City Heights Field Guide | May 14, 2014

City Heights Field Guide | May 14, 2014  Navigating a Changing Community

Take Action   Now through May 31: Jamie Oliver's Big Rig Teaching Kitchen at Hoover High School Free cooking demonstrations. Sign up to attend one here. May 14: Presentation on Police Racial Profiling Data Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman will present to the City Council's Public Safety and Livable Communities Committee three months of traffic stop data. The report was requested after a Speak City Heights investigation and members of the community brought to light concerns police officers are stopping people because of their race. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Cherokee Point Elementary School. May 17: Teen Producers Project Screening Watch videos produced by local teenagers 10:30 a.m. at the Digital Gym, 2921 El Cajon Blvd. Learn more. May 18: Reality Changers Scholarship Celebration 4:30 p.m. at the University of San Diego's Jenny Craig Pavilion. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox will speak. May 20: Meet the Mayor Talk with Mayor Kevin Faulconer 5 p.m. at Cherokee Point Elementary School May 22: Weigh In On the Design of Hoover's New Theater and Three-Story Wing The public is invited to the 6:30 p.m. Hoover High School Design Task Force Meeting to discuss designs for the campus' new theater and three-story classroom and administration building. June 3: City Heights Town Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. at the Mid-City Police Substation. June 4: Taxi Driver Health Fair 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 4265 Fairmount Ave. Free health screenings, information on insurance enrollment, food and giveaways for taxi drivers and their families.

New Bike-Share Program Soft-Pedals City Heights A map of stations for the city's new bike-share program is out and City Heights didn't make the list. Now community advocates are saying DecoBike should serve communities where more people lack cars.  "We're giving up public space to a private company and I think the public space ought to benefit the residents, in particular City Heights, which has always, it seems, been neglected from an overall city perspective," resident Samantha Ollinger said.  >>Check out our map of the stations and which communities have the highest rate of residents without cars. Fighting the Summer Meal Gap with Food Stamps Summer meal programs haven't drawn much participation from kids likely to experience hunger when school - and its free lunches - end. Now, local anti-hunger advocates are calling to expand a pilot program that gave families more CalFresh, or food stamp, dollars when school is out.      >>The pilot showed kids were less hungry and ate more fresh foods when given assistance to eat at home. SDPD Gets Low Marks on Transparency The San Diego Police Department will release its first round of racial profiling data since 2001 6 p.m. Wednesday at Cherokee Point Elementary School. The presentation could be turning a new leaf for the department when it comes to transparency. A local researcher gave it a six out of 41 on his transparency scale. >>We explain in four charts. Crime Mapping: Efforts to Improve Safety in City Heights The latest from The AjA Project youth reporters: Why the cops want you to track crime, too, and how to do it from your home computer. >>Read more. Exploring Their Roots Through Agriculture The IRC's Ralph Achenbach and Somali Bantu refugee Hamadi Machiwa joined KPBS last week to talk about the Bahati Mamas and farming as a means to support refugee families. >>Miss the radio and television segments? Find them here. Early English Language Learners Excel Academically Students who learn English as a second language by fifth grade are among the top performers throughout their academic career. >>Read more. More Early Education Means Less Crime Missing out on preschool can mean learning gaps that make kids more likely to drop out of school and more vulnerable to ending up on the wrong side of the law. >>Read more. Sincerely, Megan Burks Speak City Heights