Midday Edition

As the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown continues, local therapists say that community members are feeling mental health impacts as a result, including right here in San Diego.Wednesday on Midday Edition, we hear from a South Bay-based therapist about the impact she is seeing on her clients, and how she and other mental health care professionals are responding to the moment.Guest:Lizeth Ma, licensed marriage and family therapist

San Diego is a special place for whale watching. Blue whales, humpbacks, and gray whales are among the species San Diegans can see at various times of year. The waters off San Diego serve as a migratory corridor for many whale species, as well as a place for others to feed.

On Midday Edition Tuesday, we hear from local whale experts Nicole Schriber and Domenic Biagini to learn more about some of these giant marine mammals that San Diegans can experience.

Right now, gray whales are passing through San Diego, and can be seen from shore.

"This has been a really exciting gray whale season because it's the first one where the whales have looked healthy in about half a decade," Biagini said.

Guests:

• Domenic Biagini, captain and owner, Gone Whale Watching
• Nicole Schriber, graduate student, UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography

"Race: Power, Resistance & Change" at the Museum of Us in Balboa Park opened late last year and is expected to remain on display on a semi-permanent basis.

A group of artists, researchers, community members and museum staff began working on the exhibit nearly a decade ago. It centers on how race has shaped laws and daily life in San Diego.

Brothers Einar and Jamex De La Torre, who live and work in San Diego and Baja California, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss "Castaways," a mixed media piece they created for the exhibit. They also share why they believe San Diego is an important place to tell stories about race and what responsibility they believe the exhibit places on visitors.

Guests:

• Einar and Jamex De La Torre, artists

Last week, San Diego County leaders approved the use of nearly $9 million in county reserves for new Tijuana River sewage fixes.

The funds will pay for a pipeline extension project in the Tijuana River Valley designed to mitigate airborne contaminants, provide additional air purifiers for households exposed to the pollution, and support long-term public health studies.

Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, whose District 1 includes the affected communities and who spearheaded the spending plan, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss a detailed breakdown of the funding and the need for an epidemiological study.

Guest:

• Paloma Aguirre, San Diego County Supervisor

Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it is seeking interest from states to host sites that would support the full nuclear fuel lifecycle, including reprocessing spent fuel and storing nuclear waste.

The department is seeking input through April 1.

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-CA-49, has been urging the federal government to establish a safe and long-term management program for spent nuclear fuel, of which 3.5 million pounds are stored at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

Levin joined Midday Edition last Thursday to discuss the department's call for input, whether the initiative will accelerate the removal of nuclear waste at San Onofre and the $100 million he secured for this issue.

Guest:

• Mike Levin, U.S. Representative for California's 49th District

Last week, independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents after covering an anti-ICE protest Jan. 18.

Fort and Lemon were released from custody Friday. But journalism organizations and free speech advocates are sounding the alarm.

"It's an unprecedented assault on freedom of speech and freedom of the press to say that reporting the news is a crime," said David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition. "Journalism is not a crime."

Monday on Midday Edition, we look at what these arrests signal about press freedom and the First Amendment in the current political moment.

Guest:

• David Loy, legal director, First Amendment Coalition

Resources:

• "Know Your Rights" page — The First Amendment Coalition

San Diego economist Daniel Enemark joins Midday Edition to talk about the state of the economy, as new data highlights the difficulties many San Diegans face in getting by.

One major concern for Enemark is the disconnect between median income and housing costs.

"The real challenge is will incomes rise faster than housing prices?" he said. "If that's the case, then we could see some relief, albeit slowly over many years."

Guest:

• Daniel Enemark, chief economist, Policy & Innovation Center

Acclaimed author and activist Don Winslow thought he would retire from writing after his last novel, "City in Ruin" came out in 2024.

But this year, he marks his return to fiction with a collection of six novellas, "The Final Score."

Thursday on Midday Edition, Winslow talks about exploring identity in his latest work, his decision to return to writing, and his advocacy in the current political moment.

Then, KPBS' Beth Accomando sits down with the co-founder of Riot Productions to talk about their latest play, "Audition Sides," which tells a love story between two actors stuck in a callback audition.

And finally, there is plenty to do in the arts this weekend. KPBS' Julia Dixon Evans shares all the events to check out, plus a preview of what to check out in "The Finest."

• Don Winslow, author and activist, "The Final Score"
• Sarah Alida LeClair, playwright and actress, "Audition Sides;" artistic director and founder, Riot Productions
• Julia Dixon Evans, arts reporter and host of "The Finest," KPBS

Roughly 31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and healthcare workers in California and Hawaii went on strike this week. The union alleges unfair labor practices amid prolonged contract talks.

Workers on the picket lines are fighting for safe staffing levels and fair wages for caregivers.

We discuss what healthcare workers are fighting for, how Kaiser Permanente is responding, and what patients need to know.

Guests:

• Heidi de Marco, health reporter, KPBS

Over 42 million Americans have student loan debt, with a total of more than $1.6 trillion owed.Late last year, the Trump administration announced plans to begin garnishing the wages of borrowers in default on student loans, but backtracked earlier this month. The result has created confusion for many facing student loan debt.Tuesday on Midday Edition, we breakdown some of the biggest changes in the federal student loan system and what borrowers need to know.Then, a new book chronicles the origins of the U.S. student loan system and looks at student debt as an issue of civil rights.Guests:Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director, Protect BorrowersJamal Watson, higher education journalist, professor and associate dean of graduate studies at Trinity Washington University, author of “The Student Debt Crisis: America’s Moral Urgency"