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The dust has settled from San Diego’s frantic search to fill its massive $118 million budget shortfall.

Mayor Todd Gloria’s initial budget proposed sweeping cuts to libraries, parks, recreation centers and city arts programs.

But the San Diego City Council’s final budget — with the help of some creative money shuffling  — restored some of that funding.

With the budget battle over, residents now can review how the solution city leaders landed on will affect them. Here’s the impact on your community services once the budget takes effect July 1:

Which library branches will see reduced hours

Six libraries will have reduced hours: Central, along with branches in University Heights, Allied Gardens, La Jolla, Point Loma and Rancho Bernardo.

In all, San Diego has 36 branch libraries and the main Central Library.

Excluding University Heights and Allied Gardens, these libraries will deal with their cuts by opening only for half days on Saturdays. That will bring these libraries from operating 51 hours a week down to 47 hours.

University Heights and Allied Gardens will eliminate their Monday hours entirely. That will bring their weekly hours down from 51 to 42.5.

Seventeen other libraries across the city will maintain the same operating schedule of Tuesday through Saturday, totaling 42.5 hours.

The mayor proposed reducing library hours in North Park, Mira Mesa and Linda Vista. Those branches will remain open for 51 hours a week after the council’s revisions.

List of rec centers with fewer hours

Thirteen recreation centers will see their operating hours cut from 60 hours a week down to 40:

• La Jolla
• Ocean Air
• Pacific Beach
• North Clairemont
• Ocean Beach
• Canyonside
• Carmel Mountain Ranch/ Sabre Springs
• Hilltop
• Rancho Bernardo Glassman
• Scripps Ranch Community
• Kearny Mesa
• Allied Gardens
• Tierrasanta

Three other rec centers will be reduced to 40 operating hours a week, but their cuts will be smaller, because they already had less than 60 operating hours per week:

• Cabrillo
• San Carlos
• Serra Mesa

Rec centers in districts 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 were all facing reductions to operating hours. Each district saw at least one center restored to 60 hours, except for District 7.

The mayor proposed cutting operations for another nine recreation centers to 40 hours per week, but the final budget maintained their 60 weekly hours: 

• Carmel Valley
• Pacific Highlands Ranch
• Robb Athletic Field
• Canyonside
• Doyle
• Gil Johnson Mira Mesa
• Hourglass Field
• Nobel Athletic Fields
• Standley

In the May revised budget from the mayor, he proposed that these facilities have their hours reduced to 40 hours a week.

The following rec centers — located in districts 4, 8 and 9, the lowest-income areas of the city, as well as District 3 — will see no change in operating hours:

• Adams Recreation Center
• Azalea Recreation Center
• Balboa Park Activity Center
• Bay Terraces Community & Senior Center
• Black Mountain Multipurpose Center
• Chollas Lake Park
• City Heights Recreation Swim & Tennis Center
• Colina Del Sol Recreation Center
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center
• Encanto Recreation Center
• Golden Hill Recreation Center
• Dolores Magdaleno Memorial Recreation Center
• Mid-City Gymnasium
• Montgomery-Waller Recreation Center
• Morley Field Sports Complex
• Neal Petties Mountain View Community Center at Neal Petties Mountain View Community Park
• North Park Recreation Center
• Paradise Hills Recreation Center
• Park de la Cruz Community Center
• Penn Athletic Field
• Presidio Recreation Center
• Col. Irving Salomon San Ysidro Community Activity Center
• San Ysidro Teen Center
• San Ysidro Larsen Field Community Center
• Silver Wing Recreation Center
• Skyline Hills Recreation Center
• Robert Egger Sr. South Bay Recreation Center
• Southcrest Recreation Center
• Stockton Recreation Center
• Willie Henderson Sports Complex

San Diego has 60 rec centers across the city.

How much money is there for arts funding?

The city partially preserved arts funding thanks to an agreement with the private Prebys Foundation. The agreement will help fund community events and arts programs, but it represents less than what was available in the current fiscal year through the city’s three main grant programs.

This year, the city doled out $11.8 million in arts-related grants. Next year, there will be around $9 million available — including $3 million from Prebys and nearly $6 million from the city. 

The budget also included $50,000 for each council district to award through arts, culture and community festivals grants. Each district has another $100,000 available in a second pot called community programs, projects and services funds.

Each councilmember can award funds from both pots to programs of their choosing.

The city and the Prebys Foundation have yet to determine how they’ll distribute grants. Officials have said Prebys will not give money to the city to hand out — the organization will deliver grants directly.

Councilmember Kent Lee, who helped spearhead the public-private partnership, said grant recipients will get less than they received in the past.

“But, now, for one, they will know they get something,” he said. “And two, it will be more predictable,” Lee said. 

“All of these organizations went through this entire process already,” he said. “They were just waiting for a budget amount to determine what their funding would be when the mayor was proposing we give nothing,” 

Katie Lowe survived a helicopter crash during the popular off-roading race in Mexico called the Baja 500.

Lowe was flying in the chase helicopter when it crashed during a refueling incident.

Katie is deeply grateful everyone survived and for everyone who helped them along the way.  

As a team air medic for the Baja 500 race, Katie Lowe never thought her crew would be in need of medical assistance.

“Unfortunately, we were the ones that got injured,” Katie Lowe said.

“There were strong winds,” Edwin Lopez who witnessed the crash said. “I believe that played a huge factor in them spinning.”

Edward Lopez runs the helicopter fueling base. He watched from the ground as the disaster unfolded.

“They just went up in the air again and that’s when we noticed the spinning going on and them hitting the ground,” Lopez said.

Katie said as the helicopter was swept up, she looked to brace herself.  

“I just have never felt that before, not knowing whether or not I was going to live or die so it was pretty scary and I’m just grateful to be alive.” Katie said. “I felt like I couldn’t take a deep breath because or catch my breath because every breath I took was so severe.”

Lopez remembers the helicopter crashing to the ground and rolling over. Upon seeing the pilot bleeding from his head, she said her medical instincts kicked in.

“But once I clicked out, I landed on my hands and knees and I went to try to go over towards him and the pain in my back was just so severe,” Katie said.

“As that’s happening, we’re already running towards them,” Edward Lopez said.

Lopez was among the rescue team that pulled them to safety.

Once they turned off the engine, they pulled both of them out of the helicopter. Katie and the pilot were both flown back to Brownfield Airport where her husband Mike was waiting for her.

“We’re incredibly grateful for everything that everyone did to take care of her and get her home,” Lowe said.

Katie sustained compression fractures to her T7 and T8 vertebrae, along with a rotator cuff tear, and a labrum tear.

The pilot also sustained a laceration in his forehead and a broken nose.

Katie said they’ve been checking in on each other every day.

“I just feel lucky to be alive,” Lowe said.

Katie said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Katie said she’s overwhelmed with the love and support she’s received from friends and the community.

Now she’s focused on getting an adjustable bed to begin her road to recovery and she said any help from the community would be much appreciated.