Supreme Court to hear Poway social media case
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, April 26th.
Why the Poway social media case matters.
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
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The San Diego City Council yesterday adopted new eviction protections for renters.
The tenant protections ordinance includes a requirement that landlords pay at least two months' rent to evict a tenant who hasn't done anything wrong.
Dozens of landlords turned out to oppose the ordinance, including Todd Struyk.
“I'm encouraging you to rethink this ordinance because it will put mom and pops like us out of business. And we do nothing but try to provide safe housing, clean housing, affordable housing.”
Tenants rights groups have argued the proposal doesn't go far enough and has too many loopholes.
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The El Cajon City Council is holding a town hall meeting today, to hear ideas from residents on how the city should address homelessness.
They also say they're looking to hear people’s experiences and frustrations with homelessness.
During the meeting, residents will break into groups to discuss issues relating to homelessness.
The city says feedback from the workshops will help it come up with additional programs and approaches to address the impacts of homelessness in the community.
The meeting is at 6-30 this evening, at the Wells Park Recreation Center in El Cajon.
This is the third workshop, the final one will be held next Thursday.
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Today will be one of the coolest days of the week, before temps start to increase.
The National Weather Service says temps are expected to increase in the county, as the week goes on.
Temps will be in the 70s today, and are expected to increase tomorrow and into the weekend.
They’re expected to be up to 10 degrees above average.
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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 U-S Supreme Court is set to hear a case from Poway that could change how political discourse is regulated on social media.
North county reporter Alexander Nguyen talked to a legal expert to find out what’s at stake.
In 20-17 … two Poway Unified School Board members blocked comments on their social media from two parents in the district. Those parents sued … saying the blocking violated their First Amendment rights. A San Diego judge ruled in their favor, and last July, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling. But a month earlier … the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals came to a different conclusion on a similar case. Legal analyst Dan Eaton says the case matters because if public officials can block constituents whom they find annoying, then it means they’re insulating themselves from negative feedback. Dan Eaton Legal Analyst “This is a very important case because right now we've got a Wild West with respect to social media in the sense that the rules aren't clearly established.” Eaton says because two cases are similar but the outcomes were different … it’s up to the Supreme Court to decide the issue. AN/KPBS.
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The San Diego City Council voted earlier this week to spend 22 point 5 million dollars to widen part of the 56 freeway.
Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says climate activists protested the move.
AB: Last summer, city leaders pledged to cut San Diego's greenhouse gas emissions down to zero over the next 12 years. Carmel Mountain Ranch resident Rachel Graham says widening a 2-mile stretch of the 56 in Carmel Valley will be a major setback. RG: I urge you not to support the widening of the 56. This project may have made sense two decades ago, but approving this project now as our climate crisis becomes increasingly dire, is indefensible. AB: Decades of research have made clear widening freeways — even with HOV lanes — doesn't relieve congestion in the long run. But it does put more cars on the road and increase emissions. Still, Councilmember Joe LaCava says plans for the freeway widening date back decades. JC: Given how we've built our city, not everyone can opt for walking, biking or transit for their daily travel. Our job is to ensure there is as many climate-friendly mobility options are available to as many residents and neighborhoods as possible. AB: The new HOV lanes will be funded entirely with city dollars. But Caltrans will oversee construction. If bids for the project come in over budget, Caltrans says it will have to shrink the project down in size. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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In other transportation related news, Oceanside residents are being asked to give input on the redevelopment of the Oceanside Transit Station.
Community members are invited to speak to the developers and the transit agency at the Civic Center community rooms at 6-30 tonight.
“The community has been extremely supportive and engaged offering their insights and suggestions as to how we can improve the project.”
That was Lillian Doherty with the North County Transit District.
She says this is an opportunity for residents to provide input on changes they’d like to see.
Plans now include adding over 500 new apartments, a luxury boutique hotel, parking structures, and retail space.
As well as, changing the setup of how trains and buses operate at the station.
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Questions have surfaced concerning Senator Dianne Feinstein’s health, age and fitness for office..but of course, she is just one among many elderly legislators in Washington.. and they can’t last forever.
So, when the next big demographic – members of the Millennial generation- take their places as leaders of the nation...should we expect sweeping changes? Or more of the same?
Writer Charlotte Alter spent several years studying that question.
She’s the author of the book “The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.”
She spoke with my colleague Maureen Cavanaugh about her findings.
Can I take it from the title of your book that you were impressed by the young people and politicians you spoke with?
Did your conversations change your perceptions about any Millennial stereotypes…like being difficult or entitled, or lazy?
Why do you think we've been “waiting for “ this generation…as it says in your title?
Academics who study what shapes people’s attitudes and politics say early experiences have the biggest influence....so what experiences have collectively shaped this generation?
TAG: That was writer Charlotte Alter, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh.
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Coming up.... We hear about Chicano Park’s legacy and its future. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.
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It’s been 50 years since neighbors first took paintbrushes to the highway pillars in Chicano Park.
Reporter Katie Hyson looked into the park’s legacy, and its future.
Chicano Park began with an almost-broken promise. Logan Heights was a mostly Chicano community, segregated from the rest of San Diego by redlining. *fade in freeway* When the state built the 5 freeway and the Coronado bridge in the 1960s, it divided the community in half. *pop freeway, fade out* I spoke with the park’s cofounder, Josephine Talamantez, in its newly opened museum. She still gets emotional about it 60 years later. We lost three fourths of our community, basically. In exchange for this displacement, the city agreed to turn the land underneath the Coronado Bridge into a park. But when bulldozers arrived on April 22 of 1970 they were there not to build a park but a highway patrol station. A witness walked to city college and found Talamantez and her Chicano studies class and explained what was happening. So they all left class, marching nearly two miles back, and blocked the bulldozers with their bodies. We were going to create our own park because we had gotten tired of being disrespected and basically treated like we had no place in our own country. Within a matter of couple of hours, there was a couple of hundred people here. Yeah, it spread like wildfire. Talamantez and a growing crowd occupied the park for 12 days before city negotiations began. The community won, and three years later they began painting the murals for which the park is now famous. Over the years, industry and the Navy crept into the neighborhood, taking over the beach where many spent their weekends, occupying more than half of Barrio Logan and creating some of California’s worst air pollution. What remains faces a new threat. What's left of this that has been infringed upon is now being viewed as a hip place to live. I mean, there was a property that just sold for $1.2 million here in the hood. [laughs] And so we're losing the last of our residents. The younger generation is inheriting this ongoing battle of gentrification. My name is Raquel Tonantzin Aguayo Esquivias. I go by Rocky. And I am the chair, currently, for the Aztlán Youth Brigade. I've been here growing up long enough to see maybe like ten different either stores or galleries shift out of what they used to be, because people are being bought out, and not even just on Logan Avenue, but on the entire community. While some Chicanos are being displaced, the park offers cultural pride to those who remain. Esquivias, now 19, grew up swinging in the park while her mother painted the pillars. This was a space created for Chicanos. And I was lucky enough to have a mom who was a down Chicana. She had the foresight to teach me about the Aztecs, the Chichimecas, the Toltecas and all of that history, because everything we get in the education system here is very watered down. Esquivias attended mostly white schools, where she questioned whether she belonged. She says the park gave her a space to learn about her own history and to embrace her Chicana identity. Coming here and seeing all of the pillars with people who are as brown as I am and darker? I don't know if I'll ever be able to put it into actual words, but there’s just a sense of joy, no matter what. Like, there's no reason to be sad in the park. Last year marked the end of a cycle of the Aztec calendar. The elders held a ritual to symbolize passing park stewardship to the younger Chicanos, led by Esquivias. The park committee is eyeing new projects, like an electric bus for elderly residents. And placing a lid on the freeway, supported by local leaders including Congressman Juan Vargas. It would connect the community again for the first time since the 1960s. Under the pressure of gentrification, Talamantez says the park’s message will always remain the same. Aquí estamos y no nos vamos. We're here, and we're not leaving. Katie Hyson, KPBS news.
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A new exhibit dedicated to one of the most celebrated cartoonists in Mexico is open at the Comic Con Museum in Balboa Park.
Reporter Melissa Mae has this preview of “Trino’s World” or El Mundo de Trino.
MM: José Trinidad Camacho, better known as “Trino” satirizes and celebrates the joys and absurdities of life in Mexico in his comic strips and drawing. MM: In 2022 Comic Con awarded Trino the Inkpot Award for his contributions to the world of comics. Carlos González Gutiérrez is the Consul (KAAN-sul) General of Mexico and says Trino’s work is also a way to build understanding between the two countries. CGG “It shows part of our way of looking at things. This is cultural diplomacy at its best, it's soft power, it's a way to show what Mexico is and through the eyes of one of its most successful cartoonists.” MM: The exhibit includes drawings, watercolors, sketches, and objects from Trino's personal collection. MM: Trino’s World will be on display from April 25th to July 5th. Melissa Mae KPBS News.
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And lastly, a follow up to a story we brought you at the end of last month.
Luca Pollack, a Carlsbad 3rd grader who entered a nationwide NASA competition, won the top prize in his age group!
“I would love to work with NASA. I really also want to learn about space.”
In his winning entry, he proposed to send a spacecraft to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter.
There it would land on a frozen ocean and search for life below the ice.
His prize will be a visit to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, for a V-I-P tour of its research facilities.
Congratulations Luca!
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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 Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.
