A seventh San Diego County jail death this year
Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Wednesday, April 13th>>>>
seven in-custody deaths this year
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….#######
Millions of gallons of wastewater have poured into the U.S. from Mexico. The agency responsible for overseeing wastewater infrastructure in the Tijuana River Valley will take action to mitigate the problem, under a settlement announced yesterday. The settlement sets forth a series of actions that are to be taken. If not completed, the lawsuits that led to the settlement will be revived. The lawsuits alleged the US section of the International Boundary and Water Commission violated the Clean Water Act by allowing polluted water and trash to flow into the US for years.
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A San Diego judge reaffirmed his ruling that invalidated the contract for the carnival ride’s operator for this year’s county fair. Judge Kenneth Medel previously ruled there was enough evidence to suggest the bidding process for the contract was rigged.
Board president Joyace Rowland said at a Tuesday board meeting that the fair will work to find a way to comply with the court order.
“i want to assure everyone that we're doing everything possible to preserve a full carnival midway at the fair.”
Fair officials had previously said that if a stay was not granted, the fair could be canceled.
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A superior court judge says Santee must throw out the approval of a project that was slated to build 3,000 homes in the hills north-east of San Diego.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the judge expressed concern the plan didn’t fully address whether the new residents would have time to evacuate during an emergency, like a wildfire.
The developers say the project isn’t dead, and that they will revise the environmental impact report to address the judge’s concerns.
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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.
For the seventh time this year, an inmate has died while in custody of the San Diego county sheriff’s department. The department has been under scrutiny since a state audit found inmate deaths at san diego county jails rank among the highest in the state … kpbs reporter kitty alvarado tells us civil rights groups met with the interim sheriff on (tuesday) to discuss the issue.
This meeting comes as another man died in custody on Monday.
The fact that we just had a seventh death in the county deaths yesterday demonstrates the urgent need now
Shane Harris, the president of the People's Association of Justice Advocates, scheduled the meeting before the latest death.
going to jail should not be a death sentence, that is what I told the sheriff and that is what I asked him to think about when he goes home at night
He said he pressed the interim sheriff to endorse the Saving Lives in Custody Act. That’s legislation that would make the department put in place recommendations made by a state audit of deaths in San Diego County jails.
Kitty Alvarado KPBS News
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more granny flats for those with low to moderate incomes could be on their way to San Diego. kpbs speak city heights reporter jacob aere explains.
The San Diego City Council has approved a new amendment to get more Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUS, built for low-income households… by providing incentives to their owners.
Daniel Shkolnik is a real estate broker and developer. He’s been at the forefront of building ADUs in San Diego.
“The average timeline to build a multifamily structure takes 3 to 4 years by the time you scout the site, do all the permitting and development, architecture, construction, you’re 3 to 4 years from the time you scout to the time you stabilize. That's a really long timeline.”
He says ADUs can be built in half the time.
Under the new rules, landlords can build a second unit to rent at market rate... if the first one is rented to low-income tenants for ten years... or moderate-income renters for 15 years. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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For more than 100 years, San Diegans who live in single family homes haven’t had to pay for trash pickup. But a new poll suggests voters might be willing to support a ballot measure that would change that– the so-called “People’s Ordinance.”
KPBS investigative reporter Claire Trageser says there’s one thing in particular about the ordinance that voters liked.
That’s free replacement of trash bins. San Diegans’ trash bins are frequently broken by trash trucks—as a KPBS investigation back in 2019 found, San Diegans ordered more than 17,000 replacement bins in just one year.
“People don't like the fact that they feel they get nickel and dimed when their trash can breaks. And they and they call the city and the city says, well, yeah, you can purchase another one. And they're like, purchase what? What, what's this about?”
Mike Zucchet is the general manager of the city’s white collar employee union. The San Diego Municipal Employees Association paid for a poll that found people are far more likely to support paying a fee for trash collection when you include the provision to quote “provide free containers
for curbside pickup”--in fact, it added 9 points to the overall support for the measure.
The poll found overall that voters support the measure by a 14-point margin.
Claire Trageser, KPBS News
If approved by the City Council, the measure would be on the November ballot.
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Coming up....we bring you the next installment of KPBS's Let's Talk About It, a new series where we answer tough questions from listeners like you.
How can we have a conversation and not let it get to someplace extreme? How do we keep someone's focus?
That’s next, just after the break.
in our ongoing series “let’s talk about it” we answer your questions about race and equity. in part 2 of the series, kpbs race and equity reporter cristina kim takes a look at the art of difficult conversations.
WHEN YOU FIRST MEET SETCHE KWAMU-NANA YOU MIGHT NOTICE HER BIG SMILE OR HER UNIQUE ONE-OF-A-KIND CLOTHING THAT SHE DESIGNS HERSELF…
SETCHE KWAMU-NANA, DEI PROFESSIONAL
I LIKE TO INTEGRATE CULTURES MY OUTFIT RIGHT HERE IS WHAT I CALL AFRICAN COUNTRY GIRL.
AN IMMIGRANT FROM CAMEROON … SHE CALLS HERSELF A BRIDGE MAKER BETWEEN CULTURES AND IDEAS.
I AM A DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PRACTITIONER AND A FACILITATOR FOR THE NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER.
FOR HER THIS WORK ISN’T A 9 TO 5 JOB… IT'S HOW SHE LIVES HER LIFE.
ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO AT THE HEIGHT OF THE 2020 RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS, KWAMU-NANA WAS LIVING IN SANTEE..
ON THE CORNER OF MISSION GORGE AND CUYAMACA STREET, WHICH IS WHERE THE PROTESTS AS THE BULK OF THE PROTESTS WERE HAPPENING AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREETS WERE INSIDE WHAT COUNTERPROTESTERS .
THE AIR WAS THICK WITH TENSION…
I COULD NOT IMAGINE HOW CAN ANYBODY BE COUNTER-PROTEST IN THIS? YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME.
SO SHE WALKED OVER TO TALK TO THEM TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND… IT DIDN’T GO PARTICULARLY WELL…
ONE MAN APPROACHED HER AND TOLD HER..
OH, I CAN'T BREATHE, WHICH I FOUND VERY OFFENSIVE BECAUSE WE'RE ON THE OTHER SIDE HOLDING SIGNS THAT SAID I CAN'T BREATHE.
SHE WALKED AWAY, GATHERED HERSELF BUT THEN KEPT COMING BACK. LISTENING AND ALSO EXPLAINING HER EXPERIENCES AS A BLACK WOMAN.
ALL TO SAY… KWAMU-NANA KNOWS HOW TO HAVE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS …WHICH IS WHAT MAKES HER THE PERFECT PERSON TO ANSWER THIS WEEK’S AUDIENCE QUESTION.
IT COMES FROM 36-YEAR-OLD LA MESA STORE KEEPER AND ARTIST ALLAN NAKKASH.
HE’S A FIRST GENERATION IRAQI-AMERICAN WHO SAYS HE’S NOTICED IT’S HARD TO TALK TO PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT POLITICAL VIEWS BECAUSE PEOPLE TEND TO SHUT DOWN. HE ASKS:
DRAWING FROM HER EXPERIENCES KWAMU- NANA HAS THREE TIPS FOR NAKKASH AND OTHERS LOOKING TO HAVE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS.
FIRST…
GO INTO THIS CONVERSATION NOT WITH AN INTENTION TO DESTROY, BUT AN INTENTION TO ENGAGE. IF YOU'RE GOING WITH THE AIM OF I WANT TO DESTROY YOU, SHUT DOWN VERY FAST,
SECONDLY…
GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE. EXPECT DISCOMFORT AND SEE IT AS OK, IN FACT NECESSARY. WE CANNOT GROW WITHOUT DISCOMFORT. [00:09:10][25.4]
AND FINALLY…
GET INTO A CONVERSATION NOT TO PROVE THAT YOU'RE RIGHT, BUT TO SHARPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUES.
WE COME TO CONFLICT WHEN NARROW EXPERIENCES LEAD US TO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT HOW THE WORLD REALLY IS.
BUT…SHE SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT ENGAGING IN CONVERSATIONS ISN’T ALWAYS POSSIBLE WHEN THE OTHER PERSON IS UNWILLING TO HEAR YOU. MUTUAL RESPECT AND DIGNITY ARE KEY SHE SAYS… BECAUSE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS ARE NOT ABOUT GIVING EQUAL CREDENCE TO PEOPLE WHO SPEW HATE AND RACISM.
SELF-CARE IS CHOOSING NOT TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITTED TO MISUNDERSTANDING YOU. THAT'S KIND OF MY MOTTO.
AND YET IN SPITE OF THE SET BACKS… SHE STILL BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF TAKING TIME TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THEY BELIEVE. FOR HER, IT’S NOT ABOUT FIXING ALL THE WORLD’S DIVISIONS THROUGH SOME MAGICAL KUMBAYA MOMENT….
“IT SHOULD NOT REMAIN IN CONVERSATION, RIGHT. WE NEED TO LEAD THEM INTO ACTION BUT NOT EVERY CONVERSATION WILL LEAD TO AN ACTION TOMORROW. BUT I SEE THEM AS SOWING SEEDS”
IT’S ABOUT TAKING THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS A MORE JUST WORLD.
CRISTINA KIM. KPBS NEWS.
Have a question? Leave us a voicemail at (619) 630-8516
Lela Lee created the comic Angry Little Asian Girl back in 2000. Moments with My Mother is her latest collection of comics, this one featuring the series’ titular character, a grade-school Korean girl and her mother. The comic is fueled by humor and insight that is both very personal and universal.
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke to Lela Lee about creating her comics character and what makes them both angry.
That was Beth Accomando speaking with Lela Lee. Her book Angry Little Asian Girl: Moments with My Mother was released last month. You can listen to the full interview at K-P-B-S-dot-ORG.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
