With surging cases and a growing concern over the omicron variant, the state has reinstated a month-long mask mandate. Also, as the pandemic enters its second winter, San Diego public health officials say the outlook is a bit different this time around, but they’re also concerned about other rising health issues. Plus, state regulators have proposed new rules that could completely change the state’s solar marketplace. Meanwhile, Amazon’s megagrowth is increasing pollution in places where they’ve...
Dec 15, 2021•46 min
San Diego is preparing for a major storm to hit the region late Monday, bringing with it much needed rain and snow, but also high winds and possibly lightning. Plus, SANDAG recently approved a $160 billion regional transportation plan, but it still faces hurdles as voters will need to approve sales tax increases to fund some of the projects. Also, California regulators could dramatically change the state’s biggest-in-the nation solar marketplace next year. And in an excerpt of the Port of Entry ...
Dec 13, 2021•45 min
Today marks one year since San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria took office to become the city’s 37th mayor. KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen caught up with the mayor to take a look back at the year he’s had, along with the current issues he is working on as he begins his second year in office. Plus, this weekend in arts you can get your holiday events fix with some festive music and dance, but we also have a few options that have nothing to do with the season.
Dec 10, 2021•25 min
Gentrification is one of the major issues facing urban cities in the 21st century, and San Diego is no different. KPBS's Racial Justice and Social Equity Reporter Cristina Kim moderated a KPBS panel Wednesday on gentrification and how this process is unfolding in San Diego.
Dec 09, 2021•46 min
As health officials continue to learn more about omicron’s emergence, how it will affect the course of the pandemic remains to be seen. Plus, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a health advisory on children’s mental health to highlight an increased rate of depression and anxiety being diagnosed in children, mainly stemming from pandemic stress. Also, a look at the rise in catalytic converters thefts in San Diego County. And, holiday shoppers have a unique opportunity this weekend to page throug...
Dec 09, 2021•45 min
Yesterday, San Diego City Council unexpectedly ousted Councilmember Jennifer Campbell as president and elected Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera as her replacement. Plus, the city of San Diego is once again gauging whether the old Central Library could be repurposed as a homeless shelter. Also, fentanyl overdoses have more than quadrupled in San Diego County since 2018, highlighting the challenge public health officials face. And, the pandemic has been particularly hard on renters and a growing numb...
Dec 07, 2021•46 min
Over the weekend, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the temporary injunction against San Diego Unified’s vaccination mandate, meaning students will need to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 24 — the start of the second semester. Plus, the omicron variant will soon or later be identified in San Diego, but hospital officials are confident that they can handle it whenever it comes. Also, the vast majority of people killed in action in Afghanistan are not soldiers but contractors. It’s part of ...
Dec 06, 2021•44 min
Los Angeles has discovered its first case of the new omicron COVID-19 variant in a fully-vaccinated person who recently traveled to South Africa. Health officials say the person is recovering and quarantining at home. Plus, KQED investigates the state’s failure to enforce regulations meant to protect farm workers and others exposed to wildfire smoke. Then, this weekend in the arts features an ephemeral art exhibition, Latinx poetry, a return to the stage for Voices of our City Choir and outdoor ...
Dec 03, 2021•19 min
Despite the confirmed presence of the new Omicron strain, President Biden indicated in today that new lockdowns or federal mandates will not be a part of the plan to fight the virus. Plus, scientists at UCSD are now using wastewater to detect the presence of the Omicron variant early. Then, the December nights celebration takes place in Balboa Park this weekend - but just like last year the event will be an in-car drive-through experience with food vendors and entertainment. Also, community coll...
Dec 03, 2021•47 min
Mississippi state law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy is the biggest threat to legal abortion in decades, many legal experts say. Could the case have implications here in California? Plus, a review of death certificates in San Diego County show the wide disparities in who died from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic. Also, when police officers shoot a suspect, those officers are often questioned more leniently than the people they shoot, a KPBS investigation found. Meanwhile...
Dec 01, 2021•44 min
San Diego City Council on Monday overwhelmingly reaffirmed Mayor Todd Gloria’s coronavirus vaccine mandate plan for city workers. City workers will have to show proof of full vaccination by Tuesday or face consequences. Plus, two lots being offered for redevelopment in downtown San Diego may turn an eyesore into a new model for affordable housing. Also, it’s Giving Tuesday and we wanted to tell you about a program helping the unsheltered and the incarcerated. And, as the Biden administration is ...
Nov 30, 2021•47 min
First detected in South Africa, the omicron variant could be more contagious and resistant to the vaccine, but researchers say much remains to be learned about this latest coronavirus variant. Plus, an appeals court has temporarily halted San Diego Unified’s vaccine mandate. Also, records show there’s a vast disparity in where police shootings occur. They tend to happen more in communities where more Black and Latino people live. And, UC and CSU applications are due tomorrow, but as with many th...
Nov 29, 2021•46 min
There’s a new grant program in San Diego that aims to help close the racial wealth gap, and KPBS Race and Equity reporter Cristina Kim caught up with the first recipient. Plus, Comic-Con has canceled two in-person shows because of the pandemic, but today it returns to in-person events with what it is calling Comic-Con Special Edition. And, this weekend in the arts you can lose yourself in contemporary art, electroacoustic music and Palestinian poetry.
Nov 26, 2021•19 min
With many families gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, health officials continue to urge Americans to get fully vaccinated, which includes a booster shot six months after the initial vaccination. Plus, for decades in San Diego and across the U.S., housing deeds with racist restrictions blocked people of color from buying or renting homes, how one San Diego family pushed back. And, as families gather (many the first time in two years), maybe you need to freshen up your Turkey Day gam...
Nov 24, 2021•45 min
The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for employees at large businesses is currently on hold as it makes its way through the courts. Plus, after serving in the interim, Cynthia Paes has been officially named as the county’s next registrar of voters. Also, a controversial Trump-era policy aimed at keeping refugees out of the U.S. during the pandemic is being continued by the Biden administration. Meanwhile, Southwestern College has been named a 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education, getti...
Nov 23, 2021•46 min
San Diego's biggest expansion of public transit in more than 15 years is now up and running, but there are still issues accessing the new line. Plus, public health officials say there’s a disparity in who’s getting the COVID-19 booster shot. Also, an audit of the San Diego Regional Crime Laboratory has revealed major lapses in security and testing protocols over the past several years that could call into question the credibility of evidence used in previous criminal cases. Meanwhile, universal ...
Nov 22, 2021•46 min
Democrats in the House are taking a victory lap today, celebrating the passage of the two trillion dollar Build Back Better social services bill. Plus, we bring you the third and final part of KPBS’s three-part series on racial covenants. KPBS Race and Equity Reporter Cristina Kim examines how people are reconciling the legacy of racial restrictions. And, in the arts this weekend, there is a new play about Van Gogh, visual art recommendations, an intimate opera performance, and even a “Choose Yo...
Nov 19, 2021•19 min
The city's mandatory deadline for its employees to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination was Wednesday. Some police officers have objected to the requirement. Plus, last week the U.S. border opened for travelers vaccinated against COVID-19, but not for asylum seekers. Then, the analysts at the Automobile Club of Southern California say this Thanksgiving will be the second busiest on record in our area, just 3% lower than the all-time high of 2019. And, part two of KPBS' three part series on r...
Nov 19, 2021•45 min
The City Council approved a measure that would free some businesses from providing parking for customers in a move intended to increase the use of mass transit and lower emissions. Plus, in the early days of the pandemic, public health officials hoped herd immunity would provide a clear path back to normalcy, but with a large portion of people refusing to get immunized, that hope is diminishing. Also, while illegal now, racial covenants — language that barred Black people and other minorities fr...
Nov 17, 2021•45 min
Winter is approaching, and while 70% of the state’s eligible population has gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, health experts warn the remaining unvaccinated and under vaccinated could lead to another surge. Plus, inflation is at its highest point in 30 years, did bad policies create that situation and can it be turned around anytime soon? Also, California Report Host Saul Gonzalez went to a jobs fair to see what hiring looks like now and what workers are thinking as they look for...
Nov 17, 2021•45 min
San Diego’s redistricting committee’s proposed district map side steps major shakeups, but there are still changes to be made as it moves on to a final series of public meetings. Plus, with the COP26 Climate Conference over and despite the urgency of the meeting, critics have cast doubt on the political will of global leaders to actually commit to the goals set at the summit. Also, Clifton Hicks, who came from a military family, watched the events of Sept. 11 unfold on television and all he want...
Nov 15, 2021•41 min
California public health officials are encouraging eligible adults to get their booster doeses of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible to stave off a possible winter surge. Plus, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has been struggling with staffing shortages, but it’s not only because of the pandemic or the vaccine mandate — the issue is more complicated than that. And, this weekend there's brand new playwriting from San Diego Repertory Theatre, the Old Globe will be wrapping up its Shakesp...
Nov 12, 2021•19 min
After months of vitriol, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved rule changes that they say will make meetings more civil. Critics of the rules change say it limits the public’s right to free speech. Plus, on Veterans Day we bring you the story of the first Black female prisoner of war in the country’s history. Meanwhile, the USS Midway celebrates Veterans Day with special in-person activities after being sidelined last year because of the pandemic. Also, San Diego and Tijuana were re...
Nov 11, 2021•45 min
The latest milestone is encouraging but there’s a growing concern in California as hospitalizations are rising in regions with low vaccination rates. Plus, the fallout against San Diego Unified’s proposal for a “mental health” day off after Veterans Day has some parents questioning whether the district is telling the truth about school staffing issues. Also, the federal government’s ban on non-essential cross-border travel was the enemy that San Diego’s political establishment needed to find its...
Nov 11, 2021•45 min
The EPA is planning several different approaches to solving the decades-long cross-border sewage spills that have been plaguing the South Bay. Plus, SANDAG is working on the next transportation plan for the region just as Congress passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. Also, the infrastructure bill is expected to have a long-lasting effect in California and it won't just be fixing roads and modernizing transit projects. Meanwhile, a truck driver training school in Mission Valley is helpin...
Nov 09, 2021•45 min
For the first time since March 2020, Mexican citizens can cross the border for shopping, family visits or any number of reasons if they’ve been vaccinated. But proof of vaccination may be harder to obtain than expected, due to delays in official Mexican vaccine documents. Plus, the San Diego Air Pollution Control District voted unanimously last week to force local industries to drastically cut their pollution after years of spewing carcinogenic toxins at a rate far higher than elsewhere in Calif...
Nov 09, 2021•44 min
Thousands of unionized Kaiser nurses and other health care workers are preparing to go on strike. Plus, after 19 months of a non-essential travel ban, the U.S.-Mexico border will finally reopen Monday, but the reopening will come with expected long waits and bureaucratic hassles. And, this weekend arts preview goes from a puppetry elephant heist, to hip hop sugar plum fairies, and some interesting places in between.
Nov 05, 2021•19 min
Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly under government rules issued Thursday. Plus, Rep. Mike Levin on the contents of a $1.75 trillion dollar social benefits package being debated in Congress right now. Also, San Diego spent millions of dollars on contact tracing to fight the pandemic, but was it worth it? And, KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando has a preview of...
Nov 04, 2021•45 min
With the CDC’s approval, kids ages 5 through 11 are able to get the COVID-19 vaccine starting today, but many parents are still reluctant to get their children vaccinated. Plus, San Diego restaurant owners react to the city initiative that will make sidewalk dining permanent. Also, a North County nonprofit is working to make reintegration back into society easier for people getting out of jail or recovery centers. And, 9 million veterans in the U.S. get medical care through the VA each year, ine...
Nov 03, 2021•45 min
Last week, SANDAG announced a plan to charge drivers a per-mile tax to fight climate change. The proposal caused a strong reaction from drivers, so how likely is it to move forward? Also, as San Diego works on implementing climate action in transportation, Californians at the United Nations climate conference in Scotland are working with world leaders on tackling the global threat of climate change. Plus, San Diego public health officials are urging residents to get their flu shots as soon as po...
Nov 01, 2021•46 min
