Thank you for joining us for this look at some of the best stories from KPBS news this week.

I'm Maya Trabulsi.

Coming up, homes saved in Ramona, an update on the brush fire that forced evacuations this week.

San Diego City Council member Marni Von Willpurt is now a cancer survivor.

She talks with KPBS about her recent health scare and building the Pride Promenade.

Why the long awaited project in Hillcrest is taking longer than expected.

We start with the event that brings global attention to San Diego.

Comic-Con runs through Sunday at the convention center.

And we have plenty of coverage.

Let's start with Jacob Aere, who attended day one and found out just how much people are spending to be here.

Comic-Con is a time for people to show off their passions and come together to find community.

We're dressed up like this because we are excited for anything, but especially for Twilight.

Yeah, Jamae's a huge Twilight fan.

So this was kind of a crossroads between the two, but that comes with a price tag.

The hotel alone is, I think it's somewhere around 300 something a night between badges to get in, travel, lodging, cosplay and merchandise.

Those costs can add up quickly.

We've budgeted this for like a couple of years now.

We knew that this was something we wanted to come to, so we didn't take it lightly.

We knew that everything was going to be upcharge quite a bit.

I probably spent about $1,000 on materials and just time, time probably about 100 hours, I would say.

It's based off of the first armor set you get in the video game The Witcher three.

Andrew and Diana Bentle drove in from Lompoc on the Central Coast for their first Comic-Con.

It is something that we really feel is worth the money.

Local Jonathan Hilario agrees.

He's already spent thousands just on his cosplay and badge.

I would say currently we're looking at $4,500.

But that could increase if I'm being honest.

An increases planning for to buy merchandise.

Anything from Artist Alley.

I love seeing other artists and how, they make their stuff.

It's genuinely inspiring.

And that was Jacob Aere reporting.

Let's keep it going with KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando.

She visited a comic book shop ahead of the con to see how they prepare for their busiest week of the year.

Two weeks ago, things were deceptively calm at now are never comics.

We've got everything broken down into buckets, like our cleaning stuff, our staffing stuff.

So this is basically our huge To-Do list for Comic-Con.

We've got due dates lined up for everything.

We've got ownership tag on here.

I ordered a ton of bags yesterday.

Stuff's already showing up today, so all mark bags done.

But it was the calm before the Comic-Con storm.

And this is the only thing that I'm this organized for Beth.

Like I am not this on top of anything else in my life.

That's Aaron Trites Owner of Now or Never comics, the glamorous office of a comic book store.

When Trites decided to open a comic book store in San Diego, he factored Comic-Con into his plans.

Comic-Con is a huge part of the reason that now we never opened up downtown.

We're at 1055 F Street.

We are less than a mile from the front door to Hall H, and the location has paid off.

Comic-Con is it's our Super Bowl.

Last year during Comic-Con was our busiest week of the year since we've been open.

Business has been so good that he doubled the size of the store last December to celebrate seven years at the location, and it's a great location because unlike many conventions, San Diego Comic-Con creates a campus that encourages people to venture out.

To be able to, like, go outside and have, like, all this other stuff happening on the Greenway right in front is awesome.

To be able to walk into the Gaslamp and see, like all these businesses taking over everything downtown looks and feels like Comic-Con.

I've been going to conventions for, you know, 30 years and there's nothing like that.

And that means now or never becomes part of the Comic-Con campus while offering a geeky space that's free to the public.

It's nice to be able to provide kind of an alternative for folks that are able to get into the con.

Gives people a little taste of Comic-Con without having to get into the convention center and Trites works hard to lure people to the shop.

With events an ever popular exclusives, we're doing two store exclusive covers this year.

We've got the exquisite corpses.

Rascal Randy.

Number one.

This version is only available from now or Never.

We have 500 copies that will be selling during Comic-Con.

We are also doing a store exclusive variant of Godzilla versus San Diego Comic-Con.

The cover art is by our friend Juston McKey exclusives are definitely a draw.

Even old ones.

I've got boxes behind me of Comic-Con exclusives from years past.

We've got so many folks who will stay the week after Comic-Con, who are visiting from Australia or from Italy, and they're looking for something that they can only get in San Diego.

So we're having these con exclusives, is a huge plus, but Trites doesn't stop there.

He also brings in talent for signings.

We know for sure that on Wednesday we've got Patrick Horvath signing creator from beneath the trees where nobody sees.

We have Matt Rosenberg coming in for a signing on Thursday.

We have Corpse Talk confirmed on Saturday.

Those are the three events that we've got 100% locked down.

We are still getting folks reaching out, like almost every day, like publishers who don't have a booth at Comic-Con but still want to hold an event or international artists.

We got, an art rep, from the Philippines says that they've got four creators that they're repping Trites wants to accommodate as many requests as possible, but he has limited space and a small team.

Plus, there will be vendors suddenly needing a thousand boards and bags or collectors trying to sell something.

I've got a 9.8 graded, Giant-Size X-Men number one that I'm bringing to the show to sell for $40,000.

What is your offer?

But that's the nature of the beast.

It's coming in hotter than I'd like it to, but that's Comic-Con.

We will start to see an uptick in traffic on Monday.

Nothing cuckoo bananas.

And then Wednesday is when the rubber really meets road.

Thursday, because it's the first official day of the show, is probably going to be our lowest traffic day in the shop.

That still doesn't mean that it's a slow day in the shop.

It's still going to be like three times an average Thursday for us.

Trites has a dedicated team of staff and volunteers.

But Comic-Con can be daunting and challenging even for the most experienced veterans.

If anybody has any questions, do not hesitate to give me a shout.

If you think of something you know midnight the day before or like, do not hesitate.

Like call, email, text, mention it in the shop because Comic-Con is like a force of nature and will hit town on Wednesday.

Whether you're ready or not.

Beth Accomando, KPBS news.

And we will have more from Beth Accomando and her Comic-Con coverage later in the show.

And KPBS will be busy all weekend, bringing your updates from Comic-Con on our digital platforms.

And that includes a special Comic-Con section at kpbs.org.

Look for the banner link on our home page.

And of course, follow KPBS on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for videos and images from the convention center and all the Gaslamp.

Another big story this week is the extreme heat.

It definitely played a role on Wednesday when a brush fire ignited dangerously close to homes in Ramona.

Tammy Murga met up with one couple who praised the quick response of firefighters.

This porch holds a lot of memories for Harvey and Carolyn Mendiola.

Yeah, we had my nephew's wedding here.

We had our, renewal of our.

Yes, the porch and a few turkeys.

Harvey, carved by hand, didn't survive the Creelman fire within seconds.

Not a minute.

Seconds, that wind picked up this whole entire mountainside.

Just like, ignited.

I felt that heat.

My eyes burn.

It was hard to breathe.

It was hard to breathe.

So she said, stop.

Let's get the heck out of here.

Embers burned trees and other belongings in their backyard.

But fire crews managed to stop the blaze before it reached their house.

The fire charred 350 acres of brush just behind their home.

Cal fire officials say the newly upgraded Ramona Air Base opened just in time to fight this fire.

Air tankers there were able to reload with retardant from the new base as fast as three minutes, and make drops more quickly.

The quick turnaround allows us to just fight this fire and constantly put retardant and water on it, while our personnel on the ground are able to cut hand line and hose lines around it.

Josh Cormode is with Cal Fire.

He says the tankers supported 300 personnel.

They managed to control most of the fire this morning, less than a day after it started.

Cal fire reported no injuries and one accessory dwelling unit destroyed.

As for the Mendiolas, this is just material.

But most importantly, you know, we have our house and I want to give thanks to, you know, the fire department for being a big blessing to Ramona.

Tammy Murga, KPBS news.

And make sure to sign up for our newsletter to get a list of our most popular stories.

Here are some from this week.

How to weather San Diego County's increasing extreme heat.

It's part of our Price of San Diego series.

Fallbrook residents fight San Diego County over road maintenance, funding, and consumer advocacy groups formally challenge SDG&E's proposal to raise rates in 2028.

The next story is also one of our most popular KPBS public matters.

Reporter Jake Gotta sat down this week with San Diego City Council member Marni von Wilpert.

It's her first interview since announcing her recent battle with breast cancer.

Here's what she had to say about her prognosis and how it's affecting her campaign for Congress.

Tell me just a little bit about your prognosis and why you decided to share this information.

So, in late spring, around the end of April, early May, I received a routine letter in the mail from my health care provider.

I'm a sharp patient, and the letter said, Marni, it's time for your annual mammogram.

And I honestly thought about putting it off, given that I was, in the middle of the City Council budget season and a very competitive congressional primary.

But I'm really grateful I didn't because I went in and a few weeks after that, they called me back and said they diagnosed you with early stage breast cancer.

Believe me, I was shocked.

I had no idea.

And it was caught on the mammogram.

And ever since, it's been a journey of a lot of doctor's appointments, I've learned that, but I'm really grateful for the care I received.

I had an incredible, surgeon who three weeks ago was able to remove the cancer from my body.

My lymph nodes are clear.

It didn't spread, and, we caught it so early.

I don't need chemo, and I am now cancer free, and I'm grateful for it.

But I'm happy to be able to share that good news story here.

I just realize that not every American has the same access to health care I do, and so not everyone is going to get that good news.

And so that's why I decided to become public and talk about this.

And of course, that is good news.

And congratulations on that.

Can you expand just a little more on what your thoughts and feelings were when you first heard this news, and what went through your mind?

Yes.

So I was completely shocked.

You know, I went in for a sonogram after my mammogram, and I'm perfectly happy to talk about this, because this is women's health, and some men get breast cancer, but it's mainly women.

You know, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

And after the mammogram caught, a potential tumor, I went in for a sonogram, which has been routine.

I've done that many years.

But then the doctor stepped in and turned the lights on, and she held my hand and said, I'm so sorry to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure you have breast cancer.

And my first thought was, I don't have time for this.

And I mean, how many women are juggling work and family and kids and maybe aging parents and and how hard it is to then have to make room in your life to take time off for all the doctors appointments you need to do.

I have, you know, radiation oncologist.

I have a surgical oncologist, a medical oncologist.

I just the amount of doctors appointments I had to have also made me realize how lucky I was that I could take time off from work to do this.

Yeah.

And, you know, tell me how you manage this while at the same time running for Congress and then also at the same time you're a city council member.

I assume that's a lot to juggle.

It was a lot to juggle.

I balanced, campaign events at night with doctors appointments in the morning and then running to City Hall for important budget hearings and votes.

With then going back to the doctor, sometimes twice in a day.

And it made me think about how lucky I was, you know, I could afford my mammogram, my biopsies and my surgery without having to worry about whether it would throw me into bankruptcy.

And I know that millions of Americans don't face that same security.

And so would you say that this is, refocused some of your energy or maybe your things that you would be campaigning on when you're running for Congress?

You know, it's made it even stronger.

You know, I've always been talking about health care since day one.

And, Jake, one of the most beautiful things that happened when I became public about my diagnosis and how my prognosis is excellent and I haven't missed a beat, is the amount of love I received.

I was honestly quite afraid to tell people that I had a cancer diagnosis.

I thought they might give up on me or tell me I wasn't good enough anymore, and instead I've been met with nothing but love.

I mean, on all sides of the political spectrum, on all sides of this primary, people have come out to say, I'm a breast cancer survivor, or my mom is or my wife is, and how can we help you in the amount of care packages and an ice cream?

I welcome ice cream deliveries.

So that I've received has really touched my heart because sometimes in our political world, everything can feel so divided.

But in a moment of crisis, we as a community came together and I felt so much love and I'm so grateful for that.

Marni, thank you so much for being here.

I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us and tell your story.

Thank you for allowing me to come in and share my story, and I want everyone to know if you ever get a cancer diagnosis, you are not alone.

Please reach out for help.

And please know that there are so many people who want to fight to make sure that your life is saved, just like mine was.

Public matters is a partnership with KPBS.

inewsource and Voice of San Diego.

You can see more of our stories at kpbs.org/public matters.

San Diego just wrapped up another successful pride parade and festival.

There's hope that 2027 will be the year it plays out.

With the backdrop of the new pride promenade in Hillcrest, John Carroll went on a media tour this week to see its progress.

Looking at the stretch of normal street between University and Lincoln avenues today still requires a bit of imagination for what this stretch will look like when complete construction finally began in February of 2025 on the Pride Promenade after some tough questions were answered.

How do you build a public space with no land, no money?

Right?

You got a lot of will.

That's Hillcrest Business Association executive director Ben Nichols.

Before a media preview tour of the site, he says the will to get the promenade done led to a unique private public partnership, bringing the city, Sandag and the Hillcrest business community together to fund this nearly $30 million project.

So the community and the city have sort of cobbled together this patchwork that actually brings a whole host of interests together that solve a lot of problems.

Some problems were discovered after construction began, like aging infrastructure underground.

If you've driven through Hillcrest any time over the last year or so, you know it is construction central down here.

Crews are right now replacing old storm drains under University Avenue while work continues on the Pride Promenade.

But what you might not know is that that project and this one are essentially one and the same.

The area around the intersection of University and Normal was infamous for flooding when it rained.

That was in part due to storm drains that didn't connect.

When all of this is finished, project backers say that won't happen anymore.

People will say, yeah, the construction's a headache, but we've got this beautiful thing coming so people see the light at the end of the tunnel.

They see what's coming and they're excited about it.

What's coming?

A bike lane painted in pride, rainbow colors that will link existing bike lanes on University to lanes on Howard Street.

More trees have gone in.

There are shade structures, new lighting, sound systems throughout the promenade, a children's playground, all in all, what Nichols calls a welcoming space for the neighborhood.

And anyone who wants the Hillcrest vibe.

It's kind of like if you were to take the essence of Hillcrest, what is Hillcrest and distill it into a public plaza?

This is my space.

I feel safe here.

I feel comfortable here.

I feel energized to be here.

That's kind of that's what we're trying to create.

That energy and the tone.

When you come here.

The officials on this tour admit the project is behind its original schedule, but they say that energy and that tone will be available to the public when the Pride Promenade is complete by the end of the year.

The pipe replacement around it not scheduled to be finished until the end of 2027.

John Carroll, KPBS news.

Local author and naturalist Richard Louv has spent his career writing about nature and what happens to our lives without it.

KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast, Julia Dixon Evans Hiked with Louv in Julian to learn how he encourages a deeper relationship with the outdoors.

Richard Louv is in his 70s, but when he's hiking, I'm kind of like walking with a two year old.

It's really stopping and looking at the detail.

Louv is the author of the 2005 book Last Child in the Woods Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.

His latest book, noticing, just came out Louv wants people to notice more deeply.

To do that, he recommends spending time outside deep noticing basically is, you know, complete awareness of where you're at and looking for things in nature and then being mindful about where you are.

Louv has dedicated his life to writing about the importance of connecting with nature at any age, and points to research that suggests it's universally good for our health.

They found, and in every culture, in every country they looked at, they found the same thing is that people feel better when they go outside.

One 2023 study found that among young people, a brief walk outside produce greater cognitive benefits than taking the same walk on a treadmill.

Researchers saw improvements in neural responses involved in memory, attention, reaction times and impulse control.

We've got 30, 50.

Some scientists say as many as 100 senses that we don't even know.

We're using most of them most of the time, but we're far more sensitized to what's around us in the natural world than we usually think we are.

Louv says screens limit our sensory experience, relying mostly on sight and sound.

What are we doing?

We're putting kids in school, sitting in front of computer screens and basically asking them to push away as many of those 30 or 40 senses as they can, so they can limit it down to a couple senses.

That to me is the definition of being less alive.

Louv sees deep practice noticing as an alternative.

And one suggestion he offers is finding what he calls a sit spot.

You find a place and you return to it.

Or he says, go back to your roots.

Way back.

I think pretend they're a four year old.

And when you go for a walk, stop as much as a four year old does.

Drives parents nuts.

But, if you stop, you'll see something in that grass.

You'll see something crawling in the dirt.

You'll see, mountain lion scat.

You wouldn't have seen if you hadn't stopped.

If Louv's earlier, work was a warning that children's relationships with nature could disappear.

His new book is about what happens when adults, even 70 somethings, play in the dirt again.

You know, as kids, we noticed many of us, not all of us, but some of this is rediscovering the joy that you had when you were a kid out in the in the field or in the woods or climbing a tree, as I did often, and looking at the life in the grooves of the bark, you know, the transparent little spiders, aphids, all of that stuff.

A child takes in much more, easily than adults.

But the child really starts out that way, and then we lose that many of us.

But it's not gone.

It's still in us.

Part of the reason I wanted to write this book is to focus on that.

But I remember the joy that I felt as a kid doing what I just described.

I wanted to feel that joy again.

Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS news.

Such great advice.

And you can find our longer interview with Richard Louv.

In a recent episode of The Finest, wherever you get your podcasts.

The finest is also working on an episode from Comic-Con, which will be out soon.

And now we have more of our stories from Comic-Con.

KPBS Arts reporter Beth Accomando caught up with artist Rafael Navarro.

He talks about his lucha noir style and being included in the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Celebrating 30 years this year.

The former masked Mexican wrestler who resides now as a private eye.

But between us chickens, he's more of a paranormal investigator.

Hunting monsters, I suppose.

But because he has the ability to read people's dreams in a very surrealistic when you are less Fellini sort of way, he realizes that the monsters that he may be hunting may not be exactly the monsters that everybody claims to be.

They might be just victims of circumstances.

With the character.

Sonambulo artist Rafael Navarro created a genre known as lucha noir, basically, hardboiled detective stories, right?

But with a masked Mexican wrestler.

Touch to it, if you will.

Usually the first thing I draw when I draw Sonambulo is I draw the fedora in many ways.

Sonambulo to me, he's basically Mexican.

Robert Mitchum, he's like Philip marlowe and Pancho Villa, I guess all all at the same time, too, with some weird, strange supernatural power.

But, you know, there's always those traditional aspects that you see in detective stories that I always tried to invoke when I, when I draw Sonambulo, you know, there's always the shadows.

I've always liked to play with shadows, even in my storyboards.

If I ever do a Sonambulo feature film, live action or animated or whatever, I can only imagine the Symphony of Shadows that would be coming out of the darn thing.

We also need to create mood, like I said.

So with my little whiteout, I decided to add a little.

A little rain coming down here, And there you have it.

Navarro says.

It's a celebration of everything he loves Mexico, film noir, German expressionism, Mexican cinema, surrealistic dream things, imagery.

It's like making a burrito all your favorite ingredients in one big giant burrito.

You know, for you to enjoy.

A representative from the Lucas Museum contacted him about including Sonambulo.

The painting that was acquired by the Lucas Museum was issue three of Mexican Standoff, basically the most visually depicted form of the term Mexican standoff.

It is for me, it's basically Sonambulo holding back the living dead with 245 automatics.

The museum also archived 32 pages from the first issue, but now that it's in the hands of the Lucas Museums, I feel more honored now because the now they're officially archiving it, and I'm hoping for other generations to enjoy them as I have enjoyed the work in my hands, and hopefully it'll inspire others to do the same.

And what does the future hold for Navarro and his character?

A couple of friends of mine and I and the industry we've been trying to make a Sonambulo film slash animation project for the longest time.

It's all, you know, always the bridesmaid, never the bride sort of situation.

It's been imagined in some form or some way.

So check it out guys, and tell me what you think.

You can see Navarro's bold, dynamic work when the museum opens September 22nd in Los Angeles.

Beth Accomando, KPBS news.

KPBS has a team of nearly two dozen journalists working on all things Comic-Con, and that includes Midday Edition and Roundtable, both shows broadcast live this week from Comic-Con.

Here are some photos from the crew.

Hard at work.

We've talked with voice actors, experts on Afrofuturism, a graphic novelist, and many others.

You can stream both midday edition and roundtable any time at KPBS.org, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.

We hope that you enjoyed this look at KPBS news this week.

I'm Maya Trabulsi, thanks for joining us.