The coronavirus pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives, and some parents believe our children's upbringing may be one of the most detrimental in the long-term. Schools were closed across the nation in 2020, and California's were the last to reopen for in-person learning. It's been about a year and a half since the pandemic began, and California's young students are still being forced to wear masks in the classroom. To fight back against these mandates, Sharon McKeeman, started the 'Let Them Breathe' group for parents to show opposition to the state mask mandates. McKeeman has been outspoken in the fight for mask choice, and says she has tremendous support from other parents, but they are simply hesitant to be public about it, so she is speaking for all of them. McKeeman and KUSI's Mark Mathis spoke in depth about the long road of battles McKeeman has led over the last year and a half on this episode of Mark My Words.

June 24, 1984 was Fred Swift's first day working for KUSI. Swift was originally hired as the Transmitter Supervisor, but is now KUSI's Chief Engineer. At the time, USIU, also known as United States International University owned the license to the transmitter signal, but did not have the capabilities or funds to put the station on the air. That's when KUSI's current owner, Mike McKinnon Sr., partnered with them, and got the station on the air. Eventually, USIU's financial situation worsened, and McKinnon Sr. bought them out. KUSI first went on the air in 1982, and started broadcasting news a few years after. Swift looks back on the beginning days of his career at KUSI, and how technology has changed, for better and worse, as KUSI continues broadcasting quality news to the San Diego community. 

As we know, restaurant owners went through an incredibly difficult year amid the coronavirus pandemic, especially in California. The government, under Gavin Newsom, was ordering them to close, reopen, close, reopen, and it never seemed like there was a solid justification for doing so. Thousands of restaurants across the state were forced to permanently close, and some were lucky to make through. McGregor's Ale House in Allied Gardens has been a staple of the community for decades. Establishing itself as a community gathering place, McGregor's was able to make it through the shutdowns. Ian Linekin, a co-owner of McGregor's, joined KUSI's Mark Mathis on Mark My Words! to explain the difficulties he experienced running a restaurant, and what it was like having to lay off his employees, one of which has worked at McGregor's for over 20 years.

Sal Busalacchi, the owner of Trattoria Don Pietro in Old Town, joined KUSI’s Mark Mathis on Mark My Words to discuss the “year of hell” restaurateur’s like himself have gone through. Busalacchi opened his restaurant in August 2020, but explained they had to close and reopen so many times, he doesn’t really know when the grand opening really was. Here in San Diego County, indoor dining was closed for a good portion of the year, leaving many restaurants with no choice but to build outdoor patios to accommodate the demand for outdoor dining. Busalacchi spent around $100,000 building an outdoor patio at Trattoria Don Pietro’s, but now the City of San Diego is threatening restaurant owners with fines up to $10,000 per day, if they keep their newly constructed outdoor patios that they now say could be in violation of the code. Busalcchi explained his patio is in compliance, but spoke about the hardships many other restaurant owners continue to deal with as the coronavirus continues.

ReOpen San Diego, Let Them Breathe, and San Diego Rise Up joined forces with other members of the San Diego community and voiced their opposition to San Diego County's COVID-19 response, and medical mandates of any kind. In what is likely the most attended County Board meeting ever, San Diegans spent their Tuesday waiting hours to give a 2-minute speech during public hearing. Many of the speakers directly called our Sup. Nathan Fletcher and Dr. Wilma Wooten, some even called for their resignation. The speeches went on for 4.5 hours, and some people waited the entire time and didn't even get a chance to speak. This episode of KUSI's Mark My Words features a montage of some of the speeches given by members of the San Diego Community. 

Little Tommy Sablan is widely known throughout San Diego. Growing up in San Diego, specifically Chula Vista, Tommy Sablan began his career working in the radio business at an early age. He slowly moved up the ranks, and was the first ever radio producer to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame for his work on the highly successful Jeff & Jer Show. Sablan still hasn't stopped working in radio, but is now employed at KUSI News. Sablan joined the Mark My Words podcast to reflect on his incredible career, share some memorable stories about what happened along the way like when 50,000 people showed up to create a human flag at San Diego Stadium to honor the victims of 9/11, and the one time he stole Jimmy Buffett's shorts. 

San Diegan, Shaun Frederickson recently voiced his opposition to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors during public hearing at one of their recent meetings. Frederickson specifically called out Dr. Wilma Wooten for using the coronavirus data in way that was designed to intentionally scare people, something Frederickson described as propaganda. The video of his speech quickly went viral, and Frederickson became a recognizable face in San Diego. 

He appeared on KUSI's Good Morning San Diego to speak about his motivation for attending the Board of Supervisors meeting in-person, and explained the support he has received from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. KUSI's Mark Mathis then hosted Frederickson again to discuss his speech, the response, and what he has planned for the future as we see parts of the country re-implement the very coronavirus restrictions he was warning about.

KUSI's Anchor and Reporter Hunter Sowards moved to San Diego from Nacogdoches, Texas, where she grew up. Hunter also attended college in Nacogdoches, so her move to San Diego to work for KUSI News was the first time she moved to a city away from the rest of her family. Hunter discusses some of the original mistakes she made when first arriving in San Diego, like renting a $2,500/month apartment, since she did not know the area. Hunter and Mark Mathis also talk about some of the stories she has been covering, and explained why she wants another chance to interview pro surfer, Rob Machado.

Civil & Human Rights Leader/Organizer, Social Campaigns & Organizing Strategist, Ordained Minister and Founder of the People's Association of Justice Advocates, Shane Harris, joined KUSI's Mark Mathis and Paul Rudy for an in-depth discussion about local politics, and the controversial tortilla throwing incident after the Championship basketball game between Coronado High School and Orange Glen High School.

In this episode of KUSI's Mark my Words, Mark Mathis and Paul Rudy sit down with none other than Lauren Phinney who has always been our women of the decade but now discusses her women of the year as she was most recently named. Mark and Paul discuss her journey to becoming one of San Diego’s most beloved news anchors and people. Lauren recently became the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 2021 Woman of the Year.