Rep. Sara Jacobs: Musk has ‘no idea’ how government works

Good Morning, I’m Thomas Fudge in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, February 19th.

San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs talks about what Democrats are doing to push back against the Trump Administration.

That conversation is coming up. But first... the headlines….

The city of SAN DIEGO HAS A 258-MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET SHORTFALL.

YESTERDAY (Tuesday), SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA ANNOUNCED THE FIRST IN A GROUP OF CUTS TO CLOSE THE GAP.

THE CITY’S TOP ADMINISTRATOR, ERIC DARGAN’S POSITION HAS BEEN ELIMINATED. GLORIA SAYS HE’LL TAKE OVER DARGAN’S RESPONSIBILITIES.

THE MAYOR ALSO SAYS A NUMBER OF CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING CONSOLIDATED. ALTOGETHER, GLORIA SAYS THE CUTS WILL SAVE NEARLY FIVE-AND-A-HALF MILLION DOLLARS. BY LAW, THE MAYOR MUST BRING A BALANCED BUDGET TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL BY JUNE.

Gas Prices in San Diego have risen steadily over the last three weeks and are now at their highest point since last summer.

The average price in the county is now at 4.78 per gallon.

According to Gas Buddy, the spike in prices on the West Coast has been driven by refinery outages and maintenance.

The trend should slow over the next few days, but you can expect steady increases with the transition to summer blends.

And San Diego State is moving forward with a one billion dollar proposal to build six new dorm towers on the northwest corner of the campus.

One of the towers would be nine stories high with the other five climbing up to 13 stories. The towers would replace several existing lower-density dorm halls.

Another nine-story tower is proposed next to the existing University Towers building on Montezuma Road. The project would house about 4,500 more students.

According to the Union-Tribune, the CSU Board of Trustees is set to review the project in May and construction could begin later this year.

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

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

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO LIMIT FEDERAL SPENDING AND NEXT ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK COULD BE HEALTH COVERAGE FOR THOSE ENROLLED IN MEDICAID PROGRAMS… KNOWN AS MEDI-CAL HERE IN CALIFORNIA. REPORTER TANIA THORNE SAYS SOME ARE WARNING ABOUT THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF CUTS.

Almost 15 million Californians are covered by Medi-cal. In San Diego County, nearly 900,000 residents rely on the program for care. Congressional Republicans have just released a budget proposal that would slash potentially trillions from Medicaid. Congressman Mike Levin says health care is under attack in his district and across the country. If they succeed Millions of Americans will lose their coverage.  Levin says cutting Medicaid funding would be like cutting a lifeline for millions. And when that happens, people don't just lose access to preventative care. They get sicker, they end up in emergency rooms, and they face skyrocketing medical bills. He hopes there can be bipartisan participation that could prevent the cuts from going through. 

Tania Thorne KPBS News

THREATENED CUTS TO FEDERAL SPENDING AND LAYOFFS OF KEY GOVERNMENT WORKERS ARE MOVING AT A RAPID CLIP UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION…WITH BROAD FALLOUT FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY. SAN DIEGO CONGRESSWOMAN SARA JACOBS SPOKE TO REPORTER AMITA SHARMA.

Congresswoman Jacobs, the shutdown of foreign aid handed out by USAID eradicated a $35 million grant to UCSD. You and your Democratic colleagues have introduced a bill to stop the shutdown. Tell me about it. Yes. So look, the shutdown of USAID is bad for American national security. It's bad, bad for American companies and businesses and institutions like ucsd, and it's illegal. And so I introduced a piece of legislation with a number of my Democratic colleagues that basically reiterates that it is illegal to shut down USAID because it was created by an act of Congress that all reforms of USAID should be done consistent with existing law and, you know, in support of US national security, and that no funds can be used to shut down usaid. And what's interesting is if I'd introduced this bill in December, it would have had broad bipartisan support. So you mentioned that your Republican colleagues in Congress would have supported such a bill back in December. Do you feel comfortable saying anything about what they're saying privately about this shutdown of usaid? No. A lot of my Republican colleagues have assured me that privately they are pushing back very hard. But unfortunately, we've not seen that to be successful. And so I think now is the time that they need to start pushing back publicly. And unfortunately, we haven't seen them do that yet. I want to talk about cuts closer to home. One million people in San Diego county are on Medicaid. It's Medi Cal in California. There are 100,000 children living in hunger in this county. Head Start helps feed some of them. The Trump administration has threatened cuts to both Medicaid and Head Start. What are some other proposed reductions that could really affect families in this region? We're also seeing them talking about cutting out Section 8 housing vouchers, which is a program that helps people get into homes.  And we know homelessness is such an issue here. Recently, the VA fired over 1,000 workers. San Diego is a huge veteran community, fourth largest in the country, actually. And we know the VA is already understaffed, already having a hard time providing all of the care we need it to. Firing a thousand workers is only going to make that problem worse. And so, you know, we are seeing that Elon Musk doesn't actually understand all of the things the federal government does that really help people, that really impact people's lives. And he's literally just like control f searching different words and cutting things off and just has no understanding of how the federal government works and how many people in San Diego but all across the country really rely on this federal funding. So, as you know, local scientists are reeling from Trump's proposed cuts and a list of words that threaten their research. Words like women, black and Hispanic. Also, as you mentioned, Elon Musk now has access to our financial data, including our Social Security numbers. He has mistakenly fired nuclear safety workers, workers for the irs. What are Democrats doing to counter all of this, other than asking the administration not to do this? I think one of the most important things to recognize is that their strategy is to do this so quickly and to flood the zone so that we feel frustrated and powerless and overwhelmed. But we're not letting that happen. And so while each individual one of us, members of Congress can't possibly oversee every single thing that Elon Musk and his group are trying to do, collectively, we are all taking pieces and making sure that we have really clear eyes on. But one of the things I think it's important for people to know is that Congress doesn't have standing to sue. And so while, you know, I know what, we're working with outside partners to get a lot of those litigation efforts going and support them as we can. So there remains a perception, despite everything that you've outlined, that the Democratic Party is not strategic, that they're mia, that they're feckless. You mentioned two countermeasures, legislation and lawsuits. Those notoriously take a long time. Look, I hear that criticism, and, you know, in a lot of ways, I share it. I think we need to be acting more urgently. I think we need to find more creative ways to address this. But I think it's also important to remember that we are in the triple minority. So a lot of the tools that we would normally have subpoenas calling people in, you know, making sure we are being able to actually pass legislation to stop these things, we can't do that from the minority. And so, you know, that is just a reality of the situation that we're in. Finally, President Trump has publicly discussed taking over Gaza and pushing out 2 million Palestinians. We have 42,000 Marines here. How do you view this plan? Let's be clear, that is ethnic cleansing. And I think it is a terrible plan, both on moral and practical purposes. The last thing people want is another unending occupation of a foreign land by US Military like San Diegans understand the cost of this more than most, right? We bear the cost of these occupations. San Diegans are the ones who go and fight those wars. And it's horrible, the idea of kicking people out of their homeland and sending American troops when what everyone knows, what has long been the case is that the only real way to peace and stability in the Middle east is a two state solution where Palestinians have dignity and autonomy and self respect and respect, and Israelis can live in safety and security.

THAT WAS REPORTER AMITA SHARMA SPEAKING TO CONGRESSWOMAN SARA JACOBS.

HOMELESS WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN SAN DIEGO WILL SOON HAVE A NEW SHELTER OPTION DOWNTOWN. REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS RACHEL’S PROMISE CENTER WILL REPLACE A CLOSING SHELTER AND ADD TO THE CITY’S SHELTER CAPACITY.

Catholic Charities will run Rachel’s Promise Center. The shelter will have 210 beds. About half will be for single women. The rest will be for women with children. Along with beds, showers, laundry and meals, staff will help connect people to housing, benefits, therapy and life skills classes. Capacity will start at 50 beds from March through June. It’s expected to cost about $1.6 million for the first four months, then about $5 million each year. Although the city faces a $258 million deficit, Mayor Todd Gloria says he’s committed to expanding San Diego’s shelter system. And I know that's a bit odd, right, when we're talking about reductions. But when I go around the city, the number one thing people talk to me about is homelessness. So even in this time of austerity, we are going to find ways to get more beds. 42% of people who used the city’s homeless services last year were women or girls. That’s up from 29% in 2020. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

THE 14TH ANNUAL OCEANSIDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL KICKED OFF LAST NIGHT AT THE BROOKS THEATRE. REPORTER BETH ACCOMANDO HAS THIS PREVIEW OF WHAT’S STILL TO COME.

The Oceanside International Film Festival prides itself on marching to the beat of a different drummer. It doesn’t try to get big Hollywood films or tap into the latest trends. Instead,  it consistently focuses on a set of core values centered on environment, acceptance, individuality and surf culture. One film that emphasizes individuality and a fierce determination to operate outside the norm is Thursday’s documentary, Call Me Mule. The film follows a man who refuses to live indoors. ... A man who walks through the west with 3 mules by his side is in Redwood City to fight a ticket…Standing up for the right to be different is what Call Me Mule is all about and what the film festival champions through its programming. The event showcases features, shorts, documentaries with post film discussions running through Saturday at the Brooks Theatre in Oceanside’s Cultural District.

Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org.. I’m Thomas Fudge. Thanks for listening and have a great day.