San Diego's homelessness spending
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, April 11th.
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More on the state auditor’s report on San Diego's homelessness spending. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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A Navy chief on trial in San Diego is facing life in prison for allegedly passing national security secrets to an agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors say chief fire controllman Bryce Pedicini was in debt and had a negative bank account balance when he met a woman on Facebook who claimed to be a researcher from Japan.
She offered to pay the chief for information, and he accepted.
Military reporter Andrew Dyer was at the court-martial yesterday (Wednesday).
“Pedicini allegedly began being paid for information on navy tactics and capabilities. when he transferred to a guided-missile destroyer in japan, he was offered even more money if he’d turn over classified documents. When he attempted to do so, he was arrested. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to bringing his cell phone into a classified work space. He denies the other charges against him.”
The court-martial is scheduled to run through next week at Naval Base San Diego.
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San Diego is one of nine cities chosen to participate in a program with national experts providing guidance on how to meet the city's early learning and childcare objectives.
The program is led by the National League of Cities, and will work with San Diego's Office of Child and Youth Success.
The executive director of the office says it will give the city the opportunity to expand access to resources and high-quality programs for children and families.
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It’s going to be another hot day across most parts of the county today.
But the heat won’t last long.
The National Weather Service says it’s expected to cool down tomorrow (Friday), with a chance of light rain over the weekend.
But before that, let’s enjoy this sunny spring day, with temperatures in the low 80s in the inland areas, in the mountains temps will be in the mid 70s, in the deserts it’ll be in the mid 90s, and by the coast, temps will be in the high 60s.
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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 California state auditor this week released a deep dive report on San Diego's homelessness spending.
Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it puts homeless service providers under the microscope.
AB: Homelessness has gone up in San Diego in recent years. And the auditor acknowledges the main reason is the lack of affordable housing. But affordable housing wasn't the focus on the auditor's report. Instead it looks at the city's programs to manage the homelessness crisis. The big conclusion: San Diego should centralize, in one annual report, all the spending it does on homelessness relief programs so it can better track their effectiveness. Hanan Scrapper is the regional director for People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH. The nonprofit operates the city's coordinated street outreach program. The goal is to get people ready for placement in permanent housing as soon as it's available — and just to help them survive. HS: Our outreach teams have water and food and blankets and clothing and first aid kits on them so that as you're encountering people you're able to really start with building trust by meeting their basic needs. AB: Scrapper says building trust isn't something that's easy to quantify. PATH does collect and report data on how many people it reaches and how often they're referred to shelter, medical care or housing. But the lack of housing is the real reason why more people aren't getting off the streets. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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A federal judge in San Diego has banned the use of “excited delirium” in an upcoming police misconduct trial.
The medical theory has been disproven as an explanation for when someone dies in custody.
State lawmakers recently made it illegal to use the term as a cause of death in California.
South Bay reporter Kori Suzuki joined Morning Edition host, Deb Welsh to discuss the decision.
Let’s start with “excited delirium.” What is this medical theory and why is it now banned as a cause of death in the state of California? Police, paramedics, coroners and medical examiners often use it to describe a person who becomes agitated and then dies suddenly in custody – especially when that person was experiencing mental health issues or using drugs. Law enforcement have for years used the medical theory to explain why large numbers of people, particularly Black men and other people of color, have died during encounters with police. Including George Floyd and Elijah McClain. But critics have long argued that it has no consistent definition and is not grounded in scientific evidence. Leading the American Medical Association and other major medical groups to publicly disavowed the term. And so why is this coming back up in San Diego? It’s coming up because it was potentially going to be a key part of a lawsuit that’s been going on over the last four years. Filed by the family of Oral Nunis. Oral Nunis was a Northern California business owner, originally from Jamaica, who ran a trucking operation in the Central Valley. In March 2020, Nunis was in town to visit his daughter in Chula Vista. Nunis, Kimone and her boyfriend were at Kimone’s apartment on the evening of March 13 when Nunis started experiencing a mental health crisis. Nunis’ family and the Chula Vista Police Department tell different stories of what happened next. Both say officers tried to handcuff Nunis. Multiple officers used their weight to force him against the ground. They wrapped his arms and legs with an additional restraining device and covered his head with a mesh hood. Paramedics then took Nunis to an ambulance – but minutes later, they told police he had stopped breathing. Nunis was driven to a local hospital and pronounced dead later that night. When the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office performed an autopsy, the Medical Examiner’s office couldn’t tell definitively why Nunis died but said “excited delirium” was the likely reason, according to a copy of the autopsy filed in court. The San Diego County District Attorney, Stephen Summer, also launched an investigation into Nunis’ death. But in November 2021, she announced her office would not be charging the officers involved, citing Stabley’s diagnosis. But Kimone and Nunis’ wife Roxie didn’t agree with the police version of events. In late 2020, they both filed wrongful death lawsuits against the city. Now, the city of Chula Vista is set to defend itself when those cases go to trial together next week in federal court. And how will the “excited delirium” theory fit into all of this? It seems like it played a key role in how police handled Nunis’ death in custody. But as you’ve told us, it’s lost a lot of credibility since then. That’s a key question I think a lot of people have had their eye on. In San Diego, the national shift around “excited delirium” also appears to be reshaping the course of Nunis’ family members’ wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Chula Vista. In court filings last month, Roxie Nunis’ attorney Carl Douglas argued that Chula Vista’s legal team was likely to bring up the pseudoscientific diagnosis as a defense, despite it being discredited by leading medical organizations. Douglas said that could draw the trial off course from its central focus of whether Chula Vista police used excessive force and violated federal and state law. Still, Robinson granted Douglas’ request. That means that, as the trial begins, none of the attorneys in this case will be able to use any mentions of “excited delirium.” So how is the judge’s ruling going to affect the trial? We’ll have to see how the trial plays out. I can’t speak for Oral Nunis’ family members – how they feel about this. I haven’t gotten a chance to speak with them yet. But I did speak with Assemblymember Mike Gipson, who introduced California’s ban on “excited delirium.” And he said that many families whose loved ones die in police custody want to know the truth of what happened. And the judge’s decision brings Nunis’ family one step closer to hopefully finding that out in this trial. I’ve been speaking to South Bay Reporter Kori Suzuki, thank you Kori. Thank you so much, Deb.
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Dozens of high school students across San Diego are hard at work in a national competition to find solutions to some of society’s biggest problems.
Education reporter M.G. Perez has the latest on the Aspen Challenge.
150 high school students from 19 campuses across the San Diego Unified School District are midway through the projects they hope will find immigration solutions…answers to homelessness and more support for mental health. It’s called the Aspen Challenge. An 8-member team from Mission Bay High School has been working since late February on strategies using various mediums of art to lower stress in children. They hosted a mental health fair this week….featuring poetry…origami …and vision boards. Nathan Sheehy is their English Teacher and advisor.“They’re go-getters..it’s helping them beyond school…they’re learning skills that are going to be useful to them in the real world than maybe book learning.” All the competing teams will deliver their presentations on May 1st. MGP KPBS News.
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San Diego’s Arab Film Festival is here, and filled with stories created from around the world.
Reporter Jacob Aere says this year, many of the films have a special focus on the conflict in Gaza.
Held at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, the 13th Annual San Diego Arab Film Festival starts April 12th … and runs through the 21st. Rami Younis Co-director of “Lyd” “So it's a science fiction documentary which I co-directed with an American filmmaker – New-York based Sarah Friedland.” Rami Younis is the co-director of “Lyd” … the closing night feature film at the festival. He spoke to KPBS from where he lives – Haifa, Israel … and said work for this project began back in 2016. Rami Younis Filmmaker of “Lyd” “We wanted to tell the story of my hometown of Lyd, which is a city that was occupied in 1948. It used to be the city that connected Palestine to the world because it had an international airport, trains would depart from there to Lebanon to Cairo, back when the borders were open.” “Lyd” is one of many films that will be featured at this year's festival. There will be 8 screenings in all, each showcasing one feature film and one short film, from across the Arab World. Several films at this year’s festival revolve around ongoing conflict. Bassemah Darwish San Diego Arab Film Festival Organizer “We are stepping more into representing Palestinian filmmaking because of what's happening in Gaza, and in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.” Bassemah Darwish is a local San Diegan and festival organizer. She’s also originally from Palestine herself. Darwish says the festival has grown and changed over the years … and the films are about much more than struggle. Bassemah Darwish Festival Organizer “The artists are exploring more creatively and just stepping out of telling the story of trauma and occupation.” Larry Christian is president of Karama, a nonprofit organization that focuses on issues of the Arab and Islamic world. They put on the festival. Larry Christian President of Karama “We want to provide a focal point for the community to show itself and be proud of itself.” Christian says outside of Palestine, this year’s festival features films from countries including Syria, Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon. Larry Christian President of Karama “Film is a way also to show people realistic depictions of Arab people and culture in a way that printed pages and other things dont do.” Darwish says some of this year’s films are relatable to her own experience growing up … something not commonly seen in U.S. cinema. Bassemah Darwish Festival Organizer “My mom told me stories often about this beautiful place called Palestine and that's what explained my name, and our food, and the smell in our home and the sound of the Quran on Fridays.” She says the films help to share Arab identity, defy stereotypes … and provide a voice for the marginalized. Bassemah Darwish Festival Organizer “It's really important to see yourself represented on screen, in society as culturally relevant. And for me as an Arab female, it's been a beautiful experience to both view the films on screen at the museum of photographic arts and also to be part of making that happen.” Younis says his film depicts multiple pasts, presents, and futures of the modern-day Israeli city now known as Lod. Rami Younis Filmmaker of “Lyd” “In our film there are Jews, Christians and Muslims living in one place without the occupation. It's not a utopia but it's also not an occupied, unjust place.” He says even getting the film made was challenging due to the ongoing conflict. Younis hopes the sci-fi documentary makes people reflect. Rami Younis Filmmaker of “Lyd” “No one can take away your imagination. That's one thing that can't be occupied, you know? If you don't imagine you're doomed to live the reality that was created in someone else’s imagination.” Tickets are on sale now online or at the door if they’re not yet sold out. And Arabic dinners will be available each evening. More information can be found at sandiegoaff.org. Jacob Aere, 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. In tomorrow’s podcast, the mayor of Chula Vista joins me to talk about this weekend’s South Bay Earth Day event and more. Join us tomorrow for that, plus the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.
