San Diego News Fix

Drugs are a problem in San Diego County jails. According to a study by Analytica Consulting, a person incarcerated in a San Diego jail is twice as likely to die from a drug overdose than a person in another California jail.

Restaurants near the beach will soon have to rethink their outdoor dining setups. The California Coastal Commission approved a new regulation Wednesday that would require coastal restaurants to replace any parking spots they take up on city streets. Lori Weisberg covers tourism and hospitality at the U-T.

There's good news and bad news when it comes to gas. Gasoline prices are at their lowest prices this year, but natural gas, the stuff that heats homes, is up. Rob Nikolewski covers energy at the Union-Tribune.

Tijuana photojournalist Margarito Martínez was killed outside his home on Jan. 17. Almost a year later, partial justice has been served, as two men were charged with his murder in Baja California state court. A third suspect is taking his case to trial. Alexandra Mendoza is a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune en español.

The green bins we've heard so much about will start making their way to San Diego homes starting in January. The bins are meant to collect food scraps and yard waste for composting, as mandated by a new California law.

My guest this week is Justin Brooks, director and co-founder of the California Innocence Project. The Innocence Project provides free legal services to the wrongfully convicted. It was founded in 1999 at the California Western School of Law here in San Diego, and it has freed many people from prison, as well as trained hundreds of law students. Brooks is the author of the upcoming book "You Might Go To Prison, Even If You're innocent," which comes out in April 2023 and is available for pre-order now. One of his cases is also portrayed in the feature-length film "Brian Banks," about a high school football star whose NFL dreams are dashed by a false conviction. In this interview, Justin shares the origins of the Innocence Project, we talk about problems with the system, about his new book and more. Here's our conversation. 

On Dec. 7, the nation observed National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It was 81 years ago that a surprise aerial attack by Japan pushed the U.S. into World War II. Union-Tribune feature writer John Wilkens, enterprise editor Kristina Davis, managing editor Lora Cicalo; and publisher and editor Jeff Light discuss how San Diego has embraced the memory and meaning of Pearl Harbor, and how our newsroom covers that day.

Coronavirus hospitalizations are on the rise throughout the nation, and the same goes for San Diego County. Paul Sisson covers health at the Union-Tribune.

This summer, an alleged gang rape case involving SDSU football players and a then-17-year-old girl was reported by the Los Angeles Times. Since then, it's been one of the most watched criminal cases in the county. Wednesday, the San Diego County District Attorney announced it will not file charges. Union-Tribune reporter Lyndsay Winkley has been covering this story.

Dec. 7 is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, in honor of the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On this day in 1941, 2,403 service members and civilians were killed during a Japanese attack on the area. Tom Foreman is 101 years old, and is a retired U.S. Navy service member who lives in Escondido. Foreman was stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. He was out to sea on a ship and returned to witness the devastation.

After 34 years, sports editor Jay Posner is retiring. Jay started the job ion 1989 as a reporter. Since then, he's covered all things San Diego sports related. He even had a stint as editor of the arts & entertainment section. In this interview, Jay talks about his career highlights, his 15 minutes of fame after appearing in a viral video, the best and worst reader mail he's ever received and more.

​Meet Ron Salisbury, the city of San Diego's first-ever poet laureate. Ron served as poet laureate from 2020 through this year, writing poems and acting as an ambassador to the art form city-wide. Ron has had an amazing and storied life. Ron has been a casino pit boss in Las Vegas, an investment banker in San Francisco, a coffee shop owner in Sonoma, and of course, a poet and a teacher of poetry for more than 40 years. He also has numerous bachelor's and master's degrees. In this conversation, we talk about understanding poetry versus writing it, how he fell in love with poetry as a child, and stick around to the end to hear him read a poem about baseball. Here's our conversation.

A county hotel voucher program known as the Regional Homeless Assistance Program had been running and expanding for about two years with little controversy until El Cajon recently blamed it for a surge in homeless people, crime and drug use. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained years-worth of data detailing arrests and calls for service at seven hotels in El Cajon. Union-Tribune homelessness reporter Gary Warth, East County reporter Blake Nelson, managing editor Lora Cicalo; and publisher and editor Jeff Light discuss what they found.

Latino and LGBTQ activist Nicole Murray Ramirez is living San Diego history, and this weekend, he'll get an honorary street name to prove it. Starting Saturday, Dec. 3, the corner of Harvey Milk and Centre streets in Hillcrest will be known as Nicole Murray Ramirez Way.

The holidays are here and so are a ton of holiday events around the region. Abby Hamblin is the community guides editor at the U-T.

After 37 years, arts & entertainment columnist Karla Peterson is retiring from the Union-Tribune. In her time here, she covered pop culture, Comic-Con, the community and more. This week is Karla's last week with the newspaper. She joined me today to reflect on all she's done.

In San Diego County, 1 in 4 residents are nutrition insecure. The issue has improved slightly since 2021, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Anahid Brakke is the President & CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.

In the past two years, the number of homeless people using hotel vouchers in El Cajon has skyrocketed. The numbers went from one or two in years prior to just under 250 in 2021 and more than 600 at one point in 2022.

It's hard to believe it, but the holidays — and shopping season — are upon us. To help you with gift-giving, the Union-Tribune arts & entertainment team has created a guide to the best presents to give this holiday season. It includes recommendations for books, beer, sports, music and more. Michael Rocha is the digital creative director at the U-T.

Saturday night at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, five people were killed and several others injured by a lone gunman. The victims are Ashley Paugh, Raymond Green, Kelly Loving, Daniel Davis Aston and Derrick Rump, according to the Gazette newspaper. Reporters Teri Figueroa and David Hernandez have been following this story.