Supervisors to call for Fletcher’s resignation
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, April ELEVENTH.
County supervisors meet today to call for Nathan Fletcher’s immediate resignation. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
Today (Tuesday) will be one of the warmest days of the week. Expect fog in some areas before ELEVEN A-M and cloudy skies through mid-morning. Highs of SEVENTY near the coast, high SEVENTIES in East County, over NINETY in the desert.
The rest of the week should be cooler. Thursday and Friday could even see some light showers.
San Diego County has made TWENTY-FIVE million dollars available for affordable housing developments. These funds were made available through the Innovative Housing Trust Fund. This fund was created in TWENTY-SEVENTEEN (2017) to build affordable housing. Developers will need to apply by June FIFTH. Housing projects for at-risk groups and low-income families will be considered. This could include seniors, transition-aged foster youth, veterans and people experiencing homelessness.
If you’ve ever wanted to foster a dog, now might be the time. The Humane Society will give a ONE HUNDRED dollar gift card to anyone that fosters a dog for two weeks. To get the gift card, you have to get a dog over FIFTY pounds. The incentive focuses on big pups because they’re harder to place in foster homes.
The record number of dogs at the Humane Society inspired the program. There are over FIVE HUNDRED in its care as of Monday.
Shelter officials are attempting to get FIFTY large dogs foster placements.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
Nathan Fletcher says he’ll resign from the board of supervisors in May following sexual assault allegations … but most of the other supervisors want him gone sooner.
KPBS Reporter Matt Hoffman has more on the special meeting being held today (Tuesday)
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was on a medical leave of absence for PTSD and alcohol abuse when a former colleague accused him of sexual assault. Fletcher denies these allegations. but says he’ll quit the board of supervisors in May.. Now a no-confidence vote calling for Fletcher to resign immediately has been docketed for a special board meeting today. Board chairwoman Nora Vargas brought the resolution forward. 1:13.386 Nora Vargas, San Diego County board chair. It is clear to me that the only way to move forward is without supervisor Fletcher on this board. I believe he should resign effective immediately. We reached out to Fletcher’s office for comment -- a spokesperson for the supervisor says he’s unable to respond while he’s in treatment. The Supervisors vote is symbolic. Ultimately the timing of the resignation is up to Fletcher. MH KPBS News.
A statewide program to help Californians looking to buy their first home … has seen extreme demand… so much that it’s already out of money!
KPBS reporter Jacob Aere talked with experts about what other help might be out there to get that down payment.
The California Housing Finance Agency launched the Dream for All Shared Appreciation loan program two weeks ago. It offered qualified first-time buyers up to 20% of the purchase price of a house or condo … but the program has already run out of funds … and can't take on any more applicants. Real estate broker Alli Urguby (AL-ee UR-guh-bee) says it is a particularly attractive program compared to other similar offerings, for both low and middle income households. “I got a lot of new client inquiries who said they were interested in this program and only this program – they wouldn't be able to buy without it. And those clients, plenty got pre-approved but unfortunately the funds ran out so quickly that a lot of clients didn't get to take action with it.” CalHFA told KPBS that additional funds are dependent on the State Budget process … which will play out in the coming months. Jacob Aere, KPBS News
Proposed legislation in California would require college students at public institutions to show proof of H-P-V vaccination. Stephanie O’Neill of K-F-F Health News has more.
"H-P-V or human papillomavirus is a common sexually-transmitted infection causing nearly all cervical cancers and a handful of other potentially lethal cancers in both women and men. Available since 2006, the vaccine must be given before a person’s exposed to the virus and becomes sexually active. But in California, efforts to require preteens to get the shot have met strong resistance from vaccine opponents and some parents, uncomfortable with their kids getting a vaccine linked to sexual activity. As a result, state lawmakers have modified a bill that initially aimed to require all incoming 8th graders get the shot. Now the proposed measure calls instead for schools to inform parents that kids should be immunized by 8th grade...and the bill would require students under 26 attending public colleges and universities to show proof of H-P-V vaccination. I’m Stephanie O’Neill"
Coming up … how tech layoffs in the U-S are affecting Tijuana. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
Remember those layoffs in the tech industry from January? KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis says the pandemic has created a bit of a tech boom in Mexico.
This office has everything you’d expect from a Silicon Valley tech company. Free food, art covered-walls, board games, and stunning views. Except the views aren’t of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Bay Area. They’re of Tijuana’s skyline and the Mexican border. And it’s a sign of Tijuana’s booming tech sector – which is mostly fueled by the fact that there aren’t enough American engineers to fill IT jobs north of the border. CC 0014_01 00:10:35:15 Omar Parra, Engineering Director ITJuana “I do see that the reason of our existence is because there is this extreme need for engineers in the US and right now they are not that demand.” That’s Omar Parra – Engineering Director with ITJuana. [NAT POP office sounds] ITjuana connects American companies with Mexican talent. CC 0014_01 00:00:58:11 “Basically, we build a team for you. For that particular company.” Those teams include everything – engineers, managers, site directors. Not to mention software developers well versed in multiple languages like … CC 0014_01 00:01:21:19 “iOS development, android full stack, web, cloud, dev ops, dvas and so on.” ITJuana currently has 400 employees that contract with American companies. Parra expects to grow to 1,000 within two years. NAT POP? Hello or something from interview Fernando Torres calls this the pandemic layoff boom. He works for Softtek, the largest IT nearshoring company in Mexico. SOFTEK 00:14:00:08 Fernando Torres, SOFTTEK “Ahorita si estmaos entrando como en un boom que tiene que ver con los layoffs que estan susediendo … Torres says American companies increased their workforce at the start of the pandemic. But started laying off those new hires in January. Now they’re reverting back to pre-pandemic staffing levels. SOFTEK 00:14:23:11 “Entonces estan liberando este talento que aquellos tienen en sus proprias empresas localmente y complementando sus serviciois con modelos mas cost effective.” Torres says the companies that laid off workers are now seeking more cost-effective options in Mexico. NAT POP Sparrow 00:05:11:01 David Fishman, CEO of Sparrow Company “We had so much work that we couldn’t keep up with it.” David Fishman is seeing the same thing. He’s the CEO of the Sparrow Company. A recruiting firm that helps companies find workers in Mexico. He says the pandemic’s disruption to supply chains forced companies to think outside the box – and for a lot of them, that meant Mexico. Sparrow 00:05:34:10 “Companies woke up. Not just the big multinationals but the smaller the 50 million to 100 million company saying hey we’d like to add IT staff. Everybody was going to Mexico.” There is so much interest in Mexican IT workers, that it’s getting harder to find them. Fishman says they try to lure workers with more money. But now, it’s more common that those workers will get a counteroffer. Sparrow 00:12:37:21 “Let’s say the candidate is making $45,000 pesos we offer $60,000 pesos which is a decent raise ok and then they offer $70,000 to stay and they turn our customer down.” NAT POP? To bring us back Back in Tijuana, Parra hopes to avoid this competition by investing in developing local talent. I TJuana has multiple partnerships with Tijuana’s universities. CC 0014_01 00:08:47:00 “What we’ve done is invest heavily in programs like the trainee program with universities.” Tijuana has more than 35 public and private universities and more than 14,000 students enrolled in engineering and technical programs. Dozens of them work as part-time trainees at ITJuana. Cont “We actually put them in real positions, real jobs, real teams real projects.” A group of students toured the ITJuana officers during our visit. They could be working there one day. And they finished the tour with a round of applause. [Nat Sound CC 0029_01] Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
The Turner Classics Movies Film Festival kicks off Thursday in Hollywood. KPBS film critic Beth Accomando will be attending and says even without an expensive pass there are some events you may still be able to see.
The TCM Film Festival is one of my favorite events because meticulous care goes into not just curating the titles but also into making sure each film looks its absolute best. Your best bet for buying individual tickets are for films at the huge TCL Chinese where you can find King Kong celebrating his 90th birthday or at a midnight screening of the Mexican cult classic The Batwoman. I can also recommend the large venue at the Hollywood Legion Theater where Ben Model will provide live music accompaniment to the silent film Clash of the Wolves to close the festival on Sunday night. [00:06:56 .030] - BEN MODEL So the music is there to help the audience get into the mood of each particular scene, clue them into an emotional state that may be happening, or help them with the rhythms of maybe a comedy gag or something like that. But the idea is to enhance and optimize what's happening on screen. I'm watching the screen, that's like my sheet music. Watching a film with live music is a special treat especially in a beautiful vintage venue like the Hollywood Legion Theatre says Model.[00:14:00.370] - BEN MODEL As soon as you walk in, you're in a state of awe almost and knowing that there's a living human being in the room creating the score for you. And my score is worked out ahead of time, but a lot of it's also improvised. We film accompanists are aware of the vibe in the room and the closing night of the TCM Classic Film Festival, the energy and excitement, I can sort of lean into that and make the score itself part of the experience. And then as soon as the lights are up, it's gone. It's like going to a cinema church. The Clash of the Wolves also features Rin Tin Tin. [00:12:00.140] - BEN MODEL A German Shepherd and a big star of the silent era and the reason they're showing a Rin Tin Tin picture is that, this being the centennial of Warner Bros. and this particular film was actually lost for decades and turned up in an archive in South Africa and got repatriated to the Library of Congress where it's been preserved. The 35 millimeter print of this will be shown at the festival, and a new scan of it has been done. The TCM Film Festival is for people who revere movies and enjoy the transcendent experience of seeing them in person on the big screen. The festival runs this Thursday through Sunday in Hollywood. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Tomorrow we’ll explore how delays in child care funding impact local businesses. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
