El Cajon wants to pause county programs

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, April SEVENTEENTH.

Why El Cajon wants to put a pause on county programs in their city. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines…

Following months of stabilizing repairs, passenger rail service between San Diego and Orange County is fully restored today.

Emergency repairs started after shifts in the San Clemente tracks were detected.

This was an emergency fix, and we know that it is for the short term, and that we've already started looking at. The longer term fixes.

That was Eric Carpenter with the Orange County Transportation Authority.

He said the O-C-T-A board is looking into funding for studies that will look into long term fixes for this part of the rail line.

Four sons of former cartel leader “El Chapo” Guzman Loera have been indicted.

The charges resulted from an investigation into the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking activities, which included moving drugs through San Diego County.

San Diego U-S attorney Randy Grossman spoke about the impact at a press conference Friday.

Drug seizure statistics show our region has become an epicenter for fentanyl trafficking into the United States and overdose deaths in our communities have risen to unprecedented levels.

Only one son has been arrested.

KPBS will no longer post on Twitter.

The decision comes after an assessment of the platform’s stability and credibility.

It’s also a move informed by Twitter’s decision to label NPR and PBS as “government-funded media.” This falsely implies that the outlets aren’t editorially independent.

You can read General Manager Deanna Mackey’s full statement on the decision at KPBS dot ORG.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

Police are still looking for victims of two registered sex offenders accused of raping minors at an El Cajon motel. The suspects were enrolled in a county program to help former inmates. Reporter Kitty Alvarado says El Cajon city officials want the program stopped … at least temporarily.

Seventy year old Michael Inman and 34 year old Lawrence Cantrell are registered sex offenders with GPS ankle monitors. They were placed in motels in San Diego and El Cajon by county contractor, people assisting the homeless or path. But both ended up in Cantrell's Motel Six room in El Cajon. Police say about five days into their stay. A path employee called them to report a crime. These sex predators set up shop and started raping girls, young girls in the hotel room that the county provided. That’s Bill Wells, the mayor of El Cajon. He says police have identified and located one 16 year old girl but they’re looking for more victims They videotaped the entire process. It's disgusting. The men were charged with over a dozen felonies. According to jail records, some of the alleged victims were younger than three. PATH declined an interview but said in a statement, they're continuing to work with law enforcement. Long before this incident,the city tried to pass ordinances that would force motels to change their business status from motel to shelter if most of their funding came from county programs. And then the State Attorney General's office weighed in and threatened us with a cease and desist letter saying that we were violating fair housing laws. City officials say dozens have been arrested from county programs, but after these arrests, they’ve had enough  We've got to stop it, now. This is madness. Steve Goble is the deputy mayor of El Cajon. He says they’re taking action officials say they're taking action including a 90 day moratorium. We're going to start holding these operators, these contractors accountable. We're going to require them to have a special license. And if you don't fulfill the conditions of that license, to protect everyone, then you can't do business in El Cajon. And the city is also holding a series of town hall meetings to discuss the issue and get ideas from residents like Richard Agundez Jr. He thinks people who work for path are trying to do the right thing, but is it thorough enough, I don't think so. And are there laws to keep this something like this happening again? And that is the question many who attended the meeting wanted answered including council member Michelle Mitchell and we're not getting answers from anyone and I don't even know who to go to. And we're not getting answers from anyone, I don’t even know who to go to I'm very frustrated. The county declined an interview but in a statement said Inman and Cantrell were not a part of the homeless voucher program. The county says they were in the county's Community Care Coordination or C three programs that help people released from jail.  The county says it’s investigating the circumstances of Cantrell and Inman to better understand what happened and potential changes. The county touts C three as a success and their data states, it decreases recidivism by more than 50%. Still, it appears city officials were not aware there was a separate program for former inmates we were told six months ago that there weren't any criminals coming through this program, there certainly weren't any sex offenders. And that's just not the case. We can't look at the whole program like it's a horrible program and all bad things are happening there because that's not true. That's Keri Irwin. She runs a nonprofit drug rehab program that helps homeless people. She believes that you can be for both helping the most vulnerable and accountability because even one victim is too many We want zero, so let’s open up our eyes and be more vigilant  After these interviews, we sent the city the information the county gave us asking if this changed any of their plans. They sent a statement that reads in part: The city of El Cajon is not going to argue over semantics. The city is moving forward with policy to protect our community. Wells says it's time to put differences aside and work together. I'm willing to put it all away and never shake a finger at anybody ever again. If they would leave my city alone. Kitty Alvarado KPBS News.

The suspects, Inman and Cantrell, are scheduled to be in court again on April 27th.

An ordinance to ban encampments in public places is moving forward.. A San Diego city council committee sent it to the full council for review Thursday. There’s still questions about how it will work and how it’s different from laws already on the books. Reporter Matt Hoffman has more.

Dozens of San Diegans spoke for and against a proposed ordinance to ban encampments on public property.. In most cases it would only be enforceable when shelter beds are available.. But it would also outright ban home encampments near schools, existing shelters, open spaces and at a handful of city parks. Ultimately members of the council committee voted to send the proposal off to the full council, but without a recommendation and asking for more details about how it would work. The ordinance is being proposed by Council member Stephen Whitburn with support from the mayor.. 04:46:38:17 Stephen Whitburn, San Diego city councilmember This ordinance simply describes what we want -- it takes the issue head on. It says no camping, not no lodging, not encroachment, but no encampments Whitburn says this about public health and safety -- with reports of drug use and unsanitary conditions at encampments. MH KPBS News.

San Diego has a new opera venue: SEVEN-ELEVEN. 7-Eleven owners around the country have acknowledged using the music to drive away people who are homeless. Reporter Katie Hyson visited the convenience stores to hear for herself.

SOT fade-under The speaker is outside the 7-11. A man sleeps a few feet away. Another digs for recyclables in the trash can underneath it. I ask him – SOT :05 Does that music bother you? Man: No. Katie: No? [Both laugh] John Iverson (EE-VERSON) studies the effect of music on the brain. He says music can be very beneficial – if it’s your choice to listen. SOT :07 You're deciding which music to listen to, and how loud to listen to it and when to turn it off. When you take that away, things change very dramatically. Iverson says unwanted background noise raises stress levels. And, the less money you make, the harder it is to find quiet spaces. SOT :04 You almost need to pay more to buy more silence. Joey Rubio used to be homeless and now works as a program supervisor at a detox center. He doesn’t care about the opera music. There are other needs that feel much more urgent to him – like understanding why people are sleeping there and where else they could go. SOT :04 We need more beds. You know? That's what it all comes down to. SOT :06 You can't just send somebody with mental health right back out to the streets and expect them to get right. *opera fade under * Katie Hyson, KPBS News *car starts up, nat fades out*

Coming up.... A new report says that home ownership grows as inflation grows. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

A study from U-C San Diego shows that inflation fears has led to more homebuying in European countries. Sci-tech reporter Thomas Fudge has more.

In the years around 1990, Poland suffered a frightening shock of inflation, which rose to more than 500 percent. Since then homeownership has risen to more than 80 percent. In France, it’s less than 60 percent. The connection between inflation fears and buying homes is documented in a paper, co-written by Rady School of management professor Alex Wellsjo. HOMES 1A “If people think that real estate is a good inflation hedge then they’re more likely to be a homeowner because they want to protect themselves from that high inflation.” Wellsjo said a survey showed protection against rising rents was a major motivator for homebuyers, second only to the belief that homeownership brought “peace of mind.” The study had to control for other factors, such as whether fixed rate mortgages were widely available. SOQ.

April is the International Month of the Military Child.

It’s a time to honor the children of members of the U-S Armed Forces across the world.

Education Reporter M.G. Perez has more.

SOUNDUP NATS boot camp kids Hancock Elementary near Tierrasanta has almost 7-hundred students…98-percent of them have at least one parent who is on active duty. School administration invited Navy crew members from the U-S-S Pearl Harbor …to lead a field day boot camp on Friday …and honor the children of active military members for the sacrifice of the time they spend without their parents…Laurie Beeler is the school enrollment clerk…and a military spouse herself. SOT: “our parents choose to be in the military….our kiddos don’t …so we take a month to celebrate who they are. They’re unique. They’re resilient.” The boot camp gave students just a little taste of what a military job might be like. MGP KPBS News

You can CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH AT AN EVENT FEATURING SAN DIEGO'S NEW POET LAUREATE JASON MAGABO PEREZ.

IT'S HAPPENING TONIGHT AT 6:30 AT THE MISSION HILLS-HILCREST KNOX LIBRARY.

PEREZ IS THE AUTHOR OF TWO BOOKS WHICH INCLUDE POETRY, PERSONAL ESSAYS, FICTION AND ORAL HISTORY.

HE’S the DIRECTOR OF THE ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAM AT CAL STATE SAN MARCOS.

HE SAYS HE TEACHES STUDENTS TO USE WRITING AS A TOOL FOR EMPOWERMENT.

PEREZ MADE HIS DEBUT AS POET LAUREATE AT THE MAYOR'S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS IN JANUARY.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us back here tomorrow for a profile of one of SDSU’s first, Black professors. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.