In the middle of the last century, the African-Americans who left the segregation of other parts of the country found it again right here in our city of sunny skies and high hopes.
Never mind what some may have heard about the supposed racial progressiveness of San Diego. It was, says a 91-year-old resident, “the biggest lie that was ever told.”
San Diegans still live with the legacy of the segregation of the past, which helped determine the ethnic flavor of the city’s inner-city neighborhoods. Adrian Florido examines how this history affects today’s residents in San Diego’s core, who find themselves facing new challenges and new neighbors.
They Met Their Match(es)
Photographer Sam Hodgson captures a few hours of stress, anticipation and celebration as he follows a young married couple as they get the news that will set their paths for their rest of their lives: they’re both medical students at UCSD, and it was time for Match Day, when they learned where they’ll spend their residencies. They’re hoping for UCLA and a chance to stay in Southern California, but fate — and the decisions made by people they’ve never met — may have something else in mind.
A ‘Teachable Moment’ Is Never a Good Sign
Responding to what a professor calls a “teachable moment,” California state senators spent time yesterday examining the safety of nuclear power plants and gas lines. The Washington Post says the senators questioned the safety of the state’s two nuclear plants and called for delays in relicensing.
Meanwhile, federal officials are scheduled to review safety nationwide at nuclear plants, and the EPA announced it’s sending new monitors to keep track of radiation levels on the West Coast, the San Jose Mercury News reports. (There’s already at least one in San Diego.) So what are the levels now? The EPA isn’t saying, a stand that’s annoying the Sierra Club.
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In San Diego County, City News Service reports, background radiation levels remain normal. Slate notes something interesting: the Bush administration waived a post-9/11 requirement that the government stockpile potassium iodide pills for people who live within 20 miles of a nuclear plant, saying evacuation is a better idea. The limit apparently went back to 10 miles. (The pills can provide protection against radiation-caused thyroid cancer.)
Elizabeth Kolbert, writing in he New Yorker, considers nuclear safety in the U.S. and Japan and highlights the risks: “We’ve more or less pretended that our nuclear plants are safe, and so far we have got away with it. The Japanese have not.”
On the earthquake front, Newsweek suggests that worst-case-scenario quakes in California may be worse than the two nuclear plants expect. “Nature doesn’t necessarily heed the speculation of science,” one expert said.
Up in the Palm Springs area, The Desert Sun notes that 12 fire stations have earthquake early-detection devices installed that open fire station doors when they feel the shaking coming. A $1.5 million proposal would install 120 of the devices, mainly in schools, and boost the quake warning time to something around 30 seconds or more; if L.A. and San Diego went along, the paper says there might be almost a minute of warning.
Deputies Say No to Contract
Sheriff’s deputies are rejecting an offer from the county — similar to ones already accepted by other county employee unions — “that would give them a one-time payment of 2 percent of their salaries but require them to contribute more for their retirement benefits,” the U-T reports.
Gas, Food and Dancing
Over on the tube, San Diego Fact Check TV examines claims about gas prices (people do take the bus more often when they rise) and food stamps (more local people are getting them). And Behind the Scene TV takes a look at rehearsals for a dance production that aims to take audiences behind the, um, scene. (Hey! That’s our job!)
In North County We Can Build a Hailman
The NCT has a “hey, Mabel” photo of the aftermath of a Monday hailstorm in Solana Beach that made downtown look positively snowy.
Diss Is an Outrage
Local teams in San Diego, already known as one of the country’s worst cities for sports, are having even more trouble getting respect.
The Chargers, according to the Bleacher Report blog, are akin to the JWOWW character on “Jersey Shore”: “She puffs out her chest like a primitive mating ritual to attract people around her. When they get close enough to talk to her, they notice there isn’t much else there to like. The Chargers’ recent success can have the same effect on the untrained eye if you are not careful.”
And then there’s the Deadspin blog, which rapped the Aztecs last week in its takedown of all 64 NCAA tournament teams: “It’s this year’s ‘Token surprise team that’s seeded way too high!’ It’s so cute to watch teams like this lose somewhere in the first two rounds. It’s like they suddenly remember exactly who they are.”
Funny thing happened on the Aztecs’ road to defeat: They won the first two games and are in the Sweet Sixteen, facing Connecticut in Anaheim on Thursday. Check out a U-T compilation of images of their victory on Saturday and feel free to send a link to Deadspin.
No, He Wasn’t Inspired by the ‘Big Love’ Finale
You may have been taken aback yesterday by a strange joke in yesterday’s Morning Report where CEO Scott Lewis, recounting a back-and-forth with a local PR man, claimed he “was sleeping with three people.”
He was actually joking that sleeping with three people would cause the guy to absorb more radiation than eating a banana or living near a nuclear power plant. Our editor Andrew Donohue confessed to adding an errant “I” because of confusion over Lewis’ wording.
So, to be clear, Lewis is not sleeping with any trio (as his wife was happy to clarify), nobody (not even their dog) is in the doghouse over this, and he doesn’t deserve any high fives.
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.