Taking a closer look at your San Diego ballot
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Tuesday, October 29th.
KPBS reporters join the podcast to talk about what’s on your ballot. But first... let’s do the headlines….
THE CITY’S SHELTER SYSTEM WILL LOSE MORE THAN 600 BEDS THIS YEAR WHEN SHELTERS AT GOLDEN HALL AND THE PAUL MIRABILE CENTER CLOSE LATER THIS YEAR.
YESTERDAY (MONDAY), CITY LEADERS ANNOUNCED A PLAN TO OPEN HUNDREDS OF NEW SHELTER BEDS BY DECEMBER.
THAT INCLUDES MORE THAN 160 AT VETERANS VILLAGE. SOME WILL BE FOR SINGLE MEN AND SENIORS. OTHERS WILL BE FOR VETERANS.
AKILAH TEMPLETON IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VETERANS VILLAGE.
The primary focus will be on equipping veterans with the tools that they need, not just to transition into permanent housing, but to actually thrive once they find their forever home.
OTHER NEW BEDS WILL BE AT THE SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION SHELTER IN NATIONAL CITY.
San Diego County is going to get some cooler weather this week.
Today is supposed to be the coldest day of the week.
If you live in the county’s mountain areas or inland valleys — you can expect rain this morning. And in East County, snow is possible above 5-thousand, 5-hundred feet.
It’ll also be gusty in mountains and deserts today, with the strongest winds from 40 to 65 miles per hour. West of the mountains, winds will peak at 30 miles per hour.
After today, we’ll have dry conditions until Friday, and possibly some rain over the weekend.
For residents near Jamul and Poway — there’s some road work you should know about.
Caltrans says State route 67 will have one-way traffic this week. Today (Tuesday) that applies between Poway Road and Rockhouse Road. Tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday, it’ll be a one-way between Mina de Oro Road and Archie Moore Road. For folks in Jamul, State route 94 between Rancho Jamul Drive to just east of Grande Creek Bridge will be one-way until Friday.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
Voters from several cities in San Diego County will be deciding on whether to raise taxes or continue existing taxes in their hometowns. Reporter John Carroll has been looking into what the various taxes are for… and John there are four cities in the East County you’ve been looking at.
THAT’S RIGHT. THEY ARE EL CAJON, SANTEE, LEMON GROVE AND LA MESA. TWO OF THE MEASURES WOULD EXTEND CURRENT TAXES, WHILE THE OTHERS ARE FOR NEW TAXES. WE’LL START IN EL CAJON… MEASURE J WOULD EXTEND A HALF-CENT SALES TAX CURRENTLY SET TO END IN 2028. IT WOULD STAY IN PLACE THROUGH APRIL OF 2049. THE CITY SAYS THE 13-MILLION RAISED ANNUALLY BY THE TAX IS CRITICAL TO FUNDING EL CAJON’S PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATIONS. THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY TAXPAYERS’ ASSOCIATION OPPOSED THE TAX WHEN IT WAS ON THE BALLOT IN 2008, BUT THE GROUP SUPPORTS IT NOW - PARTLY BECAUSE MEASURE J WOULD CREATE AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - COMPRISED OF RESIDENTS, ALONG WITH PEOPLE SELECTED BY THE TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION AND A LOCAL BUSINESS ADVOCACY GROUP. IN LA MESA, VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO EXTEND THE CITY’S ¾ CENT SALES TAX. THE CITY SAYS THE $12 MILLION THE TAX RAISES ANNUALLY FUNDS PUBLIC SAFETY, ALONG WITH CITY INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING STREETS, SIDEWALKS, PARKS AND STORM DRAINS. LA MESA’S MAYOR SAYS RENEWING THE TAX WILL LET THE CITY MAINTAIN HIGH-QUALITY SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY. THE MEASURE HAS STRONG SUPPORT FROM LA MESA’S TWO BIGGEST PUBLIC SAFETY UNIONS. IT IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION. THE SDCTA SAYS - LA MESA HAS DEMONSTRATED THE NEED, HAS LONG-TERM PLANS FOR THE FUNDS AND THERE’S A SUNSET CLAUSE.
IS THERE ANY ORGANIZED OPPOSITION TO EITHER OF THE MEASURES?
THE ONLY OPPOSITION I COULD FIND COMES FROM CARL DEMAIO’S REFORM CALIFORNIA ORGANIZATION. THEY SAY THE FUNDS WOULD NOT BE SPECIFICALLY EARMARKED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE MEASURES IN SANTEE AND LEMON GROVE?
SO THOSE ARE BOTH NEW TAXES. SANTEE’S MEASURE S WOULD INCREASE SALES TAXES BY A HALF-PERCENT, FROM 7.75% TO 8.25% FOR 15 YEARS. IT INCLUDES A SEVEN-MEMBER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE THE CITY SAYS THE FUNDS ARE NEEDED TO RENOVATE AN EXISTING FIREHOUSE, AS WELL AS BUILDING AND STAFFING TWO NEW FACILITIES. PROPONENTS OF THE MEASURE SAY SANTEE HAS NOT ADDED AN ADDITIONAL FIRE STATION SINCE 1964. THEY SAY APPROVAL OF THE TAX INCREASE WILL ADDRESS ISSUES IDENTIFIED IN THE 2023 SANTEE COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT, INCLUDING BRINGING 90-PERCENT OF THE CITY INTO A FOUR-MINUTE RESPONSE TIME FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. THEY ALSO SAY APPROVAL - WOULD ACTUALLY SAVE THE CITY MONEY BY REDUCING INSURANCE PREMIUMS. AND… THEY SAY THE MONEY WOULD FUND SIX ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDICS. IT’S SUPPORTED BY THE SANTEE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, SANTEE MAYOR JOHN MINTO AND THE SAN DIEGO DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AMONG OTHER GROUPS. BUT THE TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION OPPOSES THIS ONE BECAUSE THEY SAY IT ENGAGES IN “BALLOT BOX BUDGETING” WHICH THEY SAY IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE FOR THE PROVISION OF ANY PUBLIC GOOD OR SERVICE.
WHAT ABOUT LEMON GROVE?
VOTERS THERE WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO APPROVE MEASURE T. IT WOULD RAISE THE SALES TAX IN THE CITY BY ONE-CENT. THE CITY SAYS IT NEEDS THE REVENUE TO FIX POTHOLES, REPAIR STORM DRAINS AND IMPROVE THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE THERE. IT SAYS ITS STORM DRAINS ARE NOW 50 OR MORE YEARS OLD AND THEY ARE STARTING TO FAIL. THE CITY SAYS THAT HAS CASCADING EFFECTS, LEADING TO DAMAGE DONE TO CITY STREETS, SINKHOLES AND FLOODING. THE CITY ALSO SAYS IT NEEDS THE MONEY TO ENSURE RAPID RESPONSE TO 911 EMERGENCIES.
BUT THIS ONE HAS THE SUPPORT OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION?
THAT’S RIGHT. THEY SAY THAT”S BECAUSE MEASURE T HAS A “COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY, FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY. AND IT HAS A SUNSET CLAUSE. THE ASSOCIATION ALSO SAYS THE MEASURE ADDRESSES CRUCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT CANNOT BE MET WITHOUT THIS INCREASE.
AND WHO OPPOSES IT?
ONCE AGAIN, CARL DEMAIO’S REFORM CALIFORNIA… THEIR REASON IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME REASON THEY GIVE FOR OPPOSING OTHER TAX MEASURES… THAT THE CITY WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO SPEND IT ON WHAT THEY CLAIM THEY’LL SPEND IT ON… AND THAT FUNDS WILL INSTEAD GO TO RAISES FOR CITY WORKERS AND TO WHAT IT CALLS BLOATED PENSIONS FOR THOSE WORKERS.
KPBS REPORTER JOHN CARROLL.. THANK YOU
A race on the ballots of those who live within the city of San Diego, is the city attorney seat.
INCUMBENT MARA ELLIOTT IS TERMED OUT AFTER EIGHT YEARS IN OFFICE. METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SPOKE ABOUT THE RACE WITH MIDDAY EDITION HOST JADE HINDMON.
THAT WAS KPBS METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN AND MIDDAY EDITION HOST JADE HINDMON. For more coverage on what’s on your ballot, go to kpbs dot org slash voter hub
SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAD ITS FIRST LOCALLY-ACQUIRED CASES OF DENGUE (DEN-GAY) FEVER THIS MONTH. SCI-TECH REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE TELLS US WHAT THAT MEANS.
Past cases of dengue we’ve seen in San Diego have all been in people who traveled to other countries, caught the fever there then brought it home. But this month, for the first time, we saw two cases that were acquired locally. Dengue fever is carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito, a native of Africa that has been in our region for about a decade. Allison Bray, with county vector control, says unfortunately they really like the taste of humans. “They love to bite people. They prefer to live in human inhabited areas. So they often can be found breeding in backyards even in super-tiny containers of water.” Dengue symptoms include headaches, nausea, and some severe bone pain. It can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever that can lead to death in some cases. Bray says health officials have applied insecticide in places where those dengue cases cropped up.. She says the fever is still very rare in San Diego, and they want to keep it that way. Thomas Fudge, KPBS News.
LATE LAST WEEK THE COAST GUARD RELIEVED TWO SENIOR LEADERS IN SAN DIEGO. MILITARY AND VETERANS REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS IT COULD BE SOME TIME BEFORE THE REASON’S MADE PUBLIC.
ACCORDING TO THE COAST GUARD CAPT. JAMES SPITLER AND MASTER CHIEF MICHAEL DIOQUINO WERE RELIEVED DUE TO A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE FOLLOWING AN INVESTIGATION. “LOSS OF CONFIDENCE” IS OFTEN THE ONLY EXPLANATION OFFERED BY THE MILITARY WHEN LEADERS ARE FIRED AND CAN MEAN ANYTHING. A COAST GUARD SPOKESPERSON DECLINED MONDAY TO PROVIDE KPBS A COPY OF THE INVESTIGATION BECAUSE IT’S NOT COMPLETE. THERE’S MORE THAN 900 COAST GUARDSMAN STATIONED IN SAN DIEGO WHERE THEY DO EVERYTHING FROM SEARCH AND RESCUE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO MARINE SAFETY INSPECTIONS. KPBS WILL HAVE MORE ONCE THE INVESTIGATION IS RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC WHICH COULD TAKE WEEKS OR MONTHS.
HALLOWEEN IS THIS THURSDAY AND THIS YEAR SAN DIEGO GETS A NEW ONE-NIGHT ONLY FILM FESTIVAL. CINEMA JUNKIE podcast host BETH ACCOMANDO PREVIEWS THE HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL AT CINEMA UNDER THE STARS.
This year’s inaugural Halloween Film Festival grew out of an event that that filmmaker Vic Terry co-hosted. We did a premiere party for our film ‘Frankie’ at Cinema Under the Stars. And it was such a cool experience, such a great celebration of art and community. And so we wanted to extend that to showcase the work of other talented artists and continue to build that community and foster those creative connections. And build it around a Halloween theme, says Terry’s partner in crime Cassidy Bartolomei. We started taking submissions early this year, and whittled it down to eight independent films, all with Halloween as the forefront and focused on a fun, quirky, and funny side of Halloween. One of the highlights will be a film from the 1930s called “The Scapel” that never got released but has been rescued and rescored by musician Ed Hartman. So grab a blanket and zero gravity lounge chair this Halloween night, and curl up for some scary fun under the stars at the Halloween Film Festival. 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. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
