EPA head visits San Diego to examine border sewage crisis
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, April 23rd.
The E-P-A Administrator met with local leaders about the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis.
More on that next. But first... the headlines….
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The League of Women Voters of California is taking steps to stop a lawsuit filed last month by Representative Darrell Issa.
Issa is a longtime San Diego County Republican congressmember. His lawsuit aims to block mail-in ballots from being counted after Election Day.
The legal motion filed by the League of Women Voters says Issa’s lawsuit could take the right to vote away from hundreds of thousands of Californians.
Issa claims counting ballots after Election Day violates federal law and gives an unfair advantage to opponents of Republican incumbents like himself.
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The Santee city manager position is vacant. The city council meets today (Wednesday) to vote on a temporary replacement.
It’s the third such meeting since Marlene Best suddenly left the role Friday after nine years.
The city council agenda does not say why Best left.
They are considering Gary Halbert for the temporary role. Halbert spent 6 years as the city manager of Chula Vista before retiring in 20-20.
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The San Diego Police Department released 20-24 crime statistics this week.
It remains one of the safest large cities in the country.
Overall crime fell slightly for the third year in a row, including crimes against people and property.
But crimes against society rose – that category includes drug violations, disorderly conduct and DUIs.
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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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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS REPLACED MARIA-ELENA GINER WITH HIS OWN PICK TO OVERSEE THE U.S. INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION – WILLIAM “CHAD” MCINTOSH.
MCINTOSH IS NOW TASKED WITH HANDLING THE TIJUANA RIVER SEWAGE CRISIS, ALONGSIDE THE E-P-A.
THE COMMISSION MANAGES WATER RESOURCES AND APPLIES BOUNDARY TREATIES. THE E-P-A PLANS AND FUNDS TREATMENT PROJECTS.
THE E-P-A ADMINISTRATOR VISITED SAN DIEGO YESTERDAY (TUESDAY).
REPORTER MELISSA MAE SAYS LEE ZELDIN CAME TO SEE THE CROSSBORDER PROBLEM FIRSTHAND.
MM: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin toured the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment plant and saw the state of the Tijuana River Valley. Zeldin met with local leaders to discuss solutions. He says in the next 24 hours he wants to have one comprehensive list of everything that needs to be done to end the sewage crisis. LZ (:14) “With regards to projects that are listed, if anyone wants to ask you about a timetable to get anything done and what our goal is, the answer has to be to get every project done as fast as humanly possible.” MM: Congress has appropriated 653-million dollars to repair the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. MM: EPA spokesperson Mike Alpern said those funds are currently being spent on design and project management. Melissa Mae KPBS News.
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ZELDIN WASN’T JUST MET BY LOCAL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AT HIS SAN DIEGO VISIT TUESDAY.
REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE SAYS HE ALSO FACED A GROUP OF PROTESTERS.
Zeldin spoke and held a press conference at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot. Just outside the gates of the base protesters gathered to hear a broadcast of Zeldin’s remarks, and TO speak about the environmental record of the Trump administration, which they said was not good. Anthony Dang, with the Climate Action Campaign, was glad the EPA was addressing the problem of raw sewage in the south bay. “That’s really important. We need as much of that highlight on it as possible. If the highlight comes with the threat of removing funding, it is not welcome.” Speakers at the rally talked about the dramatic funding cuts to EPA grant programs. They also were concerned Trump would revoke the non-profit status of many environmental groups like theirs. EPA administrator Zeldin said they shouldn't worry about losing non-profit status as long as they follow the law. SOQ.
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PROJECT 2025 IS MORE THAN A CONSERVATIVE POLICY PAPER.
IT’S THE CORNERSTONE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM IN OFFICE.
STARTING TODAY, PUBLIC MATTERS REPORTER AMITA SHARMA HAS A SERIES OF STORIES ABOUT HOW THOSE INITIATIVES ARE AFFECTING SAN DIEGANS.
Amita, you did another series on Project 2025 in the fall before the election, and now you have another one. Yes, that's right, Debbie. So back in October, then presidential candidate Trump denied any connection to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. Now, Democrats did not believe him because many of the people who drafted it worked for Trump during his first term. But the head of our local Republican Party did take Trump at his word and told me that Trump would not plan in any case. My series in the fall laid out how Project 2025 could affect different aspects of life in San Diego—schools, criminal justice, reproductive rights. But it was theoretical then. Estimates now are that President Trump has actually implemented more than half of Project 2025 already. He has dismantled the Department of Education, rescinded climate disclosure rules, terminated counter disinformation efforts, downsized the EPA. Our goal with this second Project 2025 is to show what all of this means for San Diegans. What do these actions mean for San Diegans? Well, Debbie, the changes go deep and impact people here in powerful ways, just to name a few. They include not just a switch in priorities of which cases are prosecuted by the local U.S. attorney's office, but how objections to those prosecutions, both within and outside the office, might be handled. There are dramatic cuts to research on life-threatening diseases and a potential end to studying the ocean, without which you cannot predict the weather, nor can you tell what's happening with climate change. And one last point—this is by no means a comprehensive look. It excludes cuts to entitlements, which we have covered in other ways. It's a series, really, of snapshots of how Project 2025's execution is influencing our world here in San Diego. Thank you, Amitha. And here's the first story since taking office. President Trump's Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop bribery and fraud charges against the city's mayor, Eric Adams. Trump also pardoned 1,500 January 6th rioters, including 12 locally. Then the Justice Department purged prosecutors who worked on those cases and their bosses. Here's Trump recently explaining the dismissals. And last month, I fired all the radical left pro-crime US Attorneys appointed by Joe Biden. There were so many that were bad, and I know there were some that were probably very good. Former San Diego U.S. attorney Carole Lamb says the era of separation between the Justice Department and the White House is over. She questioned how San Diego federal prosecutors will handle local politicians who balk at the administration's immigration agenda. Are there going to be investigations and prosecutions of politicians or local law enforcement that don't cooperate sufficiently in the eyes of the President or this administration with cracking down hard on illegal immigration? For the first time, the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego has started publicizing how many border-related cases it files each week in a signal that its prosecutions are in step with Trump's agenda. Amitha Sharma, KPBS News. And Debbie, one final note for these stories—I did reach out to many people who were impacted, and I contacted a long list of conservative and Republican groups to get their take. Most of them just didn't respond, or they declined to comment. You can see all the videos in the series and get more details at kpbs.org/Project2025.
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SAN DIEGO IS LOWERING THE SPEED LIMITS OF A HANDFUL OF COMMERCIAL STREETS.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE BOTH SAFETY AND BUSINESS ACTIVITY.
AB: Cars are zipping by on University Avenue in the heart of Hillcrest. It's one of the few streets in San Diego that will soon have a new speed limit of 20 miles per hour. Benjamin Nicholls is executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association. He says the neighborhood depends on foot traffic. BN: "And so having cars move slower through the neighborhood is safer, and I think that will make people feel more comfortable when they're in the neighborhood visiting with businesses. At the end of the day, Hillcrest is a walking neighborhood." AB: The City Council voted Tuesday to make use of a state law that gives cities more flexibility when setting speed limits, which are typically based on actual travel speeds rather than what's safe. Andrew Bowen, 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. Looking for your next podcast listen? Check out KPBS Midday Edition. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
