San Diego to expand campgrounds for people experiencing homelessness

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, October 3rd.>>>>

The city of San Diego is expanding its two campgrounds for people experiencing homelessness. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######

We hit record-high temperatures in some parts of the county this week, and the heat continues.

In the desert areas, temps reached 112, which was the highest they’ve been since 19-91, and in the mountains it was 93 degrees, the hottest since 20-20.

Excessive Heat Warnings and advisories have been extended until 8 P-M Monday in most parts of the county.

In the inland and mountain areas today, temps will be in the low 90s, and in the deserts, it’s expected to reach 109 degrees.

The only area without an advisory is the coastal areas, where it’s expected to be in the high 70s.

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The California School Boards Association has filed a lawsuit against Governor Newsom over school funding.

The suit claims Newsom’s funding plan for schools violates the state’s constitution and could endanger school funding in the future.

The state has already passed its budget, and the lawsuit won’t affect the money already set aside for schools.

But the association hopes a judge will strike down what they described as Newsom’s “funding maneuver.”

Newsom made up a nearly 9-billion-dollar shortfall in the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee by borrowing from the state’s general fund.

Newsom’s office said the accounting move was not only legal but saved schools from potential budget cuts.

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Doordash has made 45-thousand deliveries in the county paid for with food stamps.

They began accepting them as payment for groceries last June.

A lot of those deliveries are going to areas with more seniors and people with disabilities.

Sheryl Young leads Doordash’s policy research.

She says it’s hard for many food stamp users to get to the grocery store.

And online shopping makes it easier to stretch their benefits.

SNAPDELIVER 2A :10 

“As they're building their cart, they can see how much they have left. They can see every single item that's Snap eligible and just click on it and add it to their cart instead of running around a grocery store.”

Doordash is working to expand deliveries in rural areas, where transportation can be even harder.

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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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San Diego is expanding its two makeshift campgrounds for people experiencing homelessness.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it comes as the number of indoor shelter beds is shrinking.

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AB: The campgrounds are located on two vacant lots in the back corners of Balboa Park. They currently have space for about 540 tents. Over the next few months, that number will grow to 770. The City Council on Tuesday agreed to extends contracts with two nonprofits that operate the campgrounds. Council President Sean Elo-Rivera admits they're not ideal. SER: And I think we can also recognize that for the folks that have opted into this program, it is better than what they were experiencing before. I don't like that, that that's the best option in front of us. But it is the best option in front of us. AB: Later this year, two downtown homeless shelters with more than 600 beds will close. The city is scrambling to find alternatives. For the time being, those alternatives will be outside. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

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Here in San Diego, life-saving medicines like naloxone have helped reduce the number of fentanyl overdoses.

But Mexico’s restrictive drug policies make naloxone almost impossible to get in Tijuana.

Border reporter Gustavo Solis says good samaritans are essentially smuggling this medicine into Mexico.

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“Quieres llevarte aluminio?” … “Si, si. Listo. Bye Oscar, quidate.” Carmina Ruiz runs the needle exchange program at Tijuana’s Prevencasa. This is the city’s only needle exchange and safe use clinic.Regulars here toss their used needles in a little red box while Ruiz gives them clean ones. All to prevent the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis.“Si, si. Listo. Bye Oscar, quidate.” In the back of the clinic, women use drugs in a safe environment. They sit on a couch, listen to music, even create art. All under the supervision of staff trained to prevent overdoses. But something is missing …  a medicine used to prevent overdoses is almost impossible to get in Tijuana. Naloxone is  an overdose reversal drug that has been a lifesaver for fentanyl users across the globe. “I think everybody on the planet should be carrying it now. Because this is a major problem in many countries.” That’s Gretchen Burns Bergman, founder of A NEW Path. The San Diego-based nonprofit has helped make Naloxone more available in San Diego County. Known by its brand name Narcan, the treatment is available in local schools and even vending machines throughout the region. She says these achievements did not come without resistance. Some feel providing the medicine encourages illegal drug use. “If we think stigma is bad here, it’s even worse in Mexico.” Former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has spent years downplaying Mexico’s role in the fentanyl crisis – saying his country does not produce or consume the synthetic opioid. He’s also blocked efforts to make Naloxone more accessible in Mexico. “The Mexican president said that naloxone prolongs the agony of people who use drugs Basically he’s saying well, they are beyond saving they should die .” Jaime Arredondo is a drug abuse expert who’s spent years visiting drug treatment centers throughout the border. He says Lopez Obrador cut federal funding to clinics like Prevencasa in 2018. “Ever since 2018 we have to cross all the supplies – syringes, pipes, naloxone, foil – everything that we use for harm reduction we have to bring from either the United States or Canada.” That’s right – people are smuggling Naloxone from the United States into Mexico. Sometimes at great personal risk. “I have myself been found crossing with 300 vials of Naloxone and they wanted me to pay $8,000. I didn’t have the money, or they were going to impound my car.” Arrendano says members of the National Guard and the Mexican military have confiscated Naloxone. The shortage has gotten so bad that local paramedics and police officers are asking Prevencasa to supply them with Naloxone. “I have heard them, oh what is the medication to treat them? Can I have some so I can treat more persons like you did today?” Alejandro Gonzalez has even trained first responders in how to administer the medicine. “They don’t have access to naloxone, they have seen a lot of overdose and they can only offer oxygen and that’s it. And that’s a good way to treat it, oxygen, but it’s not enough.” Arredondo says more binational collaboration is needed. “This is a North American problem. It’s not just Mexico, it’s not just the United States. It’s Canada, U.S. and Mexico and we need to find common solutions for the three countries for a common problem.” He points to people like Maria Erendira as a sign of hope. She used heroin - and later fentanyl - for 25 years before getting sober at the clinic. “Perdi muchos anos de mi vida. 25 anos usando heroina.” Erendia says she felt safe using drugs in the clinic. With people ready to help in case she ever passed out - which she did a few times. “Aqui tenia alguien que me quidara. Pero de todas maneras, dos, tres veces si me les pase.” Now that she’s sober, Erendira still comes to the clinic. Sometimes just to hangout, but mostly to volunteer. She likes to clean the same room where she once used drugs. Says it’s a good way to give back to the people who helped her so much. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News.

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The fall film festival season is in full swing with the Filipino and Italian festivals overlapping this weekend.

Film critic Beth Accomando previews the San Diego Italian Film Festival that kicks off in Balboa Park tonight (Thursday).

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Each year the San Diego Italian Film Festival picks a theme to drive its programming. This year artistic director Antonio Iannotta says the theme is core.

ANTONIO IANNOTTA Because it's gonna talk about our core values, like identity, but also core issues in Italy today, like immigration. It's also a nice play on words because in Italian core means heart and one of the issues close to the festival’s heart is diversity. ANTONIO IANNOTTA Italy has been a diverse, multiethnic, and multiracial country for many, many, many years, and still we have this fantasy of a country, totally white, totally catholic, but it's not like that anymore. Io Capitano highlights racial diversity with its story of African immigrants while the documentary Kripton focuses on young people coping with personality disorders. ANTONIO IANNOTTA They open their heart, they talk freely on how they feel, how they think. And we get to see what these young kids have to face on a daily basis about their problems. The San Diego Italian Film Festival runs through this weekend and next. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

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La Mesa Oktoberfest kicks off tomorrow (Friday) and runs through the weekend.

The festival is celebrating its 51st year.

Laurel McFarlane is the event manager for La Mesa Oktoberfest.

She says the event holds a special place in the community.

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“As people have grown up, they’ve gone to this event. As people have had kids now, they’ve brought their kids. So I think it’s like those Christmas holiday events in the midwest that people always love to go or those holiday special moments, it’s kind of like that I think for this community as well as now it’s grown through all of San Diego. But it’s just a really great event that people get back together with their friends and family, so I think that’s probably the biggest part of it, it’s such a community event and it feels really community that makes it so special and that’s kept that specialness through all the years.”

La Mesa Oktoberfest is a free, family-friendly festival, with options to purchase V-I-P and beer garden passes.

This year’s event features three beer gardens with music and games, food and shopping, arts and crafts, miniature golf, a ferris wheel, a pumpkin patch and more.

McFarlane says the dachshund races have become very popular over the past few years, so organizers are dedicating an entire block to pets this year.

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“We have yodeling for dogs, we also have fashion shows, we have the dachshund races and then we also are doing some dachshund planking, where people get into a plank and we have a dachshund on their back, a stuffed animal, and whoever can last the longest wins a giant dachshund.”

The fest runs from 4 P-M to 10 at night tomorrow (Friday), 10 A-M to 10 at night on Saturday, and on the final day– Sunday, it starts at noon and ends at 8 P-M.

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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. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.