Mayor’s budget cuts endorsed by employee union head

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, February 21st.

The San Diego Zoo is celebrating another new arrival.

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

The Imperial Beach City Council approved a resolution this week supporting a state bill that would fund wastewater infrastructure at the border.

Senate Bill 10 would allow SANDAG to collect tolls from the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to fund cross-border pollution projects.

Millions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste discharges through the Tijuana River every day.

The bill is pending consideration in the state senate’s transportation committee.

County Supervisor Jim Desmond is proposing homeless sweeps he says will prevent wildfires.

On Tuesday, the board of supervisors will discuss his proposal to clear homeless encampments in high-risk areas on Red Flag Warning days.

Desmond says several area fires in January originated in homeless encampments.

San Diego FC kicks off its first M-L-S season Sunday.

They’ll face the L.A. Galaxy in Carson.

The expansion side is led by Mexican International star Chucky Lozano. Another notable player is San Diego native Luca de la Torre who has seen stints with the U.S. Men’s National Team.

S-D-F-C’s first home game will be at Snapdragon Stadium March 1st against St. Louis.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.

Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA IS GETTING SUPPORT FROM THE CITY’S LARGEST EMPLOYEE UNION WHEN IT COMES TO BUDGET CUTS. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL SAYS THE HEAD OF THE SAN DIEGO MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION IS NOW ASKING THE MAYOR TO GO EVEN FURTHER.

ON TUESDAY, THE MAYOR SAID A FIRST ROUND OF CUTS WOULD ELIMINATE 30-VACANT POSITIONS, FOR A SAVINGS OF NEARLY FIVE-AND-A-HALF MILLION DOLLARS.  BUT THE CITY’S BUDGET SHORTALL IS 258-MILLION.  SAN DIEGO MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION GENERAL MANAGER MICHAEL ZUCCHET SAYS IT’S TIME FOR THE CITY TO DEAL WITH A LARGER BUDGETARY PROBLEM. “It is time to address what is known as the Structural Budget Deficit, and that is the structural imbalance between what is promised in terms of services and what is coming in on the resource side.  It just doesn’t match.  It’s time to reconcile that.” ZUCCHET SAYS THERE ARE ABOUT 15-HUNDRED UNFILLED POSITIONS IN THE CITY THAT SHOULD BE ELIMINATED BEFORE ANY LAYOFFS.  BY LAW, THE MAYOR IS REQUIRED TO PRESENT A BALANCED BUDGET TO THE CITY COUNCIL BY JUNE.  JC, KPBS NEWS.

After 19 accidents in 18 months at a roundabout on Coast Highway 101 … the city of Encinitas is looking at ways to make it safer.

But as Reporter Alexander Nguyen tells us, residents have differing opinions on how.

As cars snake through this intersection at Coast Highway and El Portal Street … there are signs of accidents at this relatively new roundabout. Broken cement on the curb … tire marks … and missing light poles.“I have to ask, “Was the design not so good.” Scott Campbell is with the advocacy group … Encinitas Citizen Review Panel.  He thinks the radius of the roundabout is too tight … making it difficult for cars to go through safely. Rick Smith … who owns Leucadia Glass … in that intersection … thinks there’s a simpler answer. “On our Leucadia Boulevard in Encinitas Boulevard in Santa Fe. The roundabouts have a sign that says ‘yield to traffic in circle.’ We don't. The city staff, however, don’t think that the design is the issue but rather one of driver inattention or driver error. Of the 19 accidents … 18 happened at night … and 12 of them involved drivers under the influence … according to a staff report. The city council has asked traffic engineers to come up with options to make that circle safer.

A LOCAL HISTORIAN WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE BLACK AND QUEER IN SAN DIEGO 40 YEARS AGO.

REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS IN THE PROCESS, HE FOUND A HERO.

When the T-J Tallie began exploring the Lambda Archives in the fall, he pulled boxes from the late 80’s and early ‘90s. One person burst through the piles of papers and photographs and video.  Marti Mackey is a spitfire, a tiny person, barely over 5 feet, big glasses . . .Marti arrived in San Diego in 1988 at 38 years old. The story goes that her car broke down and she decided to stay for a little bit. Then she fell in love with the city. And with Phyllis Jackson. Phyllis was a dedicated mother and a brilliant activist herself, also a Black lesbian . . . so they became quite a team . . .By later that year, Marti was writing for a local gay and lesbian publication. And Marti quickly becomes one of the most popular and controversial writers.She called herself a member of the Anti-Fluff Brigade. She thought the U.S., San Diego especially, loved to highlight the positive. But glossed over all the work left to do. She wrote what sound like proverbs. Like: “Keeping your mouth shut only makes you run your tongue around the bad taste inside.” About the LA Riots: “I can forgive you only if your foot finally is released from my throat.” People called her a troublemaker.  She wrote: “I mean, if you’re stepping on my foot and I tell you to get off, should I be called a troublemaker for not letting you stand on my foot?” The archives are filled with hate mail to Marti. And her comebacks. In response to a three-paragraph letter that was deeply white supremacist and said that Black people had no intellectual ability and had no business writing, she just simply wrote, ‘I give it a D. It's got a beat, but you can't dance to it.’ Marti also founded a group called LAGADU.  Lesbians and Gays of African Descent United Tallie says it was the first formal organization of its kind locally. Not only did LAGADU create a space for Black LGBTQ San Diegans to say, ‘Oh, my God, I'm both of these things,’ right? But it also really took up space in Pride and in Hillcrest in general. LAGADU ran a sober cafe at the Pride parade. Connected people to resources for HIV/AIDS and drug addiction. Held what they called rap sessions for Black LGBT San Diegans to talk.  They're like, ‘Look, it's been hard here. How do I navigate racism at the bars? How do I navigate employment? 

Two of their members marshalled the 1990 pride parade. And Marti put on a show about Black LGBT life at the Lyceum Theater downtown. Big moments of visibility for a tiny demographic in San Diego. In 1991, Pride named her Woman of the Year.  It is shocking to think that in four years, she could do all that. Just four years after arriving, in August 1992, Marti’s weekly column disappears from the Lambda Archives. Fundraisers for her medical bills begin appearing in October. In December, obituaries. She died of cancer at 42.  One of the things that's hardest about being a historian in the archives is that. . . you get very invested in the people you read about. There is this moment when you keep following and you accidentally move a month ahead, and then there's nothing . . . and someone that you have grown to care about is no longer there . . . I came here to do, you know, an investigative historical thought about what it meant to be Black and queer in San Diego, and I found a hero. What is wild about that is that Marti would be wildly uninterested in any of this. She would look at me and be like, ‘All right, so what are you doing?’ . . . No? Still got wars? They're still racist out here?’ . . . ‘Okay, well, then stop praising me and go get to it.’ Tallie says Marti’s words still resonate. There is something deeply reassuring and also so horrifying that most of the things that she wrote about are unchanged. He says the renewed push for social justice in 20-20 gave hope that – We could talk about stuff and people would listen. But I think in the last five years, we may have gotten a little fatigue. He says with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, people may feel that era is over.  I think Marti would say, ‘Oh, so people listened for a minute, and then they got tired. Work is still the same.’ As the new administration recognizes only two genders, bans trans people from serving in the military and ends federal diversity initiatives, Tallie leans on Marti. I am overwhelmed that I am just one person, and I am deeply flawed. But so is Marti Mackey. And maybe that gives me hope. When the digital archive opens to the public in April, Tallie hopes it will make others feel less alone, too. Katie Hyson, KPBS News

THERE’S A NEW BABY IN THE SAN DIEGO ZOO’S AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK EXHIBIT. REPORTER MELISSA MAE TELLS US ABOUT THE FIRST JOEY TO BE BORN AT THE ZOO IN TWO YEARS.

Inala just turned seven months old on Valentine's Day. So she is starting to venture out with her mom Adori.“Inala means place of rest or peace. We thought that was pretty good. Yeah. It's from the area in Queensland, Australia.”Wildlife care specialist Jennifer Moll says koala’s can give birth once a year but the zoo paused the breeding program for the last two years.  “We decided that we were going to hold off on breeding for a little bit just due to the fact of how many koalas we do have. We have the largest colony of koalas or group of koalas outside of Australia.” Moll says the best time to see Inala in person is breakfast time. That’s right when the zoo opens between 9 and 10 am. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

THE FIRST SOUTH BAY ZINE FEST TAKES PLACE SUNDAY, 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M. AT ILLUSION HALL IN CHULA VISTA. REPORTER JULIA DIXON EVANS HAS THE DETAILS.

Zines are hand-made booklets by independent artists and writers. Popularized in the punk and diy art movements of the ‘70s and ‘80s, they're still thriving. Now, Chula Vista has its own new zine fest. Founder Maxwell Scheller says curiosity is at the heart of what makes a zine great."I say curiosity… What do these people have to say? Why do they put so much effort into putting this on paper and getting it printed? Maybe this is just something that gets us thinking" Sunday's event features dozens of creators and panel discussions, and is free and open to all ages.Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS News.

This weekend’s weather looks to be about perfect. The National Weather Service says to expect clear skies and highs in the mid-70s. While lows will be in the 50s.

That’s it for the podcast today. This week’s podcast was produced by Andrew Dyer, Brenden Tuccinardi and Lara McCaffrey. It’s edited by Brooke Ruth. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. . I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and enjoy the nice weather this weekend.