also don't carry any diseases.

S5:

S3: And oftentimes they're they're coming in to seek out sources of water , like we've discussed. But I have to say that we stopped irrigating very much in our yard several years ago. And the the numbers of Argentine ants in our yard have dropped greatly to the point where we haven't had Argentine ants in our house for for some time , well over a year. And we have done experiments in the field where we've used irrigation to encourage our Argentine ants to spread. And those experiments were very clear. Argentine ants really seek out water. And if the water is eliminated , Argentine fans will retreat. Okay.

S5: Okay. I've been speaking with Professor David Holloway. He's in the Department of Ecology Behavior and Evolution at UC San Diego. Professor , thank you very much.

S3: It was a pleasure.

S1: Two prominent women of color have finally received some long overdue recognition from Hollywood. Native American actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather received an official apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the abuse she endured at the 1973 Oscars and the impact it had on her career. Actress Juanita moore appeared in more than 80 films and TV shows , but wasn't always credited for her work. In 1959 , she became the fifth black actor and movie making history to be nominated for an Oscar. The pioneering actress will finally be honored with her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here's KQED's Sasha KHOKHA with more.

UU: Accepting the award. Brother , Miss Sacheen Littlefeather.

S2: In 1973 , Sacheen Littlefeather caused an uproar when she appeared at the Oscars awards ceremony on behalf of Marlon Brando. That year , she won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather walked up on stage and announced that Brando would not be accepting the award.

S5: And the reasons for.

S2: This being are.

S5: The treatment of.

S2: American Indians today.

S5: By the film industry. Excuse me.

S2: After the heckling and the boos she had to endure at the Oscars. Hollywood boycotted Littlefeather and her TV and movie career floundered , but her work as an activist took off. Two years ago , reporter Chloe Veltman caught up with Sacheen Littlefeather at her home in Marin County and brought us her story.

S5: The more that Native American Indian people like myself speak out. The more understanding that there becomes. The truth has got to win out. Above all the lies that have been told about us by the dominant society.

S2: Almost 50 years after that night at the Oscars , former Academy president David Rubin wrote that the abuse littlefeather experienced was , quote , unwarranted and unjustified. And he went on to write that the emotional burden she lived through and the cost to her career in the film industry are irreparable. For too long , the courage you showed has been unacknowledged , he wrote. Next month , the Academy will host a special event with Sacheen Littlefeather , featuring a public apology and a celebration of indigenous culture. Another actress of color who's finally getting some long awaited recognition from Hollywood. One need to more with painting. You have to do something about it. What is it this time ? She's been at that new sterilizer again. Every time I stare at the sheet , put them back there , they wide enough. That's a clip from the 1949 film Pinky. Juanita moore was a film TV and stage actress from L.A. although her name didn't even show up in the credits for a lot of the movies she was in. She appeared in more than 80 films and TV shows , and she was the fifth black actor in moviemaking history to be nominated for an Oscar. Hers was for her role in the 1959 film Imitation of Life. I just want to look at you. That's why I came. Are you happy here ? Are you finding what you really want from somebody else ? She was nominated for her performance as Annie , a mom who's light skinned daughter , Sarah Jane rejects her black identity and tries to pass as white. And if by accident , we should ever pass on the street. Please don't recognize me. How old ? Sarah Jane. I promise. I said all that in my mind. Following Wendy to Moore's death , her nephew , Arnett Moore , who lives in Oakland , began pushing for his aunt to get a Hollywood star on the iconic Walk of Fame. He talked to us about that effort for a story we ran last year.

S3: She was a trailblazer. She opened doors. And today a lot of the actors of color are not having to deal with some of the things she dealt with.

S2: While we've recently learned that the pioneering actress will finally be honored with her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next fall , Arnett Moore says the attention Juanita Moore's legacy got from our listeners may have had a little something to do with that.

S1: That was KQED is Sasha Coca talking about the recent acknowledgement and recognition of two prominent and long overlooked actors of color.