Major funding for Kpbs Evening Edition has been made possible in part by Bill Howe family of companies providing San Diego with plumbing, heating, air restoration and flood services for over 40 years.

Call one 800 Bill Howe or visit Bill howe.com and by the Conrad Prebys Foundation.

Darlene Marcos Shiley.

And by the following.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm John Carroll in for Maya Trabulsi.

It is a decision reverberating through the global economy and a blow to President Donald Trump's economic agenda and foreign policy.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Trump's sweeping global tariffs are illegal.

Here's Karin Caifa with what it means for consumers.

In the most significant case involving the U.S.

economy.

To reach the justices in decades.

The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs around the globe.

The six three majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, emphasized that the power to enact such tariffs must be clearly granted by Congress and the emergency authority.

Trump attempted to rely on falls short, the decision delivering a blow to Trump's second term economic agenda and foreign policy.

This was an important case to me more as a symbol of economic national security experts noting the court only struck down one avenue for Trump's tariff plans.

We shouldn't think that the topic of tariffs is now going away somehow, even beyond potential lawsuits, because the president has any number of other ways that he can continue to try and push for tariffs and impact, you know, levies.

So we'll be watching for that.

For consumers, immediate relief from the decision is unlikely, economists say, because the court did not get any guidance on what should happen to the tariff revenue already collected, even if refunds are ultimately issued, they're not going to be issued to consumers, they're going to be issued to firms, and then you're depending on firms ultimately passing those back to the consumer.

As of December 14th, federal data showed the government had collected $134 billion in revenue from the tariffs that were struck down in Washington.

I'm Karin Caifa The Department of Veterans Affairs is pulling back on a new policy announced this week that would have changed how it determines disability benefits.

Kpbs military and veterans reporter Andrew Dyer says backlash to the rule was immediate and, at least for now, effective.

The interim rule announced Tuesday would have reduced a veterans disability compensation if their condition was managed, with medication or treatment potentially costing veterans thousands of dollars a month.

Veterans service organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans slammed the VA for implementing the rule without first seeking input from veterans.

Is a person who has lost their limb in battle and, using a wheelchair, suddenly less disabled because they are able to use a wheelchair?

Absolutely not.

It's outrageous.

Janessa Goldbeck is a San Diego Marine Corps veteran and CEO of the nonprofit Vet Voice Foundation.

She says the new rule would punish veterans who get treatment for their disabilities.

That would mean, in practice, that a veteran managing PTSD with medication or a burn pit survivor who uses inhalers to breathe, or even a wounded warrior who's relying on pain medication to get through the day, should now receive a lower disability benefit because their symptoms are controlled, which basically penalizes veterans for taking care of their health.

On Thursday, VA secretary Doug Collins announced the VA is halting enforcement of the interim rule immediately.

He wrote on his exit account the rule was meant to clarify existing policy and protect benefits, but was mischaracterized.

According to the VA, about 1 in 3 veterans and their survivors get disability pay.

6.5 million people.

Craig Candelore is a San Diego attorney that helps veterans navigate the VA claims process.

He says he thinks this isn't the end of this Trump administration effort to cut veterans benefits.

The real question is, do I think that standard will ultimately be implemented?

Yes.

I think that long term I may not be, you know, I don't think is going to happen anytime soon, but it's coming.

He says this policy would make veterans think twice before filing claims.

There's a D incentivization and it's also demoralizing.

Candelore is an Army veteran.

He says it's important for service members to know they'll be taken care of if and when they're put in harm's way.

But a lot of people don't come back.

You know, they put you in a body bag.

So you want to know that America's got your back.

That's the bottom line.

So I always tell people on the side of the veteran.

VA secretary Doug Collins has backed off this change for now, but the public comment period will remain open for 60 days.

At regulations.gov.

Andrew Dyer, Kpbs news.

We are turning drier across the region tonight and through the rest of the five day forecast really through next week.

Southern California will be dry.

The next round of storms stays to the north.

But tonight we're down to 33.

In Ramona 36 and Borrego Springs below freezing in the Campo and Mount Laguna.

Pretty chilly out there.

Oceanside 38.

So bundle up out there.

Certainly a cold feel here and the coldest of the cold begins to exit stage right for Saturday.

We'll have your full forecast with the warming trend coming up.

California US Senator Alex Padilla and San Diego County supervisors were denied entry into the Otay Mesa Detention Center today.

Kpbs reporter Katie Anastas says they're concerned about conditions inside.

Senator Alex Padilla arrived for an unannounced visit to the facility this afternoon.

He says he waited in the lobby for about 30 minutes, but ultimately he was denied access.

We tried to, suggest that I wasn't allowed to come in because he didn't provide a seven day notice.

Had to move.

The law is clear.

Members of Congress have access at any time.

San Diego County Supervisors Tara Larson Remer and Paloma Aguirre were also here to inspect health and safety conditions.

They say they did get prior permission to inspect the facility, but once they got into the lobby, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers said their national counterparts were denying the supervisors entry.

Lawson Remer says county health officials are allowed to inspect facilities under California Health and Safety code.

It is a huge red flag to me that they will not let us in.

It's not just, a moral issue, but it is also a clear legal issue.

We will be initiating litigation.

Ice is a clear violation of the health and safety code.

And is refusing lawful oversight, that we are here to exercise as the public health authority of San Diego County.

This all comes after detainees threw letters over the fence of the facility describing poor living conditions and medical care.

Core Civic owns and operates the facility.

In an email, the company told Kpbs that it was cooperating with the county public health officer for a visit.

The supervisors say that visit happened this morning, but access was limited.

The county's chief medical officer was only permitted to inspect the kitchen and medical bay.

They say he wasn't allowed to interview any detainees or view any medical records.

And they say that means he wasn't able to do a complete health inspection at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Katie Anastas, Kpbs news.

I'm Amna Nawaz tonight on the NewsHour.

The effects of the Supreme Court's tariff ruling could have on American businesses.

That's coming up at seven after Evening Edition on Kpbs.

A Kpbs investigation found the North County Transit District scaled back fare enforcement due to an increasing number of employees who reported assaults.

Kpbs reporter Elaine Alfaro says despite efforts to protect staff, assaults have still tripled in recent years.

Dara Olivarez has been riding the North County Transit District trains off and on for about a decade.

She says she used to feel safe, but not in recent years.

Usually when I'm going to Escondido, I'm coming back late.

So I'm always worried that this is not going to be in our town going on there, or how many people are going to be on the trains.

You know, it's annoying, but they going to save me.

The problem, you know, she's called security a few times.

Once after a rider was yelling profanities and taking off their clothes.

This behavior is symptomatic of increasing crime on public transit, the experts say is affecting the entire country.

Assaults on public transit nationwide more than doubled in the last decade, according to the Federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Yuko Nakanishi is a researcher who studies safety and security on public transit.

She says crime on public transit has become especially alarming since the pandemic.

Crime is still a problem in transit, and experts believe that there has been a post-pandemic shift for the worse.

Assaults on North County busses and trains, the coaster and sprinter have tripled since 2018.

Nakanishi says that tracks with the struggles the district has had with fare evasion.

Its fare issues are a major contributing factor.

In operator or sold since 2023, about a third of coaster riders and more than half of sprinter riders were fare evaders, according to a Kpbs analysis of North County Transit district ridership data.

The district's CEO, Sean Donaghy, acknowledges the challenges the agency is facing with fare evasion and assault.

And we've seen a pretty specific increase in issues that have occurred with our front line employees, either at customer service hubs or on the bus or on the train.

Nakanishi says assaults can result in injuries, trauma and PTSD for victims and have damaging effects on the entire organization.

The impact of assault on transit employees is devastating.

Fueled assault drives, absenteeism, early retirements, and, operator attrition.

Donaghy receives a text whenever an employee is assaulted.

It's very tough for me.

It's very emotional for me to, see those text messages.

Kpbs spoke to former code compliance inspectors who say they experienced multiple situations in which they felt threatened.

In the last five years, the employee turnover rate in the district has ranged from 15% to 26%.

All of this has led the transit agency to take a different approach to fare enforcement in recent years.

In short, fare evaders on the trains are not cited by district employees.

Inform not enforce to us as is that it's it's every employee's obligation to inform what the fare is.

If someone chooses to, to not pay that fare.

We do not intervene at that moment for the safety of the employee.

Experts say education efforts like this to tell passengers of the rules can help shift public behavior on trains, but the lack of enforcement creates its own problems.

A general sense of lawlessness on the trains.

Donaghy says it comes down to what people think they can get away with on public transit.

She says law enforcement sites individuals for their crimes.

But then somewhere beyond that, they get lost.

And that's extremely frustrating.

I think it's very difficult at times for us to manage.

The way that people are acting at our transit centers or on our, our busses, their equipment, because, they feel emboldened to do so because they know that the repercussions will not be there.

The district does have security contracts with the sheriff's office and a private security company.

Sheriff deputies respond to instances of reported assaults and can take action.

They can also cite individuals for fare evasion.

Olivarez, the rider Kpbs spoke with on the sprinter, made no mention of plans to stop riding the trains, but hopes more enforcement comes soon.

It would be nice if they had more attendance of security or somebody on the train.

I think the most trouble occurs when they see that there's not an attendant.

Elaine Alfaro, Kpbs news.

Kpbs journalist Scott Rodd contributed research and reporting to that investigation.

If you have a tip for Kpbs as investigations team, you can send an email to investigations@kpbs.org or message them on our secure signal line at the number on your screen.

(619) 594-8177.

The former chief operating officer of a San Diego nonprofit is facing new felony charges that she stole tens of thousands in donations and county funds.

For this week's Why it Matters segment.

Voice of San Diego's Lisa Halverstadt says the former executive had been previously convicted of felony embezzlement.

San Diego County gave two grants to a nonprofit called the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego.

They were meant to test street drugs and distribute naloxone, which can reverse an overdose of fentanyl.

But District Attorney Summer Stephan charged Amy Knox, the former COO, with six felonies, for allegedly stealing $134,000 of that money.

She allegedly used it for travel, plastic surgery, purebred dogs, high end clothes and even to pay her home electric bills.

It's sickening that this fraudster decided to line her own pockets, pay for luxury trips, cosmetic plastic surgeries with these precious, potentially life saving dollars.

It is also deeply concerning that the checks and balances that are supposed to safeguard the county's large budget and trust funds failed in this case.

It turns out both the county and the nonprofit, at least initially missed Knox's previous four year state prison sentence for embezzlement in July.

Voice of San Diego asked the county how it vets the staff of county contractors.

At the time, we pointed out Knox's past conviction.

A county spokesperson told us it's just up to the contractors.

The CEO of the Harm Reduction Coalition said the past conviction did not come up and their background check.

County officials insisted that the distribution of naloxone was continuing and saving lives.

But the scandal may force the county to reform how it oversees its contractors.

For Voice of San Diego.

I'm Lisa Halverstadt, and that's why it matters.

Voice of San Diego is one of our partners for the Public Matters initiative.

You can learn more at kpbs.org.

Slash public matters.

Terence Horsley is a San Diego native and entrepreneur.

He is also celebrating the first year of his store front, the Hometown Wave.

Kpbs arts reporter Audie Macafy finds out more about his inspiration for the space, his brand, and his love for community on the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 56th Street sits a bright orange building above its large rectangular window.

A sign reads Stan the Hometown Wave.

Among the glass tables filled with sand from Mission Beach and the clothing that hangs along the walls is the founder, Terence Horsley.

A decade ago, he started his first streetwear brand, roots before seeds that became the foundation for his current brand.

San Diego native or SDN, which he founded in 2020.

And I wanted to create something that to San Diego through our shared love for San Diego, but through fashion is something I enjoyed and love.

Although the brand has found success, horsley says he wanted to build a space where creatives could collaborate in the San Diego community.

A year ago, that dream became reality in the form of a storefront known as the Hometown Wave.

He says he's especially grateful to celebrate its anniversary during Black History Month.

You know, I want this to be a month of celebrate every year because not a lot of businesses make it to the next year.

So also be able to be a black owned business.

To be able to be a black on black owned business, a black entrepreneur, and be able to open up and celebrate, you know, every February is like it's a win is the best thing ever.

Growing up in San Diego, horsley used to sell candy bars door to door to help support his mom.

Because of that, he says he feels he didn't have much of a childhood.

And so Hometown Wave is also a space meant to give other kids opportunities he didn't have.

He says that's why there are skateboards and a surfboard on the walls.

Even though he didn't get the chance to do either when he was younger.

I want to be able to inspire the kids that, may not see it in their day to day lives, you know?

And, and maybe them walking in here and seeing it on the wall or, or, you know, engaging with it inspires them.

So it's really 100% what inspires me.

And, what keeps me going is just remembering me as a kid.

And what I wanted and what I, you know, what I felt like I missed out on.

Hosley curated the store as a place where community members can collaborate freely without worrying about cost.

The space has welcome to mental health groups, DJ sets and kids events like Imagination Hours, where kids can take a shirt from the SDN brand and paint it to take it home.

And I grew up in the southeast and, and in the southeast, you know, when our families and our friends, it was like a potluck.

You know, if I have something, you have something.

You brought it together and made something bigger than what it was.

So it's it's really important because it's giving people the opportunity to dream, and to believe in it and to experience it.

And I think that that's something that's just missing.

Hosley says he wouldn't be where he is without his community.

He advises other aspiring entrepreneurs to stay connected to theirs.

Make sure that you're taking time for it to to connect with your peers and connect with your community.

Because, in the long run, you're going to know you're going to need them.

And, they're going to add value to you the same way that you add value to them.

The one year anniversary celebration will take place Saturday from 11 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

at the Hometown Wave and El Cerrito.

Audie Macafy, Kpbs news.

For baseball fans, it's one of the most optimistic days of the year.

The start of spring training.

The Padres played their first game this afternoon at their complex in Peoria, Arizona.

One bright spot was a home run by Jose Miranda.

He was playing his first ever game for the Padres.

This was also the first game for new manager Craig Stammen.

He talked about possible changes to the lineup for star player Fernando Tatis Jr.

Just talking with him personally.

You know, leading off may have not been like something.

He felt he was the best at, but he knew that was the best for the team in the past.

And will he lead off at some point during the season?

Maybe that might happen.

Right now we're going to try something different and see how it looks.

The Seattle Mariners ended up winning 7 to 4.

Spring training will continue for another month or so before the Padres begin the regular season on March 26th.

Well, as we take a look at the next few days, we're turning drier.

Still cold tonight.

Little chilly to start, but we have a weekend warming trend and dry weather will return.

We've had a lot of rain over the past several days.

Next week, storm track trending north.

It'll bypass us to the north.

That means we stay dry.

Mainly clear tonight.

43.

Pretty cool there.

It will be cool here in San Diego and some areas to the east.

As I mentioned, Campo Borrego Springs dropping below freezing later tonight.

A couple of showers.

Way, way, way to the north.

Up in the far northern extremities of California's coast.

Chilly across the interior, but drier.

And we're going to turn a little bit warmer.

The warming trend begins on Saturday.

Good deal of sunshine, some fair weather.

Clouds Mount Laguna on off to the west and Oceanside some low clouds at times.

67 into, San Diego and Chula Vista.

65 Borrego springs.

Still a little nippy in Mount Laguna at 42 degrees.

Turning warmer.

Sunday dry weather wins out.

Although we can't say the same up there from the Bay area northward as the next series of storms rolls into Northern California.

You will notice, though, it's really going to hurt to the north.

So there we are through Sunday night.

Here comes another one.

Monday.

It stays to our north.

There's a little zone of high pressure off to the west, helping to divert the flow up into northern California and into the Cascades and the Sierra.

Heavy snow there in the Sierra again and again.

A little bit of a warmer trend compared to last week when they just got buried in tremendous snow.

Some cars you couldn't even distinguish.

They were vehicles in some areas of the Sierra near Lake Tahoe, at points south and west, where we just had two feet and feet of snow last week.

We're going to add to that in the northern and central Sierra, but not in Southern California.

We stay dry.

So the coastal forecast 66 Saturday, 72 Monday.

Enjoy the warming trend.

There will be an increase in cloud cover with that onshore breeze on Wednesday, but we stay dry.

Inland areas warming up 70 Saturday but 79 Monday a nice warming trend.

A good deal of sunshine and then a little more cloud cover for Wednesday.

Into the mountains we go.

It's been cold out there.

Down near freezing tonight, below freezing for some Saturday night down to 34.

36 for your low Sunday night.

Warming trend, though from the 40s to the 50s and again, sunshine and then a few clouds midweek into the desert.

We go here and here.

We're going to go through about a 19 degree rise from 65 on a cool Saturday to 84 on a toasty Tuesday.

A good deal of sunshine out there.

A few more clouds into Wednesday.

That's your forecast.

I'm AccuWeather meteorologist Geoff Cornish for Kpbs news.

Just when you thought it was safe, the Killer Tomatoes are back, and they appear to be taking over the USS midway.

Here with an update is Kpbs arts reporter Beth Accomando.

That's right.

The killer tomatoes are back, and they're here on the USS midway for a special private party and screening of attack of the killer Tomatoes.

Organic intelligence.

And I have the director here, David Ferino.

So, David, they've been gone for decades.

Are they more dangerous now?

Oh, yeah.

The stakes have gotten a lot higher.

Tomato peril is nothing to be joked about.

I think, you know, tonight's screening is very much like a public service announcement to, to the public that, we we can't take this lightly.

Now, you directed this film.

This is a very diverse set because you had vegetables, fruits and human actors.

How was that?

I mean, I'm very, proud to say this was a very inclusive set.

However, it got really seedy, and I'm disappointed to say that, we have a very seedy movie on our hands.

We have the actress who had to fight some of these new tomatoes, Myrna Velasco.

What is it like fighting killer tomatoes?

Well, as David said, it is incredibly seedy.

It is also, I want to give out a public apology to the midway and to everybody here on the midway, because it is gooey.

It is a gooey film.

There is a lot of heart and goo from the hearts of tomatoes in this film, and you are probably too young to have been here for the first tomato invasion.

So how did you, how did you find out about tomatoes?

I am a cartoon kid.

So Saturday morning cartoons attack of the Killer Tomatoes was where I learned about the first invasion.

And I'm a researcher, a bit of a nerd, so I had to go all the way back to find out where did this really come from?

And so I even saw the first one and cut my teeth on that.

All right.

Well, thank you.

And to talk about the mess that was here on the midway, we have David Koontz who is director of marketing here.

How bad was it?

Well, I would say this is probably one of the juiciest experiences we've ever had here on the on the midway.

We were really delighted that, they reached out to us and allowed us to actually be part of the film.

So this is actually the headquarters.

Without giving away the plot too much for the investigative bureau that was fighting the killer tomatoes.

And are there any remains here that we might step on?

Now, it took us several weeks to get everything cleaned up, but the carnage has finally been pushed aside, and we're back operating as normal.

Now, tonight's event is a private event.

It's already sold out in full, but the funds from this are all going to be going to something very special for the midway.

And this is Freedom Park.

So what is that?

Exactly.

So midway is working in partnership with the Port of San Diego.

So we are transforming Navy Pier, which has been here for 100 years, into a public park.

And it's actually going to be the largest public park that pays tribute to veterans.

So we are right in the midst of a huge capital campaign.

It's a $77 million project.

We have about $30 million more to raise.

So just the funds that are coming as proceeds from the the sale of tickets to this movie are going to be very, very important to continuing the process of building this incredibly wonderful park.

Well, thank you very much.

You're on the midway.

I'm Beth Accomando for Kpbs news.

Okay.

They were saying the stakes are high.

Is it the beef steaks that are high or are we talking Roma?

I'll ask Accomando.

I'll find out.

Be sure to join us tonight for Kpbs news this week, where we revisit the most impactful and intriguing original reporting of the week.

Tomatoes not included.

This week airs every Friday at 830, right here on Kpbs.

And of course, you can find tonight's stories on our website, kpbs.org.

Thank you so much for joining us.

I'm John Carroll.

Have an excellent evening and a wonderful weekend.

Major funding for Kpbs Evening Edition has been made possible in part by Bill Howe, family of companies providing San Diego with plumbing, heating, air restoration and flood services for over 40 years.

Call one 800 Bill Howe or visit Bill howe.com.

And by the Conrad Prebys Foundation.

Darlene Marcos Shiley and by the following.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.