SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — ​There is a debate about how to spend federal funds from FEMA, awarded to San Diego County, which was meant to provide humanitarian services to migrants once they were released from custody.

According to organizations that help asylum seekers, 23,000 people have been released on San Diego streets in the last month alone.

The San Diego region received more than 39 million dollars in funding, with about $19.5 million going directly to the County and the other half to Catholic Charities. The combined total is four million dollars more than the region received last year.

“Which is really a lifeline from the federal government, now importantly the county of San Diego is a new recipient,” Kate Clark, the Senior Director of Immigration Services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said.

The organizations who work with the migrants directly, like Jewish Family Service, say they have ideas on how that money can be distributed. The County has until Friday at noon to present its plan to spend the funds to FEMA, but the organizations say they’ve heard nothing about a plan and they want a seat at the table.

“Our concern is that really the plan that is submitted is not going to be reflective of the work that’s being done on the ground,” Clark said.

The County t

Top picks

Medium Festival of Photography

Visual art, Photography | The 12th annual Medium Festival of Photography kicks off this week, a locally based convening of photographers and photography lovers worldwide. With a keynote from Indigenous photographer Cara Romero, exhibitions, lectures, studio tours, a Tijuana bus tour, receptions, portfolio reviews, pop-up markets and more, it’s a busy week with plenty to stumble upon, even if you don’t have a festival pass.

The festival began in 2012 by an organization called Medium Photo, founded by Scott B. Davis.

“Medium started because I knew a lot of people working in fine art photography who didn’t have a platform for their work, and I myself as a photographer learned the most in my career by hearing other artists speak about their work and by attending educational workshops. And those didn’t exist in San Diego,” Davis said. “I really want to see the community feel a shared love of photography. It’s such a dynamic medium and it reaches people on so many different levels — as a storytelling tool, as a tool for creative expression, as a tool for abstract ideas.”

Photography has transformed significantly since the festival originated. Smartphone camera use is not just more widespread, but the technology is much better today than in 2012. Davis has also noticed a resurgence of analog photography. In addition, artificial intelligence has begun to shape the landscape of photography — and a Medium Festival panel on copyright and AI will attempt to help attendees sort through it.

Festival passes are still available, but some of the events are free and open to the public, or — like Romero’s keynote lecture on Friday evening at the Central Library — are ticketed separately at a lower-cost and don’t require a festival pass.

Details: Event link. Thursday, April 25 through Sunday, April 28. Locations vary.

San Diego Book Crawl and Independent Bookstore Day

Books, Poetry | Independent Bookstore Day is back, and with it, every local book lover’s favorite tradition: San Diego Book Crawl. Here’s how it works: visit and support as many of the 13 participating indie bookstores in San Diego as you’d like. Bonus perks may be yours if you make purchases at each shop. This year’s author ambassador is Susan Lee, and a new addition to the crawl this year is a shuttle service, on Saturday. You can learn more in our interview with Book Crawl organizers here.

Details: Event link. Saturday, April 27 through Monday, April 29. Times and locations vary. Free (purchases required at stores to receive prizes).

‘Afterburner’

Visual art | Named after the afterburner combustion mechanism on jet engines, this exhibit at Oceanside’s Techne Art Center spotlights artists who push boundaries — with materials and form in art. Artists include Jon Elliott, Jack Henry, Robin Kang, Dave Kinsey, Jason Clay Lewis, John Oliver Lewis, Mônica Lóss, Jessica McCambly, Tim Murdoch, Sasha Koozel Reibstein and Allison Renshaw. Curated by Chuck Thomas. You can view samples of the works by some of the participating artists here. Notable are the intricate, charred-looking relief pieces by Dave Kinsey, the sculptural, textile works of Mônica Lóss, the curious and almost candy-like constructions of John Oliver Lewis and the minimal works on paper by Jessica McCambly — but there’s so much to discover from the 11 artists.

Details: Event link. Opens with a reception from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. On view through July 20. Gallery hours are 1-6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 1-5 p.m. Saturday. Techne Art Center, 1609 Ord Way, Oceanside. Free.

‘Madama Butterfly’

Opera, Music, Theater | Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece opera, “Madama Butterfly” returns to the San Diego Opera stage — it was last produced in 2016. The story follows a young woman in Japan, Cio-Cio-San, known as “Butterfly,” who meets an American officer, Pinkerton, falls in love and — so she thinks — marries him. He returns to his American family, while she is left to raise their son alone, awaiting his return. It’s a tragic story, with a gorgeous and quintessential operatic score.

Details: Event link. 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $13-$340.

Art Alive

Visual art | San Diego Museum of Art’s annual spring floral show will be on view this weekend. Floral designers are tasked with interpreting works of art in the museum, and those floral arrangements are displayed near the inspiring art. Don’t miss the kid-friendly activities in the sculpture garden. And of course, there’s the ever-dazzling rotunda display in the museum’s two-story entrance lobby — designed this year by Meghaa Modi, Art Alive’s first international selection for rotunda designer.

Details: Event link. 12-5 p.m. Friday, April 26, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 26-28. San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. $40 for general admission, $5 for guests aged 7-17, or free for museum members.

Sidro Saturdays

Visual art, Music, Food, Theater | This special community arts event in San Ysidro is a great chance to check out the “Invisible Traditions” exhibition at The Front Arte y Cultura Gallery, curated by Katalina Silva and Arzu Ozkal. Plus, between The Front and the nearby El Salon space, you’ll also find live theater performances, music and lots of food, including tacos from Los Pinches Birrieria.

Details: Event link. 12-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. The Front, 147 W San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro. Free.

More arts and culture events this weekend

Adams Avenue Unplugged
Live music, Festivals | Browse the schedule and lineup of bands that will take over bars, cafes, restaurants and performance spaces along Adams Avenue. Event link. 12 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, April 27. Adams Avenue, University Heights, Normal Heights and Kensington. Free (except headliner concert, which is $25). 

Little Italy Mission Fed ArtWalk
Visual art, Festivals | This annual art festival is the longest-running one in the region, and it celebrates its 40th year with more than 250 artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, jewelry and more. Learn about this year’s featured artists here. Event link. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 27; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 28. India St. between Grape St. and Beech St., Little Italy. Free. Free MTS trolley passes while supplies last.

Sazón Live
Dance, Music | Centro Cultural de la Raza will host vibrant performances of Mexican dance along with live music. Event link. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27; and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28. Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2004 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. $15-$90. 

‘Tuck Everlasting’
Theater, Music | This weekend, Coronado Playhouse opens their production of “Tuck Everlasting,” a musical adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s classic book. The story follows 11-year-old Winnie as she gets caught up with a mysterious, immortal family in the woods near her home. Event link. On stage April 26 through May 2. Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way, Coronado. $27.

Twelfth Night Ensemble: ‘The English Orpheus’
Music, Classical | San Diego Early Music Society presents the debut of a new ensemble featuring harpsichordist David Belkovski and violinist Rachell Ellen Wong. The group will perform works by Purcell and Handel. Event link. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27. St. James-by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla. $10-$50.

‘Duruflé Requiem’
Music, Classical, Choral | The San Diego Master Chorale will perform Maurice Duruflé’s 1947 “Requiem” along with works by J. S. Bach, Mark Butler, Benjamin Britten, Felix Mendelssohn and Gerald Finzi. 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 2728 Sixth Ave., Banker’s Hill; and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 28 at St. James-by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla. $10-$35.

Cute lil joint across the road from Sunset Beach and with tentacles across Oahu valued at an astonishing $22.5 mill.

Eight years back Koa Smith, his bros Alex and Travis, and Koa Rothman, opened up a cute lil coffee and bowls joint called Sunrise Shack amid a plumeria farm and just across the road from world famous Sunset Beach.

The initial offering was pretty basic, coffees, tea, papaya bowls, but the place soon blossomed into the most popular eatery on the North Shore with its zeitgeist-y feel-good menu of wellness shots, smoothie bowls, banana bread and avocado toast.

Now, there’s Sunrise Shacks all over Oahu, Waikiki, Ala Moana Center, Kailua, Shark’s Cove as well as Sunset with predicated revenues set to hit five mill this year.

The four wildly handsome Hawaiian-born surfers and models are ambitious as hell.

And y’ain’t gonna become a billionaire by shucking coconuts across the road from Sunset the rest of your life. And, so, after valuing ‘emselves at $22..5 mill, the gang used the crowdfund portal start engine to offer shares in their biz.

One share was set at $7.50 with a minimum buy-in of $240.

A raft of bonuses were set to lure investors with anyone dropping one hundred gees on their Ohana package getting “one of the founders’ signed surfboards, a flight to Hawaii from the US to surf and have a surf lesson with one of the founders, a custom Ohana shirt, an invitation to an investor’s party on Oahu, and 12% bonus shares.”

At the close of the offering on April 16, $786,620 had been raised.

The surfers plan to use the money to expand onto the US mainland.

Koa Smith, meanwhile, a man who is widely regarded “the world’s sexiest surfer” and who ain’t afraid to bareback the biggest waves in the world, is offering seven-day online courses for anyone who might feel a little off kilter.

Smith became qualified to deliver the course after earning a certificate of completion from the charismatic faith healer Joe Dispenza.

The sell is almost as compelling as the Sunrise Shack’s share offer

“Koa Smith is a professional surfer, thirty-second famed barrel rider, entrepreneur and true showman. While his life looks idyllic from the outside; sunshine, nature, travel & nonstop adventure, he struggles to balance it all just like the rest of us.
“Through a severe head injury that left him with crippling depression, the pressure of competition and the bombardment of business demands, he realized that something needed to change. He wanted to take charge of his mental game. In turn, through extensive research and support, he developed a mental exercise routine, something that he commits to every morning.

“A routine that puts him in the driver seat before the chaos of the world even has a chance to make an impression. His mental game changed everything and now he wants to share his morning routine with you. Are you ready to transform your mental game? $37.”

BeachGrit writer Steve Rees paid his thirty-seven dollars and completed the course a few months back. 

“Koa Smith is a genuinely likeable character who is passionate about helping people get right in the head,” reported Rees. “Maybe a grain of salt is needed to digest Koa’s program, all in good fun, etc.”