Naloxone vending machines in San Diego jails

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, January 29th.

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A look at the new naloxone vending machines inside San Diego jails.

That’s next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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There’s a chance of another storm heading our way.

The National Weather Service says it's likely we could get widespread rainfall mid to late this week.

So county officials and CAL FIRE are offering free sandbags to residents and businesses in unincorporated areas.

For a list of fire stations offering sand and bags or just the bags, visit the county news center’s website.

You’ll need to bring your own shovel to fill your bags.

And the county suggests calling your local fire station before heading over, to check on availability.

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There’s one final public forum tomorrow, to give input on the next San Diego chief of police.

The current chief, David Nisleit, is stepping down in June.

Tomorrow’s meeting starts at 6 P-M, at the Fourth District Seniors Resource Center in Skyline.

If you can’t make the meeting, but still want to share your thoughts, there’s also an online survey where you can share your input.

Search “San Diego police chief survey” online to find it.

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Nearly two-million voter information pamphlets are on their way to registered voters, ahead of the March 5th presidential primary.

They have information on voting options, deadlines, candidate statements and ballot measures.

The Registrar of Voters office says to check the back of your pamphlet for your party registration.

Your political party preference determines which presidential primary candidates will appear on your primary election ballot.

Voters can also see their pamphlet online, at sd-vote-dot-com, and search “sample ballot.”

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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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Advocates say new high-tech vending machines inside San Diego jails are the first of their kind in the U-S.

Reporter Katie Hyson looked at how they offer life-saving drugs to the most at-risk.

Inside it’s a regular vending machine. But instead of holding chips and cookies, the coils cradle overdose reversing naloxone and fentanyl test strips, hidden behind a huge interactive touch screen. Are you prepared to save a life? Opioid overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. It’s playing a naloxone training video on a loop. Instead of a hard-to-remember PIN, it prompts harm reductionist Tara Stamos-Buesig to create an avatar. So I'm going to be a purple crow. It collects non-identifying data to help harm reductionists target their efforts. And then offers lifesaving supplies – for free. And now it asks us if we'd like to dispense. And I would. It's coming down. There's the naloxone. The ease of use enabled the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego to place the machines inside four detention facilities, to serve what they say is the highest risk population. Amy Knox, Harm Reduction Coalition. That trusted source where they've purchased drugs from before, that may now have a tainted source. When they go back into the community, the supply has changed. She says the machines cost less than a part-time worker. And they’re telehealth capable. Meaning in the future, people with poor medical access could get prescriptions from a vending machine. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

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Youth across the country are facing a mental health crisis.

Reporter Melissa Mae tells us about two new, free smartphone apps to help them manage their mental health.

MM: California’s Department of Health Care Services created the mental health APPs for kids, teens and young adults. MM: It’s part of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health… A portion of that 4.6 billion dollar state investment was used to create the free virtual platform, made up of two app based programs: BrightLife Kids for children up to 12 years old and Soluna for 13 to 25 year olds. MM: Autumn Boylan is a deputy director with the California Department of Health Services and says the apps offer live professional coaching through in-app chat, video visits or by phone in multiple languages. AB “There is a shortage of behavioral health providers in the State of California and nationally as well. This really gives an opportunity for us to reach families by expanding the types of providers that are able to provide support across the delivery system.” MM: Both the BrightLife Kids and Soluma APPs are available to download on any smartphone. For more information about the platform go to cal-hope dot org. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

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Over the years, something has been happening to the way kids play.

Kids' lives have become less freewheeling and more structured.

And as reporter Kori Suzuki reports, some experts say they may be losing more than we think.

Most afternoons, Dennis Lim’s parents would raise the door to their garage in Oceanside and send him out to play. Dennis Lim San Diego Parent “The neighborhood I grew up in was great for kids. It was a cul de sac.” He and his friends would sit in the neighbor’s yard and talk or play baseball in the street. “My parents didn't have to really put any thought into, ‘how is Dennis going to socialize?’ How is he going to make new friends? …They just let me go outside until it was time for dinner, and I just kind of did the rest.” Now, decades later, Dennis is a parent with two little kids of his own. He lives at the end of another cul-de-sac, this one in a residential neighborhood of North San Diego. The perfect place for a good game of street baseball. But most days, his block is silent. “Now you drive through any street in America, I don't care what neighborhood it, you know, whether it's a weekday, weekend, you just don't see kids outside.” Dennis isn’t alone in noticing this change. Across the country, researchers who study childhood say the way that kids play has quietly transformed over time. For decades, kids like Dennis would go out and play freely – what experts call “unstructured” play. That’s when kids are getting to choose what they want to do and exercise their creativity on their own, away from adult supervision. free mobility, freedom to have a part time job Peter Gray is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. Peter Gray Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College “where you are independent, where you have to take control of your life yourself, because there's no adult standing right over you, telling you what to do.” Think, those kids in Stranger Things….cruising around the neighborhood on their bikes. Minus the monsters. STRANGER THINGS SOT – “Fireball him!” “Cast protection!” But around the 1980s, experts say, a couple big things changed. The first one was how parents viewed safety. In 1979, a six year old went missing in New York. That was followed by several other high-profile kidnappings of young kids. Child abduction was a rare crime. It still is. But the cases made big news, causing a national uproar. Everyone from dairy companies to picture book characters started warning that it was dangerous for kids to be alone. “The messages began to be, if you're not watching your kids or you don't know where they are, if there's not some other responsible adult watching them, then you are a negligent parent. That was the first big change. The second came in 1983, when the Department of Education under Ronald Reagan warned that American schools weren’t keeping up with other countries. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. A sweeping law that required schools and teachers to prove success and academic growth using standardized test scores. “Teachers now were being evaluated based on the test scores. So the nature of school changed very dramatically.” School started to take more time. Teachers gave out more homework, school years got longer, kindergarteners had less time to play in class. Gray and others argue that these two shifts may be one cause of the youth mental health crisis. Adding to the uncertainty, anxiety and hopelessness that many young people experience today. “We're depriving them of those opportunities, they're not learning how to take that kind of responsibility. They're not developing the sense that they can solve their own problems, that they can deal with the bumps in the road of life as they occur.” Play is just one of many factors affecting kids’ mental health. But Gray says, it is one area where parents can do something. He has a number of recommendations, including teaching kids how to be safe during independent activities. Dennis Lim, who lives on that quiet cul-de-sac, and his kids have been spending a lot of time at the park. He thinks that’s one of his kids’ best options to spend time exploring and hanging out with others. “You don't need like a massive grand park for every neighborhood, but like a little pocket park someplace where there's a real chance for some real social interaction, some communal space. That could go a long ways for that.” But Lim also points out that there’s one other place where kids are getting some of these benefits: during recess, at school. And, in California, changes to recess are coming soon. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

TAG: Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of our series on outdoor play.

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A San Diego researcher is being honored by the National Academy of Sciences for extraordinary scientific achievements.

Environment reporter Erik Anderson says Kim Prather does sometimes-controversial work in atmospheric chemistry.

The U-C San Diego researcher attracted millions of dollars of grant funding to help better understand how the ocean and atmosphere interact.  Her work led to the construction of a massive ocean wave simulator on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. But Prather’s profile was elevated when she advocated for masking during the COVID-19 pandemic.“I just keep pushing ahead because I know that it’s helping the greater good. I know that the message often isn’t what people want to hear.” UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla says her backbone is an asset. “She was an advocate for masking.  And it was a completely political issue and she got the heat for that too.  But she didn’t back down. And I can tell you her positions were confirmed.  Reconfirmed.  And yet reconfirmed. (chuckle)” Prather gets her award in April. Erik Anderson KPBS News.

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This year is a leap year, and in celebration, county clerk offices will offer walk-in weddings for couples wishing to ``take the leap'' or renew their wedding vows.

On February 29th, four county clerk locations, including Chula Vista, downtown San Diego, San Marcos and Santee will accept walk ins between 9 a-m and 3 p-m.

But appointments are recommended and can be made on-line at w-w-w dot s-d-a-r-c-c dot gov.

An upside for some couples who choose to have a leap day wedding… you may only have to remember your anniversary every four years.

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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 Monday.