San Diego Housing Commission’s new CEO

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, January 3rd.

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A conversation with the new C-E-O of the San Diego Housing Commission. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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C-B-P is reopening the Ped-West border crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry tomorrow morning.

The northbound operations will be open every day from 6 a-m to 2 p-m.

And the southbound facility will also be open daily, but from 3 in the afternoon to 11 at night.

C-B-P temporarily closed the crossing last month, because of an influx of migrant crossings.

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There’s a lot going on with the weather today.

To start, it’s going to be raining and there’s a chance of thunderstorms.

There’s another High Surf Advisory starting this afternoon in the county’s coastal areas.

The National Weather Service says waves can reach up to 10 feet, causing dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and potential beach erosion.

That advisory will be in effect until 10 tomorrow night.

But that’s not the only advisory in effect.

There’s a Wind Advisory in the mountains and deserts starting at 10 this morning.

Gusts could reach up to 55 miles per hour.

That advisory will be in effect until four A-M tomorrow.

The rain is expected to clear up by tomorrow.

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If you’re a nonpartisan registered voter and want to vote for president in the primary election in March, you have a deadline coming up this week.

You have until Friday to let the Registrar’s office know which crossover party ballot you want.

You should’ve received a pre-paid return postcard requesting the info.

If you don’t update this information, you’ll get a nonpartisan ballot in the mail, and it will not show the presidential primary contest or candidates.

For more information, head to sd-vote-dot-com.

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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 San Diego Housing Commission is the city’s affordable housing agency.

It administers the city’s homelessness and affordable housing dollars.

That money funds housing projects and shelters, and rental assistance.

Last month, city leaders selected Lisa Jones to be the commission’s new president and C-E-O.

She spoke with my colleague Andrew Bracken about the crisis the city faces, in securing safe, affordable housing for San Diegans.

Here’s that conversation.

So you’ve been with the commission for about six years now, what are your priorities in this new role?

The Housing Commision didn’t always provide homelessness services, what have you learned or what has surprised you as the agency has moved into this direction more?

Yours is a city agency, and as we know homelessness is a problem across San Diego County, I think it’s something San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria made quite a point of last year. How do you plan to coordinate and work with other cities in the county?

And would you say your focus more now is on building more shelters or building more affordable housing?

And on those affordable housing options, what’s really a bigger challenge for your agency? Is it building those affordable housing options or helping families pay rent?

So we’ve touched on this, San Diego has a severe housing shortage, it’s fallen far behind its production goals. Here is how San Diego City Councilmember Kent Lee put it late last year. So there’s a lot there. Where do you start in this new role? This sounds like a big hole to fill here.

What resources does the Housing Commission offer that you’d like to share with our audience? What should they be aware of that the Housing Commission does here?

TAG: That was president and C-E-O of the San Diego Housing Commission, Lisa Jones, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition producer Andrew Bracken.

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In efforts to help San Diegans financially, the new year has brought a new minimum wage for employees in the City of San Diego and across the county.

Reporter Jacob Aere says there’s a larger raise for fast food workers on the horizon.

As of Jan 1, the hourly minimum wage rose to $16.85 in the City of San Diego … and to $16 in the rest of San Diego county, and California. It’s a modest raise compared to last year's … but on April 1, a far more impactful wage hike will take place, boosting the hourly pay of California’s fast food workers to $20 an hour. Cosmos Burger Owner Eren Unur says small businesses like his own will feel the pinch. “Like McDonalds, In N Out, they can afford to pay $20, but not like us, the small businesses. If they can do the same job over there for $20 who am I going to pay the $16 to 18 to make a burger?” The April 1 wage hike applies to all fast-food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.

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Coming up.... The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shined at the Rose Parade. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

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This weekend’s big surf caused a lot of damage along San Diego's coast.

Reporter Melissa Mae tells us about the impact on the Ocean Beach Pier.

MM: The Ocean Beach pier has been closed since October due to public safety concerns. Then this weekend’s waves knocked off railings and one of the pier’s structural pilings. MM: The city has already been working to come up with solutions to potentially replace the pier and is engaging the public in the process. City of San Diego spokesperson Jose Ysea says the next meeting will be in April. JY “Right now we’re waiting for consultants to come back in a few months with the results of those meetings and with an input on what the community recommends and what the consultants think we can do to replace it and keep everybody happy.”  MM: The city says the pier will be closed through the rest of the storm season and the earliest it could be open is late February. For more information about the proposed renewal go to www dot o-b-pier-renewal dot com. Melissa Mae KPBS News.

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California’s first snowpack measurement of 20-24, finds levels that are well below normal for this time of year.

Environment reporter Erik Anderson says it's quite a difference from a year ago.

California’s snow survey team took measurements of a fairly meager snowpack at Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe.  State snow watcher Sean de Guzman says the station is one of several locations where officials measure snow to estimate how much water is stored there. Sean de Guzman, California Department of Water Resources “The survey today recorded a snow depth of seven and a half inches and a snow water content of three inches.  That results in 30 percent of average to date.  And 12 percent of the April one average here at this location.” A year ago, this location was under four and a half feet of snow as strong December storms dropped a lot of snow. California’s snowpack began the last calendar year 162 percent above average, and it climbed to 232 percent above average just two weeks later. Two cold storms expected this week could boost this year’s snowpack significantly. Erik Anderson KPBS News.

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The San Diego Wildlife Alliance won the most beautiful float trophy in the Rose Parade earlier this week.

Education reporter M.G. Perez tells us about the float.

It began with a roar 1-hundred 7 years ago…when the San Diego Zoo first started protecting and preserving wild animals. Now a billion people a year benefit from in-person visits to the Zoo and Safari Park… and online programs that are shared to 150 countries around the world. The 55-foot float entered in the Rose Parade featured replicas of some of the most popular animals…made of golden bamboo, eucalyptus leaves, moss and seaweed. 8-year old Violet Anderson and her family came all the way from Chicago this week for the chance to be entertained and educated at the Zoo. “I like how there are a ton of animals..and you actually get the experience to be around animals you probably wouldn’t see even if you looked really hard.” The wildlife float was awarded the Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful creation at the Pasadena parade. MGP KPBS News.

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That’s it for the podcast today. 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 Wednesday.