Coming up next,
a push for a ban on most homeless
encampments within the city of San Diego.
Get some push back. Mayor Todd Gloria
is here to answer your questions. The
number of mail carriers attacked
by dogs growing in the United
States, how San
Diego rates a lot of new foods at the
fair this year will tell you what they
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Live at six starts now.
Good evening, and thanks so
much for joining us tonight.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is
pushing to ban most homeless
encampments across the city.
Earlier today, the mayor joined
police and fire officials at a
fire station in UTC to discuss how
homelessness impacts public safety.
They said an encampment ban,
which the City Council will
vote on next Tuesday,
would reduce the risk of dangerous Canyon
fires that start around encampments.
But at one point today,
protesters interrupted the news conference,
chanting Plan, not ban.
I want, I want you all when
you report this tonight,
to make sure you understand where
the majority of San Diego's are.
They support encampments. We don't.
Mayor Gloria is in our studio
tonight live talking about this
and other issues affecting you.
I'll turn it over to Carlo now. Carlo,
Thanks, Marcela.
Welcome, Mayor Todd. Gloria.
But we we were talking earlier.
You get to choose the job you
wanted you became mayor here,
but you don't get to choose your problems
and kind of the the moment defining
issue is homelessness in San Diego.
We have this going on today,
this protest you're talking about the
encampments for our viewers who maybe
don't understand what exactly is the
encampment ban what will it apply to?
So we're proposing an unsafe camping
ordinance which says that if a bed
is available, you could not encamp
in our community and then in cases
where there is no bed available,
you cannot be near certain
sensitive sites like schools.
Parks, other homeless shelters,
open spaces worth the wildfires are prone,
so total ban in certain locations and then
a citywide ban when there is beds available.
This is in concert to a second initiative
that will be proposed at the same
time on a safe sleeping initiative
where we'll basically increase our
shelter capacity by over 600 beds.
So we are doing a coordinated
effort of more services,
but also some more accountability
and enforcement.
The enforcement,
what is that going to look like?
We see the videos of encampments
being swept up people's.
Property taken away.
It's it's a bad visual.
Can we do that better or is that
how it's going to look for now?
Well, those
visuals are often shared in a very
selective way that doesn't show the
true everything that's going on.
One thing that your viewers should
know is that their taxpayer dollars
pay for multiple safe storage sites
where we take people's individual
belongings and store them safely.
Our city staff is trained to look at
what is out there and collect and
separate valuables and store them.
But remove the rubbish.
And when we've done that,
what we've seen is hundreds of tons of
garbage getting off of our streets.
It is not just valuables that are out there.
It's a lot of garbage.
It's what leads to our hepatitis A
outbreak that we've had in the past.
So we have to keep the area clean.
In terms of enforcement,
the city follows a progressive
enforcement model.
We have multiple touch points with both
outreach workers and law enforcement
to make sure that anyone who's
contacted knows exactly what our rules are.
The unsafe camping ordinance would
reassert and clarify what our
expectations are and will hold the
city and the unhoused accountable
to follow those rules.
What about concerns that?
This kind of enforcement,
this kind of clearing out is
just going to push homeless
individuals into other areas Poway.
It seems it's reacting to this
with their own enforcement
mechanism to clear encampments that
their voted they just voted on,
did an initial reading and passed
and and looks like it'll be
implemented next month or so.
Well, I I understand that concern but
it's missing key context in the in
the case of the city of San Diego.
Unlike cities like the one you just
mentioned, we actually provide services.
We have homeless outreach teams.
We have shelter beds, thousands of them.
We have permanent supportive housing options.
We are providing a rich offering of solutions
for homeless individuals and our expectation
is that they accept those services.
Unfortunately,
most folks decline those services and
when the taxpayers of the city are,
as in my proposed budget,
going to expend over $200
million to service the homeless.
No, cannot be an acceptable answer
when there are services available.
Again, the city is providing A
tremendous amount of resources.
Other cities that you often will compare
us to provide literally no shelter beds,
but they're providing the enforcement that
actually is driving people into our city,
and that's absolutely unfair.
I've seen other mayors go on
television and claim that they've
ended homelessness in their city,
not explaining that they're doing
that by putting their homeless
people in the city of San Diego.
For the taxpayers that I work for,
that's unacceptable.
We're going to build on that a little bit.
And there is a group of Republican
leaders in the county who are going
after the way money is being spent,
some of the policies,
One is actually running a video on
social media in some other places.
Let's take a look at part of that real quick.
In the past three years alone,
the state has spent $10 billion.
But until we change the underlying
policies that allow people to
live and die on the streets,
no amount of money can solve the issue.
It's Coronado's mayor running this ad
criticizing the way money is being
spent talking about a county issue,
but the video is all city of San Diego.
What's your reaction to people saying
that the money is not being spent?
Well, it's not being effective.
Well, I think it's true when only a few of
us are actually doing anything about it.
If you're not actually building new housing,
particularly affordable housing,
if you're not providing homeless services,
shelter beds, outreach efforts,
then you're actually, I don't know what
you're complaining about because you're
not spending any money on this issue.
We are and what you're seeing
is people coming into our city
because we provide those services.
That's why the unsafe camping
ordinance is very important.
You know, listen, we're compassionate people.
San Diego's are good people and we
will care for people who are in need.
But we cannot solve the homelessness
crisis of every other city in
this county when there are other
mayor's that simply want to put out
social media videos and actually.
Serve the homeless.
Let me just follow up with one
question they have, though,
and a lot of people have Why can't
we require sobriety people to go
into treatment as a condition
of them entering housing in
our shelters where there are some
restrictions put upon us by the
federal and state government?
But, Carla, the truth of the matter is.
Is that if you tell someone that you're
not going to give them any services until
they are clean and sober is generally a
recipe for leaving them on the sidewalk.
I would much rather have them indoors
getting services rather than being told
get it together before you can come inside.
It's just not a proven strategy.
It is not a best practice,
and This is why federal and state
agencies ask us to follow these rules.
This is a part of why our shelter
system is nearly full, right?
Because we will take anybody.
I don't care your circumstance.
If you're addicted, we'll take you in.
You have a pet, We'll bring you in.
We want people to utilize our services.
Some of these other cities that
provide a paltry amount of services,
they actually have such high barriers,
their services are not actually utilized.
We have to get people off the streets.
When taxpayers are put foot in the bill,
we should be using these services.
And that's precisely why the Unsafe
Camping Ordinance is necessary.
If we have a better option
than the sidewalk for you,
you have to say yes.
Mayor Gloria, I, you know,
this conversation is actually used
up all of our time this month.
I wanted to talk about Pride.
We're going to have you back next month,
and maybe we'll focus on
that a little bit more.
Because being the first gay
mayor in San Diego's history
and seeing what's going on with
LGBTQ rights across the country,
I'm sure you have a lot to say.
I do look forward to it. All
right. Thanks a lot for being with us,
as always. Mayor Todd Gloria Marcella.
Thanks, Carlo. Thanks,
Mayor Gloria for being here.
Across the nation,
dogs attacked more than 5300 Postal
Service employees while they were
out delivering mail in 2022.
That number is up 26% from the previous year.
San Diego ranks fifth highest among U.S.
cities with the most dog attacks.
CBS8's Rosia de la Fey joins us live
tonight from Pastridio Park with
more on what you can do to help
prevent a dog from attacking Rocio.
Well, there's no denying
that San Diggins love dogs.
They love their pets.
Almost every person that
I know has one at least,
and it's a dog friendly city.
So that could be part of the
reason why we tend to see much
more attacks happen here locally.
And you know, for us humans,
we know that there's mail coming every day.
We know to expect a delivery and we know
that there's a person bringing that delivery.
But for dogs,
it's a very different story to them.
All they see is a stranger
coming up to their property,
their territory.
And they tend to react a certain way.
And it doesn't matter if it's
a big dog or a small dog.
Mail carriers tell me they've seen it all.
the US Postal Service
is calling attention to what
it says is a growing problem.
We're in San Diego.
Everyone loves dogs, you know,
and everyone loves their pets.
So unfortunately, the risk is high here.
USPS is California tops all
other states for the most dog
attacks in 2022 at 675 attacks.
39 mail carriers were attacked
last year in San Diego alone,
ranking fifth on the list for cities
with the highest number of dog attacks.
As a carrier, we always got to
approach each house as if they
have a dog, even if they do not.
Carlos Dominguez says he's
always on the lookout
when delivering the mail.
I usually use my keys or a whistle.
I tend to make noise,
say things like mailman,
mail carrier, Mailman's here.
Hello, hello. Things like that,
just to get the dog's attention
if there was a dog there,
Dominguez says. He learned that the hard way.
The dog dreaded out of there
came at me full direct with
intention to attack him.
But one thing I didn't prepare
myself for was the second dog.
The second dog came around.
Bit me in the leg,
he says. Two large dogs attacked him,
leaving a deep puncture wound
that required multiple stitches.
It was very traumatic,
Juliet Nash with the San
Diego Humane Society says.
Any dog can display aggressive behavior,
no matter the size or breed.
Small dogs have just as
big a bark as bigger dogs.
Anything with a mouth has the
potential to use it to defend
themselves if they feel stressed.
Dog owners can be held liable
if their dog attacks anyone
who's legally on their property,
including postal carriers.
Now, of course, there are steps that
you can take to protect mail carriers
and even protect your dogs from
these attacks, and that includes.
Making it clear that there's a
pet that lives on the property.
That includes leaving toys,
bowls, or even signage outside.
Now, if possible,
also consider moving your mailbox away
from your home or away from your front door.
That's also a great option,
again, if you're able to do so.
And always make sure to keep your dogs
out in or on a leash or inside when
you do expect any deliveries back
to you. Oh, Rosia, whose dog is that?
So cute. We know. Well,
it's actually my dog. Is it your dog?
I did not know you had a dog.
So you know, a lot of pets were
under socialized during the pandemic.
They got used to having us at home.
What role do experts say that
played in the increase in attacks?
And tell me more about your dog.
Is it a boy or girl?
What's the name?
This is Rocky. He's almost 16,
so he's a very, very old man,
but he still has plenty of energy in him.
But you know what, Marcela,
the Humane Society says that they have
seen a lot more dogs that are in need
of socializing and having that inner,
you know, interactions with other
people and with other dogs as
well because they didn't get that
much exposure during the pandemic.
And so thankfully there are
classes and there are tools at
their disposal that they can.
Give you as a dog owner to help your pup get
through that. Oh, Rocky is so chill.
I don't think you have to worry about
him going after any postal worker.
But on a serious note,
it is important. You know,
my dog is very just naturally has anxiety,
is kind of hesitant around strangers.
And so we do need to make sure that
as dog owners, we take steps to
make sure that they're, you know,
not going to be running out and attacking.
All right, I could just talk
about your dog for a while now,
but we'll let you go and play with Rocky.
Take him out for a walk.
He's so cute, right?
We
still had tonight. Do speed
cameras really keep you safe?
We're going to verify that,
plus new details tonight about a BMX star
killed at a motocross park in Ramona.
We were near seasonal when it came
to our high for today of 70 degrees,
and we're going to see more sunshine and
even the slight bump up in temperatures.
All those details are ahead
and up. Next Why? It might be up to
you to decide if fentanyl dealers
could possibly be charged with murder.