Former SDSU athletes accused of rape head to court
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, July 13th.
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Five former S-D-S-U football players accused of rape head to court tomorrow. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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An update on the summer heat we’ve been feeling this week…
There’s a high heat risk warning for some inland areas in the county, with temperatures forecast in the 90s and approaching 120 in the deserts this weekend..
The national weather service says some heat records could be tied or broken..
Some cool zones will have extended hours.. there’s around 100 in the region, mostly at libraries and community centers..
It’s where people can go to escape the potentially dangerous heat.
81-year old Bob Guthrie was at the Santee Library this week… he says the air-conditioning at the cool zones is particularly important for those on fixed incomes.
“Seniors need that place to go to stay cool because they can’t pay the high tax of San Diego gas and electric.”
Staying hydrated and avoiding exercising or strenuous activities during the hottest parts of the day can reduce the risk of heat-related illness.
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Our partners at inewsource are reporting that Border Patrol is obstructing attorneys’ access to what could be hundreds of migrants detained at a temporary holding facility in Otay Mesa.
The attorneys who spoke to inewsource said agents are limiting how and when detainees can access phone booths, which limits their ability to seek legal counsel.
For more on that story go to inewsource dot org.
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There’s a new way to ride around P-B.
It’s called the Beach Bug shuttle.
It’s a neighborhood, electric vehicle shuttle service that will take residents and visitors around the beachside community.
It can take riders to popular P-B destinations and to and from the Balboa Transit Station.
Rides are free through the summer.
You can book a ride through the “Ride Circuit ” mobile app.
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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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Tomorrow, five former S-D-S-U football players accused of rape will get their day in court.
Prosecutors declined to press charges in December … citing a lack of evidence.
But the young woman who accused them … has filed a civil lawsuit against the men, seeking unspecified damages.
Reporter Alexander Nguyen spoke to an attorney about what to expect at the preliminary hearing.
In cases like this … Brian Watkins … says it boils down to credibility. He’s a civil and criminal defense attorney and is not a party to this case. He says Jane Doe’s credibility has been shaken because she's walked back her original claim that she contracted a sexually transmitted disease from the alleged rape. “So the fact that she made that allegation and now has to backtrack and remove that allegation again goes through credibility, which opens up a Pandora's box.” The burden of proof is much lower in a civil case than in a criminal one. Instead of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt … in a civil trial … all the plaintiff has to do is show that the alleged incident was more likely to happen than not. At the preliminary hearing this Friday, a judge will decide what evidence can be used, and that's what both sides are arguing over. AN/KPBS.
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Most natural gas customers in S-D-G-AND-E’s service area got big bills this past winter.
A colder-than-normal winter and low gas supplies generated record high prices.
But environment reporter Erik Anderson says few people got the bill surprise that came for one North County resident.
When 88 year old Jackie Babbitt opened his gas bill at the end of January he was stunned. The charge for the month was 12-hundred-82 dollars. And 53 cents. “First I just thought there must be a mistake. Doug Gastélum is Babbitt’s grandson and he’s speaking on Jack’s behalf. Douglas Gastélum Babbitt’s Grandson “Somebody typed in something wrong. There’s just a mistake. And we’ll get it corrected and we’ll be fine.” Babbitt is a military vet and widower. He lives alone in a trailer home that sits in a Fallbrook valley just off Interstate 15. Babbitt’s trailer has the typical line-up of gas-powered appliances: a gas stove, hot water heater, furnace, and a gas clothes dryer. But one thing Babbitt doesn’t have is a smart meter. Anthony Wagner San Diego Gas and Electric “This is in Fallbrook and because of the topography and because of where they’re located they don’t enjoy the ability to have a radio signal that sends their actual, what they use for gas on an everyday basis.” An SDGE employee has to physically come out to Babbitt’s house and take a reading to get a measurement of Babbitt’s gas use. They say they do that every other month, and use estimates in between. His bills indicate that didn’t happen for nine months before the huge January bill landed. And then the SDGE bill said he used nearly five times the average home’s natural gas consumption in January. “I’m going to have a look at these prior bills and see what I can learn about how this happened. And when I talked to, or when I looked at the, I realized they were much more complicated than I imagined. Then I started noticing this business of the…estimations of use.” Between June and early January of last year Babbitt was billed 154 dollars and eight cents. The bills indicate the charges were estimates which averaged out to about 22 dollars a month. SDGE says that’s not entirely accurate. “The bill says that there were nine estimates in a row, but in reality, we went to mister Babbitts home two or three days after we sent him the bill. And that happened several times. So while the bill identified an estimate. In reality, truthfully, we missed one estimate and that was in November.” But when an actual reading was taken in January gas use was sharply higher… meaning the monthly estimates were woefully low. And Babbitt got hit even harder by the cost of gas. SDGE customers paid five dollars and 11 cents a therm. That’s more than double the December price which the utility had already warned would be expensive.“Yeah, that is actually unimaginable how they could rack up a bill like that. Dan Whitworth is a consumer advocate for San Diego’s Utility Consumers’ Action Network. He says he’s seen other cases where estimated readings led to outsized bills. Dan Whitworth Utility Consumers’ Action Network “Meter readers have to go out and actually view the meter. And they are supposed to do that every two months, but the story San Diego Gas and Electric has been telling us is they do not have adequate personnel to go out and do that but they are doing everything they can to train people so they can get people out there.” Whitworth says truing up the meter and bill after a long period of estimates means a customer can end up paying above baseline rates. The utility charges more when customers use more as a way to encourage conservation. “It always has a very, very anxiety raising effect on the customer at a bill out of the blue, so large.” Rising gas bills in the months leading up to January could’ve been a warning sign that everything was not okay. A malfunctioning heating duct discovered in April – after the big January bill – likely contributed to the unusually high gas consumption. That stoked Gastelum’s frustration about the long run of estimated bills. “But also, if there is a problem with your system, you will detect it sooner. So, ahem, there’s a lot of problems with just estimating these things month after month after month after month.” KPBS spoke to San Diego Gas and Electric about Babbitt’s situation to get some answers . We will let you know what happened, tomorrow. Erik Anderson KPBS News.
TAG: The San Diego based utility consumers’ action network works with customers who have bill issues.
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A record 300-thousand people are expected to celebrate the L-G-B-T-Q PLUS community in San Diego this weekend…
But before “Pride”... comes “preparation.”
And yesterday, that preparation included active shooter training at Rich’s Nightclub in Hillcrest.
Eddie Reynoso of the Equity Business Alliance explains why his organization arranged the training at one of the most popular and established gay bars in the county.
“We’re under attack from our own government. Our rights are being removed. We’re under attack by the religious right, and then people that are empowered with hate – we’re under attack by them. So, this is just another one of those pro-active steps that we’re taking.”
Pride events continue all week, culminating in a festival in Balboa Park …and the parade down University Avenue on Saturday.
KPBS is one of the many sponsors of this year’s San Diego Pride festival…but we cover the event with editorial independence.
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Coming up.... more San Diego Unified community schools are set to open this fall. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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The need for food banks has grown since the pandemic and deepened with the rising cost of living.
But some areas are experiencing that need more than others, according to a study the San Diego Food Bank recently conducted.
North County reporter Tania Thorne has the details.
When news of the pandemic broke, the San Diego Food Bank was quick to respond to communities experiencing food insecurity. Casey Castillo, the CEO of the San Diego Food Banks says it seems that need hasn't fully gone away. “We’re currently serving 400k people per month, which is more than we were serving before the beginning of the pandemic where our numbers nearly doubled.” With the consistent amount of people relying on the San Diego food bank, Castillo says he wanted to know more about how the organization is helping. The food bank partnered with SDSU’s L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management to conduct surveys. The top reasons why recipients surveyed rely on the food bank were rising costs, seniors on fixed incomes, and not enough income. TT KPBS News.
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San Diego Unified is more than doubling the number of community schools opening in the district this fall.
Ten more community school campuses will provide services and support to fit the specific needs of the neighborhoods they serve.
Hoover High School in City Heights is one of the district’s original community schools.
There is a food pantry operated in collaboration with Feeding San Diego.
Hoover and four other schools also provide additional health services and life skill classes for parents in the highest-need communities.
The state has given San Diego Unified 40-million dollars in grant money to pay for more programs schools can offer outside classroom time.
Jason Babineau is senior director of community schools.
“I think the beauty of the community school strategy is that it localizes the needs of the specific sites …then it’s the work of the community school team to go out and make those connections with community resources.”
Hoover High will be joined this fall by Lincoln, Morse and Crawford high schools in the community school transition.
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San Diego's historic Lafayette Hotel is open again after being closed for renovations since October.
Reporter Melissa Mae got a sneak peek of all the upgrades to this San Diego landmark.
MM: Hospitality group CH projects spent $31 million dollars on renovations to the Lafayette Hotel and Club so far. MM: The lobby bar is the epicenter of the hotel, sitting between a 24-hour diner, retail shop and of course the historic pool. MM: MarQuies Willis is the director of sales and marketing for the Lafayette and describes the theme of the hotel. MW “It’s community, I would probably say that’s the theme. We create spaces that people can actually come together and have a place that gives them a little bit of escapism, but also a stay-cation is good for the local community as well.” MM: If you’re thinking about taking a stay-cation at the hotel, room rates start at 2 hundred 99 dollars a night. 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 Thursday.
