City struggles to fill vacancies on advisory board

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, November 21st.>>>>

A board advising the city on water and sewer services keeps canceling its meetings. More on why next. But first... let’s do the headlines….#######

Suspects in the Hillcrest pellet gun attacks will be arraigned today.

Anthony Lopez-Quiniones, Arturo Herrera-Sustaita {sus-stay-tuh}, and Angelo Nathaniel Aron were arrested last week in connection with the attacks.

The attacks injured four people in Hillcrest in early September, and allegedly targeted the LGBTQ-PLUS community.

The three suspects are facing multiple hate crime related charges.

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THOUSANDS OF PATIENT CARE AND SERVICE WORKERS ARE ON STRIKE TODAY AT U-C CAMPUSES AND MEDICAL FACILITIES ACROSS THE STATE.

THAT INCLUDES U-C SAN DIEGO.

THIS IS THE SECOND DAY OF THE TWO DAY STRIKE.

ISSAC ZAMORA IS A RESPIRATORY SPECIALIST AT U-C-S-D MEDICAL CENTER AND A BARGAINING UNIT MEMBER FOR THE UNION.

THE UNION IS ACCUSING THE U-C OF BREAKING THE LAW WITH UNFAIR BARGAINING TACTICS.

UCSTRIKES 2A 0:16

“They walked away from the bargaining table and they implemented higher medical costs onto all of these workers and our families. When we show up to the bargaining table, they are routinely unprepared and they provide proposals that are not grounded in reality.”

THE U-C SYSTEM DENIES THIS, SAYING MULTIPLE PROPOSALS WERE PRESENTED THAT WOULD INCREASE WORKERS’ PAY BY AN AVERAGE OF 26 PERCENT OVER FIVE YEARS.

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If you’re planning to head out of town for Thanksgiving, San Diego Airport officials say to plan ahead for a busy holiday travel week.

The airport is anticipated to be busier than usual starting Tuesday.

According to airport officials, 460-thousand people are expected to be traveling through the airport from Tuesday through December first.

That’s a six-percent increase over the same week last year.

Next Tuesday, Wednesday and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are expected to be the busiest days at the airport.

Some tips: check your flight status before going to the airport and get to the airport as early as possible.

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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 group that advises San Diego elected officials on water and sewer services keeps canceling its meetings, even as residents pay rising rates.

inewsource reporter Crystal Niebla (KRIS-tul NĪĔ-blah) explains why.

RATES (01:04) SOQ

There are just not enough people serving on what’s known as the Independent Rates Oversight Committee… or IROC for short. Five of the eleven seats are vacant. The other six seats? Well, they’re currently being held by members serving beyond their expired terms, like Gordon Hess. He says IROC met with city staff to express frustrations and concerns about the vacancies…“But we haven't seen any results from any of those meetings.” But the city says it’s struggling to fill the vacant seats. Chida Warren-Darby is the city’s director of appointments, boards and commissions. She says allowing members to attend virtually … like during the COVID-19 pandemic … would help. “Our hands are a little tied in terms of legislation at the state level that really prohibits us from having the freedoms needed for people to participate in the capacity they want.” The city has received nine applications in the past three years. They remain under review. For KPBS, I’m inewsource reporter Crystal Niebla.

TAG: inewsource is an independently funded, nonprofit partner of KPBS. This story is part of our Public Matters partnership. To find out more, go to kpbs dot org slash public matters.

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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria defunded the Office of Immigrant Affairs earlier this year. It was part of a broader set of cuts to city services amid a $172 million budget shortfall.

But now that President-elect Donald Trump plans to carry out mass deportations, immigrant advocates tell border reporter Gustavo Solis that Gloria’s decision sends the wrong message to San Diego’s immigrant community.

MIGRANTFUND (3:58) SOQ

In his January State of the City Address San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria characterized himself as a new kind of leader. “Frankly, this city has a history of abandoning bold and aggressive efforts as soon as things get difficult. Surrendering to doubt and fear of change. I’m here to tell you that’s not how we do things.” The mayor touted his administration's efforts to reduce crime, clear homeless encampments and fill more than 61,000 potholes. One thing he didn’t highlight was the city’s efforts to aid migrants. Then in June he cut the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs from the  budget. Migrant advocates were dismayed at the decision and say it represents a missed opportunity

“I think that is unfortunately what happened. Right? They abandoned something that could have really been great had they continued to build it out. And had done good things... Erin Tsurumot Grassi is with Alliance San Diego. … The Office of Immigrant Affairs was holding workshops with community members, helping people get citizenship, partnering with community organizations, they were an additional watchdog when we had shelters for unaccompanied minors making sure that the federal government was doing the right thing.” San Diego’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was first proposed during the administration of  Gloria’s predecessor Kevin Faulkner. It was part of the Welcoming San Diego Initiative - an ambitious plan to expand services to immigrants during the first Trump administration. Gloria’s administration formally established the office in 2022, which included an Immigrant Affairs Manager, a small staff and $500,000 from the Mayor’s Office. Kyra Greene is with the Center on Policy Initiatives. She says the timing on the decision to defund the office couldn’t be worse. “We’ve known for a long time that there was a strong chance that former president Trump would be re-elected and in that context it seemed particularly important in this budget cycle to think about what that meant.” Mayor Gloria declined an interview request. Instead, his office emailed a statement saying The County of San Diego QUOTE is the lead on all immigration issues in the region.” It went on to say programs previously offered by the Office of Immigrant Affairs are available through local nonprofits. The County allocates $5 million a year to fund a program that gives free legal representation to immigrants facing deportation. And last year, the County used $6 million of federal COVID dollars to fund a temporary migrant shelter. But that money ran out in February. Now - with government support dwindling - warnings from advocacy groups are coming true. A number of migrant families have joined the ranks of San Diego’s homeless population. “Aqui agare. Este en su casa. Agares. Con confianza.” Adrianna Jasso is with the American Friends Service Committee. She says multiple migrant families lived in homeless encampments at Barrio Logan over the summer. “That particular space from what we know, in maybe mid-July, had over 120 people. Mainly women with children and situations where it even impacted local neighborhood schools.” Jasso hopes to get more support from Gloria during his second term in office.“This could be an opportunity to be a more humane voice when it comes to embracing and understanding the entire population of San Diego.”But advocates who spent years helping launch the Welcoming San Diego Initiative are dispirited. Again, here is Tsurumoto Grassi. “Aww it’s hard to really put into words. When you have worked on something for so long it’s not just that you worked for something for so long to win something, but what it meant to people.But whatever happens, she says humanitarians who were doing the work before the Office of Immigrant Affairs opened will continue to do it now that it’s closed. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News

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THE V-A SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS GROWING, ADDING THOUSANDS MORE VETERANS, HUNDREDS OF JOBS AND MORE OPTIONS FOR WOMEN AND CAREGIVERS.

MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS REPORTER ANDREW DYER RECENTLY SPOKE WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE MEDICAL CENTER.

VASD 1 (AD) (:48) SOQ

VA SAN DIEGO ENROLLED MORE THAN 7,000 VETERANS INTO VA HEALTHCARE OVER THE LAST YEAR. THAT’S ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE HUNDRED VETERANS A MONTH SINCE THE PACT ACT WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2023. FRANK PEARSON, THE DIRECTOR OF THE VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, SAYS VETERAN WOMEN ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THAT GROWTH. “WE HAVE THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN VETERANS IN IN ALL OF VA. 13.1% OF OUR POPULATION ARE FEMALE VETERANS. THE VA’S ALSO RAMPED UP STAFFING AROUND SAN DIEGO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. SINCE 2022 ITS ADDED 400 NEW JOBS. THIS YEAR, A NEW MOBILE CARE UNIT BEGAN REACHING VETERANS IN HOMELESS COMMUNITIES. NEXT YEAR, THE VA WILL OPEN A NEW NURSING HOME AT ITS LA JOLLA CAMPUS WITH EXPANDED SERVICES FOR CAREGIVERS. ANDREW DYER, KPBS NEWS.##########

As we told you earlier, a record number of people are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Reporter Melissa Mae says the busy travel season comes at the same time county data show an uptick in the flu virus.

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AAA expects almost 80 million people will travel for Thanksgiving. 

CVS Pharmacist Nicole Henry says getting vaccinated now can help protect yourself and loved ones. “Patients are coming in. They have symptoms. They're looking for over-the-counter remedies and we want to make sure that patients are protected. Especially because the best way to prevent hospitalizations is by getting immunized for flu, COVID and RSV.” Henry says it’s safe to get all three vaccines at the same time and common side effects are fatigue and a sore arm. San Diego County data show 1,500 people were hospitalized last year with the flu and 66 people died. Melissa Mae 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. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.