Congress members raise the alarm about cross border sewage
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, September 13th.
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Some members of congress are again raising the alarm about the cross border sewage crisis. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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Parts of the 8-East freeway in El Cajon and La Mesa will be closed this weekend.
The lanes on that side of the freeway will be closed from the Jackson Drive exit to the Broadway exit.
During the closure, Caltrans crews will continue construction on the Bridge Rehabilitation Improvement Project, which includes touching up old infrastructure of bridges and roads along the I-8 in East County.
Traffic will be detoured to the 125 North, 52 East, to the 67, and then back to the 8.
The lanes will close at 9 tonight (Friday), through 5 A-M Monday.
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There’s a chance of patchy drizzle in the inland and coastal areas this morning (Friday).
Other than that, today and into most of the weekend, the weather will be pretty calm throughout the county.
In the inland areas, temperatures will be in the high 70s, by the coast, it’ll be in the low 70s, in the mountains, temps will be in the high 60s, and in the deserts, it’s expected to be in the high 90s.
The National Weather Service says there’s a slight chance of showers Sunday night and into Monday morning in most parts of the county.
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There's another big shakeup in college sports, and this time SD-SU is part of the news.
Yesterday (Thursday), the university announced it will leave the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12.
The change will be official in the summer of 20-26.
Three other Mountain West schools are also part of the move -- Boise State, Colorado State and Fresno State.
SD-SU president Adela De La Torre says the move will elevate athletics and academics.
"It is only fitting at this time for us to accept the mantle for where we need to be. We are a great institution."
De La Torre says there are ongoing discussions to add at least two more universities to the Pac-12.
Doing so would allow it to be a formally recognized athletic conference by the N-C-A-A.
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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 bipartisan group of congress members is again raising the alarm about the cross border sewage crisis.
Reporter Katie Anastas says scientists reported dangerous levels of sewer gas in the Tijuana River Valley earlier this week.
Imperial Beach resident Josh Okerman says the sewage odor has been pretty bad the last few months. OKERMAN You can definitely smell it. Smells like it's probably not good for you. County public health officials say it isn’t an imminent health threat. They’re looking into expanding a program that provides air purifiers to affected residents. But National City Councilmember Marcus Bush still has concerns. He says he felt a burning in his throat when he visited the area. BUSH At the end of the day, we need to solve the root cause of the crisis, which is the sewage. In a letter to congressional leaders, the bipartisan group wrote that years of underinvestment have reduced the South Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant’s capacity. They’re asking for the highest amount of funding possible to repair and expand it in any supplemental package or budget deal. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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Mental health resources are scarce… and yesterday Palomar Health broke ground on a new 120 bed facility that will bring much needed services to the North County.
Reporter Tania Thorne says the facility includes help for our first responders.
84,000 square feet and 120 beds for critical behavioral services… are coming to Palomar Health in Escondido. The facility will offer a range of inpatient and outpatient services as well as support for first responders. For San Diego District Attorney, Summer Stephen, it's a priority to take care of the ones… who take care of us. This is a national program with proven strategies to help our military, to help active military veterans, first responders, Our police officers our EMTS But the needle on mental health resources in North County won’t move just yet… because construction of the facility will last almost 2 years. The region is also still waiting on the 16 bed psychiatric facility at Tri City Healthcare announced in 2022 and expected to open in the Fall. TT KPBS News.
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As the school year gets underway, elementary schools have a new mandate to give 30 minutes of recess every day.
That's because of a state law that recognizes the importance of play for young kids’ growth.
But reporter Kori Suzuki reports, one factor is already complicating things: extreme heat.
As temperatures spiked again across Southern California earlier this week, the staff at Perkins K-8 school in San Diego did the only thing that made sense: they ushered kids indoors and turned up the AC. CHAR1187_01 / 1:37: there's always the risk of heat stroke dehydration kids having headaches because they're not drinking enough water or just being out in the sun too long. Perkins Principal Fernando Hernandez. CHAR1187_01 / 2;33: They're like red in the face. They're sweating their drinking water, but they're still smiling and they want to keep on running. So we got to be very careful about, you know, we have to watch over the cause. They don't necessarily watch over themselves. Indoors, students are safe from the heat. But they aren’t necessarily getting that unstructured recess time that’s now required by state law.That’s because it’s a challenge to have kids play freely inside a classroom. Hernandez says teachers often have to rely on more organized activities like computer games, drawing and painting. CHAR1187_01 / 10:27: So the intent of the law to have free and unstructured time. Outside, very manageable. In a classroom, not as easy to implement. I'll tell you that. Still, Hernandez is optimistic. He strongly agrees with the ideas behind the new recess mandate and is glad to see the state stepping in. He says Perkins will probably have to figure out a plan for recess soon – as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and more intense. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.
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More than one hundred disabled veterans spent a week in San Diego last month for the V-A’s summer sports clinic.
It’s one way the department is trying to help veterans stay healthy when physical limitations make it difficult to exercise.
Military and veterans reporter Andrew Dyer spent time with some of the veterans, and says they get so much more than a workout.
navy veteran miguel navarro is all smiles when he comes out of the cool pacific ocean water. navarro is from miami, where he says the water’s much warmer. navarro uses a wheelchair to get around but today, he’s on a surfboard. miguel navarro, navy veteran “it really makes you feel you can still do a lot of things it brings a lot of confidence back into you.” it’s his second year at the va’s summer sports clinic. he’s one of over 100 veterans the va’s brought to san diego for the clinic. va staffers and volunteers help the veterans compete in a variety of adaptive sports. surfing, kayaking and cycling outdoors and one day in the gym. shereef elnahal is the va undersecretary for health. shereef elnahal, va undersecretary for health you know, we've got a lot of demand for events like this. we, the president biden signed the pact act two years ago, and that opened more doors into the va health care system than ever before. we have more than 750,000 new vets into our system just over the last two years, and many of them are interested in these events. the va offers the clinics as part of each veteran’s rehabilitation program. some live with physical disabilities and others with those you can’t see. va spokesperson damian mcgee says this week no one is talking about what they can’t do. damian mcgee, veterans affairs “some of them have have various injuries and depending on where they're from and who they're around, you know, maybe they are told they can't do things. maybe they are told about their limitations. but here we don't focus on limitations. we don't focus on what people can't do. we only focus on what they're capable of and how far that can go – and that’s what you hear them talking about.” marine corps veteran demond wilson from vellejo, california just kayaked across mission bay. he uses a wheelchair and can’t use his hands very well. he enjoys kayaking but says it’s not easy. demond wilson, marine corps veteran for me, being, disabled in a wheelchair, i need, a different type of, mechanisms in order to get into the kayak. yeah, i have to be able to jump out of my wheelchair faster. hence, at a kayak, i have to set myself up in a position that i'm going to be comfortable in. at invictus fitness in east village near downtown (san diego - ahf script), alec zirkenbach leads another group in some resistance training. zirkenbach is a navy veteran. he’s also the founder of the adaptive training academy. they teach people how to work out in spite of any disability. he calls it “functional fitness.” functional fitness utilizes movements that you do in everyday life. activities of daily living is what therapists and practitioners we call them, like squats, hinges for picking things up, putting things down, pushing, pulling, pressing all the basic movements your body is meant to do. because of the demand the va limits veterans to two clinics. so for some it’s their second and last time with the group. it’s atlanta navy veteran paula fluellen’s first time. paula fluellen, navy veteran the experience to me was one of a kind. i also, was telling a lady earlier, i would always make sure everybody got to where they needed to go. but this was my time to get to where i needed to be. the va says it wants veterans to bring the lessons of the clinic home and make exercise part of their routines. wilson says that’s exactly what he did after attending last year. he started working out more and now it’s easier to lift himself in and out of his chair. demond wilson, marine corps veteran i'm able to, actually be strong enough to get out with my kids, you know, our children, and we're able to get out and we can actually go kayaking together. wilson and his four kids – 3 girls and a boy – are a team. so they help me out and, i'm able to tell them exact me what i need and where i need straps and things like that. the va runs six national adaptive events across the county. there’s winter sports, wheelchair games and golf and even a spring creative arts festival. andrew dyer, kpbs news.
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Filipinos are the largest Asian American group in the San Diego region.
Tomorrow (Saturday), Fil-am Creator Con launches its inaugural event to celebrate and support that creative community.
Arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke to the organizers.
Starship Troopers is the unlikely catalyst for this Saturday’s FilAm Creator Con, says founder Aaron Nabus. AARON NABUS: When I first found out that the actual main character of ‘Starship Troopers’ was Filipino in the book, my mind was blown. And it put me on a journey of trying to promote Filipino American creativity whenever I could it. The inaugural FilAm CreatorCon celebrates the artistic achievements of Filipino American creators across all mediums – from poets to comic book creators, chefs to filmmakers, musicians to tattoo artists. The convention has been a dream project for Nabus for years. AARON NABUS: I wanted my first convention to be an atmosphere where people can have conversations throughout the day to get to know the creators, so they can give advice or at least share some stories. I wanted it to be sort of like an artist alley full of Filipino American creators, Nabus hopes to make this an annual event to foster solidarity, awareness and representation of Filipino Americans in the arts. The event will host 17 vendors, food, and multiple panels at the National City Public Library this Saturday. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by Emilyn Mohebbi and was edited by Joe Guerin. We’d also like to thank KPBS producer Ben Lacy for helping the podcast team this week. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again on Monday to start the week together with the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
