Banning homeless encampments in San Diego
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, June 15th.
Banning homeless encampments in parts of the city of San Diego. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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A 55 year old man who was homeless died from Hepatitis A earlier this month.
County officials announced his death yesterday.
It’s the second Hepatitis A death among the county’s homeless population this year.
30 cases have been reported this year, and 19 of those were among people experiencing homelessness.
Hep-A is usually transmitted by touching objects or eating food that someone with the virus has touched.
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The county is waiting for final approval from the state on funding for youth suicide prevention programs.
The more than 4 million dollars would go towards developing and testing new prevention methods to prevent youth suicide and suicide attempts.
Some of the methods include, continued contact and follow-up care when a young person is thinking about committing suicide or attempts self-harm.
According to county data, the suicide rate in the 15 to 19 age group increased 29-percent between 20-17 and 20-21.
The state Department of Public Health could approve the funding during final budget deliberations.
If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Suicide and Crisis lifeline at 9-8-8.
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The city of Carlsbad has reversed their decision on flying the rainbow pride flag at city hall every June.
Mayor pro tem Priya Bhat Patel says the raising of the rainbow flag was approved on Tuesday.
“The intent which was to make sure that the flying of the intersectional pride flag at City Hall is solely Government speech. Reflecting the city's own message, and that we're not converting the city's flag polls into public forums.”
The raising of commemorative flags was voted down in May because the city of Carlsbad didn’t have a flag policy in place… and a policy change needs four votes.
However, a flag raising only needs a three vote majority.
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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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A ban on homeless encampments in certain parts of the city of San Diego is on its way to becoming law.
We get more from reporter John Carroll.
After hours of testimony, the unsafe camping ordinance passed tuesday night by a vote of 5 to 4. council member stephen whitburn proposed the law. he and mayor todd gloria say it’s critical to end homelessness. but the measure faced significant opposition during public testimony and from some council members. vivian moreno says it will give san diegans false hope that something significant is being done to address the problem. “it appears the police department is now going to have this ordinance to enforce with no additional resources at their disposal.” the ordinance will ban encampments within two blocks of schools, in some parks, in canyons, along waterways and near trolley tracks. it’s expected to go into effect in late july. jc, kpbs news.
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The homeless crisis impacts thousands of students in our region.
Here’s MG Perez with more.
There are an estimated 11-thousand homeless students spread across San Diego. Those numbers come from families reporting their situation to schools that then report the data to the state.Some of those students survive with their families in a car or tent near the school they attend…that is now against the law approved this week by San Diego city council. Zulema Guardado is a mom with a 7 year old son. They have been unhoused for months…and she’s afraid to lose him if they can’t find a permanent home now. “I come from the system…I come from group homes and foster homes..and I don’t want that for my son.” The recent regional task force on homelessness point-in-time count…did not count students. Families self-reporting last year…revealed 30-thousand homeless students from TK to college across San Diego county. MGP KPBS News.
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The Biden administration says it will allow tens of thousands of Afghans to remain in the U-S.
They were people who helped American troops or advanced western interests during the Afghanistan war.
They were allowed to come to the U-S two years ago under a temporary program that's scheduled to expire this summer.
But as Carson Frame reports for the American Homefront Project, extending the program is creating some challenges.
As the war in afghanistan ended and the country devolved into chaos, nangialy nang worked alongside american troops at kabul airport, trying to maintain a security perimeter. the us was in the middle of a massive airlift operation to evacuate vulnerable afghans and foreign citizens. nang: i was active interpreter and working shoulder by shoulder with us forces..to the very last day. i was in uniform and i was on duty at kabul, and my family was living in kunar province. nang had a longstanding relationship with us troops. he’d worked with them since 2007. nang: … same goals, same target and same achievement. and as the taliban closed in, nang and his family stepped onto an evacuation flight too. they were among more than 124,000 people evacuated from kabul in the final weeks of the war - including about 76,000 afghans. nang: i’ve been told by my advisor like hey, we are leaving, bring your family here. nang and many other evacuees were resettled in the us under a temporary status called humanitarian parole, which protects them from deportation. it also allows them to work, rent apartments, get drivers’ licenses, and enroll their kids in school. nang settled in san antonio, where he, his wife and 8 children share a three bedroom apartment. but parole expires later this summer for most afghan evacuees. nang: so if you you're losing when you were parole expired, it means that you lost everything, and you just you will be stuck in the middle of the street, you will get homeless the biden administration has announced a plan to extend parole another two years. it also said earlier this month that it will streamline the extension process. but afghan evacuees may still fall through the cracks. under the administration’s plan, some will have their parole extensions considered automatically… while others have to submit applications online and might need legal help to do so.costantino: so it's not going to be a slam dunk, clear pathway…margaret costantino directs the center for refugee services in san antonio. she says she expects to see a lot of confusion and panic from her clients.costantino: …there are a lot of people who don't read or write in any language, and they don't understand. i mean, it's complicated for everybody.the government is hosting events in a handful of cities to help with parole renewals. and advocates are trying to spread the word. shawn vandiver is the founder of afghan evac, a coalition that has developed a program to share information with afghan community leaders. vandiver: i hope that the processing times are swift, i hope that it happens quickly. i am really concerned about folks who aren't going to hear about this, people who are sort of isolated in their communities still he says he’s grateful that the white house is taking the problem seriously and trying to find solutions. vandiver: the administration has been working very hard… to ensure that the mission of welcome is able to continue.raise up nat of tv in house and chatter ultimately, nangialy nang hopes to get a green card, so he can stay in the u.s. permanently. but for now, he's hoping to have his parole extended with enough time to spare his livelihood. he works full time for a refugee resettlement agency helping people in the same situation he's in. nang:yeah, it's affecting everything like mentally physically…because when you go into bed and you're just thinking about that, like, okay, what's going to happen … so it’s a big risk that you’re faced with. though he’s always lived a risky life, nang finds this kind of uncertainty hard to tolerate. i’m carson frame in san antonio.
TAG: That story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans.
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Coming up.... How the recent gloomy weather could affect our mood. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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May Gray and June Gloom, yes, San Diegans are all too familiar with this time of year.
But reporter Melissa Mae tells us about another thing this overcast weather can affect.
MM: If you’ve felt this year’s May gray and June gloom have been extra gray and gloomy…well.. You’re right. According to the National Weather Service San Diego, there were 20 days of May gray, 11 is the average. And June gloom is in full effect with no clear days so far. MM: According to clinical psychologist Joanna Savarese, during this time of year, eating and sleeping patterns and mood could be affected because the weather doesn’t match our expectations JS “So when there is a mismatch between what somebody expects and what actually is reality, there could be a sense of loss and when there is a sense of loss, there tends to be low motivation. You can be tired, don't want to engage in activities you usually will engage in.” MM: Savarese encourages people to check in with children and elders about their moods and be alert to changes in behavior. Melissa Mae KPBS News.
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And before you go… are you planning a trip to any theme parks this summer?
Well we have one right here in San Diego that’s getting some praise.
Belmont Park in Mission Beach was rated the third most affordable theme park in the state.
It was also rated the fifth best park overall.
The rating is from the 20-23 California Theme Park Index put out by “Home to go.”
The vacation rental specialist based its ratings on affordability and the number of rides and attractions at a park.
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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 more local news, plus, we hear from a police officer making an impact on the future of policing. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.
