Two San Diego City Councilmembers on Thursday denounced hate amid a rise in hate crimes in the city, state and country, offering tools and resources to report incidents and support victims.

Councilmembers Raul Campillo and Stephen Whitburn met Thursday during United Against Hate Week.

“In District 3, we’ve seen targeted attacks on our LGBTQ+ community and businesses, a stark reminder that hate has real and harmful impacts on our friends, neighbors and loved ones,” Whitburn said. “We cannot and will not allow hate to divide us or undermine the inclusive values that define our city.”

Following a post-pandemic spike in crime in 2021, rates of both violent and property crime in the city and state have declined. Not so for hate crimes, which have increased significantly from that date. According to a San Diego Association of Governments report, the number of incidents had grown from 81 in 2021 to 96 in 2022 and 133 in 2023 — a growth of 64%. The number of victims too has increased by 48% since 2021.

The top motivation for hate crimes in 2021 was race, making up about 70% of the incidents, followed by sexual orientation and religion. However, in 2023 — and displayed in quite a few incidents so far in 2024 — the percentage of crimes motivated by sexual orientation and religion have increased — from a respective 22% and 7% in 2021 to 31% and 24% in 2023.

Earlier this month, a 19-year-old man accused of carrying out a string of pellet gun shootings targeting the LGBTQ+ community in Hillcrest pleaded not guilty to battery charges and hate crime allegations.

Hernan Garduno Hernandez is accused in three separate gel pellet shootings on six victims along University Avenue on the night of Sept. 7.

That night’s first attack happened around 9:40 p.m., when a group of friends standing outside the Burger Lounge restaurant were fired on. Three of the victims were struck in the arms and legs.

About 15 minutes later, an employee of Urban Mo’s Bar & Grill was outside when he was hit by a gel pellet, according to the case prosecutor. Twelve minutes later, a couple walking out of Urban Mo’s were struck in their upper bodies. The couple saw a car drive past and heard laughter coming from the vehicle, she said.

The attacks happened in Hillcrest, the center of San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community.

Whitburn and Campillo today gave a nod to California vs. Hate, a free and confidential online and phone hotline available in over 200 languages that allows people to report hate incidents and receive support — including legal, financial, mental health and mediation services, a statement from the councilmen read.

“Unfortunately, recent data has confirmed what our communities have already felt firsthand: hate is on the rise in San Diego and across the nation,” Campillo said. “By reporting hate incidents using tools like California vs. Hate, we end the normalization of behavior that truly has no place in San Diego or anywhere else.”

San Diego County is not alone in seeing a rise in hate. Gov. Gavin Newsom has acknowledged the problem and maintains the state is on the leading edge to address it.

“In California, we’re coming together in solidarity to say no to the division and hate,” he said. “From United Against Hate Week to cutting-edge anti-hate programs, we’re leading the nation in the fight against hate. We’re not going back and we’re not giving up. We’re committed to a California for all.”

After clinching a playoff spot on Tuesday, the streaking San Diego Padres will start pursuing their next goal in a Wednesday night game at Dodgers Stadium.

RHP Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.42 ERA) will make his final start before the postseason for the Padres and RHP Jack Flaherty (13-7, 3.10), who is limiting opposing hitters to a .233 average, will start for the Dodgers.

Game time is 10:10 p.m. EDT and you can watch it on the MLB Network or live stream it on ESPN+, fubo TV (add-on, FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (add-on, FREE trial) or Sling TV (add-on discount).

Manny Machado started a game-ending triple play and the Padres (91-66) clinched a postseason berth Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the three-game series against the Dodgers. Jake Cronenworth hit an early two-run homer for the streaking Padres, assured at least a National League wild card with five games left in the regular season.

They moved two games behind NL West-leading Los Angeles (93-64), with two games remaining in their critical series at Dodger Stadium.

The second-place Padres have won four in a row and nine of 10. San Diego owns the tiebreaker against Los Angeles with an 8-3 record in head-to-head matchups.

“We’re going to enjoy tonight, enjoy this game, enjoy the celebration,” Machado told reporters afterward, “but the job’s not finished yet.”

The Dodgers’ magic number remained four to clinch the division title.

• WATCH: MLB Network or live stream it on ESPN+, fubo TV (add-on, FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (add-on, FREE trial) or Sling TV (add-on discount)

San Diego’s win came in front of 50,369 fans who created a playoff atmosphere for the opener of the huge three-game series. They chanted “MVP! MVP!” at Shohei Ohtani while mercilessly booing Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

“How much better in a tough spot than with Ohtani in the on-deck circle we turn a triple play to end the game against one of the best teams in baseball?” Machado said.

The Dodgers scored once in the ninth inning to cut their deficit to 4-2, and had runners at first and second when Miguel Rojas hit a sharp grounder to Machado at third base. The former Dodger stepped on the bag and went around the horn for a triple play that ended it.

“We’ve got to give Manny credit,” Roberts said. “He made a heck of a play.”

The Dodgers hit into two double plays earlier in the game.

San Diego’s celebration was delayed when the Dodgers challenged the out call at second base, but the ruling was upheld following a replay review.

“It’s shocking,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the ending. “It’s the least likely outcome.”

Changing climate conditions are affecting our health, lives and economy. Just consider what San Diegans endured over the last year.

In recent weeks, a prolonged heat wave kept temperatures in the three-digit range, toxic smoke migrating from wildfires up north prompted air quality alerts, and area hillsides thick with dry brush caught fire. In January, nearly 1,200 people were displaced from flooding after 150 billion gallons of rain fell in six hours.

Natural disasters like these are expected to increase, putting this region at risk. Fortunately, many are working hard on proven solutions to these challenges along with rising sea levels and shrinking drinking water supplies.

Proposition 4 gives us a chance to invest in solutions now to prevent paying more when disaster strikes. This is why, as a scientist and a career firefighter, we urge you to support Proposition 4 on the November ballot.

To prevent wildfires and toxic smoke, Proposition 4 provides $1.5 billion to create fire breaks near communities, improve forest health, harden homes from wildfire, support specialized firefighting equipment, and deploy early detection and response systems. This is critical, considering four of the state’s top 20 deadliest wildfires occurred in San Diego County — destroying thousands of homes and filling the sky with smoke and ash.

To protect access to safe drinking water, Proposition 4 provides $3.8 billion to filter contaminants, recharge aquifers, rebuild crumbling water infrastructure and protect watersheds. California is the fifth largest economy in the world and it’s shameful nearly 3.3 million of us live without clean drinking water, where water systems might fail or could potentially fail. More than 36,000 are your neighbors here in San Diego.

Furthermore, Proposition 4 provides $1.2 billion to help communities confront rising seas and eroding beaches. San Diego’s coasts are projected to annually experience 20 days of high tide flooding by 2043 and at least 50 days by 2057. Investment in coastal habitat remains one of the most cost-effective ways to enhance storm protection and handle flood waters. San Diegans have pioneered natural protections, exemplified by the dune restoration at Cardiff State Beach and the wetland restoration at San Dieguito Lagoon. With many local beaches eroding 1 to 3 meters a year, more investments now can help shore up our communities and livelihoods that depend on the coastline.

Many local priorities are funded in Proposition 4, including $170 million for the Salton Sea Management Program, $73 million for the San Diego River Conservancy for watershed and wildfire resilience programs, and $50 million for watershed and water quality projects on the Tijuana and New rivers.

The longer we wait to take action on climate, the greater the consequences and costs.

A new era of megafires has begun. Nineteen of California’s top 20 largest wildfires occurred since 2000. Most burned since 2017, incinerating an area considerably larger than our major cities: equivalent to 17 Los Angeles, or 25 San Diegos, or 183 San Franciscos. From 2017 to 2021, wildfires caused over $100 billion in damages each year and $5 billion in costs to the state.

Wildfires don’t just threaten our communities. Our ability to breathe clean air is at stake. While a quarter of California has a very high or extreme fire threat and more than 25 percent of us live in these areas, wildfire risks impact us all because smoke travels great distances. A recent study found wildfire smoke exposure in California caused more than 50,000 deaths and $400 billion in economic damages between 2008-2018.

Our access to clean drinking water is also at stake. Water supplies are contaminated when watersheds are damaged by wildfire and migrating ash. In a jolt to 27 million Californians, state water officials announced advancing climate change could cause the State Water Project to reduce water deliveries by nearly a quarter over the next 20 years.

The good news is California knows how to tackle big challenges and we have the solutions to stop these conditions from spreading. Through Proposition 4, we can invest in them at scale to protect communities and local economies while keeping costs down for taxpayers and families.

For these reasons, we urge your support for Proposition 4. Let’s protect California and what makes it so special.

Engeman is an oceanography researcher and a member of the San Diego Sea-level Rise Working Group. She lives in San Diego. Anthony is a registered professional forester and former chief deputy director at CAL FIRE now working as a strategic wildfire consultant, and lives in South Lake Tahoe.