Making battery storage facilities safer in San Diego

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, September 12th.

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How the county plans to make battery storage facilities safer.

More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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Three unknown entities want to convert the empty 101 Ash Street office into residential units for low-income families.

That’s according to reporting by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The building is currently owned by the city of San Diego, who initially bought it to house a portion of its downtown workforce.

It canned the plan after it was found the building could not be occupied because of asbestos and other issues.

The new proposals will be presented to the city council in a closed session briefing tentatively scheduled for September 23rd.

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The San Diego Unified School District Board officially has an interim superintendent.

The school board earlier this week named Fabiola Bagula to the role.

She’s been acting superintendent since the board fired former superintendent Lamont Jackson nearly two weeks ago.

Bagula has served as the district’s deputy superintendent, an area superintendent, principal and teacher.

She says she’s honored by the board’s support.

“As a San Diego native, I love this city and have dedicated my life's work to both education within this district, across the county and also the state.”

The district says she’s the first Latina to hold its top leadership position.

She’ll spend the next few weeks visiting schools and meeting with students, staff and families.

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We’re less than two weeks away from the start of the fall season.

And although we’re still in summer, the National Weather Service says temperatures are up to 7 degrees below average for this time of year.

Today and throughout the rest of the work week, temperatures will be in the high 70s in the inland areas, and by the coast, it’ll be in the low 70s.

In the mountains, temps are expected to be in the high 60s, and in the deserts, it’ll be in the high 90s.

And as of now, the forecast is showing a slight chance of rain towards the end of the weekend.

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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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Some San Diegans have voiced concerns about the safety of battery storage facilities.

And yesterday (Wednesday), the county board of supervisors took some steps to address the issue.

Reporter Thomas Fudge tells us about their plan.

Lithium ion batteries are used to store power for bikes, cars and cell phones. And thousands of them are used in Battery Energy Storage Systems, called BESS facilities, to store energy from renewable sources like solar power. The measure before the county board was meant to create stronger safety standards, and it attracted lots of attention from the public. Stephanie Baxter, of Fallbrook, says a battery storage facility in her town has been a problem. “The reality is the Fallbrook BESS is a public health and safety hazard as well as a noise nuisance. A light polluter. It has devalued property.” But environmentalists say a moratorium on new projects would harm San Diego’s chances of meeting clean energy goals. and supervisors refused to impose one. They ordered the fire department to create and enforce buffer zones, between BESS locations and people’s homes. SOQ. 

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In other environment-related news… Smoke and ash from fires burning in other parts of Southern California are drifting into parts of San Diego.

North County reporter Tania Thorne looked into why the smoke is traveling so far.

The Airport fire is burning far north of the San Diego county line... but the impacts are being felt here. the smoke, you know that people are smelling or seeing is coming from the Orange County Airport fire. That fire has pretty much climbed over the Santa Ana Mountains. and is now trying to go down the backside of the mountains which actually is Riverside County. Alex Tardy is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He says wind patterns are pushing smoke into -northern San Diego. This caused the San Diego Air Pollution Control District to issue a warning about air quality for the inland and northern regions. Tardy says smoke will remain in the air and get worse the further North you go in Southern California. TT KPBS News. 

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City leaders in Chula Vista are exploring changes that could weaken its tenant protection laws.

South Bay reporter Kori Suzuki says this is less than two years after that law went into effect.

Chula Vista’s Tenant Protection Ordinance makes it harder to evict tenants when they haven’t done anything wrong. And was strongly supported by renters and their advocates. But industry groups for landlords have repeatedly asked the city to loosen parts of the law. Here’s George Ching with the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors, at Tuesday’s city council meeting. George Ching Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors Ching “Essentially what it turns into is a penalty for any landlord that’s charging below that and a reward as well for anybody who’s charging over that amount. So it creates an incentive to raise the rents.” City staff said they met repeatedly with landlords groups as they were developing the Tenant Protection Ordinance. Stacey Kurz is the director of Housing and Homeless Services. Stacey Kurz Chula Vista Housing and Homeless Services Kurz “We did our very best to work with all stakeholders to come up with something that what we would say is everyone could live with to move forward.” But Chula Vista Councilmember Jose Preciado said he agreed with the landlord representatives. He asked staff to consult with the industry again. And report back early next year. In Chula Vista, Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

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Dogs are companions, sources of comfort, and guardians of sorts.

Health reporter Heidi De Marco explores how, for some women experiencing homelessness, dogs are also protectors on the street.

Now, what is it? What is it? Well, who’s out there? This is Susan Castro and her dog Ralph. She’s been homeless on and off for about twenty years. Ya, you did your job. There you go. That’s a good boy. Castro is 63. Every line on her face reveals a hard life on the streets. SUSAN CASTRO OCEANSIDE Part of that is because I made some poor decisions. But part of it is my age and my health. I had domestic violence in several circumstances. And I had yeah, I was had mostly like suicide attempts and I was hospitalized 13 times in nine years. Ralph is a scruffy 6-year-old Norfolk terrier. He is more than just a pet. SUSAN CASTRO He’s my bodyguard. He’s my annoyance. He’s just everything wrapped up into one. She adopted Ralph about 10 months ago.  Just a few weeks after her previous dog Mickey passed away. SUSAN CASTRO I noticed right away. The first night, I was just concerned. There’s been times I've been scared and I walked around all night long. Data shows that people experiencing homelessness in San Diego County face significantly higher rates of victimization. They are 15 times more likely to be robbed. SUSAN CASTRO I sleep outside, and so I need to know if somebody's coming up close to me because it could be dangerous. And also the dog makes them know anybody that comes near me that I know that they're there. A recent survey of homeless women in LA County found that 35% reported being attacked. I met Susan here in Oceanside. AMBER SPRAGUE DEPUTY, TRANSIT ENFORCEMENT UNIT She's been out to our events with Project Street Vet a couple of times to get her dogs vaccinated and flea and tick medication and those kinds of things. In the last event she brought her new dog. It’s her little baby. Deputy Amber Sprague says having a dog, big or small, is important for women living alone on the streets. AMBER SPRAGUE What I’ve seen is that their animal is everything. They’re willing to sacrifice going into housing or shelters because they have their dog and they’re not willing to leave their dog. It's estimated that up to one and four of people experiencing homelessness have pets. Sandy Myskowski spent 2 years living in her car and on the streets with Isaac. He’s a 60 pound pitbull mix. She credits him for protecting her life more than once. SANDY MYSKOWSKI So some rough nights. Just a few times, fortunately. He knows if I don't redirect him, that his job is to be the protector. And it's always really scary because I do know friends whose dogs have been stabbed. And I'm very fortunate I never went through anything that severe. Obviously, I still have my boy. Gillian Grace found her soulmate in Caboose. She says she adopted the loyal and protective husky mix after a bad break up. And that was one of the worst relationships I’ve ever been in. National data show half of domestic violence survivors would not consider shelter for themselves without their pet. GILLIAN GRACE We were living in an RV, and a man began stalking me. He would try to break in all the time. So I went, got him, and I never saw that man again. And, just the initial just sight of him. And he for the last couple of years has been such just helping me heal. Grace and Caboose are staying at Father Joe’s Village. Many of San Diego’s temporary shelters and safe parking lots say they're pet-friendly. GILLIAN GRACE But like I don't have a constant fear and anxiety all the time like I used to. Like I can relax. A 2024 Animal Welfare journal study found that nearly half of homeless participants lived with their dog in a tent or vehicle. But some supportive housing options for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness require dogs to be certified as emotional support animals. That’s what Susan Castro had to do for Ralph before moving into Greenbrier Village in Oceanside last month. SUSAN CASTRO Outside you sort of keep on your toes. Being able to just go to sleep, it was just so refreshing. It was safe. After months of waiting, she’s in her new apartment. And Ralph is getting some well deserved rest. SUSAN CASTRO Oh, he’s been sleeping like crazy. He doesn’t have to necessarily listen so good because I’m protected inside. I think that he feels a relief in that. If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, you can call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 9-8-8. Heidi de Marco, KPBS News. 

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The economy, a federal abortion ban, and immigration dominated Tuesday’s debate.

Reporter Amita Sharma reports little was said about the future of America's democratic norms, and it provided little assurance.

Vice President Kamala Harris fired the opening salvo about what she says is former President Donald Trump’s intent to implement Project 2025. A plan devised by conservatives, many of whom worked for Trump, that would among other things, eliminate the departments of education, dismantle federal aid programs, and produce a federal abortion ban. But UCSD political science professor Thad Kousser says only voters well-versed in the plan would have understood Harris’s line of attack. if you weren't, that just sounded like code language and, and I don't think she took the time or, or had the time to go into a full explanation of what if brought to fruition, this set of proposals would do.” Kousser also called Trump’s refusal to commit to accepting the results of the November presidential election a dangerous harbinger for democracy. because there are really two things that we know for certain right now.  This will be a very close election and Donald Trump will claim victory. Meanwhile, the head of the California GOP Jessica Millan Patterson issued a statement after the debate that read in part, “ It's clear Kamala Harris isn't ready for primetime. Under the leadership of President Trump, our country was safer, wealthier and stronger, Amita Sharma, 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. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.