Housing allowance increased for military families
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, October 11th.
San Diego military families get an increase in their housing allowance.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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Today the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will vote on an effort to educate school children about the deadly effects of fentanyl.
The effort would direct the county to work with state education officials and the legislature to require fentanyl awareness education in county classrooms.
It would also increase Narcan distributions and trainings for parents and student first responders.
Accidental overdose deaths caused by fentanyl are at an all-time high across the nation.
The CDC estimates that in 20-21 over 70-thousand people died from overdosing on fentanyl.
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Ballots started getting mailed out over the weekend … and voters in San Diego county have a new way to send them back to be counted.
The county now has 141 new, stand-alone ballot drop boxes.
County registrar of voters Cynthia Paes says the new boxes are very secure
“It's made of high grade stainless steel. It also has a very thin space to insert the ballot. It has double locking mechanisms in the doors.”
The official boxes are red … white … and blue with the registrar's logo and county seal.
You can find a list of ballot drop box locations at kpbs-dot-org slash voterhub.
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The Padres will face the LA Dodgers tonight at Dodgers Stadium in the next round of the playoffs.
The game opens the best of five National League Division Series.
The Padres advanced after beating the Mets in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Tonight’s game starts at 6:30 on Fox Sports 1.
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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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It’s no secret that San Diego is one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation.
But military families are getting some relief… because the Department of Defense is increasing the Basic Allowance for Housing.
KPBS reporter Kitty Alvarado talked with one military family who will be affected by the increase.
Devon Hicks retired from the Navy after serving for over two decades. He works in San Diego, where his wife still serves our country. A lot of military families have a stay at home spouse because when the job calls you to go you got to go They used to live in Murrieta with their large family. His commute was more than an hour… and they looked at moving closer to work. We looked at maybe possibly moving here to San Diego so the commute isn’t long but you typically can’t get a house six bedroom, five bedroom house out here under a million dollars probably so you just, can’t afford it So they bought in Menifee, even further north. And that’s what many military families stationed in San Diego have to do to find affordable housing: move farther away. When it comes down to it, Hicks says, it’s the military’s basic housing allowance that has the ultimate say. And right now, that won’t even cover the mortgage in Riverside County. With the stipend that we’re getting it’s helpful but it still doesn’t cover what my mortgage is, so you know that’s where you use your paycheck, or you get a side job or you do Uber or you do Lyft or you do something The Department of Defense identified 28 housing areas – including San Diego – where housing costs went up 20 percent. Now they’re giving military members in those areas an increase in the basic housing allowance… or B-A-H. The increase starts this month and runs through the end of the year. Then a new rate takes effect on January first. It’s always been tough for veterans because in California just period everything is more expensive That’s Michael Drew, a Navy veteran turned real estate agent. He specializes in helping military families find homes in the San Diego region. He explained the Department of Defense does this analysis every year… but this year it came three months early, and that was a good decision, he says… because this year the cost of food and gas and just about everything… went up. This was desperately needed, desperately needed, because if we look at it I mean just in the last year we looked at we looked at 15 percent, 20 percent increases in prices … gas, groceries have increased in prices and then you’re looking at housing prices As housing prices skyrocketed the Hicks family’s story became common among military families. The South Bay has been booming, Otay Mesa all around that area out there that’s where we see a lot of military families opting to live because the prices aren't as bad as North County … if they really want bang for the buck they go up to Temecula, Riverside because you can get way bigger home You’re looking at a 2 hour two and a half three hour commute going and coming back sometimes that’s the down side of it But he says the military thought of something to help out with that too they do have a rideshare program where it kind of offsets to where you know the military members don’t have to deal with so much wear and tear on their cars especially with gas being outrageous right now almost $7 a gallon Devon Hicks says his family is not without struggle, but he feels blessed. We have a family that’s pretty senior, we get a lot more pay but I have a niece who is a very junior sailor who has a kid and has a studio apartment cause that’s all she can afford … Still, he says he hurts for those just starting out in the military, knowing from experience what they’re about to go through. for those junior sailors or marines or service members who are here it’s going to be a battle And that’s the picture Drew wants to paint for officials who make policy decisions that affect military families every single day. We want our sailors and our service members to be able to focus on protecting our country, not worrying about their families and housing, is my family going to be freaking homeless? No that distracts from our mission. Kitty Alvarado KPBS News
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With Santa Ana season about to hit its peak in California… the state’s attorney general is leading an effort to assess wildfire risk for some new developments.
KPBS reporter Jacob Aere says it’s especially targeted for those zones between unoccupied land and human development – known as the wildland-urban interface.
California Attorney general Rob Bonta visited San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park Monday to outline some new guidance coming from his office.He says the new guidance will help local governments mitigate wildfire risk for proposed developments in fire prone areas… and help answer questions, like: “How likely is this home to burn up in flames tomorrow? Do fire rescue and emergency responders have easy access to my neighborhood? Will we be able to safely get out in time?” The guidance tells developers to look at things like how dense a project is… where it’s located and what evacuation routes are available… the water supply… and how to fire-harden homes and other buildings. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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San Diego is proposing a new definition for sustainable development.
KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it could have big implications for the city's housing crisis.
AB: An important term in city planning is "transit priority area." These are areas within a half-mile of a major transit stop where the city wants to focus its future growth. But that half-mile is measured as the crow flies… meaning barriers to accessing transit like canyons or fencing aren't taken into account. City planning director Heidi Vonblum says that doesn't make sense. HV: There are examples of properties that are three to four miles away from transit, but they're falling within that half-mile bubble because they're across a canyon, across a freeway and down the street. AB: City staff are proposing a new category called "sustainable development areas" that would follow pedestrian pathways to transit, like sidewalks and bridges. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
TAG: You can go to KPBS-dot-org to learn more about this story, and why some experts fear the city's proposal could be illegal.
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Coming up.... We break down 2 propositions and a measure that you’ll see on your ballot. We’ll have that, next, just after the break.
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There are seven statewide propositions on your ballot this fall. Today, we’ll talk about two of them.
First up is Proposition 30.
Here’s Cal Matters reporter Nadia Lopez
"California has some of the worst air quality in the U.S. To help improve it – and fight climate change – the state has banned the sale of new gas cars by 2035. Proposition 30 could support that electric car mandate by funding rebates and incentives for low-income people to buy them. It would also fund charging stations. And help hire, train, and retain firefighters for battling wildfires. To achieve this, Prop 30 would impose a new income tax on Californians who make more than 2 million a year. Supporters say the tax would help the transition to electric cars and boost wildfire prevention efforts. Opponents say Californians don’t need more tax hikes and worry it could drive people out of state. Vote “yes” if you think millionaires should be taxed to help fund electric car rebates and more firefighters. Vote “no” if you don’t. In San Francisco, I’m Nadia Lopez.
Next up is Proposition 31.
Elizabeth Aguilera from CalMatters takes it from here..
"In 2020, California lawmakers voted to ban the sale of flavored vape products, menthol cigarettes and chewing tobacco. But that law hasn't taken effect yet – because the tobacco industry collected enough signatures to put a referendum on California's November ballot. Proposition 31 asks voters whether they want the flavored tobacco ban to go into effect. Advocates of the ban argue that flavored products are marketed to young people who go on to develop nicotine addiction. Opponents say the state already bans selling tobacco products to minors and that this law infringes on the freedoms of adults. Vote yes if you want flavored tobacco to be illegal in California. Vote no if you want to allow the sale of flavored tobacco products. In Los Angeles, I’m Elizabeth Aguilera."
Now we’ll switch gears to a local measure that proposes … a new cannabis tax that could bring in millions from businesses in unincorporated San Diego County.
KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman says the proposal is similar to what some local cities have already done.
All San Diego County voters will see Measure A –the cannabis business tax – on their November ballots.. The measure would allow the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to impose taxes on legal mariujana businesses in the unincorporated county.. Everything from retail, to distribution, testing and cultivation is on the table.. The taxes could bring in between 3 to 5 million dollars per year and the money could be used for any government purpose ranging from parks, to public safety or even road repairs.. The measure was placed on the ballot by a majority vote of the board of supervisors. Supporters say it’s a bipartisan solution to advance the legal cannabis market and help curtail illegal operations.. Opponents argue Measure A is unfair because it only applies to businesses in the unincorporated county, yet all county voters are taking it up.. They also question whether revenues would actually go to services in the areas paying the cannabis tax. MH 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 day.
