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“Autism Voices” Advocates to Be Heard During Presidential Campaign

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New Initiative Launched in San Diego and Across Nation

Gearing up for the November 6 election, Autism Speaks has started a new grassroots initiative called Autism Votes to advocate for people with Autism and their families to ensure that their voice is heard and their issues addressed by the candidates. This is not an effort to endorse a candidate but to get issues affecting people with Autism to the national spotlight. The Autism Votes campaign made it’s most recent splash in the ongoing campaign to get Autism advocacy addressed in the presidential debates.   [Read more…]

The Continuing Saga of City Heights Capital Improvements in the Time of Austerity

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The City Heights Area Planning Committee (CHAPC) meeting held on Monday October 15 was spent presenting information and answering questions about the capital projects on the master list; a bare-bones list of projects that includes the installation of sidewalks, street lights, drainage projects, a number of small parks, renovations for a senior center, repairs to the police shooting range and a new fire station. During the course of the meeting committee members and the audience were given the opportunity to add additional projects to the list.

On November 5 the CHAPC will decide upon a prioritized capital project list. Their goal is to present the top five projects. I encouraged them to submit every single project as a number one priority for the community. I was dead serious. Jim Varnadore responded that while the committee didn’t dispute the validity of doing so, the City would impose its own prioritization. I responded that the City does that anyway and that their ranking process is not transparent.
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Desde la Logan – The Grand Orchid of Our Barrio: Chicano Park

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By Brent E. Beltrán

On Thursday, October 11 the architecturally aware people of San Diego got together to celebrate the annual Orchids & Onions awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla. This annual event of architecture snobs serves as a fundraiser for the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

Local TV personality Sam the Cooking Guy MC’d the ceremony that hands out Orchids to new architecture projects that the foundation likes and Onions to those they think, well, suck. This year’s program received 149 nominations. Of which 134 were for Orchids and 15 for Onions. Nineteen awards total were given out.

What makes this year’s event worthy of writing about in a column about Chicanos and Barrio Logan is that the foundation’s Grand Orchid, the top prize of the ceremony, was given to Chicano Park and the Mural Restoration Project. Normally they recognize buildings but this year they stepped outside their narrow box and gave the award to a public space. A Chicano one at that!   [Read more…]

1,000-Plus People Spell Out ‘Dump Citizens United!’ on San Francisco Beach

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Alternet / Oct. 13, 2012

The 2010 Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United trampled on America’s founding principles, swamped our democracy in corporate cash and needs to be overturned,” said Brad Newsham, the San Francisco cab-driver who organized today’s event. “Some truths are so self-evident that the Founders felt no need to mention them. Truths like, ‘Corporations are NOT People.’ ‘Money is NOT Speech.’ ‘Elections are NOT Auctions.'” continued Newsham. “But in the shadow of Citizens United, we all have to step up and protect America’s sacred principles. That’s why over a thousand of us came out [Saturday Oct. 13] to make this beautiful, people-powered statement: ‘DUMP CITIZENS UNITED!'”   [Read more…]

Video Picks of the Week: The Avenging Uterus, Hellfire with Deer Heads, and the Science Guy

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The extreme right wing depiction of science as a conspiracy of elitist lies used to undermine the authority of the family and biblical truth while promoting a dangerous liberal/socialist agenda has been given an undeniable legitimacy within mainstream Republican politics. Climate change denialism. The assault against women’s reproductive choice. Creationism. We speak constantly about providing a quality education for our kids that will enable them to be productive and competitive in the world, yet we elect a growing number of people to public office whose policies are dangerously, ignorantly anti-science. Do you think there will be consequences?   [Read more…]

“I’m Not Really a Writer But…” From Chicano Activist to Publisher and now Desde la Logan

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by Brent E. Beltrán
“Would you be interested in talking to us about becoming a contributor for the San Diego Free Press?” This came completely out of the blue. The thought of pursuing journalistic writing hadn’t crept into my mind in a long time. Immediately I was intrigued because I was ready for a new challenge at this point in my so-called “professional” life (I put professional in quotes because I rarely got paid for any of the work that I did).
I’ve decided to take up the challenge of contributing to San Diego Free Press and give voice, through my perspective, to the community that I live in. I do not pretend to speak for the entire community of Barrio Logan. I am just one voice among thousands.
There’s a renaissance happening within blocks of my residence. I plan on writing about a community that has always stood it’s ground and defended it’s interests from any and all outsiders and their devious plans. I was born and raised here in San Diego. My father was born and raised here. This is my home. Barrio Logan is my neighborhood. And this is my life. I’m not really a writer but I’ll give it a shot.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Walmart Walkout Widens to 12 States, Black Friday Walkout Threatened

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Walkouts at the worlds’ larger retailer spread to at least twenty eight stores in twelve states yesterday, with unprecedented protests against company treatment of employees and working conditions expected to continue today at the annual Walmart investor meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Dan Schlademan, director of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Making Change At Walmart campaign, said job actions took place in Dallas, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area, Miami, the Washington, D.C., area, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Chicago and Orlando.  There were also reports of walkouts in Kentucky, Missouri and Minnesota.

The New York Times has posted an article saying that disgruntled Walmart employees, joined by labor unions and community groups, might stage a combined protest and educational campaign the Friday after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.   [Read more…]

The Scramble for Parks, Street Repairs, Fire Station, Street Lights and Sidewalks: City Heights Capital Improvements in the Time of Austerity

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The list does not include the pressing infrastructure need for wireless hubs throughout City Heights. Councilman Tony Young stated in a budget committee meeting earlier this year that he would like to see wireless access made available to the surrounding communities using our public libraries as a broadcasting source. He quickly discounted the possibility unless the City found a private partner.

Councilman Young knows that his district as well as the other low income districts constitute the have- not side of the digital divide. While the city as a whole ranks high in internet connectivity, there are whole sections of the city in which families do not have computers or are unable to afford monthly internet access fees. There are large swaths of the population who are not computer literate. City Heights is one of these communities.   [Read more…]

Occupy San Diego: A Year Later

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By Nadine Abbott

Occupy San Diego reached an important milestone this weekend. Occupy San Diego is now one year old, and like all children, it has learned a lot this year, but also achieved quite a bit.

The weekend saw a series of events, some low key, some going back to it’s roots in the streets, celebrating the fact that OSD is still here. The first event was at Balboa Park on Saturday afternoon.

When I reached the Park I was no longer surprised to see San Diego Police coming in to talk to an Occupier. Well, so what is new? Same old, same old – right? This time, the officers had cause. No, not the usual we saw over the course of last year. They had a call, from another occupier, reporting what can best be described as a domestic dispute. Given the Occupier in question wore a Guy Fawkes costume with knives (which I could not tell at a distance were plastic either), the cops showed up in force. This is standard.

Moreover, while the Police kept an eye on Occupy, like they do on every demonstration that happens in this town, they also kept their actual contact to a minimum, and kept their distance.
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Why didn’t she just leave?

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By Kit-Bacon Gressitt

Picture a sere summer night in Phoenix, Arizona, circa 1982.

I lay on a crinkly table in a cluttered ER, joking with the doc, bribing him with a promise of homemade shortbread if he could fix my face without leaving scars, looking anywhere but in his eyes, and I noticed a police officer nearby.

When I was all stitched and tidied up, I went to the cop and heard a quavering voice tell him that I wanted to press charges against my husband for assault.

The cop looked across the waiting room at him, sitting with his face buried behind his bloodied hands, his tiny mother, herself a victim, standing next to his chair, her arm around him while she stroked his head and kissed his fevered brow.

The cop looked back at me and said, “You don’t want to do that. You’ll just make him angry all over again, and it’ll be worse the next time.”   [Read more…]

Our Readers Write: Thoughts on the Anniversary of Occupy

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The day many Occupiers in San Diego had been anticipating. The one-year anniversary.

I reflected on the past year. I did not know about OSD when they did their first rally, so I missed it. But I attended every rally since. Though I did not ever camp overnight, I participated as often as I could. Donated so many items and food, as many other supporters did, only for them to be confiscated by the police during raids. Donated some more items and food again and again. Police raided the camp again and again.

I was never able to attend a General Assembly, but spent many hours watching the Livestream of it in the early days. I indirectly participated. I became familiar with the issues and the people involved. Though many of them were unfamiliar with me. I recognized them at the rallies, but often felt as an outsider because they did not know me. I spoke at City Council meetings after I witnessed the force used by the police. Never knowing that would be the first of many trips to City Council. My voice trembled as I spoke because I was so nervous. Now I think back on how all my words fell on deaf ears.   [Read more…]

San Diego Free Press T-Shirts Now Available – Support a Free Press in San Diego

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We now have T-shirts to send you – just send us a donation. Yes, finally, after publishing for over four months, we have T’s available – and bumper stickers, as well. So, support a free press in San Diego – support the San Diego Free Press by getting one of our very nifty, smart-looking and stylish T’s.

We have two new sets of T-shirts.

The first is our black T with the San Diego Free Press banner logo. We have sizes in medium, large, X-tra large, and XX-tra large. It’s yours for a $15 donation (plus mail charge).

We also have San Diego Free Press bumper stickers, for $1 donation.   [Read more…]

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