A sign is posted
mountains vanish into clouds
billowing houses
[Read more…]
Local All-Stars Help the Homeless People — Will You?
“Silence encourages the tormentor …”
This is what happens when those in authority disparage a particular group of people. Whether they mean to or not, their public expressions of contempt and disrespect give permission, and even encouragement, to those looking for an excuse to manifest their anger and hatred in violent actions against the most vulnerable. I predict that future history books will call this the Trump Effect.
So it comes as no surprise to me that here in San Diego, we are suddenly seeing an increase in brutal attacks on people sleeping on the street. For months we have watched our police, as authority figures, acting on orders to torment those experiencing homelessness and struggling to survive on our city streets with weekly sweeps.
Talk about kicking a person when they’re down! [Read more…]
Welcome to Half Dome, Sponsored by Nike
Instead of funding our parks, the government will now auction off naming rights to the highest corporate bidders.
By Jill Richardson / OtherWords
Imagine painstakingly making up your way up the cables of Yosemite National Park’s famous Half Dome peak — only to see swooshes and slogans encouraging you to “Just Do It.”
“Welcome to Half Dome,” a gleaming banner greets you, “sponsored by Nike.”
Unfortunately, it’s a possibility. As the coverage swells over Barack and Michelle Obama’s recent visit to Yosemite and Carlsbad Caverns, Americans are learning that national parks will now start selling naming rights. [Read more…]
ACLU Report Details how U.S. Has Failed Deported Veterans
July 8 action at San Diego US Border to recognize non-citizen veterans
By ACLU of California
The federal government’s failure to help naturalize immigrants serving in the U.S. military has led to the deportation of untold numbers of veterans, all of whom were entitled to become citizens because of their service, according to a report released on July 6 by the ACLU of California.
The report, “Discharged, Then Discarded,” found that deported veterans were in the U.S. legally and sustained physical wounds and emotional trauma in conflicts as far back as the war in Vietnam. Once they returned from service, however, they were subject to draconian immigration laws that reclassified many minor offenses as deportable crimes, and were effectively banished from this country. [Read more…]
Surfrider Volunteers Collect 1,131 Pounds of Trash
By Mandy Sackett / Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter
Over 300 volunteers gathered at four popular beaches on July 5th to assist with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter’s annual post-Fourth of July Morning After Mess beach series. By midday, Surfrider volunteers had recovered 1,131 pounds of trash which otherwise would have been washed into the sea where it would add to the already critical pollution problem devastating the world’s oceans.
Surfrider volunteers hosted four cleanups in collaboration with I Love a Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper from 8 a.m. to 11a.m. at the Ocean Beach Pier, Belmont Park in Mission Beach, Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach and the Oceanside Pier. These cleanup sites were chosen because of the high concentration of beachgoers and notorious reputations for post-Fourth of July trash. [Read more…]
Carlsbad Mayor Spins Results of City’s Public Opinion Survey
Land Use Plans Don’t Match Community Vision
At the California Coastal Commission’s May 11 meeting Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall testified that the city’s General Plan, updated last September, reflects the community’s vision for its future. But the responses to Carlsbad’s 2009 Public Opinion Visioning Survey Report paint a different picture.
Hall claimed the plan “provides a policy framework that will ensure we live up to our community vision and ensure an excellent quality of life for all who live, work, and visit our coastal city. In fact, values like small town beach community character, access to recreation and open space and multi-modal transportation are top of mind for our residents and given high priority in our General Plan.”
But when you find the General Plan’s land use changes allow mixed use commercial/residential development and high-density shopping malls to be built near the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and on property where the Encina Power Plant now stands, you begin to see the disconnect with the community’s actual vision. [Read more…]
Progressive Patriotism—Not an Oxymoron
Much of our patriotic culture was created by people with decidedly progressive sympathies.
By Peter Dreier and Dick Flacks / AlterNet
July 4 is an occasion for Americans to express their patriotism. But the ways we do so are as diverse as our nation.
To some, patriotism means “my country—right or wrong.” To others, it means loyalty to a set of principles, and thus requires dissent and criticism when those in power violate those standards. One version of patriotism suggests “Love it or leave it.” The other version means “Love it and fix it. [Read more…]
Bang! Pow! Boom! 2016 Independence Day Fireworks
There are 14 (15 if you count SeaWorld’s nightly show) fireworks displays on the 4th of July, plus a couple of others earlier in the weekend.
Despite the fact that fireworks of just about every kind are illegal in America’s Finest City, I can just about guarantee the knuckleheads down the street will have their own show planned.
No matter where you go, parking will be a bother as will be the traffic after the event. It’s all part of the thrill… [Read more…]
Will the Balboa Park Make-Over Include Rockscaping for the Homeless?
What kind of a city is it that entertains funding a new stadium, a convention center expansion, a major events arena, gondolas, and a parks make-over, but can’t figure out a short term solution to homelessness other than criminalizing it?
That would be San Diego.
Yes, I know it’s apples and oranges–different pots of money are involved, some are subject to voter approval and others will only be indirectly supported by the taxpayer…
But… where there’s a will, there’s a way. [Read more…]
Conservationists Seeking More Help From City To Restore Local Canyons
Many of the scenic trails winding through San Diego’s canyons are the unintended consequences of a San Diego infrastructure policy that made it possible to transform sewer line access paths into popular nature walks.
On a recent afternoon, Eric Bowlby, Executive Director of the non-profit organization San Diego Canyonlands, and Jason Allen, Senior Ranger with the City of San Diego Open Space Division, strolled along one such path parallel to Interstate 15 at the southern end of Juniper Canyon. They took turns identifying native and invasive plant species and praising each other’s tireless work to restore 3500 acres of open space in forty canyons throughout San Diego. [Read more…]
Yes, Some People Experiencing Homelessness Are Alcoholics
Nanette’s eyes tear up when she recounts the day she was chased down the block by a group of kids throwing rocks at her and calling her names. “That was the lowest I got. I was nothing. These kids were screaming at me to get out of here. They were only about ten years old, boys and girls, who were telling me I was so worthless that I couldn’t just sit in the park on J Street.”
Looking back now, Nanette can understand why even kids might have found her repulsive. Even the drug lord at the house where she would sometimes hang out would tell her, “You stink!” She confesses that one night, just to get out of the pouring rain, she and her boyfriend sought refuge in a full porta potty. But even that wasn’t enough to get her clean and sober. It’s not that she didn’t want to be sober, she just didn’t want to stop drinking. [Read more…]
Hunger Strike Against Private Prison
On July 5th activists and community leaders will begin a hunger strike to protest the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)
By Mark Bartlett
Community Leaders and Local Activists will execute a hunger strike on July 5th at 6pm next to the Oceanview Facility located at 551 S. 35th St. San Diego, CA 92113. The hunger strike will continue until all action items requested by the protest organizers have been satisfied.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is the largest for-profit prison industry in America and they currently operate three Correctional Facilities across San Diego County. Two out of the three facilities are located in the heart of Southeast San Diego and Barrio Logan. Both centers are located in residential neighborhoods within close proximity of homes, churches, schools and businesses. CCA is looking to capitalize through alternative services in order to boost their revenue by purchasing reentry/detention centers across the country. [Read more…]
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