Travel rush accelerates ahead of Thanksgiving holiday
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, November 27th.
Thanksgiving travel is in full swing with plenty of traffic on the roads and at the airport.More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….
As many of us plan to cook Thanksgiving meals, San Diego County health officials say a local e-coli case is linked to a nationwide outbreak.
The illness is traced to organic carrots sold under multiple brands by Grimmway Farms.
The carrots are sold in bags in whole and baby sizes.
There are 39 cases in 18 states, including the recently reported case here.
Health experts are urging people to throw away the carrots if they have them, and to clean any surfaces the carrots may have touched.
The San Diego State men’s basketball team is celebrating a big win on the road.
The Aztecs beat Creighton in the Player’s Era Festival happening in Las Vegas.
B.J. Davis had a career high 18 points.
SDSU will play Oregon this afternoon at 1 with hopes of advancing to the tournament’s championship round on Saturday.
Today’s game will air on the Max streaming platform.
The Aztecs women’s basketball team is also on the road, playing in the Cancun Challenge tournament in Mexico.
Their first game is tomorrow morning against Wisconsin at 10:30.
Public transit will be limited on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
MTS trolleys and buses will run on a Sunday schedule, and some routes will be unavailable.
A full list can be found at sdmts.com.
Coming up, we’ll have an update on the travel situation for those who are flying and driving for the holiday.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
The Thanksgiving travel season is upon us.
Reporter John Carroll talked to travel experts for the best ways to navigate this busy time.
When it comes to travel, the slowdown of the pandemic years is completely in the rearview mirror.
Triple-a says six-and-a-half million Californians will drive somewhere between now and next monday… a 2.7% increase from last year.
And the skies will be plenty crowded as well.
San Diego International Airport’s Nicole Hall says the number of people passing through the airport this year has rocketed past 2019, so preparation is key.
“And the first thing you do, before you leave your house, check your flight time, make sure your flight is taking off at the time scheduled, there’s no delays, no cancellations, so you can then plan ahead and give yourself enough time to get to the airport.”
The busiest days are projected to be today, tomorrow and monday.
John Carroll, KPBS News.
The January floods upended the lives of more than a thousand San Diegans.
As the holidays approach, reporter Katie Hyson checked in with one survivor from the Shelltown neighborhood.
The banner Beba Zárate hung outside her house for Día de los Muertos is still there.
Enero veinty-dos. The day the neighborhood died, and had to be reborn.
Rain still keeps neighbors up at night.
But Zárate says most have working kitchens again, in time for Thanksgiving.
“You don't know if you're going to live the next day. So if you have something today, like, you know, like a good dinner, enjoy it.”
She says their basic needs are met.
Now neighbors are planning, in case it floods again.
Keeping the streets clear of trash.
And trying to figure out things like –
Who’s in charge of watching for heavy rain?
Where’s the closest shelter?
“The storm, nobody knew where to go. It was like a chaos in there. So we don't want that happen that again.”
Zárate says they can’t afford a Christmas tree this year.
But she wants the neighborhood to celebrate again.
She’s planning a traditional Mexican Posada.
Before I leave, she gives me flowers from her garden.
They survived the flood, too.
It killed what was on the surface, but not the roots.
Hope, Zárate says.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
Some flood survivors will get help paying rent from the city for the first time.
Reporter Katie Anastas says restrictions on county funding had previously made them ineligible.
In spring, the San Diego Housing Commission set up a program to help flood victims with rent, security deposits and other expenses. Funding came from the County and City.
But it was limited to families still using hotel vouchers at the end of May.
Now, the Housing Commission is using $900,000 in unspent city funds to help families who applied but didn’t qualify.
The commission estimates that’s about 200 households.
Aaron Swanton co-founded Together San Diego, a volunteer network that’s been cleaning up and rebuilding damaged homes.
He says there are lots of people that still need help.
"If you're following the budget issues in the city, like, there's only so much money. So we need philanthropy and business dollars to come into this."
City Councilmember Henry Foster has asked Mayor Todd Gloria’s office to allocate an additional $5 million to the Housing Commission to support flood victims.
Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
A San Diego County judge has ordered the conditional release of a man designated as a sexually violent predator, four years after he met the requirements for release.
The deadline was yesterday for his new temporary placement in the community.
Penner Fellow Elaine Alfaro says the case highlights the difficult balance of ensuring public safety and upholding the rights of a convict who has served their time.
Merle Wakefield was convicted of lewd acts upon a minor in 1981 and rape in 1990.
In 1998, the San Diego County Superior Court found him to be a sexually violent predator.
The designation applies to an offender who has been convicted of at least one violent sex crime, has been diagnosed with a mental disorder and is considered more likely to reoffend.
Alexandra Knudson handles sexually violent predator cases in San Diego County’s public defender’s office.
She says they must complete a four-phase treatment in a state hospital after their prison sentence in order to be released.
“It's not intended to be a lifelong commitment if the client is no longer a risk to the community.”
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Yvonne Campos made the decision last week to grant Wakefield conditional release.
He will be placed in temporary housing until a permanent location is found.
Knudson says conditional release comes with strict requirements.
“They attend outpatient treatment on a regular basis. They have individual treatment. They have group treatment. They have a regional coordinator who is similar to like a probation officer.”
The judge also ordered GPS monitoring and 24/7 supervision of Wakefield by a security guard.
Wakefield fulfilled his requirements and was granted conditional release status in late 2020, but the state has struggled to find him a place to live.
Campos said in court that the case reflects a “statewide problem in following up on the law.”
Knudson says finding housing for sexually violent predators under conditional release is a constant struggle.
“We've had clients, you know, had their release delayed for years… and when you reach that amount of time it does become a constitutional violation of our clients rights.”
Wakefield’s attorney says landlords previously backed out of rental agreements because of public pressure.
The state contracts with Liberty Healthcare to find housing placements for sexually violent predators under conditional release.
In 2021, Liberty Healthcare intended to place Wakefield and another sexually violent predator in Mount Helix.
Resident Sarah Thompson protested their placement in her neighborhood.
“I think as a parent you kind of go into this panic mode and you’ll do whatever it takes, you know.”
Thompson contacted Liberty Healthcare and the landlord who signed the rental agreement to house Wakefield.
“You try to do it as kindly as you can and then go into a peaceful protest sort of thing where you start posting their information or you start putting signs around the houses”
Liberty Healthcare then tried to place Wakefield in Poway three years later.
Rancho Bernardo resident Jeff Grace participated in the Poway protests.
“We, in fact, think we're doing the right thing to protect a community, ethically speaking.”
The landlord agreed not to rent the property.
Liberty Health Care and the Department of State Hospitals declined our interview requests.
State law says sexually violent predators must be placed in eligible housing 30 days after the court orders their conditional release.
A statewide audit from October found that Liberty Healthcare takes 17 months on average to place sexually violent predators.
The audit also found that individuals who participate in the conditional release program reoffend less often than those who do not participate.
Critics of conditional release like state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones say the current system is not working.
He disagreed with the judge’s decision in Wakefield’s case.
“I think it just goes to show how broken the California judicial system is in this particular case of dealing with sexually violent predators that in my argument should never be released from prison ever.”
Since 2022, Jones has introduced three bills in an attempt to curtail these placements across the state.
The location of Wakefield’s temporary placement was not disclosed during last week’s court hearing.
Liberty Healthcare will continue to look for a permanent placement, which must be disclosed to the public.
Elaine Alfaro, KPBS News.
A new report is raising concerns over health care price transparency in California.
Reporter Heidi de Marco says only 21 percent of hospitals are fully complying with federal rules for providing accurate cost estimates to patients.
Since 2021, federal law has required hospitals to post the prices of at least 300 offered services, like x-rays, imaging and laboratory tests.
San Diego State University professor Shiloh Williams says the goal is to allow patients to shop around for care.
"They were required to also put some sort of an easy navigation… to help you kind of calculate your expenses as you're thinking about the service you're wanting."
But a report from Patient Rights Advocate, a non-profit focused on price transparency, found only 21% of California hospitals reviewed were fully compliant with the rule.
And none of them are in San Diego County.
"It's a really complex issue. To be fully deemed compliant is challenging."
Earlier this month, federal officials released a report showing 63% of hospitals sampled in early 2023 fully met requirements.
Despite the discrepancies in data, Williams says these reports highlight the rule's key purpose — protecting patients from high medical bills.
"Patients need to understand their coverage, but also understand that they can advocate for themselves."
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
The next few days will bring the start of the holiday shopping season.
If you’re looking for ideas, take a look at the KPBS Holiday Gift Guide.
You can find it in the Arts and Culture section at KPBS-dot-org.
Many of the ideas come from KPBS staff and you, our audience.
That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org.
Check out the Midday Edition podcast this afternoon, it’s all about Thanksgiving from Thanksgiving food with Sam the Cooking Guy and Olivewood Gardens to movies to be thankful for.
I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
