NAVWAR redevelopment progresses
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz…. it’s Wednesday, January 10th.
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Project to create housing on Navy property moves forward.
More on that, next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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The California State University system says it's giving a five-percent raise to its instructional faculty, and says that is its last, best and final offer.
It's less than the 12-percent the California faculty association was demanding... and the union says C-S-U management "expressed nothing but disdain for faculty," by walking out of negotiations.
The union is still planning to strike later this month.
SDSU is part of the CSU system.
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There’s a lot going on with our weather today.
The National Weather Service says there’s a chance of rain throughout the county tonight and into tomorrow morning.
Plus, a wind advisory goes into effect for the county’s inland valleys tonight and lasts until noon tomorrow.
Gusts could reach up to 40 miles per hour.
By the coast, there is a high surf advisory in place, from tonight until tomorrow night, when waves can reach up to 11 feet.
Temperatures by the coast today will be in the high 50s, in the inland areas, temps will be in the low 60s, in the desert, it’ll be in the high 60s, and in the mountains, it’ll be in the low 40s.
There’s also a high wind warning in the mountains and deserts overnight.
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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is giving his final state of the city address tonight.
We can expect to hear plenty of talk about homelessness in the mayor's speech.
Since the last state of the city address, Gloria has opened two safe camping sites on the outskirts of Balboa Park.
More than 500 people are now staying there in tents.
He also adopted a ban on camping in the public right-of-way, and he's hoping to open a new shelter near the airport sometime this year.
The speech starts at 6 P-M at the Balboa Theatre in downtown.
You can watch it live on the city’s website, san-diego-dot-gov.
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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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The Navy selected developers to rebuild 70 acres of land less than a mile from the San Diego airport.
Reporter Katie Hyson looked into their plan.
The warehouses used to build World War II planes. Now, they house the Navy’s Information Warfare Systems Command, or NAVWAR. We’re kind of the Best Buy cybergeeks. That’s project manager Greg Geisen. The development team is made up of San-Diego-based Manchester – who did the Navy complex on Broadway – and Virginia-based Edgemoor. They would build new Navy facilities first, for free, in exchange for development lease rights to the rest of the land. Their proposal includes up to ten thousand new housing units. The opportunity to put this type of housing on a transit line this close to downtown is really a godsend. Federal land is exempt from local zoning, so they could build tall. Geisen acknowledged pushback from neighbors in Mission Hills. They plan to re-engage with the public when designs are solidified. And hope to break ground in two years. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.
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A new airline will soon be operating out of the San Diego Airport.
Reporter John Carroll says the new carrier will bring nonstop service to cities currently not served out of San Diego.
“Today, i’m very thrilled to welcome breeze airways as a new air carrier to our san diego family of airlines.” the san diego county regional airport authority’s hampton brown was all smiles on tuesday morning… announcing that two-year old breeze airways will soon begin service out of san diego international. the airline will start in late april, offering nonstop service to raleigh-durham, pittsburgh, norfolk, cincinnati and jacksonville. breeze airways spokesman gareth edmondson-jones says it was an easy decision to come to san diego. “what we do is we look at markets that are currently unserved, and we look at the biggest routes where people currently have to go through atlanta, chicago or houston or dallas.” breeze airways will be the 17th airline to serve san diego. jc, kpbs news.
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The state law that requires you to put your food waste in a green bin is expanding.
Starting this month it will include new businesses.
Reporter Melissa Mae describes how the change is going to help the environment, and those experiencing food insecurity.
MM: This year, a new aspect of Senate Bill 1383 went into effect. It’s known as California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Law, and it is meant to help reduce food waste from going into landfills to combat climate change. MM: Speaking from the organization's warehouse, Feeding San Diego’s Kate Garrett says the leftover food will allow the organization to better help the 300,000 San Diegans facing food insecurity. KG “This law is actually requiring businesses that never really had donations as part of their business plan, as part of their model to now start looking to food recovering organizations like Feeding San Diego to take care of the logistics, to pick up anything that they would have otherwise put in the trash can.” MM: Now Hotels, health facilities with more than 100 beds, event venues, school districts, restaurants that seat more than 250 people and others have to comply with the law. Melissa Mae KPBS News.
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A sand replenishment project in Solana Beach was delayed because of the winter storms.
The project was more than 20 years in the making.
North County reporter Alexander Nguyen has more on when it’s expected to start.
In 2000 … dealing with the loss of sand on its coastline … solana beach reached out to the army corps of engineers for help. early last year … congressman mike levin secured 30-and a-half million dollars for the project … which also includes sand replenishment for beacon’s beach in encinitas. doland cheung is the project manager for the army corps of engineers. he says the sand replenishment is a 50-year commitment for the corps. doland chueng army corps of engineer “we will do roughly eight additional re-nourishment events over those 50 years the average cycle based upon our computer modeling is roughly about six years between re-nourishment cycles.” but first … the corps has to finish a different sand replenishment project in san clemente … which was started in mid-december. but multiple winter storms caused a delay there. cheung says the solana beach project is expected to start around the end of the month. an/kpbs.
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Coming up.... Our KPBS education reporter joins me to talk about changes to college tuition and the FAFSA.
“Mexican residents who live near the border are eligible now for in-state tuition at certain community colleges.”
We’ll have that and more education-related news, just after the break.
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If you’re looking to enroll in college this year, as a new or returning student, changes on the new FAFSA application will affect you.
Joining me to talk about that and more is Education Reporter M.G. Perez.
Welcome to the podcast, M.G.
What was the reason for changing the financial aid application process?
What are some of the major changes when students apply now?
Not everyone is eligible for financial aid like you mentioned. And when it comes to college tuition, anyone who comes from out of state has an even higher tuition cost, but that’s set to change for some, during a new pilot program. Can you tell us more about this?
Why is a program like this important?
What other colleges in San Diego will be part of the program?
Where can students go to learn more about the new out-of-state pilot program and FAFSA?
Any other new laws going into effect in the new year on the education beat?
TAG: I’ve been speaking with KPBS education reporter, M.G. Perez. M.G., thank you for all this information, and for joining me on the San Diego News Now podcast.
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In other education-related news…
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom is scheduled to release his new annual state budget proposal, and it will come with an expected 68-billion dollar deficit.
That means potential cuts in programs for social services, healthcare and public education.
The California School Boards Association is already advocating for the governor to eliminate cuts that could trigger teacher layoffs and campus closings.
Troy Flint is chief information officer for the association.
“We understand there needs to be belt-tightening and there are going to be some sacrifices made..we’re realistic about that. But, where we draw the line is cutting into the base funding.”
Flint says the extended deadline last fall for filing income taxes contributed to the large projected deficit, and he says the state should use some of its reserves that are already intended for education programs.
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And just a quick correction on yesterday's show. Yesterday, our tease said that some construction workers in the South Bay would be getting more pay. It's more accurate to say that those workers will be getting better benefits. 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, plus, we hear why voting in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election matters now, more than ever. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.
