San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Will 4 Out of 5 Pediatricians Endorse Marijuana Gummy Bears?

by

Back in the days when tobacco use was an accepted norm in society, cigarette companies regularly created ad campaigns featuring physicians attesting to the quality of their products.

Opponents of Proposition 64, the California initiative to legalize recreational pot, are being accused of trying to pull a fast one on general election voters by including language in official ballot arguments suggesting that TV ads making marijuana attractive to children are part of the measure.

The Yes on Proposition 64 committee filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court yesterday, asking a judge to change or delete arguments in opposition to the measure they say include false or misleading language.   [Read more…]

Governor Brown to Attend Funeral of Chula Vista’s Police Veteran …

by

… Illegal RV Park Run by Vice-Chair of Otay Mesa Planning Group, and Homelessness In Bonita Discussed In Community Forum

This week, the shooting of police officers throughout the country became deeply personal in Chula Vista.

Eastlake resident and police officer Jonathan DeGuzman was shot five times at close range by ex-con Michael Gomez, 52. Officer DeGuzman died shortly thereafter.

Governor Jerry Brown will attend a Friday memorial service for Officer DeBuzman, which will be held in Bonita. DeGuzman is survived by his wife and two children.   [Read more…]

Improving Land Use in National City

by

By Adriana Covarrubias

National City is a rich, family-oriented community that is home to predominantly Chicano and Latino families, some recent immigrants and some who have been living in the neighborhood for generations. We have a strong sense of connection and a collective responsibility to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood.

Unfortunately, outdated land-use policies have made National City a dumping ground for decades of industrial toxic pollution. Walking around National City, you will find auto body and car repair shops every other block, despite school zones and residential streets. Approximately 32,000 pounds of toxic air contaminants are released each year. Not surprisingly, asthma rates remain disproportionately high and there is a clear lack of green space and affordable housing.   [Read more…]

Earth to Humans: My Fever Continues to Rise

by

Southern California may have lucked out in 2015 when it comes to the torrential rains associated with El Nino, but that’s about the only good news, according to the State of the Climate in 2015 report.

The 300-page report, utilizing 450 scientists from 62 countries around the world was published by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The bottom line: 2015’s global surface temperature towered over any year preceding it.

The planetary fever underway was linked a record-challenging El Niño event, with warmer-than-normal tropical Pacific Ocean waters heating up the atmosphere. Record-setting concentrations of heat-trapping gasses from human activity were also cited as a cause.   [Read more…]

Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center Coming to Barrio Logan

by

Community Fundraiser Set for August 13 at Bread & Salt

The Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center is coming to Barrio Logan next door to Chicano Park. The City and museum have yet to sign a lease over the property that for years held the Cesar Chavez Continuing Education Center. But it will happen.

Activists involved with the Chicano Park Steering Committee created the nonprofit Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center. Board members include…

Chicano Park co-founder and lifelong CPSC member Josie Talamantez, who wrote the proposal to place Chicano Park’s Monumental Murals on the National Registry of Historic Sites and recently presented in Washington, DC before the National Landmark review committee (her proposal passed unanimously), is leading the charge to make the museum happen.   [Read more…]

Swallow the Key

by

Fame and Fortune: Moxie’s ‘Ruthless!’ and the Cygnet’s ‘Gypsy’

by

It is probably a coincidence, but two very different theatre companies are showcasing the topics of fame and the price people are willing to pay to achieve it—specifically as it pertains to mothers and daughters. Ruthless! The Musical is playing at the Moxie and Gypsy is playing at the Cygnet. Though the topics are similar, greed, ego, and ambition—the treatment and the motivations are very different.   [Read more…]

County Vote Audits Challenged (And Campaign Contributions Flow)

by

I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today. I will not write about Donald Trump today…

The Cheeto Jesus is not the only thing coming at voters this fall.

It’s looking like there will be 17 (or 18) statewide, as many as a dozen citywide measures on the ballot for San Diegans and a few countywide measures for voters to consider. A few (okay, lots of) other people are running for office in local, state, and federal elections.

San Diego Free Press coverage of those contests will commence shortly after Labor Day, and culminate as mail-in ballots are sent out with a comprehensive progressive voter guide. Meanwhile, there are some developments to report.   [Read more…]

San Onofre Whistleblower

by

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free future. Here is our July 2016 report.

San Onofre whistleblower: Utility put profits above safety, ruined its own nuke plant.

A radiation leak at San Onofre nuclear plant in southern California caused its two reactors to shut down in 2012, and resulted in its permanent closure the following year.

On July 19 the Times of San Diego reported on a press release by Public Watchdog, a nonprofit policy group, detailing allegations of a former employee at San Onofre. Southern California Edison is the controlling owner, with San Diego Gas & Electric being a minority owner of the wrecked nuclear plant.
  [Read more…]

Rock Art Has Been Dismantled

by

It was a short story about how two local homeless guys, Corey and Greg, had what they considered “Rock Art”, with rows of stones piled on each other forming small pillars of rock. This type of rock art has been gaining popularity – and one can see piles such as what Corey and Greg have done at the shore, along the San Diego River.

Then, just days after our story appeared – there was that horrible period beginning on July 3rd of the serial killer preying on homeless men – including one killed in Ocean Beach. In a way, it was a relief seeing those rocks – almost a monument to the homeless.

Now, the rock art has been dismantled – all of it – and the rocks and stones currently line the thick bushes within the median. Who would have done that? The police? Other homeless? The 2 artists themselves to begin again?   [Read more…]

Extreme Weather Change: Devastating Heat

by

Last year was the hottest year ever globally — or it was until 2016 got off to a sweltering start. NASA announced that the first six months of this year have been the hottest since 1880, which is when people started keeping reliable records. In June 2016 the average earth temperature was 1.62 degrees hotter than the average June temperature for the 20th century.

The Arctic has seen sky high temperatures this year with the result of record low sea ice levels. The Alaskan town of Deadhorse just 50 miles from the Arctic coast set a record temperature of 85º F.

The drought and blistering heat, some 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, have made it impossible for farmers to tend their crops. Towns on India’s eastern side have been hit with record-setting temperatures — 119.3 degrees in the town of Titlagarh, Orissa, which is the highest temperature ever recorded in that state during April.   [Read more…]

Stacking The Deck in the 21st Century: Sweeps, Cheats, and Jim Crow

by

Comic Con and the All-Star Game have come and gone, but San Diego’s homeless remain, criminalized and demonized. A report from the ACLU calls out blatant discrimination in charter schools throughout California. And rightwing-inspired laws restricting voting in states around the country are proving to be nothing more than a shield for racism.

Today we look at some of the downsides of life in the USA these days. The deification of the market economy and the quest to drown government in a bathtub are at the root of all these stories, something the Make American Great Again crowd seems unable to grasp.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry