First, for the first time in two decades parking meter rates will increase in La Mesa. Then, we bring you the latest details around the expansion of Medi-Medi plans. Also, the annual Holiday Bowl for the 1st time ever will happen in January. Lastly, we caught up with a few, top-ranked local birders.
THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY SAYS THE NEW LAWS EXIST THANKS TO LOBBYING EFFORTS PUT FORTH BY AN ALLIANCE OF ADVOCACY GROUPS ONE OF THE NEW LAWS ALLOWS REGISTERED VET TECHS OR ASSISTANTS TO PERFORM ANY MEDICAL TASKS NOT PROHIBITED BY LAW ANOTHER, ALLOWS VET TECHS AT SHELTERS TO ADMINISTER ESSENTIAL THINGS LIKE PARASITE CONTROL OR VACCINATION SHOTS WITHOUT A SUPERVISING VET'S PRESENCEFOR THE FULL LIST OF NEW ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS YOU CAN VISIT SD-HUMANE DOT ORGYOU CAN WIN PRIZES LIKE MOVIE OR MUSEUM TICKETS THROUGHOUTTHIS YEARS THEME OF"EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY" CHALLENGES PARTICIPANTS TO BLEND READINGFrom KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.
Stay with me for more of the local news you need.LA MESA’S PARKING METER RATES WILL DOUBLE TOMORROW, WHEN THE CALENDAR TURNS TO 2026. LAMESAMETERS 1 SOQ“I know $1.50 isn’t much more than 75 cents but if there’s a precedent for just doubling the price…When’s it going to stop?” That’s Sam Hockaday. He paid the meter in downtown La Mesa for a shopping day this week but is wary of rising parking costs across San Diego County.“I feel like in a lot of places it costs the same amount to park as it does to get whatever coffee or meal you’re trying to get and that sucks.” Mayor Mark Arapostathis says the rate hike is needed to cover costs of maintaining and upgrading the meters.“We did unanimously vote to raise the rates, and mostly because all the costs have gone up and technology has changed and we want to try and keep up with that.”Fox SOT “Because our parking is already so inexpensive, I don’t think that it’s going to be that big of a deal.” The parking commission estimates the rate will generate an additional $273,000 in parking revenues per year.NEARLY 1.7 MILLION CALIFORNIANS QUALIFY FOR BOTH MEDICARE AND MEDI-CAL. STARTING IN JANUARY HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAYS A MAJOR EXPANSION WILL BRING COORDINATED CARE OPTIONS TO RESIDENTS OF IMPERIAL COUNTYRight now, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medi-Cal often juggle two plans, two insurance cards, and two sets of benefits.But when they do qualify for both, it can often be hard to navigate the benefits of it. Dr. Ian Neel is a UCSD Health geriatrician. He treats patients in Medi-Medi plans — programs that combine Medicare and Medi-Cal into a single, coordinated plan.San Diego County was among the first to offer Medi-Medi plans. Starting January 1st, Imperial County will join 29 new counties, giving local seniors and people with disabilities access to coordinated coverage for the first time. One of the plans will be offered by the Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley.There’s about fifteen thousand people in the county that could qualify for this. Ultimately, Neel says coordinated care offered by Medi-Medi plans is about helping people stay healthier longer.It’s a way to really say, let’s take patients that we know are frail… and let's get an extra safety net around them.THE HOLIDAY BOWL IS AN ANNUAL SAN DIEGO EVENT WHERE TOP COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS FROM ACROSS THE U.S. COME HERE TO PLAY.BOWLGAME 1 :51 SOCThis year, University of Arizona and Texas’ Southern Methodist University are the two teams going head to head. But the day is about more than on-field action … there are also events downtown – including a 5k run and large parade Friday morning before the game, says Natalie Schneck.“You can expect to see bands from both teams, balloons, floats, there's a lot of local organizations that march in the parade as well.” The holiday bowl game is set to take place at Snapdragon Stadium this Friday, January 2 at 5 pm. Schneck says as of Monday morning there were a little over 3,000 unsold tickets. JA KPBS News.For the first time in more than 20 years, rain is predicted for the Rose Parade tomorrow . But that won’t dampen the spirits of two Carlsbad brothers who will be marching in the Tournament of Roses parade.… composed of high school students from across the country.Music has always been a large part of the Parker Brothers’ lives.NATPOP 7545 12;19;08;05 → 12;19;12;14 “I’ve been playing the flute for 6 years.” And this New Year’s Day, 17-year-old Sem and 15-year-old Tore Parker will be part of the Bands of America National Honor Band at the Rose Parade.“I was really, really hyped because, you know, this is a huge, huge part of the Southern California tradition, really American tradition.”For Tore … it’s the last chance for him to play together with his brother in marching band.SOT 7545 12;20;33;08 → 12;20;47;11 “Part of the reason I'm in the parade, and part of the reason Tore is in the parade is because, you know, we have each other. We're constantly pushing each other in our practice sessions to get better, play faster, play harder, play softer, play nicer.”The Rose Parade steps off at 8 A-M tomorrow. AN/KPBSFOR BIRDERS, A “BIG YEAR” IS WHEN YOU SET OUT TO SEE AS MANY DISTINCT BIRD SPECIES AS POSSIBLE WITHIN A SINGLE YEAR. IT’S PART COMPETITION, PART OBSESSION – AND WINNING THE RACE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY IS A HUGE UNDERTAKING. BIRDING TRT SOQ, bird callsFor a birder, there might be no better place in the United States than San Diego County. This is the big leagues of birding.“San Diego is arguably the birdiest county in the country. The leading birder every year is from San Diego County.”There's Rick Grove -- a semi-retired former superintendent. When we met up in mid-December, he had 390 birds.Grove was my guide on my first-ever birding trip at the San Diego Bird Festival, an experience we documented on The Finest podcast. He was such a master at identifying birds, I couldn't imagine anyone beating him this year. But Dave Trissel was just one bird behind him — And neither was particularly close to first place.The leader – who you can call the Tony Gwynn of birding in San Diego – is Paul Lehman.Lehman's academic background is in geography, but his life has been all about birds.“I did the range maps for many of the field guides that people use of showing where the birds are found all through North America and down through middle America. So birding was a passion, a hobby, a life. But also it was a profession.“Paul is the guy who finds half the birds. The rest, maybe more than half the birds the rest of us chase.” All these top birders go out nearly every morning, usually before sunrise. And they're constantly on call, like firefighters - ready to spring into action when word of a rare bird comes in.“And this morning was a good example of that. Paul put out the word about a thick billed long spur out at Brownfield out in Otay. I was already on the road heading down this way, when I got the word, I turned around and went that way.” They charter boats to explore the ocean, drive to remote corners of the county, and climb mountains -- all to spot rare birds. There's no prize for winning -- just the memories, the bragging rights, and the satisfaction of finding something truly elusive .“It's a competition, but it's, it's a competition with yourself more than really anybody else.”“This community is amazing in that everybody helps everybody and everybody wants everyone to see every bird.” And in February, everyone came together for one spectacular bird – the undisputed highlight of this year in birding.“The Lesser Frigate Bird, which is from the South Pacific…and it's only the fourth or fifth time it's ever been seen anywhere in North America.” That lesser frigatebird was thousands of miles from its natural habitat. One of the most exciting phenomena in birding is the scientific mystery of"vagrants" – birds that migrate to the"wrong" place.We don't know if their compass is, is off…We don't know if these are like the, the pioneers of that species that decided to go west.”Fascinating birds surround us almost anywhere you go in San Diego. and Of course, Trissel, Grove, and Lehman couldn't help but sneak in some birding during our interview. We were at Robb Field in Ocean Beach, and they pointed out a willet — which calls its name in flight — and a black bellied plover — which flies all the way from here to the arctic circle.“See, the willets on the left and the plover is on the right walking to the left. They’re gonna meet!”You don’t need to be an elite birder at the top of the standings to marvel at our feathered neighbors. For me, last year's San Diego Bird Festival was slightly life-changing -- it deepened my appreciation for the mind-blowing nature in our own backyard. That festival is coming up again in February - and you'll have the chance to bird with champions like Grove or Trissel. But all you really need to get started is a walk outside - and the free birding app Merlin helps too“Just look at birds. It doesn't take any equipment, it doesn't take a mentor. The three of us are, we, we look like what you might. Consider birders to look like we're we're old retired white men…And I think it's really important to point out that birding is for everybody.TAG: HEAR MORE FROM RICK GROVE ON THE FINEST. SEARCH THE PODCAST FOR “100 BIRDS IN 1 DAY.”That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing by doing so you are supporting public media and I thank you for that. Have a great day!
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