Reps. Sara Jacobs, Scott Peters, and Juan Vargas Secure $3.4 Million in Federal Funding for the San Diego Community College District

Members of San Diego’s congressional delegation, including Rep. Sara Jacobs, Rep. Scott Peters and Rep. Juan Vargas, traveled to San Diego Mesa College today to present representatives from the San Diego Community CollegeDistrict with a check for $3.4 million in funding from the U.S. Congress. The funding, approved in December 2022 as part of the fiscal year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, will benefit district students in three areas:

* $1.2 million to better serve lesbian, gay, and transgender students,

* $1 million for an initiative to expand service at the San Diego College of Continuing Education to youths who have recently aged out of the foster care system, and

* $1.2 million for new and expanded centers serving undocumented students.

“These funds will support the academic success of our students, particularly students who face unique challenges as they pursue their education,” said Carlos O. Cortez, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District. “I want to thank Representatives Sara Jacobs, Scott Peters, and Juan Vargas for championing this funding on our behalf to support these students and our colleges.”

The $1.2 million grant obtained by Rep. Jacobs to support LGBTQIA+ students will be used to create or expand Pride Centers at San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College and San Diego College of Continuing Education. The Pride Centers offer a safe space for persons of all sexual or gender identities and provide education, dialogue and research on issues related to sexuality and gender.

The grant will also be used to hire a regional coordinator who will act as a liaison among the many local agencies that provide services for LGBT students. It will also fund an annual leadership academy that encourages students to support the LGBT community, along with a weekly program that develops leadership for LGBT high school and junior high school-aged youth.

“LGBTQ+ youth should be focused on living their lives, but instead many are dealing with mental health issues resulting from the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, policies, and violence,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Vice-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and Co-Chair of the Transgender Equality Taskforce. “That’s why I was so proud to secure $1.2 million to expand the Pride Centers on each of San Diego Community College District’s four campuses and to scale up their Youth Leadership Academy and Pride Youth Collective programs. This funding will expand spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and allies to freely and safely be themselves, and strengthen programs that create community and teach advocacy skills.”

A $1 million grant backed by Rep. Peters will fund the Gateway to College and Career Program at the San Diego College of Continuing Education for former foster care youth. Studies show that 47% of youths who have just aged out of foster care are unemployed, and 33% are or have been homeless. More than 1,500 former foster care youths live in San Diego County.

For the past six years, the Gateway to College and Career program has offered services, learning opportunities, job training and internships to former foster care youth. The program collaborates with social service agencies to provide food, education, and connections with employers for former foster youth.

“Community colleges are an integral part of our region’s educational landscape,” said Rep. Peters. “It’s my job to fight for funding that supports SDCCD’s mission to uplift generations of students, especially those aged out of foster care who enter a new world of opportunity and challenges. I look forward to seeing the success of the Gateway to College and Career Program for years to come.”

A $1.2 million grant sponsored by Rep. Vargas will support Dreamer Resource Centers at the four colleges. The centers serve undocumented students, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) students,

City Of Chula Vista Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance In Effect

Ordinance increases tenant protections for those renting a room, apartment, or house by offering help with registering for classes, financial aid, and readiness for college and a career.

An estimated 1,200 undocumented students attend City, Mesa and Miramar colleges. Another 2,000 students who are undocumented or come from families with undocumented members attend the non-credit San Diego College of Continuing Education.

The funding will also be used to develop partnerships with community organizations that serve undocumented students and expand outreach at high schools for undocumented students there. The grant will also support an annual Undocumented Student Conference to demonstrate to the college community that the campuses are welcoming and safe for undocumented students.

“Dreamers and undocumented students deserve a fair shot at the American Dream like everyone else, and the great equalizer is a high-quality education,” said Congressman Juan Vargas. “I championed these federal funds in Congress because I knew it would benefit local students right here at home. These Dreamer Resource Centers have the potential to positively benefit thousands of students by offering critical support and financial aid. These are the great things we can accomplish when we put people over politics.”

As one of the largest of California’s 73 community college districts, the San Diego Community College District serves approximately 100,000 students annually through three twoyear colleges and San Diego College of Continuing Education. San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College, offer associate degrees and certificates in occupational programs that prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and entry-level jobs. Mesa College also offers a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management. San Diego College of Continuing Education offers noncredit adult education at seven campuses throughout San Diego.

Deadly Citrus Tree Disease Discovered In City Of San Diego

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently announced the first detection of Huanglongbing (HLB) in the city of San Diego. Huanglongbing (HLB), an incurable plant disease that infects and kills all citrus tree varieties, was discovered in residential citrus trees in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego, prompting a plant quarantine to be established in the area.

HLB is spread by a small pest called the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) as it feeds on leaves and stems of citrus trees. HLB is not harmful to humans or animals, but once a tree is infected, it will die and must be removed.

HLB was first confirmed in San Diego County in 2021 in Oceanside.

To limit the spread of HLB, a citrus plant quarantine is currently in place throughout portions of San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. The Rancho Bernardo detections have resulted in the establishment of a new HLB quarantine area, including parts of Rancho Bernardo, 4S Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Peñasquitos, Black Market Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Poway and Escondido.

The HLB citrus plant quarantine prohibits the transport and movement of citrus plants and material to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. The newly established quarantine zone will not intersect with the existing quarantine boundaries in the Oceanside area of San Diego County.

CHULA VISTA, CA -- Following the Chula Vista City Council action on November 1, 2022 to adopt Chula Vista Municipal Code (“CVMC”) chapter 9.65, the City’s Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance (“Ordinance”) is now in effect as of March 1, 2023.

With rental housing making up more than 42% of available housing in the City of Chula Vista and 44% of all Chula Vista renters paying more than 50% of their income toward housing costs (as local rents also increased in 2022), councilmembers cited the importance of addressing community requests for assistance following reports of “No Fault” evictions and tenant harassment.

The “California Tenant Protection Act,” a statewide law, has been in place since January 1, 2020. The state law has required landlords provide tenants with notice of the law, required just cause for terminating a tenancy, and required disclosure of the specific reasons for the termination of a tenancy. Such state law provisions are found in Civil Code Section 1946.2.

The purpose of the City’s Ordinance (viewable at https:// chulavista.municipal.codes/ CVMC/9.65 ) is to “require just cause for termination of residential tenancies consistent with Civil Code Section 1946.2, to further limit the reasons for termination of a residential tenancy, to require greater tenant relocation assistance in specified circumstances, and to provide additional tenant protections.”

The Ordinance does not prevent lawful evictions or justcause terminations and primarily strengthens statewide protections already in place, while providing greater tenant protections in certain instances of no-fault terminations of tenancy in the City of Chula Vista.

Relocation assistance is available to impacted tenants of properties subject to the Ordinance, along with increased protection from instances of landlord harassment and retaliation. Landlords whose properties are subject to CVMC 9.65 are now required to provide notice of Ordinance protections to existing tenants by March 1, 2023 and to tenants who renew or commence leases on or after March 1, 2023.

The City’s Tenant Landlord webpage (chulavistaca.gov/ landlordtenant) provides helpful information and sample notice forms for properties subject to and for properties exempt from the Ordinance. The notices are translated by the City as a courtesy in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean.

Beyond the requirement to provide the updated notice, the following property types are not affected by further action:

• Owned by a single-family owner who lives at the residence and rents two rooms/units or less.

• Duplex in which the owner lives in one of the units and rents the other.

• Single-family home or condo not owned by a real estate investment trust, corporation, LLC or managed by a mobile home park.

The required Notice to Tenants for properties exempt from CVMC 9.65 is required to be provided to the Tenant(s) at lease renewal or as an addendum to the lease or rental agreement on March 1, 2023.

Additional action beyond notification is only required if a landlord takes the following actions:

1. Issues a notice for Termination of Tenancy, and 2. Rents or owns three or more residential units, operates real estate investment trusts, or manages commercial apartment/ condo complexes.

The Ordinance was created with extensive input from responsible landlord and tenant groups who emphasized that the requirements should protect good tenants by reducing instances of landlords exploiting loopholes in state law. The City gathered stakeholder groups for multiple in person and virtual meetings and conducted a survey in the summer of 2022 to learn more about local terminations, why they were occurring and suggestions for improvements. Over 270 tenants and 89 landlords renting 116 separate units provided survey responses.

Public input was requested through community groups, city social media channels, media coverage, the city newsletter and via engagement with public-facing NGOs like CSA San Diego County and other agencies participating in the City’s stakeholder meetings, including ACCE (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute), CAA (California Apartment Association, LASSD (Legal Aid Society of San Diego), PSAR (Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors), SDAR (San Diego Association of Realtors) and SCRHA (Southern California Rental Housing Association).

The City Landlord Tenant webpage also provides additional general and legal resources for tenants and landlords, such as CSA San Diego County which is committed to promoting and enforcing fair housing laws and equal housing opportunities for all individuals who live in San Diego County. Find CSA San Diego County at (619) 444-5700 or www.c4sa. org; and Legal Aid Society of San Diego which assists any tenants who believe they have been unlawfully evicted or need legal advice. They can be reached at 1-877-534-2524, www.lawhelpca.org, or https:// housing.ca.gov/resources/tenant. html