San Diegans urge officials to take action in Israel-Hamas conflict

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, October 13th.

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San Diegans with personal connections to the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, are pleading for help. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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A woman living in the U-S Customs and Border Protection’s makeshift migrant camp in San Ysidro died earlier this week.

C-B-P has been keeping hundreds of migrants in out-door camps between the two border walls for months.

This is the first reported death.

Nina Douglass is one of the migrant advocates working at the camp.

“We talk every day about our fear that someone will die and now someone has died.”

C-B-P officials say they’re reviewing the incident.

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Kaiser officials say labor negotiations will continue today (Friday), after resuming on Thursday.

Kaiser workers in multiple states, including 45-hundred here in San Diego are currently working without a contract.

The coalition of unions says a sticking point continues to be putting limitations on sub-contracting and outsourcing jobs.

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Just one last reminder that the tax filing deadline is just days away.

The I-R-S is reminding tax payers that the deadline to file your tax returns and pay any remaining federal income taxes owed for last year is on Monday.

The tax deadline was extended for those living in counties impacted by recent storms…

And San Diego was one of the counties that got an extension.

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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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As the death toll in the Israel-Hamas conflict rises, Palestinians and Jews in San Diego are urging public officials to take action.

Reporter Katie Hyson has more.

Hours after Mayor Todd Gloria posted on Instagram that the city stands with Israel, a coalition of Palestinian supporters asked San Diego officials to condemn the siege on Gaza. San Diegan Rola Abushaban says she has family in Gaza where Israel is bombing. She lost contact with them two days ago. Last message I received from my aunt was, we are alive, but we'd rather die because no one feels what the Palestinians are living here. We are innocent people. The Israeli government cut off water, food and electricity to Gaza, where 2.3 million people are trapped inside borders the size of Philadelphia. Almost half are children. Rabbi Devorah Marcus of Temple Emanu-El says Palestinians are also paying the price of war, but their plight doesn’t justify the actions of Hamas. It's been horrific. And every day, as we find out more of the families who've been killed and seek the faces of people who we know or our friends know and love, it’s inexcusable. Hamas and the Israeli government are not the collective people of the Palestinian territories  and Israel, thousands of whom have been killed since Saturday. Everyone I spoke with today, on both sides, is pleading for help. They all said they didn’t feel heard. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

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Thousands of students at Chula Vista high schools at times only have one or two bathrooms to use.

That’s according to student leaders.

South Bay reporter Kori Suzuki has details.

For Pethra Duron, freshman year of high school is off to kind of a stressful start. There’s all the new people. The classwork. And then, there’s the bathroom situation. There's, like, certain bathrooms right there, but those bathrooms are closed due to vaping. So I have to go to the nearest bathrooms where are five minutes away. And the teacher doesn't let you go out again. In recent weeks, many of the bathrooms have been closed at Chula Vista High, where Pethra goes. That’s according to students and a staff member. Student leaders say this is happening at a bunch of other schools, on both the east and west sides of Sweetwater Union High School District. Here’s student representative Izayah Ringfield speaking at the Sweetwater board meeting last month. “Multiple campuses have had one bathroom open … one bathroom open throughout the entire campus is huge when you're talking about 2000-plus students on campuses.” Chula Vista High School principal Julio Alcalá says he doesn’t remember a time when the school has only had one bathroom open. But he says they do close bathrooms. We end up closing the restrooms until we can investigate if we can see who was there vaping He says they’re working on the problem. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

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Beauty Beyond Bars is an unconventional project to support inmates in maintaining their appearance and good hygiene.

Education reporter M.G. Perez tells us it’s the vision of a San Diego Unified graduate.

Lea nepo-MOO-seno…graduated from Scripps Ranch High School last June. She’s now a freshman at George Washington University…and her passion for social justice just got more creative…“we  have lotions…as well as lip moisturizers…we have a makeup towelette” nepo-MOO-seno is the creator of Beauty Beyond Bars…which… on face value…began delivering hygiene care packages to inmates at Las Colinas detention facility last weekend…a first step in rebuilding their dignity and self esteem. “there is even beauty in the people who are often shamed and given the label of criminal…there is beauty in them, too.” The new project’s mission is more than skin deep…supporters will also push for changes in national legislation requiring the unshackling of incarcerated pregnant women while giving birth …and special consideration for wearing religious headwear like a he-JOB. MGP KPBS News.

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Coming up.... We have details on some of this weekend’s arts events. We’ll have that and more, just after the break.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

There are currently more than four million breast cancer survivors in the U-S.

Reporter Melissa Mae tells us how breast cancer treatment has changed in recent years.

MM: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer for women. MM: Thirteen years ago, Rebecca Dabbs noticed a small lump on her left breast. The then 34 year old was diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer. RD “This is not a pretty pink disease. This is a nasty struggle that a lot of women go through, one in eight. So to me, breast cancer awareness month means courage and fighting.” MM: Earlier this year, the United States Preventive Services Task Force changed their recommendation that all women at age 40 not 50 get a breast cancer screening with a mammogram every other year. MM: Dr. Rebecca Shatsky, with UC San Diego’s breast medical oncology department says if you notice any breast skin changes, not just lumps, to contact your primary care doctor. RS “If there's new skin thickening or changes to the nipple, sometimes breast tumors can actually pull the nipple into the breast where it wasn't before, and that's called nipple retraction.” MM: She says the average age of women being diagnosed with breast cancer is 61, but recently there has been an increase in younger women being diagnosed. MM: There is a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk this Sunday, October 15th at Balboa Park. Go to cancer dot org to sign up. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

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Florida-based Arcade Monsters is coming to San Diego with an immersive arcade game facility.

It is also commissioning graffiti artists to cover the walls and even ceilings, with murals to create an art gallery that expands the idea of public art.

Arts reporter Beth Accomando speaks with the artists putting up these walls.

Tens of thousands of years ago, prehistoric humans held their hands against cave walls and blew a spray of paint, leaving a hand stencil behind. That, you could say, was the birth of both graffiti and public art. But no one has ever called cave paintings illegal or an act of vandalism. JASON SAIZ As soon as they hear spray paint or aerosol, it's like, no, we don't want any of that vandalism over here. Back in 1991, I worked with Jason “Sero” Saiz and seven other graffiti artists on a project for Fox Channel 6. JASON SAIZ Someone will say, who do you paint for? We paint for ourselves and the writers. We'd like to say we paint for the public, for people to see, for other people to appreciate it. But it has taken a long time for graffiti to gain that appreciation, says Marcus Borges, an artist better known as Grabster. GRABSTER The beauty of graffiti is it came from not asking for permission. And we would just go out and paint wherever we can, whether it was trains or walls, abandoned buildings. We'd go under bridges and find our walls and paint them. Jonathan Torres, who goes by the monicker Rekal, adds that in the early days of graffiti, no one was hiring them to do their work REKAL I feel that graffiti is actually the original public art. It's in your face, it's in the public. A lot of times it is illegal. But if you know what you're looking at, a lot of times you can find the value of the craft of graffiti writers and what they do. What's amazing to Grabster is that without formal training, without financial or community support, and without sophisticated equipment, early graffiti artists still managed to perfect their art. GRABSTER Back then, it was like, you got to know someone, and they'd be like, oh, my cousin does graffiti, or this friend of his, I heard he does graffiti. And it was so secretive because you don't go around saying, like, yeah, I do graffiti. It was like a secret society. Rekal remembers a real  sense of mentorship. REKAL And then they would teach you things and they would show you how to blend with a spray can or what types of caps to use. Now you can Google graffiti and find how-to videos. But Grabster says that accessibility also means graffiti has become more widely accepted. GRABSTER It's nice because we've been practicing our craft and using the spray can for two decades now, and now I feel like we're at the level where we can paint almost anything with the spray can. Including murals for businesses. GRABSTER And here at Arcade Monsters, it's really fun because we have the opportunity to paint a lot of fun cartoons and video game characters that we grew up on. Arcade Monsters is a rapidly growing company with five locations in Florida. Operations manager Jonathan Haines is excited about how Grabster and Rekal are transforming Arcade Monsters’ newest location here in San Diego. JONATHAN HAINES The way that people walk in, and it's all about their reactions… and you just see the look on their face, and you can't beat it. And you know we're doing something right and that's what sets us apart: We're an art gallery. With art covering every exposed inch of space.  GRABSTER We're curving around walls, there's doors, so it's not just a big flat wall. So I think that's the challenge is, like, fitting what we're trying to show or portray in the small areas and spaces just to fill every wall. In here, as you notice, you walk around, there's art on every wall. So we don't discriminate, if it’s a small wall we’ll fit something there.. Yet Grabster feels graffiti is still fighting an image battle. GRABSTER It's a language that a lot of people don't understand. There's geometry in it. There's flow and movement, but people…Sometimes they'll see graffiti and they're like, I don't know what it says, so I don't like it or something. But if you just look at it for the colors, the abstract shapes, the movement, you can appreciate it. Arcade Monsters appreciates graffiti art and hopes that retro gamers will too. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

TAG: This story is part of an ongoing series about public art in the region.

More stories are available at K-P-B-S-dot-ORG-slash-public-art.

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And before you go… arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans has some suggestions for arts events to check out this weekend.

She shared the details with my colleague Jade Hindmon.

Let's talk about some visual art. You have some new contemporary art and a fresh look at a traditional art form. What's new in the galleries this week?

It's time for the 11th annual San Diego Zine Fest, which is happening all weekend at Bread and Salt in Logan Heights. What happens at a zine fest?

This is also in conjunction with the Barrio Art Crawl, right?

Let's switch gears and talk about a performance we can catch this weekend. In theater, here's a fun one that's perfect for the spooky season: The Addams' Family Musical. 

TAG: That was KPBS arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition host, Jade Hindmon. 

You can find details on these and more arts events, at KPBS dot ORG slash ARTS.

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Also this weekend… have your solar safety glasses handy, so you can catch the solar eclipse tomorrow.

This rare phenomenon, when the moon covers the sun to create a majestic “ring of fire,” will not be seen in the U-S again until 20-39.

If you're interested in a viewing party, the Fleet Science Center is hosting theirs at 8-00 a-m, in front of the iconic Bea Evenson fountain.

The eclipse is set to begin at 8-09 tomorrow morning, and viewers will see the most exciting moments between 8-45 and 9-45 a-m.

The eclipse will conclude at 10-52 a-m, as the moon leaves the sun’s edge.

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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by KPBS Producer Emilyn Mohebbi and edited by KPBS Senior Producer Brooke Ruth. We’d like to thank KPBS reporters John Carroll and Matt Hoffman for helping out the team over the last two weeks. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again Monday to start the week together with the day’s top stories, plus, we hear about the art that covers a bridge in Hillcrest. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.