Carrier USS Lincoln Headed For San Diego After Record Deployment And More Local News

January 2, 2020 at 3:00 AM PST

Speaker 1: 00:00 Speaker 2: 00:33 Speaker 3: 00:48 Speaker 4: 01:00 Speaker 3: 01:14 Speaker 2: 01:35 Speaker 1: 01:53 Speaker 2: 02:46 Speaker 1: 02:59 Speaker 2: 03:43 Speaker 1: 03:56 Speaker 5: 03:56 Speaker 6: 04:09 Speaker 5: 04:25 Speaker 2: 04:38 Speaker 1: 05:58 Speaker 1: 06:54 Speaker 7: 07:45 Speaker 8: 07:58 Speaker 7: 08:11 Speaker 9: 08:41 Speaker 7: 08:45 Speaker 9: 08:48 Speaker 7: 08:53 Speaker 9: 08:59 Speaker 10: 09:10 Speaker 7: 09:13 Speaker 10: 09:17 Speaker 7: 09:26 Speaker 9: 09:58 Speaker 7: 10:40 Speaker 10: 11:04 Speaker 7: 11:06 Speaker 10: 11:14 Speaker 9: 11:24 Speaker 7: 11:35 Speaker 10: 11:54 Speaker 2: 11:58 Speaker 10: 12:19 Speaker 11: 12:32 Speaker 10: 12:43 Speaker 11: 12:44 Speaker 10: 13:00 Speaker 10: 13:59 Speaker 10: 14:56 It's Thursday, January 2nd. I'm Deb Welsh and you're listening to San Diego news matters from KPBS coming up. The USS Lincoln is about to wrap up a record breaking deployment and across the state there are too few male non white teachers in our schools and those that are there often don't last. We're not respected at the same level as other teachers. We're just seen as discipline experts that more coming up right after the break, the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is on a record breaking deployment. KPBS military reporter Steve Walsh interviewed the captain who says the ship is slowly making its way to its new home port of San Diego. The USS Lincoln left Norfolk, Virginia. April 1st the carrier was rushed to the middle East to counter what the white house saw is an escalation of tension with Iran. Captain Walt's slaughter was reached via radio from somewhere in the Philippine sea. We certainly stayed, uh, quite a bit longer than we, uh, than we planned. But that's okay. Cause you know, I think everybody realized the important importance of our mission and promoting, you know, maritime security in a very, uh, unstable part of the world. After nine months, the captain says they are working their way to San Diego before they arrive. The Lincoln will break the post cold war record for the longest deployment by a U S carrier. In the meantime, families for the Lincoln's crew of 3,300 not counting the Airwing are left to debate when to move to the West coast from Virginia. Steve Walsh KPBS news, California is 19 to 25 year olds who may be in the country illegally are now eligible for publicly funded health coverage. KPBS health reporter Taren Minto went to a San Diego clinic where they're hopeful the change will improve health outcomes and reduce expensive emergency costs inside the family health centers waiting room. A small flyer advertises help enrolling in Medicare. The top requirement listed is legal California residency, but that changed this new year as coverage now extends to low income young adults who can't prove their immigration status. Jeff Garrett oversees program operations at family health centers of San Diego. He says the change, we'll let this group get care before a health need becomes dire and costly. Right now they're restricted to emergency care coverage. Treat someone for a medical condition in an outpatient setting at a fraction of the cost. Officials estimate about 10,000 people will be affected in San Diego County and 90,000 will be impacted across the state. The state budget included $98 million to cover the expansion. Taryn mento, KPBS news, crumbling Bluffs and Del Mara threatening the coastal railway line, which keeps thousands of passengers and millions of tons of freight off of interstate five. KPBS has Donald Bloodworth has more. The North County transit district was forced to close the coastal line briefly this month after yet another bluff collapse brought the train tracks within a few feet of the cliffs that rise above the beach. Stephen Forden is the director of railroad engineering at North County transit. He told KPBS mid day addition that Senator Toni Atkins provided a $30 million state funding grant to fund the next stage of Cliff's stabilization. We've asked for all of that money up front in order to perceive sooner than later to do the work that would finally stabilize the Bluffs for the next day, 20 to 30 to 40 year timeframe when a potential alternative route is explored. More planned closures will begin in January. Donald Bloodworth KPBS news, some of next year's newest cars are on display inside the San Diego convention center for the international auto show. KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman tells us about it. [inaudible] more than 400 cars are taking over half a million square feet inside the convention center. The auto show runs there through Sunday. Richard new and Dyke with the car show says attendees will see some of the newest car models and concepts as well as some more exotic ones. We have cars from Herbie the love bug down on one end to exotic vaults with Rolls-Royces and Lamborghini's and Ferrari's in it and then we have the everyday cars you see every day. So we've got something from everyone. Over 25 manufacturers are here on site. There will be test drives available as well as representatives to answer questions on site. There's also an off road course that we'll be putting Jeeps to the test. SDG is sponsoring electric vehicle day at the auto show on Thursday. Matt Hoffman, K PBS news. The San Diego zoo says one of its elephants has died. KPBS reporter Prius Sri. There has more 48 year old Tembo was an African Bush elephant who lived at the Balboa park zoo since 1983 her name means elephant in Swahili. Zoo officials say Timbo had been under veterinary care, including STEM cell therapy to help with age related ailments. After noticing that her condition was deteriorating over the weekend, zoo officials decided to euthanize her. Timbo came to the San Diego zoo from private owners who used her as an animal actor. She was featured in the 1974 television show born free. The zoo says elephants typically live 30 to 50 years. Prius Sri, they're K PBS news. A judge will decide whether a group of homeless mothers living in a vacant home in Oakland without permission can stay there for the California report. Kate Wolf has the story. The judge heard arguments despite having issued a tentative ruling in favor of the company that owns the West Oakland house. An attorney for Catamount said, the women are illegally occupying the house and should be evicted. Attorneys for the mothers argued housing is a human right and if evicted, the women would be homeless. Carol Fife is with ACE action Oakland, the group supporting the moms five called on supporters expand the movement. We need janitors for housing seniors. We need labor for housing disabled, disabled. We need everybody for housing because it is a human right that you need to survive. The Alameda County Sheriff's office says they will enforce an eviction if the judge orders that. The mom's say no matter the ruling, they have no plans to leave for the California report. I'm Kate Wolf. Over the next century, scientists say about three fourths of California salmon and trout could disappear, but as capital public radios, as we're David Romero reports, new research shows that even with climate change, there's hope for the species. That's if the water doesn't warm too much and if their habitats stop vanishing. You see Davis fish scientists, rubber Lusardi worked on a recent study where they tested how baby coho salmon respond to water conditions in the Shasta river. We actually saw the growth peaked at much warmer water temperatures than we ever anticipated. The higher temperatures speed up the fish's metabolisms, so they eat more often. Warmer water has more food sources, but he says there's a limit and their growth actually continued to increase positively at those temperatures. But several of the fish actually died. So it shows you that this is only to a certain extent still. Lusardi says he's unsure if those fish would have stayed where the water was warm or leave in search of cooler water as the climate crisis worsens in Sacramento. I'm Ezra David Romero. On Tuesday we brought you the story of a mom mourning the murder of her son. Today we join a group of other moms of murdered sons and daughters as they go inside Cintanilla state prison there they want to break down the walls between victim and offender. KPBS says Maya troubles. He first brought you this story earlier this year. Here's the second of her two part series. It's seven o'clock in the morning somewhere off interstate eight we'll see at the prison just as they do every Monday. A group named mothers with a message is convoying to an hour East of San Diego. We're going to send to Nyla state prison today. It is a level four and level three prison meaning level four is the highest level five is death row level four is a maximum. Dennis Martinez specializes in preparing high risk offenders to face the parole board, but before they face the board, they have to face mothers with a message first. These women represent the countless local moms who have buried their sons and daughters murdered by people like the ones they'll be talking to today. The group starts in D yard, a level three high security part of the prison. The women and the inmates take their seats in a circle inside the prison chapel. My name is Bev Lynn and I'm from Southeastern San Diego. Bevel and Bravo son was murdered in 2012 we all died with him. Me and my entire family were killed that night as well. She says, many prisoners really think about what happens to a victim's family once they start serving their time to where maybe some of you did not get to see our victim. You don't know what happened or are you always wanted to apologize, but you just couldn't. We're here to be that face for you and it's like why her? She wasn't a gang banger. Lisa Ortiz talks about the murder of her daughter. It was laying on the street after she was shot. She asked the officer, am I going to be okay? She was scared. He told me she was scared. The group then moves to be yard level for maximum security. It's a sea of blue and green uniforms as each inmate is carefully patted down by one of several guards before they are allowed to enter the classroom. Some of these men have been in prison since they were teenagers and some may never be eligible for parole and those that do get out may or may not be changed. Mistakes happen, but for now they've come to listen and even to say sorry. Sorry. Sorry. It doesn't cover it. Sorry. Sorry. To a lot of people is a word and it doesn't cover the pain. How do you give a mom her child back? You can't. How do you give the children their dad back? Okay, I love this class. I know I owe them more than an apology. I owe them my life. I regret they were making such a decision that took ball was to me a gang member was a son to his mother. It took me like two days to get over just her message, her story, just feeling her staring at me. It was, I felt it. It, it hurt. That's when we came together and we said, what can we do? What can we give God? Those were Jason Hernandez, Antonio Cruz and Gabriel Binya together with other inmates. They formed a committee across racial lines and organized an auction of art from behind the walls in a donated space in downtown San Diego. The inmates pen and pencil drawings, their pastels and their watercolor art are displayed on tables. Dear mothers with a message, well, Leah Moore is married to one of the inmates who organize the donation. She reads from a letter written by the men at Centinela state prison. We now know that we have the power to assist in the healing process through displaying true remorse and living immense. The first time somebody in the prison had done something good. That feeling that they get, they're going to start chasing that. And the next thing you know that life has changed. All pieces were sold, proceeds that will be donated to the families of new victims to help pay for headstones, burial clothes or mortuary costs. A small token to ease the life sentence still being served by those left behind Maya triple C K PBS news. The number of non white teachers in California isn't keeping pace with the number of black and Brown students in our classrooms. One problem is the too many of these teachers leave the profession as part of our California dream collaboration. K QEDs. Vanessa Rancano takes us to meet a group of men trying to find a solution. Darryl McKellar makes teaching look easy over 20 years in the classroom at the Los Angeles English teacher has mastered some of the jobs. Trickiest tasks, title, story, lottery, and what am I asking? How to get students to connect to the texts he teaches. Bring away the end up. When you say, when I say lottery, what do you think? Automatic money. Brown. What do you think? Drama. Why drama? More money. More problems. Who said it is a rapper and how to crack his students up. More money. Mood problem. Wait. [inaudible] baby. Baby is notorious. B. I. G but he also says, uh, we can't expect to change the word until we do what? Change who change itself. The records showed us donuts are engaged. Just 1% of teachers in California are black men like McKellar. That's why he works with the local teacher's college to help train others, but just preparing them for the classroom isn't enough to keep them there. A lot of teachers don't stay, especially young black, young Brown teachers don't choose to stay because they don't feel supported. Poor working conditions are the thing most likely to drive. Any teacher from the profession, but teachers of color are concentrated in schools with the most challenging conditions. That's a big part of the reason they leave at higher rates and black and Brown men are especially likely to quit. Longtime Compton unified teacher, Marco Godinez has some thoughts on why. The only time I ever seem to get a phone call is, Hey, we've got these kids misbehaving in this class, can you come over and help them calm down and we're not respected at the same level as other teachers. We're just seen as discipline experts. A few school districts around the country are creating support networks specifically for male teachers of color, places to learn from peers and share expertise, but at Godinez school in Compton, they're trying something a little different. School leadership is working side by side with its male teachers of color the morning of morning, welcome back to our Compton male teacher of color network meeting on a Saturday at Domingo's high school in Compton, a dozen teachers are gathered in the library. The principal is here, the assistant principal, even the district superintendent laptops are out around the table. One teacher is busy trying to wrangle his toddlers. There are bagels and coffee, Google docs and a projector. The teachers paired up and visited each other's classrooms recently. What I noticed in Minnesota, Janie, he's saying, don't worry about the mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes. They spend some time sharing strategies. They discovered. I think I kind of put the kids a little bit more defensive. I need to emphasize with the students more than they turn to something else. There'd been a lockdown on campus a day earlier after a student made a violent threat. Our kids don't know how to react to that trauma because they're kids. They're kids. It's like we have to model that, and principal Blaine Watson is listening intently. He chimes in, literally woken up in the middle of the night thinking about kids here at school like, are they okay for the teachers seeing their principal be so vulnerable? Humanizes him, helps them trust him. I don't know how to deal with that. This is also a place where he seeks their advice. It's changed the power dynamic on campus. Watson has given teachers more space to shape decisions. In turn, Godinez and other teachers have stepped into leadership roles. For me, this is the first time that I've felt like we're getting down to the actual issues that are plaguing this school and we're finally getting down to real solutions. The teachers in this room feel listened to and needed, and that could be the thing that keeps them in the classroom. In Compton, I'm Vanessa Ranconyo. Thanks for listening to San Diego news matters. If you'd like the show, do us a favor and tell your friends and family to subscribe to the show.

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After a long stint in the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln will eventually arrive in San Diego after breaking the post-Cold War record for having the longest deployment by a U.S. carrier. Plus, Medi-Cal expands health coverage for young adults who can't prove legal assistance and the International Auto Show returns to San Diego and the San Diego Zoo announces the death of an elephant named Tembo.