San Diego News Now

A community clinic in Vista has a volunteer group going door to door to convince North County Latinos to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, 10 months after being required to post prices for every medical procedure they offer, many hospitals in San Diego and across the country have failed to do so. Plus, we’ll meet San Diego Unified School Board’s first-ever high school student representative.

The board tasked with managing some of the state’s federal COVID-19 relief funds finds the agency's work has been marred by delays and not enough monitoring. Meanwhile, California’s Board of State and Community Corrections mismanaged nearly $60 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Plus, the descendants of some of Southern California’s early pioneers are trying to save their ancestors’ crumbli...

Big investments in new and improved public transit services are in the latest SANDAG transportation plan. But those likely still won't be enough to achieve San Diego's climate targets of shifting commuters away from using cars. Meanwhile, a far-right group called Defend East County is trying to go mainstream in San Diego’s local politics. And, one Poway man wants you to call him if you find a ratt...

The White House is preparing to deliver COVID-19 Vaccines to millions of kids ages 5 to 11. We have input from our local health experts. Also, the San Diego Military Advisory Board’s (SDMAC) annual report reveals the military accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs in the region and billions in economic impact. Plus, Governor Gavin Newsom despised Trump’s border wall, but now he’s hired the sam...

San Diego county continues to deliberate how it will meet California's greenhouse gas reductions goals while accommodating new growth. Meanwhile, construction to widen one of San Diego’s deadliest streets, El Cajon Boulevard, goes forward despite concerns over pedestrian safety. Plus, the local organization “Let Them Breathe” has become known nationally for opposing mask mandates in schools. We ha...

More than a thousand people crowded the front steps of the California Capitol on Monday to protest the state’s requirement that all children get the coronavirus vaccine to attend public and private schools. In San Diego, protestors gathered at Balboa park. Meanwhile, enough people ARE vaccinated that experts are cautiously optimistic that there won’t be a huge surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths th...

Activists have been pushing to decriminalize jaywalking statewide. In San Diego and elsewhere across the state there are racial disparities in how jaywalking laws are enforced with Black people disproportionately ticketed. However, a recent effort to legalize jaywalking was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Also, UC San Diego has a record-high number of students on campus now, but students say they...

California launches a study that will explore how a state government backed public banking system might work. Meanwhile, an underutilized MTS parking lot in San Diego’s South Bay won approval on Thursday to be turned into a housing development. And, federal data shows San Diego has one of the highest inflation rates in the nation.

The federal government announced on Wednesday that it would finally lift non-essential travel restrictions at U.S. ports of entry starting in November. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria thanked federal and local leaders but said the restrictions lasted too long. We look at what impact opening the border will have on San Diego. Meanwhile, federal agents are wrapping up their on-the-ground portion of the...

In Santee, family members and friends of those whose houses were destroyed by Monday’s deadly plane crash count their blessings. The National Transportation Safety Board continues the investigation. Meanwhile, the Chula Vista elementary school district now has electric school buses. And, San Diego’s first ever Filipino Film Festival is on.

San Diego is one step closer to regulating short-term home rentals such as AirBnb. Homeowners will need to be licensed and will pay fees to offer short-term rentals more than 20 days a year. Meanwhile, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance marked Indigenous Peoples’ Day by celebrating the Kumeyaay people. Plus, San Diego’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon returns after being canceled due to the pandemic.

Low intensity burns or prescribed fires are necessary to keep a forest healthy and to prevent large wildfires, many forest managers now believe. A new law in California is encouraging more controlled burns in the Golden State. Meanwhile, Californians can continue to take their favorite cocktails to-go also under a new law. Plus, one former military interpreter from San Diego is rebooting his life...

The school choice window is open now for six weeks for parents who want their children enrolled in a specific San Diego unified school. Meanwhile, advocates are calling for the reopening of friendship park at the border. And, some military base names may be changing. Last month a federal commission began taking suggestions for replacing confederate names for military bases.

A local elementary school was locked down on Wednesday because of an active shooter threat. We look at safety plans developed by the San Diego County Office of Education. Meanwhile, San Ysidro's long running issues with air pollution centers on the region's busy cross border traffic. Lengthy wait times at the border make the situation worse. Plus, San Diego County seeks to fight childhood obesity,...

Local leaders are calling for the protection of Southern California's beaches and diverse ecosystem by putting an end to offshore drilling. Plus: More on that massive oil spill off our California coastline, the push to put an end to free trash pickup for single-family homes in the city of San Diego and more of the local news you need. Keep this daily news podcast strong by becoming a KPBS member t...

Concerns that the Orange County oil spill is moving south…and SeaWorld says it is on standby to help rescue sea animals. Meanwhile, a Scripps Research scientist has been awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on skin receptors. Plus, County Supervisor Jim Desmond wants placement rules for sexually violent predators changed to give communities more say.

Changes are coming to local police departments after two new laws were signed last Thursday by Governor Gavin Newsom. Following the case of Britney Spears, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that will reform California's conservator-ships. Plus, marines return home from a harrowing journey guarding the airport in Kabul.

The fight over California’s school mask mandate moved to the courts on Thursday. Meanwhile, the details have been released about what happened at Valhalla High School when a campus supervisor was alleged to have used a “knee on neck” restraint against a black student. Plus, the military often falls short recognizing how the wounds of war lead to misconduct.

Students in the San Diego Unified School District eligible for vaccines now have until December 20, 2021, to receive the COVID-19 shot. Meanwhile, the state’s eviction ban expired on Wednesday leaving more than 700,000 households in San Diego vulnerable. Plus, a recent survey found most Americans greatly overestimate how many veterans have PTSD.

San Diego's independent budget analyst is a position born out of the economic crisis of the mid-2000s. Andrea Tevlin has had the position for 16 years and she’s now retiring. She says her office was a source of clear and unbiased information for both the City Council and the public. Meanwhile, the California corrections department is appealing a court settlement that would mandate dramatic reforms...

In San Diego, wildfire smoke days have more than tripled in the last decade, and smoke from western wildfires is causing air pollution problems and health issues far away from fire zones. That’s according to a new analysis of satellite imagery from the California newsroom and Stanford’s Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab. Meanwhile, Mayor Todd Gloria announced a proposal on Monday to esta...

Mayor Todd Gloria is pushing for more bike lanes in San Diego, but for some families these changes haven’t come soon enough. Meanwhile, the California Task Force on reparations for African Americans met with expert witnesses to examine the role slavery, the Great Migration and political disenfranchisement have played in the Black Californian experience. The task force is the first of its kind in t...

Our summer music series continues on San Diego News Now with this bonus episode featuring: Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir San Diego

Mayor Todd Gloria signed an ordinance Thursday officially banning firearms without individual serial numbers — so-called "ghost guns." The ordinance was authored by City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert and is an attempt to address increasing gun violence in San Diego. Meanwhile, restaurant week San Diego is back, amid a staffing shortage. Plus, the biggest professional tennis tournament in San Dieg...

A San Diego Charter school is the first in the county to mandate vaccines for students 12 and older. The move by Urban Discovery School comes as a charter school alliance reports increased enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom asked for a 15% voluntary water reduction in July but Californians have conserved less than 2%. Plus, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance...