Weighing in on proposed federal ban of trans women athletes

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz. It’s Wednesday, February 12th.

A measure in support of banning trans women from women’s sports, failed.

More on that next. But first, the headlines.

The Port of San Diego’s board yesterday (Tuesday) got an update on public transportation plans to and from the airport.

SANDAG is considering three main concepts. Those include an extension of existing trolley lines, a new automated rail line and rapid bus service.

Marisa Mangan is the senior regional planner from SANDAG.

“We need to talk about the opinions and perspectives of people coming from all over the region and their willingness, potential willingness to use transit or an alternate means to get to the airport, whether it's for leisure or for work.”

SANDAG has been conducting surveys to update their transportation models and inform the planning process.

They will be publishing those results this spring.

A flood watch will be in effect starting tomorrow (Thursday) for the coastal, valley and mountain communities.

Three quarters to an inch of rainfall is expected at the coast and in the valleys. Two to three inches is forecasted in the mountains.

In preparation for the weather, the county and Cal Fire are offering free sandbags. You can pick those up at fire stations throughout the county.

The end of the Super Bowl signifies the start of baseball season.

And Padres pitchers and catchers are slated for their first practice in Peoria today (Wednesday).

The rest of the squad is set to join them for Spring Training on Monday.

The Padres are navigating the start of this pre-season under the newly appointed control person, John Seidler.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

A board letter in support of a federal bill to ban transgender women from playing in women’s sports, failed to move forward yesterday (Tuesday) at the county board of supervisors meeting.

The bill was passed by the house last month.

County Supervisor Jim Desmond introduced a letter supporting the bill.

“I don't really know how we gotten it — we've gotten to this place in society that is even up for debate. But women's sports exist to give women that open and fair playing field, and that shouldn't change.”

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer says the bill distracts from the real issues affecting people’s lives.

“While wages stagnate in grocery costs soar, working people are told to fight over which kids get to play soccer. While, corporate landlords buy up homes and jack up rent. Politicians stir up outrage over who gets to use a public bathroom.”

The issue failed to move forward because there weren’t enough votes supporting it.

A ten-year-old community garden in Oceanside is closing down, because of a difference in beliefs and values.

Community Roots Farm was not only a place to grow food, it’s also been the site of events celebrating different cultures and communities.

But North County reporter Tania Thorne says the church that owns the land doesn’t support some of those events.

There were once chickens, fruitful gardens, and… community.  “To be able to have a place where anyone can come, no matter their socioeconomic status, how they woke up feeling that day, their gender identity, whatever it is, they know that they can come to this space and be nourished not only, physically with food. But also mentally, socially, culturally.” Bianca Bonilla is the organizer of Community Roots Farm. For 10 years, she has overseen the gardens and community events. “Everyone is always so surprised, at how much you can do on an acre of land. Right? It's not only the amount of food we grew, which was thousands of pounds, tens of thousands of pounds every single year that went out into our community, pesticide free local produce. But it was all of the people that were here.” But… she doesn’t own that one acre. It’s leased from Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church….  And after a change in church leadership… the farm is nothing but dead weeds and dirt. “About two years ago, shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, there with the Missouri and Missouri Synod, and they installed a new pastor, Joe Lukemire. And, he made it very clear, to our organization that he did not approve of, several of our activities and our communications.” Bonilla says concerns from the Church came up when the Farm posted support for the LGBTQ community on their social media. Those concerns grew. “Did not approve, of our, summer solstice event that we had this year, stating that it is a pagan rituals that we were holding and then our Dia De Los Muertos  event are also, deemed unacceptable, to be devil worshiping.” When it was time to renew their lease, the Church told Bonilla they would be enforcing a condition on their lease. All events and signage would need 30 day approval by the Church. “And they made it very clear that the Los Muertos and many of our communications would not be approved. Thus, we decided that this was no longer a safe space for our community. We could not forgo our values and making sure that the people that we serve, our community, we want to make sure that they feel safe.” Pastor Joel Luckemeyer and the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church declined an interview but sent over a statement… saying the farm’s “Activity has expanded beyond growing and providing produce to advancing causes which causes conflict with the biblical teachings of our congregation.” The church also says it offered a new agreement, including event approval to make sure the property would not host events “that expressly conflict with our mission and confession of faith.” And the church notes, “The Farm has chosen not to enter into a new lease.” “Their values are firm and so are ours. Their boundaries are firm and so are ours. You know, the protection of our most vulnerable communities, of our Bipoc, LGBTQIA communities, our immigrant communities, that is the most important to us, that they feel safe.” The loss of the farm leaves a larger gap for the community that frequented the space. It's the loss of access to an open green space, fresh vegetables, friendships, and acceptance. “These kinds of issues, are we're seeing on the media on a grand scale, right? We're seeing these tensions, and here we are living it on this micro scale and in conversations, you know, I would say, like, if we can do this, if we can work this out, anybody can, right. There's hope. Like, how are we going to carry this?” Open green space is scarce. So Bonilla plans on carrying the mission of Community Roots Farm in a new direction in a warehouse she is calling “The Plant Lab.”  “We're going to have workshops there, and community space and community building. But I think most importantly, it's going to be a space, collaborative, safe space for our Bipoc, immigrant, and LGBTQIa community.” The Plant Lab in Oceanside will be open to the public later this year. Tania Thorne,  KPBS News.

Concerned Oceanside residents filled city council chambers to the brim Monday night for the planning commission meeting about a proposed warehouse. Here again is reporter Tania Thorne, who says residents aren’t happy.

The controversial warehouse and distribution facility is proposed on Eddie Jones Way and Benet Road. The developer is proposing a 490,000 square foot facility made up of 4 separate buildings with a total of 56 semi truck bays. It's a project residents like Dee Keck have been pushing back on for almost 3 years. “They continue to be warehouses, which, with trucks coming and going and endless pollution and noise.” She’s a part of the group Oceanside Speaks Out. Ultimately, the planning commission voted to approve the conditional use permit but reduced the number of semi truck bays from 56 to 34. But Keck says that’s still too many. “We are really wanting six trucks per parcel. So we're talking 18 semi trucks. Have they changed the configuration of the buildings and what businesses would have been drawn to use those buildings? We wouldn't even be wearing these shoes right now and having an issue.” But Keck and the rest of the volunteers with Oceanside Speaks Out will be busy collecting signatures because they plan on appealing the decision. The final decision will now be in the city council’s hands along with the formal appeal from Oceanside Speaks Out. Tania Thorne, KPBS News. ##########

New test scores out yesterday [Tuesday] show America’s third through eighth graders are still recovering from pandemic learning loss.

Math and reading scores in most San Diego county school districts are below pre-pandemic levels.

Education reporter Katie Anastas visited one district where students are improving.

The Santee School District is one of only about 100 districts in the country that saw math and reading scores improve between 2019 and 2024. Kristen Bonser is the principal of Pride Academy in Santee. “The thing I love about Pride Academy, I think that makes a really big difference in our school environment is our teachers’ attention to the whole child.” The district used federal aid to put a full-time counselor at each school and decrease class sizes. Teachers are trained on math instruction methods that help students master foundational skills. Pride Academy also has Reggie, a staff member’s golden retriever who’s on campus every day. Fourth grader Lucy O’Connell is a big fan. “He’s good to cuddle if you’re, like, sick, or, just, he’s a really good therapy dog.” He comforts kids who are nervous during school drop-off. Time with Reggie is also a reward for students’ good behavior.  District leaders say staff are applying for grants to continue funding counselors, visual arts programs and other resources. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.  

Friday is Valentine’s Day. To mark the holiday, our web team asked San Diegans to share their love stories.

The attraction between Dave Ernst and his now husband, Adam, started via email. Here’s Dave:

“I started getting intrigued because we talked about our lives, our families. And then I finally decided, well, let's get together and meet… we ended up basically staying up all night talking and sharing a lot of information, a lot about ourselves.”

That next morning, Dave asked Adam out for coffee.

“He's like, well, I can't, I'm getting ready to leave. I'm deploying for ten months.”

Adam left. But they continued their correspondence, and he eventually made it back to San Diego.

“He always seemed like a little distant, like, as I described it, one foot out the door. And eventually I came to the realization it's because he never knew what was going to happen.”

Adam had been through multiple deployments. But, when the Navy offered Adam shore duty in San Diego, he took it.

That’s when they started to build their relationship and a home, here together.

“We've reached a point where we're extremely comfortable in our own skins, and in our own lives, but realizing that we're basically each other's most important person. It took a long time to get here, and a lot of, I don't want to say grief, but a lot of struggle. And to be in this spot is really wonderful.”

We’ll bring you another love story in tomorrow’s podcast.

That’s it for today. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.