It’s been almost two years since San Diego County’s public health officials started using more advanced technology to detect just how much bacteria from human feces pollute San Diego’s southern beach waters.
These more sensitive tests measure how much and how often sewage is spilling from Tijuana onto South Bay beaches.
Our MacKenzie Elmer pulled the data and the not-so-comforting results: South Bay beaches have much more bacteria than we thought. They are also dangerously polluted more often than we thought.
Oddly, officials have been closing the beaches way less often.
The stakes: When new tests were first introduced, a failed test meant an immediate beach closure, which Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey, along with other coastal mayors, were not too happy about. That prompted county health officials to change how and when they decide on beach closures.
Now, a failed test means that maybe the dirty beach could potentially close.
Elmer dove into what the data shows about just how dirty the water has gotten in the past 17 months and how many times beaches remained open anyway.
Border Report: Tijuana Is a Battleground for Future of Bullfighting
In recent years, animal rights activists in Mexico have been pushing for a nationwide ban on bullfights. They have been slowly gaining ground — several states have already approved bans. Now, their sights are set on Tijuana.
Federal courts have already issued a temporary suspension of bullfights in the city. Voice of San Diego contributor Sandra Dibble visited a bullfighting arena in Tijuana that recently had to cancel events because of the courts.
She writes that “Tijuana has emerged as one of Mexico’s main legal battle grounds.”
Animal rights advocates want the ban to become permanent. But Tijuana’s passionate community of taurinos are determined to reverse it.
This Is the End for the U-T En Español
The San Diego Union-Tribune will no longer print a Spanish edition in the new year.
The paper’s deputy editorial and opinion editor, Laura Castañeda, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the last issue of the U-T En Español would be published on Dec. 30.
“No announcements will be made to the community,” she wrote.
The U-T En Español was published on Saturdays and it was a free paper. Its stories ranged from news to culture and Latino issues.
In Other News
- San Diego police arrested three teenagers for a series of armed robberies at 17 convenience stores. (NBC7)
- The California Coastal Commission recently approved a plan to add more affordable housing and create a buffer zone to separate Barrio Logan residents from pollution created by the nearby shipping industry. (CBS 8)
- Fox 5 reports that 90,000 asylum seekers have gone through the San Ysidro port of entry since the feds launched the CBP One online app program this year. The app allows migrants to make online appointments for interviews with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Rep. Mike Levin and others in Congress have introduced a bill that could potentially give $60 million annually to preserve natural habitats in Encinitas, Solana Beach and Oceanside (Union-Tribune)
- The show will carry on. A judge has decided that there are no municipal codes that bar Petco Park from hosting a rodeo. The rodeo is set to take place starting Jan. 12. (ABC10)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Hannah Ramirez. It was edited by Scott Lewis.