Politicos denounce Assembly candidate Carl DeMaio

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, November first.>>>>

Democratic and Republican leaders unify behind anti-DeMaio message.

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

Starting tomorrow (Saturday), there will be more vote centers open for San Diegans to cast their ballots.

From tomorrow until Monday, over 200 vote centers and the Registrar’s office will be open daily from 8 a-m to 5 p-m.

Then on election day on Tuesday, the centers will have extended hours.

For more information about the election, visit our Voter Hub, at K-P-B-S-dot-org-slash-voter-hub.

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More fall weather is in store for us through the weekend.

Today (Friday) there will be clear skies, but there’s a chance of rain starting overnight tomorrow (Saturday).

In the inland and coastal areas today (Friday), temperatures are expected to be in the high 60s, in the mountains, temps will be in the high 50s, and in the deserts, it’s expected to be in the high 70s.

And don’t forget, this weekend Daylight saving time ends.

That means at 2 A-M Sunday morning, the clocks will fall back an hour.

So make sure to change your clocks before you go to bed tomorrow (Saturday).

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The 41st Breeders’ Cup World Championship races are happening in Del Mar today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday).

At this weekend’s event, more than 34 million dollars in purses and awards are being offered, including the 7 million dollar Breeders' Cup Classic.

It runs from 9 this morning until 5 p-m, and 7-30 a-m to 4 p-m tomorrow (Saturday).

The Breeders’ Cup kicks off five weeks of racing for the “Bing Crosby season.”

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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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A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY POLITICOS GATHERED EARLIER THIS WEEK TO DENOUNCE LOCAL REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE CARL DEMAIO.

REPORTER SCOTT RODD SAID THEY ENCOURAGED VOTERS TO SUPPORT HIS OPPONENT IN THE RACE.

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In an election year marked by deep political divisions, there is one message that has unified some local Republican and Democratic leaders: Don’t vote for Carl DeMaio.

DeMaio is running for the open Assembly seat in District 75…which spans most of East San Diego County, including a 50-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Half a dozen speakers at the press event criticized DeMaio’s campaign tactics…and encouraged voters to support his fellow Republican opponent Andrew Hayes.

Lorena Gonzaez is president of the California Federation of Labor Unions and a former Democratic Assembly member.

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“He is so far out of touch, he has been so — such an egomaniac, and he has done such damage to working people.”

Meanwhile, Republican County Supervisor Joel Anderson claimed DeMaio’s campaign is trying deceive voters.

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“When you get a mailer from Carl DeMaio and it says that he’s law enforcement’s choice, then why didn’t he get their endorsement?” 

DeMaio’s campaign declined an interview request. A spokesperson in a text message said the press conference amounted to “a bunch of last-minute false attacks” by “career politicians and political party operatives.” 

 The Republican Party of San Diego County organized the event.

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THERE'S AN ALPHABET SOUP OF SALES TAX MEASURES ON THE NORTH COUNTY BALLOT THIS ELECTION. MEASURES K, I, Q, AND X.

NORTH COUNTY REPORTERS TANIA THORNE AND ALEXANDER NGUYEN TEAMED UP TO EXPLAIN THEM.

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T: Four different sales tax measures are being taken up in the North County. Hi I’m Tania Thorne.

A: And Each with the goal of generating new funding for different services. I’m Alexander Nguyen and we cover the North County.

T. We’ll start with Oceanside, where residents will decide on the renewal of Measure X. 

This is a half-cent sales tax measure that was already approved by voters in 2018 and is set to expire in April 2026. 

If passed it would be extended for 10 years.

Here’s assistant city manager Michael Gossman talking about how Measure X has been used already.

GOSSMAN: We paved over 500 lane miles of roads. We've added an additional homeless outreach team. We have built a new fire station, one which is just around the corner. It replaced on almost 100 year old facility. We replaced a fire training tower. We've added a community service officer program at the police department. We've funded crime downtown crime enforcement. So we've done a lot with it.

The tax rate would stay the same, and the money would be used for similar projects. 

T:  Measure X is supported by Oceanside’s city council, firefighters association and San Diego County Taxpayers Association. But it's opposed by Reform California, which opposes every tax measure on the ballot saying none of the money would be spent as promised and instead would go to bloated city salaries and pensions.

A: And heading inland, the cities of San Marcos and Escondido both have one-cent sales tax measures on the ballot. 

Both say they need the extra money to fund essential services, such as firefighters and police.

In San Marcos … the City Council placed Measure Q on the ballot to raise more revenue for the city services because of population growth.

This year … the city needed to cut services to balance the budget.

PEARSON: “The San Marcos Fire Department has needed a fifth fire station since around 2017. We've done two standards of coverage studies. So, as the city has grown, the fire department's call volume has nearly doubled.”

That was Brad Pearson with the San Marcos Fire Department. He says Measure Q will help the city maintain vital public safety services and infrastructure. 

The San Diego Taxpayers Association endorsed the measure, saying that if it doesn’t pass, it could affect the quality of life for San Marcos residents.

A: Measure Q is expected to raise $20 million annually for the next 10 years. It is endorsed by the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and the San Marcos Professional Firefighters Association. There is no major opposition.

A: Now in Escondido … the 1-cent sales tax Measure I started as a citizen’s initiative

T: But the city council voted to place it on the ballot to make it onto the November ballot.

A: The Escondido faced   similar challenges as San Marcos but the root of the problem runs deeper.

For the past few years, the city has been spending more than it gets in taxes.. It closed the budget gap by using one-time funding sources and cutting services. But those options have run dry.

The Taxpayers Association endorsed the measure but with an asterisk.

Haney Hong is the association’s president.

HONG: “We endorsed it because there's an urgent need. Escondido is cut to the bone here. But, we also said that it requires major structural reform in Escondido so that they don't so that they aren't reliant on this in perpetuity.”

Escondido Mayor Dane White says the revenue is needed for critical needs … such as basic repairs to storm drains, streets and sidewalks … as well as emergency services.

He says there are no other revenue sources for the city to tap into.

WHITE: “Next year is a little bit frightening. So you know, we can’t just continuously cut our way out of a budget deficit. And this is a way to do that and more.”

A: Measure I is supported by the Escondido Firefighter Association, the Escondido Police Officers Association and the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. 

It is set to sunset in 20 years and is expected to raise $28 million annually.

T: Back on the coast.. Encinitas is the next city taking up a new sales tax measure. 

Measure K.

A: It is a one-cent sales tax increase that brings Encinitas’ sales tax to 8.75% and could generate $15 million dollars every year. 

T: The revenue would go towards infrastructure needs such as beach protection, street and park maintenance, and emergency services. 

The measure was endorsed by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. 

Here’s association president, Haney Hong again.

HONG:  It gets more expensive for taxpayers if we spend money on it later after things start to go awry. 

But there's been some pushback on Measure K. 

Some residents have concerns about the transparency of how the funds will be spent.

Jim O’Hara is a city council candidate for District 2. He thinks the tax could hurt Encinitas businesses. 

O'HARA:  It takes away a lot of their economic advantage. It causes them to be at a place where they're going to lose customers. It digs into their margins and it in the end will give them fewer customers and less revenue to build off of.

T: He's also worried about the impact on residents.

O'HARA: So we're living in a time where the cost of living is constantly going up here in Encinitas and piling on to that at this time just isn't doesn't make a lot of sense, especially for our economically challenged here in Encinitas

T: Because these sales tax measures are considered a tax increase … they only it only needed a simple majority to pass.

A: The question is … will voters approve them considering inflation and housing costs.

In North County, I’m Alexander Nguyen

T: … and I’m Tania Thorne, KPBS News.

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SEVERAL CALIFORNIA TRIBES ARE RENEWING THEIR PUSH FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS.

IMPERIAL VALLEY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS, THEY’RE URGING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO CREATE THREE NEW NATIONAL MONUMENTS ACROSS THE STATE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

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From high in the air, Donald Medart Jr. looks down at an old gold mine.

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Now we'll see some further mining activity that scarred the landscape up here just a little bit further.

Medart is a councilmember for the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe. We’re in a small propeller plane, turning east into the sunrise. Below, we can see thousands of acres of desert – mountains and canyons, and in the distance, the shimmering Colorado River.

For Medart, this region along the California-Arizona border is home. The ancestral land of the Quechan Tribe since long before European colonizers arrived.

But now, this land is under threat again. For decades, mining companies have been trying to extract gold and other minerals from the mountains. As we pass overhead, Medart points out areas where they’ve carved deep into the earth.

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You can see for yourself the difference in the landscape, and the devastation that it caused and the lack of reclamation. There's just left a scar on the landscape here.

That devastation is why the Quechan Tribe is seeking federal protection for almost 400,000 acres of this land. The tribe is asking President Biden to create a new national monument here. Which would block future extraction and could give the tribe some say over how the land is managed.

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An open mind pit to us is an open wound

Jordan Joaquin is the president of the Quechan Tribe. He says the land here is sacred.

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A lot of people see it out there as just rocks and desert, but we truly believe that's our DNA out there [JUMP CUT]

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Our ancestors walked and built those Trails out there. You know, I always tell a story about picking up a rock. Is that the rock one of my ancestors picked up years ago? And so that is very significant to us.

The Kw'tsán Monument is one of three Native-led proposals for new national monuments in California. There’s the Chuckwalla Monument at the north end of the Imperial Valley. And the Sáttítla Monument, in the Northern California highlands.

These monument proposals have been gaining a lot of steam. The state legislature is backing all three of them. And earlier this week, tribal leaders and state officials from California addressed the global UN biodiversity conference in Colombia.

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One of the most important priorities we’re driving forward is supporting tribal leadership

Here’s Wade Crowfoot, California’s Secretary of Natural Resources, speaking at the conference.

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We in our state government disconnected ourselves from that leadership and wisdom for well over a century [JUMP CUT / 2:00] and that’s why I’m so proud that, on behalf of Governor Newsom, we are supporting these tribally-led proposals to establish national monuments in our state.

State and federal authorities have already taken some big steps this year to return more control of land to Indigenous people in California. In June, Governor Gavin Newsom gave more than two thousand acres back to the Shasta Indian Nation in northern California. And just a couple weeks ago, the Biden administration announced plans to create a new marine sanctuary off the Central Coast that would be co-managed by the Northern Chumash Tribe.

Supporters say the Kw'tsán Monument proposal would add to that. Protecting the tribe’s religious freedoms. And giving them and the federal government the opportunity to work together to manage the region. As the tribe has for generations.

For President Joaquin, the Quechan Tribe’s priority is still to block future mining. But he says, it’s also about preserving history. Both past and present.

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I think that's the most important thing is to tell our children. You know, there is a one-time. Mining companies are becoming disturbed land that is no longer the case. And I think that would be a big victory, not only for our tribe, but for Indian Country.

If the land does become California’s next national monument, he says, those mines will become part of history too.

On the Quechan Reservation, Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

TAG: SUPPORTERS OF THIS EFFORT WILL BE RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK IF DONALD TRUMP WINS TUESDAY’S ELECTION. TRUMP IS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE MINING INDUSTRY AND HAS BEEN OUTSPOKEN IN HIS OPPOSITION TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS OF NATIVE LANDS.

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National Breast Cancer Awareness month wrapped up yesterday (Thursday), but bringing awareness to the disease is a year-long effort.

Leia Brune [Lay-uh Broone] is the Executive Director of Susan G. Komen San Diego.

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“Breast cancer isn’t only diagnosed in October, and that’s why we have to be vigilant all throughout the year. We work with community partners, with education and engagement events just providing them resources on breast cancer risks and what to look out for and how they can get connected to our organization, to get any further information, or to provide some resources if they are diagnosed.”

Brune says knowing your risk and getting regular screenings are important preventative measures.

She says in the country, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

And in the county, 1 in 6 women will be diagnosed with the disease.

She says it’s more common in our county because it’s a more diverse population.

This Sunday, the San Diego More Than Pink Walk is happening to support breast cancer patients and survivors and to honor people we’ve lost from it.

Brune says it’s an opportunity for the community to gather and let people know they’re not alone.

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“It is our biggest community event where we bring together anyone that’s been affected by breast cancer or anyone that supports our cause. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the progress that we’ve made over the past 43 years, honor those that we’ve lost to this disease and highlight the work that’s still to be done.”

All the money raised goes toward the organization’s programs including patient services, financial assistance for patients and research.

The walk is free to join and starts in Balboa Park on the corner of 6th Avenue and Laurel Street.

The event starts at 6-30 A-M, with an opening ceremony at 7-30, and the walk starting at 8 A-M.

For more information, you can visit komen-san-diego-dot–org-slash-san-diego-walk.

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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by Emilyn Mohebbi and edited by Brooke Ruth. We’d also like to thank KPBS web producer Lara Mccaffrey for helping the podcast team this week. 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 weekend.