Last week, members of my team and I toured UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute, the university’s hub for cutting-edge research that brings together engineers, scientists, and innovators to tackle real-world challenges. We learned about ALERTCalifornia, an advanced wildfire detection program enhancing safety statewide that the Qualcomm Institute and other UCSD researchers are responsible for managing.

Developed at UCSD and initially intended to be for geologic monitoring, ALERTCalifornia (then known as High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network) quickly became useful to stay on top of wildfires as they pop up.

Nearly twenty-five years later, ALERTCalifornia now operates a network of more than 1,100 cameras and sensors across California that feed real-time data to CAL FIRE and local emergency responders. Now using artificial intelligence, the system can spot smoke or heat signatures within seconds—detecting fires faster than 911 calls over 30% of the time.

It's amazing to see innovation, science, and public service coming together right here in San Diego to build such an impressive program that protects lives and property across the state. As someone who takes fire prevention and public safety as seriously as possible, I'm proud this work is happening in our community – and I'll continue to champion the local partnerships and innovation that keep San Diegans safe.

Thank you to the Qualcomm Institute for having us and for all your great work!

How the City's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement Is Holding Bad Actors Accountable

When I helped create the City's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) in my first term, the goal was simple: make sure that everyone who does business with or in the City of San Diego plays by the rules. Whether it's protecting workers from wage theft or ensuring contractors follow the law, the goal of creating the OLSE was to ensure that every worker is treated with dignity.

This year, that vision paid off. The OLSE’s first-ever debarment case led to a company being banned from City contracts after repeated violations of wage and labor laws — a major step toward holding bad actors accountable and ensuring our taxpayer dollars only go to honest businesses.

It’s exactly the kind of oversight and integrity we envisioned when we established this office: rooting out wrongdoing, protecting workers, and building trust in local government.

Making Sure ‘Get it Done’ is Getting it Done Clearly and Effectively for San Diegans

“A piece of feedback that I’ve heard from both my staff and from constituents is about how when a request is closed merely because there’s been five hundred reports of the exact same thing at the exact same GPS coordinates. If there is a way to say that the request has been closed and merged with another active request, that’d help folks understand that someone from the City didn’t just go and disregard their request.”

That’s exactly what I told City staff at a Rules Committee meeting earlier this year when we got an update on Get it Done. Those who have submitted a report through the Get it Done app might know what I’m talking about; though you’ve received a message saying the issue was resolved, in reality nothing has actually changed.

What’s been happening is that when several neighbors report the same problem, the City department responsible will keep just one ticket open and close the duplicates. Though we at the City know that they weren’t just marking tickets closed for no reason, residents have often felt ignored or dismissed.

This week, my team received an update: they’ve fixed the issue!

Thank you City staff for taking action here to ensure good communication with our residents. Setting expectations and being clear with folks matters – so I’m glad to see that we’ve found a way to ensure that there is no misunderstanding about what has happened when a ticket is closed for this reason.

Moment of Kindness: How Linda Vista Elementary Made Sure that Everyone Feels Included, No Matter Their Disability

Together with his teacher and her husband, nine-year-old Eddie Garcia is showing San Diego what inclusion, kindness, and joy look like in motion.

Eddie is a fourth grader at Linda Vista Elementary School and was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy four years ago. Though Eddie faced limitations on the playground in the past due to his condition, he can now race alongside his classmates thanks to a custom-built racetrack designed just for his wheelchair.

The racetrack started as just chalk lines and cones drawn by his teacher and her husband, and it’s now become a permanent playground feature that allows all the kids to enjoy and cheer Eddie on.

Eddie’s teacher says he inspires others with his kindness and courage every day; “his favorite word is ‘kind’ because he enjoys helping friends when they're sad,” tells Jeff Zevely in the CBS 8 story.

What a great, heartwarming story. Thanks Eddie + the Linda Vista Elementary community for your exemplary kindness!

This email series is called the 'Raul Roundup.’ I'll be sending along a few things I'm seeing online, reading about in the news, and doing as your City Councilmember. These fun, informative, and short emails will arrive straight to your inbox every Friday.

Hope you have a great weekend.

All the best,

Raul

P.S. Feel free to forward this email to a friend, family member, neighbor, colleague, etc., who might find this Roundup interesting or informative. And if you’re the person who has been forwarded this email, you can subscribe here!

Off the Dais: Welcome, Tacos El Franc!

How the Qualcomm Institute Is Saving Lives Through Innovation -- Right Here in San Diego

How the City's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement Is Holding Bad Actors Accountable

Making Sure ‘Get it Done’ is Getting it Done Clearly and Effectively for San Diegans

Moment of Kindness: How Linda Vista Elementary Made Sure that Everyone Feels Included, No Matter Their Disability