San Diego News Fix

The federal government continues to send migrants back to Mexico who may not be subject to the Remain in Mexico program, according to a report published by lawyers and activists who work with asylum seekers in Mexico. The controversial program, officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols, does not have clear guidelines of who is subject to the policy, which forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their court case is decided. With the absence of clear protocols, lawyer and advocates argue, some who should not be in the program are being incorrectly sent to Mexico. To date, more than 40,000 asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico under the program. This includes vulnerable populations, such as members of the LGBTQ community who face persecution in Mexico, unaccompanied children, and people with serious health issues.

San Diego Republicans failed Monday to back a candidate for the 50th Congressional District, including the candidate who currently holds the seat. None of the four candidates received the two-thirds majority necessary to get an endorsement from the Republican Party of San Diego County. Forty-nine members cast ballots after a forum and the results were confidential. A photo obtained by the Union-Tribune shows one of the four votes resulted in 21 delegates siding with former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio. Incumbent Rep. Duncan D. Hunter and State Sen. Brian Jones received 14 votes each. Former Congressman Darrell Issa did not receive any votes.

Three months after new city regulations went into effect, two companies, Jump and Skip, have left town. Another, Lime, may lose its permit because of repeated operating infractions. Almost 500 riders received traffic tickets, more than half of them for riding on sidewalks. The city impounded more than 3,700 scooters for parking violations. It’s too soon to say how effective or long-lasting the crackdown will be, or what it means to the future of dockless scooters here. Depending on the time and place, this can still look like a town that’s been overrun. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/story/2019-10-14/new-rules-shaping-scooter-use-in-san-diego

California’s housing market continues to become more expensive, but political leaders are seeing glimpses of a sea change coming. On a statewide level, there’s a renewed push to do more for middle-income housing, and in some cities like San Diego, new policies have been enacted to boost density without completely changing neighborhood character.

If you ever wanted to be the owner of a desert town -- now’s your chance. The town of Campo is for sale, although the price hasn’t been announced and the seller is only accepting bids. The hamlet is about 10 miles north of the border along the 94, and is home to about 100 people. Not much has changed since the town was primarily built for the military during World War II-- and that’s part of its charm.

Almost a year ago, San Diego voters approved Measure G, allowing for the sale of the former Qualcomm stadium site to San Diego State University. Plans for an expanded campus are underway, but the sale of the land to the university hasn’t been completed yet. The City and the University have several disagreements on the site, something that could delay the project.

Exuding the bohemian irreverence of its Ocean Beach roots, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey comes with its own warning: “a night with Skrewball is bound to get a little nutty.” The same could be said for the legal battle being waged over ownership of the locally crafted spirit. Created by husband-and-wife team Steve and Brittany Yeng, Skrewball is based on a signature peanut butter-and-whiskey shot that Steve concocted after opening his first restaurant, OB Noodle House. The shot was so popular that the couple decided to bottle it. But three people — including former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher David “Boomer” Wells and local television host Noah Tafolla — have filed lawsuits in San Diego Superior Court alleging they were all promised a stake in the venture. The Yengs, in turn, have filed a cross-complaint of their own against Tafolla, calling him a “parasitic individual” who exploited his relationship with the couple to enrich himself. Story: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/20

Whenever the foreign press drops in to cover a big international story — be it a natural disaster in Southeast Asia, a civil war in Africa, or a humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border — they rely on local guides to show them around town, arrange interviews, scout locations, serve as translators, and sometimes even negotiate interview terms with local cartel bosses. These local guides are referred to as “fixers.” Whenever the BBC, CNN, New York Times, or pretty much any big news organization comes to Tijuana, they call local fixers.

n life, the only certainties are death, taxes and the fact that — often at an inconvenient, gut-clenching moment — everyone needs a place to do their business. "Sir, relax," Herbert Bridges told a pedestrian racing to a public restroom outside San Diego City Hall. The security guard unlocked a steel door, revealing a cinder block chamber with a stainless steel commode, urinal and sink. Brown stains marked the walls, litter and dark patches the floor. "Everybody's panicked," Bridges commented, "but I got it under control. "When it comes to public restrooms, critics insist, San Diego cannot say the same. In 2005 and again in 2015, San Diego County's grand jury urged more public bathrooms downtown. Similar pleas came from the East Village Redevelopment Homeless Advisory Committee (2001), the San Diego Partnership's Clean & Safe Program (2005) and the Girls Think Tank (2009). This shortage was cited as a factor behind 2017's hepatitis A epidemic. During that crisis, the city inst

A new poll of likely voters in the crowded and widely watched 50th Congressional District race shows indicted incumbent Duncan Hunter facing an uphill climb to re-election, trailing three candidates. In the poll, Hunter, with 11 percent of the vote, is trailing GOP opponents Carl DeMaio (20 percent) and Darrell Issa (16 percent) while lone Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who narrowly lost to Hunter a year ago, leads with 31 percent. State Sen. Brian Jones polled at 4 percent. Then came two independents, Helen Horvath and David Edick Jr., with 2 percent and 1 percent respectively. Fifteen percent of the voters were undecided.

Highly flammable nonnative plants have increasingly played a major role in Southern California’s struggles with wildfire — providing kindling along roadsides and around homes that turn sparks into menacing backcountry blazes. San Diego firefighting officials plan to dramatically ramp up efforts to rip out vegetation, both native and invasive, surrounding remote communities as part of a statewide campaign to prevent tragedies such as the Camp Fire in Paradise. However, environmental groups and scientists are now warning that brush-removal projects may actually exacerbate the risk of fire by inadvertently helping to spread invasive grasses, such as black mustard, star thistle and ripgut bromus. San Diego County’s ambitious goal is to clear 5,000 acres a year around the county using prescribed burns and chainsaws, while also ramping up maintenance of trails and remote roads accessed by firetrucks. Critics say the plan is ill-conceived and seeks to bypass environmental reviews that could force authorities to addr

Operation Gatekeeper was unveiled on Oct. 1, 1994. The strategy was to deter migrants from illegally crossing in the first place — and, for those who remained undeterred, to encourage them to cross in more isolated wilderness areas to the east, where they could be more easily captured. Twenty-five years later, Operation Gatekeeper is still viewed as a major turning point in the effort to control the border. It is considered both a success and a failure, depending on whom you ask. One thing is certain: Operation Gatekeeper set in motion a process that significantly altered the landscape of the U.S.-Mexico border and transformed San Diego into one of the most heavily fortified international boundaries in the nation. It also came with a human toll, as migration shifted to the east.

There was something odd about the Kentucky woman who sat next to a young Honduran mother asking for asylum in San Diego’s immigration court last week. Judge Philip Law had never seen her before. The woman wasn’t an immigration lawyer. She wasn’t even related to the single mother, Keyla. So, the judge asked, who was she and what was she doing there? “I’m Vonnette Monteith,” she said. “I know the family and I’m here to help.”

When their neighborhood school closed down more than a decade ago, parents from Oceanside’s Crown Heights neighborhood were desperate to maintain a bus route that kept their children from walking miles on streets marked by gang violence and dangerous traffic. So they agreed to pay a monthly fee to help fund the service. What they didn’t expect was a demand that they also sweep streets, attend mandatory community meetings and clean offices and bathrooms to earn discounts on those fees.

In a television studio tucked into a Bay Ho business park, Graham Ledger looks into a camera and opens with his signature line: “Stand by. The doors to the newsroom are locked and the PC police are not getting in.” He then spends the next hour eviscerating liberal politics. The Democratic presidential hopefuls are “buffoons” and “socialists,” and all this talk of climate change reform is actually “a massive plan to redistribute wealth.” In the same episode he slams California’s sex education curriculum as “sexual indoctrination” from “fascist left radical ideology” and points to “this gender nonsense going on.” Later, he congratulates the United States for being “the least racist nation.”

As the number of vaping-related deaths and illnesses mount, health officials nationwide are warning of severe consequences, but so far they have stopped short of declaring an emergency. State health officials on Tuesday implored people to immediately stop using the vaping devices, which they said posed an "imminent public health risk," and the governor issued an executive order directing his staff to draft strict rules for the sale of the electronic cigarettes. San Diego County and a growing number of the region's cities are heeding that sense of urgency. “I fully support the California Department of Public Health’s recommendation for people to refrain from vaping, no matter the substance or source, in light of ongoing investigations into cases of severe breathing problems and lung damage among individuals who have a history of vaping," said Wilma Wooten, of the county's Health and Human Services.

Changes are coming to your electric bill -- again. San Diego Gas and Electric is asking for the California Public Utilities Commission to make a series of changes that affect rate payers. They’re looking to end seasonal pricing, as well as setting the rate for the next several years. Both of these moves set the framework for how your energy bill is calculated each month.

There will be a new manager when the Padres are wearing their new brown uniforms next season. Andy Green was fired Saturday morning, two years before his contract was due to expire and after four seasons with a 274-366 record. Bench coach Rod Barajas was named interim manager and served in that role Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A theoretical airport transit hub, sometimes called “San Diego Grand Central Station,” became more tangible with the head of the Department of the Navy visiting San Diego on Thursday to give the federal government’s go-ahead on planning efforts to redevelop one of its most recognizable properties. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer joined Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the San Diego Association of Governments’ Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata at a media event where they signed an agreement that lays the foundation to remake the Naval Base Point Loma, Old Town Complex. The contract, which supersedes a prior memorandum of understanding, means SANDAG and the Navy can move forward with parallel planning and environmental review efforts of the 70-acre site.

In San Diego County jails, more than 130 people have died in the past ten years. That’s an average higher than one inmate per month, every month, since 2009 --- which is the year that Sheriff Bill Gore took office. The circumstances vary: suicide, heart disease, complications from diabetes and murder -- but collectively, they bring into question how the county is safeguarding those who are wards of the state. Story will be live Friday morning at uniontrib.com/jaildeaths