Encinitas Latest California City To Ban Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers And More Local News
Speaker 1: 00:00 It's Friday, December 20th I'm Deb Welsh and you're listening to San Diego news matters from KPBS. Coming up in Sanitas becomes the latest California city to ban gas-powered leaf blowers and it's tough to find venues to skate in San Diego, especially if you want to play roller Derby. I started just saying, we need to think about this differently because I can't accept that there's nowhere for us to play roller Derby that more San Diego news stories coming up right after the break. Encinitas is the latest city in San Diego County to ban gas powered leaf blowers citing noise and emissions. It goes into effect for businesses today. KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman spoke to a tree trimmer who isn't happy about the move Speaker 2: 00:52 functional tools. Brian Bishop is the owner of bishops tree service, which operates in North County, including an Encinitas. We produce a massive amount of sod as that will kill the grass and a lot of times we're actually able to blow the majority out of the grass with the leaf blower so that the grass stays healthy. But bishops. Gas blowers are now banned in Encinitas where official say electric blowers will make the city quieter and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The California air resources board says running a commercial leaf blower for one hour emits pollution comparable to driving a midsize car. 1100 miles. People caught in violation of the new law face. A a hundred dollar fine for a first offense, $200 for a second and $1,000 for additional violations. Matt Hoffman KPBS news Speaker 1: 01:34 Encinitas has a rebate program to help businesses and residents transition away from gas blowers to electric ones. The band for residents goes into effect next month. Balance point brewing company has been sold again this time to Kings and convicts. A small brewery from Illinois. KPBS has Donald Bloodworth has more Speaker 3: 01:54 constellation brands. The distributor of Modelo Corona and Pacific co bought the San Diego based brewery for $1 billion back in 2015 following a big dip in Bellis point sales. The beer giant was sold the Kings and conduct's this month for an undisclosed amount. Brendan waters is the CEO of Kings and conducts. He told KPBS Monday edition. Then his nine person company is ready to innovate with the brand. After some beer critics say it lost touch with its craft roots allowing ballast point to try new things that are a little bit wacky and out there that might not work on a national scale. But for from our standpoint, that's a a real tangible difference that we'll see and why independence and craft is important. The acquisition means that ballast point is now considered a craft beer. Once again. Donald Bloodworth KPBS news, Speaker 1: 02:46 a new report shows that the remained in Mexico program is driving down the number of asylum seekers who show up for their immigration hearings. KPBS reporter max Rivlin Adler takes a look at the data. Speaker 4: 02:58 The Trump administration launched the remain in Mexico program last January in an effort to cut down on what it called catch and release policies that encouraged immigrants to skip their immigration court dates. But new data from Syracuse university show the program has increased the amount of migrants who missed their court dates. Only 50% of asylum seekers sent back to Mexico under remain in Mexico have shown up for their court hearings. Many of them have had their asylum cases closed in absentia. In contrast, during the same time, 89% of immigrants allowed to pursue asylum from inside the United States attended their court hearings along the California border. The numbers of asylum seekers sent back to Mexico under remain in Mexico has declined. This corresponds with the drop in the apprehensions of migrants along the border. In November, 194 asylum seekers were sent back to Mexico at its height in July. Over 1500 people were sent back. Max Waveland Adler key PBS news. Speaker 1: 03:55 As we celebrate the holidays, it's important to remember that Christmas is one of the deadliest days for drunk driving. One group of high school students in San Diego is tackling the problem in a unique way. KPV as reporter Prius either as their story of the students are in a Serra high school club called elevated, which promotes substance abuse prevention. They visited the country wine and spirits store in Tierrasanta for their annual sticker campaign. They put stickers on bottles, warning customers about the risks of drunk driving during the holidays. Kay Chaisson is a sophomore. Speaker 5: 04:29 If you are the host of a party, you have to be aware of where the alcohol is and where the people who are not supposed to be drinking the alcohol are at all times just to make sure that they don't get into your stash in the closet. Speaker 1: 04:39 They're hoping the campaign might help spread awareness to the risks of underage alcohol use and drunk driving. PREA. Sure. Either KPBS news, more people are buying marijuana since California legalized its retail sale two years ago. KPB science and technology reporter Shalina Celani says the scientific research to show consumers the risks and benefits of marijuana use is just starting to accelerate. Her story is today's installment of our week long series, high hopes California's plot experiment, Speaker 5: 05:13 bass heavy music thumps through West Hollywood cafe. I'm Thursday night, we'll smoke, fills the air, not from cigarettes. Those are banned inside California restaurants. These vapors are from marijuana because this is the original cannabis cafe, the nation's first eatery where customers can order marijuana products with their meals. Tonight, Ricardo Baca is sitting on an Island overlooking the patio. He's a renowned, independent marijuana journalist. Speaker 6: 05:38 You look around. This is pretty normal. There's people of all ages, all walks of life. It's a pretty, she, she neighborhood Speaker 5: 05:46 California legalized retail sale of recreational marijuana two years ago. The original cannabis cafe opened in October. Speaker 6: 05:53 I think what this tells us about where we are is that culturally cannabis has finally arrived in the mainstream, Speaker 5: 06:00 but humans have been using marijuana since ancient times to treat health problems like insomnia, anxiety, and pain. Well, we know it can feel good to consume marijuana. There's still not enough science to really know what it does to the human body and brain. That's 50 years after THC was discovered. The molecule and marijuana that gets us high, Speaker 6: 06:20 that showed up signal a wave of an international research. American drug policy prevented research from happening. In most parts of the world, Speaker 5: 06:30 the federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule one elicit drug. The same category Carolyn is in the label means there's literal federal funding for research into the health benefits of marijuana, but over the last two decades, States like California have stepped up to fill that research gap. Speaker 7: 06:47 We did some of the early studies that showed actually that constituents of marijuana were helpful in controlling certain kinds of chronic hypersensitivity pain that are not well controlled by things like aspirin or Advil. Speaker 5: 07:01 Igor grant is the director of UC San Diego center for medicinal cannabis research. The center began a few years after California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Some funding is federal, but the majority is state money and private donations. Researchers have already completed seven cannabis clinical trials with humans and more underway. Speaker 7: 07:20 Some of the other work that we're engaged in moving forward are could kind of a dialogue which is a non psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, a be useful in conditions like autism. Would it be helpful in managing the early symptoms of psychosis? Speaker 5: 07:37 The new research is focused on endocannabinoids. These are natural molecules in the human body that sends signals different cells regulating processes like pain and appetite, and it turns out certain compounds in marijuana work just like those endocannabinoids. But grant says that schedule one federal classification still limits research. Speaker 7: 07:59 People are often saying, well, California has legalized marijuana. You know, why can't we go to one of the dispensary's, buy a bunch of whatever it is and do a clinical study? It's absolutely illegal. At the federal level. Speaker 5: 08:13 Grant says there still a lot of questions like could marijuana products damage the liver if they're mixed with other substances? It's not just scientists that want to find out. There's a growing appetite appetite among consumers to get some answers. So this is going to be your full indicus screen right here. It's going to, Chris Simpson is a bud tender at dispensary urban leaf in mission Valley. It's going to be a very nice in the curve for when you are trying to help with sleep. During my hour long conversation with Simpson, about two dozen customers shuffled into the dispensary. A lot of customers would call us and see what can I take for Parkinson's? What can I take for restless leg syndrome and says he's done his research on marijuana and it makes him happy to help customers with their medical needs, but he doesn't like being seen as a doctor. It is a lot of pressure on a public standpoint that we as a whole is what's helping these customers on a daily basis and we're not licensed like your medical doctors are working since as he hopes scientific research can accelerate because he sees the demand not only for recreational but medical marijuana every day and he doesn't want his customer's health depending on trial and error. Shalina Celani K PBS news. Speaker 1: 09:24 If you want to play roller Derby, it's tough to find venues to skate in in San Diego. KPBS has Beth Huck Amando says, Derby United is taking steps to make roller Derby easier to play here Speaker 5: 09:38 nilly. Goldfarb loves to tell people what she does for fun. You tell someone you play roller Derby and they go, why? Hey, I'm a roller Derby player. They're like, that's incredible. Tell me more. And all of a sudden they feel like by like being in your presence and hearing about what you do, that they somehow are brought up through that shared experience with you. Better known by her Derby name of Isabel ringer Goldfarb started with roller Derby in San Diego back in 2005 the organization used to be called the San Diego Derby dolls, but last year it changed its name to Derby United to be more inclusive. The team plays bank cheque and flat track roller Derby and one thing has always been an issue. It is extremely difficult to find somewhere to play roller Derby. If you play a sport like basketball, soccer, a lot of those facilities are publicly provided. Speaker 5: 10:29 The city has places for you to play. Roller Derby does not. Roller Derby needs a very large space and we have activities every night of the week. We need many hours every day, so having a dedicated facility is really what makes sense for this sport and no one's going to provide it for us. Goldfarb became general manager early on and wouldn't accept that there was nowhere for her team to play, so she took matters into her own hands and decided they simply had to build their own outdoor facility. We are at the new Derby United headquarters. We're on federal Boulevard and in Canto what these were were four parcels of land, just dirt lots. And what we're doing is developing a place so we can have some roller Derby tracks out here and have a full time dedicated roller Derby facility. Kelly Garner, who prefers her Derby name of Kelly can Bay handles public relations for the organization. Speaker 5: 11:23 Now with us finding this property in this area, we want to make sure that we are fulfilling the community's needs as well and so that we're able to bring in the community, give them somewhere to go, give them something fun to do, something fun to watch where they don't have to go far, where they don't have to use their cars to drive down to the ballpark. And then we've also been working with the city to try and get a bus stop in this area so that people can get here easier. Derby United runs multiple programs for women and girls, bang, track and flat and even a men's team. But women are definitely the focus of Derby. United and Goldfarb loves how it can empower them. Sometimes when you're navigating the world, you don't feel that powerful. You don't feel like you can make good on something like this because the folks around you don't keep telling you that. Speaker 5: 12:07 They keep telling you, you really can't. You know, this is too difficult. It's too long, it's too hard, it's too expensive. You should stop now and make better use of your time and your, your lovely feminine skills or whatever it is. That's not what they say, but it is what they mean. Goldfarb and Derby United challenge that every day by simply doing what they love. That's one of the things I'm most excited about is to give all these folks who maybe don't know a ton about what we're doing. Some of that experience of coming out here and they see people, especially women putting themselves out there in a physical powerful way that is empowering just to be around, you know, our core values, our athleticism, empowerment, inclusion, respect. And in the outside world where everything is a hot mess and a lot of those things don't feel that valued. Speaker 5: 12:54 You come here and you see that as an ideal and something that is actually happening and getting lifted up. That feels awesome just to be around, even if you're not partaking, but this is a sport where people pay to play and pay to travel with a team across the country and even around the globe. The combination of member fees, gear expenses, and travel costs can run high. I mean all that being said, I wouldn't trade all of those credit card bills and all of that stuff from flying around for the last 15 years for anything, anything. Garner agrees. She says she needs Derby to skate fast. Do you need to feel that you know the wind in your hair? You need to get that aggression out cause yeah, real life is hard. If you want to see this passion and action, then check back in February as Derby United plans to kick off a new era of roller Derby in a facility they built themselves. Beth like Amando KPBS news. Thanks for listening to San Diego news matters. Do us a favor, and if you appreciate the podcast rate or review us on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you.
