San Diego, CA
$17M grant to help hundreds of homeless living along San Diego river
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Hundreds of people living along the San Diego River will be able to transition out of homelessness with the help of outreach teams and a $17 million grant.
ABC 10News stopped by an encampment on the river off Friars Road where Arthur Bowen has lived for three years. The encampment can only be accessed during low tide.
“I mean, who could complain about living on an island in a bungalow, you know?” said Bowen.
Bowen shared he’s been homeless ever since his wife died in Seattle a decade ago.
“I couldn’t stay up there…it was depressing,” he said.
While Bowen says living along the water has some perks, he says trash and debris have become a growing problem.
“It’d be nice if they put a dumpster out here,” he said.
The San Diego River Park Foundation estimates there are 40,000 pounds of trash and debris on the island where Bowen lives.
It’s an environmental problem the foundation is trying to solve compassionately – working alongside homeless outreach teams. And now there’s new state funding to help.
“We’re very excited to see this investment in addressing the root cause,” said Sarah Hutmacher, Chief Operating Officer with the foundation.
Hutmacher explains that $17 million dollars in grant funding was secured last year to help transition an estimated 300 people living along the San Diego River out of homelessness, and those efforts are now underway.
More than $3 million of that funding will go toward the City of San Diego.
“Now, the interesting thing about this grant, which is kind of unique, is that the funding is flexible,” said Matt Hoffman, a spokesperson with the City of San Diego.
Hoffman explains these dollars will go not just towards outreach – but also towards housing and even medical care for unhoused individuals for up to two years.
“And the idea behind that is we don’t want someone to return to homelessness,” he said.
Hoffman says they hope to continue intensive outreach efforts for several months so the encampment can be cleared by the fall.
More than 800 birds and two dogs have been removed from a Valley Center property following reports of neglect, San Diego County’s Animal Services announced Friday.
The 820 birds — including 400 ducks — were removed from the property Thursday. County animal services officers were tipped off by their counterparts in Riverside County after the property owner moved to Valley Center.
After obtaining a search warrant for the property in the 11200 block of Lilac Vista Drive, officers spent about 12 hours removing the animals and transporting them to the county’s Bonita and Carlsbad animal shelters for treatment.
All the animals have been removed, a county statement reads.
“Responding to an operation of this size takes dedication and teamwork,” said Dr. Brie Sarvis, director of county animal services and chief veterinarian. “When we arrived, our officers found birds living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Our staff and partners worked tirelessly to ensure these animals were safe, and we’re now focused on giving each one the care they need to recover.”
Pasadena Humane, Chula Vista Animal Services, County Code Compliance, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and Riverside County Animal Control all provided support for the removal of the animals.
Among the birds rescued were ducks, geese, roosters, peacocks, pigeons, parrots and “possibly additional species,” the county statement read.
Each animal is being evaluated by veterinary staff. San Diego Humane Society will also be providing veterinary support over the next few days to help manage ongoing care needs.
According to the county, the ongoing care of the large number of birds will be supported by the Animal Services Spirit Medical Fund, which supports animals arriving at county shelters with serious medical needs or complicated circumstances.
The public can help by donating to the fund at https://www.sddac.com/content/sdc/das/donate-volunteer/donate.html. Every dollar donated to the Spirit Fund goes directly to animal care — none is used for administrative costs, the county says.
Animal Services will continue to investigate, and next steps in the enforcement process are yet to be determined.
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County saw its six-month streak of a falling unemployment rate come to an end in June, as teachers went on summer recess, but the region still managed to eke out a small net gain in job growth last month. The latest figures from the state Employment Development Department show a jobless rate of 4.4%, up from 3.9% in May, but still lower than the county’s year-ago rate of …
Source link
Letter to the Editor: Apartment Vacancy Rates Paint an Incomplete Picture
By David Malcolm | Voice of San Diego
In last Saturday’s “Politics Report,” Will Huntsberry tackled the thorny issue of apartment vacancy rates (apparently the highest in this century) and the impact on affordability. He also correctly wrote that the city of San Diego needs “strategies beyond build, build, build.”
What’s Really Happening
My company owns and operates apartment rental complexes in San Diego County (San Marcos, Encinitas, La Jolla, El Cajon and South Bay) and in Temecula (Riverside County). Here is what we are seeing.
Base rents are stable … but offers of two months’ free rent are common. That is a de facto 16.7 percent reduction on annualized rents. Reducing base rents is not possible in the face of rent control measures and, even more importantly, bank loan covenants. Thus, concessions like two months’ free rent are not hard to find.
Read more
New study shows promising step forward in improving Parkinson’s treatment
by Nicole Abrams | Times of San Diego
A small molecule was found to increase the benefits and reduce the side effects of the standard drug for Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study from UC San Diego startup called Sinopia Biosciences.
L-dopa or levodopa is the main treatment for Parkinson’s disease, but its benefits wane over time and can cause involuntary movements called dyskinesia. About 90% of patients with Parkinson’s disease develop dyskinesia in 9 or more years of using L-dopa, and 70% develop motor fluctuations in 9 or more years of using the drug, according to the study.
Read More
-
Virginia6 minutes agoWashington DC, Maryland, Virginia storm warnings: Saturday July 18
-
Washington12 minutes agoHouse Budget Committee advances Reconciliation 3.0 amid GOP divisions
-
Wisconsin18 minutes agoDavid Crowley reenters battleground Wisconsin’s Democratic governor primary with Gov. Evers’ backing
-
West Virginia24 minutes agoBrooke County man sentenced to 1 to 15 years for meth distribution
-
Wyoming30 minutes agoDouglas Photographer Captures Historic Black Rancher’s Homestead Under Milky Way
-
Crypto36 minutes agoKaspersky uncovers OkoBot framework targeting crypto wallet users
-
Finance42 minutes agoPersonal Finance: New housing affordability law has promising provisions | Chattanooga Times Free Press
-
Fitness48 minutes ago30-30-30 rule popularizes healthy morning routine – WTOP News
