Category: Public Safety

  • TRUST Act Moving Toward Passage

    By Adrian Florido One afternoon in late June, about a hundred people, mostly young Latinos, marched to Escondido Police Headquarters. They were kicking off a caravan to Sacramento. “We’re pushing for the governor to sign the TRUST Act this year, because it’s important,” Viviana Gonzalez, an activist and undocumented immigrant, told the crowd. “Communities like…

  • Emerald: Why We Need to Invest in the Fire-Rescue Department

    By Marti Emerald In May, the San Diego City Council scraped together the final dollars needed to build a fire station in Mission Valley. The long-awaited approval gave Fire Chief Javier Mainar a sense of relief. He said he had been waiting for a station in the valley since he first became a firefighter, 30…

  • SD Police Chief Endorses TRUST Act

    By Adrian Florido San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne has endorsed the so-called TRUST Act, a state bill that would limit the ability of local police and sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration agents. The TRUST Act addresses the federal Secure Communities Program. Under that program, immigration agents receive information about people arrested in nearly…

  • Careers for Mid-City Youth Sprout From Unlikely Place

    A nonprofit that helps youth find jobs after being arrested has jumped on the food movement bandwagon. It’s using gardening to teach at-risk youth responsibility and help springboard them into the local food industry. Speak City Heights intern Bianca Bruno speaks to three program graduates whose careers are just beginning to sprout. | Video Credit:…

  • Retiring Assistant Police Chief Reflects On Race, Gangs and the Budget

    Marti Emerald has proclaimed today Lawrence McKinney Day. McKinney is one of three black officers to take a top post at the San Diego Police Department. He retires Thursday. | Video Credit: Nicholas McVicker By Megan Burks Retiring Assistant Police Chief Reflects On Race, Gangs and the Budget, Aired July 30, 2013 on KPBS [audio:http://speakcityheights.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MCKINNEY_rad.mp3]…