San Diego Magazine’s Post

Birth centers are shuttering across the state–nineteen of them since 2020–and midwives say the state’s inflexible licensing requirements are to blame. In our California issue, we partnered with CalMatters to examine this deepening maternity care crisis. While most births in California take place in hospitals, birth centers serve a small but growing number of families, and health experts have pointed to birth centers as a way to expand capacity in communities where hospitals no longer deliver babies. The midwife-run clinics handle low-risk births and direct higher-risk pregnancies to hospitals. Licensure isn’t required; only six operating birth centers are licensed in California, while another 26 are unlicensed. But licensing enables practices to work with insurance plans and helps them serve lower-income families who can’t cover birthing costs out of pocket. Increasingly, only wealthy families who pay cash can afford to have a midwife or give birth outside of a hospital. More than 50 California hospital labor and delivery wards have closed in the past decade, creating maternity care deserts in rural communities and overburdening the remaining labor wards in cities and suburbs. Read more about the crisis and hear from those on the front lines here: https://lnkd.in/gUnNQh-y Story by Kristen Hwang; photos by Ariana Drehsler

In this episode of our Happy Half Hour podcast, Sam the Cooking Guy stops by. He's sitting pretty at 3.7 million YouTube followers and just opened his latest restaurant, Basta, in Little Italy. The new concept joins his other restaurants including Not Not Tacos, Samburgers, Graze, and Coo Coo’s Nest. In classic Sam style, the food follows only a few rules, resulting in brain-bending, mouth-watering combos like deep-fried pate à choux gnocchi with cacio e pepe aioli. On the podcast, Sam shares insights into his journey from being miserable in a corporate biotech job to finding success, fame, and, most importantly, happiness from taking the leap into his cooking and media career. Tune in here: https://lnkd.in/gwVPQWqS Sam Zien

Last chance to vote! Polls close Sunday, August 25. www.sdmag.com/cw-noms24 A few weeks back, we invited you to tell us about the San Diego women who’ve inspired you, encouraged you, lead you, and shaped you. And you did–in spades. Hundreds of nominations poured in: the stories of mentors and mentees, of changemakers and visionaries, of rising stars and pioneers. Now, it’s time to vote. ⁠ ⁠ This year’s nominees are making waves across 15 industries, from education to finance to STEM, but it's up to you to decide who will be recognized at our Celebrating Women Summit this November. Head to www.sdmag.com/cw-noms24 to cast your ballot by Sunday, August 25.⁠ Thank you to our sponsor, Rancho La Puerta, for supporting our Celebrating Women Awards program.

Voting is open now! Help us choose who will be honored in our 2024 Celebrating Women Awards. Vote for incredible women in 15 categories, from business to the arts to STEM. From established industry pioneers to younger rising stars with ambition in their eyes, there's a pantheon of inspiring locals in this lineup. The women with the most votes in each industry and subcategory will be honored at San Diego Magazine's 2024 Celebrating Women Summit on November 6. Voting is open through Sunday, August 25. Don't wait–cast your ballot now: https://lnkd.in/gfJhNHXv

Hey, San Diego students–San Diego Magazine is accepting applications for our fall internship program! From marketing to editorial to social media, we have opportunities across all of our departments. Ready to dive into the ever-changing (and ever-fun) world of media? We can't wait to meet you. Click here for more info: https://lnkd.in/gQfBhU4w Interns must be able to receive course credit through a university.

Forty-four-year-old Nitin Patel runs the Akshar Cash and Carry store, perched next to a temple, a few Indian restaurants, and a yoga studio. “I started here a decade ago, coming straight from Mumbai,” he says. “My family missed home, holidays, and our people. But we made this space our home.” In our latest issue, writer Madhushree Ghosh, who grew up shopping in an open-air market in a Bengali South Delhi neighborhood, explores how cash & carry markets offer a taste of the familiar to San Diego's immigrant communities. Read her full story here. https://lnkd.in/gQP-VgTe

A year ago today, the world woke up to learn about the devastating fires that engulfed historic Lahaina on the island of Maui. 365 days on, and the story is still unfolding for the beloved former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom. We followed Lahaina residents who are on the front lines of the rebuild—physically and emotionally—to hear their stories and thoughts on Lahaina’s progress and its future. Take a solemn ride down the eradicated Front Street with writer Danielle Allaire, who was born on Maui and raised in Lahaina herself. https://lnkd.in/ghMJurgT   Film photos by Wendy Laurel

“Joan liked her coffee black,” Irwin Jacobs says of his wife, Joan Jacobs, who had passed away at the age of 91 just two weeks before he sat down with editor Mateo Hoke to reflect on the philanthropist’s life. “We spent a lot of time here in the kitchen.”⁠ ⁠ The two met at Cornell at 17, married in 1954, and had four sons along the way. Irwin was a professor of engineering; Joan worked in schools and in the travel industry. When Irwin decided to quit to co-found Qualcomm, the couple had no idea they’d end up with a net worth of over $1 billion.⁠ ⁠ The Jacobses have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to arts, educational, medical, and scientific causes across San Diego, including more than $100 million to the San Diego Symphony after its bankruptcy in the 1990s.⁠ ⁠ “That was her idea,” Irwin says.⁠ ⁠ Joan’s legacy is apparent across the city–The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center, the Jacobs Medical Center—but it’s also felt at this kitchen table, where Irwin and Joan ate three meals a day together and drank their coffee.⁠ ⁠ Read more about Joan’s extraordinary life, as told by Irwin, here: https://lnkd.in/g3nKTWNU

Little Italy wasn’t always the bustling bastion of Aperol spritzes and excellent dogspotting that we know today. In the early 20th century, the neighborhood was a stronghold of tuna canneries, which employed thousands of immigrant fishermen from Italy and Portugal. But the I-5 tore through Little Italy in the 1970s, replacing huge swaths of homes, and rising costs and competition forced the last canneries to shutter a few years later.⁠ ⁠ Two decades later, development consultant and Little Italy native Marco LiMandri came up with a new vision of his hometown: public gathering spaces, community events, mixed-use buildings, and that big, shiny sign announcing the neighborhood’s name. He also spearheaded the formation of the Little Italy Association. Now, at 48 blocks, the neighborhood is the nation’s largest Italian-American cultural district.⁠ ⁠ LiMandri and his company New City America, Inc. have breathed new life into nearly 100 neighborhoods across the country, in places as far-flung as Nashville and Washington state. Now the company is working on replicating its success in Little Italy in two other San Diego neighborhoods: East Village and Chula Vista.⁠ ⁠ For the full story on the district's inception, click here: https://lnkd.in/gABvM-E2 LITTLE ITALY ASSOCIATION

Call us Mister Rogers, because it’s a beautiful day for a Neighborhood Issue. There are 18 cities in San Diego County, and–depending on who you ask–between 100 and 200 neighborhoods. Every one of ‘em, from P.B. to Santee, has a distinct story and spirit. To celebrate the diverse vibes of our local boroughs, we filled the August issue with a deep dive into a handful of them: Barrio Logan, Del Mar, Golden Hill, Encanto, and La Mesa. Longtime locals share their perfect itineraries for exploring their stomping grounds, and we unpack their past, celebrate their present, and reflect on what’s to come.   Speaking of which: check out the cover, bright and busy in our futuristic version of Del Mar. Locals gather in the vibrant downtown plaza, plans progress to move the coast train underground with a $4 billion tunnel, and the (receding) beach is still the place to be. In the issue, you’ll find more on what’s in store for SD ‘hoods, from O.B.’s increasing density to poetry painted on the streets of City Heights.   Get your copy now at sdmagstore.com. (Or subscribe and help us pay even more creatives to tell more stories. Future San Diegans need something to read while riding their flying cars.) https://lnkd.in/gs3s4Fzp