Table Talk: A La Mesa Podcast

What is ICE doing in our region? What can we do to speak out? For answers, we turn to a longtime community activist here in La Mesa, Mejgan Afshan of Borderlands for Equity.Here are links to some of the organizations mentioned:borderlandsequity.orginstagram.com/borderlandsequityunipopular.orguniondelbarrio.orginstagram.com/uniondelbarrioinstagram.com/sdbikebrigrade

After repeated attempts to help the Grossmont Union High School Board come to their senses and reconsider eliminating over 60 positions across the district, the board members persisted and finalized these cuts. Undeterred by the school board's resistance, community members - including the producers and host of this very podcast - have rallied and shifted their focus to recalling the four board members who put forward and followed through with these cuts. All of this came to a head when a bombshell dropped exposing the true nature and mindset of the board members in question.To discuss the current path of recall and the new bombshell of information, we've reached out to our teacher librarian at large Stephanie Macceca.To learn about the recall, visit RecalltheTrustees.com

If you have a child in the Grossmont Union High School District or just like staying in the know, you are probably aware of the recent uproar over cuts made by the school board. Parents and students alike showed up in full force to the March 11th board meeting to voice their concerns and plead with the board to reconsider their decision. In spite of this public outcry, the board appears to be hell bent on proceeding with the proposed budget cuts. Today we are very excited to continue our discussion of the GUHSD board's decision with local journalist Jakob McWhinney, the Voice of San Diego's education reporter.

Every librarian will be fired next year in the Grossmont Union High School District, along with 40 other teachers.  Over 600 concerned students, parents, faculty members, and citizens showed up to the school board meeting to oppose these cuts - the auditorium at El Cajon Valley High School was full to capacity and people were filling the overflow room and standing outside as well.  But still, without explanation from a single school board member speaking in support of these cuts - and a budget surplus of $46 million, roughly 4 times the amount required by the state - the board voted to approve the firings, with only 1 member, Chris Fite, voting in opposition to these cuts. So what exactly are our kids going to lose as a result of these job cuts?  And what can you do about it by showing up to the next meeting on March 11?  To answer these questions, we're talking with a teacher librarian from the school district who is also the vice president of the Grossmont Education Association: Stephanie Macceca from Valhalla High School.The next meeting you can attend is on Tuesday (March 11) at 4:30pm at Grossmont High School. For more details, visit bit.ly/save-guhsd-librarians

The Grossmont Union High School District is voting to make serious cuts to the budget - including cutting all nine teacher librarians in the district. We talk to Jay Steiger to find out what's going on.There are two meetings you can attend on this issue - one tonight (February 27) at 4:30pm and the other on March 11. For more details, visit bit.ly/save-guhsd-librarians

As you may have heard, we have an election coming up.  Last episode, we interviewed City Council candidate Lauren Cazares.  And now, we’re joined by another candidate for City Council, Genevieve Suzuki.

This election, there are two open seats on La Mesa City Council.  And in a break from what was becoming a tradition in La Mesa, we only have two Democrats running for those two seats. Today, we bring you one of those Democratic candidates, Lauren Cazares.laurencazares.com

Were you hoping to make your comment at the next city council meeting by Zoom? Well friend, that’s not an option.  To learn more about this, we’re joined by 30-year La Mesa resident Wendy Mihalic.  She’s a volunteer with San Diego 350, which works to prevent the worst effects of climate change.  She’s worked on La Mesa’s climate action plan in 2018.  She’s also an advocate of switching from gas to electric.  She lives in a fully electric home and is a member of the San Diego Building Electrification Coalition, which promotes electrification of buildings.  And because of all that, she’s a frequent commenter at our city council meetings, often remotely.Here are some links Wendy recommended:California Common Cause Study https://www.commoncause.org/california/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2024/01/CA-Remote-Accessv2.pdfAnti-Defamation League Toolkithttps://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2023-08/ADL-COE-City-Council-Recommendations.pdf

From repurposing an old motel to shipping people off to Campo, we've heard a lot of ideas for addressing homelessness in La Mesa. In this episode, we'll talk to the coordinator of the East County Homeless Task Force, Bonnie Baranoff. She'll share her thoughts on the HOME program here in La Mesa and how you can get involved in the effort to address homelessness in our town.Here are some links you may be inclined to visit after listening:East County Homeless Task Force - https://www.facebook.com/ECHTF/Point in Time Count: https://www.rtfhsd.org/about-coc/weallcount-pitc/Op Ed: My family was homeless for two-and-a-half years. - https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2023-12-13/opinion-family-homeless-san-diego-kids-affordable-housing-crisis

La Mesa, we have an opportunity to make some big money for our city.  We can fund police, fire and arts programs.  And all we have to do is replace some billboards with a different kind of billboard.  Is it worth it?  To find out, we'll talk with Gerda Holmstrom and Janet Castaños.Here's a link to the "Compendium of a Decade’s Worth of Research Studies on Distraction from Digital Billboards" by Jerry Wachtel from the Veridian Group.And here's link to the No Digital Billboards in La Mesa petition.

On September 12, two school boards were filled to the brim with attendees.  Nearly every one of the scores of public comments at both the Grossmont Union High School board and La Mesa-Spring Valley board meetings focused on one issue: policies toward the LGBTQIA+ community. This episode, we talk to teacher and longtime school advocate, Jay Steiger, about the mental health care controversy at Grossmont.

Batteries are back on the menu.  The first episode of Table Talk focused on the large batteries that are going to be installed on El Paso Street.  Those batteries brought a lot of rather interesting concerns to a city council meeting in February.  But the project is still going forward.  We to talk to two of the people who’s responsible for installing those batteries in our neighborhood, James Beach, managing partner of Enersmart and Skyler Tennis, Vice President of Operations.

Our County Board of Supervisors District is holding a special election right now (the deadline is August 15). Manny talked with the candidate endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, Monica Montgomery Steppe. If you've ever wanted to hear from Monica in more than just soundbites, this is your chance.

On July 11, La Mesa City Council vote in favor of a draft ordinance requiring people in our city to keep their guns locked up.  Does that mean that when you hear an intruder entering your home, you’ll have to ask them to pause while you try to remember the combination for your safe?  To answer our questions about this new law, we’re going straight to the source: City Councilmember Jack Shu

We had quite the night in La Mesa last week. City Councilmember Laura Lothian attempted to put an end to city hall flying the Pride flag during Pride month. So how did THAT work out for her? Joining us to find out is the man who donated the first Pride flag to fly over La Mesa City Hall, Dave Myers.

Giant batteries are coming to La Mesa. Their impending arrival has led to talk of chemtrails, flouridated water and viruses not being real. There have also been some less conspiratorial concerns. Are they safe? Are they noisy? What's the point of these batteries anyway?Let's dive in and see if we can track down some answers.