Mental health treatment remains voluntary under CARE Court

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, April 3.

Care Court was supposed to push people with serious mental illness into treatment.

More on why it hasn’t, next. But first... the headlines….

PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS FOLLOWED THROUGH ON HIS PROMISE TO RAISE TARIFFS. THAT INCLUDES A 25-PERCENT TARIFF ON IMPORTED AUTOMOBILES. THE ADMINISTRATION SAYS THE GOAL IS TO BRING MANUFACTURING JOBS BACK TO THE U-S. BUT U-S-D ECONOMICS PROFESSOR ALAN GIN HAS DOUBTS. .

“I appreciate the idea of trying to protect US jobs and things like that, but to do this, it’s going to take years.  These supply chains have been built up over a long period of time.  Actually, you could view the offshoring of manufacturing the US is going all the way back to the 80’s.”

GIN SAYS A TARIFF IS A TAX AND MOST COMPANIES THAT IMPORT GOODS INTO THE U-S WILL PASS SOME OR ALL OF THAT TAX ON TO AMERICAN CONSUMERS.

The San Diego C-O-O fired by Mayor Todd Gloria is suing the city for breach of contract and discrimination.

Gloria announced in February he was cutting 31 city positions — all of them vacant except for C-O-O Eric Dargan. He didn’t comment on Dargan’s performance at the time, saying the layoff was a financial decision.

But now the Mayor’s office is saying otherwise. According to the Union-Tribune, Gloria’s office now says Dargan was terminated for cause.

Dargan’s suit accuses the mayor of discriminating against him because he is Black.

It also says the city didn’t pay the three months severance he was promised in 2022 when he was recruited from his previous job in Houston.

San Diego’s MLS team says it has another homegrown player.

S-D-F-C announced yesterday (Wednesday) it was signing Escondido native Milan Iloski ( ill-ahh-ski) on loan.

The 25-year-old striker made his mark playing for Orange County SC in the USL Championship. In 2022 he scored 22 goals for the club and won the league’s Golden Boot award.

He spent the last year playing in the Danish top division.

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

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

CARE COURT WAS MEANT TO FORCE PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS UNTREATED PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS TO ACCEPT TREATMENT. FOR OUR LATEST WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO REPORTER LISA HALVERSTADT CHECKED IN.

Some families have long watched their loved ones cycle through jails and hospitals, often never getting proper support. Then came CARE Court. It would give families and others like clinicians and police a new tool. They could petition courts to link people with serious untreated psychotic disorders with treatment – and to obligate counties to deliver that treatment. The goal was to avoid stricter conservatorships but still have court oversight. So how is CARE Court working? San Diego County and other counties created a voluntary program. This means outreach workers can keep asking people, hoping they’ll sign on. But they can refuse. So far, no courts have forced anyone into the program in San Diego County. As of a few weeks ago, the county said it had 105 voluntary treatment plans and that the program has helped people with significant challenges. So what should we make of this? The CARE Court rhetoric hasn’t panned out in San Diego. Newsom and Gloria said CARE Court wouldn’t just be offering services. It would push people into treatment – and that’s not how it’s turned out. Some advocates and families are disappointed. They argue people who refuse to participate are left behind. Now Gloria is co-sponsoring a law that would create more conservatorships for struggling CARE participants. I’m Lisa Halverstadt for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.

THERE’S A NEW PLACE TO ENJOY THE SAN DIEGO SHORE IN THE SOUTH BAY. REPORTER MELISSA MAE TELLS US ABOUT THE GRAND OPENING OF THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO’S NEWEST AND LARGEST PARK.

MM: Sweetwater Park in Chula Vista is now open… 39 acres providing more public access to the shoreline. MM: Danielle Moore with the Port of San Diego describes some of the park’s unique features.  DM “Meadows, specialty gardens with native plants, mounded grasslands, picnic space, sand dunes, natural walkways and overlooks for bayfront viewing. Kummyaay signage to acknowledge and remind us of the ancestral stewardship of the land, public art and so much more.” MM: Including a playground and 2 ½ total miles of pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths. MM: The park is part of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master plan. The Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is the next part of the Project to be completed and is set to open next month. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

A NEW EXHIBIT AT THE MINGEI INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM IN BALBOA PARK EXPLORES THE IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE IN FASHION. ARTS REPORTER JULIA DIXON EVANS TAKES US INSIDE.

Clothing, jewelry and accessories can be expressions of individual style… and communal trends. They’re part of our daily lives – typically functional, yet often meaningful.  At the Mingei, more than 70 garments and adornments also share a unifying element: the icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Curator Ariana Torres grew up surrounded by the image. She says the exhibit not only explores the Virgin’s significance, but also how she is represented in textiles. "is all about exploring the Virgin as a popular icon that has really grown past just being a religious symbol alone and really exploring her through the medium of textiles, garments, and accessories." The Virgin of Guadalupe is often depicted wearing a starry cape, head tilted down and framed by a vibrant sunburst.  Artist and Sew Loka founder Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski incorporates  the icon into her upcycled fashion designs. "It is a symbol of hope, resilience. Um it reminds me of my grandma a lot. the modern version is like a lot of fun because you're seeing it a lot in like Chicano culture and so you're seeing it more like in like low riders, um like like nail art, um a lot of like tattoos… The exhibit is on view at the Mingei Saturday through September 7.  Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS News

Today KPBS IS LAUNCHING A NEW ARTS AND CULTURE PODCAST, CALLED THE FINEST. THE PODCAST CAPTURES THE PEOPLE, ART AND MOVEMENTS REDEFINING OUR REGION'S CULTURAL IDENTITY. ARTS REPORTER AND HOST OF THE FINEST, JULIA DIXON EVANS JOINED ME TO DISCUSS THE PROJECT

Let's start with the name. Why did you pick "The Finest"? 

• We have this city identity of being America's Finest City, and it's kind of thrown around a lot
• And we wanted to dig into what makes the city, quote, fine
  
  • That's the emerging voices and creative forces that are reshaping community and expression, whether through actual art, or through things we'd categorize more as the "culture" side… food, nature

What inspired this podcast?

• We've been talking about doing something like this for years, a way to kind of go beyond the upcoming events cycle of arts stories… 
• We really wanted to hear the stories of the people who are driving change and building a creative community here
  
  • And also taking a look at critical perspectives and thinking about the bigger context of things happening right here in our neighborhoods

There are lots of podcasts out there. How will this one stand out? 

• First of all, the style
  
  • There's definitely not one like this about art and culture in San Diego… journalistic, highly produced, immersive storytelling
  • Spending a lot of time on each ep
  • Getting to know these ppl + their stories
  • Reporting in the field
• Second, the stories and the people… this is not just art in the traditional or even standard sense

The first episode is about a local tea company that specializes in high quality loose-leaf tea and matcha. Let's listen to a short clip, where we can hear them whisking matcha.

Tell us what's happening in that moment?

• We'd just walked in to the shop and they started making us bowls of matcha, before we could get started with any Qs
• They taught us how to make proper matcha, and served it
• Amy and Lani, who own Paru, are big on this Japanese concept of ichigo ichie — one chance, one meeting — and it speaks to kind fo the immediacy and importance of hospitality and the moment in tea culture.

What drew you to the story of Par u? [PAR-ooh] (par like golf]

• They also recently went viral on TikTok, and decided to make some changes to their business to get back to their roots…The idea that they had this viral success that had a consequence is really interesting to me… like how does a business cope with that sort of thing … 
• So to hear that they ended up changing the thing that brought them viral fame was really fascinating
• Also the love story and just the fact that their relationship and business was built on a series of SO MANY chances and happenstances 

Can you give us a teaser of some of the other stories you'll be telling in this first season?

• Music economy, Shua from Southeast San Diego and another local musician, Julianna Zachariou who i've actually been reporting on for years
  
  • Kind of how the music industry is just increasingly difficult to survive in, 
  • It's a question that's shaped my experience as an arts consumer and my reporting: how do creative people survive here, how do artists work, how do you make a living
  • We look at the streaming industry and get into the details of how spotify has changed recently
  • Those two episodes are coming up in the next few weeks
  • We're also talking to the new poet laureate and the outgoing poet laureate about what it means to be a "government artist"

TAG: I’VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH JULIA DIXON EVANS, ARTS REPORTER AND HOST OF OUR NEW CULTURE PODCAST, THE FINEST. YOU CAN FIND IT AND SUBSCRIBE WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS. NEW EPISODES DROP THURSDAYS STARTING TODAY.

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.