San Diego, CA
Indigenous leaders from around the world gather in San Diego County to shape the future of sustainability
Members of the Kumeyaay Nation met with Indigenous leaders from around the world this week to discuss Indigenous ecological knowledge and envision how cities can incorporate it into their sustainability plans.
Held in celebration of Indigenous Heritage Week and Native American Heritage Month, the Sustainable Design Forum provided a space for Indigenous people to exchange their expertise on global issues such as wildlife conservation, climate change, deforestation and reef preservation.
The weeklong event featured panel discussions with leaders as well as cultural activities across the city, including a tule boat launch, art displays and a showcase of Indigenous films.
It was organized by San Diego Sister Cities and UC San Diego Global Initiatives and co-hosted by the Kumeyaay and Maasai people, an Indigenous group from Kenya.
The event highlighted the commonalities between Indigenous people across the globe — from the Tembé people of Alto Rio Guamá, Brazil, Ryukyuan people from Okinawa, Japan, to the Noongar and Nhanda Yamaji people from Perth, Australia — in their struggle to preserve their land and ways of life.
“The land that we come from is on both sides of the border: Half is on this side, another half is in Baja California, Mexico,” said Stan Rodriguez, president of the Kumeyaay Community College, to a group during the forum on Thursday.
After having suffered against centuries of colonization, “it’s important for us to keep our identity of who we are as Native people,” he added. “And that struggle is worldwide.”
Other local tribal members were also a part of the forum, including Stephen Cope, the chair of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, and artist Johnny Bear Contreras, who moderated the panel discussion and recently created a living land acknowledgement sculpture installation at San Diego State University.
Several of the international leaders were welcomed to San Diego on Monday at the San Pasqual Reservation Cultural Center in Valley Center, including Walter McGuire, of the Noongar people from Australia, who performed an Aboriginal song using boomerangs as musical instruments.
“This has been a dream to bring us all together,” said Jessica Censotti, the executive director of San Diego Sister Cities, during the welcome ceremony.
Sister Cities International was founded in 1956 by President Eisenhower to establish connections based on “citizen diplomacy” — where residents could collaborate on economic, cultural, educational and community development without the influence of governments.
San Diego’s chapter was created more than 60 years ago and has 24 partnerships in 23 countries. But the Sustainable Design Forum, which has been in the works for nearly two years, is the first Indigenous gathering.
“We didn’t want just city-to-city, government-to-government,” Censotti said. “It was important … to bring Indigenous leaders together to create unity.”
Nashipae Nkadori, a member of the Maasai people of Kenya, said on Thursday evening before the panel discussion that she was most looking forward to sharing how her community is working to improve access to water. Currently, people must often walk 10 miles in the heat for water.
Other Maasai representatives were set to discuss wildlife conservation and how Kenyans can coexist with wild animals outside of designated parks.
“I’m looking to learn from the people who are not from Kenya,” she said, as well as encourage other communities to “join our efforts in some of the work we’ve been doing.”
Nkadori described the Maasai as “the face of Kenya” and noted that the tribe has worked to maintain its cultural traditions and lifestyles amid modernization across the country. But they have been forced to change in some ways.
The Masaai are considered pastoral, living semi-nomadically as they move with their livestock. But over recent years, climate change has led to severe famine and droughts, as well as economic shifts, and families can’t afford to raise as many animals as in the past.
Thousands of miles away in Japan, the Ryukyuan peoples have faced their own challenges.
Gabriel Sink traveled from the island of Okinawa with his sister and Kinjo Koji, a marine researcher who has played a key role in coral transplantation. Coral bleaching, caused by rising sea levels, has devastated large swaths of Okinawa’s reefs.
Sink, 22, said he’s glad to be able to help share Koji’s work on the global stage, especially since Okinawa is a small island and many of its inhabitants, especially those who are older, aren’t tech-savvy.
He’s also grateful to connect with other Indigenous communities that have faced years of oppression yet keep fighting for their languages and cultures.
“It’s so cool that everyone can meet up here,” Sink said. “I feel less alone.”
San Diego, CA
Feeding San Diego explains the impact of high gas prices on fueling fleet & food rescue
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Gas prices in San Diego County have dipped slightly this week.
But the costs it takes to fill up a fuel tank are getting quite pricey for some food banks.
“We kind of have a triple whammy going on with the fuel situation,” Patty O’Connor, Chief Operating Officer for Feeding San Diego, said.
O’Connor said the first big hit with the current gas prices is bringing the food into Feeding San Diego’s food distribution center.
“We bring about 2 million pounds a month here, and a lot of that is, most of that is rescued food, but we still have to pay for the freight that cost us over $100,000 last month just in freight to bring that in,” O’Connor said.
The organization also sends that food out to the community by truck and by van.
“Every day you’ll see our bright orange trucks going out into the community. We do about 25 deliveries a day, but about 480 over the course of a month, and if you can imagine that costs a lot of money,” O’Connor said.
“In fact, last month, that cost us about $32,000 in just fuel costs. We rely on diesel fuel, and that was twice as much as it was a year ago.”
It’s not only more expensive to fuel the trucks delivering the food, but it’s also more expensive to keep what’s inside them cool.
“And then when we’re loading and unloading, we need to make sure that the trucks are running so that we can keep the food food-safe. So that’s a whole other part of this process that we are managing,” O’Connor said.
Feeding San Diego told ABC 10News they’ve heard from some partners that are on the food rescue side of things that it’s more expensive to drive to pick up those products. So they’ve been able to give some of those partners gas cards to pay for their gas to get food to the community that needs it.
“We look to the community to support us, and so far, um, San Diegans are generous, and they have been generous, and we really do need to continue that generosity so that we can support the struggling families throughout the county,” O’Connor said. “And whatever we can do to support those families, we are going to do so.”
Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block
by City News Service | Times of San Diego
Some library and recreation center hours and December Nights support were restored in Mayor Todd Gloria’s revised Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Wednesday, but city funding for the arts could still be gutted.
Gloria was joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning to announce changes to his initial proposed budget, released last month. He added “targeted protections” of certain neighborhood priorities and maintained police and fire service levels while arriving at a balanced budget.
Proposed additions include protecting rec center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, represented by Henry L. Foster III, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera, respectively.
Read more
The Learning Curve: He’s San Diego Unified’s Next Trustee – No Race Needed
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
The primary is still nearly a month away. The general election is even further out. Still, it’s already clear that Hayden Gore will be San Diego Unified’s next trustee. That’s because he’s running unopposed to fill the seat left open by current Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to run for re-election.
Though he’s a political newcomer, Gore was the early choice of San Diego Unified’s union. In fact, he was recruited by the former president of the San Diego Education Association to run for the seat.
It’s not hard to see why. He’s an avowed progressive and a longtime educator who led the then-newly formed union at High Tech High to its first contract. Exactly the kind of resume that would have SDEA champing at the bit.
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Join Us Friday, July 17, 2026 for the 11th Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Institute
By RJS Law
The Institute is the premier annual tax event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, enrolled agents (EAs), certified public accountants (CPAs), law and business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in trust, estate planning, and tax matters.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, July 17, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Theatre
5555 Marian Way, San Diego, CA 92110
EVENT STATUS
Open to the Public
Read More
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For many families, libraries are a safe space for kids after school and a place to study.
After community outcry, the city is scaling down some of its proposed budget cuts, bringing the original $6.3 million in cuts to libraries down to $4.8 million.
Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD, said the change is a step in the right direction.
“We are very pleased. I think this moves the needle in the right direction.”
Mayor Gloria’s revised budget proposal restores funding focused on youth-centered programs, which includes bringing back library hours in Council Districts 4, 8, and 9 — those in underserved communities.
“This is City Heights and San Isidro, Barrio Logan, and Oak Park, and traditionally, those are smaller branches. And the kids and the families in those communities frankly, they use their library very differently than in a lot of other communities, and it’s a lifeline to them,” said Stewart.
The City Heights library is among those included in the mayor’s revised budget to restore funding. While library officials say this is a good first step, there is still concern about long-term financial challenges.
In order to voice concerns about how deep the cuts go, the Library Foundation has created a way for supporters to express that through postcards. Thousands of cards have been mailed directly to Mayor Gloria and councilmembers.
Stewart said the effort is making an impact.
“They’re seeing that this is hundreds and hundreds of people that are taking this very seriously, so it helps them to know immediately what their community feels like when it comes to these proposed cuts,” he added.
The restored funding would also keep Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and protect the North Clairemont Library branch from closure.
Library officials remain optimistic as the revised budget heads back to the City Council.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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