San Diego, CA
Dozens of San Diego city workers face termination for failing to comply with COVID-19 testing requirement
Dozens of metropolis of San Diego workers who agreed to bear weekly COVID-19 testing as an alternative of getting vaccinated might be fired for failing to adjust to the testing requirement, metropolis officers mentioned.
The group of workers consists of as many as 20 San Diego cops, in response to the police union, which mentioned any terminations would pressure the already short-staffed police pressure.
Neither the town nor the San Diego Police Division would verify what number of officers obtained superior notices of termination, step one within the metropolis’s termination course of. Metropolis and police officers mentioned they have been unable to offer a complete for officers due to state legal guidelines that guard officers’ personnel info.
Apart from the police company, 34 workers from different departments obtained notices. The group, in response to the town, consists of 14 workers with the Municipal Workers Affiliation, which represents the town’s white-collar employees; 13 workers with Native 127 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, which represents largely blue-collar employees; and 5 workers with San Diego Firefighters Native 145.
Nicole Darling, director of the town’s communications division, mentioned the workers got a number of alternatives to adjust to the testing requirement. Town provides free on-the-job testing.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s employees mentioned his workplace was unavailable to remark Wednesday. Gloria informed KPBS a day earlier that it will be regrettable to must terminate workers, though he expressed hope that they might comply.
“I feel we have now been exceedingly affected person with these of us,” the mayor informed KPBS. “We have now labored on this on a person foundation to grasp the place they’re at and what the issues are.”
Town created a testing requirement after granting spiritual and medical exemptions to its mandate to lots of of workers. As of Wednesday, the town had granted exemptions to about 1,000 workers, together with almost 420 cops.
Most metropolis workers — about 90 p.c of the town’s workforce — are absolutely vaccinated.
Town put in place its vaccine mandate final yr regardless of robust opposition from some workers. Many officers and firefighters particularly have been vocal about their opposition and known as for a testing various.
In response to the notices of termination, the San Diego Police Officers Affiliation famous that the town misplaced lots of of officers — greater than 230 — within the fiscal yr that ended June 30. That was the best separation complete the division has seen in additional than a decade.
“This important and fast departure of officers has put large pressure on our division, making it tougher for officers to answer calls, implement group policing, tackle quality-of-life points and usually shield public security,” the police union mentioned in a statement shared on Twitter.
Firing some 20 cops could be like “pouring gasoline on a fireplace that’s already burning uncontrolled,” the union mentioned.
Many workers have objected to each COVID-19 vaccines and checks by insisting their Christian beliefs instruct them to not use testing swabs as a result of they include ethylene oxide, in response to KPBS. The chemical is a recognized carcinogen however is just not truly current on the swabs — it’s used to sterilize them. KPBS reported that medical and non secular consultants say the workers’ claims are groundless.
In response to the town, workers who obtained superior notices of termination shall be given the chance to adjust to the testing requirement or attraction the notices.
The notices mark the second time the town issued superior notices of termination over its vaccine mandate. In January, the town despatched notices to workers who had not gotten vaccinated, requested an exemption or taken one other motion to adjust to the mandate. Knowledge later confirmed that many workers complied after the town issued the notices.
Evacuations were ordered by first responders Thursday afternoon after a brush fire began burning in East County near where state Routes 125 and 54 intersect.
By 12:30, officials said, the flames in Spring Valley had charred just one acre near the Jamacha Boulevard exit of the freeway, but the fire spead significantly in the following hour.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in some areas, including at Leigh Avenue and Spring Canyon Drive, but a map of the nearby residential neighborhoods that have ordered out was released (see below).
Cal Fire has two firefighting helicopters at the scene, assisting the San Miguel Fire & Rescue with its ground crews deployed to the incident, according to Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette.
Evacuees have been told they can meet at the gym at Mt. Miguel High School, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Check back for updates on this breaking news story — Ed.
When the San Diego Asian Film Festival gets under way next Thursday it will mark 25 years of artistic achievement and a quarter-century of growth into an international event.
That growth, says Alex Villafuerte, executive director of the festival-presenting Pacific Arts Movement, has been the result of “grit and determination. Lee Ann Kim assembled a great team that took the festival through its formative years. From there it became an institution that filmmakers from around the world look to to showcase Asian cinema.”
“That very first year, in 2000, we were in classrooms and auditoriums at (the University of San Diego). We’ve grown to a 10-day festival now showing 170 films, making us one of the largest showcases of Asian cinema in the country.”
This year’s festival, with screenings at Regal Edwards Mira Mesa and at the Museum of Photographic Arts at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park among other venues, will include films from 35-plus countries in 40-plus languages. The schedule is comprised of full-length features, shorts, documentaries, classics and more.
The opening-night screening at the San Diego Natural History Museum will be of “Cells At Work!”, Hideki Takeuchi’s live-action adaptation of a popular manga series by Akane Shimizu. Takeuchi will be on hand for a discussion after the 7 p.m. screening.
For star power, look no further than Yen Tan’s “All That We Love,” screening Nov. 10 and starring Margaret Cho. “It’s a film about a divorcee whose family dog passes and she uses that to reassess her relationship in her life,” said Villafuerte.
That film comes with a note of symmetry: Director Tan had once been a volunteer graphic designer for the SDAFF, and comedian Cho was part of the very first festival 24 years ago. For details, visit sdaff.org/2024.
Theater
Another comedian and another pioneer in the business, Joan Rivers, is the focal point of a world premiere play by Daniel Goldstein at South Coast Repertory Theatre, just north of us in Costa Mesa. It’s simply titled “Joan.”
The production running through Nov. 24 and starring Tessa Auberjonois is part of South Coast Rep’s “American Icon” series, and Rivers was certainly that. This is not a one-person show re-creating Rivers’ act. It’s a full-cast play that concerns itself not only with Rivers’ career but with her life as a mother, to Melissa Rivers.
That it’s advised that the play contains “adult language” should come as no surprise.
Gospel music
Kirk Franklin has been performing his brand of urban contemporary gospel for decades and has earned 20 Grammys along the way. In case you’re wondering where he’s been lately, you can catch up with Franklin when his “Reunion Tour” comes to SDSU’s Viejas Arena on Saturday night.
Franklin, now 54, is bringing some special guests with him: Yolanda Adams, the Clark Sisters, Marvin Sapp and Fred Hammond. The presence of Adams on the bill is a special treat for those who are already fans of the performer known as the “Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music.”
Tickets start at $36 and go up. Way up.
Book event
San Diego’s women authors will be celebrated on Monday at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park, when the museum’s “Community Mondays” program teams up with the San Diego Writers Festival for an event titled “Women Powered.”
Besides a book fair, the evening is a launch party for poet Jane Muschenetz and her collection “Power Point.” The free event runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is required at sandiegowritersfestival.com.
Movie screening
It takes a lot to get me to a movie theater at 11 o’clock in the morning. It takes a lot to get me to do almost anything (besides working) at 11 o’clock in the morning. But with Mel Brooks’ classic “Young Frankenstein” being currently unavailable on either Netflix or Prime Video, I’m tempted to head to Media Arts Center San Diego’s Digital Gym Cinema on Saturday.
That’s when, at 11 a.m., “Young Frankenstein” will be screened, an event in partnership with the San Diego Public Library. Brooks’ 1974 spoof of Mary Shelley’s 1818 horror story is the best film he ever made and it features iconic comic performances from a great cast led by two gone too soon: Gene Wilder and Madeleine Kahn. Marty Feldman’s Igor and Cloris Leachman’s Frau Blucher are also unforgettable, as is Peter Boyle as the monster and Gene Hackman in a side-splitting cameo as a blind man serving soup and a cigar for that same monster.
U-T arts stories you may have missed this week
UCTV
University of California Television invites you to enjoy this special selection of programs from throughout the University of California. Descriptions courtesy of and text written by UCTV staff:
“Gene Perry & Rumba Ketumba”
Watch the electrifying performance of Gene Perry & Rumba Ketumba recorded at UC San Diego’s Park & Market. Perry, a fixture in San Diego’s music scene since 1974, was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and is a pioneer of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music. His ensemble, Rumba Ketumba, features a vibrant mix of San Diego natives and international musicians. The group delivers high-energy Afro-Latin, Caribbean and Spanish Rumba rhythms that will keep you moving. “Gene Perry and Rumba Ketumba’s extraordinary musical talent and personalities are hard for audiences to resist,” says host Yael Strom, who has collaborated with the group on several groundbreaking cross-genre projects.
“Storytelling for the Screen: ‘The Citizen’”
Writer/director Sam Kadi and actors William Atherton and Rizwan Manji join moderator Juan Campo for an engaging discussion about “The Citizen.” The film tells the story of Ibrahim Jarrah, an immigrant from the Middle East who arrives in New York City one day before the tragic events of Sept. 11. The panel explores their experiences making the film, drawing inspiration from real Arab American stories, and its continued relevance. They discuss themes of citizenship, the immigrant experience, racial prejudice, and the right to protest, as well as the representation of Arab Americans on-screen. “The Citizen” offers a compelling look at the struggles and triumphs of pursuing the American dream in challenging times.
“AI for Security, Security for AI”
How secure are computers, and how does artificial intelligence impact security? In this program, Christopher Kruegel, professor of computer science at UC Santa Barbara, addresses two important questions in security and AI. First, how AI can enhance security? For decades, traditional machine learning models have been used in security solutions, but recent advances in AI are opening up new and exciting opportunities. Second, the security of AI systems themselves. Like any other software, AI systems are vulnerable to exploitation. Given their critical roles, it is essential to secure AI against attacks such as training data poisoning and adversarial inputs. Join Kruegel as he explores both the promises and the vulnerabilities of AI in today’s digital landscape.
And finally, top weekend events
The best things to do this weekend in San Diego: Nov. 1-3.
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