San Diego’s probation department violated state regulations
Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Wednesday, April 20th.>>>>
San Diego’s probation department in violation of state law
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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A new report found violent crime went up in San Diego county last year. The report comes from the San Diego Association of governments or SANDAG. It found a three percent increase in homicides... with more than thirty percent of those tied to arguments. The SANDAG report also found increases in rape and crimes against seniors.
However, the agency also notes overall crime rates in 2021 were at historic lows for the region.
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The San Diego City Council voted 8-1 last night to sell Tailgate Park near Petco Park in downtown. The plans for it aim to redevelop it from a five acre parking lot into a community area with retail and residential space. The development is called East Village Quarter. The San Diego Padres will buy the lot for just more than 35 millions dollars. A number of people spoke against the project saying it wasn’t the best use of the land and that the deal was practically a give-away to the lead developer, which happens to be the Padres.
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San Diego County supervisor Nathan Fletcher took a test flight in a new firefighting helicopter tuesday. He wants his fellow supervisors to approve spending 16-million dollars on the twin-engine helicopter.
“with two engines if one goes down the other one is still going so you can fly at night and we have a lot of times where we need these helicopters up at night fighting fires.”
The supervisors will consider the proposal next week.
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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.
San Diego’s probation department has been violating state regulations that protect juvenile offenders.
Inewsource reporter Jill Castellano has the story.
CASTELLANO: Under state law, youth in juvenile detention centers can only be locked in their rooms if they present an immediate danger to themselves or others.
CASTELLANO: But in January, the state corrections board found that San Diego probation officers were locking juveniles in their rooms unnecessarily, sometimes for more than four hours — without a clear justification.
CASTELLANO: Sandy McBrayer is the CEO of The Children’s Initiative. She said confinement like this can have long-term consequences for children.
BRAYER: “There is a body of research that has demonstrated that room confinement for young people can cause anxiety, stress and trauma” (8 seconds)
CASTELLANO: McBrayer’s nonprofit has been working with the county to overhaul its youth detention centers.
BRAYER: “Equally important is for staff to put strategies in place that limit room confinement and support de-escalation and positive relationship building.” (11 seconds)
CASTELLANO: Nathan Fletcher, chair of the county board of supervisors, told inewsource that he’s taking the violations seriously, and - quote - “we must do better.”
CASTELLANO: In response to the findings, officials are implementing trainings, checklists and a new oversight process.
CASTELLANO: For KPBS, I’m inewsource investigative reporter Jill Castellano.
inewsource is an independently funded nonprofit partner of KPBS.
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A federal judge in Florida overturned the mask mandate for travelers that was put in place in January of 20-21 to prevent the spread of covid-19.
kpbs reporter kitty Alvarado checked in with our local airport and MTS.
The sun is shining in Old Town San Diego, a perfect day to ride the trolley …and it’s the day after a federal judge scrapped the mass transit mask mandate, meaning wearing a mask on public transportation is now optional. For San Diegan David Morrison, this makes no difference.
We still are in a pandemic, I am not going to go riding on the bus, the trolley, public transportation, the airlines and take my mask off
To be clear, the trolley run by the Metropolitan Transit System still requires masks; … but the North County Transit District does not. This shows why the federal ruling is sure to confuse people. It allows every transit system and airline to make their own rules.
Masks are also now optional at the San Diego International Airport
Airport spokesperson Sabrina LoPiccolo says it’s important to call your airline and the place you’re visiting before your trip.
Whether you’re traveling domestically or internationally there’s going to be different rules … just do your due diligence and do some research before you arrive at the airport
Kitty Alvarado, KPBS News.
the biden administration will only appeal if the cdc thinks it's needed.
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In an effort to combat a rise in deaths among San Diego’s homeless population, a Chula Vista outreach group is creating a street medicine team to serve the health needs of unhoused South Bay residents.
The nonprofit, Community Through Hope, will soon be providing emergency relief services, wound care, hygiene products, food and other items to residents of encampments in the region.
Bella Martinez is the Community Through Hope program Director. She spoke to KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon
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Land where an abandoned factory used to stand in Southeastern San Diego is now being looked at as a model for community-based redevelopment.
KPBS Speak City Heights reporter Jacob Aere explains.
The decades-long redevelopment of Southeast San Diego’s Market Creek Plaza is being touted as the first project in the U.S. to be designed, built, and partly owned by neighborhood residents.
The Urban Land Institute hosted a walking tour and panel at the site Tuesday.
According to RISE San Diego President Tony Young, one issue that came up is how to address the future of housing in the neighborhood.
“And so how do we find the balance to build product that they can afford without creating just a whole bunch of low income housing that maybe creates some more difficult issues for us”
The nonprofit Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation says the long-term goal of the redevelopment project is to create economic opportunity without displacing locals or fueling inequities. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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Coming up.... La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls or WOW Festival inspires artists with an invitation to reimagine what theater can be, and it returns starting tomorrow. We’ll have that, and more, just after the break.
More than half of California voters would be willing to pay more for items that didn’t contain single-use plastics, according to a new poll.
Those voters will have an opportunity to vote on exactly that in november… with a ballot measure that would require all single-use plastics in the state to be recyclable.
But as kcrw’s Darrell Satzman reports, business and trade groups are expected to put up a big fight.
La Jolla Playhouse returns to a live, in-person Without Walls or WOW Festival starting tomorrow (Thursday.) WOW offers interactive and site-inspired theatre from local, national and international performers. The Playhouse describes the festival as: “an invitation to reimagine what theatre can be through intriguing and playful experiences.”
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke with some of the artists for a preview of the event.
Sometimes the most liberating thing for artists is to put constraints on them.
DOMINIQUE SALERNO So this is a two by three by three little box, and this is where I do the entire 90 minute show.
Dominique Salerno put constraints on herself in order to create a tiny, site specific stage that she could take with her anywhere.
DOMINIQUE SALERNO I wanted to defy limitations by throwing them right into my creative space. So for me, playing around in this little space has been just a godsend for my creativity and my imagination.
Salerno will be presenting the aptly titled The Box Show at this year’s Without Walls or WOW Festival.
DOMINIQUE SALERNO It’s hard to pin down exactly what the show is about. I would say the show is about imagination, exploration, and joy and really pushing yourself to see the dark and the light that can come out of real creativity.
BRIDGET ROUNTREE Creativity loves constraints.
That’s Bridget Rountree of Animal Cracker Conspiracy.
BRIDGET ROUNTREE When you don't have everything at your fingertips, there becomes a certain necessity to use what's readily available or in the case of site responsive work, to have the ability to respond and think on your feet and creatively solve problems, which I feel like is absolutely part of any artistic process.
Animal Cracker Conspiracy had to respond to the daunting demands of a wide open outdoor space says Rountree’s co-conspirator Iain Gunn.
IAIN GUNN We love site specific theater… Just having that attitude of, like, the show must fit in the space somehow is great.
For its TransMythical show at WOW, Animal Cracker Conspiracy needed something big to stand out at Liberty Station.
IAIN GUNN We're going to have stilt puppeteers on four legs. So they're going to be four-legged animals winged with hybrid animal heads and horns, hooves, tails, and they'll be in the mix.
There will also be a couple of giant undersea creatures, 12 feet tall and carried by a single performer on a backpack.
BRIDGET ROUNTREE Which I think has the ultimate wow factor just because you can see it from so far away and you don't see it every day.
The show will be a procession says Gunn.
IAIN GUNN We're going to invite the audience to join us for a short walk and a celebratory moment. By calling it TransMythical, the idea is that we're going to draw a bridge across as many mythologies as possible and try to create something new.
Creating something new is also at the heart of The Frontera Project, an interactive, bilingual experience performed by Mexican and US artists. It engages the audience in a conversation about life on the Border.
Jesus Quintero says WOW offers a new and different way of presenting theater. Traditional rules of conduct no longer apply.
JESUS QUINTERO There's no chance for sit down and relax and hoping that there will be like a curtain or a light that will protect you or direct the sight of the viewer of the audience.
Ramon Verduga adds that The Frontera Project also asks the audience to engage with the play in new ways.
RAMON VERDUGA When the audience come to the stage, the audience participate, writing in the floor of the stage, and they complete the experience.
And the audience can also complete the experience by coming with both an open mind and the imagination to fill in the blanks, says Salerno.
DOMINIQUE SALERNO I think festivals like these are really freeing because it reminds us theater can be anywhere, anything with any people gathering in a room or in a space or in a field.
Or in a box that allows you to challenge expectations by bringing your own walls to wow an audience at La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls Festival.
Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls or WOW Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at Arts District Liberty Station.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
