Measure G results show a divide between urban, suburban voters
Good Morning, I’m Katie Anastas, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, November 20th.>>>>
WE LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW PEOPLE VOTED ON THE SALES TAX MEASURE THAT WOULD HAVE FUNDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTY.More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….#######
A STRIKE BY KAISER SAN DIEGO MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS IS IN ITS FIFTH WEEK. A NEW COMPLAINT BY THE UNION CLAIMS UNDERSTAFFING HAS LEFT HOSPICE PATIENTS WITHOUT PAIN MANAGEMENT.
CIARA KEEGAN (KEY-era KEY-gen) IS WITH THE NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS.
KAISERSTRIKE 2A :22
Patients were reporting pain to the medical social worker, the replacement worker, and that social worker was documenting the pain and charging that they would notify the nurse to address the pain, telling the patient that they would notify the nurse and would get their pain managed and then never following up.
KEEGAN SAYS DURING THE STRIKE, KAISER CUT THE STAFFING LEVELS OF MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKERS, VIOLATING MEDICARE REGULATIONS. KAISER DID NOT HAVE AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO A KPBS INQUIRY ABOUT THE COMPLAINT.
THE UNION IS ASKING FOR RESTORED PENSIONS, GUARANTEED TIME FOR PATIENT CARE TASKS AND PAY EQUITY.
KAISER IS A KPBS UNDERWRITER.
########
THE U-S AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO, KEN SALAZAR, VISITED SAN DIEGO YESTERDAY (TUESDAY).
HE HIGHLIGHTED THE CHANGES AND CHALLENGES ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER -ONE BEING THE DELAY OF THE OTAY MESA EAST PORT OF ENTRY PROJECT.
THERE HAD BEEN HOPES IT WOULD BE FINISHED THIS YEAR… BUT NOW THE ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE IS 20-28.
CONSTRUCTION IS NOW FURTHER ALONG ON THE MEXICAN SIDE… SAN DIEGO IS FALLING BEHIND.
SALAZAR 2A (0:18)
yes, it will be done soon. It's also an opportunity for us to look at our own processes and see how it can be done better.Why do things take so long? What is functioning and what is not functioning within the United States government to be able to do a better on projects up and down the border?
SALAZAR’S ASSIGNMENT IS COMING TO AN END AS A NEW ADMINISTRATION TAKES OVER THE WHITE HOUSE.
BUT THE DOZENS OF ONGOING PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE ALMOST 2-THOUSAND MILE LONG U-S AND MEXICO BORDER CONTINUE.
#######
CONSTRUCTION CREWS HAVE STARTED WORKING ON A TWO-WEEK MAINTENANCE PROJECT ON THE IMPERIAL BEACH PIER.
THE PIER IS EXPECTED TO REOPEN BY THE WEEKEND.
THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO IS REPLACING TWO PILINGS TO MAINTAIN THE PIER'S STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.
JESUS PUEBLA IS THE CAPITAL PROJECT MANAGER AT THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO.
HE SPOKE WITH OUR PARTNERS AT 10-NEWS.
IBPIER 1A (10-news) :16
"We want to make sure that we preserve this asset for the community because it is, it is their asset. They are the ones that enjoy the sun, the sun sets, they go out and fish or maybe catch, maybe catch a po boy at 10 fish"
CREWS ARE ALSO REPLACING DECK BOARDS AND PERFORMING SOME PIPING WORK.
THE PORT WAS AWARDED ABOUT 3 MILLION DOLLARS FOR PHASE THREE OF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS.
#########
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
<<<UNDERWRITING BREAK>>
######
<<<MUSIC BUMP INTO A BLOCK>>
##########
MEASURE G, THE SALES TAX MEASURE THAT WOULD HAVE FUNDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTY, HAS FAILED.
METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE RESULTS SHOW A DIVIDE BETWEEN URBAN AND SUBURBAN VOTERS.
GFOLO 1 (ab) 0:48 soq
AB: If Measure G had been limited to the city of San Diego, it would have passed with 54%. The measure also won majorities in the South Bay, and in the downtown areas of many suburbs. But the further a voter was from a dense population center, the more likely they were to vote "no." SDSU political science professor Brian Adams says inflation, poor turnout among Democrats and a crowded ballot likely contributed to Measure G's defeat. BA: This was a really hard election year for any ballot measure, for any down-ballot race. Everybody was so focused on the presidential race that it was really hard for anybody to get any traction. AB: All together, 51% of county voters said "no" to Measure G. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
##########
EVEN THOUGH THE RIGHT TO AN ABORTION IS PROTECTED UNDER CALIFORNIA’S CONSTITUTION, ADVOCATES SAY THERE ARE STILL BARRIERS TO ACCESSING CARE.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN SAYS A NEW PROGRAM BY THE NORTH COUNTY L-G-B-T-Q RESOURCE CENTER SEEKS TO CHANGE THAT.
NCLGBT 1 (an) TRT: 0:53 SOQ
It’s called the Reproductive Justice Project program and is intended to serve people who need access to care. “This is ... not an ideological approach, but really, basic human rights of access to health care." Max Disposti is the center’s executive director. He says most reproductive rights messaging …. is aimed at heterosexual women, not queer women … which is why this program is needed. “Majority of cisgender queer women have been pregnant, and they were more likely to have had an abortion than heterosexual women. This is particularly true for bisexual women and other women with a history of same-sex partners.” The center received nearly 3-hundred-thousand dollars from the California Department of Public Health to run the program for the next three years. It includes one-on-one case management and accompanying people to intimate medical procedures such as abortion and gender-affirming care. AN/KPBS
##########
GUNS ORIGINALLY BOUGHT IN THE U-S ARE ROUTINELY FOUND IN MEXICAN CRIME SCENES.
OFFICIALS TELL BORDER REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS THAT THE ILLEGAL FLOW OF U-S GUNS INTO MEXICO IS ARMING THE CARTELS.
MEXGUNS (gs) 4:56 SOQ
On a warm sunny day in July, San Diego Congressman Juan Vargas was part of a Congressional delegation visiting Mexico’s presidential palace. After a tour of the palace grounds, the lawmakers got down to business with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. VARGASGUNS “We wanted to talk about drugs, fentanyl, and we wanted to talk about sewage in San Diego…. But Mexico’s leaders had other priorities. CONT.. They said great, we’ll work on that – help us with these weapons. You guys are arming the cartels.” They were talking about the illegal flow of guns from the United States into Mexico … made possible by the combination of Mexico’s strict gun control laws and the easy access Americans have to firearms. Every year more than 10,000 guns found in Mexican crime scenes are traced back to the United States – according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Known as the Iron River, the southern flow of guns has devastated Mexico … which is now home to seven of the world’s ten most dangerous cities, based on murder rates. VARGASGUNS “They’re incredibly dangerous and we’re seeing it. You see the shootouts there that they have. It’s like any shootout you’d have in a war. ” Under federal law ATF can only publish the number of guns found in Mexico traced back to the United states. It does not identify specifically which states or cities the guns came from. However, the public now has access to more specific data thanks to a successful lawsuit against ATF filed by San Francisco-based gun control advocate John Lindsay-Poland. Poland “There’s so much harm, there’s so much disruption and chaos and pain that is produced using these guns. And so often when we talk about what’s going on in Mexico there isn’t a reference to the sources.” The data covers a seven-year period from 2015 to 2022. It is broken down by zip code, gun manufacturer, model and caliber. Lindsay-Poland says this trove of data can help increase public understanding. Poland “If there’s hundreds of guns that are traced to a zip code, then I think it’s an opportunity for people in that community to say we don’t really want to be the source of this. We might believe in the right to buy firearms and all that but this is a problem that we need to address.” Not surprisingly, most of the U.S. guns identified in Mexican crime scenes came from border states. Gun rights advocates are warning against using the data to make sweeping conclusions about the entire industry. Lawrence Keane is with the National Shooting Sports Foundation. GUNLOBBY “It can be used by law enforcement for targeted investigations or apply resources. It’s wrong to take that data and make blanket assertions that dealers in a given zip code or nationally are somehow corrupt.” For example, it does not include a purchase date. So there is no way to know whether a gun was bought 10 months ago or 10 years ago. Also, there’s no information regarding whether a gun was reported stolen after being legally purchased in the United States. But, Keane acknowledges the data is a useful investigative tool. GUNLOBBY “You have to do an investigation. That’s the point. You can’t jump from the trace data to a conclusion. It’s the starting point potentially of an investigation.” Tim Sloan was the head of ATF operations in Mexico during the Trump and Biden administrations. He says the gun trace data played a key role in investigations. FORMER ATF “In four years I traced, my team did not me, we examined and traced about 97,000 firearms over four years and that’s just a small percentage of the firearms arriving in Mexico.” Sloan says that some of the crime scenes were go violent that investigators had to clean blood and brain matter from some of the guns to find serial numbers required to trace them. He believes there is a direct connection between gun violence and the migrants fleeing to the United States. FORMER ATF “You leave Guanajuato, and you leave Michoacan Mexico to come to the United States because you will die if you stay where you are. Your family will die, your children will die. They will kill you; they will hang you from a bridge. The violence is so out of control and over the top and extreme and oh they are all being murdered with firearms purchased in the United States so we should do something about that. Sloan says ATF officials in Washington D.C. don’t view the flow of guns into Mexico as a priority. He points out that ATF has an overall budget of $1.5 billion. But the Mexico office only has a budget of $1.5 million. FORMER ATF “Nobody can seriously believe that we’re doing all we can when that’s the budget that’s provided.” ATF did not respond to a request for comment. Some lawmakers like Vargas say this new data can help them pass gun control laws. VARGASGUNS “It’s very reasonable to have an assault weapon ban in the United States. But it would also help us in Mexico and in Central America and Latin America because they would not get these assault weapons.” But those kinds of bans are none-starters for the gun industry – who view them as infringements on the Second Amendment. Again, here is Keane. GUNLOBBY “They’re legal to buy in here the United States and they’re not being used in crime. Why should we restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans because Mexico has a crime problem?” Instead of targeting gun dealers and American citizens, Keane says the focus should be on Mexico’s inability to prosecute criminals. He says the National Shooting Sports Association does support tougher criminal penalties for straw purchasers. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
########## NO MUSIC BUMP
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP’S VOW TO DEPORT MILLIONS OF UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE IS STIRRING UP FEAR AND ANXIETY IN SOME IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES.
KPBS'S AMITA SHARMA ALSO SPOKE WITH BORDER REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS ABOUT HOW CALIFORNIA COULD RESPOND.
BORDER (as) TRT 4:12 SOQ: "They want to fill that gap."
Amita: California is a sanctuary state. What protection does that status offer the state's nearly 2 million undocumented people who could be targets of deportation?Gustavo: Yeah, I think the biggest function, practical function of a sanctuary state is that it limits local law enforcement from helping federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws. So, for example, here in San Diego, sheriff's deputies, any police department, if they stop you, they are not allowed to ask you for your immigration status if you're detained, they are not allowed to turn around and tell Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they have you in their custody. Amita: Describe who these undocumented people are, their jobs, their lives, their families, their contribution to the economy, and how might California and the rest of the country fare without them? Gustavo: Right here in San Diego county, there is an estimated between 150,000 and 170,000 undocumented people. And there's an extra 150,000 folks who live in mixed status households. Right. That would be folks undocumented parents and US Citizen children, or maybe a US Citizen spouse and their partner is undocumented, or even some families where one sibling will have status and the other one won't. If you take those two groups, undocumented people and mixed status people, it's almost a population of Chula Vista. So we're talking about a very big number. Now. How long have they been here? We do have some data showing that actually about 60% of undocumented people in San Diego have been in the country 10 years or longer, and one third have been in the country 20 years or longer. About one in five workers are in the service industry. Right. One in ten are in construction. And that tells you a little bit about the impact that policy like mass deportation would have right? Here in San Diego, we just had news of a record year when it came to tourism. We made more money from tourism than any other time in San Diego. And we know that 20% of undocumented workers work in that industry. It would have a pretty big impact on that dynamic. Last question you asked was about economic contributions. I don't have numbers for San Diego county, but I do have Statewide figures from 2023 showing that undocumented immigrants contributed $3.7 billion in local and state taxes. Amita: Facing budget deficits, is there another comparable era in American history when there have been mass roundups and ejections from the United States? Gustavo: I think the most well known one and the one that's been discussed more recently is internment camps. Right. Japanese internment camps right here in California during the Second World War. If you look back even more, further back, there was mass action against Chinese immigrants after the in the late 1800s. And you see impacts of it even now here in the region. Right. If you go across the border to Mexicali, they have a very big Chinese Mexican population. And some of them do trace their history back to that era of the country. Amita: Gustavo, you've spoken to some people who might find themselves on a plane back to where they came from. What are they and their families undergoing right now? Gustavo: A lot of stress, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anxiety. Right. I talked to folks who heard from families who, you know, the day after the election, kids didn't want to go to school, folks didn't really want to go to work. There was just this feeling of depression. You know, for lack of a better term, to be undocumented in this country already imposes a higher amount of stress and anxiety because of your lack of legal status and everything that's connected to it. Add the cause of mass deportation to that and it just amplifies that stress already. Amita: So San Diego is the number one entry point for undocumented migrants. What are you hearing about the city of San Diego's potential response to planned mass deportations? Gustavo: Well, I haven't heard anything from the mayor's office. If you take your question literally in just the city's response to mass deportation, there really hasn't been one. Amita: You've contacted them? Gustavo: Yes, I have contacted them. Actually, they're taking a little bit of heat right now because earlier this year in the springtime and finalized in the summer, the mayor's office defunded the Office of Immigrant affairs, which at least symbolically offered a lot of support for of San Diego's immigrant population. Now, we'll say that doesn't mean there's no support in the region. Right. The San Diego county has spent millions of dollars in temporary migrant shelters. Not local money. It's money they get from the federal government through the original when it was Covid Relief Fund, they got about 6 million from that. More recently, they got 19 million from FEMA. And there's plans to have another sort of shelter, although they haven't really executed those yet. They want to fill that gap.
TAG: THAT WAS KPBS BORDER REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SPEAKING WITH AMITA SHARMA.
##########
<<<SHOW CLOSE>>>
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 Katie Anastas. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.
