Why wet winters don’t mean cheaper water rates

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, April 2.

Wet winters don’t lower water rates, but can make them higher.

More on that next. But first... the headlines….

Last week, a jury ordered the National City Police Department to pay a former officer 10 million dollars in damages due to alleged sexual harassment and discrimination.

Former officer Ashley Cummins, who is openly gay, joined the department in 2018 and says she endured harassment almost as soon as she arrived.

After several complaints Cummins says department supervisors retaliated against her.

City Attorney Barry Schultz told the Union-Tribune the city disagrees with the verdict and is considering an appeal.

S-D-G and E customers will receive a pair of credits on their utility bills this month.

The California Climate Credit comes from the state’s cap-and-trade program requiring polluters to pay for pollution.

Customers will receive a credit of 81 dollars on their electric bill and 54 dollars on their gas bill for April.

Customers can expect another credit in October.

The annual Rady Invitational College Basketball Tournament is moving this year to U-S-D.

November’s four-team tournament at UC San Diego sold out well in advance so organizers said they needed a larger venue this year.

U-S-D’s Jenny Craig Pavillion will host the Florida Gators, Providence Friars and the Wisconsin Badgers this fall.

Organizers say the fourth and final team will be announced soon.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.

Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY SAYS IT HAS PLENTY OF WATER FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL HAS MORE ON THE CURRENT WATER SITUATION, AND AN EFFORT TO KEEP THE PRICE OF WATER UNDER CONTROL.

BUILDING WATER RESILIENCY OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES IN THE COUNTY HAS COME WITH A BIG PRICE.  THE WATER AUTHORITY SAID TUESDAY, IT HAS SO MUCH WATER THAT IT’S NOW SELLING LIMITED AMOUNTS TO OTHER REGIONAL WATER PURVEYORS.  THAT, SAYS AUTHORITY GENERAL MANAGER DAN DENHAM, HAS ALLOWED FOR THE CREATION OF A RATE STABILIZATION FUND.  DENHAM SAYS THE LAST TWO WET YEARS MEANT LESS WATER USE, AND HIGHER RATES.  BUT HE SAYS THE FUND HELPED. “A rate stabilization fund is a mechanism for us to smooth out those rates over time.  Because of the two wet years and lost water sales, we’ve had to use that rate stabilization fund to mitigate rates, or they would’ve been even higher.” LAST YEAR, THE WATER AUTHORITY RAISED RATES BY 14-PERCENT.  DENHAM SAYS THEY WON’T KNOW HOW MUCH RATES WILL GO UP THIS YEAR UNTIL MID-SUMMER.  John Carroll, KPBS NEWS.

OVER A DOZEN PROTESTERS GATHERED AT THE EL CAJON CIVIC CENTER YESTERDAY (TUESDAY) TO DENOUNCE A RAID ON A LOCAL BUSINESS.

FIFTEEN PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED LAST WEEK AT SAN DIEGO POWDER AND PROTECTIVE COATINGS.

THE COMPANY WAS SUSPECTED OF HIRING WORKERS WITHOUT LEGAL STATUS.

MAIRENE (mai-REIN-uh) BRANHAM is WITH LATINOS EN ACCIÓN. SHE SAYS LAST WEEK'S RAID WAS A FEAR-MONGERING TOOL.

“You think that fathers are going to now comfortably be leaving their homes everyday, knowing that that might be the last time that they’re going to come home to their children? This is terrible.”

BRANHAM'S GROUP FILED A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST FOR ANSWERS ABOUT EL CAJON'S INVOLVEMENT WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS.

THE CITY HAS 10 DAYS TO RESPOND.

WORKERS FROM UC SAN DIEGO’S MEDICAL CAMPUSES WERE ON STRIKE YESTERDAY (TUESDAY). EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS THEIR UNION IS ACCUSING THE UNIVERSITY OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.

We are the union, the mighty mighty union…The union says the university raised healthcare costs during contract negotiations and refused to bargain over certain employees’ wages. Samantha Warsh is a pediatric dietitian. She says the university is facing a staffing crisis. Their unfair labor practices are only going to continue to make that worse by refusing to bargain with a lot of our mental health clinicians who joined our union recently.  A university spokesperson wrote in an email that those allegations are unsubstantiated. Workers from a second union representing UC workers also went on strike in solidarity. That union has been negotiating a contract for more than a year. The university says it’s offered wage increases and more sick leave. It’s working through next steps with one union and meeting with the other in the coming weeks. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

RESIDENTS IN NATIONAL CITY MAY HAVE NOTICED AN UNEXPECTED ADDITION TO THEIR LIBRARY’S STAFF, POLICE OFFICERS.

INEWSOURCE INTERN HANNAH PSALMA RAMIREZ EXPLAINS.

National City has been using armed police officers instead of private security at its public library since February. That’s because of an eighty percent increase last year in calls for service. Reports of disturbing the peace more than doubled. Officials say using police is part of a pilot program after library staff found themselves needing to call officers anyway. Now, an officer is present during most afternoons. And they receive overtime pay for that work. It’s a different approach from nearby cities. San Diego and Chula Vista do not staff police at their libraries. For KPBS, I’m inewsource intern Hannah Psalma Ramirez.

INEWSOURCE IS AN INDEPENDENTLY FUNDED, NONPROFIT PARTNER OF KPBS. THIS STORY IS PART OF OUR PUBLIC MATTERS PARTNERSHIP. TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO KPBS DOT ORG SLASH PUBLIC MATTERS.

FOR ALMOST 15 YEARS, JESSICA JOHNSON HAS RUN A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO ALL THE MOST INTERESTING NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY. HIDDEN SAN DIEGO HAS BEEN A GO-TO RESOURCE FOR RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS TO FIND THE MOST OBSCURE, AND THE MOST TREASURED LOCATIONS THE REGION.

EVENING EDITION ANCHOR MAYA TRABULSI TEAMED UP WITH JESSICA AND TAKES US TO BALBOA PARK’S ZORO GARDEN.

Okay. So here we are in Balboa Park. Jessica, tell us, first of all, what location this is.

JESSICA:  So this is called Zorro Garden, which is presently a butterfly garden for all stages of the butterflies life. 

JESSICA:  My name is Jessica Johnson. I run the popular brand Hidden San Diego

JESSICA: You'll see milkweed, passion flower, some gorgeous Martin Bay fig trees.

JESSICA: It's just it's a really magical little area

JESSICA: Hidden San Diego is your go to website for all hidden, haunted and amazing spots in San Diego. 

JESSICA:  I like to challenge people that are from San Diego that I bet you half of the spots on my website you've never even heard of before. I'm from San Diego myself, and I'm constantly finding new places all the time, and you never know, like, you really got to just explore every little pocket because you never know what little secret spot you might find. 

JESSICA:  I have my websites categorized by town, so if you even don't have a car, you can find what's in your own neighborhood

MAYA: tell us what this actual platform was used for. 

JESSICA:  So this was all built in 1915, but during the Pacific International Exposition of 1935 and 1936, this wasn't a nudist colony where they would sunbathe all day. You could pay $0.25 to spectate, or you could peek for free through the fence,

MAYA: So the fence actually had holes in it where spectators who didn't wish to pay could actually just peek through the hole.

JESSICA:  There is a hilarious photo of it where you can see everyone peeking through the fence. Yes.

MAYA:  So who were the people? Who were the nudists here? 

JESSICA:  They were traveling actors that. I don't think this is the only place that they were doing this at. 

They were getting paid to just lounge all day nude in the sun. So yeah, that sounds like a yeah, an easy job. 

The women were completely nude. The men had a nude colored cloth over their groin.

MAYA:  So the nudist colony was actually recreated here. Tell us about that. 

JESSICA:  a group of mostly college age women came here in leotards that were nude colored, and they recreated the sex position. And it drew all different types of people here. I'm sure all different types of reactions. 

MAYA:So when you walk here and you look around, do you see a nudist colony or do you see what it is today, a butterfly garden? 

JESSICA:  I see both because I've seen the photos of what it looks like right here, and the fact that they haven't done anything to this. It looks like what it did 100 years ago 

JESSICA: So this is one of your favorite highlights of Zorro Garden. I absolutely love these trees. You know, there's a few of these around Balboa Park, but these are two of the most beautiful ones. They just cascade down like a waterfall. And what are these? They're Morton basic trees. They I kind of I call the fruit the moon and star fruit. Because it looks like that. 

MAYA:Okay. So I see a trail going that way. Where does that lead to? 

JESSICA: Yeah, we took it once out of curiosity And it led us to the World Beat Center. 

Yeah. Fun little adventure. 

much better than taking the beaten path, right? Yeah. For those that want to avoid people, take this.

JESSICA:  every corner has a potential surprise. And just to get out there, get out of your house, get off of your phone and see all the beauty you know while you're healthy and capable of seeing it.

THAT REPORT CAME TO US FROM KPBS EVENING EDITION ANCHOR MAYA TRABULSI

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. For your next listen, check out the KPBS Midday Edition podcast. Today they discuss parenting and more. . I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.