San Diego News Fix

The holiday season is stressful enough, add on the responsibilities of caregiving, and this time of year can be stressful. Host Daniel Wheaton interviews Juliet Hendrix, editor of Caregiver SD, and Lauren Mapp, a reporter for the site about how to manage the needs of those you're providing care to with the demands of the holidays.

A crisis at the top of military leadership in the handling of a high-profile war crimes case has raised questions in the San Diego military community about the military justice system and what good order and discipline looks like. President Donald Trump’s recent interventions in several military justice cases, including that of San Diego-based Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher’s, have military leaders debating whether the moves undermine the authority of military commanders to instill good order and discipline in the ranks. Some Navy leaders in San Diego said they are flummoxed by Trump’s interventions and their recent fallout, including the firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer over the weekend. “He’s hammering away at the foundation of the military — good order and discipline,” said a senior San Diego Navy official not authorized to comment. “The president essentially said he doesn’t trust one of his admirals’ judgment. Guys at my level are literally just throwing up their hands.”

As the crew of the Stella June dug into plates of Asian fusion at the Chubby Noodle on sleepy Paseo del la Marina, captain Evan Salvay ran fingers through hair shaped by a day’s worth of salt water, wind, broiling sun and spiking anxiety. The 27-year-old had ridden both sides of the exhilarating and sometimes cruel waves at the Bisbee’s Black and Blue marlin tournament, the richest sportfishing chase on the planet. A year ago, a fish the part-time Point Loma and Huntington Beach resident landed translated to just over $3 million. Two years ago, a potential $1 million catch was edged by 14 pounds as the paycheck plummeted … to $7,020. In this year’s tournament, the Stella June caught a 466-pound black marlin that held up as the day’s best for hours on end. Two and a half blocks away, the only remaining fish to weigh was nearing the dock. The estimated payout for the day’s biggest catch ebbed around $1.23 million. The glazed ribs? The salt and pepper shrimp? The thought of food nauseated Salvay. “I can’t eat, dude,” he said.

Last month marine scientists set out in the Gulf of California looking for vaquita porpoises, fearing that they could be extinct, but instead spotted a number of them, including mothers with calves

It’s summer in Antarctica, and scientists from all around the world are flying back to research stations on the continent as part of a now years-long race to uncover world’s oldest ice and better predict planetary warming, sea level rise and more. Trapped in the ancient glaciers are tiny air bubbles — time capsules documenting changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ocean temperatures over hundreds of thousands of years. If a rare sample of undisturbed ice can be located and ice-core samples drilled out, the results could be a scientific timeline of climate change dating back more than a million years.

San Diego-based Naval Special Warfare Command is initiating a so-called “trident review” of four SEALs involved in a closely-watched war crimes case that divided the tight-knit SEAL community and became a cause célèbre for conservative commentators and politicians. Among the SEALs coming under review, according to a defense officials with knowledge of the case, are Lt. Cmdr. Robert Breisch, Lt. Thomas MacNeil, Lt. Jacob Portier and Chief Petty Officer Edward R. Gallagher, who was restored in rank to chief by President Donald Trump on Friday.

In the months before her death, Sabrina Rosario’s estranged husband would show up at her house unannounced. He would sit in the car and watch their children play from a distance. In text messages, he said he would never leave her alone. Less than two weeks ago, he messaged her a picture of a handgun. More than half a dozen cans of beer and a bottle of alcohol were in the background of the image. “This threat really scared me and I can no longer handle his abuse and harassment,” Rosario said in court filings seeking a restraining order against Jose Valdivia, whom she was in the process of divorcing. Rosario had threatened to file a restraining order before. She wrote in court documents that her husband had told her, “A restraining order is not going to do nothing.”

A year behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, an ambitious plan by regional officials to build a sophisticated network of bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings has proven more complicated than first anticipated. Obstacles include everything from neighborhood outrage at the loss of parking spaces to the technical challenges of overhauling streets designed primarily for cars. The San Diego Association of Governments — the agency undertaking the now-$279 million project — has found itself in the crosshairs of frustrated groups on all sides of the issue, from business associations to homeowners to supporters of cycling.

The images and stories captivated the world's attention. An exhausted 4-year-old collapsed to the ground, crying, her tiny legs unable to carry her another step. Thousands of Central Americans, each with their own unique personal story, many from Honduras and fleeing gang violence, gathered at the base of a tall, yellow fence, the border with Mexico in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, ready to break it down. The crowd stretched as far down the road as anyone could see. A year later, some of those iconic images and stories cannot be forgotten, even as the caravan that arrived in Tijuana on Nov. 19, 2018 has scattered in different directions of the world: some making tentative and fragile lives in the United States; some back in Honduras; some working and living in Tijuana, still hoping for their chance at the American Dream. The notoriety of the 2018 and 2019 caravans that arrived in the region was fueled partly by the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who tweeted regularly about it as it made its way north through Mexico ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Trump labeled the people in the caravan "invaders," and deployed American soldiers to the border, foreshadowing a confrontation with it that brewed for weeks ahead of U.S. border agents deploying tear gas on asylum-seekers the day after Thanksgiving.

As a driven yet financially-strapped teenager, Toby Macfarlane knew his family couldn’t afford to send him to the University of Southern California. But he was enamored with the private school and determined to make it there. He did — in that pull-oneself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of way — through a combination of scholarships, grants, loans and part-time jobs. Decades later, Macfarlane, a successful title insurance executive living in Del Mar, wanted to ensure his children had a significantly easier path to his alma matter — one that ended up taking them through the “side door.” It cost Macfarlane $450,000 in fees and bribes at the time.

The 19-year-old San Diego State University freshman who died after an event at one of the school’s fraternities was gravely injured when he fell from his bunk bed, the county Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday. The death has prompted swift action from the university, which, on Tuesday, announced the creation of two task forces that will focus on student behavior in fraternities and other campus organizations and the abuse of alcohol and drugs. Dylan Hernandez was found in bed, without a pulse Thursday morning. Investigators later determined that sometime after falling asleep, he fell from his top bunk, suffering unspecified injuries. A roommate helped him back into bed, where he was found, not breathing, hours later.

They call themselves the Creep Catchers Unit. For the last year, this small group of 20-somethings has run citizen stings in the region, particularly North County, posing as young teens on dating sites, and agreeing to meet with the people they suspect are trying to lure them for sex. “CC_Unit” records the meetup — more of a confrontation — then posts the video online, along with the chat logs, some of which look pretty damning. In one, a man asks the teen if he should bring a condom. The online postings are a public shaming, a digital scarlet letter.

If you doubt that the super-rich are a different breed, tour their superyachts. Take, for instance, Golden Shadow. Launched in 1995 by San Diego’s Campbell Shipyard, the 219-foot vessel has luxurious staterooms for 16 guests, more modest quarters for 22 crew members, a 50-square-foot dive chamber and an exterior elevator platform, powerful enough to hoist aboard a seaplane and spacious enough to set down a helicopter. Impressed? Don’t be. Golden Shadow was built as a floating garage for Golden Odyssey, a Saudi prince’s 404-foot superyacht. “These big yachts have so many helicopters and toys aboard,” said Neal Esterly, a San Diego salesman for Fraser, a premier superyacht broker. “They are building 200-foot shadow boats to carry the submarine, the helicopter, the dirt bikes.” Story: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/outdoors/story/2019-11-10/mega-yachts-for-the-mega-wealthy

Asylum seekers who have finished their court cases are being sent back to Mexico with documents that contain fraudulent future court dates, keeping some migrants south of the border indefinitely, records show. Under the Migrant Protection Protocols policy, asylum seekers with cases in the United States have to wait in Mexico until those cases are resolved. The Mexican government agreed to only accept migrants with future court dates scheduled. Normally, when migrants conclude their immigration court cases, they are either paroled into the United States or kept in federal custody depending on the outcome of the case. However, records obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune show that on at least 14 occasions, Customs and Border Protection agents in California and Texas gave migrants who had already concluded their court cases documents with fraudulent future court dates written on them and sent the migrants back to Mexico anyway.

The woman who was killed when a shooter opened fire on a Church’s Chicken in Otay Mesa had just gotten married, family members said Thursday. Maribel Ibañez, 28, was one of three people struck by gunfire after a man who had been turned away for trying to buy a meal with counterfeit money started shooting at the restaurant on Del Sol Boulevard on Wednesday. San Diego police officers are still searching for a gunman, who was last seen driving away from the restaurant in a blue car, police said. He was described as a thin, black man in his 30s. He is about 6 feet 1 inch tall and was last seen wearing a blue Chargers beanie, basketball shorts and a light blue sweater.

The July mass arrest of 15 Camp Pendleton Marines in front of their 800-person battalion may have violated their rights and threatens to upend the case, attorneys for two of the accused told the Union-Tribune. On the morning of July 25, as 800 Marines stood in formation at the Camp San Mateo area of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, 24 Marines’ names were called. Fifteen were ordered to stand in a line in front of the battalion “to be recognized,” according to court filings in the case. The battalion sergeant major stood nearby, carrying a red folder that usually is associated with awards. But these men weren’t awarded. The regiment sergeant major, Sgt. Major Matthew A. Dorsey pointed to the Marines in front and said, “NCIS, arrest these Marines.”

Chargers owner Dean Spanos is giving no thought to relocating from Los Angeles and is fully committed to the team’s L.A. venture. That was the clear, firm message Tuesday from Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani in response to a report in the The Athletic that the team would consider relocating to London. “There’s absolutely no truth to the idea that Dean Spanos would consider anything other than building his fan base in Los Angeles,” Fabiani said. “The idea that he would consider any other option is just nonsense.” The Chargers, who moved from San Diego in 2017, have a 20-year lease with the Rams on an Inglewood stadium that is to open next year. The Chargers hold two 10-year options after the lease expires that can be exercised solely at their discretion.

The summit was in Rome, the focus was on the Amazon. But for Bishop Robert McElroy, leader of San Diego’s diocese and one of only three Americans among the 185 delegates to the Vatican’s Pan-Amazon Synod, the issues hit close to home. McElroy returned to San Diego last week to find traditionalists in an uproar. Along with most of the delegates, McElroy had backed a plan to allow married men to serve as priests in remote Amazonian villages. He also joined the majority in urging Pope Francis to consider ordaining female deacons — throughout the global church.

San Diego’s plan to create community energy choice options is moving forward, with the possibility of having more than 700,000 new customers. Community choice energy offers the chance to purchase energy separate from an investor owned utility, which allows for quicker investment in green energy sources. Most of the county’s cities are for the plan, as well as San Diego Gas and Electric.

McKamey Manor used to be a notorious terror attraction in Rancho Peñasquitos, but now the manor haunts in new locations in Tennessee and Alabama. This is a haunted house taken to extreme --- YouTube videos of tours of McKamey Manor when it was based in San Diego showed participants vomiting, weeping and bruised, a young man crying out to be released as his head is shoved under water and other unsettling imagery — much of which is “smoke and mirrors,” according to the proprietor Russ McKamey. In its new locations, McKamey Manor is still getting criticism for the tours, including a petition on Change.org to close down the attraction. McKamey has denied allegations by people who claimed that they suffered serious physical and emotional injuries during his tours, saying he captures all the experiences on video he can use to dispute false allegations. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

San Diego officials and community leaders are exploring plans to create an eight-block pedestrian plaza in the Gaslamp Quarter by closing Fifth Avenue to vehicles between Broadway and L Street. Supporters say the plaza would become a magnet for tourists and locals, broadening the Gaslamp Quarter’s appeal and changing the landscape of downtown. Modeled after the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and public squares across Europe, the plaza would be dubbed the “Gaslamp Promenade” and feature street furniture, public art, trees, painted murals and possibly outdoor entertainment venues.

San Diego’s leaders have long been pushing for safer streets and ways to get people out of their cars . . . but a plan for an interconnected bike network remains delayed and is 79 million dollars over budget. Local leaders say challenges in construction are primarily responsible for the delays.

Cancer patients hold onto hope the way some people hold onto the lap bars of roller coasters: As if their lives depend on it. And then they get ready for the ups and downs. Theresa Blanda and Nancy Davidson started their rides after they were diagnosed with rare and debilitating blood cancers that enlarge the spleen and can progress to complications that are fatal. Both volunteered for a clinical trial with a drug developed by a small San Diego biotech company. Unlike the vast majority of trials, which end in disappointment, this one worked for them. The drug, fedratinib, made them better. So much better that Blanda returned to her accounting work in the defense industry. She made plans to marry. She dreamed about traveling. Davidson stopped worrying about whether she would live long enough to see her son and daughter graduate from high school and college. Then, five years into the trial, eight patients developed what appeared to be a dangerous neurological disorder that causes brain swelling and confusion. One died. Was the drug responsible?

The San Diego Union-Tribune's archivist Merrie Monteagudo recounts several historical ghost stories including deaths at the Whaley House, sasquatches and yetis in East County and a Ghost Ship that haunts the Salton Sea.

Michael Schroder, the dean who traveled first class, stayed at Ritz-Carlton hotels and bought a $110 Bruno-style bone-in filet was not the only one at Cal State San Marcos using state tax money to cover luxury expenses. So were the people responsible for approving his expense reports. Graham Oberem, former provost and most frequent signer of Schroder’s expense reports, stayed at a $639-a-night hotel in Spain in 2017 and paid $472 for Half Moon Limos to take him to and from Los Angeles International Airport for a recruiting trip to various countries in Europe in November 2018. Karen Haynes, former president of the university, stayed in the same hotel in Spain for $762 a night. She accumulated more than $9,100 in charges for chauffeured transportation from September 2017 to June this year. She billed the school for rides from her home to the university and was chauffeured to Long Beach routinely, documents show.

Every California motorist knows that gasoline is expensive in the Golden State. Taxes and fees on the state and federal levels account for more than 80 cents per gallon at the pump. But even after stripping out all those expenses, the California Energy Commission says drivers are still paying more than they should because of “an unexplained residual price increase” that’s persisted for the last five years. Gov. Gavin Newsom thinks oil companies may be “engaging in false advertising or price fixing” and he has called on Attorney General Xavier Bacerra to open an investigation into what UC Berkeley professor Severin Borenstein has long called the “mystery gasoline surcharge.” In 2018, California motorists paid an average of 30 cents more per gallon at higher-priced retail outlets such as Chevron, Shell and 76 than the average American paid for gasoline in other states, the energy commission said in an analysis released last week.

A lawsuit seeking records of accusations of sexual misconduct by employees of the San Diego District Attorney has settled, with the office turning over the records and agreeing to pay nearly $100,000 in legal fees incurred by a public records advocacy group which sought the information. The group, the First Amendment Coalition, filed suit in July 2018. The San Rafael-based group had asked under the state public records law for all records of sexual misconduct by DA employees. Instead the District Attorney’s Office had provided summaries of six cases but not the actual records.

San Diego’s transit agencies are making a big bet on the future of transit. Both the San Diego Association of Governments and the Metropolitan Transit System are pushing forward separate tax measures that would improve public transit. The investments may be key if the region hopes to improve transit service and get more people out of their cars -- one of the only ways to meet climate goals.

While California is one of several states to legalize marijuana, demand for the plant isn’t just for getting high. Cannabidinol -- better known as CBD -- is now a popular substance that has found its way into everything from dog treats to lip balm. Claims of what CBD can do are vast, but many of them raise questions as to what’s true and what’s snakeoil.

Several neighborhoods around San Diego County have turned to an Atlanta company to offer a new level of surveillance. Flock Safety provides private license plate readers that neighborhoods or HOAs can use to track who enters and leaves their neighborhoods. Amid the expansion of the internet of things, and 5G wireless technology, increased surveillance is becoming more common.

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/2019-10-06/skrewball-whiskey-lawsuits-yeng-wells-tafolla

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 installed dozens of portable restrooms and outdoor washing stations. Yet relief was only temporary.

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 address the spread of invasive plants. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/story/2019-09-28/will-cal-fires-plan-to-rip-out-vegetation-in-san-diego-lead-to-an-explosion-in-flammable-invasive-grasses

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