San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Part One: President Obama & the Gang of Eight’s ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’

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A Chicano Historical Analysis: Immigration or Labor?

By Herman Baca, President, Committee on Chicano Rights

President Barack Obama, along with the “gang of 8,” 4 Democrats; Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and 4 Republican; Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tea Party favor Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently called for bi-partisan, “comprehensive immigration reform.”

The call brought back vivid memories of labor, political and civil rights organizer, Humberto “Bert” Corona.

Corona, while unknown too many in the US, struggled to improve the conditions of persons of Mexican ancestry and undocumented immigrants in the US from the 1930’s until his death in 2001. He is recognized by many in the Chicano community as being both the father of the Chicano and Immigration movements.   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 26

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Sheila Masters slept in the shower of her motel room.

By the time Colin had discovered Joe and Tyrone in the passage way, Sheila was more than a half mile away. When she landed on the opposite side of the fence, she ran through the underbrush and rolled into a small concrete culvert which ran parallel to the freeway and behind the blocks of commercial buildings. The culvert was full of runoff from the rain. Under the cover of ungroomed pepper trees and oleanders, she slogged her way through the culvert.

Her self-preservation had kicked into high gear. All she thought about was getting away. Tyrone was gone. There was nothing she could do about that right now. She would grieve for him later. And later she would take her revenge. But now, she had to get away. Her clothes were soaked and she shivered with cold as she pushed her way through the heavy underbrush, branches whipping against the bare skin of her face and hands.   [Read more…]

Health Insurance Scams Leave People High and Dry

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 Goldman Sachs, Blackstone Group make hundred of millions selling useless mini-med policies

Part Two of a series on the Business of Health

In Part 1 we told about how hospitals have a huge computer file called a Chargemaster that details prices for every possible item a hospital can charge for. These prices don’t have anything to do with reality because in fact there is no market for health care services.

In a truly capitalist economy there would be a competitive market by means of which people could check prices and choose the service that’s the most reasonable in terms of price and other factors. It’s called price discovery.

Hospital charges represent a dark market just like over the counter derivatives because it’s next to impossible to get hospitals to reveal their prices for any of their services. According to an extensive article in Time, the author was given the brushoff and even told it was illegal every time he tried to get pricing information. Therefore, the Chargemaster details prices that are sky high and out of sight compared to the paying abilities of most Americans.

In Part 2 we will cover the plight of many folks who thought they had sufficient health insurance coverage only to be told that their insurance policies were useless and they would be required to pay cash upfront if they wanted to access hospital services.
  [Read more…]

In America We Have the Power to Change (Thoughts of Freedom)

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Freedom. What a concept, huh? One of the sweetest words in the world’s vocabulary.

I learned a long time ago that the pursuit of freedom will make one do almost anything. Sometimes in the spur of a moment. I used to love to hear my maternal grandfather tell about how he woke up one day on a sharecropper’s plot of land in Hawkinsville, Georgia, thinking to himself, “God, I don’t know what all is out there in this world but I just know You created something better than this.”

At about the same time “big boss man” came riding up on his horse rallying what were supposed to be “free men” to the fields, “yelling and spitting tobacco every which-a-away” my grandfather would say and the next thing he knew he had snatched the man off his horse, gave him the ass-kicking of his life and then ran for that very life until he reached the Gulf of Mexico – to what, he didn’t know. He just knew he had to be free.

I thought of him a little while back at a forum at the Malcolm X Library that featured four of a group of people who stand tall in my mind and soul: The Freedom Riders.   [Read more…]

Transient Ischemic Attack … ‘I Had a What?’

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Monday morning dawned bright and early and I looked forward to going to my physical therapy appointment at 7:00am. I love driving over Pt. Loma Avenue early in the morning to see the sun coming up over the mountains. This day was no exception.

My therapist, Eddy, worked me especially hard this morning because, after having breast cancer surgery 18 years ago, within the past 6 months I have developed a severe case of lymphedema.  There does not seem to be a cure, and we are trying to get the lymph fluid to flow out of the elephantine arm that used to be my left arm. It doesn’t hurt – just restrictive at times.

Following my therapy I had an appointment to see my Primary Care Physician for a routine check up and all was normal.  I left her office; did some shopping at Ralph’s, and walked in the door about 11:00am. One of my former students – Corrine – was coming in the front door as I was walking in the back door. She had an armload of tomato plants with her that she was going to plant in the backyard. When I said “Good Morning” to her I thought something might be wrong. With me. It sounded funny to my ears.   [Read more…]

Mayor Filner: Is it heartburn or the stirrings of true love?

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What you always wanted to know…

By Norma Damashek

One time or another we’ve all experienced that unsettled, mid-gut sensation.  Strangely, it always feels the same — whether the cause is dread, pleasurable anticipation, or a pesky upset stomach.

Yes, Bob Filner is giving a lot of San Diego greybeards a bad case of heartburn. How? by prying open the locked jaws of powerful land developers, tourism profiteers, and respected enablers (bankers, law firms, judges, consultants, radio/TV/news purveyors) whose business has traditionally been to keep the reigning power structure intact and thriving. He’s forced them to swallow a new style of home-town brew and it’s not to their liking.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Fake Video About San Diego ACORN Yields $100,000 Settlement; Wingnuts Continue Defamation

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You’d think the right wingers would give it a rest. But the myth of the evil-doers at ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) continues to live.

Four separate investigations by various state and city Attorneys General and the GAO released in 2009/2010 cleared ACORN of any illegal activities. Law enforcement officials found its employees had not engaged in criminal activities and that the organization had managed its federal funding appropriately.  Videos purporting to show illegal activities were found to have been deceptively and selectively edited to present the workers in the worst possible light.

So it’s with some small satisfaction that former members of that group were in a celebratory mood yesterday after court documents were released revealing that James O’Keefe, the conservative activist whose hidden-camera stings were at the center of the controversy, agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former employee of ACORN.

INSIDE: North Park Water Tower, District 4 Dirt, Balboa Park Redux, Digging in South LA   [Read more…]

Where’s Planning in San Diego? Moving Beyond Process and Delivering Results

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By Beryl Forman

Once San Diego fulfilled its quest of becoming a sprawled out metropolis, narrow minded city officials questioned the purpose of future planning. To some, development is equivalent to planning, so with no more available land to build, the value of planning was in question. Aside from accepting that our county had become a sprawling mess, good planners would argue that the objective of contemporary urban planning is to ‘Return to the Center”, to improve the life and environment our city’s dense urban neighborhoods. With a new found interest in urban living, San Diego’s city leaders and urban planners alike are proudly re-examining the purpose of planning.

To expand on this subject, panelists Bill Anderson, former director of Planning for the City of San Diego, along with Mike Stepner, former city architect, and Howard Blackson, local urban designer seen at the forefront our city’s urban issues, spoke at February’s C3 (Citizens Coordinate for Century 3) breakfast dialogue.   [Read more…]

International Women’s Day Events in San Diego

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Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate in re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act with bi-partisan support. The timing was particularly appropriate: Friday, March 8th is International Women’s Day. The overall theme this year is “The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum,” while the United Nations theme for the day is “A promise is a promise: Time to end violence against women.” Inside are listings for this year’s commemorations…   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – End Welfare for UT-San Diego’s Owner and his Friends; Raise the Minimum Wage

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Today’s UT-San Diego editorial represents the height of hypocrisy.

Titled ‘Minimum wage hikes deliver maximum pain to the poor’, it goes on to tell us in no uncertain terms about the terrible things that will follow should Congress act on a bill introduced on Tuesday by Democratic Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and George Miller of California that would raise the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 — and add an annual adjustment to keep pace with the cost-of-living index.

At the heart of the issue over wages is a business model that relies upon ‘corporate welfare’ either through tax breaks or subsidies (including their labor costs).  Aside from the fact that it’s remarkably short-sighted, such a business philosophy also leads to increases in wealth differential. They get richer, everybody else gets poorer. And that’s exactly what’s happening in the US today.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: City Farmers Nursery – Plant Paradise in City Heights

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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

City Farmers Nursery

Address: 4832 Home Avenue, City Heights CA 92105
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9 AM – 5 PM, Sunday 9 AM – 3 PM

Best For: Gardeners, do-it-yourselfers, fresh produce eaters, learners

Serving San Diego for over 40 years, City Farmers Nursery is a one-of-a-kind destination in the heart of San Diego. The nursery features a wide selection of plants including sections devoted to California native plants, butterfly gardens, fruit trees, garden selections, and many more. All of the plants in the nursery are raised organically and the staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable. If you are buying a plant at City Farmers you can be confident it will grow in your yard – they test every product on-site and don’t sell plants unless they are proven to be well-suited for the San Diego climate.   [Read more…]

La Jolla’s Anti-Semitic Past Still Reflected in Community Christmas Parade

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What is the difference between a “Holiday Parade” and a “Christmas Parade?” Not much, actually. But the fact that La Jolla continues to call their December parade a “Christmas Parade” bothers some residents of this snobby, exclusive city.

Many years ago – 1965 – to be exact, my husband and I decided to take a trip to La Jolla. We knew we would be moving to the San Diego area shortly, because my father-in-law was quite ill and lived in Chula Vista. We decided to make a vacation of it, and driving down from Berkeley where we were going to school we stopped off at a hotel in La Jolla. I was wearing a beautiful Jewish star given to me on my 18th birthday by my ex-husband. My current husband – Bob – was not Jewish, but the star was so pretty that I wore it frequently.

As was usually the case, I got out of the car and went to the registration desk. The clerk looked at me and said, “I’m sorry. We do not cater to your kind.” What in the hell was he talking about? He didn’t cater to my kind? What kind was I? I said, “I beg your pardon. I don’t understand.” He said, under his breath, “you Jews just don’t want to understand.” And that was my first introduction to Antisemitism – in a nice hotel in the middle of La Jolla.   [Read more…]

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