Hot, hot and hotter
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, July 19th.
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How our wet winter weather is impacting coastal temps this summer. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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San Diego residents will have to wait up to three more years to learn about how the city uses surveillance technology.
Last August, the city council passed an ordinance that set a one-year deadline to identify what surveillance tools are being used, get community input, and then secure city council approval for their continued use.
But the deadline is fast-approaching… so councilmembers voted yesterday to extend it by three years.
The city has identified hundreds of surveillance items needing review… but not one has gone before the city council for approval.
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Results from a Title 9 assessment of S-D-S-U were released this week.
In the report … the law firm Cozen O’Connor, says the S-D-S-U center responsible for responding to Title 9 violations ... including sexual assault and harassment ... lacks the “infrastructure required,” and is “under resourced” to carry out all of its functions.
The school has convened a team to review the report's recommendations.
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Summer vacation is over for thousands of students in the South Bay.
This morning, classes resume in both the Chula Vista Elementary and Sweetwater Union High School Districts.
90-percent of students in both districts are members of minority communities.
For many of them, English is not their first language.
Alejandra Inzunza is principal at Sweetwater High School.
“Our English Learners are all our students. We work with community members to see what supports we can give any family regardless of their language or any barriers they may have.”
Both the Sweetwater and Chula Vista districts are on a year-round schedule making them the first in the county to return for the fall semester.
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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 heat advisory for the county’s valleys goes into effect at 10 this morning, and will last until Saturday night.
Temps are expected to be up to 105 degrees in the valleys, the mid 90s for inland areas and 104 degrees in the county’s mountain areas.
Temps along the coast will be a lot cooler… in the mid 80s.
Reporter John Carroll says there’s an explanation for that.
If you travel back and forth between the coast and inland areas of the county, you might have noticed it. even though we’re in mid-july, the coastal areas have yet to see any blistering heat this summer. national weather service meteorologist brian adams says the marine layer is hanging around later into the day and the reason for that is found in our cool, wet winter and its effect on ocean water temperatures. “the big body of water that the pacific ocean is, is really like a big heat sink, so it holds on to that cooler temperature a lot longer than the air above it does.” but adams says even the coastal areas will experience hotter, more humid weather into early next week, as a huge heat dome over the southwest spreads westward. jc, kpbs news.
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A political fight is brewing over the typically bipartisan annual defense spending bill.
San Diego democratic lawmakers say republicans are playing politics with national security.
Military reporter Andrew Dyer has more.
A nearly 900 billion dollar annual defense bill passed the House last week by a razor-thin partisan margin. All but four House Democrats voted against the bill after Republicans added several last-minute amendments cutting or gutting Pentagon policies on diversity, transgender healthcare and abortion care for service members. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D) CA “The majority of Americans, including the majority of Republicans, think service members should be able to get healthcare, think that they should be able to travel if they need to get healthcare and understand that joining the military doesn't mean you should have less rights than if you’re a civilian.” Congresswoman Sara Jacobs joined fellow San Diego Democrats Scott Peters, Juan Vargas and Mike Levin in voting against the bill. San Diego Republican Darrel Issa voted in favor. The Senate version of the spending bill is expected to pass the Democratically-controlled Senate this week without those Republican amendments. It will then be up to leaders in both chambers to reconcile the bill with negotiations expected to stretch into the fall. Andrew Dyer, KPBS News.
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Coming up.... How pop culture will be used to teach people about law at Comic-Con.
“I've learned a lot from pop culture, from properties like star trek, star wars, even some of the 80s cartoons, gi. joe transformers that i grew up on.”
We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Rady Children’s Hospital is hosting a panel on how its doctors are using 3-D printing and virtual reality to help with complex surgeries.
Health reporter Matt Hoffman takes us to the lab where the technology is growing, thanks in part to video games.
In a Rady Children’s Hospital lab, video game technology is the foundation for creating virtual models to help surgeons perform complex operations..like heart procedures, transplants and surgeries involving the brain or spinal cord. Gholami We wanted to have a tool that would be easy for them to use without having all these additional training Parham Gholami is a research engineer at Rady’s.. Before this he was a videogame developer.. He says any body part or bone can be turned into a 3d model through a CT scan or MRI.. He remembers the first time observing a surgery using the technology.. Parham Gholami, Rady’s research engineer They had the model viewer open -- they had a reconstruction of a heart open. It was sort of surreal to see that. Of like oh man this thing I created is having a material impact on people -- it’s helping make someone’s life better Rady’s engineers are showcasing how they're using virtual reality and 3d printing during a panel this Saturday at Comic-Con. MH KPBS News.
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Another panel at Comic-Con will be hosted by Steven Chu (Chew).
He is a self-described geeky fan… but he is also San Diego's first Asian American federal magistrate.
And for the four days of Comic-Con, his two identities intersect.
Arts reporter Beth Accomando explains.
As a lawyer Steven Chu often heard the refrain of “win at all costs.” Then he became an assistant U.S. Attorney. STEVE CHU We were taught to do three things in every case: do the right thing for the right reason, in the right way. Wait, that sounds a little bit like Superman’s old mantra… I’m here to fight for truth and justice and the American Way. Chu actually takes a lot of inspiration from superheroes and pop culture. Comics and law books take up equal space in Chu’s chambers, reflecting his dual passions . He goes to a shelf and pulls out a Daredevil comic. STEVE CHU He's an attorney as well. A blind attorney. He became an attorney to fight the bullies, because he was bullied a lot growing up and believed in the rules of law, and he wanted to fight for justice. I have been preoccupied with questions of morality, of good and evil, right and wrong… STEVE CHU I never liked bullies, and I wanted to stand up to bullies. And the law -- through exercising the rules, enforcing the rules – is, I believe, a way to do that. Chu will now be enforcing the law from a different vantage point. He was recently sworn in as a U.S. federal magistrate judge. STEVE CHU People are supposed to be equal under the law, and the law applies equally to everyone… And that often is the role of the judge to make sure that it is fair and it's a level playing field. Chu’s dual identity as a respected judge and a pop culture nerd, led him to join The Legal Geeks, a group of real attorneys and judges with a passion for films, comics, and science fiction. STEVE CHU I view it as our mission to educate people about the law and to make it fun and accessible. So we do these mock trials, these pretend trials. We did a Star Wars court martial about Poe Dameron MOCK TRIAL We do not deny Captain Dameron's actions. We've shown you why he did what he did. We therefore ask that you find Captain Damron not guilty for disobeying orders, not guilty for mutiny, and not guilty for conduct of becoming an officer. STEVE CHU We try to make it as realistic as we can with real rules, following some rules of evidence and how a trial would actually happen. The hope is – it will get people to think about the law. STEVE CHU We want people to care and to get interested in the law… We've had people tell us, you guys are the reason I'm going to law school. This year Chu will be on a Comic-Con panel Thursday night addressing the legal issues raised in the Indiana Jones movies. Indy’s theme STEVE CHU Issues such as, can he actually keep the items that he's finding in all these places under this fictional treaty for the protection of antiquities? The Legal Geeks will also raise questions about the government classifying the Lost Ark of the Covenant as top secret. STEVE CHU What is the government's authority to classify these items? What right does the public have to learn about these through mechanisms like the Freedom of Information Act or any other mechanism? Should the public have access to the Ark of the Covenant? Chu approaches the mock trials with the same diligence as a real one. STEVE CHU I'm drafting out my arguments. I'm writing outlines. I'm meeting with witnesses. I'm prepping them. Chu’s dedication to the law – whether in a mock trial or a real courtroom – is impressive. And when he suits up in his black cape, I mean judge’s robes, he seems every bit a superhero trying to protect the ideals of the legal system. I just feel better knowing he’s out there. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
TAG: Steve Chu’s (Chew’s) Legal Geeks Panel takes place tomorrow night at 7 p-m, and requires a Comic-Con badge to attend.
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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 Wednesday.
