San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Parts of Barrio Logan Have No Sidewalks – Does Anyone Care?

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Voice of San Diego doesn’t want to make judgment calls on that issue

By John Anderson

Voice of San Diego (VOSD) has been operating a Tumblr site featuring the damaged state of sidewalks across San Diego coined The Stumblr.  San Diegans are encouraged to send in photos from their neighborhood and the images are added to the site.  It’s a great idea to bring a public issue to light and has even received some love nationally including a nod from The Atlantic.

In preparation for our SDFP focus on Barrio Logan, fellow writer Brent Beltran noted the poor (read: non-existent) status of sidewalks in parts of the neighborhood, specifically along Harbor Drive.  Brent has a young son and mentioned he, and other Barrio residents, would like to be able to walk up to Seaport Village, the bayfront, Convention Center, and other destinations in the south-western part of Downtown.  No surprise – that area of Downtown is popular with locals and visitors alike and is a great place for a stroll, picnic, or throwing a frisbee.

I was already familiar with the area, but am usually on my bicycle and not paying particular attention to sidewalks.  I went out to specifically check out the area and take some photos.  There are large distances with nary a bit of cement sidewalk.   [Read more…]

Darrell Steinberg Says CEQA Reform Not Dead Yet

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by Robert Cruickshank/California High Speed Rail Blog

Last week Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act to be dead for this legislative session. But Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg disagreed, declaring CEQA reform not dead yet and that it is in fact moving forward in this session:

A day after Gov. Jerry Brown said overhauling California’s environmental laws was unlikely this year, the leader of the state Senate said Wednesday the effort is very much alive in the Legislature and he thinks it can be accomplished by year’s end.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said his bill to streamline the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is moving forward and he looks forward to talking to Brown now that the governor has returned from a trade mission in China.

“The Legislature is hard at work on CEQA reform,” Steinberg told reporters. “As soon as the governor gets back, I’m going to sit down with him and go over specific provisions of the bill.”

  [Read more…]

Sequester Stalemate Cuts Legal Aid, Child Care, Housing

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by Brad Wong/Equal Voice News

Weeks after a political stalemate set in motion $85 billion in federal spending cuts for fiscal year 2013, sequestration has shifted from a political debate in the halls of Congress to a looming reality in neighborhood streets – especially in some of the poorest areas of the country.

In Georgia, the drop in federal dollars is taking an 11 percent bite out of extended unemployment benefits that more than 61,000 Georgians depend on for food, utilities and housing, according to the Rome News-Tribune.

In Mississippi, 2,300 children under the age of 3 will likely lose the care and early education they receive in federally-supported Early Head Start programs.

And in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, sequester will mean cuts in legal aid services and housing vouchers for low-income families and reductions in job-search services for the unemployed.

Many community organizations that serve low-income families are already feeling the money pinch.   [Read more…]

Federal Government Should Carefully Consider Whether Aid Warranted in West, Texas

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Texans want limited government, their wishes should be fulfilled in West.

The explosion in West was ultimately caused by a failure of oversight in deference to private industry. This was a private company acting irresponsibly, not a natural disaster. The explosion was caused by an excessive amount of ammonium nitrate on the site. Ammonium nitrate is a primary component of some large bombs used by terrorists, including the bomb used by Timothy McVeigh to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City.

The plant also reportedly had no automatic shutoff system, no firewall, and no sprinkler system. Safety for the workers and the surrounding community was obviously not any kind of priority.

It stands to reason, then, that the owners of the private West Fertilizer Company should be held responsible for the damage they caused, not the taxpayers. After all, that’s what the Conservatives in Texas want—for business to be able to do what business does best. That also means, however, being held entirely accountable when they screw up, which is not something Conservatives have been very good at. Apparently it’s not in the Republican lexicon.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Koch Brothers’ Coachella Failure-fest Set for this Weekend

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By Doug Porter

This weekend (Apr 28-29) hundreds of business executives and wealthy conservative donors will descend upon the Coachella Valley, hoping to forge a strategy to turn last fall’s drubbing of conservative candidates into future victories. I imagine the crowd will be considerably different from what locals have seen over the past two weeks.

Since 2003 billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch have been hosting regular retreats at luxury resorts seeking to focus the resources and energy of wealthy and politically ambitious conservatives in the US.

Their latest invitation-only gathering, originally scheduled for January, was postponed.   [Read more…]

Desde la Logan: Chicano Music Legends Join Forces to Play Adams Avenue Unplugged

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I’ve known Chunky Sanchez of Los Alacranes for at least fifteen years and worked with him on numerous occasions including organizing a fundraiser in 2007, called Musicians Helping Their Own, for local Latin jazz trumpet player Bill Caballero who was stricken with cancer and on a project in 2009 called Deportation Nation: Musical Migrations that featured a concert with Los Alacranes, Quino (of Big Mountain fame) and Son Sin Fronteras where the three groups at the end of the night jammed together on the Woody Guthrie classic Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).

Los Alacranes and Los Lobos go way back.

As a matter of fact the first time Los Lobos played in San Diego was at the Centro Cultural de la Raza at the invitation of Chunky. And usually when the baddest band out of East LA plays a show in San Diego they give a shout out to Chunky y Los Alacranes. These two groups started out during the same era and continue to share a musical brotherhood.

  [Read more…]

Part Two: Why Bomb the Boston Marathon?

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The Devil is in the Details

By Chip Berlet / Talk to Action

Editor’s Note: Since most of the news media ‘experts’ have no clue what they’re talking about when it comes to the backgrounds of the Boston Marathon bombers we’re publishing this detailed backgrounder by researcher Chip Berlet. Part One explained the genesis of Islamic terrorism, the apocalyptic viewpoint likely connected to the Boston bombing, and a quick primer on how the history of Chechnya fits in to this story.

 The prophecy about a mighty army of non-Arab Muslims under a sea of black flags storming Jerusalem from the region of Khorasan is very marginal within contemporary Islam. A hadîth is a saying attributed to the prophet Muhammad in one or more collections handed down over time within Islam. Some hadiths are concerned more reliable than others by experts within the faith. According to Sheikh Salman al-Oadah at Islam Today:

 The hadîth about the army with black banners coming out of Khorasan has two chains of transmission [historic references and cites], but both are weak and cannot be authenticated.

  [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Politicians Pandering to Prejudice in Boston Marathon Bombing Case

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By Doug Porter

Now that one Boston Marathon bombing suspect is dead and another has been captured the debate on the right seems to have swung around to arguing over whether or not a trial is even needed before execution takes place.

After all, this is “terrorism” by baby-killing “Muslims”. Be afraid, they say. Be very afraid. And the only rational “fight or flight” response in the conservative mindset is more violence.

Some public officials have called for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be tried as a military combatant rather than in civilian courts. Others have urged that torture be used, although waterboarding might not be as effective as they dream it might be, given that Tsarnaev has a hole in his throat from a failed suicide attempt.

INSIDE: Was Boston bombing Terrorism?, Koch Bid to Buy LA Times Update, Issa Takes Border Crossing Hostage, The “Other” News in Texas Last Week   [Read more…]

Corporate Education Reform Goes to College Despite Flunking Out in the K-12 System

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By Jim Miller

Things haven’t been going too well for the corporate education reform forces lately.  In Chicago there is great controversy surrounding and parent resistance to school closings as a result of the efforts of over zealous reformers. This shameful turn of events puts yet another black mark on former Obama Administration chief of staff and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel’s heavy-handed reign of error over his city’s schools.

  [Read more…]

Part One: Why Bomb the Boston Marathon?

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Islamic Totalitarians, the Apocalypse, and Terrorism

Editor’s Note: Since most of the news media ‘experts’ have no clue what they’re talking about when it comes to the backgrounds of the Boston Marathon bombers we’re publishing this detailed backgrounder by researcher Chip Berlet. Part One explains the genesis of Islamic terrorism, the apocalyptic viewpoint likely connected to the Boston bombing, and a quick primer on how the history of Chechnya fits into this story.

By Chip Berlet / Talk to Action

Walk a mile in the shoes of those who claim to honor God and yet cheer the bombing of the Boston Marathon. They represent only a tiny fraction of the Muslims on our planet, yet they see themselves as carrying out the will of God. Fanatics such as these can be found in many of the World’s religions. They shoot abortion providers in the United States; blast apart buses in Israel; and murder Muslims in India (and vice versa).

  [Read more…]

Review: Barrio Logan’s Ryan Bros. Coffee

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Ryan Bros. Coffee
1894 Main St.   
San Diego, CA  92113
619-546-6314

By Judi Curry

It is so seldom that my daughters and I get together just to enjoy ourselves. Today was an exceptional day for us. Unfortunately, my middle daughter, Lynn, lives near Anaheim and her plan to catch an Amtrak to join us fell through when the tracks were closed for maintenance. We missed her and hope she will join Michele, Stephanie and me at some other time.

Our goal had also been to visit the Public Market and we were disappointed to find out that it was only open on Wednesday and Sunday.   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 32

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The appearance of the man on the gurney drew everyone’s attention in the holding tank, including Joaquin Torres. Among the deportees, Joaquin did not stand out, as he sat pondering how he would get back across the border once he was released. He recognized Leonard Jefferson immediately and his rage began to grow. In Joaquin’s mind, that was the man who had caused all this crap to happen.

As soon as the paramedics and guards left the tank, Joaquin motioned for four of his companions to watch the door. He walked to Jefferson’s side. Leonard was doped up, but not asleep. He surveyed his new surroundings as best he could, completely held in place by the leather restraints. The man standing over him looked familiar, but it took a moment for him put a name with the face.   [Read more…]

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