Whirlpool shares tumbled Thursday after the iconic appliance maker warned that the Iran war triggered a severe downturn, underscoring how sharply higher fuel prices and collapsing consumer confidence are beginning to weigh on big-ticket purchases.

“War in Iran resulted in recession-level industry decline in the U.S. as consumer confidence collapsed in late February and March,” the company said in its earnings filing.

The comments marked one of the starkest corporate warnings yet about the economic fallout from the conflict and contrasted with more resilient spending trends recently highlighted by companies tied to travel and services.

Shares of Whirlpool, a maker of washers, dryers, dishwashers and other home appliances, dropped 12% Thursday.

CEO Marc Bitzer said Whirlpool moved quickly to cut costs and adjust pricing as macroeconomic conditions deteriorated.

“We acted decisively to address pricing and costs in the face of rapid deterioration in macroeconomic conditions,” Bitzer said in a statement. “Now, with Section 232 changes in favor of domestic manufacturers, Whirlpool Corporation is structurally positioned to win with our American-made products.”

The company also slashed its full-year earnings guidance roughly in half, cutting its forecast to a range of $3 to $3.50 a share from a prior outlook of about $6 a share. Whirlpool said it would also suspend its dividend as it prioritizes paying down debt.

Analysts at JPMorgan said the lower earnings outlook was driven by higher raw material inflation, a larger net tariff impact, and weaker price and product mix benefits.

While companies such as Uber and Disney have reported little evidence of consumers pulling back on travel, entertainment and convenience spending, the comments from the Maytag parent suggest strain may be emerging in bigger-ticket categories such as washers, dryers and kitchen appliances.

Consumer confidence, according to a University of Michigan survey, touched a record low at one point in April as the Iran war spiked gasoline prices. The stock market has rebounded since mid-April on hope the U.S. and Iran could come to a deal that ends the fighting. U.S. oil prices are still above $90 a barrel, however, as traders wait to see if a peace proposal can be worked out.

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“We’re still looking at positive growth this year in terms of sales… Much of the recovery will probably be realized [because of] the effects of El Niño,” Ronnie L. Aperocho, Meralco executive vice-president and chief operating officer, told reporters last week.

The revised outlook came after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised its warning status from El Niño Watch to El Niño Alert due to the higher likelihood of the climate phenomenon developing in the coming months.

PAGASA said there is a 79% chance that El Niño will emerge between July and August and persist until early 2027.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon associated with drier-than-usual conditions in parts of the country, which can lead to droughts and dry spells while increasing electricity demand because of warmer temperatures.

For the first quarter, electricity sold by Meralco within its distribution utility business fell by 2% year on year to 12,273 gigawatt-hours, which the company attributed to cooler weather conditions that dampened demand.

“Recovery toward the summer months was tempered by intensified energy conservation measures following the escalation of the Middle East conflict,” Mr. Aperocho said.

He said the company expects sales growth to recover beginning in May amid the potential effects of El Niño.

To help improve energy sales, Mr. Aperocho said Meralco is accelerating and streamlining the energization process for customers applying for new connections.

“In fact, we have energized already more than 1,000 service applications for the month of April. And we will be sustaining this momentum,” he said.

Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving more than 8.1 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga and Quezon.

Its controlling shareholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) expects the proclamation of six new economic zones (ecozones) within the second quarter in key areas like Batangas, Cavite, and Palawan.

“A total of six ecozones are for proclamation this quarter,” PEZA Director-General Tereso O. Panga told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

Two ecozones were already endorsed by the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration (ODESGA) and are awaiting the release of the proclamation order from the President, he said.

These are the Suntrust Ecotown Tanza in Cavite and the Light Industry & Science Park IV – Special Economic Zone in Malvar, Batangas.

Likewise, four ecozones are still being evaluated by the ODESGA, Mr. Panga said.

These include ANFLO Industrial Estate in Panabo, Davao; West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu; Rio Tuba Export Processing Zone in Bataraza, Palawan; and Biz Hub at Lima Estate in Lipa City, Batangas.

Mr. Panga also noted that a mega ecozone in Pampanga is slated for approval by the PEZA Board this year.

The Palawan Mega Ecozone in Puerto Princesa City, which was cleared by the PEZA Board last year, also awaits presidential proclamation.

The President must issue a proclamation to declare a tract of land as a special economic zone or ecozone, as reviewed and endorsed by the PEZA Board.

Under Republic Act No. 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act, ecozones are areas that are considered highly developed or may potentially be turned into an industrial, tourist, agro-industrial, banking, commercial, or investment and financial center.

The agency is looking to proclaim more ecozones in regional areas to help boost countryside development, Mr. Panga said.

“PEZA’s strategy is to spread the creation of ecozones all over the country — particularly in rural and new growth areas to be able to generate investments, jobs, livelihood, exports, increased incomes for LGUs (local government units), and other economic opportunities,” he noted.

Firms operating in a PEZA-registered ecozone can enjoy fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as duty-free importation, tax holidays, and streamlined processes.

So far this year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has proclaimed three ecozones.

These are the expansion of the First Industrial Township-Special Economic Zone  in Tanauan City, Batangas; Ayala Land, Inc.’s Atria Gardens in Iloilo City; and the First Philippine Industrial Park  II expansion in Sto. Tomas City, Batangas.

For the rest of the year, Mr. Panga said 14 more ecozones are in the pipeline for presidential proclamation.

“Maybe we can hit 20 [ecozone proclamations] this year,” he added.

Earlier, PEZA said it is targeting 30 ecozone proclamations this year.

Sought for comment, former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano said ecozones are critical in streamlining firms’ operations as they navigate global trade volatilities.

“Ecozones become especially important during periods of global trade uncertainty because they help reduce many of the day-to-day difficulties faced by investors and exporters,” he said in a Viber message.

Mr. Manzano also cited the need to balance speed in proclaiming new ecozones with the quality of the location. He said authorizing officials must ensure that the area has enough infrastructure, power supply, and long-term economic viability.

“At the same time, it is important that the ecozones should not remain enclaves, i.e., they just import all their inputs and do not use local supplier industries,” Mr. Manzano said.

The latest Treasury data showed payments made by the government for its obligations went down by 7.78% to P169.09 billion in March from P183.36 billion in the same month a year ago.

Month on month, debt service plunged by 60.74% from the P430.64 billion in February.

Debt service refers to the government’s payments on its domestic and foreign debt obligations.

Interest payments accounted for more than half or 57% of the March debt service bill.

The NG’s interest payments rose by 9.38% to P96.38 billion in March from P88.12 billion in the same month a year earlier.

Interest payments on domestic debt stood at P79.71 billion, 24.14% higher than P64.21 billion in March 2025.

Of this total, P47.04 billion went to interest payments for fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P28.23 billion for retail Treasury bonds, and P4.41 billion for Treasury bills.

Meanwhile, interest payments on foreign borrowings declined by 30.26% to P16.68 billion in March from P23.91 billion a year prior.

On one hand, the government’s repayment of its loan principal or amortization stood at P72.71 billion in March, declining by 23.66% from P95.24 billion a year ago.

This came as amortization on external debt dropped by 23.68% to P72.58 billion in March from P95.1 billion in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, principal payments for domestic obligations declined by 7.25% to P128 million in March from P138 million a year prior.

Q1 DEBT SERVICE BILL
For the first quarter, the government’s debt service bill surged by 115.6% to P737.41 billion from P342.02 billion in the same period last year.

Amortization payments in the period jumped by 359.58% to P464.27 billion from P101.02 billion in the first quarter of 2025.

Broken down, principal payments for domestic debt surged to P386.74 billion from P576 million, while those for external borrowings declined to P77.54 billion from P100.45 billion.

Meanwhile, interest payments stood at P273.13 billion in the three-month period, up 13.3% from P241 billion in the same period a year ago.

Interest payments on domestic debt jumped by 18.38% year on year to P211.39 billion in the first quarter from P178.56 billion a year prior.

This consisted of P152.22 billion in interest payments on fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P43.76 billion for retail Treasury bonds, P12.72 billion for Treasury bills, and P2.69 billion in interest payments for other domestic borrowings.

Interest payments on foreign obligations dipped by 1.11% year on year to P61.74 billion in the first quarter from P62.44 billion a year ago.

Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, said debt service payments will likely remain elevated for the rest of the year.

“The pace may vary by quarter, depending on maturity schedules and interest rate movements (but) several indicators point in that direction,” he said, citing rising outstanding debt, frontloaded borrowing, high interest costs and a weaker peso.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas delivered a 25-basis-point (bp) rate hike last month, bringing the policy rate to 4.5%.

“If global and domestic interest rates continue easing later in 2026, the increase in interest expenses could moderate,” Mr. Peña-Reyes said.

“However, because the debt base itself is now much larger, overall debt service obligations are still expected to stay historically high for the remainder of the year,” he added.

The NG’s debt stock rose to a fresh high of P18.49 trillion as of end-March, the latest BTr data showed. This was equivalent to 65.2% of gross domestic product, the highest ratio in 21 years.

Meanwhile, the peso has been trading above P60 for over two weeks. It closed at P60.613 a dollar on Friday, declining by 19.3 centavos from its P60.42 finish on Thursday. It hit a record low of P61.567 on April 29.

“With growth slowing and interest rates still high, debt servicing is getting more expensive, and that’s where the real risk lies,” said Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., in a Viber message.

“Credibility matters: tighter fiscal discipline, faster execution, and growth-enhancing spending. The ceiling may be intact, but markets will be watching whether policy keeps debt manageable in practice, not just on paper,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

ANALYSTS and economic managers are now finding it harder to precisely measure data in their inflation forecasts as rising uncertainty and the faster-than-usual transmission of oil price shocks challenge their models.

University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economist Marco Antonio C. Agonia said analysts like himself typically use historical data and assumed relationships, both of which could still be adjusting to rapid developments from the unprecedented energy crisis.

“The highly uncertain situation tends to throw off forecasts because previous assumptions about the Philippine economy may no longer be as robust,” Mr. Agonia told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.   

Meanwhile, Bank of the Philippine Islands Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said they struggled to identify which items fueled inflation during the war’s first month in March, and which emerged later in April.

“We got most of the inflation items except for the transport component,” he told this paper in a Viber message. “We could not determine which part of the increases were captured in March and which ones kicked in last April.”

Inflation accelerated to 7.2% in April, its fastest pace in more than three years, driven by higher oil prices that pushed up the cost of food — particularly rice — and utilities. This was faster than the 4.1% in March and 1.4% a year earlier.

April was the second consecutive month that inflation exceeded both analysts’ forecasts and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) projections.

The BSP had expected the headline print to come in between 5.6% and 6.4% last month, while a BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts yielded a median estimate of 5.5%.

UA&P’s Mr. Agonia likewise noted that the central bank’s forecasting model may also be “encountering similar constraints.”

Since last year, the BSP has used the Policy Analysis Model for the Philippines (PAMPh) and other workhorse models for economic surveillance, forecasting and informing monetary policy decisions.

The PAMPh uses 290 equations, significantly more than the around 24 used in its older multi-equation model, and assesses more sectors and transmission channels to determine inflation drivers.

“Institutions are now likely revisiting and re-testing their forecasting models and assumptions to account for recent surprises,” Mr. Agonia added.

Under its inflation targeting framework, the central bank noted that inflation could overshoot its 2%-4% target in circumstances such as oil price volatility, where the BSP may have limited control.

Mr. Agonia also noted that oil prices rose more rapidly than during the 2022 energy crisis amid Russia’s Ukraine invasion, further disrupting projections reliant on historical patterns.

“Furthermore, when we tack on the insight that this particular oil price shock progressed much faster than the most recent previous one, namely, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it adds further unknowns that complicate forecasting key indicators,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said traditional forecasting models have difficulty keeping up with constantly evolving price pressures from the energy crisis, with inflation drivers reinforcing each other as they emerge.  

“The challenge is this conflict isn’t a one-off shock — it’s persistent and constantly changing shape,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber. “Price pressures now come in waves through energy, food, freight, insurance, FX (foreign exchange), and even wages, and they reinforce each other.”

Since the United States and Israel’s initial attack on Iran on Feb. 28, the global per-barrel oil prices have jumped to over $100 from about $60-$70 earlier this year.

This translated to significantly higher pump prices for the Philippines, which imports over 90% of its oil from the Middle East.

As of end-April, local fuel retailers sold gasoline for about P72.53 to P104.93 per liter, diesel for P75.93 to P101.96 per liter, and kerosene for P125.39 to P147.98 a liter.

PRICE STABILITY AT RISK
Meanwhile, analysts at Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd. said the Philippines is facing looming price instability, with stagflation risks also rising after growth slowed to a new post-pandemic low of 2.8% in the first quarter.

“Energy supply-driven inflation has already exceeded central bank targets in the Philippines and Vietnam and has reached the upper end in Thailand,” DBS Senior Economist for Eurozone, India, and Indonesia Radhika Rao and Senior Economist for ASEAN Han Teng Chua said in a May 8 note. 

“Price stability could be at risk if upside pressures broaden and trigger second-round effects, reminiscent of the 2022-23 episode,” they added.

This, they noted, should prompt the BSP to stay hawkish with at least 50 basis points (bps) in additional hikes until the third quarter, adding that an off-cycle move is “non-trivial.”

“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is expected to stay focused on containing inflationary expectations and opt to tighten policy levers,” the DBS economists said. “We expect the BSP to hike rates by at least 50 bps between 2Q-3Q26 (risk of an intermeeting hike is non-trivial).”

Analysts at MUFG Bank Ltd., on the other hand, called for 75 bps in rate increases to bring the policy rate to 5.25%.

“We expect the BSP to hike by another 75 bps in our base case, with the timing likely to be earlier rather than later and bringing the key BSP policy rate to 5.25%,” they said in a separate report.

The central bank’s policy rate now stands at 4.5%, following its first tightening move in over two years at its April 23 meeting.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has left the door open for more “modest” hikes as needed to bring inflation back to their 3% target, stressing their commitment to their price stability mandate. 

“For adverse or severe scenarios, inflation could rise to a 7.5% or even as high as 10%, and associated supply shortage would imply a much-decelerated growth, even a recession in (a) severe scenario,” MUFG analysts said. “The extreme inflation would likely make (the) BSP biased toward tightening.”

Faster inflation for imports amid the peso’s recent depreciation against the dollar could also weigh on the economy, especially if the weakness persists, DBS’ Ms. Rao and Mr. Chua also noted.

For MUFG analysts, the local unit could trade between P60.50 to P61.50 per dollar this year, with a likely P62:$1 scenario if domestic and global conditions worsen.

“The Philippines is vulnerable not only because of its high dependence on the Middle East crude oil, but also the weak starting point of growth pre-dating the Iran War,” they noted. “This is in turn driven by fiscal tightening and the flood control projects scandal — reasons unrelated to the Strait of Hormuz — but certainly exacerbated by what’s happening in the Middle East.

The peso plunged to the P61-a-dollar level for the first time last month, even closing at a new historic low of P61.567 versus the greenback on April 29.

On Friday, the local unit fell by 19.3 centavos to close at P60.613 per dollar from its P60.42 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

PHILIPPINE gross domestic product (GDP) likely remained below the government’s 5-6% growth target in the second quarter as higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions continued to dampen domestic demand, analysts said. 

This as the Development Budget Coordination Committee is set to meet this week to review its macroeconomic assumptions following the weaker-than-expected first-quarter performance.

“We expect second-quarter GDP growth to grow moderately between 3% and 3.2% year on year as higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions continue to weigh on domestic demand,” Maybank Investment Bank economist Azril Rosli told BusinessWorld.

Marco Antonio C. Agonia, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), said that he expects “similar, sub-3% growth in the second quarter with traditional growth drivers still under siege.”

If realized, the second-quarter GDP would be slower than the 5.44% growth in the same period in 2025.

However, it could be slightly faster than the 2.8% GDP expansion in the first quarter of 2026, which was the slowest print in five years.

“The bulk of public infrastructure spending will likely only return by the second half of the year, which immediately drags investment formation,” said Mr. Agonia.

Government spending grew by 4.8% in the first quarter, much slower than 18.7% a year ago but faster than the 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, gross capital formation — the investment component of the economy — contracted by 3.3% in the first quarter, a reversal of the 4.5% growth a year ago. Still, this was an improvement from the 9.4% decline in the fourth quarter.

“Household consumption is likely to stay soft as rising transport, food, and utility costs erode purchasing power, while investment activity remains constrained by elevated borrowing costs and ongoing infrastructure implementation delays,” said Mr. Rosli. 

Household final consumption expenditure — a key driver of the economy — grew by 3% in the first quarter, the slowest pace since the 4.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021.

Excluding the pandemic, this was the slowest growth in consumption since 2.6% in the third quarter of 2010.

“Key downside risks include a further escalation in geopolitical tensions, sustained Brent crude prices above $110 per barrel, broader second-round inflation effects, and the possibility of more aggressive BSP tightening,” Mr. Rosli added.

Inflation accelerated to 7.2% in April, breaching the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 5.6%-6.4% forecast for the month.

The BSP has signaled more rate hikes to keep inflation in check after the April print exceeded expectations. Last month, the central bank delivered its first 25-basis-point rate hike in two and a half years, bringing the benchmark policy rate to 4.5%.

“Compounding the issue, the effects of the Middle East war will be felt harder in the second quarter, with all months within it experiencing the brunt of the oil shock and its second-round effects,” said Mr. Agonia.

“Higher inflation and supply disruptions will weigh on consumer and business confidence, dampening spending appetite,” he added.

Following the sluggish first-quarter GDP performance, Fitch Solutions unit BMI slashed its 2026 Philippine GDP growth forecast to 4.2% from 4.7%, while Capital Economics cut its projection to 3% from 3.5%. Pantheon Macroeconomics likewise lowered its estimate to 4% from 4.8%.

SILVER LINING
Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go last week said that the government will boost spending to revive the economy, and downplayed stagflation risks.

“The economic team is totally optimistic that once the war in Iran is over, the growth of our economy will resume its previous path. So, that means we’re looking at the mid 5% levels as soon as all these uncertainties are over,” Mr. Go told Bloomberg News.

Mr. Go also noted that foreign companies are still interested in setting up operations in the Philippines.

“The interest to invest in the Philippines is at an all-time high,” he said. “I don’t think we will have stagflation.”

Mr. Agonia said infrastructure spending could help drive growth in the succeeding quarters.

“The largest bright spot we see would be the resurgence of infrastructure spending by the second half of this year,” he said.

Last week, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that he expects government spending and project implementation to accelerate in the coming months as agencies operationalize their catch-up programs.

A corruption scandal involving flood control projects had stalled government spending, and dampened consumer and investor confidence. Mr. Baliscan had said the lingering effects of the scandal continued to be seen in the first-quarter economic data.

For Maybank’s Mr. Rosli, services activity, remittance inflows, tourism recovery, and resilient electronic exports will continue to support the economy.

“In particular, the ongoing global artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor upcycle could become a meaningful upside driver for Philippine exports given that electronic products account for 54% of total exports,” he said.

“Export growth remained relatively strong at 7.8% year on year in the first quarter despite weaker domestic conditions, supported partly by semiconductor-related demand,” he added.

This growth was driven by a 13.3% expansion in goods exports and a 3% increase in services exports.

However, Mr. Agonia said that although exports could provide a minor favorable tilt, “downside risks in the form of logistics disruptions and a softer global demand outlook are rising.”

“We note that volatility in the peso-dollar rate is shaking exporters’ confidence, constraining solvency and raising input costs,” he said.

Still, Mr. Agonia said that AI-related semiconductor demand could be “one of the few green shoots in the Philippines’ growth picture, with robust performance despite global headwinds.” 

“This may be an opportune time for the Philippines to move up the electronic product value chain and seek out more enduring growth drivers,” he added.

Interstellar travel propelled by light just got one step closer. Light sails, which are huge sheets pushed along by light that bounces off of them, may be the best way to travel enormous distances through space, and now we may have a way to steer them.

“We knew already that any light or laser can impart momentum transfer, but now we can control the direction as well,” says Kaushik Kudtarkar at Texas A&M University. He and his colleagues created a tiny device called a metajet that uses refraction of light, not just reflection, to move in more than one direction at once.

The device is a material called a metasurface, an extremely thin sheet textured to manipulate light. In this case, the researchers flipped that on its head, using the light to manipulate the metasurface. A series of tiny pillars on the material steers the light that hits it, with the size and pattern of the pillars controlling the strength and direction of the momentum that the light imparts on the entire device as it moves through. The whole thing is about 0.01 millimetres across.

To test it, the researchers dropped the silicon device in water and shone a laser on it, watching it with a microscope to track its motion. They found that the metajet both levitated and moved horizontally, reaching a maximum speed of about 0.07 millimetres per second.

“Now that we know about the forces on this device, you can change the metasurface design and then you can steer it in any way you want,” says Kudtarkar. There are metasurfaces that change their shapes over time, and such a material could be used on light sails to steer them through space, he says.

“For space, you can expand it, but you can keep it the same size and use it for biomedical applications as well: these devices could literally push drugs to a specific location,” says Kudtarkar. Lasers can already be used to do this, but their heat can damage the molecules, and with metajets, the drugs would not be directly exposed to the heat and light of a laser beam.

The researchers are now looking to make their device work with different wavelengths of light, especially the broad spectrum of sunlight to make them more compatible with the type of light sail that would be used for space travel. “It’s all a bit sci-fi,” says Kudtarkar.

Topics:

• materials/
• space exploration

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Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The idea of installing a software update on your fridge already feels kind of weird, let alone one centered around improving its AI capabilities. But that’s exactly what’s happening to Samsung’s line of Bespoke refrigerators this week, and to my surprise this patch is making major strides at providing truly useful machine learning in a modern day icebox.

As a quick recap, Samsung has offered AI-powered features like automatic food recognition and meal planning on its Bespoke refrigerators for a couple years already. However, as I found out after reviewing its flagship model late last year, the company’s AI capabilities are still very much a work in progress. Previously, the fridge could recognize around 60 different kinds of fresh foods (like fruits and veggies) alongside another 50 or so packaged goods like yogurt or popcorn. That felt like a decent start, but considering the sheer number of different items you can find at a typical grocery store, it was far from complete. Furthermore, you often had to input additional data like the number of items or when something was first added, which made the idea of AI-assisted grocery tracking more tedious than I’d like. I don’t know about you, but I generally don’t want to have to type on my fridge and I’m pretty sure the engineers at Samsung agree, which is probably what brought about this major update to its Bespoke refrigerator software.

So what’s new?

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The big change is that Samsung is adding support for Google Gemini, which has several important implications. By combining Samsung’s existing on-device object recognition with Google’s cloud-based models, the total number of identifiable foods is increasing from just over 100 items to more than 2,000. Now this does mean you will need to connect the fridge to Wi-Fi, but considering the number of other smart features it supports like calendar integration and video playback, that’s not a big ask.

Another update is that Samsung is using Gemini to expand voice controls, allowing users to ask the fridge to change things like device settings, check details like when the water filter was last replaced or to even help troubleshoot issues. And depending on the situation, the fridge can even play back a tutorial about how to solve the issue.

Alternatively, for more complicated or harder-to-solve problems, Samsung is introducing what it calls Reliability AI, which is designed to monitor the fridge’s components or help identify faults before they get too serious. Or in cases where the device needs to be serviced, the AI can provide more detailed info to agents while potentially allowing them to fix certain things remotely.

For example, a Samsung representative told me that if a customer calls and says that cubes from the icemaker are coming out in clumps and stuck together, Reliability AI could allow agents to reduce the amount of water that is being added to the ice tray — all without ever needing to physically come to your home. Critically, Samsung says that while the fridge will monitor and track device health metrics, owners will need to provide express consent in order for repair personnel to access that data. Meanwhile, if an issue does require in-person servicing, Samsung says that by sharing this data with repair technicians, it allows people to identify and solve problems faster instead of having to arrive with no context and diagnose issues from scratch.

How this works in the real world

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

My test unit hasn’t run into any mechanical issues in the eight months I’ve been using it, so I haven’t been able to evaluate Samsung’s Repairability AI. That said, after checking it out first at Samsung’s headquarters, I’ve had the chance to use an early version of the Bespoke line’s new software over the last two weeks — including its upgraded support for cloud-based object recognition — and the improvement is profound. Even after using it for a while, I’m still surprised by how many different foods it recognizes. Deep in the back of my fridge, I have a can of Bull Head Shallot Sauce, which is a rather niche ingredient from Taiwan used almost exclusively in Asian dishes. However, the AI had no trouble recognizing it, automatically tagging it and including when it was first added to the fridge’s AI Food Manager.

On top of that, the system is now much better at recognizing brands and counting the number of specific ingredients in order to create more detailed listings. It can distinguish between a Diet Coke and Coke Zero while also accurately noting that there were multiples of each item. And even though the fridge often has to ping a cloud-based server somewhere to help recognize various items, results appeared rather quickly, often in less than a few seconds. And for certain foods like avocados, I was delighted that the fridge tracks how long you’ve had it and will surface a notification that it might be getting close to expiration. Granted, it’s not always right, but all I really need is a reminder to check on things and it does just that.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

I also noticed that the fridge now remembers when you frequently take a specific food out and then asks if you want to add that item to your shopping list. It’s a nice reminder to replenish staples you use regularly and happens in a low-friction way, so it doesn’t become annoying. From there, you can simply check your phone when you’re at the store instead of needing to manually curate a list every week. Also, because the fridge does a much better job of recognizing and tracking what’s inside, it can provide better suggestions about recipes you can cook using ingredients you already have.

That said, like a lot of current models, the AI doesn’t always nail every detail. For example, I was initially impressed when it automatically labeled a tub of fake cream cheese as “Philadelphia Plant-based,” until I realized that the label was incomplete and the AI was merely reading what was written on the lid and didn’t have the smarts to accurately finish the description. Don’t get me wrong, it provides more than enough info to help me figure out what’s in the fridge when I’m glancing at the Food Manager. It’s just not quite spot on.

Outlook and things that still need work

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The one issue with this update is that like a lot of AI services today, Samsung’s new software can be a bit overconfident or prone to hallucinations. One time, as my wife was putting something back in the fridge, the algorithm took a picture of a brightly colored bandage on her finger and labeled that as a veggie, which it very much is not. Other times it seemingly just guesses. But I’d argue going from around 100 identifiable items to over 2,000 is a very welcome improvement even with the limitations.

The other weird thing is that even though Samsung is leveraging Google’s AI models for a lot of the fridge’s new features, you won’t see any obvious callouts to Gemini inside the device itself. That’s kind of a bummer because Bixby is still the only digital assistant you can use and talk to directly.

I’ve said before that Samsung’s AI food recognition is a work in progress and I think that still holds true. With this latest update, the company has gotten a lot closer to delivering on the promise of a fridge with truly useful AI-powered features. What once felt more like a promising tech demo has quickly become a handy tool to keep track of your groceries, even with some hiccups here and there.

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This story was originally reported by Jasmine Mithani of The 19th. Meet Jasmine and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

This reporting was supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund.

SACRAMENTO, California — “Before I say anything, I want everyone here to take a moment and think about someone finally reaching out for help and there’s no one here to answer,” Jazz LedBetter said to a crowd of over 250 survivors of abuse and advocates against domestic violence and sexual assault. 

LedBetter was speaking on the lawn of the state Capitol as part of an effort to press California lawmakers to include $100 million in the state budget that would cover a gap in money for domestic violence and sexual assault services caused by a drop in federal funds. The push comes as the Trump administration has prematurely terminated grants to domestic violence organizations, delayed payouts of over $200 million from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and tried to block assistance to trans and immigrant survivors. 

LedBetter is a survivor of sex trafficking and spoke about how Woman Haven, a domestic violence services organization just north of the California-Mexico border, helped her heal.

“I didn’t have stability, I didn’t have answers, and I didn’t have a clue what the future held, but I had access to something that changed everything: I had access to a shelter, not just a place to stay, but a safe place to breathe, to think, to begin again,” she said. 

Over 4,800 Californians were assisted by domestic violence services over a single day in 2025, according to data from the National Network to End Domestic Violence. But 605 requests for help went unanswered due to limited resources. 

The crowd assembled before LedBetter called on Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to step up to support survivors where the federal government has let them down. They emphasized that they weren’t seeking additional funding but rather coverage for a drop in federal dollars from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The Crime Victims Fund created by VOCA pulls from white-collar crime settlements instead of taxpayer dollars, but those prosecutions have been declining for a decade, leading the fund to decrease.

Sandra Henriquez, the CEO of ValorUS, California’s sexual assault coalition and co-organizer of Tuesday’s rally, said 50 state legislators had put out statements in recent weeks condemning specific, high-profile incidents of intimate partner violence. 

“We are demanding that state legislators and leaders put their money where their mouth is and fund survivor services,” Henriquez told the crowd. 

The state Senate’s version of the budget includes the requested $100 million due to efforts by Democratic Sen. Susan Rubio, herself a survivor of domestic violence. The Legislative Women’s Caucus has indicated its support for the measure, and Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, a Democrat, is pushing for its inclusion in her chamber, as well. 

“As we advocate today, carry this with you: we will not allow California leadership to balance the budget on the backs of survivors,” Henriquez said.

California is one of the few states that has allocated VOCA stopgaps in the annual budget. But advocates are seeking a more permanent commitment. 

The need hasn’t gone away, said Krista Colón, the executive director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, which also organized the rally. She said the most recent annual data shows domestic violence hotlines in the state answered 149,000 calls for help.

Other sources of federal funding have also dried up this year. The Trump administration has attempted to ban grants from the Office on Violence Against Women from being used to promote ill-defined “gender ideology” and “illegal DEI” and prioritized funding for municipalities that cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Culturally specific service providers, which have dedicated funding streams through the most recent reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act, are being hit hard. 

Patima Komolamit, the executive director of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family, said there is a misunderstanding of culturally specific organizations. Her nonprofit is focused on serving the 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across Los Angeles County, but her team helps anyone in need who approaches them.

She said the organization lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly terminated a multiyear grant. Komolamit said she is waiting to hear back on multiple funding applications from the Office on Violence Against Women that should have been issued in October.

Without the stopgap measure, the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley could lose $1.9 million that goes toward programs like housing domestic violence survivors and providing in-person support at hospitals when a rape survivor is being treated, said Adriana Caldera, the organization’s CEO. 

“$100 million is not just a number. It is safety, it is healing, and for some, it is the difference between life and death,” said Tim Ruise, the community outreach coordinator at Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition. He highlighted May 5 as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. 

“Do not leave our community behind,” he said. “We are still here. We are still fighting, and we are not going anywhere.”

Domestic violence services remain operational throughout the country. Confidential, anonymous help is available 24/7 through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (1-800-799-7233) or online.

California families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-nation program announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

During the program’s first year, it will be offered at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state and largely serve low-income patients, Newsom’s office said. The initiative will expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor’s office did not say how many. The state has partnered with nonprofit Baby2Baby to manufacture the diapers under the label “Golden State Start.”

Newsom said the plan builds on California’s effort to make living in the notoriously expensive state a little easier for families. He highlighted policies in recent years to provide students with free meals at school and make preschool free for all.

“Every baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life — and that means making sure parents have the basics they need from day one,” the Democrat said in a statement.

The state set aside $7.4 million in last year’s budget to roll out the initiative, and this year’s budget proposal includes an additional $12.5 million to implement the program for the upcoming fiscal year ending in June 2027.

It will allow each family to receive 400 diapers in sizes for newborns and babies up to 14 pounds (6 kilograms) when they are discharged from a hospital after birth. That’s a little more than a month’s worth, since newborns on average require eight to 10 diapers a day.

Baby2Baby provides families in need with essential items. The nonprofit built a manufacturing system that allows them to produce diapers for 80% less than the retail price, co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof said.

“California is once again setting the standard of what it means to show up for mothers and babies,” added co-CEO Norah Weinstein.

The announcement comes two years after Tennessee and Delaware became the first U.S. states to offer free diapers to families enrolled in their Medicaid programs, which provide healthcare to low-income families. Tennessee families can go to pharmacies to pick up 100 diapers per month for children under two. The Delaware program, which began as a pilot before the state extended it in 2024, provides individuals with up to 80 diapers and up to one pack of baby wipes per week in the first 12 weeks of life.

California’s Medicaid system doesn’t cover diapers for newborns, but it does cover the items for enrollees ages 5 and older if they have a medical need for them.

Diapers are a large, ongoing expense for many families. They typically spend about $100 a month on the items per child, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. The cost burden can lead some parents to leave their child’s diapers on for too long or reuse disposable diapers, which can result in rashes and urinary tract infections, the center says.

California officials are touting the new effort as a way to ease that financial strain.

“The first days at home with a newborn should be focused on the love, connection, and joy of an expanded family, not stress about affording diapers,” said Kim Johnson, the state’s health secretary. “This program helps ensure families can begin that journey with greater stability and peace of mind.”

This article was produced by Capital & Main. It is published here with permission.

Elenilson Armando Coto Delgado believed that he would be imminently deported to El Salvador when he had a medical emergency in late April while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Coto Delgado feared that the Salvadoran government would send him to a notorious prison called Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, where guards have tortured U.S. deportees. Now he and his family are worried that he will be discharged from the hospital and deported, only to be tortured while still recovering from what he told his family was a stroke.

“They don’t care what we suffer,” his mother said in Spanish through tears. “There’s no love. There’s no compassion. There’s pure racism now.”

She asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation from the U.S. government. She is also afraid that if she’s forced to return to El Salvador, its government will come after her.

Coto Delgado still has pending motions with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but, without explanation, the court lifted a stay on his deportation in January. The Ninth Circuit had earlier blocked ICE from removing him while the case is pending, according to court records. Records show the court has not approved his attorney’s renewed requests to block his deportation, with the most recent decision coming at the end of April, the same day he said he had a stroke.

Since 2002, according to court records, the Ninth Circuit has generally granted temporary stays of deportation for immigration cases, but that may be changing. This year, some of the court’s appellate judges have indicated a desire to rethink the practice.

Coto Delgado and his family believed ICE was preparing to deport him from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. On April 30, he called a loved one and said his face had twisted up uncontrollably when he went to brush his teeth and that he’d felt confusion and a lot of pain in his head.

He said that facility officials had waited four or five hours before getting him medical attention and that he was eventually hospitalized. His mother said that ICE is severely limiting his ability to communicate with his family and that it hasn’t allowed him to sign documents that would enable doctors to apprise them, his attorney or members of Congress of his medical condition. 

“The worst is that they don’t let him talk to us,” his mother said. “We don’t know anything about him.”

GEO Group, the private prison company that operates the detention center in Tacoma, said that medical staff at the facility are directly employed by ICE through the ICE Health Service Corps and deferred to the agency when asked for comment on the situation. ICE did not respond to a request for comment about Coto Delgado’s health condition.

Detainees at the facility, including Coto Delgado, have complained of worsening conditions — including a lack of access to medical care — since the Trump administration began increasing the number of people taken into ICE custody. 

State health inspectors have gone to federal court to try to get access to the facility to review conditions. Health inspectors have been denied access to the detention center 10 times since 2023.

At least 18 people have died in ICE custody so far in 2026, and 51 in total during the second Trump administration, according to ICE. Doctors said they have found signs of medical neglect in many of those cases.

Coto Delgado told his loved ones in a short telephone call from St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma that he’d had a stroke.

When asked about the situation, the hospital said that it does not comment on or share details about its patients’ care. 

“We understand that questions sometimes arise when patients are in the custody of law enforcement or are otherwise detained,” said Deepak Devasthali, president of St. Joseph Medical Center. “Our focus in every situation is the same: ensuring patients receive appropriate medical care in a safe and respectful environment.”

Nurses at the hospital have complained about ICE interfering with treatment. Some have asked that ICE officers be removed from the hospital.

“Here they have me tied up at my feet and hands,” Coto Delgado told a loved one in a phone call, according to a recording of the conversation reviewed by Capital & Main. “I can’t move. Even to eat, they only unlock one of my hands.”

The family has asked the office of Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat from Louisiana who has accused the Trump administration of violating the rights of immigrants, to look into the case since Coto Delgado most recently lived in Louisiana and his children are there. Retired Louisiana state Sen. John Alario Jr., who served most recently as a Republican, sent a letter on Coto Delgado’s behalf to ICE in February.

In March, when Capital & Main first learned that Coto Delgado might soon be deported, ICE said through an unnamed spokesperson that journalists had “wasted countless hours drumming up sympathy for criminal illegal aliens like Elenilson Armando Coto Delgado.” The agency accused him of being a member of the MS-13 criminal gang because of his tattoos.

In court filings related to his immigration case, Coto Delgado explained that he got several gang-related tattoos at age 14 or 15 while detained at the California Youth Authority.

“Although he never officially joined a gang, he spent time with people who were,” a court document asking for his release from custody says.

Coto Delgado has been in ICE custody for more than six years after he requested protection at the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the San Diego-Mexico border in 2019. 

He initially came to the U.S. as a child fleeing war in El Salvador in the 1980s, growing up in Los Angeles. He was working in construction when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana in 2005, and he moved to New Orleans to help rebuild.

While there, he said he fought off someone who robbed him and ended up being charged with second-degree battery. He said he didn’t realize the U.S. would deport him for pleading guilty to the charge. 

Deported to El Salvador in 2013, he said police there tortured him and left him for dead by a river because of his tattoos. After someone helped him recover and flee the country, he said he was also kidnapped and tortured in Mexico. That experience made him feel that the only place he could be safe was back in the U.S., so he returned in 2019.

An immigration judge denied his initial request for protection, according to court records.

His case has been slowly moving through the appeals process, with his attorney arguing that conditions in El Salvador changed in 2022 in a way that makes his return even more dangerous due to the country’s “state of exception,” which suspended civil rights and resulted in the imprisonment of thousands without thorough evaluation of innocence or guilt, according to court documents. Changing country conditions allow attorneys to make motions to reopen a case to evaluate those new circumstances.

To further bolster Coto Delgado’s claims, the attorney filed another set of evidence with documentation of deported Venezuelans tortured in Salvadoran prison after the U.S. paid El Salvador to imprison them. But the Board of Immigration Appeals denied the motion to reopen without including any of that evidence in the official record. The attorney is now trying to correct that record through the Ninth Circuit, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, Coto Delgado’s loved ones helped him clean up his record. By arguing that the attorney in his New Orleans criminal case had provided ineffective counsel because she didn’t tell him that he could be deported for accepting a plea deal, he convinced a Louisiana judge to vacate the conviction in February, according to court records.

His mother prays daily that her son will be allowed to return to his family, she said. He has several U.S. citizen children who have autism, and she wants him to be able to be with them.

“What can one do except trust in God that he has mercy?” she said. “The only thing we will trust in is God. We can’t trust people anymore.”

Capital & Main is an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports from California on the most pressing economic, environmental and social issues of our time, including economic inequality, climate change, health care, threats to democracy, hate and extremism and immigration.​

Copyright 2026 Capital & Main

The San Diego City Council will consider a settlement in the lawsuit challenging the city’s trash fee during a closed session on Monday.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, attorney Gabriel McWhirter, who is representing the city against a group of local homeowners, told Judge Euketa Oliver during a hearing on Friday that a proposed settlement is “currently on the table” regarding Measure B, which instituted a pickup fee for single-family households after being passed in November 2022.

The proposed settlement comes around a month after Oliver denied the city’s request to dismiss the suit, which argued that the fee violated Proposition 218, the state ballot measure stipulating that the cost of utility fees cannot exceed that of providing the intended services.

In her ruling, Oliver cited the city’s estimate that the fee would increase despite a discrepancy in the amount of households whose service would be affected. The city had originally said homeowners would pay between $23 and $29 a month. That cost was later revised to be around $43 a month in 2026, and an estimated $55 a month in 2027, though some households may qualify for financial assistance.

“The apparent inconsistency between declining service demand and increasing costs, coupled with unsupported assumptions and, at this point, unexplained deficiencies in the city’s analysis, creates triable issues of material fact as to whether the fee exceeds the ‘actual cost’ of providing the service,” she said at the time.

The council’s closed session will come a day before opening statements were scheduled in the lawsuit.

The fee had come under criticism from former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who has spearheaded a push to repeal it in his current role as CEO of the conservative Lincoln Club.

McWhirter did not return a call requesting comment.

No damage was reported in San Diego County after a “seismic swarm” of earthquakes rocked neighboring Imperial Valley this weekend.

More than 360 minor earthquakes were reported in and around the Imperial County city of Brawley between the Salton Sea and the Mexican Border beginning at around 4 a.m. Saturday and continuing until late afternoon Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The strongest one, registering at magnitude-4.7 shortly after midnight, was still considered a light quake. The others ranged between micro, minor and slight, according to the USGS.

Geology Professor Emeritus Pat Abbott of San Diego State University told City News Service that a swarm like this is not unusual.

“These earthquake swarms happen here every few years,” Abbott said. “The swarm will not spread. No damages or injuries are expected to occur.”

Abbott also said he expects the swam to continue for the next few days, “but historically they do not lead to a big earthquake.” The swarm is not occurring on fault lines per se, according to Abbott, but rather represents “hundreds of little movements within the Brawley Seismic Zone.”

Lt. Joe Barry, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office watch commander on duty Sunday, told City News Service that there have been no calls to his office regarding the earthquakes.

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Mayra García (derecha), con sus hijos Jared y su hija Fernanda, durante una celebración familiar del Halloween. Foto: Cortesía familia Garcia.

En esta celebración del Día de las Madres, Tiempos de San Diego quiso hacerles un homenaje amplio, mostrando ejemplos de vida que representan las diferentes realidades de millones de mujeres que trabajan de sol a sol, o que han tenido que emigrar para ofrecer una mejor calidad de vida a sus hijos, o a aquellas que por diferentes circunstancias de la vida han tenido que desempeñar el papel de madres y padres ante la ausencia de un compañero.

Todas las historias que estamos compartiendo tienen un hilo conductor común: el esfuerzo, la valentía, la superación de obstáculos a pesar de todas las barreras. Son mujeres ejemplares y extraordinarias, que escogimos porque representan muy bien a las mujeres de nuestra comunidad.

En esta fecha, todo el equipo de Tiempos de San Diego nos unimos para decirles: Feliz Día, y gracias por todo ese esfuerzo.

A continuación, las historias:

Mayra García: ‘No hay barreras tan grandes que puedan detener a una madre’

Cuando Mayra García supo que su hijo Jared tenía autismo y al menos 16 graves discapacidades, entendió que ella y su esposo tendrían un gran trabajo por delante. Estaba convencida de que juntos, en familia, podrían brindarle lo mejor a su hijo.

Pero no contaba con que su esposo pensaba de otra manera y que luego de 12 años de casados, terminaría pidiéndole el divorcio. “Me dijo ‘ahí están tus hijos y a ver cómo le haces’”, dice García con una expresión casi fría que denota los difíciles años que siguieron.

García hace una pausa. Supervisa los movimientos de Jared y continúa. “Entonces desapareció de nuestras vidas y la responsabilidad cayó sobre mis hombros y gracias a mi hija Fernanda que se convirtió en mi mano derecha, logramos salir adelante”.

Y entonces inició una lucha contra la cotidianidad. “No tenía carro y la escuela de Fernanda me quedaba a más de cinco millas de distancia, tampoco tenía papeles y trabajaba en lo que podía”.

Pero a García nunca se le ha cerrado el mundo. Con una carrera en ingeniería en sistemas y comunicaciones en México, ha hecho todo para poder cumplir con el llamado sueño americano. “Estudié cultura de belleza, secretariado ejecutivo, pero lo dejé todo cuando me casé y nos venimos a Estados Unidos”.

Han pasado 14 años desde la separación. Y la vida le ha sonreído. “Me dediqué en cuerpo y alma a cuidar de mis dos hijos y los resultados están a la vista, mi hija hoy tiene 27 años, es salvavidas, trabaja en la Policía y nunca he tenido un problema con ella, somos como dos grandes amigas”.

El golpe del divorcio lo resintió físicamente. “En menos de un mes pasé de 130 libras a 90, afortunadamente el padre de la iglesia a la que asistía me recomendaba para limpiar casas, no me importaba hacer cualquier tipo de trabajo honrado con tal de que mis hijos estuvieran bien”.

Y su espíritu de lucha nunca la abandonó. Y cuando más perdida se sentía más recordaba los consejos de su papá. “Me decía ‘te enseñé a trabajar duro. Estudia y aprende el inglés. Tienes dos hijos que no tienen a nadie más’”.

Entonces estudió y se capacitó y hoy trabaja en organizaciones de apoyo a los discapacitados y por los derechos de los indocumentados. Cuenta con certificaciones para tratar situaciones de violencia doméstica y tráfico humano.

La fuerza ha sido su hijo Jared hoy de 24 años. “Yo sabía que él no podría independizarse y que dependía absolutamente de mi”. Entonces buscó apoyo y el esfuerzo dio sus frutos. “Actualmente tengo más de 80 certificaciones y me he especializado en educación especial”.

García ha recibido invitaciones de la casa Blanca y del Concilio de Los Ángeles, por su trabajo en favor de la comunidad con discapacidades

¿Qué has aprendido de tus hijos?, le pregunto.

Se queda muy seria, reflexiona. “Siempre quise estar cerca de mis hijos, quería tener la mejor comunicación posible con ellos y creo que lo he logrado, entre mi hija y yo no hay ninguna barrera de comunicación, eso me hace sentir que he hecho las cosas bien. No puedo decir si soy una buena madre, pero siento que hasta el momento he hecho lo mejor por ellos”.

En todo este proceso de ver a sus hijos crecer, dependiendo exclusivamente de ella, se pasaron los años. “Recuerdo que era una gran responsabilidad, salía del baño con la cabeza enjabonada y no me daba cuenta o me la pasaba pendiente de la cámara de noche para asegurarme de que Jared estuviera bien”.

No duda un segundo cuando le preguntó cuáles son ahora sus prioridades. “Siempre estarán primero mis hijos”.

¿Qué le dirías a tu mamá?

“Gracias por haberme dado la vida, los fundamentos, los principios y todo el amor y que la amo con todo el corazón”.

Sandra Egas Alvarez en compañía de sus hijos. “Ser madre es un verdadero regalo de Dios”, dice Sandra Egas. (Foto: Cortesía familia Egas)

Sandra Egas: Una vida llena de milagros

¿Qué es lo que he aprendido? Sandra Egas Álvarez piensa detenidamente su respuesta y dice pausadamente: “Que hay que agradecer lo bueno y lo malo y que no hay que apegarse a los planes, porque las cosas cambian en un abrir y cerrar de ojos”.

Egas Álvarez, originaria de Guayaquil, Ecuador, de 60 años y madre de cinco hijos, tiene motivos de sobra para pensar así. Sabe que la vida puede dar un vuelco en cualquier momento, como ese 5 de octubre de 2000, cuando días después de haber recibido el diagnóstico de que Sebastián su hijo mayor tenía leucemia, decidió que había que viajar a Estados Unidos para conseguir un tratamiento que le ayudara a salvar la vida de su primogénito.

“Éramos jóvenes y teníamos muchos proyectos y planes por realizar”, dice mientras remueve sus recuerdos. “Margaret, una gran amiga que ya vivía en Estados Unidos en cuanto supo de lo que le pasaba a mi hijo buscó información y nos puso en contacto con el Children Cancer Caring Center”.

Buscaron boletos de avión y como en un abrir y cerrar los ojos ya estaban en Estados Unidos. Allá se quedaron sus otros tres hijos al cuidado de su madre.

Empezar de cero

Entonces todo se transformó. De tener una casa propia y un negocio de cosméticos naturales, pasaron a vivir en el departamento que su amiga compartía con sus padres. “Mi esposo dormía en el piso y mi hijo y yo en una camita que poníamos en la sala”. Hace una pausa, seca una lágrima y me dice: “No tengo más que palabras de agradecimiento para ellos”.

Y entonces había que empezar de cero, su esposo que en Ecuador era visitador médico, aquí trabajó instalando antenas para satélites, haciendo mudanzas y después en una cadena de donas.

“Fueron tiempos muy difíciles, de mucha angustia y desesperación”, dice Egas. Los médicos y los especialistas les recomendaran que trajeran a los otros 3 hijos, no sólo como apoyo emocional para su hermano enfermo, sino porque en caso de que Sebastián requiriera un trasplante de médula ósea, sus hermanos tenían más posibilidades de ser compatibles.

La casa que tenían en Ecuador la remataron para rentar un departamento y comprar un auto económico para llevar a sus hijos a la escuela y a Sebastián al médico.

“Antes de que tuviéramos el carro, lo llevaba al tratamiento tres veces a la semana en autobús, tren y metro, me hacía tres horas y medio de camino, y el problema no era yo, sino que él regresaba con mucho malestar después de la quimioterapia”.

El tratamiento duró tres años y las revisiones semanales duraron cinco años más.

Egas recuerda con un inmenso agradecimiento el centro médico en el que atendieron a su hijo. “Con el paso del tiempo nos hicimos como una comunidad en la que nos conocíamos y nos apoyábamos todos, y vi morir a muchos niños conocidos que tenían cáncer y eso era muy doloroso, porque siempre pensaba, el próximo puede ser mi hijo”.

Hoy Sebastián está completamente curado y ha hecho una vida normal. Cuando Egas piensa en esos tiempos refleja un poco de tristeza, a pesar del buen ánimo que mantiene.

“Se nos fue el tiempo como en un abrir y cerrar de ojos y poco a poco salimos adelante con un esfuerzo enorme”, dice mientras sostiene la mano del cuarto de sus hijos que la acompaña en la entrevista.

De milagro en milagro

Pero la vida no ha sido fácil. Es como una carrera de obstáculos en la que hay que saltar siempre con optimismo, dice Egas.

Y es que cuando pensaba que su vida se había encarrilado y lo que seguía era disfrutar la tranquilidad que dan los años, el 22 de junio de 2007 recibió una visita de la policía en la que le notificaron que su hijo mayor había tenido un accidente muy grave en la carretera.

Su hijo iba de pasajero en el auto de su novia porque se dirigían a una fiesta. El auto cayó en uno de los tantos canales de Florida. Su novia fue rescatada de inmediato, pero falleció antes de llegar al hospital.

A su hijo Raúl, que llevaba el cinturón de seguridad fue muy difícil sacarlo del auto. Permaneció bajo el agua más de 15 minutos”, recuerda Egas.

“Cuando llegamos al hospital vimos las radiografías y supimos que se encontraba en un coma inducido”, dice Egas. “En realidad los médicos nos estaban esperando para que nos despidiéramos de él”.

Pero ocurrió el milagro. Despertó del coma 24 horas después. Aun así, los médicos les dijeron que, si se recuperaba, tendría graves repercusiones en su cerebro porque había permanecido mucho tiempo bajo el agua. Once días después fue dado de alta, sin ninguna secuela. Hoy está casado, con hijos y lleva una vida laboral exitosa.

El milagro más reciente ocurrió cuando vio un anuncio en una de las redes sociales, en los que  se estaba rifando el pago de los gastos de hacerse ciudadano y un abogado, así que decidió entrar en la promoción.

“Semanas después recibí una llamada de La Red Hispana diciéndome que había resultado ganadora”, dice con lágrimas en los ojos. “Me parecía muy bueno para ser verdad”, dice con una sonrisa.

Para ella el premio tiene un enorme significado. “No es sólo que quiera hacerme ciudadana, es que al naturalizarme puedo arreglar los documentos de Gabriel, mi cuarto hijo que no ha podido arreglar sus papeles”.

Gabriel, de 27 años, tiene una serie discapacidades mentales y a los 17 tuvo su primer ataque de epilepsia, por lo que depende completamente de su madre. “Por eso, cuando recibí la llamada diciéndome que iban a pagar el costo y además que tendría la ayuda de un abogado para poder regularizar la situación de mi hijo, pensé en que Dios una vez más había intercedido por nosotros”.

Rina Paz Rojas: Una madre alegre y feliz con la vida

Rina Paz Rojas, junto a su esposo, hijo, nueras y nietos. (Foto: Cortesía familia Paz.)

“La verdad es que no me siento vieja, aunque tenga hijos cuarentones”, dice Rina Paz Rojas, una mujer jovial, alegre, madre de tres hijos y originaria de San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

La entrevista es acerca de su vida, de su experiencia de ser madre, de sus preocupaciones y aciertos. Y sin duda es una historia llena de anécdotas y sonrisas.

Después de venir a los 12 años a estudiar inglés en el estado de Ohio, regresó a Honduras donde trabajó en una compañía de café y en la empresa Shell. Fue en el país centroamericano donde conoció a quien después se convertiría en su esposo. “Era mi alumno, yo le daba clases y siempre le digo que él cometió ‘proferisidio’. Hoy tenemos 50 años de casados”.

“Tuve mi primer hijo a los 29 años, y como siempre ocurre en esos casos, lo sobreprotegimos, estábamos atentos a que no le fuera a pasar nada, después de todo uno experimenta con el primero”, dice Paz Rojas. “Con el segundo las cosas fueron menos extremas y ya para el tercero, ya teníamos la experiencia de que no son necesarios esos cuidados extremos que les damos al primero”.

De la experiencia de ser madre, asegura que fue una labor de parto de 32 horas. “Sinceramente dije, me voy a quedar con un solo hijo, no quiero a volver a pasar por este dolor, pero Dios es grande y el dolor se olvida y terminé con dos hijos más”.

La mejor decisión

Era principios de los ochenta cuando Centroamérica parecía estar a punto de un incendio. Las relaciones con la Nicaragua sandinista iban de mal en peor. El Salvador era también un polvorín y entendieron que la situación en Honduras se estaba deteriorando a pasos acelerados.

Paz Rojas y su esposo decidieron que lo mejor era salir del país. En menos de un año ya estaban instalados en Estados Unidos.

Visto en retrospectiva sabe que fue una buena decisión. “Tenemos tres hijos maravillosos, profesionales, seguramente hicimos algo bueno, porque no lo hicimos pensando en nosotros, sino en ellos, para darles un futuro mejor”.

Pero el que haya sido una buena decisión no significa que no haya sido duro. “Muy duro porque hay que construir desde cero y hacer crédito”.

Aunque en Honduras no eran ricos, no les faltaba nada. Pero aquí las cosas son diferentes. Su esposo que es ingeniero mecánico no encontró acomodo fácilmente. “El primero fue un trabajo horrible y se sentía frustrado y decía que quería regresarse a Honduras”, dice Paz Rojas quien recuerda esos momentos con un poco de nostalgia. “Yo le decía tú eres la cabeza de esta casa y si quieres que nos vayamos, nos vamos, pero recuerda que lo hicimos por nuestros hijos”,  entonces él recapacitaba”.

Primero los hijos

Paz Rojas siempre tuvo la fortuna de tener trabajos flexibles y jefes comprensivos. “Me permitían salir corriendo si me llamaban de la escuela o si mis hijos necesitaban algo”.

Recuerda una ocasión en la que le llamaron de la escuela y tomó su auto y en medio de la carretera se le descompuso. Entonces un automovilista se detuvo para ayudarla. Ella sin pensarlo se subió al auto y le pidió que la llevara a la escuela. “Iba desesperada y no pensaba en nada, hasta que estuve ahí me di cuenta de que había corrido un gran peligro y que ese hombre me podría haber hecho cualquier cosa, en realidad fue como un ángel”, dice con toda su fe.

Paz Rojas es elocuente y agradable. La conversación fluye con toda facilidad. Tiene muy claros los momentos que le han dado una gran felicidad.

“Cuando asistimos a las graduaciones de nuestros hijos he llorado de felicidad, porque me convenzo de que hicimos bien las cosas. Sabíamos que en algún momento ellos iban a seguir sus caminos y así lo han hecho y afortunadamente han tomado buenas decisiones al elegir a sus compañeros de vida”.

También sabe que los tiempos han cambiado y que nadie experimenta en cabeza ajena, por lo que deja que sus hijos encuentren las respuestas de crianza que ella muchas veces también buscó.

De sus padres, la señora Rina sólo tiene palabras de elogio y admiración. “Mis papás tenían pocos estudios, pero eran muy buenos trabajadores, tenían una ‘trucha’ (tienda de abarrotes) y mi mami trabajaba lado a lado con mi papá y cuando le dije a él que quería estudiar inglés él lo hizo posible y me mandó a Estados Unidos, luego envió a mi otra hermana. A la tercera no la aceptaron en el mismo colegio que a nosotras, pero la mandó a México”.

Pero, así como eran de trabajadores y generosos, eran estrictos y disciplinados. “Le doy gracias a Dios porque por ellos soy lo que soy”.

Una etapa para disfrutar

Ser madre sin duda ofrece muchas razones para ser feliz, pero ser abuela no se le compara. “A mis nietos les doy puro amor”, y dice que está viviendo un momento de gran felicidad.

“Mis tres hijos se encuentran ahora en Tampa y puedo disfrutar de mis dos nietos”, dice con una amorosa sonrisa.

“He dado todo por ellos, yo no he pensado en mí, y lo he hecho porque me nace, porque los amo y ellos me dicen ahora, ‘descansa, no te preocupes, estamos aquí para cuidarte’”.

Sheyla Zamora: Los sacrificios que las madres hacen

Cuando a Sheyla Zamora le asaltan las culpas, muchas veces se ha preguntado si es una mala madre. Rápidamente desecha esos pensamientos y recuerda que todos los sacrificios que ha hecho (y no han sido pocos) han sido por el bienestar de su hija

Hace seis años Zamora tomó la dolorosa decisión de dejar Taramoto, Perú, su ciudad natal para buscar un mejor futuro para su hija Mariana, de 6 años y a quien ha tenido que criar como madre soltera.

“La tuve a los 30 años y sabía que no tenía gran cosa que ofrecerle a pesar de mis largas jornadas de trabajo haciendo pasteles”, dice Zamora en uno de sus momentos de descanso de su trabajo limpiando oficinas y edificios.

Zamora nunca se ha quedado con los brazos cruzados. En Perú vendía pasteles y tenía su propia marca de granola orgánica. “Pero no era suficiente, veía que mi hija iba creciendo y me preocupaba mucho su futuro económico”.

Cada vez más preocupada por la situación económica de su país y de lo que le deparaba el destino a su hija, habló con un familiar que vivía en Estados Unidos y ella le dijo que se viniera, y que ella le daría trabajo.

Habló con su mamá y le dijo que no se preocupara, que ella cuidaría de su hija de la misma manera que lo hizo con ella.

Entonces emprendió un viaje que ya dura seis años y que muchas veces piensa en terminarlo abruptamente ante los sentimientos de angustia, culpa y soledad que algunas veces la asaltan.

“En esos momentos mi mamá me reta, me dice que tome un vuelo y que me vaya, pero que recuerde que las cosas no han cambiado en el Perú, que la situación sigue igual o peor que antes, pero que si no aguanto que me regrese”.

Entonces Zamora entra en razón y se concentra en el trabajo limpiando cuidadosamente para ganar el dinero que religiosamente envía para los gastos de su hija.

Pero no se crea que Sheyla es una madre ausente. Ella está pendiente absolutamente de todas las cosas de su hija. “Hablo con ella todos los días por videollamada, le digo que me gusta como está peinada, le ayudo con su tarea, en ocasiones le canto alguna canción”.

En este proceso de estar presente a pesar de la distancia, su madre ha sido la clave.

“Ella me habla a cualquier momento, me dice cómo va en la escuela y hasta ha acordado con las maestras que me hablen por videollamada cuando se necesita algo”.

A pesar de todos estos esfuerzos para burlar la distancia, por supuesto que extraña las fiestas de cumpleaños, las celebraciones, la Navidad. “Dormíamos abrazadas, extraño todas las noches el calorcito de su cuerpo”.

La separación ha sido un proceso muy difícil. “Hay días buenos y hay días malos, y entonces lo que hago es trabajar muy duro para olvidar ese dolorcito que siempre me acompaña”.

En este largo proceso su mamá ha sido la fuerza para resistir. “Tu hija es la más amada y querida, no te preocupes, todo esto va a pasar y cuando menos lo esperes estarán juntas de nuevo”, le dice su mamá.

Pero los malos pensamientos la acosan una y otra vez. “Algunas veces me siento muy culpable y me digo que soy una mala mamá, que dejé a mi hija, que está creciendo sin mí, que mi mamá en lugar de estar pendiente de su nieta debería vivir relajada y en paz”.

“No tengo cómo pagarle a mi mamá todo lo que ha hecho por Mariana y por mí”, dice Sheyla con una lágrima que moja sus mejillas. “Todos los días le doy gracias a Dios por tener a mi madre. Mi mamá sabe que las palabras no me alcanzan para decirle gracias”.

This article was produced by Capital & Main. It is published here with permission.

California could be the first state to ban the sale and installation of engineered stone, also known as quartz, as state regulators try to stem a growing silicosis epidemic among stone fabrication workers.

The occupational lung disease has killed 30 fabrication workers and sickened more than 550 in the state since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. 

A new state law that took effect Jan. 1 imposes tougher rules on the shops that cut, grind and polish the engineered stone used in kitchen and bathroom countertops. But health experts said it doesn’t go far enough to prevent workers from dying.

A petition was filed in December by the Western Occupational & Environmental Medical Association (WOEMA), a nonprofit representing occupational medicine physicians and other health and safety experts in seven Western states. It said that engineered stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica is too toxic to fabricate and proposed that state officials follow the lead of Australia, which became the first country to ban engineered stone in 2024 after facing a similar health crisis. 

But the proposal faces an uncertain future. Despite garnering the support of medical experts, public health officials and workers, it faces stiff opposition from the industry, including manufacturers who have argued that their costs would rise if they were forced to switch to safer alternatives. 

The proposed ban’s fate, and that of scores of California workers, rests in the hands of the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, a seven-member governor-appointed panel of experts that determines workplace standards in the state. 

The board is expected to decide whether to reject or accept the proposed ban at a public hearing later this month in Los Angeles. 

Medical experts said a ban is necessary to respond to a worsening public health crisis. 

“While we wait, while we talk about it, people are getting sick and dying,” said Dr. Robert Blink, an occupational medicine physician and former president of WOEMA. He urged regulators to act quickly to “stop future exposure and prevent more cases.”

Workers who fabricate engineered stone slabs can inhale dust containing tiny crystalline silica particles that tear and scar their lungs, making it extremely difficult to breathe. In California, that workforce is made up mostly of young Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants.

There is no cure for silicosis; the only treatment is supplemental oxygen and, eventually, a risky and expensive lung transplantation, which medical experts said may only prolong life by an average of six years. 

After working as a stone fabricator for 16 years and being diagnosed with silicosis, Oscar, 46, received a double lung transplant. 

“I think that if I hadn’t had the transplant, I wouldn’t be here to tell the story. Because in the end, I couldn’t even breathe with the oxygen,” Oscar said in Spanish. He spoke on condition that he be identified only by his first name to protect his privacy.

“At no point did we know that those materials caused silicosis,” he added. “But I think that as long as those materials exist, there will always be people willing to work with them, and people will always keep getting sick.”

Are Stricter Regulations Enough?

The new California law bans the dry cutting of engineered stone and mandates the use of wet cutting methods, ventilation and respirator masks. But many public health officials said that’s not enough and that engineered stone is too toxic to work safely with, even under the state’s tougher standards. 

“Engineered stone is definitely much more toxic to work with than natural stone,” Blink said, citing its higher silica content (over 90%) compared to natural stones such as marble and granite. The crystalline silica powder, mixed with other polymers and resins to bind it, generates an even more toxic nano-sized dust when cut, he added. 

“In order to work with the material safely, you would have to wear a class A hazmat suit,” Blink said, “and you simply can’t work the artistic corners of the material for your kitchen while wearing a space suit.”

Public health officials said the best way to protect workers from a toxic material is to eliminate it or substitute it with a safer option. It’s a more effective safeguard than workplace controls or personal protective equipment requirements, which may reduce the risks but do not get rid of them entirely, they added.

Since Australia banned the material, Blink said, manufacturers switched to producing amorphous silica stone slabs, a much safer option composed of ground glass. 

But industry representatives are pushing back on the proposed ban in California, claiming quartz can be safely fabricated when following safety measures of the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA. 

Cambria, the nation’s largest engineered quartz manufacturer, has blamed noncompliant fabrication shops for the growing silicosis epidemic in California. 

“The ban proposed by WOEMA will not effectively address the cluster of silicosis cases in Southern California. It will not stop the unsafe shops from operating and endangering their workers,” said Rebecca Shult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, at a Cal/OSHA meeting in March. 

Micah Aberson, a Cambria spokesperson, said the company “is committed to promoting the health and safety of all workers in the stone fabrication and installation business” through education, safety warning labels and by advocating for “stronger compliance and enforcement of safety regulations, along with the prosecution of reckless employers.”

Medical, health and safety experts said most shops cannot afford the expensive equipment needed to protect workers from contracting silicosis when fabricating engineered stone, rendering California’s current rules impractical and insufficient.

What’s Next?

In a series of hearings over the last six months, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board has heard presentations and other testimony from industry representatives, manufacturers, health experts and workers.

It remains unclear how the independent, governor-appointed board might vote on the matter. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not answer Capital & Main’s questions about his position on the proposed ban. 

Members of the board have publicly expressed concern over the rising number of silicosis cases in the state, but none of the five current appointees have made it clear in public remarks in recent months whether they support a ban on engineered stone. Capital & Main reached out to the board for comment.

“I don’t know how we fix this problem,” board member Nola J. Kennedy said at a public hearing in March. 

“As an industrial hygienist, I do believe the material can be worked with safely, but as someone who sits here and listens to testimony, I believe it’s not being worked with safely,” Kennedy said. 

Board Chair Joseph Alioto Jr., whom Newsom appointed in 2023, said at a hearing in February that the state should focus on enforcement following the passage of SB20, which increased penalties for workplace violations, and suggested partnering with local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys. 

In a letter later that month, the board urged district attorneys in the seven counties that account for 95% of silicosis cases in California to criminally prosecute fabrication shops that are dry cutting in violation of the new state law. 

“With an estimated 1,400 stone fabrication shops in the State, the regulatory bodies alone cannot feasibly enforce these regulations with the power and urgency needed to save lives,” the Feb. 27 letter said. “You can play an enormously important role by prosecuting and deterring the violations that are killing Californians.” 

Even if the Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board approves a ban on engineered stone, the decision would initiate a rulemaking process that could take years before the ban is fully implemented. In the meantime, health experts said they expect silicosis cases to keep rising.

“Banning it won’t take care of it today. It’ll take several years to actually execute and implement,” board member Chris Laszcz-Davis said at a public hearing in April. “What do we do in the interim to make sure that this doesn’t continue?” 

Regardless of the board’s decision, Blink said consumers and designers have an opportunity to push the industry to adopt alternative amorphous silica stone slabs, which are already available in California. 

At the April hearing, he urged the board not to waste this opportunity to protect workers: “Why are we continuing to allow this inherently toxic material to endanger and damn our workers to unhealthy lives and early deaths?”

Capital & Main is an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports from California on the most pressing economic, environmental and social issues of our time, including economic inequality, climate change, health care, threats to democracy, hate and extremism and immigration.​

Copyright 2026 Capital & Main

This article first appeared on KFF Health News. Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

When Gavin Newsom ran for California governor in 2018, his support for a state-run single-payer healthcare system was considered a risky move and earned him hefty labor endorsements.

Today, leading Democrats in the wide-open race to succeed Newsom have embraced single-payer as a political necessity, an answer to voters fed up with rising premiums and other spiraling healthcare costs.

But with no clear front-runner, they are sparring among themselves in debates and political ads over who is most committed to a government-run model. No candidate has outlined how California would fund comprehensive health coverage for its 40 million residents, leaving voters unable to discern which candidate has a concrete plan for the nation’s most populous state.

Healthcare and political experts said the concept of single-payer has shifted from progressive pipe dream a decade ago to today’s mainstream talking points in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1. Democrats have pledged the model as the best way to lower costs in an attempt to woo voters worried about affordability as ballots arrive for the June 2 primary. The top two Republicans, meanwhile, have dismissed government-run healthcare as a “disaster” and “socialism.”

“In many ways, single-payer healthcare has become a progressive litmus test,” said Larry Levitt, a former White House policy adviser and a healthcare expert at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Few voters fully understand the term single-payer, let alone expect the next governor to achieve it, Levitt said. Rather, he added, the term has become more of a signal to voters about a candidate’s approach to healthcare reform.

Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, who for decades backed single-payer healthcare in Congress, has come under criticism from opponents for a nuanced but clear shift away from single-payer. It came after Becerra secured an endorsement from the California Medical Association, a powerful group representing doctors and a longtime opponent of single-payer healthcare bills in California.

At a May 5 debate put on by CNN, Becerra declared his support for “Medicare for All,” a proposal for a federally run system that’s been stalled for years, but he declined to say whether he’d pursue a California-led effort. He said his immediate focus would be on mitigating the drastic federal cuts expected to hit low-income and disabled enrollees in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which covers more than a third of residents.

Becerra is counting on voters not to distinguish between the often-confused terms single-payer, Medicare for All, and universal coverage, noting during the debate that “Californians don’t care what you call it, so long as they have affordable healthcare.”

“A lot of people aren’t clear what single-payer is, and they need a metaphor to understand it,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist and one of the lead pollsters for former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who’s touted his self-funding as a signal he can’t be bought, has emerged as the race’s most vocal advocate of single-payer after opposing it during a short-lived 2020 presidential bid.

As governor, Steyer has said, he would pass legislation backed by the California Nurses Association that has failed to come to fruition under Newsom’s tenure. Pressed on how he would cover the estimated $731.4 billion cost, Steyer told KFF Health News that “God is going to be in the details.”

At a forum last year, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter said she didn’t believe achieving such a system was realistic in the near term, but the Orange County Democrat later told party delegates that she would “deliver single-payer.” Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Democrats who are trailing their competitors in the polls, don’t support single-payer. The top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to the November general election.

Some of the most seasoned politicians have failed to deliver single-payer. Newsom, who campaigned on the promise of being a “healthcare governor,” dialed back his ambitions upon taking office, choosing instead to pursue “universal access” to health coverage under a series of Medi-Cal expansions and efforts to contain healthcare spending.

Vermont, which remains the only state to pass a single-payer healthcare law, reversed course when leaders there couldn’t identify a funding source.

To enact single-payer, California would need permission from the federal government to redirect billions of dollars from Medicaid, Medicare, and other funding that currently flows to the system — approval not likely to come from the Trump administration.

More than half of adults nationally say healthcare costs will have a major impact on whom they vote for in November, according an April KFF poll.

Danielle Cendejas, a Los Angeles-based Democratic consultant who works with state legislative candidates, said single-payer healthcare increasingly appears on candidate questionnaires from small-business advocates as well as hyperlocal Democratic clubs, in state legislative races and national union endorsements.

What most California voters want to hear, Cendejas said, is how candidates plan to give them more immediate relief from higher premiums, expensive drug costs, and long waits to access care.

The high price tag doesn’t faze Jennifer Easton, a 63-year-old Democrat from Oakland, who said other countries with similar models have proved they can lower costs. She said she supports a single-payer health system because it’s clear to her that Americans have reached the limits of working within the existing system. But she isn’t expecting any of the current candidates to succeed in implementing one, and she hasn’t decided whom to support.

“No one can in four years,” she said. Seeing a candidate enthusiastically support the concept gives her a good idea of their philosophy. “It is, if we’re lucky, a 20-year, 25-year plan.”

Rob Stutzman, a Republican political consultant who advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said while Americans may be supportive of single-payer in polls, focus groups suggest that approval drops quickly when voters realize it could mean losing their current doctor or insurance plan.

At the CNN debate, Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate President Donald Trump has endorsed, said Californians would end up with subpar patient care and “taxes sky high to pay for it,” like in his native United Kingdom.

Instead, Hilton suggested the state stop providing “free healthcare for illegal immigrants who shouldn’t even be in the country in the first place.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

San Diego Padres pitching prospect Humberto Cruz pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving money to transport noncitizen immigrants within the United States.

The San Diego Tribune reported on Friday that Cruz, who is not a U.S. citizen, acknowledged in a plea agreement that he almost certainly would be deported. The Padres told the paper that the 19-year-old also would likely lose his work visa for 10 years, but can reapply after five years if he demonstrates good behavior.

Cruz underwent Tommy John surgery last August and had been rehabbing at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona in late October at the time of his arrest near a border town.

Cruz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in November in exchange for prosecutors dismissing a felony charge, according to the paper. He was sentenced to 30 days in prison with credit for time served.

The Padres placed Cruz on the restricted list in March and declined further comment.

The Padres signed Cruz out of Monterrey, Mexico, for $750,000 in February 2024.

A warming trend will continue through Monday in San Diego County, and next week will begin hotter than normal, the National Weather Service said Saturday.

Temperatures will peak around 10 to 20 degrees above normal Monday for inland areas with areas of moderate to high heat risk.

A cooling trend with a deepening marine layer will return by the middle of next week as an area of low pressure approaches the West Coast, according to forecasters. Until then, high pressure off the coast will begin to build through Monday, which will suppress the marine layer even further. This will keep low clouds and fog within 10-15 miles of the coast, according to the NWS.

“This system will also bring a warming trend to the region through Monday as high temperatures increase a couple degrees again on Sunday with greater warming on Monday,” the NWS said.

By Monday, highs will reach 105 to 110 degrees across the deserts.

“Heat alerts have been issued for these areas, so please take breaks and drink fluids if you are outdoors for long periods,” the NWS said. “Cooler weather will occur at the coast with a mix of clouds and sun.”

By Tuesday, temperatures will drop about 5 degrees across the deserts and coast and up to 10 degrees for inland valleys. Inland areas will cool again into Wednesday.

Mountains and deserts can also expect increasing southwest and west winds near 25-45 mph, with temperatures near to slightly above average with continued dry weather expected.

The extreme heat warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday for San Diego County deserts.

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Computers connected to the Bitcoin network using a client who validates and relays the transactions are known as nodes. Each node gets a copy of the blockchain, which is automatically downloaded upon joining the network. The blockchain has all the information concerning the addresses and their respective balances right from the first block to the recently completed block.

Breaking Down Blockchain Technology

The blockchain stands as proof of all Bitcoin transactions, and that’s why it’s seen as the leading technological innovation of Bitcoin. All the recent Bitcoin transactions are recorded in the current part of a blockchain known as the block.

Once the block is completed, it goes into the blockchain as a permanent database. A new block is usually generated once the older block gets completed and the number of such blocks in the blockchain is countless.

However, you should understand that the blocks are not randomly placed in a blockchain. They are usually connected to each other like a chain, in a proper linear and chronological order. Every block usually contains a hash of the previous block.

Blockchain Vs Banking Transactions

The blockchain technology can be compared to the full history of banking transactions. Bitcoin transactions are entered in a blockchain in chronological order; the same way bank transactions are entered. The blocks, on the other hand, are quite similar to individual bank statements.

Following the Bitcoin protocol, all the nodes participating in a system share the blockchain database. One can find the records of every blockchain transaction ever completed in the full copy of the blockchain, and they can easily get an insight into the facts of a particular address at any point in the past.

Many people have hailed the blockchain as the revolutionary holder of the promise the internet did close to two decades ago. Even business figures like Richard Branson and Bill Gates have positively commented on its potential.

When the former UK Prime Minister David Cameron included a blockchain expert in his entourage during his trade mission to Asia, many were surprised. Yet, those who have been keeping tabs with blockchain technology were excited to see decision makers start embracing the undeniable potential of this technology.

Blockchain Possibilities and Applications

Financial experts say that blockchain possibilities are limitless and its applications are very wide. Some of its applications include:

• Storing the identities of clients,
• Handling cross-border payments,
• Clearing and settling bond or equity trades and
• Handling self-executing smart contracts – like a credit derivative which pays out automatically or bonds which regularly pay interest to the holders.

Other experts even argue that the technology has the capability to disrupt companies which have forged reputations as disruptors like Airbnb and Uber. Blockchain, at its core, is a network of computers, which must approve any transaction which takes place before it’s recorded in a computer node.

Like with Bitcoin, the technology’s first application which is normally applied to money, all transactions are secured through cryptography, and the costs are usually shared amongst those in the network. The transfer details are then recorded on a public ledger which can be seen by anyone on the network.

Central Lender Vs Shared Database

In the present banking system, all client information is kept in a central lender. In a blockchain, on the other hand, all the information is stored in a shared database in a transparent manner, and no one acts as a middleman during the entire process. Many agree that this creates trust amongst the parties involved, and there is no chance for abuse from any party in a dominant position.

The lack of a central authority in the blockchain is the feature which created a lot of worry amongst the traditional financial institutions. This is because most of these institutions gave central authority a wide berth. The idea that seemed to be borne out, especially when cryptocurrency was in the center of major scandals like transacting drug money to the disappearance of client assets.

However, almost every major financial institution has overcome this initial suspicion and started embracing the technology.  The technology has transformed from being labeled as a threat targeting the banks to being heralded as the back office makeover of the banks. This became a very bitter blow to those who propagated the idea of blockchain technology as a threat to the global banking system.

Banks Hiring Blockchain Specialists

Some banks have even started hiring specialists to investigate the ways in which block chain can be used to increase speed and reduce the costs in payments as well as trade finance. While some consider this as the scenario where suits are replacing hoodies and ripped jeans. Some of these experiments which were conducted secretly have already started to earnest in the past few years.

There is a huge desire to make the blockchain technology successful. It has major rewards to financial institutions: doing away with inefficient intermediaries in the banking sector can save billion for consumers and the financial sector too.

According to a recent study conducted by a Spanish bank Santander, block-chain technology will reduce banks’ infrastructure costs for cross-border payments, regulatory compliance, and securities trading by $15 billion to $20 billion in a single year.

Financial experts agree that the technology will work very well in many areas, and it is very easy to predict how it can revolutionize the financial sector. It is set to reduce the time taken for securities settlement and also reduce the amount of capital which is usually held by banks against each trade.

Blockchain and Cyber Crimes

Block-chain also presents an opportunity for the big banks which are struggling to modernize their outdated IT infrastructure. Most of these banks are facing immense pressure from cyber-criminals, digital challengers and their regulators and the technology will give them the opportunity to plan much of what they can achieve.

One of the features in the blockchain technology being eagerly explored is its ability to provide identity and the history of the individual’s transaction records which cannot be forged. Insurance companies believe that the interlinking records could be highly useful when it comes to cross-checking the actions of a particular individual.

Its distributed ledger can be used to store either an individual’s or a company’s validated data. This is something financial experts say if applied globally, can offer more security over the identity of the data and its storage location.

Some governments are also said to be investigating the potential of the technology. For example, the government of Honduras is currently handling land titles using the technology while the Isle of Man has started registering its companies using the technology. It is believed that a longer term ledger which cannot be tampered with can be used in the healthcare industry to store medical records or develop tamper-proof voting systems.

Read Also:

• How The Blockchain Can Protect Your Fintech Data
• What’s the Scope For Careers in Blockchain Technology & Cryptocurrency?
• Blockchain Development: Necessary Competencies to Master

Author Bio

Brooke loves surfing through social media, so she made it a full time job and works as a social media manager at Entrance Software Consulting Company. And loves all things Tech. When not working, she eats and sleeps, in that order.

This article is originally published on 02 May 2017.

The post How Blockchain Technology Can Transform The Finance Industry? appeared first on Fincyte.

Even before Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe popped off on the Union-Tribune’s Editorial Board this week, the Board caught my eye. 

The Editorial Board recently started endorsing City Council candidates, as it does every election year. 

So far this year, the board has chosen Richard Bailey, Mark Powell, Gerardo Ramirez and sitting Councilmember Henry Foster III.

It’s not the endorsements themselves that got my attention. It’s who’s actually making them. 

Editorial Board may sound like a large, imposing group of people sitting around a long mahogany table; but in the case of the U-T it is not. Now, it is just two people. 

Editorial Boards are misunderstood little life forms. When a newspaper endorses a candidate, regular people don’t really know what that means. They think that the upper echelons of people at the U-T sit down and decide who to back. Not exactly. 

The paper’s Editorial Board decides. It has generally been a group of people totally walled off — at least metaphorically — from the rest of the newsroom. Sometimes it might include the paper’s publisher or editor-in-chief. Frequently, it is just a group of opinion writers. 

That’s how it has worked at the U-T. In 2023, the Board has had as many as seven people. It was a group of opinion writers — no upper management — doing their thing, apart from the rest of the operation. 

To be sure, it had quite a few White men — some liberal, some conservative. But it also had several young people and women of color. They would do copious research, have intense deliberations about whom to endorse and eventually come to a decision.  

The Board lost three people to buy outs when Alden Global Capital purchased the U-T in 2023. Another left. Then another got laid off and claimed she was censored for writing about immigration raids. That left two. 

The U-T’s current board is made up of Chris Reed and Tania Navarro, both long time reporters and editors. This isn’t aimed at either of them personally. It’s aimed at the number of them — and the wild presumption of two people, hiding behind the title of Editorial Board, telling a county of 3.3 million people how to vote. 

Montgomery Steppe came at Reed by name in her social media post. She insinuated he was essentially in charge of making the endorsements himself. 

She also accused the Board of racism, writing that it chose an “absurd” photo of her that made her look like an “angry Black woman.” 

I texted Reed, but he told me he didn’t want to comment. He said the Editorial Board was working on its own response to Montgomery Steppe to be published Friday. 

The Board appeared to release that response, in the form of an endorsement of Kristine Alessio, Montgomery Steppe’s opponent. 

The endorsement barely addressed Montgomery Steppe’s criticisms. “The U-T Editorial Board has no desire to feud with Montgomery Steppe,” Reed and Navarro simply wrote. 

Montgomery Steppe’s criticism contained one other interesting kernel. She said the Editorial Board asked her only four questions. 

“No in depth interview about the body of my work or qualifications. Four questions. Asking me about other people’s policies and priorities rather than mine,” she wrote. 

It’s true. The Board asked her and Alessio both only four questions. 

That too is a departure from the past.  

I have heard from past Board members that the previous endorsement process was extremely arduous. It required lots of research and discussion. And beyond that, it required in-depth interviews, conducted live with the candidates. The Board would sometimes interview candidates for an hour each and then post the recordings or transcripts. 

Now the Board is limiting candidates to about 600 words — and using those words as a serious basis for the final endorsement decision.

As the number of people on the Board has decreased, it’s not just a diversity of opinions that has been lost. It’s also the Board’s ability to conduct a robust, heavily-researched endorsement process. 

— Will Huntsberry

Josh Coyne, Well-Known Protecting Neighborhoods Guy

If you’re new here, we want to see the mailers, interesting social media ads and campaign text messages you receive. We got a good text message advertisement this week. 

It was touting Josh Coyne, who is running in the southern coastal City Council district against several other people including Richard Bailey, Nicole Crosby and Mandy Havlik. 

“Democrats in our district have had enough of politicians who talk about protecting neighborhoods and then approve every developer project that comes through City Hall,” the ad said. Coyne will “oppose height limit increases in coastal communities” and “demand real community input before any major development moves forward.” 

That felt strange because in a previous candidate forum Coyne seemed like an unrepentant pro-growth, YIMBY kind of guy. 

He also previously told us he supports the Midway Rising project moving forward, even though it will breach the height limit. 

We asked Coyne whether he stands by the ad. Coyne seemed surprised. He said he hadn’t been aware of it, but would get back to us with a few thoughts. At press time, we still hadn’t heard from him.  

Coyne himself didn’t pay for the ad. It was paid for LiUNA, the laborers union. 

Related: Bailey seems to have gotten some inspiration from the socialist who won New York’s mayoral race: Zohran Mamdani.

Check out their logos. Mamdani’s:

And Bailey’s:

GOP Chaos: Which Is the Real Republican Voter Guide?

Loyal Politics Report subscribers will remember the Republican Party of San Diego County’s inability or unwillingness to settle on key endorsements this cycle. The Central Committee did not put out an official Republican Party voter guide.

It seemed to work out just fine for Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, whose Reform California voter guide was set to fill the vacuum. But his rivals, Sen. Brian Jones, Rep. Darrell Issa and the former chair of the Republican Party, before DeMaio ousted him, Corey Gustafson, put together their own Big Beautiful Voter Guide.

Now they’re attacking each other.

“We have now confirmed that the FAKE Republican Voter Guide mailer has hit every neighborhood in North and East San Diego County – along with blatantly dishonest mailers attacking our endorsed Republican candidates in target races. You most likely received at least one of these deceptive mailers or you soon will!” DeMaio warned his followers.

He pointed them to the “REAL San Diego County Voter Guide for Republicans” at RepublicanVoterGuideCA.com.

The two big Republican battles this June are in the county supervisor race, where San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones is running against Vista Mayor John Franklin for the chance to face Democrat Kyle Krahel in North County. The other is the race to replace Sen. Brian Jones, where Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane is running against San Marcos Republican City Councilmember Ed Musgrove.

DeMaio supports Jones and Kristie Bruce-Lane, as does his voter guide.

It certainly looks official, what with the “official” label.

But then there’s the thumbnail rendering that comes up when someone texts you the link to the REAL guide DeMaio puts out.

And that definitely looks like it’s from the Central Committee. What with the “Central Committee” tag on it, for example. But the Central Committee, again, did not take a position on these two key races.

Issa sent a response. “Carl DeMaio is actively lying to Republican voters. He has abandoned any commitment to the truth in his attacks against fellow Republicans.”

He’s touting the San Diego Republican Leadership Endorsement Guide at sdrepublicans.com, which is also not affiliated at all officially with the Republican Party. That guide supports Franklin and Musgrove.

“Carl is wasting valuable time, energy, and resources on destructive intraparty fights that only hurt our movement,” Issa wrote. The party of course could settle a lot of this but the local GOP has dissolved away into a forum simply for infighting leaving a vacuum this kind of fight.

Off the Record: It Was a Huge Success

Thank you to everyone who came to last week’s Off the Record event (you can see some of the photos here). Matt Awbrey and Jamie Fox were as good as ever as emcees and a special gratitude for chairing and inspiring the event to Lani Lutar. The organizers were amazing: our Julianne Markow, Kaila Weedman and Kaylie Sadlon (K2) And a big thanks to our video guy, John DeBello and Richard Bailey, Barbara Bry, Vivian Moreno, Dan Rottenstreich, Brigette Browning, Sean Elo-Rivera, Bill Wells, Steve Vaus, Chris Cate, Nick Serrano and Lauren Cazares. Your senses of humor are elite.

It seems we’ll have to do it bigger and better again next year.

If you have any feedback or ideas for the editorial board of the Politics Report, send them to scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org or will.huntsberry@voiceofsandiego.org.

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It would be an engineering project on a truly epic scale, but we may one day need to consider building a dam between Alaska and eastern Russia. The audacious proposal would be designed to stave off the worst consequences of the collapse of a vital ocean current, and researchers have been mulling it over this week at a major conference.

The idea comes from Jelle Soons and his colleague Henk Dijkstra at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, who study the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC. This current system, which includes the Gulf Stream, is a major reason why northern Europe has a relatively mild climate for its latitude.

However, we know the current is weakening. There is huge uncertainty about what would happen if it collapses, but some models suggest it could see temperatures in northern Europe drastically plunge.

Soons thought a dam could be a possible intervention after hearing about how during the Pliocene era, from roughly 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago, sea levels were lower and there was a land bridge where we now find the Bering Strait. Simulations of the Pliocene climate show the AMOC was stronger then, mainly thanks to that land bridge. “I was like: ok, could we do this again?” says Soons.

To investigate the effects of building such a dam, Soons and Dijkstra ran simulations of the AMOC varying both the date when the dam would be built and the exact amount of freshwater present.

Freshwater is a key part of the equation because it currently flows from the Pacific through the Bering Strait into the north Atlantic, which weakens the AMOC. Building a dam would stop or slow the flow.

In work published a few weeks ago, Soons and Dijkstra obtained mixed results: in some scenarios the dam appeared to strengthen the AMOC, but in others it had the opposite effect. However, those results came from a relatively simple and low-resolution model.

On 5 May at the European Geosciences Union general assembly in Vienna, Austria, Soons presented work that repeated the simulations on a supercomputer using a much more advanced climate model. This indicated that closing the Strait would strengthen AMOC, especially if the dam were built early – by at least 2050. “I was surprised at how strong the recovery was,” says Soons.

The Bering Strait is only 59 metres deep at its deepest point and there are two small islands in the middle, meaning any barrier could conceivably be built in two halves. Ed McCann, a past president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and now at Expedition Engineering says the best way to do this would be to avoid concrete and instead use floating machinery to build a barrier of rock and dredged sand. “This sort of construction is pretty simple, just very big and very expensive,” he wrote in an email.

Jonathan Rosser at the London School of Economics says that the work is interesting but that because we don’t fully understand the AMOC, we can’t be sure of the consequences of such an intervention. “These drastic things really do have big uncertainties attached.”

Soons agrees and says that while building a dam might be helpful to northern Europe, it could create other problems, such as altering rainfall patterns, elsewhere. “Whether you would consider this a serious proposal? I don’t think we’re there yet,” he says.

This is not the first time that researchers have mulled the idea of building a huge sea dam to mitigate climate change. In 2020, Sjoerd Groeskamp at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research unveiled an idea called the Northern European Enclosure Dam, which would involve building two barriers to hem in the sea between the UK and Europe and prevent rising sea levels from inundating low-lying parts of the continent.

As well as effects on climate, any such dam would have other side effects on things like marine-mammal migrations, tides and shipping to remote communities. Soons says he has toyed with ideas like building half a barrier or having it descend to a depth of only say 10 metres. These are “interesting ideas” he says, although he hasn’t yet had a chance to consider their merits properly.

Topics:

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WASHINGTON — The Space Systems Command’s commercial space office awarded Viasat a $307 million contract to provide satellite communications services for the U.S. Marine Corps. The company is retaining the work after winning a recompete for the contract supporting Marine Corps global communications.according to a May 8 announcement.

The five-year contract is for the Marine Corps Enterprise Commercial Satellite Services, or MECS2.

“This contract provides access to multi-orbit commercial satellite communications in all commercially available frequency bands via orbit and terrestrial resources, day-to-day resource management. Work will be performed at varying locations worldwide,” the announcement said.

The Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office procures commercial satellite communications services on behalf of U.S. military branches. Under the MECS2 program, the Marine Corps is seeking to integrate multi-orbit and multi-band services that leverage newer commercial satellite architectures.

The contract covers both transponded bandwidth capacity and end-to-end managed services across multiple satellite frequency bands, as well as cellular connectivity intended to support worldwide communications requirements.

The reference to “multi-orbit” reflects a broader Defense Department push to combine services from satellites operating in geostationary orbit, medium Earth orbit and low Earth orbit rather than relying on a single network architecture. 

Inmarsat, which was acquired by Viasat in 2023, previously held the MECS2 contract. The procurement was opened to competitors last year, though only Viasat submitted a proposal.

Related

Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense…
More by Sandra Erwin

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NASA

Following the success of its Artemis II crewed mission, NASA is now turning its focus to the next milestones in its plan to put astronauts back on the moon. The space agency has been eyeing a moon landing in 2028, and it’s tapped Blue Origin and SpaceX to provide the landers that could support humans on the surface (though neither company has demonstrated a moon landing yet). This week, NASA shared that it now has a full-scale prototype of the crew cabin of Blue Origin’s Mark 2 lander so it can begin training.

With the 15-foot-tall prototype at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the space agency and Blue Origin will be able to “conduct a series of human-in-the-loop tests, or tests with human interaction, including mission scenarios, mission control communications, spacesuit checkouts, and preparations for simulated moonwalks,” NASA explained. This mock-up only includes the crew cabin, which sits at the base of the lander — the whole thing with the rest of the systems integrated will be a towering 52-feet-tall when it goes to the moon. But as recent attempts have shown, landing smoothly on the moon isn’t easy, and both Blue Origin and SpaceX have their work cut out for them to get their landers ready on NASA’s current timeline.

An uncrewed version of Blue Origin’s lander, dubbed Endurance (or MK1), has been undergoing testing in NASA’s thermal vacuum chamber ahead of its first mission this year, in which it will deliver science payloads to the lunar surface. For the next leg of the Artemis program, the Artemis III crew will fly in the Orion spacecraft to low Earth orbit and test docking capabilities with Blue Origin and SpaceX’s landers, or whichever one is ready. NASA is targeting 2027 for this mission.

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LA JOLLA – Calling all gardening enthusiasts.

If you’ve ever wanted to take a stroll through some of the most private gardens in one of San Diego’s most exclusive areas, you’re in luck, because the annual Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla is coming up soon.

The fundraising event, which is produced by the La Jolla Historical Society and is now in its 27th year, offers an exclusive glimpse into six private gardens, showcasing the artistry of local landscapers, architects, and designers. Tickets start at $55.

“All of the proceeds go right back into our free exhibitions and public programs,” said Lauren Lockhart, La Jolla Historical Society executive director.

Participants don’t have to be members of the La Jolla Historical Society to participate, but members do receive early access and discounted rates.

The scheduled hours of the tour are from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. However, it’s up to each individual regarding how long they want to participate.

“Because it’s a self-driving tour, folks could choose to really take their time and explore all six gardens included on the tour,” Lockhart said. “Some will enjoy the gardens all day long, then come back at the end of the day. But if you are in a time crunch, none of the gardens are terribly far apart, and so you could see all of them in a shorter time frame; you don’t need six hours to see them all.”

A new component added to this year’s event is a “Lunch and Learn” ticket, where tour participants can also gain knowledge from master gardeners at a meal setting.

“This is something that can actually be purchased in tandem with a self-driving ticket to the tour,” Lockhart said. “It will include a beautiful catered lunch at a historical location. So, if you’re planning to tour the gardens with friends, this is a great way to break up your tour stops.

“You can stop in the middle of the day, have a fabulous lunch, and you’ll also be able to meet master gardeners there who’ll be offering some tips and tricks and sharing some of their expertise with the lunch attendees,” she said.

Another selling point is that at each stop on the tour, participants will find more than just gardens.

“In every garden there is an artist, a musician, and a tabletop designer who’s enhancing your experience in each of the gardens, so that’s something really unique about this tour,” Lockhart said. “Not only are you experiencing these beautiful private gardens, but you also get to hear fabulous live music, see a planter painter at work, and see some lovely designs on the tabletops.

“It’s a really great day,” she said.

Secret Garden Tour

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, May 16; luncheon is from noon to 2 p.m.

Cost: $55 for La Jolla Historical Society members, $65 for non-members. Starting May 11, the cost for each increases by $10.

U.S. immigration authorities have canceled the visas of more than two dozen people, including some who worked on a Disney Cruise Line ship, amid allegations they possessed or had viewed child sexual abuse images.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Friday that they boarded eight cruise ships in late April and determined that 27 people, most from the Philippines, were involved in “the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing” of child sexual abuse images.

The agency canceled the visas of those involved and returned them to their home countries, the statement said.

The agency did not say if any passengers aboard the ships were believed to be victims. It also did not say which ships agents boarded, why those ships were targeted or where the operations took place. The statement said no additional information was available.

Media outlets reported at least some of the ships had docked in San Diego.

Disney Cruise Line in a statement said the company has a “zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company.”

A federal lawsuit against San Diego County filed by the family of a 43-year-old woman who was found half-submerged in a Lemon Grove drainage ditch and later died, will be allowed to move forward.

The judge agreed that the family has shown enough evidence in its claims that county first responders refused to provide care for Irma Espinoza when a neighbor called 911 to report seeing her in the ditch three days prior to her getting treatment.

According to the family’s December 2025 lawsuit, Lemon Grove resident Richard Quinones saw Espinoza on July 27, 2025, near his home. At the time, Espinoza was “neatly dressed,” and the two had a brief conversation about the heat.

“Ms. Espinoza was fanning her face with her hand, saying, ‘It’s hot, it’s hot,’ and Mr.
Quinones gave her two water bottles,” said the lawsuit.

Two days later, Quinones was walking his dogs when he saw Espinoza sitting in the dirt with her legs partially submerged in the drainage ditch. Quinones, according to the family’s lawsuit, asked if she wanted him to call for help. She told him yes.

Quinones called 911 just after 8:35 a.m. that morning. When a female deputy arrived on the scene, Quinones said he saw the deputy’s patrol cruiser arrive and then suddenly leave, without checking on Espinoza.

Quinones called 911 again. As he was on the phone with dispatch, the lawsuit alleges Quinones received another call from the deputy who had left earlier. The deputy, according to the federal complaint, told Quinones that Espinoza was a “transient.”

The Lemon Grove man said felt intimidated and assumed someone would come check on Espinoza.

Quinones said he did not see Espinoza for two days. Then, according to the lawsuit, another neighbor saw a man emerge from the area near the ditch, “acting suspiciously.”

On August 1, 2025, Quinones was back walking his dogs when he heard someone moaning from the edge of the drainage pond. He checked and saw a woman, later identified as Espinoza, half-dressed, covered in ants and nearly fully submerged.

“When the first responders pulled her out at about 7:07 a.m., Ms. Espinoza had agonal breathing and heavy ant activity over the entirety of her body,” attorneys stated in the court documents.

Espinoza’s body was stiff, and she was suffering from hypothermia. At the hospital, doctors found numerous contusions and abrasions on her body. Espinoza died at the hospital. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was from heavy alcohol use, cirrhosis and pancreatitis.

In their lawsuit, the family contends that the medical examiner failed to look at any physical injuries or whether or not Espinoza was sexually assaulted.

Once the family filed their wrongful death lawsuit alleging that deputies and others violated Espinoza’s rights by not conducting a physical check after Quinones’s first 911 call, the county asked the court to throw it out, arguing that neither the county nor the deputies were at fault for her death.

In a written ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel rejected most of those arguments.

Curiel found that the deputy may have “exposed Ms. Espinoza to a situation that was more dangerous than the one she found her in.” The judge also declined to dismiss causes of action against three of the deputy’s supervisors, who are accused of knowing the deputy failed to return to the scene and had dissuaded Quinones from assisting.

In a statement to Times of San Diego, the family’s attorney, Julia Yoo, said Espinoza and her family deserved more.

“Irma Espinoza was a daughter, a sister, and a mom, not a ‘transient’ deputies can discard in a ditch. Irma’s family is grateful for the opportunity to uncover the truth of what happened and to ensure all people are treated with dignity and fairness by law enforcement and the Medical Examiner.”

“We did not receive that information.” 

Over and over, the audience heard this answer to questions posed to Seattle-based data researchers looking at deaths in San Diego County jails. 

One of the researchers, Cheryl Brown Hill, referred to her team’s correspondence with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office under the California Public Records Act in her answer.

“We asked similar questions in our CPRA requests, and on the whole we were not able to obtain any data,” she said. 

Audience members submitted numerous questions during Thursday’s meeting of the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) – they wanted to know, among other things, how long it took sheriff’s staff to intervene once alerted to medical distress, whether victims of in-custody homicides were charged with crimes against women and children and if deceased inmates had been in solitary confinement prior to their deaths. 

Most of those audience members did not get answers, to the frustration of everyone, including board members and the researchers themselves, from Mountain-Whisper-Light: Statistics and Data Science. 

“These were really good questions. They’re very insightful. They’re important questions, and we would have loved to have gotten the data so that we could have looked into those issues,” said Michele Dietch, another one of the researchers. 

The research team worked for three years on studying in-custody deaths in county jails. They were able to show that the most dangerous time and place for an inmate is within the first two days of booking at one of the county’s seven detention facilities, San Diego Central Jail. 

However, the Sheriff’s Office did not release data that would have let researchers compare those who died to those who lived.

“Comparing those who died to those who didn’t die allows you to identify a cause. Once you have a cause, then somebody can try to do something about changing that cause,” said Nayak Polissar, the study’s lead author. “We’ve emphasized getting the data. You can’t make any conclusions without the data.” 

That data was particularly important for the Mountain-Whisper-Light team’s methods, which rely on actual deaths recorded in county jails rather than projections, models and comparisons with other counties. 

“Once you close yourself into just looking at San Diego, never compared to anything in the rest of the world, what do you contrast inside? The biggest contrast: Person who enters jail and dies and person who enters jail and does not die,” said Nirnaya Miljacic, who attended the meeting in person to present the study. But lacking the data, he said, “you cut 90% of things” that could have been learned. 

“It just goes away,” he told the board. 

The resulting report fell short of what CLERB wanted when it initiated the study. Board members shared researchers’ frustrations over the department, led by Sheriff Kelly Martinez, withholding information.  

At one point, the board hired an attorney to sue the sheriff for the release of data. It did not work; assistant sheriff Dustin Lopez explained why.

“The information that was not provided was protected by law. And that’s obviously personal medical data, booking information, charges and mental health history and stuff like that,” Lopez said during closing comments. “We’re trying to be, as an office, as transparent as possible.”

One advocate who spoke during public comments, Yusef Miller of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition, noted that the frustration the board and researchers felt was a small taste of what families who lost loved ones in jail have gone through for years while fighting for the sheriff to release information. 

“Data, data and the lack of data is all you’ve heard,” Miller said. “If you were an impacted family, you can now feel some of the frustration that they have trying to get data on their loved ones. And they don’t work for the county like you do. They’re not hired (as) a contractor like you guys are.” 

In an effort to circumvent the sheriff’s office, the research team submitted public records requests to five other county departments, hoping for better results. However, other than the Health and Human Services Agency, those departments said they did not have access to the data the team sought. 

“We did make attempts to obtain the necessary data for the study in these other avenues, and we’re mostly unsuccessful in obtaining that,” Brown Hill said. 

The researchers noted HHSA was extremely cooperative to their requests and provided data they had on whether those inmates who died had accessed mental health services. 

But without mental health data from the Sheriff’s office, researchers solely relied on suicides and overdose deaths as a crude aproximation of the overall mental health picture. 

“I just want to re-emphasize that we did not receive any mental health data about any incarcerated person who died, or anyone who did not die,” Brown Hill said. “So we can’t really make any statements about the impact of mental health, although it stands to reason.” 

Board chair MaryAnne Pintar praised the staticians for persevering through a difficult process. 

Another board member said the study was still helpful, even without reaching its intended goal. 

“This was extremely enlightening, educational to me, even though we need the data that we think we should have,” said R. Lee Brown. 

The Trump administration is conducting a review of the 53 Mexican consulates in the United States, a move that could lead some of them to be closed, a State Department official said Thursday.

No reason was given for the review, which was earlier reported by CBS News, or what it would entail, but it is likely to further inflame tensions between the neighboring countries. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump has engaged more aggressively in Latin America than any U.S. president in recent decades, capturing Venezuela’s leader in a military raid and pushing massive reforms in Venezuela, imposing an oil blockade on Cuba, getting involved in Argentine and Honduran elections, and threatening military action on Mexican cartels.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to maintain a strong relationship with Trump and offset U.S. threats by cracking down more heavily on Mexican cartels, resulting in a dip in homicides. But a series of scandals in recent weeks have set off a political firestorm in Mexico.

First, two CIA agents died in an anti-narcotics operation with local authorities in northern Chihuahua state, leading to days of contradictions by Mexican authorities. Then last week, the U.S. indicted a number of officials in Sheinbaum’s party — including a top ally — on drug-trafficking offenses.

Earlier this week, Trump once again remarked, “If Mexico doesn’t act, we will.”

It all has ramped up Trump administration pressure on Sheinbaum and fueled speculation about her insistence on ensuring Mexican sovereignty.

Mexico’s network of diplomatic outposts is by far the most extensive in the United States. Its consulates help Mexican citizens living in the U.S. by providing identification documents, legal assistance and other needs.

“The Department of State is constantly reviewing all aspects of American foreign relations to ensure they are in line with the President’s America First foreign policy agenda and advance American interests,” said Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs.

The U.S. has in recent years closed a Chinese consulate in Houston and three Russian facilities, including a consulate in San Francisco and outposts near Washington and New York.

The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) fell to its lowest level in over a year as its foreign exchange holdings slumped at end-April, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

Preliminary central bank data showed that the country’s GIR level stood at $104.128 billion as of end-April, down 2.35% from the $106.636 billion a month ago.

This was the lowest GIR level in 15 months or since the $103.271 billion logged in January 2025.

Year on year, the country’s dollar reserves slipped by 1.12% from $105.308 billion.

Still, the central bank noted that the end-April reserves are enough to cover about 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

It likewise translates to 6.9 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, more than double the three-month standard.

“The latest GIR level ensures availability of foreign exchange to meet balance of payments financing needs, such as for payment of imports and debt service, in extreme conditions when there are no export earnings or foreign loans,” the BSP said late on Thursday.

Dollar reserves are the central bank’s foreign assets held mostly as investments in foreign-issued securities, foreign exchange and monetary gold, among others.

These are supplemented by claims to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the form of reserve position in the fund and special drawing rights (SDRs).

BSP data showed that the latest decline in foreign reserves came as the country only held $464.9 billion in foreign exchange during the period, plunging by 73.38% from the $1.747 billion the prior month and by 30.85% from $672.3 million last year.

Its gold holdings were also slightly lower month on month as of end-April at $19.78 billion, down 1.97% from $20.177 billion at end-March. However, it jumped by 48.29% from $13.338 billion a year ago.

Meanwhile, its foreign investments dropped by 1.11% to $79.198 billion from $80.088 billion the previous month and by 8.63% from $86.674 billion a year earlier.

However, its reserve position in the IMF climbed by 1.3% month on month to $723.6 million as of end-April from $714.3 million previously but dipped 2.43% from $741.6 million in the same period in 2025.

The country’s SDRs — or the amount the Philippines can tap from the IMF’s reserve currency basket — also reached $3.961 billion, 1.29% higher than the $3.912 billion as of end-March and up 2.05% from $3.882 billion last year.

For 2026, the BSP sees the country’s foreign reserves ending at $111 billion.

Claire Huang, Synology Philippines country manager, said that amid the country’s advancing digital initiatives, resilience can no longer be treated as a secondary consideration.

“Government systems must be designed to handle disruptions, protect sensitive data, and keep essential services available at all times,” Ms. Huang said in a statement, noting that this is crucial to ensuring public trust as more services go online.

The Philippines is among the countries most affected by cyberattacks globally, including attacks such as ransomware, phishing, and identity theft, Synology said, citing the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025.

During the GOVX.0 Conference 2026 held a few days ago, Synology shared how government agencies can strengthen their systems’ resilience through reliable backup, faster data recovery, and the ability to maintain operations during unexpected events.

The tech company also offers solutions such as Synology ActiveProtect, a specialized, high-performance data protection solution.

It said that the solution helps organizations standardize recovery processes, reduce manual workloads, and respond quickly to disruptions that halt access to essential services.

Synology reiterated that data resilience will remain crucial in ensuring reliable and secure access for citizens amid the expansion of digital government services. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

“We recognize the vital roles of our schools in shaping our citizens,” CEAP Advocacy and Public Engagement Office Ina Claustro said during a press conference.

“It’s difficult to teach democracy when power continues to revolve only among few families,” she added in Filipino.

Ms. Claustro noted that schools bear the responsibility of teaching the youth that public offices are not inherited and should be used for the greater good.

“Education must produce citizens who are critical and engaged,” she said. “To our youth, do not lose hope, do not accept that this is how politics work.”

“Democracy only works when new voices are given space to lead. Leadership should be earned through competence, integrity, and service – not inherited by some people,” she added.

The D1L movement proposes a law that prohibits political families from holding more than one position each in national and local offices. The proposal includes family members up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and affinity.

The succession, replacement, or switching of position among political families is also not allowed under the proposed law, and families that had members in political positions must maintain a “one term cooling period” after reaching their term limits.

“This law will change the composition and quality of members of the Congress and the leaders in the LGUs (local government units),” the groups said in a statement.

“A genuine anti-dynasty law is critical to our rejection of the politics of patronage, ayuda, pork barrel… political education, electoral reform, budget reform, and training and formation of our public servant leaders,” it added.

Under Article VI, Section 32 of the 1987 Constitution, the public can propose a law through a people’s initiative if the petition is signed by at least 10% of the total number of registered voters nationwide, and every legislative district has at least 3% signatures from registered voters.

“We are currently mobilizing our member schools across 17 regions to support this people’s initiative guided by hope, justice, mercy, and unity,” Ms. Claustro said in mixed English and Filipino. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

“Education is the most reliable ladder out of poverty. When a disaster strikes, that ladder shouldn’t break,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said in a news release.

“We are fulfilling President Bongbong Marcos’ mandate to use innovation not just for safety, but for stability,” he added.

The agency said Project LIGTAS+, which stands for Learning Institution Geohazard Tracking and Assessment for Safety, aims to protect students from class disruptions caused by natural disasters.

“We are moving away from guesswork and toward a future where data ensures that no child’s education is washed away by a storm,” Mr. Angara said.

Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) showed that the country lost 53 school days in 2023 to 2024. The majority of which were lost due to high heat indices during April/May and typhoons.

Through the platform, schools would be able to receive school-specific risk profiles in real time by utilizing geospatial analytics, satellite imagery, and historical hazard data.

Other features of the platform include an interactive multi-hazard map, flood intelligence powered by satellite SAR data, earthquake impact assessments, volcanic activity monitoring, and AI-powered weather forecasts up to 10 days in advance.

DepEd noted that the platform would also help identify which specific schools within a locality are at risk and which can safely remain open during calamities. Meanwhile, teachers and school personnel can have early warnings for extreme heat and landslides.

“Project LIGTAS+ is designed to generate granular hazard views, enabling decision-makers to move beyond broad assumptions and toward more context-specific action,” the agency said in a news release.

“Project LIGTAS+ aims to give every parent peace of mind, knowing their children are protected by a system that is always one step ahead of the next disaster, ensuring that the path out of poverty remains open even in the face of nature’s uncertainty,” it added.

Project LIGTAS+ is currently in its pilot implementation phase and is designed to support DepEd’s long-term planning around school infrastructure and resource prioritization. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

The MakatiMed Wellness Hub is located on the 7th Floor of Ayala North Exchange Tower 1, just a short walk from its main hospital complex, providing a more relaxed ambience while maintaining easy access to the center’s consultants.

The facility has a total floor area of 1,157 square meters.

“This is a program of MMC that provides holistic and compassionate care, with a strong emphasis on comfort and convenience,” Saturnino P. Javier, medical director and interim co-president and chief executive officer (CEO) of MMC, said during the hub’s exclusive media briefing on Thursday.

“But ultimately, it is guided by the quality and safety standards for which MMC is known,” he added, noting the hub’s key differentiation from its counterparts.

The MakatiMed Wellness Hub also consolidates the center’s preventive care services, which were previously more difficult for patients to navigate within the hospital, Arlyn L. Songco, senior vice president and division head of creative, communications, and sales services at MMC, said.

“It’s now outside the hospital in a very nice, relaxing environment,” she said.

The hub offers services such as executive health checkups, cardiac screening, diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, primary care vaccinations, dermatologic and laser procedures, and mental wellness services.

Ms. Songco said that the wide range of services can be availed of by patients of all ages.

BusinessWorld had the opportunity to tour the Wellness Hub. Among its highlights is the dermatology and laser area, which features a state-of-the-art machine that maps moles across the body to help in the early detection of possible skin cancer.

Eunice B. Mocas, department manager of the MakatiMed Wellness Hub, said that the price for executive health checkups starts at P20,000, which already includes the “Basic 5” laboratory tests and assessment: physical examination, complete blood count, urinalysis, stool examination, chest X-ray, and chemistry panel.

She also said that packages will be offered and tailored to the needs and demographics of patients.

Since its inception, the MakatiMed Wellness Hub outpatient facility has been serving around 100 patients a day during lean months, Ms. Songco said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson has some beefs with county governance reforms supported by board Democrats a few weeks ago. 

Now he’s pitching a similar but competing ballot measure that nixes the elements he thinks cross the line, including extended term limits for sitting supervisors and appointment votes for top county positions. 

Last month, Democrats led by Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer took an initial vote to send a charter reform measure to voters in November that would give supervisors more sway over county government. The proposal gives supervisors an additional term and the power to approve the hiring and firing of top county officials, creates new auditing and budget analyst positions and an ethics commission, and tweaks longstanding policies meant to prevent supervisors from inappropriately interfering with staff or contracting. 

Anderson, who urged Lawson-Remer to postpone the April vote to allow more time to review it, is now introducing his measure on May 19, the same day the board will take a final vote to place Lawson-Remer’s measure on the November ballot. 

Anderson said his proposal largely matches Lawson-Remer’s but includes five key changes to address what he deemed fatal flaws. 

Anderson’s proposal calls for sitting supervisors to be held to two terms and clarifies that extended terms only apply to new supervisors, the approach taken in a 2010 measure that set existing term limits. It also deletes language Anderson and others have deemed misleading about the measure’s ability to create term limits for other positions including the sheriff and district attorney, more politically popular tweaks that require changes to state law.  

“This is an earnest way of saying we’re not trying to game it for ourselves,” Anderson said. “We’re actually doing it because we think it’s good government.” 

Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear has urged similar tweaks. 

Lawson-Remer and supporters of the measure have argued additional terms for supervisors would lead to more experienced, effective legislators. 

Anderson’s pitch also nixes language giving county supervisors the authority to take confirmation votes on top county posts and to fire those officials with a super-majority vote. Lawson-Remer and advocates say this move would make these officials more accountable to constituents. But Anderson argues the county’s chief administrative officer should maintain this authority and that Lawson-Remer’s proposed approach could open the county up to inappropriate micromanaging and political influence.  

Anderson also wants an elected auditor to review county programs – or an appointed auditor that reports to an elected official – rather than create an appointed position that reports to the board to ensure the position’s independence. His proposal also maintains existing county governance rules barring supervisors from directly dealing with county contract staff that were tweaked in Lawson-Remer’s proposal. Lawson-Remer has described these as minor edits proposed by county lawyers. 

“We need to make sure that there’s a moat between the Board of Supervisors directly controlling the contracting process,” Anderson said. 

Lawson-Remer and a broad coalition behind her measure argue that the reforms she introduced will make county government more accountable and transparent without increasing costs. She also said she hasn’t decided if she’ll run for a third term if the reform measure passes. 

Anderson’s replacement proposal faces high odds. Only three board votes are needed to place an initiative on the ballot and Lawson-Remer had those votes last month. 

But Anderson said he hopes his board colleagues will give his pitch an earnest look. 

“They say this is about the charter and improving government,” Anderson said. “My board letter will give them a chance to prove it because I’m delivering everything that they say needs to be reformed but without any of the goodies they included in their version.” 

The post County Supervisor Rolls Out Competing Governance Reform Measure appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

A few weeks ago, Democrats on the county Board of Supervisors took an initial vote to place a county governance reform measure on the November ballot. A proposal to extend supervisors’ term limits – and give sitting supervisors a shot at a third term – has been particularly controversial.

Now Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson is pitching a competing measure that eliminates that divisive passage and makes other tweaks to address what he deems fatal flaws.

Our Lisa Halverstadt broke down Anderson’s proposal, which will be heard on May 19. That’s the same day supervisors are set to take the second vote needed to place Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s reform proposal on the ballot.

Real talk: Anderson’s pitch will face a tough crowd later this month. Lawson-Remer had the votes last month to advance her measure. But Lawson-Remer’s proposal to extend term limits for sitting supervisors has also gotten bipartisan criticism, including from Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear. We’ll be watching to see if that criticism has changed any perspectives.

Read the full story here. 

South County Report: The Latest on the Chula Vista’s Big College Dream

Chula Vista has long dreamt about welcoming a four-year university. A new task force created by state legislation recently met to plan a hoped-for hybrid university serving South County students.

In his latest South County Report, our Jim Hinch shared his takeaways on that initial meeting and Chula Vista’s prospects.

He also delivered a status update on National City’s budget woes.

Read the South County Report here. 

Where Sewage Dollars Go 

After we published a story about a proposed countywide sales tax measure that promises to fix the Tijuana River sewage crisis, Dan Rottenstreich, a longtime Democratic campaign strategist and spokesperson for the sales tax campaign, argued the measure’s language was specific on Tijuana River sewage crisis fixes. 

“I think it’s very specific – so specific in fact that the county (would be) required by law to spend that amount and no less than that on infrastructure/engineering, not something else, to stop the sewage,” he wrote. 

Rottenstreich said that the County Board of Supervisors would control how the sales tax money is spent. 

May Gray Never Looked So Good

May Gray is here, and our collection of gray Voice of San Diego gear is the perfect match for the season. From cozy sweatshirts to everyday essentials, these pieces are clean, classic and ready for cool mornings, cloudy beach walks and coffee runs around town.

Show your support for independent local journalism – while embracing the San Diego marine layer in style. Shop the May Gray collection today.

In Other News

• The iconic annual December Nights event at Balboa Park may not survive city budget cuts. (Union-Tribune)
• The county eliminated 13 sheriff’s office dispatcher positions despite a staffing shortage that’s keeping the county from meeting national standards for connecting callers with dispatchers. (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Late last month, U.S Customs and Border Protection detained more than two dozen apparent cruise ship workers at the San Diego Port in a child porn operation and later deported them. (Fox 5 San Diego)
• A new city audit found fault with the Fire-Rescue Department’s approach to inspections of brush on private properties. (Union-Tribune)
• County supervisors earlier this week voted to expand a gun-violence prevention program into Spring Valley. (KPBS)
• Two years after Santee voters rejected a proposed sales-tax hike, city leaders are considering another sales-tax pitch this November. (Union-Tribune)

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.

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Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, a Republican, said on Friday he does not support a lawsuit filed last week by the city of El Cajon seeking to overturn California’s immigrant sanctuary law. The law prohibits cooperation with immigration enforcement efforts except with people convicted of violent crimes.

The lawsuit, spearheaded by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wills, also a Republican, argues that California’s sanctuary policy limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities forces cities to violate either federal or state law when deciding whether to assist federal agents.

Local Democratic politicians assailed the El Cajon lawsuit after the city filed it. Until now, observers wondered whether other San Diego-area Republican leaders would join in supporting the suit.

McCann, who has come under fire in his city for recusing himself from votes on a recent local sanctuary policy, said in response to questions from Voice of San Diego he “definitely would not support a similar legal action [to El Cajon’s] in Chula Vista.”

“Public safety is always the most important issue for me, and the Chula Vista Police Department does an excellent job at keeping our city safe…within the guidelines of state law,” McCann said.

McCann did not go so far as to offer blanket support for all unauthorized immigrants.

In his statement, he took pains to clarify that “I voted for Chula Vista to become a welcoming city for legal immigrants. Immigrants and their families want violent criminals, rapists and pedophiles out of their neighborhood.”

The post Chula Vista Mayor Does Not Support El Cajon Immigration Suit appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

Dramatic changes to a bill aimed at helping the Midway Rising project in San Diego continue as negotiations to exempt the planned sports arena and housing from the state’s preeminent environmental law press on.

The bill, Senate Bill 958, would clarify state law that if a project examines and mitigates its environmental impacts adequately, its height alone cannot be considered additional impacts needing study. It is a direct legislative follow up to a state Supreme Court ruling that struck down  a voter-approved ballot measure that lifted the 30-foot coastal height limit for the entire Midway planning area. The new bill is authored by Senator Akilah Weber Pierson, who represents the Midway District.

It’s common for housing bills that target CEQA to undergo numerous changes as construction unions bargain for minimum pay levels and union hiring requirements. Recent changes to SB 958, including removing language about labor contract agreements, are one example of the ongoing conversations with interest groups.

“SB 958 improperly uses CEQA exemption legislation as a vehicle to advance a policy preference for project labor agreements (PLAs), thereby undermining fair and open competition in California’s construction market,” Richard Markuson, a lobbyist for Western Electrical Contractors Association, wrote in an April 10 opposition letter addressed to Weber Pierson..

Project labor agreements are contracts that typically steer developers toward hiring unionized workers. WECA represents non-union electrical workers.

An original draft of the bill exempted the entire project from the California Environmental Quality Act, the state’s premier environmental law, which can lead to delays and costly litigation. Then, suddenly, after an April 14 committee hearing, Weber Pierson dramatically narrowed the bill to focus only on a minor clarification to state law about whether a project’s height should  be considered “significant” as part of the environmental review process. It also removed the language about project labor agreements.

In January, the state Supreme Court ruled that a 2022 ballot measure allowing the stadium to exceed the Midway District’s 30-foot height limit did not properly inform voters about the environmental impacts of taller buildings.

City officials have since pushed heavily for legislation that would give the long-delayed stadium a break from the state’s hallmark environmental law, a time-tested method that previous sports projects have used to speed-up construction.

The California Conference of Carpenters, which supports the bill, has been an influential force in the state’s housing and development politics, and is likely one of the main interest groups lawmakers are working with on SB 958. Last year, the carpenters helped lawmakers pass major housing reforms through negotiations for minimum wages for housing construction workers.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the national umbrella that includes the California conference, has donated at least $28,800 in campaign contributions to Weber Pierson from 2021 to 2024, according to CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database.

At an April 22 hearing, Weber Pierson said the bill was changed after initial feedback from the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality “so that impacts related to increased building height are properly accounted for within the project’s future environmental impact report.”

It unanimously passed the Senate Local Government committee and is expected to be up for a floor vote in the coming weeks.

“The bill focuses narrowly on building height to clarify recent court rulings with statewide implications. It does not create exemptions for any project,” Weber Pierson said in an emailed statement.

The bill has traveled through the Legislature with little fanfare. At a Senate Local Government hearing last week, amendments to the bill were met with no opposition from lawmakers or environmental groups.

For nearly two decades, California lawmakers have helped developers who want to build sports arenas in their districts bypass the state’s environmental reviews, which can often lead to costly lawsuits and years-long delays.

Some Democrats joined environmentalists to make it harder for other lawmakers to push through legislation that allowed professional sports stadiums to sidestep the environmental review process. But last year’s major housing legislation that exempted most new apartment housing from CEQA epitomized the decade-long shift in attitudes toward the keystone environmental law as a burden rather than something worthy of protection.

This sea change makes it easier for all developers to point to CEQA and say it’s making it more difficult for them to develop, too, said Kellen Zelle, a land use law professor at the University of Houston.

“Just in a decade or so, the ‘third [legislative] rail’ of CEQA has become very vulnerable to change,” Zelle said.

In 2017, developers for a proposed Clippers’ arena sought to shorten the amount of time CEQA lawsuits against the project could last just three years after the San Francisco Warriors pushed for similar legislation.

What I’m Reading Now

• Xavier Becerra’s rise in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom has baffled some of his former colleagues, Politico writes.
• Democrats are, again, under pressure to eek out more congressional seats as the redistricting war continues to escalate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
• The San Francisco Chronicle maps California voters by six distinctive groups beyond Democrat or Republican, ‘Tesla liberals’ included.

Thanks for reading the Sacramento Report. Please reach me at nadia@voiceofsandiego.org for any comments or questions.

The post Sacramento Report: What’s Behind the Changes to the Midway Rising Bill appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

There will be one very mad podcast host if the Tijuana River sewage problem is not solved by 2036. That podcast host is Scott Lewis.

What’s going on: A group is pitching a countywide tax hike that would fund a fix to the sewage crisis — among other things. Signatures gatherers, though, could not answer a reporter’s question about the plan to fix the problem. Our crew explains what the proposed ballot measure actually says.

Also on the show: California agreed with Midway Rising developers that they never needed to get rid of the height limit in Midway, even though the city put it on the ballot twice just to support them. We’ll explain.

Plus: It’s mailer season and District 2 has a good competition shaping up. Bella Ross walks us through District 2 City Council candidates and what she took away from a recent forum.

Listen Here Now

Listen: Apple | Spotify | PodLink

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The US Department of Defense (DoD) released a trove of files on UFOs. The files include images along with government documents and correspondence, some of which were classified until now.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” said US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a statement on the government website where the files are displayed.

The images are mostly photographs taken by members of the US military showing small dots or indistinct shapes in the sky. Of more interest are the hundreds of pages of files relating to UFOs, also called unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), from the FBI, Air Force and various other government departments.

Many of the pages are correspondence between the government and concerned members of the public. Some are pamphlets from special-interest groups such as the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America or the Fraternity of Cosmic Sons and Daughters, and others are requests from children to the head of the FBI – many to J. Edgar Hoover, who served in the role from 1935 to 1972 – for help with school projects.

Letters from UFO enthusiasts through the years, from the 1940s to now, show remarkable similarities in the sentiments they express: a feeling that UFO sightings have been mounting, that the government must be hiding something and that they are sure to be persecuted for saying as much.

The responses to these letters, and the internal government communications that have been released, seem to show something different – many thousands of reports of UFO sightings have been taken seriously and investigated, and there has been no indication that any of them have been extraterrestrial. This mirrors the 2023 results from NASA’s task force on UAPs, which found that normal aircraft and weather phenomena account for most reports, with only a few remaining unexplained due to blurry images and low-quality data.

The documents that have made the biggest splash are images and transcripts from NASA’s Gemini 7, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 missions, each referencing some bright lights that the astronauts saw in space and could not explain. Most of these sightings have already been investigated and explained as micrometeoroid impacts on the moon or the spacecraft, bits of floating debris, and camera or film defects, although a few have remained unexplained thus far.

The DoD has opened a new investigation into the images that remain unexplained, and has been directed by the administration of President Donald Trump to “conduct separate reporting” on any unresolved UAP cases. According to the website, this is only the first of many rolling document drops expected “every few weeks” as more files are found and declassified.

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Discord is recovering following a brief outage that saw some users unable to use the popular chat app. At 3:08PM ET, the company said it had begun investigating an issue with its API systems. Shortly thereafter, at 3:24PM ET, Discord said it had identified the problem, but noted at the time it was still affecting users, making it difficult for them to access the service. 

“We are continuing to work to remediate the issues impacting availability for some Discord users,” the company said at3:56PM ET. “This is causing impact across our service, including logging in and sending messages.” Whatever was causing the disruption, Discord appeared to solve it quickly. At 4:16PM ET, the company said it was starting to see “seeing significant recovery” across its systems. As of 4:59PM ET, the service isn’t at “fully healthy state” yet, so if you’re having trouble launching the app, it may take a bit more time before everything is up and running again. By 6:38PM ET, Discord reported that “all critical functionalities have recovered for all users.”

Update 6:4PM ET: The headline and copy of this article have been updated to reflect that Discord is back online for all users.

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Muna just released their new album, Dancing on the Wall, and now they’ve lined up a sprawling run of shows across the U.S., UK, and Europe. The Gets So Hot Tour officially kicks off September 17 in Phoenix and runs through November. Muna will also spend the summer hitting festivals including Lollapalooza and D.C.’s All Things Go. Scroll down to see all of their upcoming performances.

Revisit the review of Muna’s 2022 self-titled album.

Muna:
05-08 Los Angeles, CA – The Shrine
05-09 Los Angeles, CA – The Shrine
05-16 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
05-17 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
05-18 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
05-19 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
05-26 London, England – Heaven
05-27 London, England – Heaven
05-28 London, England – Heaven
07-31 St. Charles, IA – Hinterland Music Festival
08-02 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08-04 Salt Lake City, UT – Twilight Concert Series
08-06 Portland, OR – Pioneer Courthouse Square
08-07 Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
09-17 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren ^
09-19 Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater ^
09-20 Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory ^
09-22 Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle ^
09-23 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern ^
09-25 Phialdelphia, PA – Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts ^
09-26 Washington, D.C. – All Things Go
09-29 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE ^
10-01 Boston, MA – Roadrunner ^
10-04 Columbus, OH – Kemba Live! ^
10-06 Toronto, Ontario – Coca-Cola Coliseum ^
10-07 Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre
10-09 Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed Fairgrounds ^
10-11 Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
10-16 San Diego, CA – Rady Shell at Jacobs Park ^
10-17 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl ^
10-18 Stanford, CA – Frost Amphitheater ^
10-21 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre ^
11-11 Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
11-13 Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Academy Glasgow
11-14 Manchester, England – O2 Apollo Manchester
11-15 Bristol, England – Bristol Beacon
11-17 London, England – Eventim Apollo
11-20 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg Max
11-21 Paris, France – Élysée Montmartre
11-23 Brussels, Belgium – La Madeleine
11-24 Cologne, Germany – Carlswerk Victoria
11-26 Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
11-27 Berlin, Germany – Astra Kulturhaus

^ with Hemlocke Springs

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The Schizophonics, Anthony Cullins, Slightly Stoopid and Tigers In Cairo took home top honors at the 35th annual San Diego Music Awards, which drew a sold-out crowd from the local music community on a cool Wednesday evening at Humphreys by the Bay. 

Garage-rock trio the Schizophonics were named Artist of the Year. Fallbrook blues/soul artist Cullins won Album of the Year for “Inside Out & Backwards.” Ocean Beach reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid won Song of the Year for “Step Into The Sun.” And postpunk band Tigers In Cairo was named Best New Artist.

Awards shows can be difficult propositions, and SDMA’s organizers should be commended for getting through an extensive program in three hours. In addition to handing out 28 awards, SDMA presented six performances by nominated artists, plus another by musicians from the educational nonprofit Young Lions Jazz Conservatory.

A mid-show highlight was former San Diego Padres player and coach Tim Flannery’s presentation of the Country Dick Montana Lifetime Achievement Award to singer-songwriter Steve Poltz, who also performed two songs. Flannery told hilarious stories about how he and Poltz first became friends decades ago, and Poltz regaled the crowd with memories of his adventures rising up from Round Table Pizza lackey to internationally touring musician.

The evening also included SDMA founder Kevin Hellman’s presentation of an oversized check for $86,465.20 to the charity group Guitars for Schools, which provides instruments from El Cajon company Taylor Guitars to students in more than 100 San Diego-area schools. This year’s amount put SDMA’s total contributions in its 35-year history over $1 million.

And there was the “In Memoriam” segment, a video roll-call of names from the San Diego music community who died in 2025. The last name in that video was Tim Lowman, whose death in a motorcycle accident in late 2025 hit many San Diegans hard. Awards voters acknowledged the loss of Lowman by selecting his one-man-band Low Volts’ last album, “Forbidden Frequency,” as the winner of Best Blues Album. (Lowman had won several San Diego Music Awards in the past 15 years, for both Low Volts and his Americana group Blackout Party.) 

Accepting the award for Low Volts were Lowman’s friends Tim Mays (co-founder of the Casbah) and Tony Sanfilippo, the latter of whom said that Lowman “really is what San Diego music is all about.” Mays called Lowman “a treasured friend and an amazing guitar player and just an amazing human.”

The musical performances, most just one or two songs, helped keep the evening rolling, and stage crews did an exemplary job with quick set-changes. Horn-driven rock/pop/R&B outfit Sullvn kicked off the proceedings at 7 p.m. sharp. Other first-half performers included six of the Young Lions students and a solo-acoustic song from “latin/alternative/hip-hop” artist Obed Padilla that was arguably the best musical performance of the night. (Padilla was nominated for Artist and Album of the Year.)

Just before Poltz’s lifetime-achievement presentation, the San Diego Blues Allstars served up three songs that put the spotlight on keyboardist Sue Palmer, whose shiny gold jacket drew all eyes toward her.

Later, Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra won Best Local Recording for their album Eight To The Bar! A native San Diegan, the seventy-something Palmer was gracious and joyful in accepting. “I can’t believe I’m still recording, but I just love music so much,”  she beamed.

The downsides of awards shows are difficult to change. Yes, there’s a lot of crowd chatter, but given that the evening was about socializing with friends and fellow music community members, that’s hard to avoid. And while it’s sad to see the major awards given out when three-quarters of the crowd has departed, it’s understandable that some audience members leave early on a long night.

Ultimately, the greatest value of the San Diego Music Awards is simply as a gathering of the tribes — and as a reminder to residents that the city has a wide range of musical experiences to offer on any given night.

Palmer put it best at the end of her speech. “It’s nice to see all the people here,” she said. “I don’t know everybody’s genre, but when I see it here, I want to go out and hear everybody.”

Here’s the full list of award winners:

• Artist of the Year — Schizophonics
• Album of the Year — Anthony Cullins, “Inside Out & Backwards”
• Song of the Year — Slightly Stoopid, “Step Into The Sun”
• Best New Artist — Tigers In Cairo
• Country Dick Montana Lifetime Achievement Award — Steve Poltz
• Best Blues Artist — Chickenbone Slim
• Best Blues Album — Low Volts, “Forbidden Frequency”
• Best Country or Americana Artist — Kimmi Bitter
• Best Country or Americana Album — Elizabeth Bowersox, “California Queen”
• Best Country or Americana Song — Alex Bergan with Ash Easton, “Hair Of The Dog”
• Best Folk or Acoustic Song — The Beard and the Bird, “My Dearest Eloise”
• Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist — Brothers Burns
• Best Hip Hop/Rap Song — Neighborhood Kids, “The World Is Worth Saving”
• Best Indie/Alternative Artist — Dusk Drama
• Best Indie/Alternative Album — Film Company, “Starving Artist And The Holy Ghost”
• Best Jazz Artist — Leonard Patton
• Best Jazz Album — Irving Flores, “Armando Mi Conga”
• Best Local Recording — Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra, Eight To The Bar!
• Best Pop Artist — Cassie B
• Best Pop Album — Hillandale Drive, “Love, Fear & Everything In Between”
• Best Pop Song — Sara Jade, “Hippies Raised A Cowgirl”
• Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song — Rebecca Jade, “Not Me No Way”
• Best Rock Artist — Mistress 77
• Best Rock Album — Suede Grenades, “Flashbulb Memories”
• Best Rock or Indie/Alternative Song — Daring Greatly, “Lucid Ride”
• Best World Music Artist — Boostive
• Best World Music Song — Smoke & Mirrors Sound System , “Ain’t That Lovin’ You”
• Best Video — Gravities, “Stuck In The Desert”

MISSION BEACH – Just past the breaking waves, roughly two miles west of Belmont Park’s Giant Dipper roller coaster, the sandy ocean floor resembles an underwater desert.

For divers, the area off Mission Beach known as Wreck Alley holds the key to life-affirming and haunting findings.

Beneath the emerald haze of the Pacific Ocean, divers encounter massive looming silhouettes. The vast underwater desert is a graveyard of intentionally sunken ships that serves as a premier West Coast dive spot.

According to Smithsonian Ocean, part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, approximately 3 million shipwrecks are scattered across the ocean floor worldwide. Many shipwrecks, whether they were intentionally sunk or were naval mishaps, now function as artificial reefs, providing habitats for marine life. Studies suggest thousands of intentional, large-scale wrecks were specifically designed for ecological restoration or tourism.

For divers off the coast of San Diego, Wreck Alley serves as a nesting ground for new underwater habitats, as well as a premier diving destination.

Wreck Alley’s undisputed crown jewel is a 366-foot Canadian destroyer. July 15 marks the 26th anniversary of the sinking of the HMCS Yukon, a refuge for marine wildlife and for divers alike.

“The Yukon eclipses a lot of the other dive sites just because of its size and its magnitude,” said Zach Weisman, owner of Waterhorse Charters on Quivira Road. “It’s the newest wreck addition and the only warship. Warships are built with much more structural integrity and thicker hulls to withstand the battering of relentless ocean waves.”

The Yukon was gutted and cleaned before the San Diego Oceans foundation scuttled the warship in 100 feet of water off Mission Beach to serve as an artificial reef.

Even the sinking of the HMCS Yukon was dramatic. A day before, the warship flooded in rough weather, turning what was supposed to be an upright, highly orchestrated public show into a sea-worthy spectacle.

Dive charter captain Weisman said the crew on board had to call a mayday to be rescued as the ship settled on its port side.

The ship’s sideways orientation creates a challenge for the divers who venture inside.

“All those cutouts that they designed for divers to swim directly through … well, now they go straight down to the sand,” Weisman explained. “Your brain thinks there might be doors where there aren’t and access panels where there shouldn’t be. It’s just not familiar, and that causes a little more challenge and risk.”

Lora Meyer, founder and owner of Marissa Charters on Santa Clara Place, notes that the disorientation is a unique sensory experience.

“It is definitely strange to see the toilets hanging at an odd angle,” said Meyer. “We really encourage our divers to ‘plan their dive and dive their plan.’ Staying on the outside is much less disorienting than going inside.”

While the Yukon is the titan of Wreck Alley, it is far from the only attraction. The heart of Wreck Alley belongs to the Ruby E and the El Rey.

The Ruby E, a former Coast Guard cutter, is known to locals as “San Diego’s Sweetheart.” Sunk in 1989, Ruby E sits upright in 85 feet of water and is blanketed by vibrant pink and purple strawberry anemones.

Because it is one of Wreck Alley’s most visited sites, Waterhorse Charters maintains the mooring lines using materials donated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“The Ruby E and Yukon mooring lines are actually on GPS chart plotters for everyone’s standard equipment,” Weisman said. “You’re not going to run over them at night and foul your propeller.”

A few hundred yards south lies the El Rey, the alley’s oldest resident, which was sunk on April 2, 1987. For 35 years, the vessel was a kelp harvester for Kelco, a food-production company, Meyer said.

“She was like the lawnmower of the ocean,” Meyer said. “The El Rey worked, cutting the tops of the kelp forests off to harvest for things like ice cream and toothpaste. Kelp is a great emulsifier.”

Today, the El Rey is home to a resident Pacific electric ray — capable of delivering a jolt of up to 45 volts — that keeps divers very alert.

Wreck Alley is also a place to get a feel for some of San Diego’s land-based history. When San Diego’s old Ingraham Street Bridge was demolished in 1992, its cement and rebar remnants were added to Wreck Alley by the California Department of Fish and Game’s Artificial Reef Program.

Now it’s a big pile of rubble, and because it sits in shallower water — around 60 feet — it remains a rare Wreck Alley site accessible to entry-level open-water divers.

On the other hand, not far from the old Ingraham Street Bridge, the NOSC Tower, an old U.S. Navy research platform that once resembled a miniature oil rig. A winter storm in 1988 ripped the top right off the structure, leaving what Weisman describes as a small, largely unremarkable site visited now mainly by lobster hunters.

The transformation of the seafloor from sandy desert to thriving reef at Wreck Alley is a real phenomenon.

“I have a saying about the ocean: stuff attracts stuff,” Weisman said. “You have a big metal structure, and then you get the polyps and the algae … then the anemones grow, and then the fish come. It’s an exponential effect.”

That growth, however, is subject to the whims of the climate. Meyer points to a strong El Niño a decade ago that devastated the white plum anemones that once defined the Yukon.

“Our giant kelp forests were mostly decimated, and without the kelp, many fish lost safe shelter,” she said.

Despite those shifts, the wrecks continue to serve as nurseries, with studies showing they attract young and juvenile fish rather than displacing adults.

Diving Wreck Alley is often a reality check for those used to the warmer waters of places like Hawaii or the Caribbean. Temperatures in San Diego’s offshore waters hover near 51 degrees Fahrenheit, making a wetsuit essential. Adding to the experience, an often thick murky marine layer can leave divers in near-darkness.

“A light is a must-have,” Meyer said. “Without it, everything looks like a brown-red landscape. With a light, you see these vibrant reds and blues and purples. It brings the color spectrum back at 100 feet.”

For Meyer and the crew of the Marissa, Wreck Alley is just the beginning of San Diego’s underwater inventory. While permits to sink additional vessels exist on paper, they have been stalled for years due to the multi-million-dollar cost of stripping ships of toxins like lead paint and fuel.

“The last time they tried to add a wreck, it was denied by the state of California,” Weisman said. “The environmental study showed how beneficial the life was, but it was denied because they feared a negative impact. It’s a shame.”

The United States’ Indigenous people are subjected to violence and disappearances at rates far higher than the national average. Most of those, though not all, are women.

In California, murder rates for Indigenous women and girls is seven times higher than the national average, according to Missing and Murdered Indigenous People San Diego, a resource founded by four Kumeyaay tribes and maintained by a network of partners. Human trafficking is also a major concern, particularly in San Diego County and other regions near the border.

Law enforcement, tribal leaders, and representatives signed an historic agreement Wednesday in order to call attention to the issue and strengthen tribal and law enforcement responses to better respond to and prevent violence, murders, and disappearances.

“For too long, Indigenous families have faced these tragedies without the coordinated response and resources that they deserve,” said Erica Pinto, Chairwoman of the Jamul Indian Village, in a statement about the memorandum of understanding.

“The formation of the SDMMIPC and the MOU reflect our commitment to upholding tribal sovereignty while working together to protect our people and honor those we have lost. This partnership strengthens collaboration across jurisdictions, builds trust, and ensures that cases involving our communities are handled with urgency, respect, and cultural understanding.”

The San Diego County MMIP Collaborative includes the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Pala Band of Mission Indians, Jamul Indian Village of California, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The signing took place in front of the Native American Monument in Sacramento’s Capitol Park, honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Week.

“The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office understands that trust is built through consistent engagement, transparency and open, reliable lines of communication,” said San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez. “That is why not only do I have a designated tribal liaison to serve our tribal partners, but we also have a tribal issues advisory committee whose mission is to communicate and address any issues occurring with tribal law enforcement partners.”

By establishing communications protocols, shared data practices, and rapid-response procedures, proponents say that the MOU addresses barriers that have made families feel alone or unheard.

“This collaboration represents more than an agreement between agencies, it is a commitment to our communities that these cases will not be ignored, and these victims will not be forgotten,” said Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

“When tribal leaders and law enforcement work together with trust and purpose, we give families something they deserve, hope that justice is still possible.”

Hacker group ShinyHunters has compromised the learning platform Canvas, disrupting exam preparation and coursework for students at UC San Diego and San Diego State University.

Students were hit with the shutdown just before 1 p.m. on Thursday. Screens across the country displayed the same warning, with the threat that the schools’ data would be released if a settlement could not be reached by Tuesday.

The group claims to have stolen 280 million records from nearly 9,000 institutions, ranging from Ivy League schools to international universities. Since forming in 2019, ShinyHunters claims to have stolen data from Microsoft and Ticketmaster, along with AT&T in two separate instances.

Canvas is operated by Instructure, which calls the platform “the most-visited education website in the world.”

“At this time, please DO NOT attempt to access Canvas in any way until further notice. If you are currently in the system, do not click on any links; just close your browser,” UCSD’s executive vice chancellor Elizabeth Simmons said in an email at 2:41 p.m. on Thursday.

UCSD’s Information Technology Help Desk said it would not provide additional information. All updates are being posted to the school’s Systems Status tracker, which listed their first report at 1:10 p.m.

The school has told students to wait for instructions from professors for alternatives for submitting assignments. There are no estimates for when the situation will be resolved, according to San Diego State.

“It’s out of our control. We do have other applications on campus that we can still use, but for Canvas-related issues, we can’t do anything at the moment. There’s no timeline,” SDSU’s Information Technology department said in a statement at 3:34 p.m.

The outage has affected students in different ways. It’s finals season at many semester-based schools, so the disruption has cut off most, if not all, of their course resources.

UCSD uses a quarter system, meaning Tritons are studying for midterms and submitting regular assignments through Canvas. Many were caught off guard by the shutdown.

The outage struck just as Raymond Warner clicked to send in his assignment, only to be greeted by the hackers’ warning screen right before 1 p.m. With classes still underway, Warner wondered how this might affect his next two lectures.

“For the first, we pull the worksheet from Canvas, so we’ll see how the professor adapts,” said Warner, a masters student in chemical engineering. “I feel bad for the students with midterms today, who would’ve used Canvas to study.”

According to EdSource, the entire California State University system, which includes San Diego State and Cal State San Marcos, has been affected. In 2024, federal prosecutors said that between April 2020 and July 2021, ShinyHunters posted sales of hacked data from more than 60 companies and sometimes threatened to leak or sell stolen sensitive files unless a ransom was paid.

The San Diego Community College District continues to deal with an unrelated cyberattack that began Saturday. Thursday’s attack on Canvas is not connected, a district spokesman said, explaining that they are “separate systems.”

Drew Sitton and Jennifer Vigil contributed to this report.

A 36-year-old man suspected of molesting a 10-year-old girl in Poway was behind bars Thursday.

The Poway suspect was arrested Wednesday in connection with the alleged sexual battery of the child near the 13400 block of Midland Road, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities released two photos of a man riding a scooter in the days after the Saturday attack.

The suspect allegedly assaulted the girl shortly after 6 p.m., then fled on an electric scooter when a friend of hers screamed at him to stop, Lt. Aloha Peters said.

Deputies booked the man into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of performing a forcible lewd act on a person under age 14. He is being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the listed retailer said net income rose to P3.26 billion in the January-to-March period from P2.64 billion a year earlier.

Consolidated net sales increased by 12.1% to P58.78 billion from P52.42 billion in the same period last year.

Puregold said the growth was supported by positive same-store sales growth (SSSG), with Puregold stores posting a 5.4% increase due to higher basket sizes, while S&R Warehouse Clubs recorded 12% growth on higher customer traffic.

“For the first quarter of 2026, the enterprise experienced positive SSSG of +5.4% from Puregold Stores driven by higher basket size and +12% from S&R Warehouse clubs driven by higher traffic,” the company said.

The company said first-quarter earnings growth was “driven by strong topline growth and complemented by improvement in gross margins.”

Gross profit rose by 15.1% to P11.8 billion, while gross margin improved to 20.1% from 19.6% a year ago.

Operating income climbed 20% to P4.77 billion from P3.97 billion previously.

Other operating income also increased by 7.8% to P977 million from P906 million.

Meanwhile, operating expenses went up 11.4% to P8.01 billion during the quarter.

Cost of sales increased by 11.4% to P46.98 billion from P42.16 billion a year ago.

Income tax expense rose 23.3% to P957 million.

As of end-March, Puregold operated 790 stores nationwide, consisting of 685 Puregold stores, 33 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 72 S&R New York Style quick-service restaurants.

The company’s board approved the first-quarter financial results during its regular meeting on May 7. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

In a statement on Tuesday, the infrastructure conglomerate said contribution from operations rose 4%, supported primarily by higher generation output from its power business and increased patient volumes in its healthcare segment.

The company said lower water contribution partly offset these gains after the dilution of its ownership in Maynilad following the utility’s listing in November last year.

Reported net income declined year on year due to the absence of a one-time gain from the disposal of Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp. booked in the prior year.

“Even in a more challenging environment, demand for essential services remains steady. Our priority is to keep our operations running reliably and continue serving the communities that depend on us,” MPIC Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“We remain disciplined, managing our costs carefully, and making sure we deliver where it matters most. If we stay focused on execution and service, we are confident our businesses will remain resilient,” he added.

Power was MPIC’s largest contributor, accounting for P5.1 billion or 62% of net operating income (NOI). Water and toll roads contributed P1.5 billion and P1.4 billion, respectively, representing a combined 36% of NOI.

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) posted a 2% increase in consolidated core net income to P11.4 billion, supported by stronger contributions from its power generation and other businesses.

Meralco’s revenues rose 5%, driven by higher pass-through charges, improved retail electricity sales, and stronger generation revenues following a 25% increase in energy delivered.

“Higher pass-through charges reflected elevated generation costs, primarily due to ERC-approved contract price adjustments relating to fuel cost recoveries and peso depreciation,” the company said.

Maynilad posted a 10% increase in core net income to P4 billion, driven by higher revenues and improved network efficiency.

Revenue rose 6% to P9.1 billion following a 3% tariff adjustment implemented in January and 2% growth in both connections and billed volume.

Non-revenue water improved to 32% from 34.9% following investments in leak detection, pipe replacement and network optimization.

Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. reported flat core and reported net income as higher borrowing costs and depreciation offset gains from its increased ownership in NLEX Corp.

Toll revenues rose 14% to P9.9 billion, supported by tariff adjustments and traffic growth across the network.

Average daily vehicle entries increased 2% in the Philippines and 3% in Indonesia, while traffic volume in Vietnam declined 11%.

At the parent level, MPIC’s cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments rose to P9.4 billion as of end-March from P7.9 billion at end-2025, while net debt declined to P50 billion from P52.5 billion.

MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may resort to “more drastic” action to tame inflation as rising rice prices and transport fares threaten to de-anchor inflation expectations, a senior official said.

“If rice prices (and transport) fares contribute to increases in inflation expectations above the inflation target at some point in the future, it’s going to take more actions, more drastic actions from the central bank to help inflation expectations go back to the target,” BSP Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja told a webinar on Thursday.

Mr. Abenoja said inflation expectations continue to drift away from the BSP’s target, with the trend expected to persist over the next three years.

“What we are worried about is that the three-year expectations of inflation is shifting consistently upward, and it could go away from the 3% target. So, that is one thing that we are closely watching,” he said.

“And what we are looking at is how fuel, energy, and food, particularly rice, are playing a role in this formation of these expectations in the next one, up to three years forward,” he added.

The BSP deputy governor also noted that rising food prices, especially rice, amid the ongoing energy crisis and the anticipated impact of climate shocks later this year will stoke Philippine inflation, which has accelerated since the war erupted.

In April, headline inflation quickened to an over three-year high of 7.2%, driven by high oil prices feeding into costs of food and utilities.

This was the second month in a row that inflation breached the BSP’s 2%-4% target and its monthly estimate. It had expected inflation to settle between 5.6% and 6.4% last month.

RISKS TILTED TO THE UPSIDE
In a report published late Wednesday, Oxford Economics said the Philippines will experience heavier inflationary pressures as rising food inflation spills over to related baskets such as food service.

“Within Asia, emerging markets are the most exposed due to high food CPI (consumer price index) weights and import dependence, particularly in the Philippines,” it said. “Risks to food inflation remain tilted to the upside from prolonged supply constraints, climate shocks, and a low-probability but high-impact tail risk of a repeat of the food export restrictions seen in 2022-2023.”

Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that the food and nonalcoholic beverages index has the highest share in the CPI basket, with 37.75% of the total.

Meanwhile, BSP’s Mr. Abenoja said central banks in the region face a delicate balancing act as they tighten monetary policy to tame inflation and steer it back toward target over the medium term.

He noted that failure to do so risks faster and steeper interest rate hikes, which pose greater risks to economic growth.

“If we can contain that spillover effect, then we will be doing our job to ensure that inflation will have an uptick in the near term, but over the medium term, it could go back to the target,” Mr. Abenoja said.

“If we lose that influence, if we lose that control, then it will take more actions later on. Interest rates will have to rise much faster and by bigger discrete amounts, and that will be more painful to economic growth,” he added.

Last month, the BSP delivered its first policy rate hike in over two years, raising key borrowing costs by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.5%.

The rate hike, Mr. Abenoja said, was done as a preemptive measure to keep inflation expectations in check and prevent broader second-round effects.

The central bank said this week that it will take “all necessary monetary actions” to bring inflation back to its 3% target within a reasonable time.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. also earlier noted that the central bank is willing to lift interest rates as much as needed to curb inflation as he remained optimistic on the country’s growth outlook.   

ING Regional Head of Research for Asia-Pacific Deepali Bhargava said another round of tightening next month remains on the table despite the dismal first-quarter growth, with a potential 50-bp hike and an off-cycle move.

“I don’t think today’s GDP (gross domestic product) print will deter (the) BSP from proceeding with a rate hike in June,” she told a separate webinar. “The CPI upside surprise was really large and I think it kind of risks larger and faster rate moves by BSP.”

The Philippine GDP grew 2.8% in the first quarter of the year, the slowest print since the pandemic and below estimates.

Ms. Bhargava also said the peso’s sharp weakening since the war broke out strengthens the case for another hike before the Monetary Board’s June 18 review.

This as she noted that the local unit’s recent recovery is unlikely sustainable.

“And of course… there’s been a sharp depreciation, pressures on the PHP (Philippine peso) as well. So, that could mean that the rate hike would actually come in ahead of the next scheduled policy meeting,” Ms. Bhargava said.

The peso has traded above the P61-a-dollar level since April 28, even slumping to a new record-low close of P61.567 against the greenback on April 29.

UNCERTAIN JUNE HIKE
However, a second straight policy rate hike remains uncertain despite soaring inflation after the Philippine economy posted subpar growth in the first quarter, Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

In a report on Thursday, the United Kingdom-based think tank said the BSP could pause at its next meeting if May inflation turns softer, even as calls for further hikes gain steam.

“(W)e reckon that a second straight rate hike in June is no guarantee, especially once (the) Q1 GDP confirms that growth remains sub-par by historical standards, at best,” Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief Emerging Asia Economist Miguel Chanco and Asia Economist Meekita Gupta said.

The Philippine GDP expanded to a new post-pandemic low of 2.8% in the first quarter of the year, slower than the 3% in the fourth quarter and the 5.4% a year ago.

“The Monetary Board will still have the May CPI report to digest before it meets, and this could be enough to stay its hand if we’re right about a less acute year-over-year acceleration and some signs of stability at the margin,” they added.

Still, Pantheon Macroeconomics raised its inflation forecast to 5.9% from 4.6% for this year.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Analytics said the Philippines’ heavy reliance on imported food, such as rice, leaves the country more exposed to trade disruptions and rising inflation across Southeast Asia.

“Reliance on imported food also plays a significant role across economies within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines stands out as one of the more vulnerable economies in this part of Asia,” Moody’s Analytics Senior Director Gaurav Ganguly, Associate Directors and Senior Economists Stefan Angrick and Denise Cheok said in an analysis.

The think tank added the Middle East war could slash 0.1 to 0.4 percentage point off Asia-Pacific’s growth, with countries like the Philippines also experiencing slower tourism.   

“In addition to the direct energy effects, tourism also takes a hit, doing more damage in tourism-dependent economies such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines,” it said.

THE National Government (NG) debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 65.2% at the end of the first quarter, the highest ratio since 2005, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

The increase came as outstanding debt climbed by 1.8% to P18.49 trillion as of end-March from P18.16 trillion at the end of February, while economic growth slowed sharply.

Philippine GDP expanded by 2.8% in the first three months of 2026, the weakest pace since the pandemic, as the oil shock dampens consumer spending and stokes inflation.

Based on available data, the debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of March was the highest since 65.7% recorded in 2005. The debt-to-GDP ratio climbed to 63.2% at the end of 2025.

This is also above the 60% debt-to-GDP threshold considered by multilateral lenders to be manageable for developing economies.

“The recent uptick in NG debt partly reflects currency valuation effects rather than a sharp slippage in fiscal fundamentals as peso depreciation mechanically raises the peso value of foreign-currency obligations,” said Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion in a Viber message.

“While peso weakness could continue to put some upward pressure on headline debt figures amid global and geopolitical uncertainties, the impact should remain manageable given the government’s reliance on domestic, peso-denominated borrowing,” he added.

The peso closed P60.748 against the dollar on March 31, weakening by P3.083 from its P57.665 close on Feb. 27.

Domestic borrowings continue to account for the bulk of the debt stock, or 67.8%, while the rest came from external sources.

Domestic debt inched up by 0.44% to P12.53 trillion at end-March from P12.48 trillion at end-February, while external debt jumped by 4.81% to P5.95 trillion from P5.68 trillion.

“Even if most borrowing is domestic, peso depreciation will keep putting upward pressure on the debt stock as long as the West Asia situation and global financial uncertainty keep the dollar strong,” Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON Foundation, said in a Viber message.

He added that the pressure on debt and prices would persist as long as the Philippines remains heavily dependent on imports for fuel, food, and other consumer, intermediate and capital goods.

The local currency hit a record low of P61.567 on April 29.

To cushion the impact of the Middle East war on consumers, the government suspended excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene, while also rolling out subsidies and fuel discounts for vulnerable sectors.

Inflation accelerated to 7.2% in April, sharply faster than the 4.1% in March and 1.4% in the same month last year.

“The problem is not simply that NG debt is rising but how the government will create fiscal space needed to protect millions of poor and vulnerable Filipino households while also stabilizing the economy,” said Mr. Africa.

“The debt-to-GDP ratio will just get worse as growth slows and make the government’s fiscal conservatism ossify even further,” he added.

Mr. Africa said the government has to take a broader view of debt sustainability.

“This is not achieved by cutting support during a crisis but by using public finance to give relief, support livelihoods, and stabilize the economy,” he added.

The NG’s outstanding debt is projected to reach P19.06 trillion by end-2026 under the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing 2026.

The government seeks to bring down the debt-to-GDP ratio to 58% by 2030.

THE Philippine economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 2.8% in the first quarter, the slowest pace since the pandemic, as the fallout from a corruption scandal and soaring oil prices triggered by the Middle East conflict dampened economic activity.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2.8% in the January-to-March period, significantly slower than the 5.4% expansion in the same quarter last year.

This was also well-below the 3.4% median forecast of 21 economists in a BusinessWorld poll last week, and slower than the revised 3% GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP expanded by 0.93%, from 0.6% in the previous quarter.

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said the impact of the Middle East war, compounded by lingering effects of last year’s corruption scandal and delays in the release of the 2026 national budget, weighed on economic growth in the first three months.

“We recognize that this outcome reflects the combined impact of significant domestic and global challenges,” said DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.

“The conflict in the Middle East, which escalated toward the end of February, triggered higher global oil prices and renewed supply chain pressures, creating additional risks for oil-importing economies such as the Philippines,” he added.

The first-quarter print was the weakest since the 3.8% contraction in the first quarter in 2021. Excluding the pandemic, it was the slowest pace since the 1.8% growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Among our neighboring economies in Asia that have released their first-quarter GDP figures, our growth performance trails Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, among others in the region,” Mr. Balisacan said.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee would meet by Monday next week to review its macroeconomic assumptions, he said.

“We don’t expect to achieve the kind of growth that we expected to happen a year ago, given recent developments, and we will adjust accordingly,” he said. “(W)e definitely will move our growth targets lower.”

The first-quarter GDP was well below the government’s target range of 5-6% for the year.

Mr. Balisacan said the growth outlook would largely depend on developments in the Middle East conflict, expressing hope that oil prices would continue to ease.

“But we do know already that even as the Middle East conflict ends today, the lingering effects of the oil prices and the supply chain disruptions will persist in the coming months.”

SLUGGISH CONSUMPTION
The downtrend in household spending continued in the first quarter.

Household final consumption expenditure — a key driver of the economy — grew by 3% annually, slowing from the 5.28% print in the same quarter last year and 3.8% in the previous quarter.

This was the weakest pace since the 4.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021. Excluding the pandemic, this was the slowest growth in consumption since the 2.6% in the third quarter of 2010.

Mr. Balisacan said the lingering effects of the corruption scandal continued to weigh on consumer and business sentiment.

“But I think that we are gradually moving out of that situation. The administration has initiated many reforms toward establishing accountability and transparency in government programs,” he said.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said inflation has historically been a major factor behind slower household consumption.

Inflation averaged 2.8% in the first three months of the year, amid faster price increases in fuel, electricity, and food.

Government spending grew by 4.8% in the first quarter, much slower than the 18.7% a year ago but faster than 0.7% in the fourth quarter.

Jun Hao Ng, assistant economist at Oxford Economics, said the rise in government spending points to a recovery after the corruption scandal.

“We expect government spending and project implementation to accelerate in the coming months as agencies operationalize their catch-up programs,” Mr. Balisacan said.

Gross capital formation, the investment component of the economy, contracted by 3.3% in the first quarter, from 4.5% a year ago. However, it was an improvement from the 9.4% decline in the fourth quarter.

The PSA said this was mainly due to the 2.8% decline in construction, which in turn was driven by the 31.5% drop in government construction.

“A breakdown of the data shows the main cause of the weakness was, once again, the flood control corruption scandal,” Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, said in a commentary.

He noted construction has dropped for a third consecutive quarter or since President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. announced a crackdown on anomalous flood control projects in his State of the Nation Address last July.

Mr. Ng said that the contraction in investment “suggests the recovery was slow even prior to the war, which would have hit sentiment further.”

Mr. Balisacan said the government’s policy thrust right now is to regain the confidence of consumers and the business sector.

Exports of goods and services rose by 7.8% in the period ending March from 7.1% a year ago, while imports of goods and services grew by 6.1%, slowing from the 10.3% growth a year ago.

WEAK SERVICES
By major economic sector, services, which accounted for 63.2% of total GDP, grew by 4.5% in the first quarter. However, this was slower than 6.2% a year ago.

Chinabank Research said services posted its weakest performance since the pandemic, although the highest growth came from public administration, education, and health. “Reduced discretionary spending will likely continue to weigh on services activity, particularly in retail trade, transportation, accommodation, food services, and recreation,” it said.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing, which contributed 8.1% to GDP, shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter. This was a reversal of 2.2% growth a year ago.

Industry, which accounted for 28.7% of GDP, contracted by 0.1% in the January to March period. This was a reversal of last year’s 4.6% growth.

Gross national income posted an annual 3% growth in the first quarter, decelerating from 7.2% a year ago and 4% in the fourth quarter.

At the same time net primary income grew by 4.5% in the first quarter, slower than 22.2% in the same quarter in 2025 and 11.9% in the previous quarter

STAGFLATION
Meanwhile, Mr. Balisacan said that the country is still not experiencing stagflation despite slowing GDP growth, 7.2% inflation in April and 5% jobless rate in March.

“I do not see it that way. Stagflation, in your standard textbooks, should be thought of as the presence of three things simultaneously. One is high inflation, where the prices keep rising. The other one is slow or stagnant economic growth, and the third is high unemployment,” he said.

“I think before the onset of the crisis, we are seeing improvements in the economy,” he added.

However, some analysts said that the country is already facing stagflation which is likely to persist throughout the year.

“The Philippines is going through a period of stagflation, with a combination of slowing (and very weak) GDP growth and rising inflation placing the central bank in an unenviable position,” Mr. Leather said.

“The Philippines is facing a twin-crisis squeeze, with economic growth already weakened by the flood control controversy and now further strained by surging oil and food prices, as we face a stagflation scenario — high inflation alongside weak growth,” Chinabank said.

Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, chief economist, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. said that the economy had been losing momentum even before the corruption probe and the Middle East conflict on “private underinvestment and a buildup in household debt.”

“Growth in the coming quarters will be challenged even further as inflation surges and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be hard pressed to hike rates,” he said.

“How much policy tightening can do to ease global oil prices is still in question, but what is clear is that the economy will be facing an uphill battle even if National Government  can still improve in the second half,” he added.

Deepali Bhargava, regional head of research for Asia-Pacific at ING, said that the first quarter print “points to a much weaker-than-expected growth trajectory for 2026.”

“We do not believe this weak GDP print will deter the BSP from proceeding with a rate hike in June,” she said via e-mail.

The BSP signaled more rate hikes to keep inflation in check amid rising price pressures after the April print exceeded its estimate. Last month, the BSP delivered its first 25-basis-point rate hike in two and a half years to bring the benchmark policy rate to 4.5%.

ANZ Research Chief Economist Sanjay Mathur and Foreign Exchange Analyst Kausani Basak said that the Philippine economy remains in a challenging position amid elevated inflation, weak growth and persistent external headwinds.

“Overall, risks to near-term growth remain skewed to the downside, particularly if inflation stays elevated or global geopolitical conditions deteriorate,” they said in a report.

The county sales tax signature gatherers seemed to be everywhere – outside Trader Joe’s in Hillcrest. Or on the corner of 30th and University Avenue – the busiest intersection in North Park.  

They all asked passersby one question: Would you like to stop the Tijuana River sewage crisis at the border?  

They were promoting a citizens’ initiative to get a countywide half-cent sales tax on the November ballot. I asked one how it would be used on the Tijuana River. 

They couldn’t point to a specific project. Probably because the “Protect San Diego County Health and Safety Act” doesn’t specifically point to one.  

Fixing the persistent problem — what the Wall Street Journal called a “tsunami of raw sewage” — has become the main selling point of the tax, which could generate $360 million a year. The measure would dedicate about $80 million of it to “stop sewage flows.” If they packaged it into a bond, it could provide billions to invest immediately.  

But proponents do not have a plan yet on what the county would do with the funding. A county supervisor mentioned a persistent and particularly gross and harmful area that needed immediate attention but also suggested that any hope Mexico and the U.S. federal governments would fix it are unfounded and the money should be used to ultimately divert the river entirely. 

Its backers, a coalition of labor unions, a child care advocacy group among them, say this is the county’s chance to finally throw some real, dependable cash at the seemingly unsolvable sewage problem at the U.S.-Mexico border.  

“When we pass this, it’ll be the first dedicated sustainable fund for the Tijuana River,” said Courtney Baltiyskyy, with Children First San Diego, an organization advocating for affordable child care – which 22 percent of the sales tax money would fund.  

Baltiyskyy said sales tax proponents polled voters last fall. Voters said they were most worried about the sewage crisis. They also expressed concerns over health care, food insecurity, fire and emergency response – the other things the measure would fund. 

“Voters across San Diego County are showing empathy and deeper awareness for the first time historically on this issue,” Baltiyskyy said. “It’s one of the our greatest pressing needs for health and safety.” 

Balitskyy said the annual revenue could be used to pay back a bond, a big loan for expensive projects. 

Reading further into the measure’s language revealed that it would be up to an appointed committee to make sure that money is being spent where the measure’s creators intended. 

But so far, it’s not clear what those projects would be.  

No Specific Tijuana River Plan 

The sales tax measure’s expenditure plan says 22.5 percent of the money should be used on “environmental mitigation and related programs in connection with the toxic crisis in the Tijuana River Valley.” Twenty percent of that must be spent on “infrastructure and engineering projects to stop sewage flows from Tijuana into the U.S.”  

That could mean a lot of things. But it shouldn’t take the county long to figure it out. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already spent about a year studying what needs to be done on both sides of the border five years ago. They put $600 million-worth of projects on a big list and prioritized them. But the feds hit a bunch of snags trying to get those done – like a huge sewage main break in Mexico in 2022, then Hurricane Hilary knocked out the United States’ main treatment plant in 2023, etc. And Congress hadn’t yet dedicated enough money to pay for most of that. 

Still, both countries agreed to do those projects under a treaty signed while Joe Biden was president. Then President Donald Trump basically had Mexico re-commit to doing those things again under another agreement.  

However, $80 million a year for the Tijuana River sewage problem is a lot. It’s $30 million more than the entire maintenance budget of the International Boundary and Water Commission (the federal agency charged with treating Tijuana’s sewage at the border) just a few years ago. 

Raising what the border sewage problem needs by locals taxing themselves is a much easier way than how it works now. 

Most of the infrastructure installed at the U.S.-Mexico border to try and prevent sewage pollution is run by the federal government, which means it takes an act of Congress to secure funds to take care of it. It took the rewriting of the North American Free Trade Agreement during President Trump’s first administration to secure $300 million back in 2020 for all cross-border water problems (and there are many). San Diego had to fight hard to get most of that dedicated to its sewage problem with Tijuana.  

San Diego’s Congressional delegates had to fight again to secure more emergency money to help fix a sewage treatment plant run by the United States, which Voice of San Diego revealed had been so neglected, it didn’t really work.  

Who Decides Where Money Will Be Spent 

The language of the sales tax measure requires the San Diego County Board of Supervisors appoint an 11-member oversight committee three months after the measure passed to oversee how the money is spent. None of the members can be elected officials. One of them must be from a community affected by the border sewage — Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Coronado or San Ysidro. 

This committee would pay for an independent auditor to evaluate whether the money is being spent according to the measure’s intent.  

“These folks …make sure expenditures are in line with the will of voters and make a slate of recommendations to supervisors,” Baltiyskyy said.  

The commission’s work would be directed by the county’s pollution crisis chief, a new position the county is apparently interviewing candidates for as I write this.  

If the Tijuana River is ever cleaned, meaning it’s deemed safe for human recreation and is removed from the state’s list of polluted waters, the sales tax measure says that money could go to other environmental mitigation programs that protect clean water. The same would be true if the river is ever completely diverted and treated, which has been one of the options on the table for a long time – and what former Imperial Beach Mayor now Supervisor Paloma Aguirre has been talking about for years. (EPA prioritized that project last on its list.) 

“First we have to prioritize the hot spot, because that is a major infrastructure fix that we’ve already invested $2.5 million in county money,” said Supervisor Paloma Aguirre in an interview Monday. “That’s an immediate thing we can bring relief to families.” 

The so-called hot spot is an area in Nestor where the river spills from concrete pipes underneath a road, generating toxic air pollution.  

“But of course the ultimate purpose is to eliminate toxic sludge coming through. And we can wait here another 20 years for Mexico to do it, or we can do it ourselves,” she said. 

I asked Baltiyskyy if any of the money could be spent in Mexico, whose broken sewage infrastructure is the main source of the problem. The United States already spends millions of dollars on fixes to Tijuana wastewater systems as a result of the crisis (like the $13.4 million being spent on an old sewage pump in Mexico), which is typically the only way projects get done. She didn’t know whether, logistically, that could work.  

“There’s enough to do on the U.S. side to use the locally-generated funding,” she said.  

The post County Sales Tax Measure Vague on Tijuana Sewage Fixes appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

Supporters of a countywide half-cent sales tax hike on the November ballot have zeroed in on a catchy sales pitch to voters.

The measure, they say, will generate up to $80 million annually to fix the seemingly never-ending Tijuana River sewage crisis.

But as our environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer found out, backers of the tax hike are vague on what all that money will pay for.

Elmer asked San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre and others in the coalition of labor unions and environmentalists to name sewage-related projects they hope to fund if it passes.

We’ll get back to you, they said.

Aguirre did mention fixing a troublesome sewage culvert that churns up the river and sends toxic gases into the atmosphere.

But beyond naming a far-off – and hugely expensive – goal of diverting the river entirely and treating much of Tijuana’s sewage in the U.S., backers identified no other immediate uses for the new tax money.

So why foreground the river? One backer told Elmer the river polled highest among all the issues the new tax seeks to address.

Read the full story here. 

ICE Has Deported More than 16,000 People in San Diego County

Federal immigration authorities have deported 16,368 people from San Diego County since the start of last year.

That’s according to numbers provided to U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, who asked federal officials last year for details about immigration enforcement operations in the county.

The Department of Homeland Security waited nine months before responding to Levin’s request.

In addition to deportations, federal authorities also booked 10,489 people into custody since January 2025.

Our South County reporter Jim Hinch recently wrote about the economic and emotional toll caused by the steady drumbeat of arrests and deportations.

In a statement, Levin pointed out that federal authorities omitted key information from their response, including the percentage of people arrested or deported who had prior criminal records.

“The public should use these numbers to hold the government accountable and to push for greater transparency about who is being targeted for removal,” Levin said.

In their response, federal authorities said the focus on immigrants’ criminal histories was misplaced.

“ICE enforces immigration law against all removable aliens, and the commission of violent crimes is not a prerequisite for enforcement,” the response said. 

North County Report: Coastal and Inland Cities Diverge on Homelessness

There was good news and bad news for North County cities in the latest count of the region’s homeless population.

The good news: Homelessness declined, in some cases by a lot, in most inland cities.

The bad: Coastal cities, with the exception of Encinitas and surrounding areas, saw numbers rise.

Our North County reporter Tigist Layne, broke down the results of the annual point-in -time count, which volunteers conducted earlier this year.

Standouts include Escondido, which saw a 12-percent drop in unsheltered homeless residents. The city, which has embraced a stricter approach to homelessness, no longer has North County’s largest homeless population.

There’s a huge caveat to the numbers. Volunteer census takers can only count the people they find. If stricter policies push people into places that are harder to reach, sometimes they won’t be counted. 

Read the North County Report here.

Budget debates in style 

Despite the city of San Diego’s fiscal woes, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera has been lightening the mood by rocking some custom Dickies jackets at City Council budget meetings. Our City Hall reporter Mariana Martínez Barba asked him how many of these personalized fits he has.

He simply replied “lol” and said he has two different jackets. He gets them embroidered at Walla Alterations downtown. 

Meet the Beat: Environment Report

Join us on May 21 at Grant Park to meet Voice of San Diego environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer and talk about what she’s working on and what’s on your mind. Don’t miss this free event.  Reserve your spot today. 

In Other News

• A federal judge appears likely to give San Diego County the go-ahead to conduct a public health inspection at the Otay Mesa Detention Center after two county supervisors were barred from entering earlier this year. (City News Service)
• County supervisors on Wednesday voted to invest up to $2.75 million in local arts and culture programs. (Times of San Diego)
• Devotees of La Jolla’s 112-year-old city-owned recreation center are rallying to save the center after a city of San Diego analysis included it on a list of possible budget-related closures. (La Jolla Light)
• inewsource fact-checked a new ad opposing Measure A, a proposed tax on second homes. The verdict: The ad falsely claims the tax threatens all homeowners in the county. In fact, only 5,100 homes could be affected. (Sidenote: No way to fact-check the ad’s truly vampiric photo of Mayor Todd Gloria.)
• Podcasters and shower crooners: Chula Vista has just the place for you. In addition to the requisite fancy gym and pool, a new apartment complex also includes a podcast studio and a karaoke room. (Union-Tribune)

The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Mariana Martínez Barba and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.

The post Morning Report: New Tax for What, Again? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

Chula Vista’s long-held dream to build a four-year university on 383 acres of vacant land the city owns near its southeastern border took a small step forward last week. 

The 14-member South County Higher Education Planning Task Force, recently created by state legislation, held its first meeting Friday to begin planning what city, state and local education officials hope will become a unique hybrid university offering four-year degrees to South County students. 

But there’s a reason this dream has remained just a dream for so long. And Friday’s meeting left unclear whether anything has changed enough to make the dream a reality anytime soon. 

City leaders and higher education advocates want a four-year university in Chula Vista to serve local and bi-national students who otherwise travel out of the area to get a four-year degree. 

But no one knows how to pay for such an endeavor. And no existing university – including the California State University or University of California systems – has expressed interest in building or paying for a new campus in San Diego’s border region. 

The task force is responsible for producing a report that will outline what a South County university could look like, what sorts of degrees it would offer and how the school might be funded, built and governed. 

The open question is whether that report, due next year to state legislators, will, like so many other reports, sit on a shelf gathering dust. Or whether it will galvanize construction of a new university that could in turn galvanize South County’s economy and regional standing. 

Lurking behind that question is a more fundamental question facing South County. The region, especially the city of Chula Vista, is seeking to move beyond its historical identity as San Diego County’s second-class stepchild. 

Will it succeed? That depends in part on whether the higher education task force can persuade policymakers to make Chula Vista’s educational dream a reality. 

The driving force behind the university at the moment is state Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat who says he is determined to give South County residents access to the kinds of educational opportunities that propelled him from a childhood in Barrio Logan to the halls of power in Sacramento. 

Alvarez graduated from San Diego State University. He said he wants to enable South County students to obtain a four-year degree without having to leave the place they grew up. 

It was Alvarez who authored legislation to create the higher education task force. On Friday, he warned task force members – including representatives from SDSU and the University of California, San Diego – that if California’s two public university systems continued to drag their feet on participating wholeheartedly in the new university, Alvarez was prepared to move on without them. 

“We’re going to look for ways to maximize educational opportunities for our community,” he told task force members. “I don’t mean to be offensive, but if it’s not UC or CSU, it’s going to be a community college or a private institution or a combination.” 

The city of Chula Vista recently inked a deal with SDSU to begin offering four-year nursing degrees at the soon-to-open Millenia Library. 

Alvarez, along with other local higher education leaders, including Southwestern College President Mark Sanchez, have a bigger vision. 

A consultant presented task force members with a proposal that features a verdant campus set within a larger urban village of housing and retail. Multiple universities would use portions of the campus to offer a flexible mix of degree programs that would change in response to labor market demands. 

If that makes universities accustomed to controlling their own facilities uncomfortable, too bad, Alvarez said. 

“We’re looking to serve students and have systems adapt to students, instead of students adapting to systems,” Alvarez said. “Universities are accustomed to managing their own facilities. But we might be looking at doing something different here.” 

I asked SDSU Provost William Tong, a task force member, what he thought of Alvarez’s pointed remarks. Would SDSU be willing to participate in such a project? 

Tong was noncommittal. He said SDSU already is partnering with Southwestern College to offer four-year degrees in South County, and soon would offer the nursing degrees at the Millenia Library. 

“We’ll expand on these programs,” he said. “This [envisioned] campus will be a place where these programs have a physical home…SDSU is very popular.” 

National City’s Budget Woes Echo Countywide Trends 

Earlier this week, I attended a budget workshop in National City, which is sprinting to pass a budget by the end of June. 

The city faces daunting math. Recent salary increases for employees, along with inflation, flattening tax revenue and rising pension and liability costs, could result in a $16 million deficit next year. That’s a lot in a city with a roughly $90 million general fund budget. 

On Monday, councilmembers debated how to close the gap. I couldn’t help noticing that the debate echoed arguments taking place elsewhere in San Diego County as governments grapple with rising costs and stagnating revenues. 

Similar to leaders in the city of San Diego and on the County Board of Supervisors, National City councilmembers debated whether to rein in spending, find new sources of revenue, tap city reserves – or relax because the budget situation maybe isn’t as bad as it seems. 

Councilmember Jose Rodriguez, especially, seemed skeptical of dire projections. 

“[City budget] projections have been wrong over the past 10 years,” he said. 

Rodriguez said National City needs to break what he said is a longstanding habit of overly cautious budgeting. The city should find creative new sources of revenue and expand programs serving vulnerable residents, such as the city’s free meals program, he said. 

At one point, Rodriguez grew visibly exasperated with Mayor Ron Morrison’s calls for fiscal restraint. 

“I remember sitting in the [City Council chambers] audience [years ago] and hearing you saying over and over again the same thing,” Rodriguez said to Morrison. “It’s an excuse to keep [city] employees underpaid, keeping city services scarce, keeping businesses from paying their fair share. We need to get out of this scarcity mentality.” 

Morrison and Councilmember Luz Molina said good intentions don’t alter mathematical reality. 

Molina noted the city already has drained one of its main reserve funds by nearly half to balance this year’s budget. 

“We face the possibility [the reserve fund] could drain to zero,” she said. “I’m scared.” 

In Other News 

• The Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday voted 4-1 to initiate an inquiry into who paid for Mayor John McCann’s recent special effects-laden State of the City speech. I wrote last week about the speech’s eye-opening extras (skydiving, opera soloist, Hollywood-style movie) and noted that McCann’s staff said sponsors paid for everything but routine costs. Councilmembers on Tuesday said the speech was mostly a political stunt and risked creating an appearance of deep-pocketed donors buying influence. McCann, a Republican, is up for re-election this year and said the speech complied with all city regulations. He voted against the inquiry. The other councilmembers are Democrats. 
• Tired of all the political drama? Take a break by participating in a series of events this week celebrating the tiny insects that make the rest of life possible. The San Diego Pollinator Alliance is hosting outdoor walks (including a nighttime walk focused on bats, “the forgotten pollinators”), a milkweed farm tour, a presentation on native California bees and other family-friendly activities as part of San Diego Pollinator Week. Details here. 

The post South County Report: Chula Vista University Inches Forward – Maybe appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

The outbreak of hantavirus on board the cruise ship MV Hondius is unlikely to become an epidemic, the World Health Organization announced today.

In a press briefing, a panel of WHO scientists sought to quell worldwide fears over the outbreak and reassure the public that we aren’t about to see a repeat of the covid-19 pandemic. The panel also said it intended to stay until all journalists’ questions were answered and expressly stated that it was important that people not be alarmed by the cluster on the ship.

“This is not covid; this is not influenza,” said WHO scientist Maria Van Kerkhove at the briefing. “This is not the start of an epidemic; this is not the start of a pandemic.”

So far, there have been five confirmed cases of hantavirus and three more suspected cases. Three of those who fell ill have died.

Two patients in hospital in the Netherlands and a person in intensive care in South Africa are all reported to be improving, the WHO said.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe disease in humans. People usually get infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva.

Tests in South Africa carried out on two passengers from the ship have identified the pathogen as Andes virus, the only known hantavirus that can spread from human to human.

It is also one of the hantaviruses known to cause a severe illness in humans called hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, with a mortality rate of up to 50 per cent.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said in a press briefing that because the incubation period of the virus is six weeks, it is possible more cases will be reported in coming weeks

However, the public health risks remain low because the virus requires close physical contact to transmit between people, and careful contact tracing and international cooperation will break the chain of transmission, said Ghebreyesus.

So far, every nation called on to assist in managing the crisis has cooperated fully, he said.

“There’s no need to panic the entire population,” said Abdirahman Mahamud, also at the WHO.

He said only symptomatic, infected people should be isolated. Those who may have been exposed to the virus will only require “active monitoring”.

Mahamud said the current situation is most analogous to an outbreak of Andes virus in Argentina between November 2018 and February 2019 that infected 34 people and caused 11 deaths. That began at a birthday party with approximately 100 guests. While the outbreak was serious, the virus didn’t go on to spread widely in the community.

“The main concern is the possibility of limited person-to-person transmission,” Luis Marcos at Stony Brook Medicine in New York state tells New Scientist. “However, such transmission appears to be inefficient and can typically be managed with standard isolation and quarantine precautions.”

“Overall, the risk of widespread transmission remains low, and the current level of concern may be greater than warranted,” he says.

Marcos suspects a maximum of 10 to 15 people who were on the cruise will end up being infected. Quarantine of people from the cruise will be enough, he says, and there is “no pandemic potential at all”.

Luis Escobar at Virginia Tech warns that the threat posed by hantaviruses should be taken seriously. “I believe hantavirus has pandemic risk, especially hantavirus causing respiratory syndromes,” he says.

He and his team published a study in 2025 reporting that there were more hosts of the virus than previously known. They analysed over 14,000 blood samples for hantavirus from 49 species at 45 field sites, finding 296 positive samples across 15 rodent species, including six new species not previously reported as hosts. The team identified Colorado, Virginia and Texas as particular hotspots for the virus.

However, Escobar believes the public health measures being taken will mitigate the pandemic risk from the current outbreak.

Topics:

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iam8bit

Iam8bit’s in-house music group, the Blueshift Big Band, has put together another franchise-specific record with the Persona 30th Anniversary Jazz Album, and pre-orders are live now through June 1. The Persona 30th Anniversary Jazz Album comes in three flavors: a Translucent Purple vinyl exclusive to FYE, or a Blue Butterfly or classic black version from iam8bit and other stores. The purple FYE exclusive costs $40, while the other two cost $32, and copies will start shipping out in the final quarter of 2026.

All versions carry the same eight reimagined songs from the series’ storied history, including “Heaven,” “Last Surprise” and “Aria of the Soul.” You can stream the full album from your preferred service right here, right now.

The album features art by award-winning illustrator Mark Borgions, whose work is filled with mid-century magic. He also does the visuals on the Blueshift Big Band’s other albums in the Joystick Jazz series, which presents big-band covers of popular video game songs. There are three Joystick Jazz records and one EP. The first two volumes feature jazzified tracks from The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Grim Fandango, Kingdom Hearts 3 and other classics, while the third full album is Mario-specific. The Bonus Level vinyl has four songs from Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and DuckTales.

Sega and Atlus are celebrating Persona’s 30th birthday in various ways this year, including pop-ups at conventions and, fittingly, a big-band concert tour across Asia in the summer (unrelated to iam8bit’s efforts). The next mainline Persona game is still in development with no release date in sight. Persona 4 Revival is also in production and hotly anticipated by longtime series fans (like 30 years long), and it’s potentially, maybe targeting a release window of late 2026 to early 2027.

As always, iam8bit has a large collection of Persona vinyl and lots of other video game treasures for sale, no waiting necessary.

Read the original article here

The post iam8bit Recorded A Jazzy Persona Album For The Series’ 30th appeared first on Los Angeles Weekly Times.

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Hayley Williams is still on her Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party Tour but she already has plans for a new one. Her next run, “The Hayley Williams Show,” is set to launch in September and will take the Paramore singer across both North and South America. Magdalena Bay, Rico Nasty, and Annie DiRusso will support on select dates. A full itinerary, including previously announced shows, can be found below.

Williams released her third solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, in 2025. Two years before that, Paramore released their most-recent album, This Is Why, and followed it up with a North American tour.

Revisit our 2020 review of Williams’ Petals for Armor.

Hayley Williams: “The Hayley Williams Show” 2026 Tour

Hayley Williams Tour 2026:
05-09 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
05-10 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
05-12 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *
05-13 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *
05-15 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *
06-05 Milan, Italy – Alcatraz @
06-09 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso *
06-10 Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall @
06-11 Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall @
06-15 Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom *
06-16 Copenhagen, Denmark – Poolen *
06-19 London, England – Roundhouse *&
06-20 London, England – Roundhouse *&
06-22 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy *
06-23 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy *
06-26 Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Academy Glasgow *
06-27 Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Academy Glasgow *
06-29 Dublin, Ireland – National Stadium *
06-30 Dublin, Ireland – National Stadium *
09-03 iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL=
09-05 Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA=
09-06 Credit One Stadium – Charleston, SC=
09-08 Truliant Amphitheater – Charlotte, NC=
09-09 Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek – Raleigh, NC=
09-11 Xfinity Center – Boston, MA=
09-12 Albany Med Health System at SPAC – Saratoga Springs, NY=
09-14 BankNH Pavilion – Gilford, NH=
09-16 Forest Hills Stadium – Queens, NY
09-17 Forest Hills Stadium – Queens, NY=
09-19 Pine Knob Music Theatre – Detroit, MI=
09-23 Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH=
09-24 Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, IL=
09-26 Merriweather Post Pavilion (All Things Go Music Festival)- Columbia, MD
09-30 White River Amphitheatre – Seattle, WA=
10-02 Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA=
10-03 North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – San Diego, CA=
10-05 Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA =
10-06 Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA=
10-09 The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman – Houston, TX=
10-10 Champions Square – New Orleans, LA=
10-12 Bank Plus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove – Southaven, MS=
11-06 Movistar Arena – Bogotá, Colombia %
11-10 Qualistage – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil %
11-12 Espaço Unimed – São Paulo, Brazil  %
11-13 Espaço Unimed – São Paulo, Brazil %
11-15 Parque Sarmiento – Buenos Aires, Argentina %
11-18 Movistar Arena – Santiago, Chile %
11-20 Costa 21 – Lima, Peru %
11-23 Auditorio Nacional – Mexico City, MX %
11-27 Coca-Cola Music Hall – San Juan, Puerto Rico %

* with Water From Your Eyes
@ with Snuggle
& with Tiberius B
= w/ Magdalena Bay and Rico Nasty
% w/ Annie DiRusso

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Marc Rowan, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management LLC, speaks during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, April 5, 2022.

Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan on Wednesday warned investors that he is preparing his giant asset management firm for a potential market downturn and sharply criticized what he called the “egregious” practices of some rival insurers.

The current solid economic backdrop — which helped Apollo report a banner quarter, in which the firm reached $1 trillion in assets under management and record fee-related earnings — is masking a growing risk of what he called “out of the box” shocks.

“Everything we see in front of us is actually quite strong,” Rowan said. But there is “a much greater chance, in our opinion, of out-of-sideline results.”

Rowan, who co-founded Apollo in 1990 and oversaw its transformation into an alternative asset and insurance giant, said he is now more concerned about outside factors derailing the economy than at any time in his four decades on Wall Street.

His comments, which come as the U.S. stock market is trading near record highs, add to concerns voiced by financial executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Rowan put the odds of an exogenous shock at somewhere between 30% and 35%, far higher than the usual level of risk, he said.

A convergence of forces could destabilize markets, according to Rowan, including a “total geopolitical reset,” policies that could prove inflationary by restricting labor and trade, and the sweeping artificial intelligence cycle reshaping jobs and economic growth.

“Almost everything we’re doing, whether intentional or not, has the potential to be inflationary,” Rowan said, an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s tariff and U.S. immigration policies.

“Restricting the supply of goods, restricting the supply of labor and the free movement of goods and labor — maybe for good and valid reasons that need to be done — are all inflationary in the short term, even if we are not seeing signs of it,” he said.

On AI, Rowan predicted socioeconomic upheaval: “Almost every job will be enhanced or replaced. We’re going to see a complete flip — blue-collar ascendancy and white-collar stress.”

The balance sheets of companies and consumers remain strong, while governments’ finances are strained, he added.

Contagion fears

While Apollo is experiencing robust results today, Rowan said, he is preparing for choppier times ahead.

The firm has moved up the credit quality of its fixed-income investments, cut exposure to riskier sectors such as software, and stockpiled about $40 billion of cash in its insurance business.

“It means we’re investing with an eye toward protecting our capital and making sure that we are here to ride through cycles if there are corrections, which we quite frankly expect,” Rowan said.

But Rowan — who transformed Apollo by expanding into insurance in 2009 through Athene, a seller of annuities and retirement products — reserved his sharpest remarks for other insurers. The insurance business provides Apollo with a large, stable pool of capital to invest, akin to the insurance “float” model popularized by Berkshire Hathaway, and is now central to its strategy.

“Not everyone in our industry is doing what they should do. Not everyone runs their business the way we have run our business,” Rowan said. “We do worry about contagion.”

Contagion would mean that stress spreads through the industry, raising the risk that regulators or central banks have to intervene to protect insurance and retirement customers.

Rowan did not name specific firms that he thought were acting badly.

But he suggested some insurers are relying on what he called “egregious” practices — including offshore Cayman structures, complex collateralized loans and aggressive credit assumptions — that could make some balance sheets look stronger than they are.

“What we can do is be transparent, be committed to higher ratings, build our capital and run the business for the long term,” Rowan said.

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Imagine tackling the city of San Diego’s budget crisis through a one-cent sales tax with a ballot initiative written by the people and for the people.

This quixotic thought crossed my mind as civic opposition to Mayor Todd Gloria’s 2026-27 budget proposal hits a fever pitch. To me, it seems the fiscal blueprint’s draconian cuts to neighborhood libraries, parks, recreation centers and arts-and-culture programs are driven by his misplaced anger at the voters who opposed his 2024 Penny for Progress ballot proposition. 

What elected official wouldn’t be infatuated with the idea of a $400 million infusion of taxpayer money into the city’s general fund each year?  Poof! The city’s yawning $146 million budget shortfall would be erased, and our strong mayor and malleable city councilmembers would be handed a nearly half-a-billion-dollar piggy bank. Such ready access to non-discretionary taxpayer revenue is irresistible to the high-rolling political donors, lobbyists and city hall insiders who would be certain to come calling, self-serving project wish lists in hand.

It’s beyond me how the mayor thought his ballot initiative would win over a majority of voters in the wake of the 101 Ash Street scandal, and as he spitched the $18 million conversion of a dilapidated Middletown printing plant into a 1,000-bed homeless mega-shelter to the tune of a $72 million, 30-year lease.

Here’s what I believe: San Diegans are smart, compassionate people who care deeply about improving the quality of life in our beautiful, bighearted city. If our elected officials were to agree to open the city’s budget to a reputable, civically-engaged regional nonprofit — the Prebys Foundation comes to mind — and invite the public to participate in an honest conversation about how we, the people, would envision our municipal government spending $400 million a year, I’m confident a majority of San Diegans would vote in favor of a one-cent sales tax increase. 

A ballot initiative, guided by that level of citizen involvement in our representative government, would truly be a Penny for Progress.

A second-generation San Diegan and nonprofit consultant, Molly Bowman-Styles is the president of Windansea Communications.

In the wake of a devastating proposed city budget, a citizen-led initiative to assist the city of San Diego meet its Mission Bay Park Master Plan began Wednesday.

The initiative invites locals to help steer the direction of the city’s largest aquatic park.

The Mission Bay Park Conservancy seeks to maintain city-owned structures around the bay, including the visitor’s center and 25 restrooms, which are at risk of seasonal closure as San Diego seeks to patch a more than $120 million hole in its Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

Additionally, 14 city jobs in the park would be eliminated under San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget.

“This nonprofit is designed to be a community catalyst — bringing together public and private efforts to turn vision into action,” said Bradley Schnell, Mission Bay Park Conservancy founder and president.

“My connection to Mission Bay started with a simple walk through the park, where I came across the deteriorating remains of the original visitor center — an iconic structure that had clearly been forgotten.

“I didn’t just see what was there; I saw what it could become,” he added. “What we’ve done there is a proof of concept for what’s possible across the entire bay when we strike the right balance between environmental stewardship, community needs, and respect for the site’s history. This organization is for the Park by the People.”

Mission Bay Park welcomes more than 100,000 visitors on peak summer days to its 4,235 acres, roughly equal parts land and water. It generates tens of millions in annual lease revenue, according to a conservancy statement.

The conservancy seeks to create a reliable revenue stream to supplement city resources, tackle a lengthy maintenance backlog featuring items such as restrooms, pathways, fire rings and landscaping, speed up the permitting process for events, festivals and youth programs, and lead a diverse group of people who care about the park as they help the city meet the first master plan update since 1994 — including salt marsh and eelgrass restoration.

Balboa Park has a similar conservancy, which uses private funding and a management team to protect the park. Schnell is hoping for that outcome.

“Within the first 60 days, the conservancy expects to announce the first adopted Mission Bay restroom, an initial cohort of founding board members, and the kickoff of community input for the master plan update,” the nonprofit’s statement read.

Those who wish to volunteer or get involved in other ways can find more information here.

A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he will grant a request from San Diego County to conduct a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, though he said some of the county’s requests, such as having local lawmakers be part of the inspection team, will require additional arguments from the county.

San Diego County sued the federal government and private prison company CoreCivic earlier this year after a coalition of lawmakers — including County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre — were blocked from inspecting the facility. The county’s public health officer was provided access, but county officials say that inspection did not include access to medical records, confidential interviews with detainees, and a review of facility health policies.

U.S. District Judge James Simmons agreed with the county that it has authority to evaluate the conditions of the facility, but said some other requests from the county regarding the scope of what that inspection would look like were “broad and vague.”

Those requests include permitting “non-subject matter experts” to inspect the facility.

Attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security argued in court filings that ICE determined the lawmakers who previously sought to enter the facility “were not public health professionals with the appropriate subject matter expertise to conduct health and safety inspections.”

County attorneys argue in their filings that the county’s health officer has the discretion to select the members of the inspection team.

Simmons, who gave both sides three weeks to file supplemental briefs on their respective positions before he would render a final decision, also said he wanted more information regarding what facility policies and procedures county officials would seek to review and how they would go about examining detainees.

Government attorneys said the county’s requests to interview detainees and review their medical records raised privacy concerns. They argued detainees were provided privacy waivers during previous Department of Justice inspections at the facility, an issue county officials didn’t address in their inspection requests.

The county denied that furnishing privacy waivers was the standard practice for such inspections. They argued in their filings that prior to other inspections, a notice was posted in detainee housing areas notifying any detainees who wish to speak to inspectors that they can. The county argued their team was not provided with this option during previous inspection attempts.

The San Diego Community College District is reviewing the code in its network “line by line and file by file” to root out any malicious code embedded during a two-pronged cyberattack that started Saturday. 

“This is not just a precaution,” said Chancellor Gregory Smith of the work by district IT teams. “We’re not being overly cautious about it. It’s a necessity.” 

Network security was ready

Like many large institutions, the district faces frequent cyberattacks meant to steal data and financial information. 

“We have daily, I don’t think it’s overstating, attempts for people to send phishing emails or to try to gain access into our networks,” Smith said. The cybersecurity system filters out the overwhelming majority of those attempts. “It’s a regular occurrence now. I think probably every significant organization of a significant size is having this happen on a daily basis.” 

In 2022, the district, which serves 100,000 students annually, began upgrading its security systems and moving sensitive student and employee information to the cloud behind multiple layers of security. That cloud data was safe during this breach. Attackers did not access any personal information, the district said.  

But now the district may upgrade low-priority legacy systems sooner than planned. The attack exposed vulnerabilities in those systems that attackers attempted to exploit to breach secure parts of the network. 

Cyberattacks have hit other colleges and school districts or large institutions like Scripps Health. Hackers stole large swaths of data and encrypted it, with the institution forced to pay a ransom or immediately lose key data. Those are typically one-and-done events. 

Timeline of attack 

At first, SDCCD thought a similar plot was at work. Machine learning software detected an issue Saturday morning and alerted security professionals about a possible attack. Those IT teams shut down the servers, essentially trapping the attackers inside the network so they could not communicate any information outside of it. 

The district believes the attackers gained access to a vendor and entered the district’s network through them. 

On Sunday, the cybersecurity teams did small test runs, bringing one system online then immediately turning it off to see how the attackers responded. Everything seemed fine in those system tests. 

That’s why on Monday the district brought its network back online, assuming the weekend hack attempt failed. 

A new plot? 

But the district uncovered a more sinister attack Monday. The cyberattacks restarted, this time using vulnerabilities discovered on Saturday. 

“Very quickly, after we opened our network back up, the attack resumed in a little bit different way,” Smith explained. “That’s why we suspect that Saturday may have been an attempt to understand how we would respond and then to evolve the attack in order to be successful and detect our security software.” 

Instead of immediately ransoming data, SDCCD now believes the attackers intended to embed malicious code in their network. That code could have gone undetected for months or even years while hackers covertly harvested login credentials, financial information, social security numbers and other personal information.

“They would have been able to steal people’s identity,” Smith said. “It could have been a much worse scenario where we’re dealing with this personal data being compromised and not just having to shut down systems.” 

In response, the district shut down its network entirely on Monday. 

“We had to make the decision that we’re going to fully shut down and we’re not going to bring it back online until we know with certainty that we’ve removed any inappropriate access so that they could, again, not be able to start to extract information back out,” Smith said. 

Finals week disruption 

Smith said this was a necessary disruption that came at a poor time. It’s finals week and summer class registration is open. 

Some cloud-based systems are still working, including the summer class registration site and class portal Canvas. However, wifi and food services on campus are shut down. 

Additionally, some student services like mental health counseling, health appointments and other basic services were closed at some points this week because underlying applications supporting those offices were offline. The district restored most of those services through other means. 

Food service resumes Wednesday. Officials anticipate that internet, websites and file servers will be restored by Friday. 

Professors canceled a few classes. In other cases, professors had to pivot some tests to in-person. Hybrid classes moved to fully remote options off campus due to lack of internet. In other cases, students and faculty had to use hot spots on personal devices.

“It’s been more of a frustration,” Smith said. He believes all classes will finish the term on time.

Normality by next week 

By next week, Smith thinks the district will be back to normal operations with no lingering threat. Before that happens, IT staff and a vendor need to ensure there is no embedded malicious code that could be activated later.

“We’ve had to completely rebuild or re-image some of our file structures and servers where the level of infiltration suggested that we might have some risk that we can’t see, and so erring on the side of caution, (we) completely rebuilt (them) so we know it’s eliminated,” Smith explained. 

Smith said that effort takes longer than a few hours or days. It will be closer to a week to completely review the network.

 The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Wednesday to use millions of dollars in county funding to bolster the region’s arts and culture scene, with a focus on diverse and underserved communities.

Key components of the initiative include:

• Artist Grant Program ($1 million annually): Direct, low-barrier funding for individual artists, prioritizing underserved communities and supporting both emerging and established creatives;
• Artist-in-Residence Program ($250,000 annually): Placement of local artists within county departments to address public challenges through “creative, community-informed” approaches;
• Artist Space Grant Program ($500,000 annually): Expanding access to affordable creative spaces, including county-owned properties for public arts programming;
• Binational Creative Economy Investment ($250,000 annually): Strengthening cross-border arts and cultural collaboration in the San Diego- Baja California region;
• Arts and Cultural District Designation Program: Formal recognition and support for “culturally rich areas” across the county, with a focus on historically underfunded communities;
• Black Arts and Culture District Investment ($500,000 one-time): Supporting infrastructure, programming and economic development in nine blocks within the San Diego community of Encanto. The program will also offer help to artists in navigating the application system, based on a recommendation from Aguirre. Desmond, who represents the northernmost portion of the county, said the proposal would turn the county’s coffers into the city of San Diego’s personal ATM.

Proponents Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, along with Paloma Aguirre, were in favor, while Jim Desmond was opposed. Their colleague Joel Anderson was absent.

Before voting, board Chair Lawson-Remer said the funding initiative “has really been a labor of love,” with participation by many community members. She cited Chicano Park in the Barrio Logan neighborhood and the county Administration Center — a New Deal-era building lauded for its architectural beauty, as examples of why arts funding matters, and “can (happen) at a time when people are divided and feel hopeless — and uplift the best in ourselves.”

Board Vice Chair Montgomery Steppe said the investments “are not solely cultural in nature — they are economic drivers, that enhance tourism, workforce development and the county’s overall quality of life.”

Desmond said he strongly supports artistic programs, adding that the city of San Marcos had one when he was its mayor — but said the county needs to focus on its unincorporated regions. Desmond noted that many of those speaking in favor during a public comment period live in the city of San Diego, and the county should not have to rescue city programs.

“There are some major flaws with this initiative as it is,” he said, adding that it didn’t seem to feature metrics, accountability or guardrails.

“It’s hard to deliver on something that sometimes is abstract,” Desmond said. “This is how fraud starts —government dollars go out the door.”

Lawson-Remer responded that the program will have specific guidelines, including reports from the chief administrative officer.

Aguirre said she was really excited to support more funding. “Arts and culture are part of who we are,” she added.

Most public input on Wednesday, including from the county’s Arts & Culture Commission members, was favorable.

An Encanto neighborhood resident and barbershop owner said arts are transformative and “(take) us places that nothing else can besides traveling.”

One critic said it made no sense for the county to spend money on arts with so many San Diegans struggling financially.

County arts support comes as the city of San Diego continues its budget process. Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would slash all arts and culture grants to the tune of nearly $12 million.

“Our residents are hungry for these arts programs in so many communities,” Lawson-Remer said earlier. “The proposal includes up to $2.75 million in total funding, with $2.25 million in ongoing annual investments, to launch and sustain everything from an artist grant program, to investments in the Black Arts and Culture District, to an artist space grant program and a binational creative economy investment and artist in residence program.”

San Diego isn’t the only government entity proposing to roll back arts funding as grants and other sources from Washington, D.C. begin to dry up.

“Too often our Black, brown and immigrant neighborhoods have been overlooked,” Montgomery Steppe said. “Arts and culture are not optional — they are foundational to a thriving, inclusive San Diego County. Today, we are making the choice to move that vision forward.”

“New staff. New grant programs. New designations. And a sizable chunk of it headed straight into the city of San Diego,” Desmond wrote to supporters. “Let me remind you what the city of San Diego looks like right now. Streets that flood because storm drains went uncleaned for years. A budget deficit so deep they’re closing libraries and rec centers. Homeless encampments the city refuses to enforce against. A downtown most families won’t visit after dark.”

Desmond said colleagues are using general fund money “that pays for our deputies, fire prep, mental health beds, and roads in North County.”

Arts leaders, however, said the funding could be the step needed to preserve programs.

“Today’s investment signals that the county recognizes and values the power of diverse voices across the arts sector,” said Gaidi Finnie, executive director of the African American Museum of Fine Arts. “The Black Arts and Culture District stands as a vital hub for cultural expression and creative enterprise, and this investment affirms the county’s commitment to advancing arts and culture in an inclusive and meaningful way.”

According to the supervisors, the proposal also includes efforts to work with philanthropies, advocate for expanded arts funding and establish the county as a designated Local Arts Agency through the California Arts Council.

“San Diego ART Matters and the broader artist community commend the county’s long-overdue historic investment in the arts,” said Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego ART Matters. “This initiative transforms passion into purposeful, strategic action — placing the creative economy at the table of our region’s future.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the company said consolidated revenues rose 9.1% to P22.78 billion, while gross profit increased 8.3% to P7.1 billion.

“Our APAC BFB business delivered robust topline growth in the first quarter, supported by volume growth across all categories. We are encouraged by the sequential improvement in gross margin, despite ongoing inflationary pressures,” Monde Nissin Chief Executive Officer Henry Soesanto said.

The company’s Asia-Pacific branded food and beverage (APAC BFB) business posted net sales of P19.1 billion, up 8.6% from a year earlier.

Domestic sales rose 9.5% to P18.1 billion, while international sales declined 5.1%.

Monde Nissin said pricing actions and cost management initiatives helped offset higher input costs.

Revenue from meat alternatives under Quorn Foods grew 1.4% in constant currency terms and 11.7% on a reported basis due to currency effects.

Gross profit for the segment rose 54.4% to P1.2 billion, while gross margin improved to 31.8%.

Reported net income climbed 34.1% to P3.7 billion, supported by a P210-million non-cash fair value gain on the meat alternative guaranty asset and foreign exchange gains.

“Despite a strong start to the year, we remain mindful of ongoing uncertainties and inflationary headwinds. We will continue to manage the business prudently, while remaining sensitive to our consumers when price adjustments are necessary,” Mr. Soesanto said.

As of end-March 2026, Monde Nissin had P16.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents, while outstanding debt stood at P1.7 billion.

At the stock exchange on Wednesday, Monde Nissin shares rose 2.29% to close at P6.71 apiece. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

“The initial plan was to list very, very soon. But due to the issues we see in the market, we may potentially have to push it back,” LT Group President and Chief Operating Officer Lucio C. Tan III said during a media briefing on Wednesday.

The conglomerate also said it is reassessing plans to increase capital expenditures this year as uncertainty linked to rising oil prices and global tensions weighs on the business environment.

“Going forward, we were probably expecting a bit more, but in light of everything that’s happening, it’s currently being reviewed, so we may go back to our historical numbers,” LT Group Chief Financial Officer Jose Gabriel D. Olives said.

He said annual capital expenditures have ranged between P6 billion and P8 billion over the past five years.

Mr. Tan said LT Group remains optimistic about its long-term growth prospects despite macroeconomic risks.

“We’re still excited about the growth for LTG as a whole. We are mindful of a lot of the challenges that we have, but we’re confident that we can address all of those,” he said.

The conglomerate reported an attributable net income of P30.98 billion for 2025, up 7% and marking its fourth consecutive year of record earnings. Revenues reached P132.78 billion.

Philippine National Bank (PNB) contributed P14.26 billion, or 46% of total attributable income. The bank’s net income rose 20% to P25.34 billion.

Fortune Tobacco Corp. and PMFTC contributed a combined P11.24 billion, accounting for 36% of group income.

Tanduay Distillers posted a 45% increase in net income to P3.12 billion, while Asia Brewery reported P877 million in net income.

Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. posted P765 million in net income after real estate sales rose 46% to P731 million.

LT Group shares rose 0.53% to close at P15.20 apiece on Wednesday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

In a statement on Wednesday, the company said the mall has a gross floor area of 100,000 square meters (sq.m.) and a gross leasable area of 61,000 sq.m.

The development is located within Arca South, one of Ayala Land’s growth estates in Taguig, and is expected to serve residents, office workers, and transit users in the area.

Ayala Land said the project forms part of its broader push to increase the share of stable and predictable revenues in its portfolio amid a more measured property sales environment.

“At Ayala Malls, we design for frequency and habit,” Ayala Malls Chief Operating Officer Paul Birkett said.

“The more a space becomes part of everyday life, the more it supports consistent customer flow and stronger merchant performance over time,” he added.

The company said the mall is intended to support long-term commercial activity within the estate while reinforcing surrounding residential and office developments.

Ayala Land said integrating retail developments early into the estate’s development cycle is intended to accelerate business activity and establish long-term consumption patterns that could support stable rental yields.

The mall features an open and mixed-format retail layout, diverging from the traditional enclosed mall format.

Ayala Land also said the project may serve as a prototype for future retail developments as the company shifts toward more flexible and community-integrated retail formats focused on long-term income generation.

Shares in Ayala Land rose by 0.13% or 2 centavos to close at P15.32 on Wednesday. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales

THE Philippine unemployment rate in March rose to 5%, as the number of jobless Filipinos jumped to 2.58 million amid the oil crisis, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Preliminary results from the March 2026 Labor Force Survey released on Wednesday showed the jobless rate stood at 5% in March, much higher than the 3.9% in the same month a year ago but slightly better than the 5.1% in February.

“The unemployment rate stood at 5% which means 50 out of 1,000 individuals in the labor force did not have jobs or any business in March 2026,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said in a briefing.

PSA data showed the number of unemployed Filipinos stood at 2.58 million in March, up by 645,000 from 1.93 million a year earlier, but fell by 84,000 from the 2.66 million recorded in February.

Mr. Mapa said the oil crisis has put pressure on the labor market, particularly in some sectors such as fishing and aquaculture. He said they are closely monitoring whether the oil price shocks will spill over to other sectors.

“We want to check whether the external shock on fuel and energy will spread to the other sub-sectors… It is not yet conclusive if the effects will spread. We have to wait for the April round to see if it will spread,” he said.

For the first three months, the unemployment rate averaged 5.3%, higher than the 4% average a year ago.

“Compared to its Asian peers, the Philippines’ unemployment rate is lower than that of China (5.4%) and India (5.1%), but higher than Malaysia’s (2.9%) and Vietnam’s (2.2%),” the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development  said in a statement.

JOB QUALITY
Meanwhile, job quality improved as the underemployment rate fell to 12.3% in March, from 13.4% in the same month last year. However, it was higher than the 11.8% in February.

The ranks of underemployed Filipinos — those who want longer work hours or an additional job — rose by 192,000 year on year to 6.03 million in March.

Year to date, the average underemployment stood at 12.4%.

The country’s employment rate stood at 95%, lower than the 96.1% in March 2025, but slightly higher than the 94.9% posted in February.

This translated to 49.07 million employed persons in March, up by 1.05 million from the 48.02 million a year ago.

Month on month, the number of employed individuals fell by 357,000 from the 49.43 million in February.

“In March, there was a spike in fuel prices, so the number of employed fell month on month to 357,000… The decline came from fishing and aquaculture which were affected by high diesel costs,” Mr. Mapa said.

The employment rate averaged 94.7% in the January to March period.

Data from the PSA showed the labor force participation rate (LFPR) — the proportion of the working-age population (15 years old and over) that is part of the total labor force — inched up to 63.3% in March. This translated to a labor force of 51.65 million Filipinos during the month.

This was higher than the LFPR of 62.9%, equivalent to a labor force of 49.95 million a year ago. However, this was lower than the LFPR of 63.8%, equivalent to 52.09 million, in February.

Year to date, the LFPR averaged 63.1%.

Mr. Mapa said the month-on-month decline in the participation rate was primarily due to some individuals choosing to focus on schooling (394,000) and household family duties (142,000) rather than seeking work. He said others also felt there is no work available (34,000).

Data showed fishing and aquaculture had the biggest year-on-year decline in jobs in March, as it shed 189,000 jobs.

Mr. Mapa said manufacturing jobs fell by 149,000, mainly in the semiconductor and electronics industry, and fruits and vegetable processing.

Arts, entertainment and recreation jobs declined by 147,000, reflecting job losses in gambling and betting activities, amusement parks and other sports activities.

Month on month, industries that saw the biggest drop in employment include fishing and aquaculture (-420,000); other office activities (-299,000); manufacturing (-217,000); human health and social work activities (-154,000); and financial and insurance activities (-116,000).

On the other hand, the biggest year-on-year increase in jobs was in transportation and storage, which added 507,000 jobs.

“Administrative and support service activities also added 458,000 jobs to 3.02 million. The number of employed increased in call center activities, voice, back office operation activities, non voice and temporary employment agency activities,” Mr. Mapa said.

Month on month, jobs in agriculture and fisheries increased by 486,000 to 8.38 million, followed by construction (184,000) and education (142,000).

In March, the services sector continued to hold the largest share of employment at 63% followed by agriculture at 19.1% and industry at 17.9%.

OUTLOOK
In a statement, Economy Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the government is moving to fast-track support for the labor market to counter the negative effects of global shocks on the cost of essential goods.

“We commit to tightening the delivery of targeted assistance, such as fuel subsidies and service contracting for transport workers, farmers, and fisherfolk to improve alignment and expedite implementation,” Mr. Balisacan said.

In a note, Chinabank Research said employment data indicates that the labor market generally remained “stable” in March despite the Middle East conflict and “heightened domestic fragilities.”

“This provides some optimism that the conflict has not led to a substantial deterioration of economic activity. However, weakening business sentiment — as reflected in the BSP’s latest survey — and the decisions of some firms to temper expansion plans remain risks, potentially leading to a slowdown in hiring and eventually job losses,” Chinabank said.

Chinabank said it expects more job losses in the manufacturing sector in April as “higher input costs led manufacturing firms to scale back their staffing levels.”

University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco said workers are dealing with high inflation and a shortage in quality jobs.

“Fishing and manufacturing are shedding jobs whether month on month or year on year. With El Niño on the horizon and the global economy stagnant, the climate- and supply chain-dependent sectors are very vulnerable,” he told BusinessWorld.

“The ongoing US-Israel war on Iran continues to disrupt the labor market with land-based OFWs being repatriated and Filipino seafarers caught in the crossfire. Moreover, double-digit underemployment accompanies higher unemployment, signaling the dearth of quality employment opportunities,” Mr. Velasco added.

Federation of Free Workers President Jose Sonny G. Matula said in a Viber message that the government should consider a “New Deal”-style approach, expanding public works, housing, and infrastructure programs to create jobs during periods of weak private-sector demand.

Mr. Matula said wage increases and large-scale infrastructure projects not only provide employment but also boost household spending, helping stimulate broader economic activity and strengthen the domestic economy.

THE Philippines’ agricultural production shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, due to a decline in crop and fisheries output, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Data from the PSA showed the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices declined to P437.52 billion in the January to March period, from P438.65 billion in the same period last year.

This was a reversal of the 2.1% growth in farm output in the first quarter of 2025, and the 0.8% expansion in the fourth quarter.

This was also the first drop in output since the 1.9% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Declines in crops (-2.4%) and fisheries (-6.1%) outweighed gains in poultry (7.1%) and livestock (5.1%), dragging down the farm sector’s overall performance during the first quarter.

“The decline was driven by weaker crop and fisheries output, underscoring the sector’s vulnerability to weather disruptions and price volatility,” the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The agency attributed the weak performance to the drop in rice production, lingering impact of typhoon disruptions late last year, and softer farmgate prices, which discouraged farmers from expanding production.

At current prices, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries also fell by 2.4% year on year to P607.22 billion in the first quarter from P622.06 billion previously.

CROPS, FISHERIES
Crop output, which accounted for 55.7% of the total value of agricultural production, shrank by 2.4% year on year to P243.62 billion in the first quarter. This was a reversal from the 1% growth in the same period in 2025, but slightly better than the 2.6% contraction in the fourth quarter.

Palay (unmilled rice) production, which accounted for almost 20% of total farm output, contracted by 6.3%, a reversal from the 0.3% growth in the same quarter last year.

The PSA earlier reported that first-quarter palay production dropped by 6.26% to a six-year low of 4.4 million metric tons.

Corn production also went down by 5.5% in the first quarter, slightly worse than the 5.1% drop a year ago.

Declines in output were also recorded in banana (-2.7%) and sugarcane (-8%).

Meanwhile, coconut registered a 1.4% year-on-year increase in the first quarter, an improvement from a 0.3% contraction in 2025.

Double-digit production growth was seen in tobacco (41.6%), monggo (mung bean, 37.9%), ampalaya (bitter gourd, 19.1%), potato (12.4%), and cacao (11.7%).

Output growth was also recorded in onion (6.6%), rubber (5.9%), and tomato (5.5%).

Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, told BusinessWorld that the decline in agricultural output can be attributed to lower rice output.

“The palay harvested in the first quarter of 2026 was planted in the last quarter of 2025, during which time palay prices were severely depressed. This discouraged many farmers from maintaining or expanding their production,” he said via Viber.

Mr. Montemayor said the production decline in major cash crops, such as corn, banana, and sugarcane, further dragged overall crop output.

Former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar also told BusinessWorld via Viber that irrigation disruption late last year in major producing areas in Central Luzon also affected farm productivity.

Analysts earlier estimated that damage to a section of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems in Nueva Ecija affected about 30,000 to 40,000 hectares of farmland.

Meanwhile, fisheries output, which accounted for 12% of overall production, also contracted by 6.1% year on year to P52.34 billion in the first quarter. This was the biggest annual decline since the 6.7% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2022.

A drop in output was seen in major fishery commodities such as milkfish (-4.9%), tilapia (-2.4%), skipjack (gulyasan, -8.7%), and tiger prawn (sugpo, -2.8%).

Double-digit declines were also recorded in seaweed (-34%), mudcrab (alimango, -31.7%), big-eyed scad (matangbaka, -24.9%), blue crab (alimasag, -23.6%), yellowfin tuna (tambakol, 13.6%), and indian mackerel (alumahan, -12.9%).

Meanwhile, market staple galunggong (roundscad) increased by 48.6%. Output growth was also recorded in fimbriated sardines (tunsoy, 44.7%), bigeye tuna (tambakol, 16.7%), threadfin brim (bisugo, 12%), and grouper (lapulapu, 8.2%).

Mr. Dar said the decline in fisheries could be attributed to reduced catch due to overfishing.

Jayson H. Cainglet, executive director of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, said smallcale fishers, who make up the majority of the sector, are also facing increasing competition from commercial fishers.

“The fisheries sector continues to weaken following policy changes that allowed commercial vessels into the 15-kilometer municipal waters, undermining small fishers and accelerating resource pressure,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber.

In 2024, the Supreme Court upheld a 2023 Malabon Court ruling, which struck down key provisions of the Fisheries Code, including municipal fishers’ preferential access to the 15-kilometer municipal waters.

POULTRY, LIVESTOCK GAINS
Meanwhile, the poultry sector, which accounted for 18.5% of total farm output, jumped by an annual 7.1% in the first quarter to P80.83 billion. The sector’s output growth slowed from the 9.8% rise in the first quarter of 2025.

Chicken production, which accounts for 12.7% of total farm output, recorded an annual gain of 5.8% by value.

Output growth was also seen in chicken eggs (10.6%), duck eggs(3.5%), and duck (2.9%).

Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Swine and Poultry Michael J. Garcia said the growth in poultry is likely driven by new entrants in the market.

“There are a lot of investors in the poultry sector. There is still unserved demand for poultry, and including chicken egg, it remains the cheapest protein available,” he told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday.

Mr. Dar said the increase in output could also be attributed to a shorter production cycle, which makes it attractive for investors to expand their operations.

“There are now bigger companies involved in poultry, including those of small to medium farmers. With the shorter production cycle, the raisers are able to adapt and, if need be, increase their enterprises,” he said.

At the same time, livestock production grew by an annual 5.1% to P60.74 billion. The sector accounted for 13.9% of the total output.

Hog production, which accounted for 11.4% of the total farm output, rose by 6.4%, the sector’s fastest growth in almost 10 years.

Cattle and dairy production also inched up by 1.7% and 6.5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, carabao production slipped by 3.3%, while goat dropped by 5.8%.

Mr. Garcia said the surge in hog production was mainly due to base effects.

“It is good that there is growth in the sector, but it’s coming from a low base because we lost 5 million pigs due to the African Swine Fever (ASF),” he said.

He added that the sector’s recovery also reflects its increasing resilience to ASF.

“The big farms are now learning how to operate with ASF, even with limited vaccine availability. Smallholders, which account for 80% of the sector, are also starting to adapt,” Mr. Garcia said.

DECLINING INCOMES
Despite improvements in some subsectors, industry groups said the headline production figures mask worsening conditions at the farm level.

Mr. Cainglet said profitability continues to deteriorate amid rising input costs and sustained import volumes.

“Unprecedented import volumes and rising production costs are pushing Philippine agriculture toward contraction. As a result, many farmers are now considering skipping the next cropping cycle, threatening supply in the coming quarters,” he said.

Alfred Ng, vice chairman of the National Federation of Hog Raisers, said that despite the growth in the livestock sector, particularly in swine, producers still struggle with low farmgate prices.

“With the current price of P190 to P200 per kilo, farmers are at the breakeven point, if not earning a little,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber.

Mr. Ng also warned that any reductions in pork import tariffs could further dampen incentives for local producers to expand.

“We just hope that the current negotiations and lobbying by both local pork importers and European Union exporters for the lowering of pork import tariffs will not materialize,” he said.

He added that the DA should limit and control the volume of pork imports to further encourage local farmers to expand.

REBOUND SEEN IN Q2
Meanwhile, the DA said it expects farm output to recover in the second quarter, as rice production is expected to improve.

“We are seeing encouraging signs on the ground, with rice production likely recovering in the second quarter as planting conditions normalize, palay prices improve, and government interventions take effect,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in the statement.

He added that the growth in the livestock and poultry sectors should help stabilize overall output and support the domestic food supply.

However, the DA said that rising production costs and weather risks could weigh on farm output in the second half of the year.

“While we expect a stronger second quarter, the impact of higher oil prices on transport and inputs, particularly fertilizer, as well as the potential effects of an El Niño-induced drought, could weigh on production in the second half,” Mr. Laurel said.

Mr. Laurel said the department is intensifying efforts to help the sector recover and manage emerging headwinds.

In late 2010, San Diego Unified leaders began officially rolling out a new way to get parents and families more involved in schools. It was called the cluster council system. 

The term cluster referred to the collection of elementary and middle schools that fed into each of the 16 traditional high schools open at the time. This new system created a group for each cluster comprised of parents, teachers and administrators that met regularly to weigh in on the direction of schools and discuss their problems.  

At a board meeting that year, Nellie Myer, then the district’s deputy superintendent of academics, described the system as a school reform model that “empowers teachers, site leaders, students and parents to help improve student achievement.”  

She pitched a utopic list of possible benefits. It included everything from increasing student attendance to improving achievement and addressing safety concerns. It wasn’t crazy. Research has long shown community engagement is one of the keys to increasing student achievement. 

District officials promised to support the cluster groups. Administrators would be required to participate and help each unique community in whatever way best fit its needs. The superintendent would even be graded on whether she developed a plan to help them flourish. 

For a while, the cluster councils seemed to work. The groups met and planned events – from rummage sales to arts showcases to movie nights – and helped push for new programs at their schools.  

But 15 years later, the system has almost entirely deteriorated. 

In the early 2010s, every district had a cluster council. Today, only six of the district’s 17 clusters have a functioning council.  

Some district leaders say the model was doomed from the beginning and favors communities with more resources. But for others who were involved in cluster groups, district officials’ failure – or disinterest – in supporting the system is to blame.  

The Halcyon Days

The cluster council push was part of a much-touted district initiative called Vision 2020. It was a suite of reforms spearheaded by former school board member John Lee Evans that promised to usher in a “quality school in every neighborhood.”

Mike Snyder, a parent of a San Diego Unified grad, saw how it all worked firsthand. In his former role as the head of the Madison cluster council, he was something of a poster child for the cluster council system.  

During his time with the group, the cluster successfully pushed new initiatives, like a program that prioritized science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. It also threw events that brought together schools from across the area, like the Clairemont Day at the Bay – a yearly festival attended by thousands that was essentially an interactive marketing pitch urging Clairemont residents to keep their kids in local schools. 

“We did some amazing things at Madison,” Snyder said. “My thinking was, ‘I’m helping some kids today. I’m bringing in some programs that are going to make a difference in their lives.’” 

But the Madison cluster council’s halcyon days were numbered. It’s been inactive since 2020. 

That story is a common one. At the height of the initiative, each cluster stood up its own council group. District spokesperson James Canning wrote in an email that this year only six clusters have held meetings: Clairemont, Mira Mesa, Scripps, Henry, La Jolla and University City. A website for the Clairemont Community of Schools, though, says meetings are on hold due to declining attendance.  

But not every cluster council shut down because of low attendance. Keashonna Christopher was born and raised in southeastern San Diego and helped lead the Lincoln cluster group, while it was active. She also worked as a counselor at nearby Porter Elementary, where she also attended school.  

Christopher said district officials didn’t always participate. 

“Anytime there was a hard conversation, we noticed administrators stopped coming to meetings,” Christopher recalled. “It should be no surprise that parents in this neighborhood want the best for their students and good conditions at their kids’ schools and good learning outcomes. It’s almost like the message that the community was getting was, ‘How dare you hold us to the standards that we’re supposed to work by?’” 

The Lincoln council had one of the rockiest relationships with administrators. When controversies arose, the community often took to cluster council meetings to vent their frustrations. That was the case when community members discovered a Lincoln High educator had a historical “No Coloreds Allowed” sign hanging in his classroom and when allegations of misspending surfaced that later proved to be largely true.  

In the Lincoln cluster council, volunteers booked spaces for meetings, sent out invites to community members, coordinated appearances with administrators and even purchased water and snacks for attendees coming straight from work or with a child in tow. It added up, Christopher said.  

That heavy lift is part of why the cluster council has been on hiatus for months.  But a lack of district support contributed to the group’s breakdown, Christopher said.

“If there are communities with the means and resources to do that every meeting, then it works out, fine,” Christopher said. “But we need support from community partners, like administrators and area supes.” 

The five clusters with active councils all share one obvious trait: they have fewer low-income students than the district average.  

None of the eight poorest clusters, which include Lincoln, have active councils. The clusters that are active also tend to be disproportionately White; the problem of cluster councils, it turns out, mimics the age-old achievement gap. 

Not everyone involved in clusters has felt unsupported.  

Megan DeMott has volunteered with the La Jolla cluster for about a decade. Though they’ve built a core group of volunteers, it still hasn’t been easy to keep it running. DeMott said she coordinates each meeting, sometimes spending time on weekends to put together agendas.  

But she’s always been able to rely on district officials. School principals, as well as the area superintendent overseeing the cluster, attend each meeting. She can even text them between meetings should issues arise. 

“Clusters really have to be parent led and run, because it’s not [district officials’] job. There has to be interest,” DeMott said. “For people to say, ‘The district’s not responsive and it’s not open and this and that,’ I’m not buying that at all. They have a voice, they just aren’t using it.” 

What District Officials Say 

According to district policies, fostering the cluster council system actually is part of district officials’ jobs. The policies instruct the superintendent to “develop a cluster management strategy that will be supportive of democratic clusters in the improvement of schools.” As part of that strategy, the guidelines encourage district staff to get involved in a support role rather than to issue directives from on high. They also instruct staff to be responsive to “each unique community.” 

Deputy Superintendent Nicole DeWitt said, in practice, the district’s approach is more laissez faire. It’s up to community members to form cluster councils and set up meetings, though local principals and area superintendents are expected to partner with them.  

Besides, she added, cluster councils are just one avenue for community involvement. Parents can still join multiple different organizations, like PTAs and school site councils or larger district committees. 

“If a cluster is interested in hosting parent cluster meetings, we support them, but if they are more interested in participating in committees and other parent volunteer opportunities at their individual school sites, we support that decision too,” she wrote in an email. 

From the get-go, a basic tension has plagued the model. To its early boosters, the system was a much-needed opportunity to decentralize decision-making, funneling some of the power held by those at the top into the hands of community members. Some were skeptical of that more expansive role and wanted the councils to operate in more advisory-like capacity.

But even the boosters sensed a precarity in the model. If it devolved into a bunch of “BS talk about clusters,” that didn’t actually empower community members, then “the cluster idea is doomed,” said then-Trustee John de Beck a decade and a half ago. 

Richard Barrera, the district’s longest-serving trustee, never agreed with that part of the thinking. 

“That concept was always problematic to me,” Barrera said. “The idea that we were going to have unelected people who may or may not have been representatives of even the consensus opinions within their own cluster make the kinds of decisions that the elected school board was responsible for, I never supported that idea.” 

What also troubled Barrera was the inherent imbalance in many of the cluster structures. While clusters north of the Interstate 8 were often filled with parents, those in the poorer parts of the district Barrera represents were often largely collections of principals. It’s no surprise to him that the system has now devolved back into the reality that existed prior to the district’s introduction of the more structured system. 

That’s why Barrera thinks investing in the cluster system as a tool for parent engagement shouldn’t be a district priority. To him, it never was an effective outlet for community engagement. He even thinks the board may need to stop grading the superintendent on their cluster strategy.  

“The district obviously should be, you know, putting resources and energy into engaging parents. But I’m not sure the best use of district resources is for cluster support,” he said.  

To some of those who were most involved in the system, like Snyder, the fact that so many cluster councils have fallen apart is no surprise. In his view, the district never cared about the system. 

“The district wanted to push a narrative, which is that they wanted to have community involvement. They put it in Vision 2020 – it’s all about community involvement – but that was just a checkbox,” Snyder said. “There were incredibly vibrant, vocal groups prior to Vision 2020, that are gone. The district didn’t just go backwards and eliminate all the work we did, they actually went back 10 more years and wiped out the whole cluster groups, period.” 

For Veri Chavarin, the president of San Diego Unifed’s Council of PTAs, the complaints about the district’s wilting cluster system are just one more example of a familiar refrain: that San Diego Unified has a community input issue. 

“There’s an intent to partner with parents, but the way it’s done is not centered around ‘How do we work with parents and make sure they come to meetings and participate?’” Chavarin said. 

That’s why she thinks getting family engagement right means taking the extra steps needed to meet families where they’re at. And while managing a cluster system in a district of nearly 200 schools is a daunting task, Chavarin believes that massive size makes them even more important. 

Christopher, the counselor and Lincoln cluster volunteer, said her community misses its cluster. When she’s out at the grocery store, for example, people sometimes approach her and ask when it will restart.  

The fact that it was comprised of people who’ve long lived in the community inspired trust. The forum provided people a space in which they could really be listened to, Christopher said.  

Her goal is to get the cluster restarted as soon as possible, so the community can once again have the direct conduit to school and district leadership it once had. To make that happen, Christopher said the cluster group needs greater support from the district that – as the policies lay out – speaks to Lincoln’s “unique community.” Despite her experiences, she’s eager to work with administrators and hopeful about the prospects for collaboration.

“We’d love to have them come to the table to ask, ‘How can we help?’ Not tell us what they want it to look like or feel like, or the topics we should talk about,” Christopher said. “That’s the top-down stuff. We get that all the time. We want them to partner with us on what parents and community members need, so they can have confidence in their schools and help build a strong district.” 

The post San Diego Unified Created a System to ‘Empower’ Parents. It Unraveled  appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

When San Diego Unified officials pitched a new cluster council system in 2010, they promised it would be a way to empower the community. Parents, teachers and administrators would meet, plan initiatives and together improve the schools they all loved.

As our Jakob McWhinney writes: “[One official] pitched a utopic list of possible benefits. It included everything from increasing student attendance to improving achievement and addressing safety concerns. It wasn’t crazy. Research has long shown community engagement is one of the keys to increasing student achievement.”

But right from the beginning, the council system was plagued by a basic disagreement: Was it meant to give community members more power to make decisions or were the groups simply another advisory organization?

Fifteen years later, they’re not much of either. That’s because they’ve largely unraveled. In the early 2010s, all 16 existing clusters of schools had a council. This year, only six have an active council. Those active councils are concentrated in wealthier parts of the district.

For some of those most involved, the deterioration was devastating, if predictable. They say district leaders never really cared about cluster councils or invested the necessary resources to support them.

Read the whole story here.

Foster Pushes for Permanent Fire Station in Skyline

On Tuesday, Councilmember Henry Foster pressed city officials on why they haven’t built a permanent fire station in his district.

Last month, we wrote about Fire Station 51, which is still operating out of a tent in Skyline. City leaders opened the temporary station in 2015 to improve emergency response times in the area. Then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer promised to open a permanent facility — but that never happened.

“How are we determining how we are moving and prioritizing stations?” he asked at a budget committee meeting. “I assume some of it has to do with coverage and certain things. But if you can help me understand, because we’ve had a temporary station there for quite some time.”

Assistant Chief Ted Moran told Foster what he told us – that the station provides the same level of service as any other station in the city. He also said fire department leaders plan to make improvements to the facility until they have funding available to put up a permanent one. 

Foster wasn’t convinced. 

“I’m not advocating for any new firehouses until I get that permanent station there.” 

Animals Rescued from “Appalling” Animal Sanctuary

“334 cats, 30 dogs, 29 chickens, 8 ducks, 4 geese, 4 turkeys, 3 roosters, 2 peahens, 1 peacock, 2 ravens, 1 crow, 12 goats, 3 pigs and 1 sheep.” 

That’s the still-growing list of animals rescued from a troubled sanctuary in Julian since officers with the San Diego Humane Society executed a search warrant on Friday. (Officers with the organization are legit peace officers in the state of California, able to file charges and make arrests.) Not included are up to 100 additional cats, 165 horses and dozens of other animals that remain at the 40-acre property.

Officials had for years heard complaints about the conditions at Julian’s Villa Chardonnay, but the search revealed just how grim the situation was. Volunteers found skinny animals barely able to walk, animals with open wounds and animals with missing extremities. Some of the animals were in such bad shape that they had to be euthanized, officials said.

Gary Weitzman, president and CEO at San Diego Humane Society, called the situation “appalling.” 

“There is no question at all about the neglect, at the very least, that occurred out there.” 

Song of the Month (Hopefully!)

Shelbi Bennett, “I’m Fine (but I’m lying)”: Local songbird Shelbi Bennett, a mainstay in the Redwoods Music constellation of bands, is out with the first track of her new solo project. It’s a heart-on-her-sleeve crooner that neatly melds her folk-pop sensibilities with atmospheric, cinematic instrumentation. As usual, it’s Bennett’s richly layered and honey-smooth voice that steals the show. 

In Other News

• Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget would virtually eliminate the nearly $12 million in arts and culture funding. Cultural policy strategist Linda Caballero Sotelo writes in a new opinion piece that the cut is “a cultural alarm, a canary in the coal mine warning us about the direction of our civic life.” (Voice of San Diego)
• The county Board of Supervisors wants cheaper parking downtown. On Tuesday, supervisors voted in favor of a measure to increase affordable parking at county facilities in downtown San Diego which include the Ash Street Parking Garage, Cedar-Kettner, and James R. Mill building structures. (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Mike Levin remains unchallenged by any other Democrat in the 49th Congressional District race. The incumbent faces two Republicans as he seeks a fifth two-year term. (Union-Tribune)
• A statewide PAC is shaking things up in the District 8 San Diego City Council race. The Latino Caucus of California Counties PAC dropped $100,000 in support of candidate Gerardo Ramirez. (inewsource)
• And another round of endorsements: The Union-Tribune endorsed Ramirez, who currently serves as chief of staff to current Councilmember Moreno. The U-T also endorsed Republican Mark Powell in the District 6 race.

The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.

The post Morning Report: The Unravelling of a School Reform appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

The results from the annual homelessness census are in and in North County, there’s some good news and some bad news. 

Street homelessness decreased in inland North County and increased in coastal North County year-over-year, according to the annual point-in-time count.  

At the same time, coastal North County saw an increase of people staying in shelters, while the number of people in shelters in inland North County stayed relatively consistent year-over-year. 

Officials at the Regional Task Force on Homelessness released the numbers from the census last week. The actual tallying of homeless people took place during an early morning in January as volunteers fanned out across the region to count unhoused people. 

There’s always a huge caveat with these numbers. The point-in-time count is a bare minimum count that takes place all on one day. If the volunteer census takers can’t find someone, that means that person doesn’t get counted. The number of sheltered homeless San Diegans is fairly reliable. But unsheltered people can be hard to find sometimes, meaning that part of the count is less reliable.  

Here’s a closer look at what the latest numbers show. 

Inland Cities See Decrease in Unsheltered Numbers 

The number of unsheltered homeless people in inland North County fell by 10 percent compared to last year. 

Escondido saw a significant drop in its unsheltered population, decreasing by 12 percent from 307 unsheltered people counted in 2025 to 271 in 2026.  

That also means Escondido no longer has the highest unsheltered homeless population in North County, as it did in the last several point-in-time counts. The largest unsheltered population lives in Oceanside, which is also the most populated city in North County. 

San Marcos’ unsheltered population decreased by 77 percent from 30 unsheltered people in 2025 to just seven in 2026. Poway also saw a decrease of 67 percent, though its numbers are typically low to begin with. It went from nine unsheltered people last year to three this year. 

Every inland city saw at least a slight drop in unsheltered homelessness numbers except the city of Vista, which saw a 9 percent uptick in unsheltered people compared to last year, increasing from 144 in 2025 to 157 in 2026. The unsheltered population also increased in Fallbrook – not technically a city — from 16 unsheltered people to 17. 

Sheltered Homelessness: The number of homeless people living in shelters remained relatively steady overall in inland North County.  

In 2025, the number of sheltered homeless people was 428, and this year that number was 432. 

A couple of inland cities, though, saw significant changes in their sheltered populations. Escondido’s, for example, dropped by 18 percent from 281 last year to 231 this year. Coupled with the city’s decrease in unsheltered homelessness, that means homelessness in Escondido has decreased on all fronts – at least according to the count. 

Fallbrook’s sheltered numbers also decreased significantly from 76 people last year to 18 people in 2026. 

Unsheltered Homelessness Increased in Coastal Cities  

In coastal North County, unsheltered homelessness increased by 5 percent overall. 

Oceanside had the largest increase with its unsheltered population increasing by 14 percent from 328 in 2025 to 362 in 2026. The city now has the most unsheltered homeless people in North County. 

Carlsbad also saw an uptick in unsheltered homelessness, rising by 9 percent compared to last year. The tally in Carlsbad was 101 in 2025 and 110 in 2026, according to the report. 

Encinitas, which is also grouped in with Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Dieguito, saw a 30 percent decrease in its unsheltered population, which dropped from 91 to 64. 

Sheltered Homelessness: On the coastal side, the number of homeless people living in shelters increased year-over-year by 20 percent. There were 311 people counted in shelters on the coast this year, compared to 259 that were counted in 2025. 

Oceanside’s sheltered numbers increased by 20 percent, from 173 people living in shelters last year to 207 this year. That means the city’s unsheltered and sheltered populations saw increases year-over-year. 

Carlsbad had a 45 percent increase of people living in homeless shelters, growing from 42 people in 2025 to 61 people in 2026. 

Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Dieguito’s shelter numbers remained steady year-over-year. 

In Other News 

• Rep. Mike Levin is seeking a fifth two-year term in the 49th Congressional District, which includes a large part of northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. You can read more about that race here. (Union-Tribune) 
• The Oceanside City Council will consider extending a program to move homeless people camped along State Route 78 into long-term housing. It’s currently funded by a state initiative called the Encampment Resolution Fund. (Union-Tribune) 
• Related: You can read more about Oceanside and Carlsbad’s joint effort to move hundreds of homeless people from encampments into stable housing here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• San Marcos will allocate $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds toward public service, housing affordability programs and infrastructure improvements. (Coast News) 

The post North County Report: Homelessness Decreased Inland, Slightly Increased on Coast, Census Shows  appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

We know almost nothing about how dating differs for older adults compared with earlier in life, a scientific conference on love has heard. But despite a lack of data, there are reasons to believe dating in later life is becoming increasingly common, and researchers are now starting to study how romance changes among the over-50s.

“There’s a massive dearth of information,” says Mairi Macleod, who runs Dating Evolved, a programme that helps women aged over 50 find partners. “But it’s really important that over-50s have good relationships; we still want to have sex and all the rest of it,” she says.

Why older dating may be on the up

There are several reasons why dating in the over-50s is thought to be increasing, says Macleod, who co-presented a talk at the Love, actually and in theory conference in Edinburgh, UK, on 5 May. One is that this age group is growing – in the UK, for instance, the number of over-50s increased by 3.1 million people in the 10 years to 2025, and this trend is set to continue over the next two decades.

Divorce rates among older adults are also rising in the UK and other Western nations such as the US, meaning more people over 50 are single, says Macleod, who married her second husband in her 50s. What’s more, it is becoming more socially acceptable to re-partner after a bereavement or relationship breakdown, she says.

A focus on young people

Yet research on dating is almost entirely focused on university undergraduates, who are easy to survey, and people in their 20s and 30s, meaning we know almost nothing about dating after we turn 50, says Craig Roberts at the University of Stirling in the UK, who co-presented the talk.

One reason why later-life dating is so poorly understood is that people tend to view love as a means for reproduction, which generally occurs before age 50, says Divine Charura, a psychologist at York St John University in the UK. Our 20s to 40s are also life stages where people are most economically productive. “It’s capitalism in some ways,” he says. “There is more funding available for studying early, working-age years.”

Society also tends to underestimate the romantic lives of older people. “If I say romantic love, you’re not going to think of my 92-year-old patient who still talks to me about her sexuality and romance meeting someone, and having wild sex,” says Charura.

The pros and cons of dating in later life

Macleod has set up a dating programme for heterosexual women over 50 in the UK, who may find it harder to find partners than older men. “There’s a shortage of men with increasing age after about 50,” she says. “Men just don’t live as long, and more men than women seem to be looking for a younger partner than themselves.”

This means that, with age, women are increasingly competing for a shrinking pool of men their age. “[Anecdotally] men are always in short supply in speed-dating events. A lot of times these have to be cancelled because not enough men turn up,” she says.

So far, Macleod’s programme has provided dating support – via weekly group calls, for six months – to over 200 women. She has gained insights on how dating differs in later life – at least for wealthy, highly educated women in the UK, she says. “There are advantages to dating later in life, things like not having a ticking biological clock and being financially independent,” says Macleod.

“Older women are better able to pick and choose. They generally decide not to have a bloke at all if they can’t find what they deem as a decent one,” she says.

Next, Macleod and Roberts are planning a study that looks at the challenges of dating in later life and identifies practical tips for older singletons.

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Energizer

Coin batteries don’t make headlines all that often, but today shifts that trend with a smart new development. Energizer has released a new Ultimate Child Shield version of its 20mm coin lithium batteries. As the name implies, the tech is aimed at reducing the number of health risks if a child accidentally swallows the battery. These coin batteries don’t cause burning in the esophagus if ingested, and they also contain a dye that will color a child’s mouth blue if it comes in contact with saliva.

According to Energizer’s press release, more than 3,500 coin lithium battery ingestion incidents are reported in the US each year. Traditional coin batteries can cause esophageal burning within 15 minutes of ingestion, and the addition of the dye can help a caregiver notice quickly if an accident has occurred and get help for the child. Ultimate Child Shield tech is available on the company’s size 2032, 2025 and 2016 batteries, which power a variety of devices including watches and AirTags.

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The Lucid logo is shown at the Los Angeles Auto show on Nov. 20, 2025.

Mike Blake | Reuters

DETROIT — Lucid Group suspended its vehicle production guidance for the year as its incoming CEO evaluates the all-electric vehicle manufacturer’s business operations, including the potential for lower output of EVs.

The company on Tuesday also said it needs to lower its “elevated inventory” of vehicles, which for automakers has historically meant decreasing or idling vehicle production.

A company spokesman told CNBC that there is currently no plan to idle its sole U.S. plant in Arizona, but incoming CEO Silvio Napoli said he is continuing to evaluate Lucid’s business.

“An essential objective over time is to build a more cost-efficient company, one that progresses in funding its own growth. That means being rigorous in delivering our commitments,” Napoli said Tuesday on Lucid’s quarterly results call with investors. “In simple words, this means making clear choices on where to invest and, just as importantly, where not to.”

Napoli said he plans to review the company’s operations over the next several weeks before updating investors on the company’s guidance when Lucid reports its second-quarter results at an unspecified date.

The company’s prior production guidance was between 25,000 to 27,000 units in 2026. Lucid executives said plans for cost-cutting, autonomous vehicles with Uber and Nuro, and the company’s “path to profitability” outlined in an investor day in March remain intact.

Lucid has produced roughly 3,200 more vehicles than it has sold since 2024, according to its annual production and deliveries. That includes a difference of roughly 2,000 units last year and 2,400 vehicles during the first quarter of 2026.

The pulled guidance occurred as the company reported first-quarter results that were in line with preliminary results released by the company a month ago, but that still significantly missed Wall Street’s expectations.

“We ended the quarter with elevated inventory that we expect to convert to revenue and cash as deliveries normalize, while maintaining alignment between production and sales cadence. Our focus is on disciplined execution — driving structural cost improvements, managing capital efficiently, and improving operating leverage as we scale,” Lucid CFO Taoufiq Boussaid said in a statement.

Here’s how the company performed in the first quarter compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Loss per share: $3.46 vs. a loss of $2.64 expected
• Revenue: $282.5 million vs. $440.4 million expected

The company’s revenue increased roughly 20% year-over-year but was far lower than the 87.4% jump analysts were expecting, according to LSEG.

The all-electric vehicle maker said a seat supplier issue “significantly affected” deliveries of its crucial Lucid Gravity SUV during the quarter that resulted in a stop-sale of the vehicle due to safety concerns.

Boussaid said the seat issue caused a more than $200 million revenue impairment during the first quarter.

Lucid produced 5,500 vehicles and delivered 3,093 vehicles in the first quarter of 2026.

The automaker, which is heavily backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said it has sufficient liquidity through the second half of 2027. It ended the first quarter with approximately $4.7 billion, including a recent capital raise and delayed draw term loan provided by PIF.

Lucid on Tuesday said production of a new vehicle plant in Saudi Arabia continues despite the ongoing war in nearby Iran. The company said it has not experienced any significant interruptions to the facility other than some delays in shipping.

The company also said it is adjusting its production reporting to count vehicles once they complete the company’s “factory gating process,” which includes vehicles that may not be completely built and are sent to operations elsewhere for completion.

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Andrew Gauna, a self-described “bad student” at San Diego High and later Patrick Henry, took the long way home.

A late bloomer, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound corner outfielder began his college career at San Diego Mesa College, where he tied the program’s all-time hits record with 106 — since broken — before transferring to Division I Cal State Northridge.

Now a graduate transfer at the University of San Diego, Gauna has turned his final season into a heater, emerging as one of the Toreros’ most productive hitters.

“The harsh truth was I had to go to junior college and get my grades up,” Gauna said. “I kind of dug myself into a hole and then tried to get out of it taking summer classes — all that. There wasn’t anything wrong with me. It was just a lack of focus. You hear it when you’re young —
take care of things off the field so you can have success on it — but I didn’t really understand that until later. I’m so glad that I went to junior college. My body was always a little underdeveloped. I definitely wasn’t mature enough to play Division I baseball out of high school. I say that with no shame at all.”

Gauna, a right-handed hitter, is pacing USD (17–27) – he’s among the leaders in the West Coast Conference – with a .369 batting average and a team-best .581 slugging percentage. He also leads the team with 42 RBIs alongside six home runs.

“He has the talent, the ability to hit,” head coach Brock Ungricht said. “Once he simplified things at the plate and started using the opposite field, that’s when he really took off. The home runs started coming without him even trying to hit them. He’s done a great job working with our staff, accepting coaching and becoming a real middle-of-the-lineup presence for us.”

Gauna’s hottest stretch came in the opening week of April, when he helped lead USD to a three-game sweep of West Coast Conference rival Santa Clara. He went 6-for-12 in the series, homered in all three games, and finished with eight RBIs, three home runs, two doubles and six runs scored, earning WCC Player of the Week honors.

“We were coming off a series loss to Pepperdine,” Gauna said. “I had been swinging it well and didn’t expect anything too crazy. In that first game against Santa Clara, I was 0-for-3 going into my last at-bat, and that home run kind of flipped the switch for that weekend. It was almost like a fire got lit under me.”

Gauna stayed hot on April 19, lining a first-pitch walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to score sophomore utility man CJ Moran and lift USD to a 13-12 win over Seattle University to close out a back-and-forth afternoon at Fowler Park.

“He’s such a people person,” Ungricht said. “He does a really good job of connecting with the team — checking in on everyone, from the coaching staff to support staff to every player. That’s hard to do when you’ve only been here 10 months, but it says a lot about him as a person. And it shows up in his game, because he’s able to just be himself.”

Gauna singled out teammates Diego Gutierrez – who transferred in with him from Northridge and is his roommate – and Moran as key to making him comfortable with his new team.

“Diego has been our Friday starter, and he’s been electric to watch,” he said. “Seeing his development over the last few years has been awesome — he’s really turned into a dominant pitcher. CJ Moran is another one; he’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. He’s been swinging the bat like no other, tapping into power he didn’t even know he had. He’s just a joy to watch — and he loves to talk.”

Doubling as a pitcher at Mesa before arm troubles took him off the mound at Northridge, Gauna joked he’s still lobbying to get back on the bump.

“I miss it every day,” he said. “With pitching comes a little bit of narcissism — I love having the ball in my hand every play. If you understand pitching, you understand hitting.”

“You never know — there might be a time,” Ungricht said.

Gauna said he’s hoping his performance at the plate this season opens the door to professional baseball.

“Playing baseball for as long as I can has always been the number one goal,” he said. “It’s been a crazy collegiate journey for me. Professional baseball has always been a dream of mine.”

“If he keeps having success over the next two months, he can put himself in position to play past college,” Ungricht added. “With his ability to hit to all fields, handle multiple pitches, not strike out much, and still provide slugging, he’s shown he can keep playing beyond college.”

The Toreros play UC Irvine at home Tuesday, then have two more series – against Pacific on the road and Loyola Marymount at Fowler Park – before the WCC Tournament, set for May 20–23.

Fernando Tatis Jr. stood in front of his locker in the Padres clubhouse at Petco Park this weekend when a white rectangular box was delivered. He put it on the floor and lifted the lid to reveal two bottles of red wine and a cigar.

Asked if he likes cigars, Tatis said, “Yes!”

“I’ll smoke it when I hit my first home run,” he said.

He still hasn’t hit his first home run of the season and the cigar remains untouched. Through Monday he’s played in 33 games and gone homerless in 123 plate appearances. His slugging percentage is .301, well below his career number of .504 across six-plus seasons.

It’s the slugging percentage of a middle-infielder. Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, for instance, had a .328 lifetime slugging percentage over 19 seasons, with 28 homers in 9,396 at-bats. Coming into the season, Tatis had 152 homers in 2,726 at bats.

Padres manager Craig Stammen has occasionally moved Tatis from right field to second base this season. A shortstop when he arrived in the Major Leagues, Tatis had never played second base in a big-league game until April 11. He’s started five more games there since then as well.

“I’m a utility player now,” said Tatis, who has multiple gloves of different kinds in his locker just to prove it. He’s a two-time Platinum Glove right-fielder.

Stammen explained that he wanted to use Tatis as a substitute when giving second baseman Jake Cronenworth or shortstop Xander Bogaerts a breather. In that game against the Rockies, Cronenworth moved to short while Tatis played second. Wouldn’t it have been obvious to play Tatis at his natural position?

“We thought Tatis would be the best option at second base,” Stammen said. “Maybe getting that kid smiling a little bit might have helped, too.”

Tatis is not a dour personality, and he’s weathered it all pretty well so far this season and in his career. If his 14-year, $340 million contract is a burden, he hasn’t said so. If his shoulder, wrist surgeries and 80-game steroid suspension on Aug. 12, 2022, have made him a more circumspect player, that hasn’t been obvious to an observer.

In interviews with Tatis across several weeks, at no time did he complain or place blame on anyone but himself.

“It looks like the baseball gods are really mad at me right now,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball hard to every part of the field. That’s all right. I’ll take it. It’s a long season, and I have plenty of time to straighten it out.”

He was hitting a low of .189 the day he was moved to second base for what turned out to be back-to-back games, and he had three hits that night. From there, his batting average has risen as high as .270 on May 1, but his power numbers have gone nowhere. He’s only driven in 13 runs.

“You get frustrated, obviously,” Tatis said. “At the same time, you’ve got to know you’re doing the right thing. You have to stay confident. You have to keep your head in the game, go out there and compete with your teammates, and find a way to win in this really hard game of baseball.”

Advanced metrics support the eye test and Tatis’ personal assessment, which both indicate he’s hitting the ball hard with little to show for it.

According to Baseball Savant, Tatis’ hard-hit rate on balls smacked higher than 95 mph is 66.7%, good for the best in the Major Leagues. His average exit velocity when the ball rockets off his bat is 93.2 mph. At that rate, his expected slugging percentage should be .410, not where it currently sits at .301.

Why the discrepancy? Scouts say his swing has flattened out and that with a launch angle of 3.5 degrees he’s not getting the lift on his hard hit balls to get over the fence. Instead, many of his hard-hit liners and ground balls are finding their way into the gloves of defenders all over the field. The baseball gods at play.

He only has five extra base hits: four doubles and a recent triple. Last year he had 54: 27 doubles, two triples and 25 homers out of 159 hits. Right now, he has only 31 hits.

For that reason, Stammen took him out of the lineup and rested him Sunday in a 4-3 home win over the White Sox, San Diego’s only win in its last six games, through a Monday-night loss to the Giants in San Francisco.

“I don’t think there’s any issue with Fernando Tatis Jr.,” Stammen said. “He’s a leader of our team. He makes plays all over the place even when he’s not hitting the ball in the air exactly how he wants to. This game’s not easy. Pitchers are all trying to get him to hit the ball on the ground. He’s not hot and he’s still pretty impressive.”

To be sure, it’s not just Tatis. The Padres are suffering through a team-wide offensive drought.

The Padres are 27th of the 30 teams in batting average (.230), 24th in slug (.377), 26th in OPS (.680), 22nd in homers (33) and 21st in runs scored (147). Individually, Manny Machado is hitting .221, Jackson Merrill .220, Gavin Sheets .215, Nick Castellanos .164, Felix Fermin .161 and Cronenworth .144.

That’s pretty much their daily lineup, with some exceptions. Yet, they’ve somehow been able to remain in stride with the Dodgers for first place in the National League West. It’s a long season of 162 games, of course, as Tatis says.

“I have all the confidence in the world that the guys hitting behind me will straighten it out,” Tatis said.

Para entender la crisis política en la que hoy se encuentra inmerso el gobierno mexicano, por su relación y subordinación a los cárteles de las drogas, es preciso conocer el caso Rubén Rocha Moya, el depuesto gobernador de Sinaloa que tuvo que dimitir a su cargo ante la acusación del gobierno de Estados Unidos.

La Fiscalía de Estados Unidos anunció la instauración de un proceso penal en contra de Ruben Rocha Moya, el gobernador de Sinaloa, bajo la acusación de haber dado protección al cártel de los Chapos, los hijos de Joaquín Guzman Loera, “El Chapo Guzman”, para que trasegaran drogas hacia Estados Unidos.

La acusación, concretamente, refiere que el gobernador Rocha Moya, ordenaba a un equipo de funcionarios, de la procuración de justicia y la seguridad pública del estado de Sinaloa, que escoltaran con patrullas oficiales el trayecto de los vehículos del cártel de Los Chapos que iban cargados de cocaína, metanfetaminas y fentanilo, con destino a la frontera de Nogales.

El 29 de abril de 2026, el Departamento de Justicia de EE. UU., a través de la Fiscalía del Distrito Sur de Nueva York, presentó una acusación formal contra Rubén Rocha Moya y otros nueve funcionarios sinaloenses. Los cargos principales son conspiración para la importación de narcóticos, posesión de ametralladoras y artefactos explosivos y conspiración para el uso de dispositivos destructivos.

La fiscalía estadounidense sostiene que Rocha Moya no solo facilitó las operaciones del cártel, sino que su administración permitió a “Los Chapos” ejercer un control casi total sobre las fuerzas del orden estatales y la Fiscalía General del estado de Sinaloa.

La historia comienza con la alianza entre Ruben Rocha y los hijos del Chapo Guzman, Ovidio, Joaquín, Iván Archivaldo y Jesús Alfredo, desde la campaña electoral de 2021, cuando Ruben Rocha, candidato de Morena a la gubernatura de Sinaloa, solicitó apoyo de ese cártel para ganar la elección. Bajo la oferta de Rubén Rocha de apoyar al Cártel si le ayudaban a ganar la elección a la gubernatura, los hijos de Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán apoyaron el triunfo mediante actos de violencia política.

Los sicarios de Los Chapos secuestraron y extorsionaron a los candidatos opositores a Rubén Rocha. Los narcos encabezaron operativos territoriales para asegurar el flujo de votos hacia Morena, en zonas clave de Sinaloa controladas por el narco. A cambio de esos favores, ya siendo gobernador, Rubén Rocha Moya ofreció un plan total de impunidad, brindando respaldo operativo hasta para el tráfico de drogas y la expansión de laboratorios de fentanilo en la entidad, sobre todo en la zona serrana.

Participación en la entrega de “El Mayo” Zambada

La sociedad y alianza entre los hijos de Joaquín Guzman Loera y el gobernador Rubén Rocha, no solo se limitó a la impunidad y la seguridad para el traslado de drogas desde Sinaloa a Estados Unidos. Rubén Rocha fue más allá, se convirtió en un subordinado de clan de los Guzmán.

Los Guzmanes, como los mencionaba Rubén Rocha a los hijos de “El Chapo” Guzmán, le pidieron ayuda para que acercara a una reunión a Ismael Zambada García, “El Mayo”, el jefe de la otra fracción del cártel de Sinaloa, con el que “Los Chapos” mantenían diferencias.

El conflicto entre Los “Chapos” y “El Mayo” Zambada surgió a partir de la suposición de Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salzar, de que “El Mayo” había traicionado a su padre “El Chapo” Guzmán, y que por ello Joaquín Guzman Loera había sido capturado y entregado en extradición a Estados Unidos.

Por eso “Los Chapos” pidieron a Rubén Rocha que citara a una reunión ficticia al “Mayo” Zambada, en donde ellos también ya habían pactado la presencia de agentes de la DEA para que lo detuvieran y se lo llevaran, en calidad de secuestro, hacia Estados Unidos.

Los sucesos se dieron el 25 de julio del 2024, cuando Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada fue emboscado mientras asistía a una supuesta reunión donde participarían el gobernador Rocha Moya y Héctor Melesio Cuén.

Rocha Moya ha negado sistemáticamente su asistencia, argumentando que ese día se encontraba en Los Ángeles, California. Sin embargo, la Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) detectó irregularidades en la bitácora de vuelo y el uso del avión privado, lo que mantiene abierta la línea de investigación sobre su conocimiento previo del operativo de entrega/secuestro de Ismael Zambada.

La muerte Melesio Cuen, exrector de la Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, ocurrida el mismo día de la captura de Ismael Zambada, es el punto de mayor conflicto para Rubén Rocha. Desde el interior de la fiscalía estatal se le vincula con dicho acto. Aun así, la fiscalía estatal, bajo control de Rubén Rocha, intentó presentar el asesinato de Melesio Cuén como un intento de robo en una gasolinera. Pese a ello, la FGR desmintió la versión oficial, señalando que Cuén fue asesinado en el mismo lugar donde fue secuestrado “El Mayo” Zambada.

La anterior versión forzó la renuncia de la entonces fiscal estatal Sara Bruna Quiñónez y colocó a Rubén Rocha bajo sospecha de obstrucción de la justicia y complicidad en el homicidio de su entonces rival político.

A pesar de la gravedad de los cargos, el gobierno federal de México ha mantenido una postura de cautela, señalando que “no hay pruebas suficientes” presentadas por EE. UU. que justifiquen una orden de aprehensión inmediata. No obstante, la presión internacional aumenta ante el inicio del Mundial de Fútbol 2026, mientras que en Sinaloa se reporta una fragmentación institucional debido al control que ejercen los grupos delictivos sobre las secretarías de seguridad locales bajo el amparo de la administración actual.

Opponents of San Diego’s growing bike lane network have criticized the lanes for slowing traffic, commandeering parking, and driving away foot traffic to local businesses.

A new voice joined that opposition.

A Little Italy church says a freshly-installed bike lane in front of its church doors is preventing churchgoers from accessing the place of worship, as well as hearses from parking in front of the church for pallbearers to load and unload coffins following funeral services.

Little Italy faith and community leaders gathered outside Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on May 5 to decry the State Street bike lane. 

“This place must remain readily and easily accessible to everyone at every moment that matters,” said Father Joseph Tabigue, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church. “I ask you, honorable mayor, to hear our dreams, to protect access to our church and to change, in particular, the bike lane.” 

Father Tabigue and his parishioners say they do not oppose bike lanes, but object to placing one outside their historic church. 

“We need more respect for this church,” said Domenic Brunetto, a long-time parishioner and Little Italy Association board member. “This is not a commercial building. It’s not a restaurant.”

Until recently, pallbearers could access the hearses and well-wishers could usher married couples to their departing vehicles without the bride’s dress touching the pavement, but now they must cross a bike lane.

“Our focus (of) concern is again, access for all buildings, for disabled, for those for those people that are distracted because they’re excited about a celebration or mourning those that they’ve lost,” said Chris Gomez, chief executive administrator of Little Italy Association. “Crossing a 10-foot buffer in that process is a huge liability.” 

Community members have a solution: replace the protected bike lanes with “sharrows,” where a bike shares the lane with cars, for the one-block stretch in front of the church. They want the city to return to a plan formulated with community input over a decade ago that keeps three lanes of traffic open and most importantly, keeps the loading zone as is. 

City council originally approved the bike lane in 2016 as part of efforts to repair the State Street roadway and implement the Downtown Mobility Plan, according to city spokesperon Anthony Santacroce. 

“We understand that direct access to the curb is important to parishioners and visitors,” said Santacroce. 

In response to the church’s concerns, the city removed the protective flex posts in a 60-foot section in front of the church so that cars can still reach the curb as needed. 

“This will provide direct access to the curb as well as a loading zone as necessary for mass and church events,” Santacroce said. 

And while the city says it trying to work with church leaders, cyclists and bike advocates say removing the protected lanes would be dangerous.

“Asking for a redesign would not only be a waste of limited city resources during a budget crisis, but it would surely put riders in danger…Southbound cyclists would suddenly be riding into oncoming traffic for one block without any protection.” said Monica de la Cruz, of Bike SD.

Californians plagued by spam emails and calls now have an easy way to clear their names from data brokers’ lists — and it’s free.

The California Privacy Protection Agency, or CalPrivacy, has launched an initiative to get the word out about the DROP tool — Delete Request and Opt-out Platform — which will do exactly that.

The free tool to remove personal data, which launched in January, can be found here.

“This data is being used in a lot of ways that probably the average California doesn’t want it to be used,” said CPPA director Tom Kemp. “You can just type in your name and your address and see all these websites that are selling these things about you.”

That data goes far beyond name and address, up to and including age, ethnic background, shopping tastes, Social Security numbers, and precise location information.

And there’s more: data brokers are working with the federal government to turn over sensitive data, up to and including information that is being used to target immigrants for deportation.

“There’s over fifty data brokers that sell your data to the federal government, so we know who they are,” said Kemp. “The beautiful thing is if you go to the DROP system, you get your data deleted from not only those 50, but 500-plus others.”

His agency says they have already signed up more than 285,000 Californians for the first mass deletion of data, which is scheduled for August, and are trying to get the word out in multiple languages to reach still more people.

“It is incredibly popular,” Kemp said. “There is such a pent up demand.”

But they are hoping more people hear about the tool, particularly the young and the elderly, who may be unaware of how data harvesting works to make people exceptionally vulnerable to scams using stolen or sold information.

People only need to sign up for the service once and their information will be off-limits to data brokers from then on. Kemp added that also applies to all new data brokers added to their system in the future, and that they plan to enforce it.

“We’re working towards this crescendo of the first deletion happening in August,” he said. “Starting in August you’re going to hear a big sucking sound as all the data gets deleted by the data brokers.”

The agency spent Tuesday at the San Diego State University campus, and will have a presence at the Vista Strawberry Festival on May 24. The full list of appearances around the state can be found here.

In a decision dated April 30, the regulator authorized the implementation of the proposed capex program, which covers 100 projects under regulatory year 2018 aimed at addressing customer demand, resolving operational deficiencies, and ensuring compliance with service performance standards.

“After a thorough evaluation of all the evidence submitted, and appreciation of all the information gathered, the Commission finds that the implementation of the subject capex projects… will benefit its consumers, in accordance with its obligation to provide continuous, safe, reliable, secure, and efficient service for its consumers,” the regulator said.

The ERC said the approved projects will be subject to review and adjustment based on actual usage and verified costs.

Meralco withdrew its highest-cost project, a P2.43-billion advanced metering infrastructure expansion, in 2022.

The power distributor was also directed to pay the ERC a permit fee of P122.78 million.

Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving more than 8.2 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga, and Quezon.

Amid higher power costs linked to global oil price pressures, the ERC earlier directed Meralco to accelerate the P19.96-billion refund to its customers.

The accelerated refund will be implemented over 12 months instead of the original 36-month schedule, resulting in an average refund rate of P0.2511 per kilowatt-hour.

Meralco is also awaiting the decision of the ERC on its proposed refund of over P9 billion following a true-up calculation for the lapsed period in 2025.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

THE UPTREND in food inflation is expected to persist through 2027 amid mounting cost pressures, weather disruptions, and external risks due to the ongoing Middle East war, analysts said.

“We are seeing this to continue until next year or when the Middle East crisis has been resolved,” Danilo V. Fausto, president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc., told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday that headline inflation accelerated to 7.2% in April from 4.1% in March, driven largely by faster increases in food prices.

Food inflation quickened to 6.1% in April from 2.7% a month earlier and 0.7% a year ago.

The PSA said the higher food inflation was driven by a faster annual increase in rice prices, which surged to 13.7% in April from 3.5% in March.

Other food groups that posted higher inflation included corn (21% in April from 12.3% in March); fish and other seafoods (9.4% from 6.6%); fruits and nuts (6% from 4.7%); and vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses (10.4% from 7%).

Analysts attributed the continued rise in food prices to higher fuel and fertilizer costs, as well as supply-side pressures.

Mr. Fausto said rising fuel prices have raised logistics costs across the food supply chain.

“The increase in fuel prices resulted in an increase in the cost of deliveries. As for food processors, logistics expenses together with availability and an increase in prices of raw materials contribute to the rise in inflation,” he said.

Former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told BusinessWorld that thin rice buffer stocks and weaker farm output also worsened food inflation.

“The buffer stock in rice is so thin, which is now impacting the market. There was also lower production during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year,” he said via Viber.

Former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano said the latest inflation print was expected as cost pressures continue to build.

“The results are expected, particularly on food inflation due to rising fertilizer and fuel costs, which are actually at their initial stage,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber.

Mr. Adriano said inflationary pressures could intensify in the coming months, compounded by weather-related risks.

“We expect the full brunt of the adverse impacts of the Middle East war and the incoming El Niño in the second half of this year,” he said.

Mr. Dar said that continued fighting in the Middle East could further raise food inflation by 2.5 percentage points in the second quarter.

“If the war continues, then you can expect the food inflation to rise further by about 2.5 percentage points… by the end of the second quarter or even earlier,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture said it is rolling out measures to ease supply bottlenecks and curb rising food prices.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said measures include the reestablishment of dedicated food lanes, the removal of toll fees for trucks transporting agricultural goods, and the reduction of port charges to accelerate deliveries and lower logistics costs.

“We have moved to provide financial aid to agri-truckers to help keep food prices affordable, and mobilized other offices to bring food from production hubs to markets,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in the statement.

The department said it is also accelerating the rollout of its subsidized rice program, which offers rice at P20 per kilo to vulnerable sectors.

Mr. Laurel added that the government is prepared to impose a P50-per-kilo price cap on imported rice should price pressures persist.

STAGFLATION is now evident in the Philippines, an analyst said, as inflation accelerated to 7.2% in April while economic growth is expected to come in below 4% in the first quarter.

Patrick M. Ella, portfolio manager and economist at Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., said the over three-year-high inflation print coupled with expected sub-4% first quarter growth already points to stagflationary conditions.

“Stagflation is classically defined as negative economic growth and high inflation. But for Philippine standards, sub-4% is already, I think, stagflationary conditions for a high-growth economy like us,” he told Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News on Tuesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday reported that inflation rose to 7.2% from a year earlier, much faster than the 4.1% in March and 1.4% in the same month last year.

This was the fastest headline print since the 7.6% seen in March 2023, and also well-above the central bank’s 5.6%-6.4% estimate for the month.

“This is the highest (inflation) in three years, and I, in fact, looked at the monthly gain, and it is over 2.7%, which is quite high. So yes, stagflationary conditions are already evident,” Mr. Ella added.

He said economists have very low expectations for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter, with his own estimate at 2.5%.

A BusinessWorld poll of 21 economists and analysts last week yielded a median estimate of 3.4% for the Philippine GDP growth in the first quarter.

If realized, GDP growth will be slower than the revised 5.4% expansion in the same period a year ago and fall short of the government’s 5-6% target this year.

First-quarter GDP data will be released on Thursday (May 7).

Mr. Ella said the factory activity will likely remain weak after the S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 48.3 in April, its first contraction in five months.

“I think that is expected to continue because of the huge input costs we saw in the last two months,” he said.

Other economists, however, cautioned against labeling the current environment as stagflation. Marco Antonio C. Agonia, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the term is “too strong” to describe the situation.

“We use ‘stagflation’ in describing double-digit inflation, unemployment and negative GDP growth figures. What we’re seeing now is a combination of the lingering impacts of the flood control scandal and a global oil shock,” he said.

He said the definite stagflation scenario depicts a prolonged string of negative or near-zero GDP growth along with double-digit inflation and unemployment.

“The last time the Philippines fit that profile was during the political and economic turmoil of the 1980s. For now, the economy is downbeat but somewhat stable and with robust jobs performance,” Mr. Agonia said.

“Besides, we may see faster growth in the second half of this year when government infrastructure spending returns,” he added.

The unemployment rate fell to a two-month low of 5.1% in February, down from 5.8% posted in January but higher than the 3.8% reading in the same month last year.

March jobless data will be out on May 6.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said the April inflation print is “a yellow flag, not a red card.”

“This isn’t stagflation yet… inflation remains sticky — mainly due to food and utilities — but economic growth has not stalled and employment is still holding up,” he said.

“What we’re seeing is inflation fatigue, not stagnation. The key now is targeted supply-side fixes, especially on food, rather than overly aggressive tightening. The risk is real, but it’s still manageable,” he added.

On the other hand, Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, senior research fellow at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, said the country is showing early warning signs of stagflation.

“If high inflation persists, and growth weakens further, then it could tip into genuine stagflation,” he said. “Nevertheless, right now, it is more accurate to say that the Philippines is experiencing a shock-driven inflation surge with softening (not stalled) growth and rising (but not yet realized) stagflation risk.”

He said a true stagflation scenario would mean at least two consecutive quarters of inflation above 5-6%, GDP growth below 2%, rising unemployment, falling real wages, and stagnant investment — all happening simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank Chief Economist Albert Park said the Philippines’ prospects should not be discounted too quickly, noting the country and other economies in the region have been the “most resilient and dynamic part of the global economy.”

“I think they may need some help getting through this period of adjustment, but the fundamentals still, I think, are in the right direction,” he said in an CNBC interview on Tuesday, citing the Philippines’ big investments in infrastructure and renewable energy.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it will implement necessary measures to keep prices stable “within a reasonable time” after headline inflation accelerated past expectations in April.

“The BSP is committed to fulfilling its primary mandate of slow inflation and will take necessary actions to ensure inflation returns to its 3% target within a reasonable time,” the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

“It will remain vigilant for spillover effects, data-driven, and ready to act as needed,” it added.

This comes after the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation sizzled in April to a three-year high of 7.2%, faster than the 4.1% in March and 1.4% in the same month last year. 

The BSP had expected inflation to settle between 5.6% and 6.4%, while 17 analysts polled by BusinessWorld had a median forecast of 5.5%.

At its April 23 meeting, the BSP ended its nearly two-year easing cycle with a 25-basis point (bp) rate hike, bringing the key policy rate to 4.25%.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. at that time said that they are ready to raise interest rates as much as needed to tame inflation despite its expected impact on domestic growth.

Asian Development Bank Chief Economist Albert Park said the BSP should exercise caution in tightening policy, as the current crisis is largely supply-driven. However, the BSP may need to uphold its price stability mandate if elevated energy costs start spilling over into the prices of other goods and services.

“(O)nce we see the high energy prices, and also the high price of other inputs like fertilizer, or like inputs into the petrochemical industry, into semiconductors, helium, sulfur, we will start to see those higher costs work their way through into higher prices finally,” Mr. Park told CNBC on Tuesday.

“And if that starts to happen and price expectations start to change across the different goods and services that are being produced, then the government may want to — the central banks — may want to start then to consider trying to reduce those inflationary expectations which is really their role,” he added.

OFF-CYCLE MOVE?
Analysts said the central bank may deliver larger rate hikes or raise rates in an off-cycle move amid rising inflation risks after the upside surprise.

ING Regional Head of Research for Asia-Pacific Deepali Bhargava said another 25-bps rate increase is now a “done deal,” with the odds for a 50-bp hike and an off-cycle move rising.   

“Inflation pressures have become increasingly broad based, with food and fuel shocks feeding into core inflation and services, raising the risk of more persistent second round effects,” she said in a commentary on Tuesday. “In this context, a 25-bp rate hike in June looks assured, with risks clearly tilted toward a 50-bp move.”    

ING’s base case now forecasts a total of 75 bps in rate hikes, with a more aggressive stance likely to follow should the Middle East war last longer.

Bank of the Philippine Islands Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said inflation could quicken to a double-digit pace later this year, which could call for a more aggressive central bank.     

“The BSP may deliver rate hikes larger than the typical 25 bps, either in a regular or off-cycle meeting, with a more forceful move potentially required to rein in inflation expectations,” he said in a separate note.

“While tighter monetary policy could weigh on growth by raising the cost of financing capital expenditures, the economic damage from persistently elevated inflation may be more severe, justifying a more aggressive policy response,” Mr. Neri added.

Meanwhile, Nomura Global Markets Research analysts Euben Paracuelles and Nabila Amani expect the central bank to lift borrowing costs by 25 bps in each of its meetings in June, August and October to bring the benchmark rate to 5.25%.   

Nomura raised its 2026 estimate for headline inflation to 6.1% from 4.9% and for core inflation to 4.6% from 3.8% previously.   

“(The April) inflation outturn has likely increased BSP’s concerns over inflation expectations and second-round effects, which are likely to be assessed by BSP as becoming more evident from the further pickup in core inflation, in our view,” Mr. Paracuelles and Ms. Amani said.    

However, they see the BSP reversing its hikes to deliver 75 bps in cuts in the second half of 2027 as they expect inflation to stabilize. 

The BSP projects the headline print to stay above 5% for most of the year. It had also upwardly revised its full-year forecast to 6.3% from 5.1% previously.

The Monetary Board will hold its next policy meeting on June 18.

ELEVATED oil prices continued to feed into food and utility costs, pushing annual inflation to a three-year high of 7.2% in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

Faster-than-expected inflation now puts more pressure on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which earlier signaled that it could keep hiking interest rates as needed to temper inflation amid the oil crisis.

 PSA data showed that the consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 7.2% in April, from 4.1% in March and 1.4% a year ago.   

This was the fastest headline print since the 7.6% seen in March 2023, and also well-above the central bank’s 5.6%-6.4% estimate for the month. 

It also blew past the estimates of 17 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll, where the median forecast was at 5.5%.

Month on month, inflation sped up to 2.6%, the fastest since the 3.4% recorded in January 2000. 

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa noted that faster price increases in food and nonalcoholic beverages, transport, and utilities drove the CPI higher last month.

April marked the second consecutive month that the headline print accelerated past the BSP’s 2%-4% target.   

As of April, inflation averaged 3.9%, a tad below the upper end of the BSP’s full-year goal.   

Despite fuel price rollbacks, transport inflation was faster at 21.4% in April from 9.9% in March.   

This as gasoline inflation quickened to 59.6% in April from 27.3% in the prior month and diesel to 122.7% from the revised 59.6% in March. This was the highest reading for both petroleum products since the CPI rebasing in 2018.

Last month, fuel retailers implemented price cuts after back-to-back hikes since the Middle East war erupted in late February.   

Month on month, pump price adjustments stood at a net decrease of P0.58 per liter for gasoline, P28.18 per liter for diesel and P17.71 per liter for kerosene.

As of end-April, the cost of gasoline ranged between P72.53 and P104.93 a liter, diesel from P75.93 to P101.96 a liter and kerosene from P125.39 to P147.98 a liter. These prices were still significantly higher than a year ago.

Inflation for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) surged to 45.8% in April from the revised 3.7% in March, even as the government suspended the excise tax on LPG and kerosene.

Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also picked up to 8.2% in April from the revised 4.7% the previous month.   

In April, Manila Electric Co. raised electricity rates by 53.35 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate for the month to P14.3496 per kWh. 

High fuel costs spilled over into food prices in April, bringing inflation for the heavily weighted food and nonalcoholic beverage index to 6% from the revised 2.9% in March.   

This was attributed to the 11.1% inflation in cereals and cereal products (from 3.6% in March); 9.4% in fish and other seafood (from 6.6%); and 10.4% in vegetables, tubers, and the like (from 7%).

Meanwhile, rice inflation remained in positive territory for a second month in a row, accelerating to 13.7% from 3.6% a month ago.   

Based on PSA data, the average per-kilogram (kg) cost of local regular milled rice climbed by 15.95% to P51.53 in the second half of April from P44.44 a year earlier. The price of well-milled rice also grew by 15.32% year on year to P58.88 from P51.06 per kg, while the price of special rice went up by 9.8% to P66.23 per kg from P60.32 per kg.

PESO DEPRECIATION
PSA’s Mr. Mapa noted that the peso depreciation also drove up inflation and weakened the peso’s purchasing power.

Last month, the local unit touched the P61-a-dollar level for the first time, plunging to a new all-time low close of P61.567 against the greenback on April 29.

“Our diesel and gasoline are priced in US dollars, of course, that’s why it had an impact on the price, which in turn had a direct impact on our inflation rate and, of course, on the purchasing power of the peso,” Mr. Mapa said.

“So, the impact of the peso’s weakening contributed to the rise in the price of inputs, particularly the ones we import, and it has impacted the inflation rate, among others,” he added.

According to the PSA, the purchasing power of peso, or the value of each P1, continued to drop to a new record-low of 73 centavos in April. This brings the value of P100 in 2018 to just P73 now.

The PSA also reported that core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel prices, picked up to 3.9% in April from 3.2% in March and 2.2% a year earlier. This was the highest core print since the 4.4% logged in December 2023.   

In the National Capital Region (NCR), inflation quickened to 5.5% in April from the revised 3.5% in March and 2.4% in the prior year.

Inflation in areas outside NCR was also faster at 7.7% in April, from 4.2% a month earlier and 1.2% last year.

Meanwhile, inflation for the bottom 30% of income households accelerated to its fastest pace in over three years at 8.5% in April, from 4.2% in March and 0.1% in the same month last year.

In a statement, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development said the administration is “intensifying targeted interventions,” after inflation sizzled last month.

“Amid the Middle East conflict disrupting fuel supply chains, the government is intensifying targeted interventions, particularly to temper upward price pressures on food, energy, and transport, while ensuring the continued stability of domestic supply,” Economy Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said. 

MORE RATE HIKES?
Meanwhile, Chinabank Research said the BSP will likely hike rates anew but has limited room for aggressive tightening as rising inflation will soon drag economic growth.

It now projects the headline print to hold above 7% in the coming months, with the full-year clip likely to end at around 6%.

“We expect the BSP to raise rates further. However, elevated inflation will continue to weigh on consumption and growth, constraining the BSP’s ability to hike rates aggressively and placing greater responsibility on the government to curb additional inflationary pressures,” Chinabank Research said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the BSP could extend its rate-hike cycle, much like during the 2022 oil crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There is a possibility of BSP rate hike/s, similar to the previous cycle four years ago, in an effort nip inflationary pressures at the bud and better manage inflation and prevent it from spiraling further… even if the unintended consequences include slowing down the economy,” he said in a Viber message. 

At its April 23 meeting, the central bank ended its nearly two-year easing cycle with a 25-basis-point rate hike, which brought the key policy rate to 4.25%. This marked its first tightening move since October 2023.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. at that time said that they could hike rates as much as needed to keep prices stable despite its expected impact on domestic growth.

The BSP sees inflation hovering above 5% for most of the year to average 6.3% by end-2026. This was higher than its earlier forecast of 5.1%.

Meanwhile, Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON Foundation, said the faster April inflation clip reflects lapses in the government’s response to the over two-month long energy crisis. 

“The Marcos Jr. (administration) didn’t create the oil shock, but its refusal to cut oil taxes and control oil firm overpricing is making sure that tens of millions of poor, low-income and middle-class Filipinos fully absorb it,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“The latest inflation figures clearly underscore how the (government’s) response is too slow, reaches too few, and gives too little,” he added.

They say they’ve got the signatures. 

The coalition behind a proposed countywide half-cent sales tax hike delivered more than 151,000 signed petitions to the county registrar on Monday in hopes of making the November ballot.

The San Diego County Health & Safety Act would raise an estimated $360 million annually to fund healthcare, child care, solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis and public safety.  

The stinky headliner: The labor and advocacy groups backing the proposal have most emphasized that roughly $81 million annually would go toward combatting the Tijuana sewage crisis. But they have yet to flesh out specific plans for how that money would be spent. At least 20 percent of the funds would be directed toward infrastructure projects to “stop sewage flows from Tijuana into the United States or through the Tijuana River Valley,” according to the initiative, which was filed last year. The funding could also address related health issues and protect local waters from pollution. 

Where more of the funding would go: Up to 60 percent of funds raised could support care and health services for children, health care for uninsured or underinsured people, food aid including staffing for CalFresh eligibility workers in the county, in-home health services and affordable health care. Another 18 percent could back public safety services, wildfire prevention and crisis response.  

What’s next: The county Registrar of Voters has 30 business days to vet the signatures. The coalition needs at least 102,923 valid signatures to make the ballot but is hoping to automatically qualify with random sampling given the tens of thousands of additional signatures it turned in Monday.

Border Report: Mexico’s Dirty Beaches

The Tijuana River crisis isn’t just a San Diego problem. In Mexico, residents are also experiencing contaminated water and beach closures.

Water quality tests from late March reveal that Baja California is currently home to some of Mexico’s most contaminated water. It was the only state in a 17-state federal study to have beaches flagged as unsafe for swimming.

While federal health officials identified high bacteria levels at private beaches in gated communities further south of the border wall like San Antonio Del Mar, other studies are finding contaminated water in public beaches much closer to the border wall.

While some beachgoers and surfers monitor water contamination levels weekly, many other families remain unaware of the risk.

Read the Border Report here. 

LAFCO Calls Off Investigation Into Water Authority

No one is getting rid of the San Diego County Water Authority just yet. 

The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, had planned to look into the possibility in what’s called a municipal service review, or MSR. But on Monday, LAFCO commissioners scrapped that process. 

Service reviews are a key piece of LAFCO’s work. LAFCO has the power to audit services provided by local government agencies — as well as form, combine and dissolve government agencies. 

LAFCO decided to initiate a municipal service review after two customer water districts successfully divorced themselves from the Water Authority for cheaper water elsewhere. 

San Diego City Councilmember (and LAFCO commissioner) Stephen Whitburn argued the Water Authority has made significant progress selling its excess water supplies recently — and so it wasn’t necessary to continue studying the possibility of disbanding the agency. (Whitburn also serves on the Water Authority’s Board of Directors.) 

“Arizona and Nevada are interested in buying water from San Diego County. Why at this moment… would the eight of us on this commission issue an MSR that raises the spectre of dissolving the San Diego County Water Authority?” Whitburn said. 

Not everyone was in agreement. San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre (another LAFCO commissioner) wanted to continue the investigation into the Water Authority’s ever-rising rates.

“South Bay families know what it means to stretch every dollar,” Aguirre said. “Lower income households should not bear an outside burden for regional decisions made without clear accountability.” 

Commissioners voted 5-3 to stop work on the municipal service review. 

In Other News

• The San Diego Police Department is using AI to help with police dispatch, including using AI agents to answer non-emergency calls and to classify calls by type. (Axios San Diego).
• San Diego planning officials will ask the City Council Thursday to consider delaying the implementation of SB 79 in lower income areas and neighborhoods with challenges like high wildfire risk. SB 79 is a new state law that requires San Diego to nearly double the number of housing units allowed near transit stops. (Union-Tribune)
• In Oceanside, the City Council will consider extending a program to move homeless people camped along State Route 78 into long-term housing. It’s currently funded by an $11 million grant through a state program called the Encampment Resolution Fund. (Union-Tribune)
• Related: You can read more about Oceanside and Carlsbad’s joint effort to move hundreds of homeless people from encampments into stable housing here. (Voice of San Diego)
• The San Diego Community College District is facing a major cyberattack, district officials announced Monday. It started on Saturday and led officials to take some of the college’s internet, email and registration platforms offline. (Union-Tribune)

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, MacKenzie Elmer and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.

The post Morning Report: Tax Hike May Make Ballot appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

Over a recent phone conversation, a friend conveyed her sense of disillusionment with how cities are being managed. The expression “tone-deaf” came up, and that warnings are all around us. Across the United States, cities are making budget decisions that reveal far more than their fiscal priorities. They reveal their values, their imagination, and their sense of responsibility to future generations.

In San Diego, the mayor’s proposed budget would virtually eliminate nearly the entire $12 million arts and culture budget, effectively dismantling the cultural ecosystem of educational organizations filling the gaps for student art education-based programming, artist support to produce works that attracts visitors and creates a livable and forward city to enjoy, visit and invest in. An ecosystem that extends across borders and has taken decades to build.

This is not simply a budget cut. It is a cultural alarm, a canary in the coal mine warning us about the direction of our civic life. Tough budget decisions need to be made but they should be in balance and proportion among city departments, given the arts and culture budget for San Diego represents less than 1 percent of the city’s general fund. This will not solve the deficit, and it is just not proportional to reductions in other departments. Simply put, these drastic cuts are draconian, shortsighted, and contradictory to prioritizing the community’s that city leaders claim to prioritize. 

For centuries, societies have understood that arts, culture, and the humanities are not decorative luxuries but foundational civic infrastructure. The ancient Greeks embedded theater, philosophy, and public art into the daily life of their cities because they believed that a healthy democracy required imagination, debate, and shared cultural rituals. Aztec empires and Renaissance cities invested heavily in artists and scholars because they recognized that creativity fuels innovation, economic vitality, and civic pride. Today, global cities that lead in technology, science, and economic competitiveness are the same cities that invest deeply in cultural life.

San Diego’s proposed cuts stand in stark contrast to this long historical arc. They also contradict the commitments we make on the international stage. Just recently the mayor signed a Sister Cities agreement with Marseille, France, a city that invests robustly in its cultural institutions and where arts and culture are one of the three central pillars of the partnership. Marseille understands what many global cities understand: cultural investment is a strategy for economic development, social cohesion, and international identity. To sign such an agreement while simultaneously gutting our own cultural infrastructure sends a confusing and, perhaps unintentional, message about our seriousness as a global city.

Doris Sommer of Harvard University, a leading literary scholar of civic culture, often reminds policymakers that Susan Magsamen’s statement “art is not the decoration of democracy, it is the engine” is apt for our times. Sommer’s research and practice demonstrate that cultural participation strengthens literacy, civic engagement, and problem‑solving, precisely the capacities a diverse democracy requires to function, and the skills cities need to navigate complex futures. When a city defunds its cultural sector, it’s not trimming fat. It’s weakening its civic muscle.

The consequences are not abstract. San Diego’s arts and culture organizations from youth theaters and community festivals to cultural centers and museums serve more than a million residents annually. They provide after‑school programs, mental health support, intergenerational learning, and spaces for young people to explore identity and belonging. They anchor neighborhoods, attract tourism, and generate economic activity. The arts sector contributes billions to San Diego’s economy yet receives a fraction of one percent of the city budget.

For decades, San Diego has failed to honor its own “penny for the arts” commitment, a 2012 promise that would have stabilized funding requiring the city to spend 1 percent, a penny, of all hotel room revenue on grants to cultural organizations, aligning  us with other major cities. Instead, we are now contemplating erasure: the disappearance of programs that help children see themselves as creators; the loss of cultural spaces that preserve immigrant histories; the silencing of artistic interventions that challenge us to question and imagine better futures.

Philosophers, economists, and urban theorists have long argued that a city’s cultural life is a leading indicator of its future. As Malcolm Gladwell might frame it, we are approaching a tipping point, a moment when small decisions accumulate into irreversible change. If we allow cultural defunding to become normalized, we risk becoming a city that cannot imagine itself forward. If this is not our tipping point, what is? San Diego stands at a crossroads. We can choose austerity, short‑term thinking, and the slow erosion of civic life. Or we can choose to honor the commitments we make to our children, to our communities, to our international partners, and to the generations who will inherit the city we shape today.

What does it say about a city’s leadership when it places zero value on the artistic and cultural contributions that shape civic identity? What does it say when we ignore decades of evidence that arts and culture are economic drivers, public health strategies, and youth development lifelines? What does it say when we invest more in law enforcement than in expression, more in reaction than in prevention?

The canary in the coal mine is singing loudly. The question now is whether we will listen and whether we will act before the silence becomes permanent. 

Linda Caballero Sotelo is a cultural policy strategist, scholar and advisor working at the intersection of arts, culture, democracy, and community belonging. She advises national and international institutions on cultural infrastructure, public policy and civic engagement. She is a research associate of Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard. She is based in San Diego.

The post At Our Peril: Ignoring the Canary in the Coal Mine of Arts and Culture Defunding appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

For minerologists, a mine is an invitation. The earth has been broken open, its veins laid bare – and those who enter hope to find unknown wonders. In the 1970s, Kali Kafi mine near the small Iranian town of Anarak fulfilled that hope. There, among the dusty desert rocks, Joachim Otteman and Darius Adib saw a bluish-green glow.

They took samples of the glassy mineral and analysed its structure back in the lab. What they knew was that this geological species had never been catalogued – they named it anarakite, and it lay forgotten for decades. What they didn’t know was that the emerald glow they unearthed may have been hiding a remarkable quantum secret.

This isn’t any ordinary rock. Anarakite – later renamed herbertsmithite – could be a rare type of matter known as a quantum spin liquid (QSL). Whether these occur naturally is hotly debated, but if the physicists who think they can are right, nature could be creating highly entangled states. Physicists know how to create entanglement, too, but only in limited ways, such as entangling particles of light or ultracold atoms. Entangling particles within a chunk of stuff has so far eluded them.

Minerals like herbertsmithite suggest quantum entanglement might not be something we must make, but something that just exists naturally, which we could potentially use to push quantum computers into a new realm of usefulness.

“The whole machine is sort of like an entangled network, sort of like a hive mind. And this is what a spin liquid is,” says Michael Norman at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. “If nature does it better than us, that would be great.”

For those who weren’t in that Iranian mine, the story of quantum spin liquids starts in 1973 with condensed matter theorist Philip W. Anderson. He wasn’t concerned with shiny minerals. He was at his desk, pen and paper in hand, mathematically investigating quantum spin, a property of quantum particles that makes them behave like tiny bar magnets. Large magnets, for example, stick to your fridge because all their atomic spins are locked into a specific pattern. Anderson thought he had concocted a situation in which quantum spins could never get locked in like that, where even when they were made extremely cold and devoid of energy, quantum effects would keep them jiggling between different orientations. He was clear-eyed about this new state of matter, writing: “A disclaimer is in order: we really know very little about it.” Anderson didn’t quite land on the right mathematical recipe for this, but the forever-jiggling magnet he dreamed up was, in fact, a quantum spin liquid.

Harnessing natural entanglement

What makes QSLs unique is the way their spins are connected through quantum entanglement. Two entangled particles share a quantum state sensitive to what happens to either of them. Maximising entanglement can push a material into a different phase – a magnet is transmuted into a QSL when all its spins become inextricable from each other. Finding so much entanglement in a naturally occurring mineral would be nothing short of striking quantum gold.

That’s because it could solve one of the biggest problems with quantum computers. Right now, every quantum computer is stymied by errors that cascade through it. We could combat that by spreading the information it processes across many of its constituent parts. This typically means adding components, then working out how to entangle them with other parts of the device. But if we could start with a quantum spin liquid, we wouldn’t have to engineer entanglement; we could harness it.

There are plenty of practical details to work out for how to do that, but the very promise of it has already inspired theoretical studies. However, an even bigger issue remains: whether QSLs truly exist in nature has been the subject of contentious disagreement among physicists. One man thinks herbertsmithite is a crucial part of the proof that they do.

Young Lee at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California has spent his career studying herbertsmithite and its mineral cousins. Now, he thinks his team has solid evidence of the minerals’ long-sought quantumness.

Herbertsmithite contains flat layers of magnetic copper atoms separated by non-magnetic zinc. The copper atoms form a “Kagome pattern”, rows of interlinked six-pointed stars. Ordinarily, copper atoms would flip a neighbouring atom’s spin, but the Kagome pattern makes it impossible for a flipped spin to stabilise – spins can’t lock each other into a static arrangement. Mathematical models of spins in Kagome patterns show that some groups of spin could move around without needing any extra energy, which sounds an awful lot like a QSL’s relentless jiggling.

At first glance, then, the chances that herbertsmithite is a naturally occurring quantum spin liquid, roiling with entanglement underneath its glassy surface, seem rather good. But definitively showing that it is – and Lee has spent years trying – proved remarkably difficult.

From the earliest days, mathematically proving that the Kagome pattern always leads to a QSL was challenging, and various approximate proofs caused disagreements among theorists, says Hitesh Changlani at Florida State University. The only way to really settle it was in the lab.

Making a quantum mineral

That’s where Lee found himself in 2007, when a chemistry breakthrough allowed him and a colleague to synthesise herbertsmithite from scratch. The mineral is rare in nature, and being able to make it gave them more control over its purity. Changlani says the first reports of these experiments caused a splash among physicists. Finally, they had something real with which to compare their theories, says Zi Yang Meng at the University of Hong Kong.

But a new kind of trouble reared its head: what exactly do you measure to prove a mineral contains the right kind of quantum weirdness to be a quantum spin liquid?

For one, physicists don’t know how to directly measure quantum entanglement in a chunk of a material, so it is currently impossible to observe one of the defining properties of a QSL. Experiments that probe the orientation of spins are a good bet, but to be definitive, they would have to be performed incredibly close to absolute zero, which is possible but might not give unimpeachable results. We can get things pretty cold, but there’s a chance the spins could lock into some unexpected arrangement if they were just a little colder.

Theoretical models posit that quantum spin liquids should support two kinds of emergent particles, spinons and visons. If we could capture or image one of them, that could also prove a material’s QSL status. Unfortunately, this too seems to elude the capabilities of existing experiments. Spinons and visons have no electric charge, so typical electronic techniques are blind to their existence. For all these reasons, many experimental tests of suspected QSLs hit a wall.

But Lee and his colleagues zeroed in on one line of investigation that could prove decisive: inelastic neutron scattering. Here, researchers shoot neutrons at mineral samples and, from the energy and momentum of particles that bounce off of them, they reconstruct whether the sample contained any spinons. In 2025, Lee and his colleagues used this technique on herbertsmithite and a closely related mineral called zinc barlowite, another shiny, greenish crystal with a Kagome structure. What they found convinced Lee that the quest for quantum spin liquids ought to be over.

Making this work was an experimental odyssey. Synthesising herbertsmithite in the lab takes months. Once they mixed and heated the necessary chemicals in quartz test tubes, they had to wait up to 10 months for chemical reactions to slowly “grow” the mineral. More than half of the test tubes failed to produce it, and those that did yielded tiny amounts. Growing zinc barlowite was similarly time-consuming, with the added difficulty that the initial chemical mixture eats the walls of test tubes, and the researchers had to figure out how to line them with Teflon.

The final crystals could all still fit on the tip of your finger. “We don’t know if the quality is good until we stop the growth, break the quartz tube and collect the pieces,” says Lee. “We grow a whole bunch of smaller pieces that could be tens of milligrams or less, then we align many of them like a puzzle, putting them all together to make one bigger crystal.”

They took it to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, home of the world’s best neutron-scattering facility, to see what they had made. Locked in a metal chamber just 2 kelvin above absolute zero, herbertsmithite and zinc barlowite were subjected to a barrage of neutrons travelling at hundreds of metres per second.

For Lee and his team, it was all worth it. They analysed their data and arrived at a verdict: both minerals seemed to be quantum spin liquids. “I certainly have my own biases, but I think reasonable minds should already be convinced,” he says.

Not quite sold

However, disagreements persist. “To announce that you have found, for sure, the first example of a QSL, you want to have evidence that’s airtight,” says Steven Kivelson at Stanford University in California. “For a first, we rightly want to use extremely high standards.”

What makes the case of herbertsmithite and zinc barlowite less than airtight is the issue of material imperfections, says Norman. Both contain copper atoms, sometimes called “orphan spins”, that don’t belong to any neat, patterned plane and become bits of unwanted magnetic dirt within each mineral. A neutron interacting with one of these orphans can produce a signal that looks troublingly similar to a neutron interacting with a pair of spinons, mixing up the telltale signs of a quantum spin liquid with the much less exciting possibility that all you’ve got is a messy magnet. “People will say, ‘Is it the impurity that’s causing everything that you’re seeing?’ This is a tough problem,” says Norman.

Much of Lee’s work has, for this reason, been to create less disordered minerals and to understand the details of disorder within them better. “Young Lee is a hero in this. He’s had a focus and persistence that is incredibly admirable,” says Kivelson.

Because zinc barlowite has a slightly different structure than herbertsmithite, its disordered atoms fall differently throughout the Kagome pattern. Both Kivelson and Norman say that the fact that the two minerals show similar QSL-like features despite this difference strengthens the case that those features aren’t just mirages created by disorder. “I think that’s a really good argument. One is increasingly confident that Lee’s seeing a QSL,” says Kivelson.

This slowly cresting wave of optimism doesn’t rest purely on the backs of the two emerald materials. Meng was part of a team that found very sharp signatures of spinons in a material made from yttrium, copper and bromine, which also has a Kagome pattern. He says it’s not impossible that a future experiment could contradict his team’s findings, but he is optimistic he’s seen signs of a quantum spin liquid. “For me, I think [today’s] evidence is good enough,” he says.

Changlani and his colleagues have also seen hints. They tackled the problem of QSLs in materials that can’t be divided into flat planes, but where spins are arranged in a pattern that uses all three spatial dimensions. For one such lab-grown material made from cerium, zirconium and oxygen, they looked for signatures of QSL behaviour in neutron-scattering data and in how the entanglement and spin jiggling affect its response to heat. Observations from these experiments match a theoretical model of a 3D quantum spin liquid well enough to convince them that QSLs exist in nature and across many different material structures. “There is now growing evidence that these things, QSLs, are real,” says Changlani.

“There’s this popular notion of the smoking gun experiment, one experiment that establishes everything. But often what happens is that you end up with a web of evidence, and it gets to the point that the evidence supporting something comes from so many sides and is so strong that even if one branch of the web turns out to be flawed, it doesn’t change your understanding of what is true,” says Kivelson. In his view, researchers have made real progress in weaving this web for quantum spin liquids.

Norman would like to see that smoking gun before the question of naturally occurring QSLs can be settled. Primarily, he wants physicists to detect and manipulate spinons or visons more directly. Spinons can carry heat, which ought to be detectable. Another option could be to force two particles within a potential quantum spin liquid to encircle each other, which would change their properties in ways we can precisely predict based on mathematical models. “That kind of experiment, which would be a tour de force, is what would be needed to be done to prove that a QSL really exists in nature,” says Norman.

Controlling particle motion in that way would also be crucial for any QSL-based quantum computers, as many computational steps would consist of spinons and visons dancing around each other.

Quantum computers might even come in handy for building their own future QSL-based replacements. For example, instead of messing with copper atoms in a chemistry lab, each spin could be emulated by a qubit – the basic building block of a quantum computer – creating a synthetic QSL within the device. Norman says existing quantum computers aren’t yet big and reliable enough for this task, but they could get there in the near term. The number of error-free qubits he estimates would do the trick is in line with plans that a few quantum computing companies have for the next five years.

For his part, Lee is grounded in the material science and chemistry of the now. There is a lot less glamour and hype here, but he has clarity about what his team ought to keep doing: “The wish list is to convince the community that we have at least QSLs in herbertsmithite and zinc barlowite.”

If they win over the materials physics community, could that lead to a run on the mines for these minerals across the globe? Even if it can be gathered, Lee is wary of having to wait for Earth to produce a perfect crystal, especially as they are often too small and have unpredictable impurities.

Norman, on the other hand, says herbertsmithite has several naturally occurring mineral relatives that may still be promising if they have fewer imperfections.

In the aftermath of the Anarak discovery, herbertsmithite turned up in some mines in Chile, and Norman says he’s recently heard of physicists visiting to collect new samples, hoping to confirm that quantum entanglement is waiting for us to dig it up.

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Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The Steam Controller has been a hot topic for the PC gaming world for the past few weeks, and a new tidbit could keep the conversation going: Valve released the CAD files for the gamepad’s shell. They’re free to download under a Creative Commons license, meaning people can now design and construct their own accessories for the Steam Controller and its puck.

The files are only for the device’s exterior; you won’t be able to 3D print yourself the innards to build your entire controller from scratch. That means that if you are on the hunt for a Steam Controller, you may be waiting for a bit while the sold-out gamepad is restocked. Fortunately, since Valve hasn’t given a release window yet for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headset, it’s probably not an essential purchase right this instant for most gamers. But it is a good controller if you can find one, and it’s a nifty idea for Valve to let people get creative with the casing.

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The Rolling Stones have announced their new album ‘Foreign Tongues’ and confirmed that it will feature guest appearances from Paul McCartney, Robert Smith and more.

The rock veterans seemingly confirmed the new record last month when a series of billboards popped up around the world, featuring their logo and reading ‘Foreign Tongues’ in various languages.

Mick Jagger and co. later shared the post on their official Instagram page, leading to some fans suspecting that it could be the title of their new album.

Before then, they dropped a teaser of new material under the alias ‘The Cockroaches’, releasing the energetic and charismatic single ‘Rough and Twisted’.

Now, the band have officially confirmed the new album and revealed that it will be released on July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. Visit here to pre-order.

The record will be formed of 14 songs and introduced by the infectious lead single ‘In The Stars’, which is released digitally today (Tuesday May 5) and will get a physical release on May 15.

It’ll also drop alongside the digital release of ‘Rough And Twisted’, and both tracks capture the raw and exploratory energy that the band lean into throughout the record.

Alongside Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, ‘Foreign Tongues’ also has one of the final recordings from late drummer Charlie Watts before his passing in 2021, as well as guest appearances from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The whole record was brought to life in less than one month at Metropolis Studios in West London, with production from Andrew Watt – who also worked with them on 2024’s ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

“I love doing these recording sessions in London at Metropolis,” said Jagger. “It was a very intense few weeks recording ‘Foreign Tongues’. We had 14 great tracks and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it’s not too big so you can feel the passion in the room from everyone.”

Richards added that the record has a sense of “continuity from ‘Hackney Diamonds’” and captures “that London vibe” that the last record had, while Wood added that the “the atmosphere in the room was so creative, and the whole band was on top form throughout the whole process”.

“Very often we nailed it on the first take. I hope everyone loves it,” he added.

The three members are set to attend a media launch for ‘Foreign Tongues’ later today in Brooklyn, New York.

The Rolling Stones are unlikely to announce a full tour anytime soon. In late 2025, they confirmed that they scrapped plans for a UK and European stadium tour in 2026 because Keith Richards was unable to “commit” to it.

The group embarked on their North American ‘Hackney Diamonds’ tour in 2024, with the trek landing at Number Six on the list of the highest-grossing music world tours of that year. They last played the UK in 2022, when two huge London BST Hyde Park gigs followed a stadium concert in Liverpool.

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It was quite a spectacular three-day weekend as the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance revved into Scripps Park.

The VIP Soiree Motorvault started the fun on Friday, followed by Porsches and Power on Prospect on Saturday, and wrapping up with the big competition on Sunday, with a beautiful 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster from The Lyon Collection winning Best in Show.

Chris Peterson and Michael Herman served as co-chairmen; G. Michael Dorvillier and Robert Kerner, Jr. as co-chairmen emeritus; and everyone’s favorite, the La Jolla Historical Society, was the lead beneficiary of the event.

The popular FlyBy was supported by Allen Airways Flying Museum and the San Diego Antique Airplane Association.

All in all, a win-win weekend for locals and visitors! 

El brillante concierto para violonchelo Dzonot, del compositor mexicano Gabriel Ortiz —que tendrá su estreno en San Diego el 9 y 10 de mayo a cargo de la Sinfónica de San Diego en el Jacobs Music Center— fue hecho a la medida de la chelista Alisa Weilerstein.

Literalmente. Ortiz, el compositor vivo más destacado de México, dijo que compuso la obra pensando en Weilerstein, el director Gustavo Dudamel y la Filarmónica de Los Ángeles. De manera figurada, la ambición, innovación, dificultad y el espíritu del concierto encajan con precisión en las múltiples fortalezas de Weilerstein, residente en San Diego.

Hablando desde Montreal, con su hija Ariadna, de 10 años, al alcance del oído, Weilerstein insiste en que el concierto de Ortiz está destinado a unirse a las obras maestras de Dvorák y Elgar dentro del núcleo del repertorio para violonchelo.
“Realmente va a perdurar y será parte del repertorio”, dijo Weilerstein. “Me impresiona lo claras y brillantes que son sus pinceladas de color. Incluso sin conocer el mensaje social, es muy evidente lo que la música está expresando y comunicando. Es simplemente una obra de arte maravillosa”.

El mensaje social de Dzonot (la palabra maya para “abismo”) es inequívoco. Los misteriosamente bellos cenotes —sumideros naturales llenos de agua— de la península de Yucatán en México están colapsando, en parte debido a la construcción. ¿Cómo capturar musicalmente la inquietante grandeza de este sistema único de cuevas subterráneas, el más grande del mundo, y las criaturas que lo habitan?

La partitura en cuatro movimientos, un auténtico tour de force de Ortiz —ganadora del Grammy a la Mejor Composición Clásica Contemporánea hace apenas tres meses— evoca vividísimamente el juego de luz, agua y sombra en las pozas acuáticas (“Luz Vertical”); comunica el delicado equilibrio ecológico del sistema de cenotes a través de su depredador apex, el jaguar, encarnado por el paso sigiloso del violonchelo (“Ojo de Jaguar”); conecta la fisicidad de los cenotes —los colores, sonidos, olores y refracciones brillantes del agua y las cámaras de piedra caliza— con el desastre ecológico amenazado por la marcha desalmada de la máquina (“Jade”); e imagina un futuro esperanzador mediante el símbolo mitológico del ave icónica del Yucatán (“El Pájaro Toh”), nuevamente encarnada por la chelista.

Desde pasajes extremos en el registro agudo y cadenzas repletas de armónicos y dobles cuerdas retorcidas, hasta demandas rítmicas y musicales agotadoras que exigen golpes de arco percutivos, una energía casi guitarrística y una coordinación intrincada con una orquesta equipada con 29 instrumentos de percusión distintos, Ortiz impone prácticamente todas las exigencias imaginables. Que haya dedicado Dzonot a Weilerstein lo dice todo sobre la confianza artística de la compositora.

“Hay muchísimos pasajes difíciles”, reconoció Weilerstein. “Técnicamente, ella empuja a todos al límite y, medio en broma, creo que disfruta hacerlo. Le gusta sacar a los intérpretes de su zona de confort. Así que tuve que tomarme mi tiempo con la obra, aprenderla, sentir que estaba completamente interiorizada. Es muy virtuosística —ya lo verán”.

Así como Dzonot es mucho más que su mensaje ambiental —también es una evocación de lo sagrado en la naturaleza y un canto a la riqueza de México—, su partitura es mucho más que un despliegue de orquestación deslumbrante. Tal como Weilerstein encontró el alma humana en el difícil concierto para violonchelo de Unsuk Chin el pasado mayo, su grabación de Dzonot en 2024 aporta continuamente calidez lírica y accesibilidad emocional al mundo sonoro ecológico y potencialmente abstracto de Ortiz. Basta escuchar sus líneas cantábiles suspendidas y evanescentes del primer movimiento, la “elegancia feroz” (en palabras de Andrew Farach-Colton) del segundo, o su fraseo amplio y ascendente en el final.

Aunque reconoce que la intención o el mensaje de una obra es “extremadamente importante”, al promover música nueva Weilerstein se enfoca en algo distinto.
“Busco gran música que, en mi opinión, hable más profundamente que un solo mensaje”, dijo. “Creo que (Dzonot) se refiere a mensajes más universales, sobre unirnos como seres humanos y conectarnos. Eso es lo que busco, algo con lo que yo conecte”.

La promoción constante de música nueva en la carrera de Weilerstein no es una crítica al repertorio central del violonchelo.
“El llamado repertorio estándar para violonchelo es muy pequeño, cinco, tal vez siete conciertos muy queridos”, señaló. “Son amados por una razón. Son obras maestras. Nunca me cansaré de ellos. Pero soy muy inquieta”.

Ve en el gran violonchelista ruso Mstislav Rostropóvich —para quien tocó a los 21 años— un modelo a seguir: alguien que honra el repertorio central sin ignorar la música de su tiempo.
“Es un gran ejemplo para mí para mantener la curiosidad y desarrollar relaciones con los compositores de nuestra época, y así crear un repertorio sólido para el siglo XXI”, dijo.

Ese interés por la música nueva siempre implica riesgo.
“Te enfrentas a una partitura que nadie ha tocado antes. Requiere una enorme confianza”, explicó Weilerstein. “El compositor tiene que confiar en mí para darle vida, cuidarla, dedicarle tiempo. De mi lado, no sé qué va a hacer realmente la compositora, hacia dónde irá. Existe el riesgo de haber malinterpretado lo que quería. Gracias a Dios, no fue el caso aquí. Ella quedó contenta”.

De hecho, existe un video en el que Ortiz le dice a Weilerstein, tras el primer ensayo de Dzonot, las palabras que todo solista espera escuchar:
“Escuché cosas que, honestamente, sonaron mejor que lo que yo tenía en la cabeza”.

Incluso para Weilerstein, hay un límite a cuánta música nueva puede asumir. En 2025 estrenó tres nuevos conciertos (Dzonot, Returning into Darkness de Thomas Larcher y The Recovery of Paradise de Richard Blackford), y para su innovador proyecto multimedia FRAGMENTS estrenó quince piezas cortas adicionales de compositores destacados para vincular las suites para violonchelo de Bach.

“Todo culminó con que presenté el proyecto FRAGMENTS completo, seis horas de música, en el Festival de Spoleto USA en una sola semana. Tres de los programas se tocaban por primera vez. Fue una locura”, recordó. “Ahora hay un pequeño respiro después de esta explosión de encargos”. Pero rápidamente agregó: “Me da gusto decir que en noviembre haré el estreno europeo del concierto de Wynton Marsalis”.

Con las funciones del 9 y 10 de mayo de Dzonot —apenas la octava y novena interpre­tación mundial—, el público de San Diego podrá disfrutar de un verdadero encuentro de mentes entre una compositora y una intérprete que colocan al ritmo en el centro de su creación musical.

“Si alguien te habla con pura emoción total, ni siquiera entenderás lo que dice”, explicó Weilerstein. “El ritmo es lo que da estructura, emoción y propósito a todo. Piensa en las piezas que realmente te conmueven y al mismo tiempo tienen sentido. Eso lo da el ritmo. Hay que saber dónde empieza una frase y dónde está su cima y su valle. Eso es ritmo”.

Pero el compromiso emocional no es una preocupación para ella.
“Hay muchas cosas en las que debo pensar al interpretar una obra, pero esa no es una de ellas”, dijo. “La música siempre me impacta de forma muy visceral. Expresar eso, canalizarlo, ha sido mi reto de vida: casar el corazón con la mente. Eso es en lo que siempre trabajo cuando estoy dando forma a algo por primera vez. Pero la inversión

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IMPERIAL, California—El nuevo centro de datos propuesto para una tranquila ciudad a unas 115 millas al este de San Diego apareció en el radar de la gente de distintas maneras.

Para los clientes de la tienda de delicatessen en West Aten Road, fueron los letreros blancos de “Not In My Backyard” sobresaliendo de los jardines.

Para los trabajadores del distrito local de irrigación, fue algo llamado una “solicitud de servicio eléctrico”.

Para Margie Padilla, fue un desahogo en Facebook.

La madre de 43 años se topó con una publicación en línea la primavera pasada, cuando tuvo unos minutos para revisar las redes sociales tras pasar el día cuidando su jardín y atendiendo a sus dos hijos.

“Alguien se estaba quejando de este centro”, dijo Padilla. “Y pensé: ‘¿Qué está pasando aquí?’”.

Lo que está pasando es la construcción del segundo centro de datos más grande del estado, que estaría a menos de media milla de la casa de Padilla, en el corazón del Valle Imperial. Si se completa en 2028, como espera el desarrollador, el centro de datos de al menos 950,000 pies cuadrados y dos pisos podría convertirse en el más grande en operación en todo California, ocupando un terreno equivalente a 17 campos de fútbol.

El centro de datos, con un costo aproximado de 10,000 millones de dólares y una capacidad de 330 megavatios, requeriría 750,000 galones de agua al día para operar, dijo el desarrollador Sebastian Rucci, quien insiste en que los costos de electricidad y agua no aumentarán debido al proyecto.

“Tenemos estudios sobre el aire. Tenemos estudios sobre el agua. La electricidad se puede manejar”, dijo Rucci. “Hicimos la tarea”.

Los funcionarios de Imperial no han disipado las preocupaciones locales. Solo han señalado que el proyecto enfrenta litigios y que los impactos a largo plazo del centro sobre los servicios públicos aún no han sido determinados.

Además de la carga financiera de mantener la salud de su familia, los gastos de gasolina y alimentos, a Padilla le preocupa que un nuevo centro de datos solo incremente los costos del agua y la electricidad. Con el paso del tiempo, sus temores han aumentado, y no está sola.

Algunos residentes verían el nuevo centro de datos directamente desde sus patios traseros.

“Solo puedo imaginar que las tarifas van a subir una vez que ese centro de datos esté funcionando”, dijo, protegiéndose los ojos del sol intenso.

Este es uno de los dos docenas de centros de datos que se espera entren en operación en California en los próximos años.

Crece la preocupación y persisten los vacíos regulatorios

La mayoría de los encuestados en un sondeo nacional de la U.S. Water Alliance comparten las preocupaciones de Padilla: el 54% dijo estar extremadamente o muy preocupado por el efecto que los centros de datos tendrán sobre la calidad del agua, el suministro y los costos en su área.

En la primera pregunta sobre centros de datos incluida en la encuesta desde que comenzó en 2016, dos tercios de los votantes dijeron que era importante que su estado cuente con un plan para abordar los efectos de los centros de datos sobre el agua en los próximos años.

“Sospecho que, conforme los centros de datos sigan avanzando, estos números probablemente sigan aumentando”, dijo Scott Berry, asesor principal de política y asuntos externos de la U.S. Water Alliance, entrevistado este mes durante la Water Week en Washington, D.C.

Más del 90% de los centros de datos en Estados Unidos obtienen la mayor parte del agua que necesitan de los sistemas municipales, dijo Shaolei Ren, profesor asociado de ingeniería eléctrica y computacional de la Universidad de California, Riverside.

Durante los días más calurosos del verano, una instalación grande de 100 megavatios puede utilizar cerca de un millón de galones de agua para enfriamiento por evaporación, el equivalente al consumo diario de unas 10,000 personas en sus hogares, explicó Ren.

Sin embargo, señaló que estos centros requieren “cero agua durante muchos días del año cuando las temperaturas son frescas”.

Algunos centros de datos están explorando alternativas como el uso de aguas residuales tratadas o aguas grises en lugar de agua potable, lo que puede reducir la presión sobre los suministros locales.

California no exige que los centros de datos —incluidos los dedicados a inteligencia artificial— informen su uso de agua, y la Junta Estatal de Control de Recursos Hídricos no mantiene una lista específica de derechos de agua asociados a estos centros. Los intentos recientes por obligar a mayor transparencia han fracasado.

El auge de los centros de datos se suma a los desafíos que enfrentan los cientos de distritos de agua del estado, la prolongada megasequía del suroeste y la disminución del río Colorado.

“El agua no es únicamente un problema ambiental”, dijo Ren. “En muchos lugares, es esencialmente un desafío de infraestructura”.

Si bien un centro de datos puede construirse en dos o tres años, desarrollar nuevas fuentes de suministro de agua puede tomar hasta 20 años.

Infraestructura bajo presión

Según analistas de Cleanview, el proyecto del Condado Imperial es uno de los 24 centros de datos planeados para completarse en California de aquí a 2030.

Con base en los aproximadamente 1.7 gigavatios de electricidad que usarían los centros de datos propuestos, los costos de actualización de infraestructura hídrica en el estado podrían oscilar entre 200 y 800 millones de dólares, estimó Ren.

No existe una autoridad estatal única que otorgue permisos para centros de datos, y la mayoría son regulados por gobiernos locales, según la Comisión de Servicios Públicos de California. El sitio Data Center Map registra actualmente 286 instalaciones en operación en el estado.

Aunque California solo está detrás de Virginia y Texas en número de centros de datos, sus instalaciones suelen tener menor capacidad eléctrica nueva, lo que puede traducirse en una menor demanda total de agua, según la Data Center Coalition.

A nivel nacional, los centros de datos utilizan alrededor de 39,000 millones de galones de agua al año, de acuerdo con la investigación citada por la coalición.

Como comparación, solo la irrigación de alfalfa en el Valle Imperial consume más de 800,000 millones de galones anuales, destacó un ensayo publicado recientemente en la revista Outside.

El dilema de Imperial

El terreno en West Aten Road no revela nada del colosal centro de datos que algún día podría levantarse allí. Rucci espera que el proyecto esté en funcionamiento para el verano de 2028.

Antes de comenzar la construcción, un juez deberá decidir sobre la demanda interpuesta por la ciudad de Imperial, y el Imperial Irrigation District deberá concluir su evaluación del impacto en agua y energía.

Padilla, por su parte, observa su jardín con inquietud. Actualmente paga entre 90 y 130 dólares mensuales por agua, drenaje y basura, más del doble que hace seis años.

“También temo que nos impongan restricciones de agua a los residentes”, dijo. “Eso sería devastador para mí, sobre todo por mi jardín. Cultivo mi propia comida”.

Inside Climate News es la sala de redacción especializada en clima más antigua y grande del país.

A total of 6,275 seniors are expected to graduate from San Diego Unified School District high schools this year, a 1% increase compared to last year, district leaders said Monday.

The students will matriculate from 25 district high schools, including 157 in the inaugural graduating senior class from Logan Memorial High School.

Superintendent Fabi Bagula, Board of Education President Richard Barrera, and campus administrators touted the graduating class’s career readiness at an appearance on Monday.

They also spoke of the district’s graduation rates.

“Graduation is a testament to the resilience, talent, and determination of our students,” Bagula said. “Our seniors leave San Diego Unified not only with academic knowledge, but with the skills to thrive in a complex world.

“We are deeply committed to ensuring every student is prepared and empowered to pursue their dreams. This graduating class is ready to live a choice-filled life.”

San Diego Unified estimates that 91% of its seniors will graduate on time.

Additionally, 732 graduating seniors are on pace to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, awarded to high school students who demonstrate proficiency in English and at least one other language, a 6% increase over last year’s 687 recipients.

“Today we celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our graduating seniors and the journeys that brought them here,” Barrera said.

“San Diego Unified has worked to create opportunities that open doors. These graduates are stepping into the next chapter with confidence, purpose, and a strong foundation. We are proud to have helped prepare leaders who will contribute meaningfully to their communities and beyond.”

Estudiantes de todo el condado de San Diego tendrán la oportunidad de extraer lecciones de uno de los periodos más oscuros de la historia humana gracias a un nuevo museo digital sobre ruedas.

Un semirremolque expandible construido especialmente, que puede reservarse en línea y trasladarse a escuelas y centros comunitarios, ofrece una experiencia museística inmersiva para explicar el Holocausto: cómo el régimen nazi asesinó sistemáticamente a seis millones de judíos europeos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

El proyecto, llamado Spark Interactive, es una iniciativa del Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education y de la Federación Judía de San Diego.

El museo móvil fue presentado el domingo durante una ceremonia realizada dentro de un hangar en Montgomery Field, a la que asistieron el alcalde Todd Gloria y líderes comunitarios. Entre el público se encontraban sobrevivientes del Holocausto de edad avanzada que ahora viven en San Diego, tras los horrores que enfrentaron en su juventud en Europa.

Darren Schwartz, director fundador del Goldberg Institute, reconoció a esos sobrevivientes mientras explicaba por qué la educación sobre el Holocausto es importante.

“Tenemos que preguntarnos: ¿cómo entenderán realmente las futuras generaciones lo que ocurrió? ¿Cómo comprenderán lo que sucede cuando el odio queda sin respuesta?”, dijo Schwartz.

El museo móvil, que se expande hasta alcanzar 560 pies cuadrados y cuenta con muros interactivos de video, está diseñado para llevar la historia del Holocausto a los estudiantes y ayudarlos a comprender las consecuencias del odio, la desinformación y el colapso de las normas democráticas.

“Los estudiantes no solo aprenden qué sucedió durante el Holocausto”, dijo. “Exploran cómo sucedió y qué significa para el mundo en el que viven hoy. Porque no se trata solo de historia; se trata de responsabilidad”.

El proyecto cuenta con el respaldo de una donación principal multimillonaria de Lee Goldberg, la familia Goldberg y otras organizaciones judías, así como de la Fundación Prebys, la fundación privada independiente más grande de San Diego.

“Como la primera organización no judía en apoyar este esfuerzo, participamos de manera muy intencional. Porque el Holocausto no es solo historia judía; es historia humana. Sus lecciones nos pertenecen a todos”, dijo Grant Oliphant, director ejecutivo de la fundación.

“En un momento de creciente división, distorsión y normalización del odio, este tipo de educación no es opcional. Es esencial si nos importa una sociedad democrática sana y pluralista”, añadió Oliphant.

El alcalde Gloria recordó que la bibliotecaria de su escuela primaria era una sobreviviente del Holocausto que tenía un número tatuado en el brazo.

“Ella prestaba los libros y los sellaba, y yo veía la marca en su brazo”, dijo. “Me pregunto cuántos de nuestros niños van a tener esas mismas experiencias para entender lo horrendo que fue esto”.

Elogió el proyecto Spark Interactive porque “nos ayudará a cumplir la promesa de nunca olvidar e inspirará a todos para asegurarnos de que nunca vuelva a ocurrir”.

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STREAMING service Prime Video will have a new Filipino romance drama series, titled Love Is Never Gone, starting May 8.

Produced by ABS-CBN Studios and Dreamscape Entertainment, it stars Joshua Garcia and Ivana Alawi, marking the first time the two celebrities will lead a series together.

Set in Morocco, it blends romance and suspense, following two lost souls who find strength and love in each other only to discover that lies and betrayal threaten to derail their happiness.

For Ms. Alawi, the series was a rare chance to do something both action-packed and romantic in another country — most importantly, with a reliable co-star.

“Joshua is more than just an actor. Napakabait niyang tao (He’s a very kind person). He’s generous and he treats everyone with respect,” she said during a press launch on April 28 in Quezon City.

Her role also requires speaking different languages, as she plays a woman who takes on various high-risk jobs to survive. Though the actress was raised in Bahrain by a Moroccan father, she spoke neither Arabic nor French, which are two languages her character speaks.

“Inaral ko nang tatlong araw bago mag-shoot. Multilingual ako dito. Kahit Spanish alam ko rin (I studied for three days before shooting. I’m multilingual here. I even know Spanish),” she said.

“Kapag dumadating sa set, smiling si Ivana. Iirap-irap lang ’yan pero mahal kami niyan (When she arrives on set, Ivana is smiling. She always glares at us but she loves us),” Mr. Garcia said of his co-star at the press launch.

“Mabilis siya umiyak sa mga eksena. Natutuwa ako kasi same page na kami palagi (She cries very easily in our scenes. I’m glad because we’re always on the same page),” he added.

As for their chemistry, the actor explained that it was both natural and due to the bonding opportunities they had while filming in Morocco.

‘FILMIC APPROACH’
Love Is Never Gone has all sorts of twists and turns. Teo (played by Mr. Garcia) is a devoted son who works in Morocco in order to give his family a better life, while Yana (played by Ms. Alawi) has ties to a crime syndicate which leads to an inevitable betrayal of their budding romance.

While the first few episodes are largely set in Morocco, the story picks up years later back in the Philippines, when Teo encounters Yana who now goes by a different identity.

“It’s really full of action. There’s a lot to look forward to and be surprised by,” Ms. Alawi said.

Director Emmanuel Palo told the press that the “filmic approach” of the show is only right given that it will stream not only in the Philippines, but in other countries and territories.

“We firmly believe our audience deserves nothing less,” he said. “Aside from the visuals, it’s really the narrative. Yes, it looks and sounds good, but our creative team really worked hard to give us a story that’s relatable and real, with characters that are truthful.”

Fellow director Jojo Saguin explained that the series offers a blend of things that not many people expect to see, all in one.

“The camera angling is different, the action scenes plus the undeniable chemistry of our two stars is quite different, and there’s the texture of Morocco,” she said.

“Of course, love for family is the core,” she explained, of the themes that viewers can expect in the show. “Matapos na ang lahat, sa pamilya ka pa rin babalik (After everything, you still go back to family).”

Also in the cast are Jameson Blake, Jane Oineza, Michael de Mesa, Epy Quizon, Fyang Smith, JM Ibarra, Dina Bonnevie, and Ara Mina.

The production is one of several collaborations between ABS-CBN and Prime Video, all aiming to bring Filipino entertainment to more viewers worldwide.

Love Is Never Gone is scheduled to premiere on May 8. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Sharon S. Garin on Monday said oil companies must implement a price hike of not more than P2.66 per liter for diesel and P2.21 per liter for gasoline.

The rollback in the price of kerosene on the other hand, should be capped at P3.53 per liter, Ms. Garin said.

Ms. Garin said the global oil market has been calming down compared with the previous weeks.

In line with the DoE guidance, Seaoil Philippines, Inc. and Petron Corp. announced they would raise prices by P2.21 per liter for gasoline and P2.66 per liter for diesel starting Tuesday. The firms will lower kerosene prices by P3.53 per liter.

On the other hand, Jetti Petroleum, Inc. is set to hike the price of gasoline by P2.20 per liter and diesel by P2.60 per liter.

The Energy chief said the peso depreciation added upward pressure on oil prices.

On Monday, the peso closed at P61.565 per dollar, weakening by eight centavos from its P61.485 finish on Thursday. This is just a tad stronger than the peso’s record-low close of P61.567 on April 29.

With the new adjustments, prevailing oil prices at the pump in Metro Manila and highly urbanized areas are expected to reach as high as P107.11 per liter for gasoline, P107.48 per liter for diesel, and P146.46 per liter for kerosene.

“Now it seems like (global oil prices are) steadying at a certain pace and hopefully it stays like that. There’s no assurance. The Department of Energy cannot give an assurance that prices are going up or down,” Ms. Garin said.

Meanwhile, the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has gone up by P1.22 per kilogram this month, pushing the price of an 11-kilo cylinder to P1,070.41 – P1,701.77.

According to Ms. Garin, the country’s fuel inventory can sustain demand for approximately 53.71 days as of May 1, decreasing from 54 days last week.

The average inventory for gasoline is at 52.64 days, 54.58 days for diesel, 166.67 days for kerosene, 71.14 days for jet fuel, 62.69 days for fuel oil, and 40.46 days for LPG.

“There’s been a decrease on the consumption or on the demand, but there is no problem as to the deliveries that our oil companies are getting,” Ms. Garin said. “Their orders are being honored, their contracts are being honored…. Our usual and new suppliers are responding to the orders of our companies.”

Despite a slight decline in the fuel inventory, Ms. Garin said the government is not yet looking to procure additional supply after importing more than 150 million liters of diesel.

“For now, that will be used for whatever purpose aligns with our priorities. However, there’s no need to place another order yet,” she said.

On the proposed legislation to remove value-added tax (VAT) on electricity components, Ms. Garin said they are in favor of this measure as long as it would help lower costs.

“We have been consistent in our opinion on VAT removal because anything that would lower the price of electricity, the DoE supports,” she said. — S.J.Talavera

Data from the Public-Private Partnership Center showed that 168 projects worth P3.02 trillion will be implemented by the National Government, while 84 projects worth P136.26 billion will be carried out by local government units.

Most of the projects, or 194, are solicited or government-initiated, while the remaining 57 projects are unsolicited.

In terms of project value, the railway sector accounted for the largest share at P1.97 trillion, followed by land transport at P274.06 billion and property development at P221.46 billion.

By number, the transport sector accounted for the most projects at 94, followed by property development (46) and information and communications technology sector (23).

Nigel Paul C. Villarete, a senior adviser on public-private partnerships at Libra Konsult, Inc., said the concentration on transport projects reflects its role in enabling other projects.

“Most projects cannot offer their full financial and economic contribution to development without the means of transportation of people, products, and capital from the producer to the user,” he said in a Viber message.

“That is why many people are interested in it (transport sector) because the sector is the enabler of economic development,” he added.

According to the PPP Center, most of the projects will be located in the National Capital Region (38), Central Luzon (32), and Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (Mimaropa) Region (29).

However, a large majority, or 224 PPP projects worth P2.65 trillion, are still under the project preparation stage.

Meanwhile, 17 projects worth P141.86 billion are under the approval stage, while 11 projects worth P371 billion are in the procurement stage. 

With most projects still being prepared, Mr. Villarete said budget constraints are a key factor preventing them from proceeding.

“There are a lot of feasible projects which can be undertaken anytime but we are always constrained by the limitations imposed by our ability to spend,” he said.

“That is why it is very important to have a firm and rigid project evaluation system which is based on the economic internal rate of return,” he added.

Mr. Villarete also said external risks, such the conflict in the Middle East, are not expected to have a significant impact on PPP projects.

“Maybe there might be slight hesitation (from investors) but I do not think there is a cause for it,” he said. “But overall, I do not see any sizable slowing down of PPPs due to (the Middle East) war,” he added.

In an interview in late March, PPP Center Executive Director Rizza Blanco-Latorre told BusinessWorld that the center does not expect the conflict to affect the PPP pipeline in the near term, although a prolonged war could have an impact.

The Philippines, a net oil importer of crude oil, is extremely vulnerable to global crude price swings. It is under a one-year state of national energy emergency amid soaring fuel prices and declining reserves. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

In a report dated May 1, Nomura Global Markets Research said gross domestic product (GDP) may have expanded by 2.9% in the January-March period, slowing from 3% in the previous quarter and 5.4% in the same period last year.

“We expect GDP growth to moderate further to 2.9% year on year in Q1 from 3% in Q4, still led by a slump in construction activity due to the corruption controversy,” it said.

In 2025, the Philippine economy grew by 4.4% — a post-pandemic low — as a flood control scandal curtailed government spending, hurt consumption, and dampened business and consumer confidence.

“We also expect private sector spending to remain subdued, particularly household consumption, weighed by weak sentiment and rising costs,” Nomura said.

On the other hand, analysts from Deutsche Bank Research forecast first-quarter GDP to expand by 3.3%, slightly better than the 3% growth in the fourth quarter.

“While we expect some recovery in household consumption in the quarter, aggregate growth could be weighed down by high base effects from a frontloading of government spending in Q1 last year (+18.7% year on year) before the May 2025 midterm elections,” they said in a note released on Monday.

A BusinessWorld poll of 21 economists and analysts conducted last week yielded a median estimate of 3.4% for the first-quarter GDP, well below the government’s 5%-6% target for the year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release the first-quarter GDP report on Thursday.

HOT INFLATION
Meanwhile, prolonged oil price shocks may have continued to stoke inflation in April, with the headline print likely accelerating to its fastest pace in three years.

Nomura analysts said headline inflation may have quickened to 6.2% in April from 4.1% in March and 1.4% in April 2025. This would bring inflation to its fastest since the 6.6% recorded in April 2023.

Fluctuating global oil prices amid uncertainties surrounding the Middle East war kept domestic fuel prices high in April. However, several local fuel retailers began to roll back fuel prices in the week of April 14.

Last month, pump price adjustments stood at a net decrease of P0.58 per liter for gasoline, P28.18 per liter for diesel and P17.71 per liter for kerosene.

Nomura likewise sees broader spillover effects heating up core inflation to 3.7% in April from 3.2% in March.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has said second-round price effects from the war emerged earlier than expected, prompting caution over the core inflation print.

The BSP noted that the recent uptick in energy inflation has begun to spill over to the costs of fertilizer, transport and food.

On the other hand, Deutsche Bank Research sees the headline clip coming in at 5.5%, the fastest since the 6.1% in September 2023.

“(The) Philippines (5.5%) and Thailand (1.5%) could see the largest increase in inflation by ~1.5%-point each, the former of which would be meaningfully above BSP’s 2-4% inflation target, but well-within BoT’s (Bank of Thailand) 1-3%,” it said.

Based on a BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts, the consumer price index in April is estimated to be at 5.5%, slightly below the BSP’s 5.6%-6.4% forecast for the month.

The PSA is set to publish the April inflation data on Tuesday. — Katherine K. Chan

PHILIPPINE FACTORY activity contracted for the first time in five months in April amid a sharp decline in new orders, S&P Global said on Monday.

The S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slumped to 48.3, a reversal from 51.3 in March, reflecting a “moderate deterioration in operating conditions.”

A PMI reading below 50 shows a deterioration in operating conditions from the previous month, while a reading above 50 signals an improvement.

“The Philippine manufacturing sector started the second quarter of 2026 with a renewed worsening of operating conditions as the headline index fell below the neutral 50 reading for the first time in five months,” Maryam Baluch, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a report.

April marked the first contraction in PMI since the 47.4 reading in November 2025.

Aside from the Philippines, Indonesia (49.1) was the only other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member that saw a contraction in PMI in April.

In contrast, Malaysia had the highest PMI (51.6), followed by Myanmar (50.9) and Vietnam (50.5).

For the Philippines, S&P Global said new orders declined rapidly, while production stalled.

According to S&P, the decline in new orders was the steepest since August 2021.

“Total new sales were also weighed down by a deteriorating export market demand picture,” said Ms. Baluch.

Philippine manufacturers reported that new export orders fell at a “notably accelerated and rapid pace” in April, as closed trade routes resulted in a pause in shipments and created hesitancy among customers.

S&P Global said this was the steepest decline in new export orders since mid-2020, at the height of the pandemic lockdowns.

“Total new sales were also weighed down by a deteriorating export market demand picture,” Ms. Baluch said.

Manufacturing firms also saw sluggish production levels in April.

“Production levels stagnated, and firms made cuts to purchasing and hiring activity as they grappled with high costs, often said to be feeding through from the war in the Middle East,” Ms. Baluch added.

Input price inflation accelerated to its fastest pace since December 2022, which firms attributed to higher energy and shipping costs linked to the war in the Middle East.

“Costs were largely passed on to clients through a sharp and stronger rise in factory gate charges. The rate of selling price inflation was the quickest in 41 months,” S&P Global said.

Manufacturers saw a drop in buying activity for a second month in a row in April, as they turned to inventories to meet production requirements. This led to the biggest reduction in pre-production inventories since 2020.

S&P Global noted that rising costs drove manufacturers to slash staffing numbers. This marked the first decline in hiring activity this year.

Despite a drop in employment, Philippine firms reported lower backlogs amid a sharp reduction in new orders.

“Looking at supply chains, April marked a further deterioration in vendor performance. Average lead times for inputs lengthened solidly. Longer delivery times were widely linked to the war in the Middle East,” S&P Global said.

Despite the challenges, manufacturers reported stronger business confidence, underpinned by hopes of a growing client base and improving demand.

“Manufacturing firms in the Philippines expect to shake off current woes, as confidence for the year ahead rose to a 17-month high,” Ms. Baluch said.

Francisco Cid L. Terosa, an associate professor and former dean of the School of Economics of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said that the manufacturing decline in April reflects the adverse impact of the Middle East conflict.

“The flow of key manufacturing inputs like petroleum products and by-products, liquefied natural gas, and the like was clearly disrupted by the ongoing crisis,” Mr. Terosa said in a Viber message.

“If the conflict persists, I expect the deterioration of the PMI to deepen and the growth prospects of the manufacturing sector to dim,” he added.

The president of the San Diego Police Officers Association is out less than a year after he was installed. 

That’s because Police Chief Scott Wahl is trying to fire him, reports Will Huntsberry. 

What happened: Earlier this year, Sergeant Jeremy Huff took to Facebook and brashly defended the actions of an officer caught on video beating a man who had his hands behind his head. The police chief had suggested the cop could have reacted better. Two months later, Huff received his termination papers. He had opportunities to challenge his firing. But he didn’t.

Huntsberry delved deeper into Huff’s record on the force, shedding more light on why Huff might have been at odds with the chief. 

Huff himself got a written warning for using unjustified force when he excessively punched a homeless person in 2020. He was also charged with falsifying his vehicle registration. And he participated in the shooting of a homeless man during an encampment cleanup, though that shooting was later ruled justified. 

Read the full story here. 

State Validates Midway Rising Theory on Height Limit

We reported in November that the developers of the ambitious Midway Rising project were not sweating a court ruling that struck down the second ballot measure voters approved to lift the building height limit in the Midway area.

The developers insisted it didn’t halt their project because they could rely on the state’s density-bonus law. It essentially allows builders to waive local restrictions on things like height if they are building affordable housing.

But the city’s leaders — in particular Mayor Todd Gloria and City Attorney Heather Ferbert — were conspicuously unwilling to say they agreed.

Now, the state has sent a letter to the city validating the theory. We have it in the Politics Report.

Also in the Politics Report: Supporters of a new half-cent sales tax for the county of San Diego are turning in signatures.

Normally this Politics Report is for Voice members only but this one has some breaking news worth sharing more broadly.

Read the Politics Report here.

Point-in-Time Count Shows Drop in Street Homelessness

San Diego’s latest homeless census found a 11 percent drop in unsheltered homelessness and a 12 percent spike in people staying in shelters.

The bottom line: A 1 percent year-over-year drop in homelessness countywide.

Our Lisa Halverstadt broke down the results of the January census overseen by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness and shared year-round numbers that shed more light on the much larger scope of the crisis.

Read the full story here. 

Sacramento Report: State Supreme Court Deals Blow to Coastal Commission

The powerful state commission charged with preserving California’s natural coastlines and access to them lost another battle to housing developers. 

The state Supreme Court unanimously overturned the California Coastal Commission’s vote to block four homes from being built in Los Osos over habitat and water quality concerns. While the decision doesn’t impact the commission’s authority, it comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom re-stacked the commission with pro-development appointees. Critics have said the commission has been overstepping its mission to enforce the 1976 Coastal Act. 

Our Nadia Lathan gets into the weeds on the battle between coastal preservation and housing interests in her Sacramento Report.

Read the full newsletter here.

In Other News 

• This week on the Voice of San Diego podcast, the hosts discuss the meteor heading for the city of San Diego’s budget, plus the fight of a plane on top of a house in Coronado.
• San Diego Humane Society embarked a massive rescue operation at a supposed animal sanctuary near Julian on Friday. (Fox 5)
• As California prepares to share driver’s license data with a private nationwide network, privacy advocates worry the move will give federal agencies access to drivers’ immigration status. (NBC 7)
• Following criticism of its pyrotechnics, SeaWorld’s first fireworks-replacing drone show will debut May 22. “Oceans of Dreams” will run nightly throughout the summer featuring 600 fully synchronized drones forming the shape of marin animals. (Fox 5)
• A former graduate student at the University of California-San Diego is suing the university and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office alleging her arrest at a crack-down of a pro-Palestinian protest violated her civil rights. (Union-Tribune)

The post Morning Report: The Downfall of Police Union Leader appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

Diego Armando Acosta goes to the beach with his father almost weekly to surf along the Baja California coast.

Though they live in Tijuana, the father and son said they often choose to head to beaches further south around Rosarito to look for cleaner water.

“It’s better,” the father, Diego Acosta, told me in Spanish. “You can see the difference.”

A nationwide study from the Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios of water quality in Mexico’s beaches at the end of March found concerning water contamination in several areas just south of the border. Of the 17 states with beaches, only Baja California had water contamination levels that meant some of its beaches were not safe for swimming.

Last year, the commission found that three states had beaches with concerning levels of contamination — Baja California, Guerrero and Nayarit.

Sewage contaminating ocean waters has led to long-term beach closures and even political careers on the U.S.-side of the border, particularly in Imperial Beach. But the contamination also affects beaches along Mexico’s shoreline.

Officials from both sides of the border met last week in Tijuana to announce another large investment in infrastructure work to try to fix the issue.

The beaches flagged in Mexico’s nationwide study as not suitable for water activities were not those closest to the border wall itself. The study found elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal matter in San Antonio Del Mar, Baja Malibú and Playa Blanca, which are a short drive south of the main Playas beaches on the way to Rosarito. The three locations are private beaches controlled by gated communities.

But, a separate study published at the end of March by Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental found unsafe levels of those bacteria in beaches much closer to the border wall including El Vigía, Cañada Azteca and Parque México. (The part of the beach closest to the border wall, known as El Faro, appeared safe.) 

Proyecto Fronterizo, a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, monitors water conditions weekly with tests on Thursdays and posts on the organization’s social media channels on Fridays.

April studies showed downward fluctuations in contamination levels, but as recently as April 16, Cañada Azteca still showed signs of high contamination.

I met the Acosta family between Parque México and Cañada Azteca on a Sunday afternoon soon after Proyecto Fronterizo posted those test results. Along the beach, people swam, lounged under umbrellas and listened to the tunes of roving musicians.

The majority of beachgoers clustered closer to El Faro, where vendors circulated with sunglasses and an array of snacks. The vendors I spoke with didn’t seem to have much sense of whether the beach crowds change depending on the water contamination levels.

But, the younger Acosta, standing with his surfboard, said he keeps a close watch on the water contamination level testing and avoids the beach when the bacteria get too high. He said that when he surfs closer to the border in Playas de Tijuana, the water irritates his eyes. But sometimes he surfs there anyway because he doesn’t want to make the drive to Rosarito, he said.

A little further north along the beach, a family of five played in the edge of the surf. 

Alex Briseño, the father, said that the family didn’t know anything about the water contamination. 

“We don’t worry,” Briseño said. “The Mexican stomach is very tough.”

He said they live in Tijuana, but they don’t come to the beach very often. They had spent the whole afternoon there, playing in the waves and eating snacks from the vendors who walked up and down the sand. As he spoke to me, his daughter buried his feet in wet sand.

Thank you for reading. I’m open for tips, suggestions and feedback on Instagram @katemorrisseyjournalist and on Bluesky @bgirledukate.

In Other News

Lawyers in training: Gustavo Solis reported for KPBS that University of San Diego has a law clinic where student lawyers can help immigrants at Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Gun range: Federal immigration officials have been renting out the San Diego sheriff’s firing range training facility for years, Sofía Mejías-Pascoe reported for inewsource. That includes both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officials, who have collectively paid about $235,000 to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department since 2024.

Body cameras: Some Tijuana police officers have started wearing body cameras, particularly in tourist areas, Alexandra Mendoza reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Steel imports: Adelina Dayebi Pazos reported for El Sol de Tijuana that Tijuana’s construction industry depends on U.S. steel, though Mexico is looking for ways to bolster its own steel production in light of U.S. tariffs.

Lawsuit threats: Punto Norte reported that the mayor of Tecate has threatened to sue the digital publication over reporting related to a removal of a 90-year-old woman and her family from a ranch.

Sanctuary lawsuit: The city of El Cajon sued the state of California over its laws limiting police interactions with federal immigration officials, Alex Riggins reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The post Border Report: Mexico’s Dirtiest Beaches appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

I am a honey fanatic. On sourdough bread with lots of butter, in smoothies or Asian stir fries, I can’t get enough. I justify my habit based on some vague recollection of hearing that it has some health benefits, but am I kidding myself?

Honey is often thought of as a healthier alternative to refined white sugar because it is less processed and doesn’t cause the same blood sugar spikes. It’s plant nectar, thickened by bees, and mostly comprises the simple sugars glucose and fructose, along with traces of lesser-known sugars like trehalose, kojibiose, nigerose, melibiose, gentiobiose and palatinose. But whether it’s “healthier” than other sugars depends on where the bees sourced their nectar.

One measure we can use to compare sugars and honey is the glycaemic index (GI), which gauges how quickly a food increases blood sugar. For refined white sugar, the GI is around 65, while honeys clock in all over the GI range. Honey made from the nectar of the Middle Eastern Sidr tree, for example, has a GI of just 32, but honey made from Greek thyme has a GI up at 85. (If you’re curious about your favourite variety, you can look up the GI values of different honeys on the University of Sydney’s enormous GI database.)

One reason for this variation is the different ratios of glucose and fructose. Glucose quickly raises blood sugar, whereas fructose does not, so this ratio affects GI. Refined sugar has a less variable GI because it always contains equal parts glucose and fructose that are packaged together as sucrose.

Another reason some honeys have low GI values is because they contain other components like phenolic acids and flavonoids that slow down the absorption of glucose in the gut. These components also have antioxidant properties, which are thought to make them mildly protective against cancer, heart disease and other conditions related to oxidative stress. However, you’re probably better off getting these antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, since those foods contain higher amounts while also being lower in sugar and calories.

Raw honey, the type you usually find at local markets, is considered healthier than mass-produced brands because it retains more phenolic acids and flavonoids. This is honey taken straight from the hive and simply strained into jars. Unlike raw milk, raw honey is considered pretty safe. The main risk is contamination with Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which produce botulinum toxin – a neurotoxin that paralyses muscles, which is why it is used in Botox treatments. The toxin is particularly dangerous for infants under the age of 1, which is why parents are advised not to give them honey (probably good to avoid Botox at that age as well).

Mass-produced honeys are pasteurised to kill microbes, which makes them safer and extends their shelf lives, but also destroys some beneficial antioxidants. Some commercial honey products have also been found to be adulterated with cheap sugar syrups. Others that advertise themselves as natural aphrodisiacs have even been found to contain tadalafil, the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis.

A simple way to gauge the content of valuable phenolic acids and flavonoids in your honey is by its colour, with darker honeys generally containing higher amounts. I buy a beautiful deep brown raw honey from a home beekeeper who lives a few blocks away, and find it far tastier than supermarket honey, perhaps because it contains more of these flavoursome components. His bees make the honey from local Eucalyptus trees, which hopefully means it has a relatively low GI, based on testing of other Eucalyptus honeys.

I’ve heard that consuming local honey can be good for hay fever, but unfortunately this isn’t true. The thinking behind this myth is that honey contains traces of pollens that bees pick up from local plants, which might train the immune system to tolerate these pollens better. However, hay fever is caused by pollen from trees that aren’t visited by bees. These trees spread their pollen via the wind rather than by hitching on bees, which is how it ends up in your nose.

On the other hand, there is evidence that honey can slightly alleviate sore throats and coughs caused by viral or bacterial infections, perhaps owing to its comforting texture and natural antimicrobial properties. A review of all previous studies concluded that honey was better than nothing for reducing cough symptoms in children and about as effective as over-the-counter cough medicines. This will be obvious to anyone who has brewed up a lemon and ginger tea with a large spoonful of honey when feeling poorly.

Honey can also be beneficial in wound care. The most common type used in wound ointments and dressings is medical-grade manuka honey, which is approved in the UK, the US and Australia. This honey is made by bees in Australia and New Zealand from the nectar of manuka tea trees and is sterilised by gamma radiation to remove any harmful microorganisms. It contains high levels of an antimicrobial compound called methylglyoxal, which helps to prevent or treat wound infections.

Whatever you do, don’t eat honey made from the nectar of rhododendrons, particularly species native to Nepal and Turkey. This honey causes “mad honey disease”, characterised by confusion, drunken-like behaviour, dizziness and vomiting. It has even been used as a bioweapon. In 65 BC, for example, Mithridates VI Eupator, ruler of the kingdom of Pontus in Northern Anatolia, strategically left out honeycombs of mad honey to tempt enemy Roman troops, then slaughtered them as they lay around dazed and confused.

I think I’ll stick to my local stuff, which may not do anything for my hay fever, but at least won’t send me mad. I’m disappointed to learn that honey probably isn’t that much better for my health than straight sugar, but it does bring me great joy, and what’s sweeter than that.

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Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after a years-long dispute with the regulator over the timing of his disclosure that he had acquired a significant stake in Twitter. Musk agreed to pay a $1.5 million fee without admitting wrongdoing in exchange for the SEC dropping its case, the regulator said.

If the settlement is approved by a court, it will bring to an end the drawn out battle over how he began his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in 2022. The SEC began investigating Musk that same year over his 11-day delay in disclosing that he had acquired a more than 5 percent stake in the company. That lag, the SEC argued in a lawsuit, ultimately saved Musk more than $150 million at the expense of Twitter shareholders.

During the course of its investigation, the SEC accused Musk of using “gamesmanship” to stall its probe as he repeatedly dodged the regulator’s subpoena. Musk, in turn, accused then-SEC chair Gary Gensler of “harassment.” Gensler left his post days after the lawsuit against Musk was filed as President Donald Trump took office. 

The 1.5 million penalty is “the largest in SEC history for the type of ‌violation ⁠he was accused of,” according to Reuters.

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President Donald Trump said he would increase tariffs charged to the European Union for cars and trucks to 25%, without saying what authority he would use to raise the levies.

“Based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States,” he wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “The Tariff will be increased to 25%. It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF.”

The Supreme Court ruled in February that a large part of Trump’s tariff agenda was illegal. The president’s “reciprocal” tariffs were invoked using a novel reading of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, but the high court said in a 6-3 majority that the law that undergirds those import duties “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said he signed an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” rate to effectively replace the IEEPA duties, though those tariffs came with a 150-day time limit under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. He then said he would increase the global rate to 15%.

The EU in February had warned that its trade deal with the U.S. could be in jeopardy after the new tariff rate was announced and postponed its planned vote on the agreement.

The European Union said it is following standard legislative practice and keeping the U.S. administration up to date.

“We maintain close contact with our counterparts, including as we also seek clarity on US commitments,” a a European Commission spokesperson said. “We remain fully committed to a predictable, mutually beneficial transatlantic relationship. Should the US take measures inconsistent with the Joint Statement, we will keep our options open to protect EU interests.”

A White House official said in a statement Friday that the EU has “failed to make substantial progress on their agreed-upon commitments” under a trade agreement between the countries.

“The White House has always been clear that the President reserves the right to adjust tariff rates if our trade deal partners fail to abide by their commitments,” the official said.

The Trump administration last year broadly implemented 25% tariffs on vehicles and certain auto parts imported into the U.S., citing national security risks under Section 232. Those levies are still in place, and the White House said Trump would increase the EU’s levies under Section 232.

The European automakers that could most be impacted by a change in tariff rate would be Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen, which import a large percentage of the vehicles they sell in the U.S. from their plants in Europe.

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The average price has risen 12 consecutive days, increasing 28.9 cents, including 2.2 cents Saturday, according to figures from AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak of increases follows a 13-day streak of decreases totaling 11.7 cents.

The average price is 15.4 cents more than one week ago, 20.3 cents more than one month ago and $1.403 more than one year ago. It has risen $1.455 since the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran Feb. 28, moving within 29.4 cents of the record $6.435 set on Oct. 5, 2022.

“California’s gasoline supply is significantly affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.

“According to the California Energy Commission, in 2025 the state relied upon Middle East countries for 29% of the oil it used in the state’s refineries to produce gasoline. Additionally, the gasoline that California imports from refineries in other countries is also heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East.”

The national average price rose 1.3 cents to $4.446, its highest amount since July 20, 2022. It has risen 11 consecutive days, increasing 42.6 cents, including 4.1 cents Saturday. The national average price is 34.7 cents more than one week ago, 35.5 cents more than one month ago and $1.275 more than one year ago. It has risen $1.464 since the attack on Iran, moving within 57 cents of the record $5.016 set June 14, 2022.

The House passed a sweeping five-year farm bill on April 30 after years of congressional deadlock and a chaotic week of procedural fights, last-minute negotiations and a near collapse of the deal.

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 passed 224-200, with 14 Democrats joining Republicans to push the margin beyond the slim Republican majority. The bill’s fate remains uncertain in the Senate, where it will need bipartisan support to reach the 60-vote threshold.

“They’re going to have to make some modifications to get 60 votes,” House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson told reporters after the House vote.

This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS — a publication from the nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute — and NEWSWELL, home of Times of San Diego, Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia.