Midday Edition

The U.S. deports roughly 300,000 people each year. Those with relatives in the United States rarely stray too far from the border. We hear from several deportees in Tijuana about life after deportation. Then, for our weekend preview we have storms, maps, tango and more.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s department last week released body camera footage from an incident that took place in 2019 in Imperial Beach. The video shows a deputy tasing a Black father who had come to a Sheriff’s DUI checkpoint to pick up his son who’d been detained along with a group of teens. Then, most people never get a chance to legally re-enter the United States after being deported. Those who do often find themselves stuck in a precarious limbo. And, you've probably heard at least one horror story from a couple whose wedding was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic did impact Chris and Hillary Soriano’s wedding, but their story is not a tragedy. It's one of perseverance and a little mischief. And now it’s a feature film. Last, a Del Mar man’s collection of 50,000 rare jazz, blues, gospel, reggae and soul records has been acquired by Stanford University. We spoke with Bram Dijkstra in 2022 about his ‘love supreme’ for John Coltrane.

Tuesday was a major deadline for the seven western states that rely on the Colorado River for water. The Federal Bureau of Reclamation is looking for ways to preserve the dwindling water supplies in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two of the nation’s largest reservoirs. Then, when you look at San Diego’s housing market you can find a lot of luxury housing and a growing share of low-income units. But for people in the middle, it’s getting harder to buy or rent. Plus, one year since Senate Bill 9 took effect, a report found the law has spurred very little new construction, and that it needs reform if it's to have any real impact on the state’s housing shortage. Later, why the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians withdrew from its tribal gaming compact with the state of California. Finally, as we kick off Black History Month, we celebrate one of San Diego's legendary jazz composers and saxophonists, Charles McPherson, who has been releasing music since 1964. Now 83, he is still touring and performing, including an upcoming sold-out performance at the Athenaeum later this month.

California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans held a meeting in San Diego over the weekend. The group heard public testimony and discussed questions around who should be eligible for reparations. Then, the federal government has made a $10 million investment to address overgrown forests across Southern California, but exactly how to best prepare for wildfires is still a matter of debate. Next, a look into some of the bumps in the rollout of California’s transitional kindergarten program. And, surfboards, model trains, aviation, and lots of fine art are just some of the things to see during February for Museum Month 2023. Finally, the Human rights Watch Film Festival returns this Thursday with an opening night screening of “Clarissa’s Battle.” The film documents the tireless efforts of Clarissa Dowtherd as she works for increasing access to childcare and early education for her community and beyond.

Psychologists say all of us can experience vicarious trauma when we bear witness to police brutality by watching what happened to Tyre Nichols and countless others like him. Then, we’ll hear about a new women’s shelter that opened last week on the site of the former San Diego downtown library. It is being run by the National Alliance on Mental illness for San Diego and Imperial Counties. Next, San Diego is changing course dramatically on how it handles the ticketing and towing of vehicles after an audit. Then, some states are paying finder's fees to people who help bring in new recruits for the U.S. National Guard. Finally, we speak to Jason Magabo Perez, San Diego’s new poet laureate about poetry and community.

Whistleblowers alerted San Diego County about alleged poor treatment of employees in its public defender office in late 2020. That was two years before a jury awarded $2.6 million dollars to an ex-employee earlier this month in his wrongful termination suit. Then, for our weekend preview, we have a Oaxacan festival, piano music, palm trees, and some Scandinavian art.

Hundreds of volunteers across the county coordinated this morning to accomplish one single task: record an accurate count of the region’s homeless population. Then, the woman at the center of a national conservative media firestorm, stemming from a shower she took at the Santee YMCA, addresses the Santee city council. Plus, the small California community of Half Moon Bay is still reeling from a mass shooting earlier this week. Later, a kitchen in Barrio Logan introduces students to potential culinary careers. Plus, we dig into our archive for a 2019 conversation with “Sesame Street” co-creator Lloyd Morrisett whose death was announced Monday. Finally, the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition has a new leader who is reimagining a ‘new normal’ for local artists and arts organizations.

After nearly three years, San Diego’s COVID state of emergency is coming to an end. Then, in the wake of this week's mass shootings, there's more focus on gun violence restraining orders or red flag laws, which allow authorities to temporarily take away firearms and ammunition from people who have been reported by a family member or co-worker. Plus, students at San Diego City College now have the opportunity to earn a 4-year degree for the first time in the school’s history. The California Community Colleges Board of Governors approved the new Cyber Defense and Analysis Baccalaureate Program this week. And, with more San Diegans receiving new bins for kitchen waste, one local writer is sharing what it means to be zero waste. Finally, a story from the Bay Curious podcast exploring a forgotten Bay Area neighborhood that was once a hub of Black political power, excellence and community.

After multiple mass shootings in California, some researchers want to reframe the issue of gun violence as a public health issue. Then, on the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed four plants and a bird unique to San Clemente Island from protected status. And, the long and storied history of Aztec football is the subject of a new book featuring a treasure trove of images capturing the highs and lows over a century.

The shooting in Monterey Park over the Lunar New Year weekend is serving yet another reminder of how random acts of mass violence can be. We talk about the impact mass violence has on mental health. The presence of a transgender woman in the women's locker room at the Santee YMCA has sparked national conservative media attention, and that of right wing extremists. Then, San Diego Gas and Electric customers are opening surprisingly high utility bills this month. We hear how some San Diegans are copping with the financial pain and what options there are to help. Finally, industry and government collect a lot of data about us. So much that states like California have placed some strict rules in data collection in the interest of privacy. But University of San Diego Law Professor Orly Lobel argues that, in many cases, we don't need less information about people. We need more to help create a just society.