San Diego's top stories for Tuesday, July 21 | 6PM

[00:00:10]Ensenus residents demanding safer streets. The protest happening tonight.

[00:00:14]>> The city wants to build a new fire station in this open space in City Heights. I'll tell you why environmental groups and the local community don't want it there.

[00:00:21]>> An invasive insect could have hitched a ride into San Diego on a plant that was sold here at Costco. I'll tell you what you need to know coming up.

[00:00:29]>> Each year, thousands of people try to score a spot as a volunteer. So, what does it take to earn your way in to comic >> cooking Italian just the way her grandmother taught her? I mean, chef Maria as Salare. Coming up in the Zeil.

[00:00:48]>> Three children have been hit and killed by cars on the streets of Ensenus since 2023. Tonight, community members are gathering outside city hall saying enough is enough. Good evening and thank you for joining us. I'm Carlo Chicetto.

[00:01:02]>> I'm Stephanie Simmons in tonight for Marcela Lee. That protest started within the last hour. News8 Stephie Ro joins us live now with more from there on this.

[00:01:12]Stephie, what's happening right now?

[00:01:15]>> Yeah, well the protest organized by Safe Streets and Cenus. It just started about 30 minutes ago and really people are out here outside city hall calling for an end and calling for the city to do more to stop traffic violence. Now you may recall we have extensively covered that on July 10th uh 17-year-old Saraphina Rose Fedic was hit and killed by a car when crossing Camino del Norte. Tonight, the mothers of children hit and killed by cars in Ensenitus will be speaking out, including the mother of 15-year-old Brody Champlain Kingman. She's actually speaking behind me right now, and he was killed in an ebike accident in 2023. And we're also going to hear from the mother of 12-year-old Emory Chalakian, who was hit and killed when crossing the street in 2025. Now, Safe Streets Antinus, they are calling on the city to hold an emergency town hall meeting and to declare a state of emergency over repeated pedestrian fatalities.

[00:02:12]>> Have been playing by the rules. We have been coming to city council. We've been talking in the 3minut time slot and we want to come and say everything we want to say.

[00:02:27]I've also previously reported on Safe Streets and Cenas's call for red light cameras to be installed at high-risisk intersections to curb reckless driving and to prevent fatal collisions. And just minutes ago, I actually interviewed the mayor of Ensenus, and he tells me he actually uh believes there are solutions that need to be made um to curb these traffic fatalities and um all these accidents that keep happening in Ensenus. You'll hear from him tonight at 9 and 11 here on News8. But for now, reporting live from Ensenus, I'm Stephie Ro, News8.

[00:03:01]>> It's a very important conversation, Stephie. Thank you. And speaking of driving safer, the city of San Diego wants you to slow down. Speed limits will be slower on some streets. As part of the city's comprehensive speed management program, streets with higher numbers of fatal or serious accidents, safety corridors, and areas with high pedestrian activity could see the speed limit go down by 5 m hour. School zones could drop to as low as 15 mph, and business districts could go down to 25.

[00:03:31]A proposed new fire station in San Diego's City Heights is facing growing opposition even as the city says the project is critical to improving emergency response times. Environmental groups say they support a new fire station, >> but they argue the city chose the wrong location for this. News8's Alex Cheney joins us live with the details. So, Alex, why are they saying it's the wrong location?

[00:03:54]Uh well Stephanie, they say that yes, it's good to have a new fire station, especially in an area that the city says has some of the worst response times in the entire city. However, the opposition for this new fire station says that this is going to come at the cost of valuable open space.

[00:04:11]>> Public safety and environmental stewardship are not competing priorities. We can and we must achieve both. Environmental groups and community members rallied today against the city's plan to build a new fire station on a hillside near 47th Street and Fairmont Avenue in the Webster neighborhood.

[00:04:29]Since 2015, the city has planned to build the fire station after a 2010 study by the city found the area had some of the slowest fire response times in San Diego.

[00:04:39]>> Permanently impact open space. But opponents say the current site would wipe out valuable open space, disturb habitat in the Choya Creek whed, and require major grading of the hillside.

[00:04:49]>> Our community is being asked to sacrifice one of its last opportunities for green space in a community that has no neighborhood park. Neighbors who live in the nearby Leisure Lands mobile home park also worry about the impact of a four-story fire station, saying the only road in and out of their community could become more congested.

[00:05:11]>> We will be hearing the sounds. We will be hearing the fire trucks and the rumbling as the sound carries down to the canyon. Tyler Becker, the city's engineering department spokesman, said the city is not commenting until the environmental impact report is completed and returned, but did say next steps include completing the EIR, issuing a development permit, and securing full funding for the project in 2014. The city says the project was estimated to cost $12 million. It has since more than doubled to 28 million. If city staff approves the plan, opponents will have 10 business days to file an appeal, which would send the project to the city council for review.

[00:05:51]>> That is not good planning.

[00:05:52]>> Charles Ry, the deputy director of Sierra Club San Diego, says the city did not seriously consider other possible locations and has not given the public the opportunity for a hearing with city council to this point.

[00:06:04]>> The community, all these people behind me, deserve a voice and San Diego deserves a fire station built in the right place through the right process.

[00:06:14]The city says the fire station continues to be of high priority because of those slower response times in the area while the opponents really want the city to take another look at those alternate locations that won't take up their open space. Reporting live, I'm Alex Cheney.

[00:06:29]Back over to you.

[00:06:30]>> Thanks, Alex. Chula Vista City Council is meeting right now and one of the items up for discussion tonight is the consideration of a ballot measure that could lead to a big pay raise for council members. They're currently in public discussion on that item as we speak. Their salary would go from around $64,000 to $110,000.

[00:06:50]The mayor's salary would go from about $161,000 to $171,000.

[00:06:56]This is all part of a proposed amendment to the city charter, which would also increase term limits for the mayor and council members from two terms to three.

[00:07:05]If approved, it would head to the November ballot. Also happening tonight, the Powe City Council is set to consider a proposal to ban AI data centers. Mayor Steve Voss and Council Member Anita Edmonson say these facilities demand too much from public infrastructure, including the electrical grid and water supply. They want to draft an ordinance to prohibit the development and operation of standalone commercial data centers in the city. That meeting gets underway at 7.

[00:07:40]We are only hours away from the return of one of pop culture's biggest events of the year.

[00:07:45]>> Yeah. Tens of thousands of cosplayers and comic book fans are expected to be gallivanting through downtown San Diego over the next few days. But there are some things you need to keep in mind if you plan on joining them. First of all, patience is key if you are driving as traffic is going to be rough down there.

[00:08:02]Parking down there will also run you anywhere between 35 and $100 a day. So, while it may be crowded, your best bet is public transit. MTS will have trolleys running through the area every 15 minutes. San Diego police will also be out ensuring that everyone stays safe. They suggest keeping an eye out on your surroundings and to report anything suspicious.

[00:08:25]Historically, most of our calls for service have been medical related. So, we encourage people to hydrate, especially if they're in the Austin costumes like behind us. I know those things could get hot. So, we encourage people definitely to take care of themselves.

[00:08:41]>> And temperatures climbing in the next couple of days. The hydration reminder that is extra important for folks. And more than 100,000 people are expected to be inside the convention center for this year's Comic-Con >> over the course of the whole weekend.

[00:08:55]But behind the scenes is an army of unsung heroes keeping it all running.

[00:08:59]News8's Abby Black has more on the competition to become a Comic-Con volunteer and the super perk that comes with it.

[00:09:06]>> Comic-Con starts this week and getting into the convention center doesn't always mean buying a badge. Each year, thousands of people try to score a spot as a volunteer. So, what does it take to earn your way in?

[00:09:22]>> Comic-Con is a massive beast. Up to 150,000 people descend on the convention center. Behind the cosplay in the crowds, there's a heartbeat that keeps the universe alive.

[00:09:33]>> We have about 6 to 8,000 volunteers.

[00:09:36]>> David Glazer's not just the voice of Comic-Con. His fandom started 48 years ago.

[00:09:41]>> I started attending uh in 1978. I was like, "Oh my gosh, these people are like my tribe."

[00:09:47]>> Then he started volunteering and was later hired as their spokesperson.

[00:09:51]>> And then in 1984, uh, they said, "Hey, you know, you know about publicity. Do you want to help out in the PR department >> like Gler, many senior staff start off volunteering, but it's not a gig that's easy to come by. Thousands apply.

[00:10:04]>> The criteria really is um those who've done very well and want to come back, we would love to have them back." So they kind of get first dibs on placement.

[00:10:15]>> There's no interview. You find out by email, often within a day. Applications have changed over the years. The minimum age is now 17. And each shift is at least 3 hours.

[00:10:25]>> Traffic flow, um, bag stuffing, uh, handing out badges, lanyards, books, things like that.

[00:10:32]>> Line control has its own department making sure boots are staffed. But the biggest perk, a free badge usable before or after your shift. Obviously, people want to come because they want to experience the convention. That that makes sense. We all do. But even as a volunteer, you have a job to do. And uh you know, if you're dedicated to that and you do a good job, you know, we'd like to have you back.

[00:10:53]>> 2026 volunteers are booked, but registration opens again early next year in two rounds. Returning volunteers get first dibs, then it opens to the public.

[00:11:02]You'll need a Comic-Con member ID to apply, and starting in 2027, the minimum age moves up to age 18. You have to have a desire and I think if you have a knowledge of of uh pop culture and comics and other that helps >> at Comic-Con. Abby Black, News8.

[00:11:17]>> People plan their whole year around this and it is so awesome that we get to call it home.

[00:11:22]>> It's awesome. And that route to getting a pass, we have some people here who have volunteered and are volunteers this year. They say it's well worth the effort.

[00:11:29]>> Yeah. One of our producers, >> if you're looking for a different angle in, there you go.

[00:11:32]>> So many people coming in town for it. A lot of lightsabers going through TSA right now.

[00:11:36]>> So many. So many. So many. Okay. By the way, our coverage of one of pop culture's biggest events of the year does not stop here.

[00:11:43]>> Yeah. From the humble beginnings in a hotel basement, if you can believe it, to the global cultural phenomenon it is today. We take you inside the history of Comic Con. You can stream it now on our free CBS 8 app. And stay tuned Thursday morning as our morning team will be live from the convention center. As we enter the peak of fire season here in California, state leaders are showing off new technology they say will help respond to fires faster.

[00:12:08]>> Those details still ahead for you. Plus, despite push back from some state workers, Governor Nuomo is holding firm on a return to office mandate. We'll share what he told our Denny Huff when pressed about lingering concerns >> and a push for stronger enforcement amid ongoing concerns over sea lion harassment in La Hoya.

[00:12:27]If you are going to be heading out for Comic-Con, just keep in mind that we're going to have some upper 70s to low 80s when it comes to daytime highs that take us all the way into the weekend. But across inland portions of our county, and I mean the entire inland portion, we're going to be under heat alerts starting tomorrow. We'll take a look at those details coming up.