Fixing cross-border sewage flows
Good Morning, I’m Kinsee Morlan in for Annica Colbert….it’s Tuesday, November 9. A big step toward stopping cross-border sewage spills….
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
>>>> Some drama at the Vista courthouse today.. Drama that had nothing to do with a case.
The north building had to be evacuated after the ceiling collapsed in one of the courtrooms.
No one was hurt, but the building where criminal and juvenile matters are handled.. is closed.
An engineer is inspecting the damage to determine when it can reopen.
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And… just down the hall from that collapsed ceiling in the Vista courthouse, a challenge to Governor Gavin Newsom's mask mandate.
The lawsuit by the group "Let Them Breathe" claims the governor exceeded his authority.
The state argues the safety guidelines are recommendations supported by public health officials to ensure safe schools.
There was no decision after today's hearing... and another court date will be set.
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And...A U-C-San Diego alum was headed back to Earth last night after spending nearly 200 days in space.
Megan McArthur is one of four crew members who took off for home from the International Space Station yesterday in a capsule built by Space-X.
They were expected to splash down near Florida last night.
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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.
Midroll 1
CROSS BORDER SEWAGE FLOWS IN THE SAN DIEGO REGION have been a big, stinky problem for decades.
But...in a big move announced yesterday…., U-S OFFICIALS HAVE DECIDED TO BUILD NEW SEWAGE TREATMENT FACILITIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE U-S MEXICO BORDER.
KPBS ENVIRONMENT REPORTER ERIK ANDERSON HAS the DETAILS.
The U-S Environmental Protection Agency has decided to spend more than 630 million dollars to expand the existing international sewage plant, build a new sewage plant nearby, and add other sewage capture systems near the border. EPA administrator Radhika Fox says environmental reviews and design work will start right away, and the first project could be under construction in 20-24.
00:01:53 – 00:02:03 “These are all such critical projects that really represent, in our view, a holistic and comprehensive solution to the challenge.”
The U-S has 300 million dollars set aside already. The federal government will need another 330 million dollars to complete all the projects they hope to build.
There are hundreds of vacant jobs in the San Diego Unified School District.
And the District is looking for qualified applicants to teach and support children with special needs.
KPBS Education Reporter M.G. Perez tells us there is a new financial incentive to fill the jobs.
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San Diego Unified has put out the HELP WANTED sign that includes a 4-thousand dollar signing bonus for qualified special education teachers. The bonus only applies to state credential teachers, but the district offers benefits to paraeducators and other support staff also being recruited.
Jenny Kingston is a sub who is now applying for a permanent position.
SOT: “I tend to want to get to a group of kids for a lengthy period of time, where I can see the growth, see where they struggle and need more help.”
Applications start on the sandiegounified.org website and a click on the APPLY FOR A JOB tab.
SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA STOOD on top of THE USS MIDWAY ship yesterday TO ANNOUNCE A NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL TO HELP SUPPORT MILITARY MEMBERS, VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES …
KPBS REPORTER KITTY ALVARADO HAS THE STORY.
MARY TANAKA REMEMBERS THE DIFFICULTIES OF BEING A MILITARY SPOUSE. HER HUSBAND HIDEAKI TENAKA WAS IN THE AIR FORCE FOR 15 YEARS.
NOW HE’S PART OF A NEWLY FORMED MAYORAL ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR MILITARY MEMBERS, VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
hearing something like this where a council for Mayor Gloria that wants to help these families and our children, help the spouses kind of create that community and identify resources that we can utilize … is wonderful
MAYOR TODD GLORIA SAYS IF MILITARY FAMILIES FEEL WELCOME HERE, THEY WILL STAY AND SAN DIEGO WILL BE BETTER FOR IT. BUT IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN THEY NEED TO BE HEARD AND FEEL LIKE SOMEONE HAS THEIR BACKS.
GLORIA SAYS FINDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND CHILD CARE SOLUTIONS ARE BIG PRIORITIES FOR THIS COUNCIL.
And more on our military community….
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY IS IN SAN DIEGO right now.
KPBS MILITARY REPORTER STEVE WALSH SAYS HE IS URGING SAILORS, MARINES AND DEFENSE WORKERS TO GET VACCINATED AHEAD OF THE DEADLINE.
The Navy has the highest vaccination rate of any of the services, roughly 99 percent of sailors have had at least one shot, ahead of the Nov. 28 deadline for all active duty Navy and Marines to be vaccinated. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro was in San Diego Monday.
SECNAV 2A TRT :13“We’re going to work with those who decide not to get vaccinated for whatever reason. We’re going to counsel them. We’re going to talk to them. We’re going to give them every opportunity to become vaccinated. But, at some point in time, if they just aren't going to get vaccinated, then they're going to have to decide whether they want to stay in the Department of the Navy or not.”
Federal contractors - like shipyard workers - have a Jan. 4 deadline. Del Toro distanced himself from the Marines, who have declared anyone without an exemption, who misses the deadline will immediately begin the process of being removed from the Corps.
AN INDIGENOUS PROTESTER APPEARED IN FEDERAL COURT IN TUCSON LAST WEEK ON MISDEMEANOR CHARGES RELATED TO BLOCKING MACHINERY AT A BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION SITE NEAR Quitobaquito (keeto-buh-KEE-to) SPRINGS — A SACRED SITE IN ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT.
FROM THE FRONTERAS DESK IN TUCSON, KJZZ’S ALISA REZNICK REPORTS.
AR: Before it was part of Organ Pipe, Quitobaquito was a homestead to the Hia C-ed O’odham. Amber Ortega told the judge that this spring is where her relatives come from. So when she heard wall construction taking place nearby while praying there one morning last September, she was moved to protect it.
ORTEGA: There was real fear present, fear for the land, fear for the animals, fear for our people, fear for the future.
AR: Ortega was arrested by National Park Service officers after about an hour of chanting and singing at the construction line. Her defense argued her religious and cultural beliefs compelled her actions and should be protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Federal prosecutors argue those beliefs do not negate the fact that she interfered with federal government activities taking place on federal land.
Paul Gattone is Ortega’s lawyer.
GATTONE: Obviously, they wanted this to be as easy as possible for my client to be convicted.
AT: Judge Lynette Kimmins said she needs more time to consider whether testimony related to religious freedom could be included before making a ruling. The decision could take weeks or months.
COMING UP…
An up-close train tour of how climate change is impacting our local coastline.
That’s after a quick break.
Don’t touch your digital dial...
MIDROLL 2
The U.N. Climate Conference is being held in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss solutions to global warming.
The California Report decided to bring the topic home, and take you somewhere that’s directly threatened by our planet’s changing climate.
They wanted to take a close-up look at sea-level rise. So very early one recent morning, The California Reports’ host Saul Gonzalez caught a train along our coastline.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard. This is your cafe car attendance, the cafe. So I've come aboard and track specific surf liner, which connects downtown Los Angeles and downtown San Diego. It's about a three hour trip and it can be incredibly. Particularly as the train runs along the coastline, it's also a great way to see how climate change threatens the coast and all the things that human beings have built along the coastline over the past several decades,
that built environment threatened by rising seas includes ocean front homes, roads, piers, power plants, and this Berry train I'm writing. In September, both Amtrak and a commuter rail line had a suspend service. And part of this route for a couple of weeks, emergency repairs were needed because beach erosion partly attributed to climate change, threatened the track.\
You know, the coastline is a super dynamic place. Naturally. Well, a professor of geological sciences at Cal state long beach, he says, even in normal times, California's coast can be a tricky place to build things and keep them safe. The coastline itself is actually a very mobile dynamic feature. It's, you know, it's where everything comes together.
The, the ocean, the atmosphere, the land, the rivers. It's constantly changing. And climate change says bell really supercharges, those changes, making storm stronger, tides higher, and coastal erosion of beaches and cliffs worse. It was terrible when I arrived in San Juan Capistrano station, Santa on campus.
Right. And you can really see how rising seas and eroding coasts could threaten this train route in everything around it. As we traveled through south orange county and into north San Diego. The train track comes really close to the Pacific ocean here. You feel like you can almost touch the water. It's a spectacular view, but it also shows how vulnerable this train and nearby homes and infrastructure are declining.
Change.
Now get off the train and walk the beaches and a town like San Clemente or Oceanside, and you can see how people have responded. Far to the threat. Sea walls have been built in front of many homes and giant boulders in place between the ocean and the train tracks and a lot of places. But in the longterm geologist, Rick bell says such coastal armoring actually makes erosion worse by starving the beach of new sources of.
It increases the energy on the beach causes more erosion drops the sand. And so there really is no beach left. Looking ahead. Belle says Californians will likely face the daunting and expensive challenge of moving some homes and critical infrastructure, including parts of this train route away from the coast.
That's. Planned retreat. Bell also says we have to stop thinking about sea level rise as something that's happening so slowly, we just don't have to worry about it yet. He says big changes to our coast could come dramatically. Fast beach erosion. Cliff retreat is not a gradual process. It's episodic so that when someone says, oh, that's long in the future, far in the future, it may be, or it may not be.
And when it happens, it's going to be some catastrophic events, some big events that will cause a lot of damage all at once. As I watched the California coastline passed by from the comfort of my train seat, remembering Bell's comments made the million dollar views of the water on a gorgeous morning, a lot more unsettling.
And that’s the show for today.
I’ll be back in for Annica again tomorrow. In the meantime, do me a favor and tell three of your friends about this podcast. Word of mouth is still the best way to get this podcast to more people. Thanks in advance.
