Addressing health impacts of pollution

Good Morning, I’m Emilyn Mohebbi, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, July 8th.

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San Diego has a plan for communities that suffer from high levels of pollution. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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We’ll still be feeling the summer heat this week.

In the deserts, an Excessive Heat Warning is in effect until 9 Wednesday night.

Temperatures there could reach up to 122 degrees.

Temps in the inland and mountain areas today (Monday) will be in the mid 80s, and by the coast, it’ll be in the mid 70s.

We heard from some San Diegans on how they’re dealing with the heat.

El Cajon resident Haneefa Khaaliq says dealing with heat comes with living there.

“I guess we're used to it by now, we know the cool spots that we can take a break.”

Khaaliq says one of those spots is the El Cajon library.

It’s one of 33 libraries and community centers serving as cool zones this summer.

For more information and help with free transportation to a cool zone you can call 2-1-1.

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The Secretary of State's office released its list of ballot numbers late last week.

The Justice for Renters Act is now Proposition 33.

The November statewide ballot initiative would allow more rent control in California.

It would remove the statewide ban on rent control, and give local communities the right to stabilize rents . . .

And make apartments more affordable for low- and middle-income renters.

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Also going before voters this November, is a 10-billion dollar bond for schools in the state.

If it passes, it would pay for repairs and upgrades at thousands of K through 12 schools and community colleges across California.

The state’s school repair fund is now nearly empty.

Local and state bonds like this one are the sole source of money for the fund.

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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.

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San Diego has a new plan for environmental justice.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it aims to rebuild the health of communities that suffer from high levels of pollution.

AB: San Diego's "Environmental Justice Element" is a new chapter in the city's general plan. It uses public health and air quality data to identify which neighborhoods need special attention. And it proposes strategies for achieving better health outcomes, like building better bike and pedestrian infrastructure to encourage more physical activity and phasing out industrial uses near homes. Barrio Logan resident Roberto Corral spoke at last week's City Council meeting, telling the council what it's like living next to a factory. RC: Tiene olores muy fuertes, muy desagradables… "There are strong and unpleasant odors," he says, "and it's right across the street from where we live. We're an older, low-income community. If we're living there, it's because we can't afford to move somewhere else." AB: Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said achieving true environmental justice will take more than just having a plan. SER: As fantastic as the EJ element is on paper, what will actually start impacting lives in a positive direction in a way that I think we all intend to is on the implementation side of things. AB: A 2021 update to the Barrio Logan community plan aims to phase out polluting industry as properties are sold and redeveloped. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

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Psychedelic mushrooms are illegal federally and in California.

But they aren’t hard to find if you want them.

Health reporter Heidi De Marco says as interest in micro-dosing psychedelics for mental health is growing, so are concerns over potential risks.

Karen Friery says her traumas began in childhood. From family issues, a difficult divorce, a high-stress biotech job and health challenges. KAREN FRIERY When you have kind of a debilitating PTSD effect from so many traumas in your life, you have to find a way to be your own advocate. In 2019, Friery says she experienced a seizure after taking her antidepressant. That’s when she decided to seek alternative treatment. KAREN FRIERY So I began reading a lot about clinical trials with psychedelic drugs. A study by University of California San Diego researchers found that microdosing-related Google searches in the U.S. have skyrocketed in the last decade. Kevin Yang is one of the researchers. DR. KEVIN YANG There's really good clinical trials so far, studies showing that it's useful for treating, you know, things like depression, PTSD, substance use disorders. Yang says to proceed with caution. KEVIN YANG There's a  mushroom called amanita muscaria. Very different strain and type of mushroom. It’s technically a poisonous mushroom. As of Monday, Sweets containing amanita muscaria are being tied to nearly 50 illnesses across two dozen states, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Friery spoke with a microdosing consultant who tailored a dosing plan and provided ongoing support. KAREN FRIERY You know, I'm not saying that, oh, it's a magic cure. just made the day easier to cope with. Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

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Palomar Health has acknowledged that hackers are responsible for some of the issues patients are experiencing.

North County Reporter Alexander Nguyen says the data breach happened between April 23rd and May 5th.

Palomar says it doesn’t know how many patients’ records were compromised in the breach… … but that it includes names … dates of birth … social security numbers … medical history … and health insurance information. Tony Anscombe from the cybersecurity firm E-SET … says P-H-M-G patients should assume their data has been breached. “Yeah, this is 2 months since the breach happened. I'd also go back and check medical insurance claims that nobody's been making fraudulent claims in the last 2 months on your insurance policy. I'd lock my credit file. Now, what that means is, nobody can actually use your social security number or your personal information to gain access to credit.” Anyone with questions about the breach can call 8-8-8 … 8-2-9 …  5-7-3-6 AN/KPBS.

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It’s summertime and for many, that means camp - including those with autism.

Reporter Katie Hyson visited a surf camp to see why it doubled in size.

Here we go! Paddle, paddle, paddle paddle! On a Monday morning, surf boards line the sand of La Jolla shore. A dozen kids and young adults practice standing up on them. All the students are somewhere on the wide spectrum of autism. Each has their own coach. So we’re paddling, paddling, paddling. Want to make sure we keep our feet together, see? One coach moves the limbs of a child into seal position on the board. When his limbs splay and wander, she gently places them back. One student lets his coach pour water over his hands. Getting used to the feeling. Feel good? Another pops up on his board, ready to go. Air guitar solo . . .  Rock n’ roll! Andrea Korogi is  the director of the Autism Society of San Diego. She says parents started this surf camp 22 years ago. It takes anyone over age 5. And staff say they don’t turn anyone away if they can’t pay. For a long time, the 4-day camp offered 90 spots over 5 weeks. But Korogi says demand was bigger. We were turning away hundreds of people every summer. This year, they partnered with Surf Education Academy to double the spots. And Korogi says they still only have a few left. San Diego has a much higher rate of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Nationally, the CDC reports it’s 1 in 36. In San Diego? Korogi says it’s 1 in 22. Almost every single classroom has at least one individual with autism. Korogi says San Diego offers better autism services than many places in the country. And military families request to be placed here to access those services. Driving up the numbers. From the shore, Andrea Roletter watches her son Oliver. He’s 7. Though he can’t read yet, he’s obsessed with books. Service workers – Like mailman and gardeners . . .  He will want to know what they're doing, why they're doing it, when they're coming back. And the water. Loves the swimming pool, loves the ocean, just lights up around water. He is not water safe yet, but we're trying. The camp was created to promote water safety. Children with autism, prone to wandering off, are also drawn to water. Even if they can’t swim. One study found they’re 160 times more likely to drown than neurotypical children. Drowning accounts for a staggering 91% of deaths of children under 14 with autism. So, Roletter enrolled Oliver in surf camp for water safety. Socialization. And a third, big reason – Fun. I just want him to have fun. His sister who is a typical child, as one might say, gets to go to all these different camps, and there's really limited options for him. So I'm just excited for him to experience summer camp. Oliver was excited, too. He was up at 6:00 AM this morning, ready to go, getting the whole family up. It's time, it's time. It's surf camp. But when we got here, he got a little bit shy and a little not so sure about it. Roletter isn’t sure how the day will pan out. He could love it and do it, or he could just be distracted by something and then focus on that, and then a whole day could go by without him actually doing any surfing. That’s why the one-on-one coaching at this camp is so helpful. They need that person who's constantly with them, talking to them, going with their flow, but also paying attention and looking at them. Oliver’s coach is Annie Devine. She says he’s asking a lot of questions. What are we doing? Where are we going? What are we doing later? Who is this? What is that person doing? . . . She says coaching these children is a lot more visual and less auditory. You have to really demonstrate more because there's a lot of communication differences. And a lot of times you have to figure out how that specific camper communicates and receives information. Before the morning was over, Devine and Oliver rode the waves together on the board. She’s confident that by the end of the week, she can get him surfing on his own. She says she’s seen it before in similar students. It genuinely surprised me when I was paired up with a camper who didn't even want to get off the blanket, didn't want to touch the sand, didn't want to do anything, and was just scared of everything and shy. And by the end of the week, she was surfing. The Autism Society dreams of expanding the camp to school breaks and weekends. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Emilyn Mohebbi. I’ll be off the next few days, so my colleague John Carroll will be filling in as podcast host, until Debbie Cruz is back on Thursday. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.