Here is what you need to know in the March 20, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
Organizations around San Diego County and across the U.S. are removing Cesar Chavez’s name from landmarks in his honor after allegations of sexual abuse against the labor rights leader.
Families in National City have a beautiful new place to enjoy thanks to a major investment by the Port of San Diego and the city. Dani Miskell has more details on the big changes to Pepper Park.
On this first day of spring, meteorologist Megan Parry’s microclimate forecasts show we’re still going to feel those summer-like temperatures around the county on Friday before a slight dip this weekend.
THE STREAMLINE
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TOP STORY
(AP) — Within hours of explosive sexual abuse allegations against labor leader César Chavez, officials at a California university took swift action: First, a black cloth over a campus statue of Chavez, followed by a plywood box hiding it from public view. Soon, officials said, it will be taken down.
The statue at California State University, Fresno, is one of scores of monuments, city streets and elementary schools across the nation that honor Chavez 's name and his labor movement legacy. The Associated Press identified more than 130 locations or objects in at least 19 states named after Chavez, including libraries, boulevards, community centers and public parks.
Overnight, the name has become more of a stain. Some of the institutions and local governments overseeing sites bearing Chavez's name have already started the process of erasing it. In Denver, city workers took down a bronze bust of Chavez in a park named after him. The city's mayor said the park would be renamed.
Officials there and elsewhere also moved to rename César Chavez Day, a federally proclaimed holiday on March 31, his birthday. Many planned celebrations this month have been canceled.
The allegations that Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including fellow movement leader Dolores Huerta, “call for our full attention and moral reckoning by removing his statue from our campus," said Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president of California State University, Fresno. It's not clear how long that will take.
It’s also not clear what will happen to the César E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, California. It’s where Chavez and his wife, Helen, are buried. It includes the office where some of the reported abuse took place.
Brian Hughes, of Vancouver, Canada, was among the monument’s visitors Thursday morning. The stop was planned for the trip weeks ago.
“Now it’s difficult reconciling the inspirational side of his life and the stories with these revelations,” Hughes said.
A push for honoring Huerta instead
At the Cesar Chavez Student Center at San Francisco State University on Thursday, student Luca Broggi Hendryx recalled hearing stories as a child about Chavez and idolizing him. Now he says the school needs to separate itself from Chavez by changing the student center’s name.
“When I first started coming here it made total sense: He was seen as an icon for the Latino civil rights movement,” Hendryx said. “So it was almost a proud thing to have a building named after Cesar Chavez. But now it feels the opposite.”
In cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles, Portland, and Albuquerque officials said they would look at renaming landmarks such as buildings, streets and schools.
“We have a duty to honor the dignity of the survivors and move forward in a way that reflects our values,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement. She urged renaming César Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day.
Denver for now will celebrate the holiday as Sí, Se Puede Day, which translates into the farmworkers movement rallying cry — Yes We Can.
Mayor Mike Johnston said Denver would "not let the sins of one man set back the commitment of a community who has fought for decades to deliver on the fundamental belief that everyone is entitled to justice.”
Some called for Chavez’s namesake places to be renamed for Huerta. The sign at Denver's Cesar Chavez park was covered with a tarp Thursday, and someone had placed a handmade sign over it that said, “Dolores Huerta Park”.
The New York Times first reported Wednesday that it found credible evidence that Chavez groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the movement. One of his victims, in fact, partly felt compelled to come forward after a recent proposal to name a street near her home for Chavez.
Huerta, who was a labor legend in her own right and co-founded in 1962 with Chavez the National Farm Workers Association — which became the United Farm Workers of America — revealed to the newspaper that she was a victim of abuse by him in her 30s.
When it comes to changing names of sites or events honoring Chavez, Teresa Romero, United Farm Workers president, said, “Everybody’s going to have to make their own decisions. I respect the victims, I respect the thousands of people who worked with the union throughout the years as volunteers, and that is not going to change.”
Dozens of schools and a Navy cargo ship
Among the locations and objects bearing Chavez’s name is a U.S. Navy cargo ship commemorating his service during World War II and the national monument established in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama on a 187-acre site in Central California where Chavez once lived and worked.
Most of the locations are in California but they include sites in at least 19 states, from New York and Maryland to Oklahoma, the Great Lakes Region and Washington state.
About half are schools, primarily in California. In Pueblo, Colorado, Chavez shares the name of a school with Huerta.
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee on Thursday said he would ask the Pentagon to remove Chavez’s name from the Navy ship. “We are on it, Congressman” Pentagon spokesperson Sam Parnell said in a social media post.
Altering a national monument, such as changing a name, needs an act of Congress or action by the president.
There have been previous efforts to change names for government sites and institutions on a broad scale.
During the civil rights backlash that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Congress ordered a nationwide review of military assets named after Confederate leaders. Nine Army bases were renamed, only to have the original names restored under President Donald Trump’s administration last year after the army found other people with the same names to honor.
Under former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland federal officials renamed hundreds of peaks, lakes, streams and other geographical features with racist and misogynistic terms. It capped a yearlong process to remove the offensive word “squaw” from geographic names across the country.
Artist Paula Castillo, who created a sculpture in Albuquerque in 2010 as a tribute to Chavez, questioned whether people should think more about monuments to shared values.
“The public work in Albuquerque is intended to make collective labor and lived experience visible in civic space, rather than isolate a single figure,” she said. “This allows it to continue holding meaning for communities even as new information forces a more honest reckoning with the past.”
Story by Matthew Brown and Terry Tang, Associated Press
RELATED COVERAGE:
- California lawmakers want to rename César Chavez Day following sexual abuse allegations
- Southwestern College removes Cesar Chavez's name from campus building after sexual abuse allegations
- National City mural artist reacts to Cesar Chavez sex abuse allegations
- County supervisor wants to rename Cesar Chavez Day after sexual abuse allegations
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BREAKING OVERNIGHT
The San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating the suspicious death of a person in the Rolando Park neighborhood.
Officers were dispatched to the 3800 block of Loma Alta Drive, near College Avenue, just after 4 p.m. Thursday due to a report of a deceased individual.
ABC 10News learned homicide detectives are handling the probe due to the suspicious nature of the person’s death.
Police did not release any additional information on the incident.
CONSUMER
From backyards to balconies, patio season is here, and some retailers are rolling out early deals on outdoor furniture.
WATCH — Scripps News Group's Jane Caffrey breaks down some of the major discounts retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target are offering to help you spruce up your backyard while on a budget:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
Pepper Park officially reopened on Thursday, debuting new amenities and signaling the completion of the first phase National City’s Balanced Plan.
This plan, a collaborative effort between the Port of San Diego and the City of National City, aims to expand waterfront access for residents and visitors while fostering economic growth.
WATCH — Reporter Dani Miskell follows through with what's next for the city's plan after the park upgrade:
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