Spike in hepatitis A cases
Good Morning, I’m Matt Hoffman, in for Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, February 16th.
The impact of a recent spike in Hepatitis A on people who are homeless.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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U-S-D is about to appoint a group of researchers to its new Violence… Inequality and Power lab.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs was on campus, yesterday, to announce 5-hundred-80 thousand dollars in federal funding.
It will be spent to hire research fellows who will work to solve problems locally and worldwide.
“Addressing inequality isn’t just about addressing it right now but actually how it factors into the broader issues we’re having in society.”
The federal grant money will be used to hire 8 researchers, with two of the spots reserved for local scholars.
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Cal State San Marcos is expanding the number of school districts where students are guaranteed admission if they meet certain criteria.
Students admitted under the program will be supported by a peer mentoring program in their first year at C-S-U-S-M and ongoing assistance through graduation.
The five new districts are Bonsall Unified, Hemet Unified, Poway Unified, San Dieguito Union High School District and Guajome Schools.
They will join 10 districts already part of the alliance.
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The North County Transit District is now offering a discounted fare package for its COASTER train services.
The COASTER 5-Pack and COASTER 10-Packs are pilot programs that give riders five or 10 days of unlimited COASTER and regional transit system rides.
That includes M-T-S Busses, the Trolley and the SPRINTER.
You can buy the packs through the PRONTO mobile app, at PRONTO ticket vending machines, and at N-C-T-D customer service locations.
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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 county is continuing to monitor the Hepatitis A spike.
Reporter Kitty Alvarado went to downtown San Diego and spoke with a homeless advocate and several unhoused people to discuss the issue.
On any given day you’ll find Tyrone Bivens walking the streets of Downtown San Diego … he said he had no idea there was a spike of Hepatitis A until we told him about it It’s ridiculous what they’re doing to us… According to the county’s department of health and human services agency there is not an outbreak of Hepatitis A Because they typically see two to three cases a month.So far one person has died of the disease and there have been five recent confirmed cases, three among the homeless population Somebody’s already died that seems like an emergency to me Michael McConnell has been a homeless advocate for 15 years … in 2017 an outbreak hit the homeless population. nearly 600 people were infected and 20 people died. Bivens says until people start seeing those who are experiencing homelessness as human beings nothing will change Singing …Couldn't seem to fall asleep there was so much on my mind searching for God’s peace but his peace but his peace I could not find well I kneeled down to pray, pray help me please he said you don’t have to cry cause I ‘ll supply all your needs. The county has started vaccinations Kitty Alvarado KPBS News.
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San Diego took a step towards building denser housing this week.
Reporter Jacob Aere says the city council narrowly approved a wide range of updates to how the city approves new buildings.
The San Diego City Council voted 5-4 to loosen rules allowing taller apartment buildings and more backyard units for properties near current or future mass transit. This construction can now happen when the transit line is as far as 1 mile away on a walkable path. Previously, it was a half mile as the crow flies. Circulate San Diego’s Colin Parent says the change will help San Diego meet its affordable housing and climate goals. “The biggest thing that this is going to accomplish is it's going to expand the universe of land near transit that's going to be able to take advantage of some of these innovative housing programs from the city of San Diego.” But there was a lot of pushback from groups like Neighbors for a Better San Diego who say dense development should be contained to heavily trafficked corridors, rather than smaller neighborhoods. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.
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Coming up.... We have a look into what’s being screened at this year’s San Diego International Jewish Film Festival. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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Crews are tearing down a handful of remaining mobile homes on the De Anza Cove Peninsula.
It’s the latest step in a 40-year-long battle over public access to the parkland around Mission Bay.
Environment reporter Erik Anderson has details.
An excavator with a claw cut into one of the last mobile homes still standing at the old Mission Bay mobile home park. The park was abandoned after a decades-long fight with people who lived there, and the clean-up began in earnest about four years ago. Jacob Gelfand Campland on the Bay “When we took over the lease in 2019, there were 169 mobile homes on this property; now there are only a handful left to be removed.” Jacob Gelfand is the CEO of Campl;and on the Bay which is demolishing the park. He says the process wasn’t as easy as just coming in and leveling everything that was standing. Jacob Gelfand “Before we were able to start the removal and demolition processes we actually had to conduct asbestos and lead abatement of all the homes.” And while the tear down process is almost over, the future for the northern portion of Mission Bay is still unsettled. Environmentalists want to greatly expand the wetlands at the mouth of Rose Creek and around the De Anza Cove peninsula. Campland officials want long term security for their business. And San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria knows the two sides don’t always agree. Todd Gloria Mayor of San Diego “Ultimately that vision will be determined by the public in many public hearings. But what I’m recommending is a balance of uses that would include options like low-cost camping coupled with some restoration, expansion of our existing wetlands that I think are very important for our climate action plan.” There is still a lot of debris on the site from mobile homes that have been torn down. But officials say that by summer the bike paths around this peninsula could be open to the public. Erik Anderson KPBS News.”
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The 33rd San Diego International Jewish Film Festival will showcase 35 feature films both in person and online.
Arts reporter Beth Accomando has this preview.
For more than three decades the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival has been showcasing the best contemporary Jewish films and documentaries. The films selected represent the Jewish experience, but in recent years include more Arab perspectives such as in Cinema Sabaya. Cinema Sabaya The film explores the hopes, dreams and opinions of a group of Arab and Jewish women in Israel who take part in a filmmaking class. Then surprising alliances are at the heart of “Dead Sea Guardians.” It’s the Middle East, too much politics but environment cannot wait for politicians A Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli join forces to raise awareness about the Dead Sea drying up. While that film looks to the future, others look to the past and find new stories to tell about the Holocaust, says festival chair Christina Fink. CHRISTINA FINK I am also continually astounded by what we call 'nuggets of new information. It never ceases to amaze me of the new information these films find about World War II, new ways of showing Holocaust stories, new voices to be heard." One of those new voices is an archaeologist named Yoram Haimi whose excavation of a Nazi death camp in Poland led filmmaker Gary Hochman to make the documentary "Deadly Deception at Sobibor." The archaeologist reasons that the Nazi extermination camp should be treated as a crime scene. He uncovers not just the ruins of the gas chambers but also artifacts that reveal names and birth dates of victims, many of whom were young children. The remnants are emotionally potent as Dutch archeologist Ivar Schute notes in the film. The whole story, which is a story about big numbers, it's more or less impossible to understand, but when you see those items, the whole story becomes quite personal. Then it's very easy to take in the whole story and to understand the whole story because you come on a personal level. It's not an abstraction. It's not a story of big figures anymore. It's a story of one person. But unearthing these artifacts also leads to unexpected hope, says Fink. CHRISTINA FINK I don't want to give anything away, there are just human beauties that come forward with what he does, with his discoveries that just make you restore your faith in humanity. Hochman hopes that films like his will aid in teaching about the Holocaust because education is vital. GARY HOCHMAN: I think education is about the Holocaust isn't just important because it's a horrific, historic event. I think it's important because I think people forget that a place like Sobibor is the outcome of violent bigotry. And for violent bigotry to exist, you have to have public hatred. And, boy, do we have a lot of that in our current lives. If you don't check the blind hatred, the divisive rhetoric that's talked about on a weekly basis, regardless of whether it has to do with Jews or any other minority group that exists, this is the basis for how the Holocaust happened in the first place. My favorite documentary at the festival is "Four Winters” about Jewish partisan resistance fighters like Faye Shulman. All I owned was my camera, my leopard coat, rifle and... the pillow was the rifle, the walls were the trees and the sky was the roof. Schulman's determination to take these photos under harsh conditions is phenomenal. Her photos provide a rare glimpse into how Jewish partisans lived and fought back against the Nazis from deep within the forests of Eastern Europe. An image of Shulman in her leopard coat with a rifle sums up the contrast between the life she previously led and the one she was forced to lead. As Holocaust survivors age and die, films like this are vital for recording powerful first person narratives. Photos are also at the heart of the documentary “Searching for Gerda Taro,” about the female war photographer who died covering the Spanish Civil War in the 19-30s. And I also recommend "Finding Light," about a dance inspired by a Holocaust survivor. The festival once again proves that there are always new stories to tell and new ways to see the world. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
The San Diego International Jewish Film Festival runs through February 26th in person at the Garfield Theatre in La Jolla, and then virtually from February 27th to March 3rd.
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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 Matt Hoffman. Debbie Cruz will be back tomorrow. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
