Protesters greet Trump’s education secretary during San Diego visit

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, April 9.

Protesters greeted Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Mick-Man) at a conference yesterday.

More on that next. But first... the headlines….

San Diego County is looking to speed up DNA testing in hundreds of sexual assault cases and dozens of cold-case homicides.

The County Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) approved a request from the Sheriff’s Department to pay a local company to help with the backlog.

According to the Union-Tribune, Verogen uses advanced technology that’s able to test DNA faster.

The board approved a no-bid contract with Verogen worth up to seven-hundred-sixty-thousand dollars.

Voting in the County Supervisor’s special primary election in District One wrapped up yesterday (Tuesday).

The election can be won in the primary if any candidate receives more than fifty percent of the vote. With seven people running, the race is expected to go to a general election runoff July first.

For the latest on the election results, check the KPBS Voter Hub online at kpbs dot org.

With the recent drop in the stock market and the risk of recession looming, GasBuddy says drivers can expect lower fuel prices.

That’s because a slowing economy reduces demand for oil, which is already at its lowest price since 2021.

The national average for a gallon of gas is about three-twenty-five, but could drop below $3 if tariffs aren’t scaled back soon.

That’s according to a GasBuddy analyst.

The average price in San Diego County sits at four-dollars-and-ninety-cents.

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

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

EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON (Mick-Man) APPEARED AT A CONFERENCE IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO yesterday MORNING. EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS she was greeted by about two dozen protesters.

At an education technology conference Tuesday morning, McMahon said funding to support students with disabilities and those from low-income families won’t go away. That funding isn’t stopping. Title I isn’t stopping. But last week, the Education Department told states it could withhold Title I funding from schools over their diversity, equity and inclusion practices. About two dozen people protested outside the conference. Jay Steiger teaches history in Poway. I come from, like most of us, a purple family. We were across the political spectrum. The thing that used to unite us is we are all in favor of public education. And so seeing it become this political football is really disheartening. The Department has asked state education agencies to sign a letter declaring that their schools comply with their interpretation of civil rights law. 

STOCKS CONTINUE TO FALL BECAUSE OF TARIFFS IMPOSED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THAT'S INJECTING MORE UNCERTAINTY INTO THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO'S BUDGET.

AB: San Diego doesn't bet on the stock market… but its pension fund does. So when stock market returns don't meet expectations, city taxpayers have to make up the difference. Charles Modica is the city's independent budget analyst. He says tariffs could drive up inflation, which hits the city just like it hits consumers. Even worse is the threat of a recession.CM: That directly impacts the city's revenues in that folks are spending less on consumer goods, so the city's sales tax receipts would decline. Potentially less business or leisure travel which could result in decreases to our hotel tax revenue. AB: Mayor Todd Gloria has a deadline of April 15 to present a draft budget to the City Council. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

SINCE 2022, SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAS HAD A PROGRAM THAT HELPS IMMIGRANTS WHO NEED LEGAL ASSISTANCE. NOW, AS REPORTER JOHN CARROLL TELLS US, A COUNTY SUPERVISOR WANTS TO CHANGE AND EXTEND THE PROGRAM.

ABOUT 25 PEOPLE RALLIED IN FRONT OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING TUESDAY AFTERNOON… THEY WERE THERE TO SUPPORT A PROPOSAL BY ACTING CHAIR OF THE BOARD… TERRA LAWSON-REMER.  THAT PROPOSAL TO EXTEND AND CHANGE THE IMMIGRANT LEGAL DEFENSE PROGRAM HAD FAILED MOMENTS BEFORE DUE TO A LACK OF A QUORUM ON THE BOARD.  LAWSON-REMER SAYS IT’S CRITICAL TO EXTEND THE PROGRAM DUE TO WHAT SHE CALLS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S LAWLESS ACTIONS AGAINST IMMIGRANTS.  SHE SAYS IT’S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO HELP IMMIGRANT CHILDREN GET DUE PROCESS. “The Immigrant Legal Defense Program would make sure that kids who are here don’t have to stand in a courtroom, a 4-year old, a 6-year old by themself.” LAWSON-REMER SAYS SHE’LL BRING THE PROPOSAL BACK UP ONCE A NEW DISTRICT ONE SUPERVISOR IS ELECTED.  JC, KPBS NEWS.

FOR DECADES, THE IMPERIAL VALLEY HAS BEEN A REFUGE FOR A TINY BIRD THAT'S SLOWLY DISAPPEARING ELSEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA. THE REGION IS HOME TO MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF THE STATE’S BURROWING OWLS – TINY, BROWN OWLS THAT NEST IN UNDERGROUND TUNNELS. BUT AS KORI SUZUKI REPORTS, THE STATE IS NOW ASKING WHETHER THOSE OWLS NEED MORE PROTECTION.

The sun is setting as Wendy Miller pulls her white Nissan up alongside a dusty embankment, just a few miles from the Salton Sea. She points out the window at a tiny tunnel in the ground.

The entrance to the burrow was, like I said, under the log.

When you meet Wendy, she seems like a pretty serious person. She’s a lawyer – a public defender here in the Imperial Valley … who represents foster kids and minors facing prosecution.

But she also has this infectious laugh that spills out, every so often. Like when she sees the tiny bird peering out at us from just across the embankment: a Western burrowing owl.

Burrowing owls are the reason Wendy moved here, just a few years ago. In the mornings and evenings, she moonlights as a wildlife photographer. Roaming around the county to document the birds that live near the Salton Sea.

The tiny, nine-inch-tall owls, with their brown feathers and wide yellow eyes, are her favorite subjects.

They seem like little people because they're just there's an intelligence there that you can, you can feel and a curiosity. Um, that's just it's enduring.

The Imperial Valley is home to the largest population of burrowing owls in California. Experts say that’s because of the network of canals that wind through the valley. Carrying water from the Colorado River to the region’s fields of lettuce, carrots and other crops.

The crop types themselves uh, predict where burrowing owls are going to be.

Peter/Pete Bloom is a zoologist who has worked with burrowing owls here. He says they tend to live close to fields of alfalfa – one of Imperial County’s top crops.

As the alfalfa grows and matures, the arthropoda population, that is insects, spiders, scorpions, and such increases also. And burrowing owls in the desert in particular feed most on insects

Bloom says that combination of the canals, which create places for the owls to live, and the farms, which create more food, have allowed the species to thrive.

But in almost every other part of California, it’s a different story. Across the state, burrowing owls have been disappearing over the last 20 years. Especially in coastal regions like San Diego, Monterey and the Bay Area.

Conservation groups say that’s largely because of decades of suburban expansion … paving over the places where the owls live. In some cases, they also blame solar and wind farms. 

Jeff Miller is a senior conservation advocate with the national environmental group the Center for Biological Diversity. He’s not related to Wendy.

We're on the verge of losing them from most areas of the state probably in the next couple decades if if we don't do something drastic to turn turn that around.

Last year, the Center submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission along with several other conservation groups. Asking the state to list the burrowing owl as an endangered or threatened species.

Either of those designations would give the species new legal protection. From being killed or removed from their habitats.

That decision could have big implications for the Imperial Valley. The farming industry is nervous about new environmental regulations. The region is also hoping to increase its renewable energy sector. 

In a letter last year, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors argued that listing the species could hurt those industries and limit job prospects in the region. They asked the state to carve out an exemption for Imperial County.

We didn't want um Imperial Imperial Valley agricultural interests feeling like they were being picked out uh and going to be punished

Jeff says conservation groups are also split on what to do in the Imperial Valley. Some say owls here are facing too many risks. But Jeff worries about the political opposition that might come from farmers and other industries.

As long as they keep, generally doing things that keep burning else around and allow them to exist, then there's probably no reason to have to list that population.

At their meeting in October, state officials seemed open to striking a balance. Here’s Fish and Game Commissioner Erika Zavaleta (zah-vah-LEH-tah).

“It's not this choice we have to make between renewable energy or housing or food production and protecting Wildlife we have shown as a state we can do both if anyone can do both we can.”

Wendy Miller certainly hopes that’s the case. She says it would be terrible to lose the species. Still, she agrees that the Imperial Valley may need a more nuanced approach.

It would be terrible to lose them. But I think you have to take into account human needs too. And you have to figure out how to balance that.

Back near the Salton Sea, we turn to leave the owls behind.

Goodbye! … This is really special. And I hope that people don't screw it up.

The state has another six months to evaluate the health of burrowing owls and make a final decision.

In Calipatria, Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. For your next listen, check out the KPBS Midday Edition podcast this afternoon.I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.