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Family Calls for Peaceful Protests Over Death of Alfred Olango

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The Rev. Shane Harris of the National Action Network called a press conference on Thursday with the family of Alfred Olango, the Ugandan immigrant killed by a police officer in El Cajon earlier this week.

They gathered before the press, accompanied by supportive clergy and a couple of power lawyers, hoping to reshape what the family believes is a false narrative about the dead man.

In recent days following the official release of a single frame photograph from a bystander video, storylines casting aspersions on the character of Olango have worked their way into media accounts. These accounts include allegations of prior run-ins with law enforcement system and even the use of the word ‘suspect.’   [Read more…]

Props 53 & 54: Say No to Rich Guys Gaming the System

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Dean Cortopassi is a wealthy self-made agribusinessman from Stockton. Charles Munger is a Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and lives in Pasadena. Both have long histories in politics.

Each of them has bought a spot for a pet cause on the general election ballot. And they’d like you to believe their motives are altruistic.

They’re gaming the system, promising they have your interests in mind. Their measures are, in fact, simplistic solutions to complex problems with potential or real consequences not immediately apparent to the casual observer.   [Read more…]

(UPDATED) Family Calls for Federal Investigation – Alfred Olango Dies After Being Shot by El Cajon Police

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Thirty-year-old Alfred Olango died of gunshot wounds during a confrontation yesterday with police officers from the City of El Cajon. He was mentally ill, unarmed, and the 197th Black man killed by police in the United States this year. And the 172nd mentally ill person, according to the NY Daily News.

Police responded to calls about a man in the street behaving erratically near a strip mall on Broadway near Mollison Avenue shortly after 2 p.m. One of the callers was Olango’s sister, who told bystanders that she’d warned police about his illness. Friends of the dead man told reporters he was having a mental breakdown that caused him to act out in the minutes leading up to the shooting.

When a reporter on scene asked ECPD spokesman Rob Ransweiler if police knew of any calls that referred to the man as being mentally unstable, the spokesperson said, “I do know the answer to your question, but because it’s an ongoing investigation, I’m gonna decline to answer that question.”

News of the shooting spread quickly throughout the San Diego area. By evening, a crowd, estimated at 200 people gathered to protest, including community leaders and members of local churches who led prayers.   [Read more…]

Proposition 52 – Keep MediCal Funding Where It Belongs

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Back in the bad old days of the great recession, the California legislature diverted hundreds of millions in funding derived from a tax hospitals pay. The federal government kicks in matching funds for these taxes flowing back to the hospitals through MediCal, so it’s a sweet deal. Hospitals pay one dollar to get two back, more or less.

The recession is over, and the hospitals want their original deal back in place.

So they raised a boatload of money to put Proposition 52 before the voters. This is a “lockbox” measure, designed to give voters the opportunity to say that funds raised for or by a certain purpose must be spent in that general area as well.   [Read more…]

Trump’s Thin Skin Did Him in at the First Debate

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You really didn’t need the sound on for Monday’s Presidential debate at Hofstra University to understand what was taking place.

Donald Trump blustered. He made faces. His eyes turned into narrow slits spitting fire. And, I suppose, some of his comments were relevant to his followers.

Hillary smiled, eyes wide open. Towards the end, she even did a little victory shimmy, as her opponent once again stepped in it.   [Read more…]

Prop 51 – Will Schools Get Fixed and Repaired?

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The California Public School Facility Bonds Initiative, better known as Proposition 51, proposes to refill the State of California’s money pot used for school construction and repair.

It has been ten years since the last statewide school bond, and proponents say there is a massive backlog of local school projects.

Everybody loves building and fixing schools, right?   [Read more…]

Progressives Should Just Say NO WAY to Measure A

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Something isn’t better than nothing if that something keeps us on a steady course down the suicide path.

San Diego does not have a history of visionary regional planning, but the woefully inadequate Measure A would take our city to a new low by ensuring decades more of inadequate efforts to address both our infrastructure needs and climate change.

Sadly, Measure A is not up to the transportation and climate justice challenges of the present and would guarantee a future for our city that would leave us with no solutions for climate change or traffic congestion while increasing pollution, poisoning our children, and turning a deaf ear to the needs of beleaguered communities of color.
  [Read more…]

Looking Back at the Week: September 18-24

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This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week features articles, commentaries, columns, toons, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, at-large contributors, and sourced writers on: Measures ABCD, Fred Glass, six council candidates in NC, Jess Haro, deported veterans, Dr. Bronner, Chunky Sanchez, keeping SD seafood local, Standing Rock, and lots of other grassroots news & progressive views from San Diego’s friendly, neighborhood, all volunteer, slightly funky, community news site.   [Read more…]

Six Candidates Compete for National City Council Elections

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The First United Methodist Church of National City had planned to host a City Council Candidates Forum on Monday, September 26th. They wanted to have a meet-and-greet, allow candidates to give a presentation and then have time for questions & answers.

Unfortunately, First United had to cancel the event. They explained only two candidates had responded to the invitation, even though this forum was the only one planned for the entire city.

Last week, I emailed & called each candidate. I asked them to answer 5 questions relating to National City. Of the six candidates, Jerry Cano (currently Vice Mayor) and David Garcia did not respond.

Fortunately, four other candidates agreed to send their answers: Jose Rodriguez, Luis Natividad (former City Councilmember and also endorsed by the San Diego Democratic Party), Candy Morales and Alejandra Sotelo-Solis (currently city council member of National City and endorsed by the San Diego Democratic Party).   [Read more…]

Jess Haro: From Stockton to San Diego

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Jess Haro is well known in San Diego’s Latino community. The Chicano activist has been a City Councilman, Chairman of the Board of the Chicano Federation and has served on various boards in our community. How did the boy born in Stockton, California end up in San Diego?

Jess’s father immigrated to the United States in 1918. Jess’s mother became a widow from her first husband in Durango, Mexico and followed her daughter to the United States in 1923. It was a very long journey and took eight days by mule to reach Nogales where she then caught a train to El Monte, California. She went to work at the Hick’s Ranch and lived in the huge farm worker camp located in El Monte.   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Rules of the Road

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There are exits
nobody can open

When calls for help
echo unanswered
break the door
set yourself free
  [Read more…]

Notes on the First 2016 General Election Presidential Debate

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The first presidential debate is not about “winning” or “losing.” It’s about perception and emotion. It’s time for a “gut check.”

Monday evening’s event (6pm start time, for those of us on the left coast) will be broadcast live from Hofstra University. NBC’s Lester Holt will moderate the first debate, broadcast live on each of the major networks and leading cable news sites. There will be a live feed from ABC News available on Facebook and Twitter will stream Bloomberg’s coverage.

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will be the only candidates on the stage. Libertarian Gary Johnson, Jill Stein of the Green Party, and that other stand-in for a Republican candidate failed to make the cut based on their results in the most recent major polling.   [Read more…]

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