Our whole San Diego community is grieving after the death of San Diego Police Department Officer Austin Machitar and the serious injury of Officer Zach Martinez. Officer Martinez, his family, and the family of Officer Machitar are in my prayers. These events are a powerful and somber reminder of the immense sacrifice that our men and women in blue make to keep our communities safe.

If you would like to support the families of our officers, please go to this link and consider a donation.

May Officer Machitar rest in peace.

Survey voters have spoken loudly and clearly: you want more reports from the job and explanations of local government issues!

Thanks all who filled out the survey. Taking it into consideration, I’d love a little more feedback on what specifically you’d like to see:

It was such an honor to partner with Father Joe’s Village to announce their new 45 bed detox facility a few weeks back – which increases the City of San Diego’s detox capacity by over 22x – and I had the pleasure of getting back in the room with their folks recently for a podcast discussion about behavioral health and homelessness. In the podcast, which included a panel of myself, a behavioral health therapist from UCSD, and staff from Father Joe’s, we get into extensive detail about how we can help people going through mental health and substance abuse crises, including both those who are unhoused and those who have a home.

I have so much gratitude for all the work that Father Joe’s Villages and other nonprofits like it do to serve our community. To listen to the podcast, please click here or search up Neighbors Helping Neighbors wherever you get your podcasts.

For those who use the San Carlos Branch Library, David Ege will be no stranger – but if you don’t know David, he is a truly dedicated public servant and pillar for all those who use the library. I happened to be at the San Carlos Library late last week, so I stopped by to chat with David and ask him a few questions. Here are his answers:

Q: What do you love most about working for the San Diego Public Library system?

A: The thing I enjoy most about working for the San Diego Public Library system is providing programming and resources for our patrons. I really enjoy seeing the look of excitement on the people’s faces when they are engaged in our programs. I love to overhear kids telling their parents how much fun they had at an event and it’s very fulfilling to see the look on a patron’s face when you find them the book they have not read in 20 years. We also have those rare moments when a patron comes to tell you that you affected their life just by providing them with the perfect resource just when they needed it most.

Q: What sorts of things do San Diego residents have access to at the San Carlos Library, or at any San Diego library branch, that they might not know about?

Visit San Diego attractions for FREE with the San Diego Public Library's Discover & Go program. This program offers family day passes to several of San Diego's biggest attractions, including the New Children's Museum, Museum of Us, The San Diego Museum of Art, Children's Discovery Museum and Skateworld! Passes can be reserved online with a valid San Diego Public Library card.

In collaboration with the California State Library, California State Parks is providing free vehicle passes to over 200 participating state parks. The California State Library Parks Pass permits entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one motorcycle. Along with a State Parks Pass, you can also check out a backpack that includes, field guides, binoculars, a magnifying glass, a compass, and more! 

Memory Kits are available at all San Diego Public Library locations. Family, friends, and caregivers across all generations can enjoy stimulating conversations and quality time with these fun, take-home games. Conversation card games include topics such as jobs and hobbies and Remember the Decade sets provide activities about major events from the 1950’s to the 2000’s.

Q: What are some awesome things going on at the San Carlos Library branch over the coming months that residents should check out?

The City of San Diego Personnel Department will be hosting an Employment Information Session on September 18th at 4:30 p.m. City Personnel staff will instruct patrons on how to seek employment with the City of San Diego and introduce the large variety of jobs available around the city.

On September 20 at 2:00 p.m. we will have a presentation by the San Diego Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).  San Diego Fire and Rescue Personnel will train and empower citizens in safe, effective neighborhood CERT teams. Patrons will learn life-saving actions that could help families, neighbors, and businesses get through the first few hours of an emergency.

Local artist, Terry Naughton, will have his paintings and drawings displayed in the Community Room from September 4th to September 30th. Mr. Naughton worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios for 17 years, working on all the major Disney animated films from 1985 to 2002. Come listen to his story at his Artist Reception on Saturday, September 21st, at 12:00 p.m.

The library will host author, Richard Carrico, on Friday, September 27th, at 2:00 p.m. Mr. Carrico’s book, Monsters on the Loose, details the unsolved murders of three women in San Diego in 1931. Local law enforcement, out-of-town criminologists, and investigators from what would become the FBI pursued hundreds of leads, but the killers were never brought to justice.

On September 30th at 3:30 p.m., join us for a very special Book and a Ballerina Storytime. A professional ballerina with the City Ballet of San Diego will read a story and teach some basic ballet dance steps. This program is a wonderful introduction to the world of classical ballet for kids.