Bob Filner’s complicated legacy

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, April 29th

Former San Diego mayor Bob Filner has died. More on that next. But first... the headlines….

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The National Weather Service says warmer weather is sticking around for most of the week.

If you're along the coast, expect partly cloudy skies with some fog in the mornings and a bit of a breeze. Highs will be in the mid-60s — same goes for the mountains.

Out in the desert, it’s looking mostly clear and sunny, with moderate winds and highs in the mid-80s.

Heads up if you're heading to the beach: there's a high risk of rip currents, with surf between 3 and 6 feet. A beach hazards statement is in place through at least tomorrow (Wednesday) evening.

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Today (April 29th) marks 50 years since the beginning of the fall of Saigon — an important anniversary for the USS Midway.

As Saigon was overtaken by the communist North, thousands of Vietnamese civilians fled, searching for safety.

The Midway played a major role in that rescue effort, with American helicopters landing on its flight deck to evacuate refugees during the final hours of the war.

Now, a new video series from KPBS is highlighting the voices of San Diego’s Vietnamese community as they share their memories and how they’re moving forward.

The first episode drops today on kpbs dot org.

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Rail service through San Clemente is on hold again as crews continue to make emergency repairs to a collapsed cliffside.

The Orange County Transit Authority says the repairs are expected to last six weeks.

In the meantime, rail passengers are being provided with bus connections between the Oceanside and Irvine stops along the San Diego–Los Angeles corridor.

The landslide — triggered by a major storm in January last year — brought both the Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink services to a standstill.

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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.

Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has died.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says the groping and harassment scandal that brought him down left a mark on city politics.

In 2012, after 20 years in Congress, Filner became the first Democrat elected to the San Diego mayor's office in 24 years. But he resigned less than nine months into his term, after more than 20 women accused him of unwanted touching and verbal sexual harassment. He later pleaded guilty to battery and false imprisonment. His first accuser was his communications director Irene McCormack.

He was a detriment to the city of San Diego and to the people who work there. And I learned that community is everything. When you can gather people together to right a wrong, it can work.

In the wake of the scandal, city voters passed a ballot measure creating a process to remove elected officials who are convicted of crimes or fail to perform official duties. Filner died April 20 at the age of 82. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

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Some people say that to heal the country, we need to find the issues in the middle that we agree on.

San Diegan Allan Hoving is trying to do just that, by launching an online unity-building platform called ‘The Big Middle’

He spoke recently with Public Matters reporter Amita Sharma and started by explaining what his project is.

Well, the big middle is two things. One is the big middle of Americans who agree across the board on many, many issues. But in the context of my project, the Big Middle is an online platform that actively fosters the building of consensus. And I started this project, believe it or not, 27 years ago when I saw that the Internet was polarizing everyone. And now we see the results with social media. So more than ever before, I believe that this big middle consensus-building platform, especially on the issues that we're all facing in a very divided America, is needed more than ever.

Who are you appealing to? What kind of voter do you think will be interested in joining the big Middle?

Thanks for that question. Not just voters, it's citizens. Because everybody in this country has a stake in being able to solve our problems together. And, you know, when Americans work together, we win. So the Big Middle is an online forum for everybody to come together and air all of the issues and decide how are we going to work together to solve these.

What are those issues? And tell me about the response you've received so far.

You know, the issues are the ones that everyone knows about, whether it's the economy, whether it's climate change, whether it's immigration, social justice— all of the main issues, we all know what they are. And so I believe, and I have evidence to back that up, that there is a big middle of Americans who tend to agree on certain solutions, certain steps. And we just need to get together and recognize that there is a big middle, that the big middle needs to become self-aware and the big middle needs to assert itself.

So, Ellen, say everything comes together as you've just outlined. You talk about the issues, you reach some kind of consensus, then what?

Well, then there are ways for the audience or the group, the big middle, to act. And you know, obviously it could be anything from legislation, it could be petitioning. All of the typical rights that we have as citizens we can use to advance the interests of the big middle again in solving our common problems. Sometimes I say, you know, it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you come from. If we have to fix potholes, let's get out there on Saturday morning. I'll bring the shovel and you bring the tar and the gravel and let's fix the potholes. So instead of this, you know, arguing this way, that way, left, right— we need to come together and actually solve these problems. So the response, I think, especially today where we see the country so divided, social media has accelerated this. It's very difficult for us to get anything done, especially on the issues that I have mentioned. But I do think that there is a big middle that would like to move forward on at least taking some steps to solve these problems.

How will you measure the Big Middle's success?

Well, first of all, we need to get the platform launched. We need for people to join in online and we need to have these healthy debates. But I think most importantly, we need the big middle to become self-aware. And you know, it's often said that there's broad agreement across all the citizens and people in this country to take some steps to solve the problems. But I think right now we're all divided and we're all isolated and in bubbles and the big middle needs to recognize itself and its power and then be able to take positive steps forward.

Tell me about the response you've received so far.

Well, I've been taking this out for about a year now and showing it to people and asking for their feedback. We've shown it to dozens of news media outlets and I'm actually speaking with several individuals who might be able to host the Big Middle show. So the response has been that this is something that we haven't seen yet. And I think that more and more people are coming to realize that this is a good solution for us. It may not be the magical solution that solves all our problems, but I think it is a good way to approach coming together. Like I say, let's meet in the big middle where most Americans are and work together to solve our problems.

That was Allan Hoving speaking with Amita Sharma.

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New projects in Imperial Beach and South San Diego aim to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from collisions with drivers.

inewsource intern Teal Davis explains.

A bikeway connection from the San Ysidro Port of entry to the Bayshore Bikeway is nearing completion.

Construction for the project began in 2023 and crews have been adding curb extensions at intersections and speed bumps in the area to encourage drivers to slow down. 

The connection roadways will also receive “bend outs”, a road feature that brings cyclists away from the roadway and closer to sidewalks at intersections. Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Auguirre spoke about the project at a recent council meeting.

That is the goal of this city, is to make our streets safe and family-friendly 

With the updated infrastructure, SANDAG, which is in charge of regional transportation projects,  anticipates seeing an increase in ridership. Here’s SANDAG project Manager Madai Parra.

That is the point of when we are designing the bicycle infrastructure is enticing more people to feel safer riding their bikes and being on the road.

The new six point seven mile bikeway connection is estimated to cost 31 million dollars. The final construction for the project is currently underway, with crews expected to complete the project this summer. 

For KPBS, I’m inewsource intern Teal Davis.

For more on this story, go to inewsource dot org. inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS.

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Two San Diego nonprofits are poised to lose millions in promised federal funding.

The Trump administration appears to have canceled grants for local projects aimed at improving air quality in poor neighborhoods.

UC Berkeley journalist Riley Ramirez joined me to discuss the impact of the potential funding reversal.

These grants were community change grants and were awarded during the Biden administration. Riley Ramirez is a UC Berkeley journalist who broke the story. She joins us now. Can you tell us about the overall program?

Sure. So the community change grant program is an EPA program designed to advance local projects that reduce pollution and also build community capacity to respond and adapt to climate related events. So the program was funded through the inflation Reduction Act and specifically aimed to provide funding to disadvantaged and overlooked communities that given certain certain circumstances, face higher levels of pollution and impacts related to climate change.

Tell us about the San Diego organizations that received these grants and what they had planned to do with the money.

So Casa familiar, a nonprofit based in San Ysidro, was one of the organizations that was awarded grant funding through the community change grant program, they received $12.7 million for their healthy borders. Community change project and Casa familiar plan to use this money to expand low cost, zero emission transportation options such as E bikes, electric vehicle car shares and shuttles for the San Ysidro community, they plan to provide indoor air monitors and purifiers for 1000 low income households and whole home energy efficient upgrades for 15 homes. They also would have created job opportunities and job training for community members to distribute technology and also educate their neighbors about air quality and its health impacts. And then San Diego Foundation, in partnership with Environmental Health Coalition, was awarded $20 million for their rooted in community cultivating equity project, which includes several different initiatives to improve local air quality, mitigate extreme heat and expand green space in neighborhoods in San Diego central historic barrios, the two groups were going to use the grant funding to expand a free micro transit shuttle service and electrify regional busses.

So has the EPA told these organizations anything about why the money has been frozen.

No these organizations have received zero communication from the EPA since the Trump administration first announced the freeze on federal funds in January, which I should say, was rescinded soon after and also blocked in court. But despite the court orders, funds remained frozen for weeks following, and these groups still did not have answers. Funds were then briefly unfrozen sometime in mid February and then refrozen again, and have remained that way since March. And Despite attempts by the organizations to get in contact with the EPA, they have not received any direct communication from the agency about why their money has been frozen. But meanwhile, the EPA has announced in several press releases that it has been going through line by line, canceling grants, and at the end of last month, at the end of last month, the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released a list of those grants set to be terminated, and both Casa familiar and San Diego Foundation's grants appeared on the list.

Let's talk about the impact. How have these organizations been impacted?

The impacts been pretty devastating. I mean, losing millions of dollars of promise funding is is definitely no small matter. And these organizations have been planning their operations around the anticipated grant funding that was contractually bound and approved by Congress. Casa familiar won't be able to move forward on its project if the grant funding doesn't come through, and San Diego foundation and Environmental Health Coalition are having to consider reducing the scope of their project, canceling some aspects of it, possibly. And also Environmental Health Coalition as an organization is having to consider staff layoffs and furloughs.

A lot of uncertainty right now. Okay, thank you so much for joining us. Riley.

Thank you.

I was speaking with U-C Berkeley journalist Riley Ramirez.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.