San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

The Starting Line – They’re Coming for Your Guns and Other NRA Falsehoods

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The national conversation over gun regulations continues to dominate the news cycle. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings yesterday saw astronaut Mark Kelly directly confronting the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre over the shooting of his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords (D-Ariz.) was the first witness called yesterday, and at the end of the day it was her seventy two word statement that still echoed in the halls of Congress:

 Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important.

Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying – too many children. We must do something.

It will be hard. But the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be Courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.

  [Read more…]

Public Hearing Today on Gregory Canyon Landfill in Escondido

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A public hearing is being held today – Thursday, Jan. 31 – at 6pm on the Gregory Canyon Landfill, and it will be at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.

The site proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill would negatively impact a sacred site of the Luiseño tribes of Pala Indians. San Diego County’s environmental impact report for the landfill admits that these impacts cannot be fixed. The proposed landfill site is also on a natural aquifer and near the San Luis Rey River, both important sources of drinking water for North County.

Landfills are an outdated way of handling waste. With higher recycling rates than ever and improved waste reduction strategies, the county does not need another place to bury its trash.

The hearing is at the California Center for the Arts, at 340 North Escondido Blvd. in Escondido.   [Read more…]

Parties Cry Foul at Public Uitlities Commission’s Investigation of San Onofre Nukes

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By Women’s Energy Matters

Parties to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) investigation of the San Onofre nuclear generating station outage are crying foul over ongoing procedural delays and a narrow Scoping Memo issued Tues. Jan. 28th.

Women’s Energy Matters, the Coalition to Decommission San Onofre, United Public Workers For Action and Michael Aguirre charge that both seem designed to force southern California customers to pay even higher rates in the next couple of years to fund Edison’s reckless plan to restart one of its severely damaged reactors —instead of getting immediate refunds for the year the nuclear plant has been offline. Parties ask CPUC to stop paying for these lemons now, and plan for permanent replacement resources instead.   [Read more…]

Devouring Bob Filner

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by Norma Damashek/NumbersRunner

Predictions of doomsday have officially fizzled. This past November voters elected the liberal Democrat Bob Filner as mayor of the city of San Diego and — happy to report — the world (as we know it) remains intact.

 On the other hand…if you pay close attention you might catch a glimpse of the prescient ghost of that other Bob. It looks like, even here in San Diego, the times they are a-changin’…

In fact, our city seems pretty much the same as ever.   [Read more…]

Sex in San Diego: An Open Letter to Men Looking for Women in the Online World

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It happened again today. I “met” a man online that sounded like a nice person. He had many of the attributes I am looking for in a companion, or so he said, and I agreed to meet him for lunch in a well-known restaurant in North County. (He lives in San Marcos and it was a good halfway place for us to meet.) We were both early; another nice attribute. He obviously had been there before, not because the waitress recognized him, but because he knew his way around the restaurant and we sat at “his favorite table.”

We chit-chatted as we made our selection from the menu and then he asked me the question that I have been asked four times already in my online dating experience: “I said on my profile that I was 72; I am really 82. Do you think I could pass for 72?”

Well, guys, I am tired of being nice. So I told him the truth.   [Read more…]

The Inexact Cartography of the Heart: Going Home

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When neighbors in City Heights talk about going home, that home may be as close as Los Angeles or Tucson, or as far away as Vietnam, Eritrea or the Philippines. My neighbors have family in Mexico and make an annual December pilgrimage to Mexicali or Oaxaca so that their children can spend Christmas with their grandparents, their abuelos.

Distance, which translates into time and money, and unstable political circumstances in one’s home country are limiters on whether the wish to return home for a visit is ever realized. But beyond those considerations, can you go home if your home no longer exists?   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego: Have a (Great) Beer While You’re Waiting for the Marijuana Dispensary to Open

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Our fair city finally got national recognition for what it does well yesterday when a writer who actually drinks beer put San Diego at the top of a “Non Fiction” list of the best beer towns in America. And our new mayor got schooled yesterday in what it really takes to be a game changer when it comes to medical marijuana.

Columnist Steve Body, who pens The Pour Fool column for Seattlepi.com did a little research into the business of compiling best beer cities and was shocked to discover that even big time media outlets weren’t using any sources with backgrounds in the field.

In other news, Mayor Filner walked back an earlier promise to get the City of San Diego out of the business of prosecuting medical marijuana dispensary owners yesterday.

MORE Inside: Immigration Reform, ‘Yes We Cannibus’, DeVry University Sued…   [Read more…]

Desde la Logan: Casa Galería Brings Art and Culture to the Historic Barrio District

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In an old Victorian house located on Island St. in the barrio of Sherman Heights sits San Diego’s newest art gallery. Casa Galería, located at the historic Founders’ House, is managed by the Historic Barrio District Community Development Corporation (HBD CDC). The HBD CDC is a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the needs of the communities of Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Grant Hill, Memorial and Stockton. The Historic Barrio District presents itself as a Mecca of art, culture, history and activism that promotes community pride, economic opportunities and a healthy environment for all of its residents.

The HBD CDC’s latest project, among their many, is Casa Galería. Casa Galería is a community space dedicated to cultivating and celebrating Chicano/Latino arts and culture in San Diego’s historic barrios. The gallery will provide a space for local and international Chicano/Latino artists to showcase their art and will embrace visual, literary, musical, textile and craft artists by presenting quality work that will engage the residents, neighbors and the San Diego community at large.   [Read more…]

Obama and Me

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Obama and me;
I dreamed of us recently,
how we came to be,
him in 1961
in a world
of ukuleles,
warm ocean breezes,
lazy days
and crashing waves
where people greeted each other
with Aloha;
me in 1938
in the Grand Canyon State
under a blazing sun
that spun
100 plus degrees
and gave birth to folks
who loved rodeos
ten gallon hats
and pointed toe boots
and yelling Yee Ha!

I dreamed of how
handsome he is actually
and how guapo I might look virtually
if I had Photoshop fluency
to any degree.
……..   [Read more…]

State Hits Walmart Contractor with Wage Theft Ruling

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from Warehouse Workers United/Frying Pan News

The state of California has ordered a Southern California warehouse that processes merchandise for Walmart and other retailers to pay 865 workers more than $1 million in stolen wages.

The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued the citations Monday, Jan. 28 against Quetico, LLC, a large warehouse complex in Chino, California. Back wages and unpaid overtime total more than $1.1million and in addition the state issued about $200,000 in penalties.

“Quetico is strict when it comes to enforcing its rules with workers so it is only fair that the state enforce the laws that the company broke,” said Abraham Guzman, a warehouse worker who has been at Quetico for about two and a half years. “I am satisfied that the law will now be followed and workers have won justice.”   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – ‘Future Facts’ Fail to Sway Judge in Balboa Park Plaza de Panama Ruling

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A San Diego judge has issued a tentative ruling that could halt city plans for building a parking garage in Balboa Park and associated renovations of the Plaza de Panama. Oral arguments will be heard in front of Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor on Friday, whose preliminary written decision reflected a clear reluctance to derail the project.

At issue is the legal interpretation of a single phrase, “reasonable beneficial use.” Since the plans included removal of a section of the historic Cabrillo Bridge, the Save Our Heritage Organisation sued, citing (among other things) San Diego’s municipal code, which says the city cannot touch an historic structure unless it’s ruled to have no reasonable beneficial use. In approving the project, the City Council said this was the case as part of the approval process.

INSIDE: The Battle Against Generic Biologics, Sick Stuff About Gun Nuts, and the Death of Football?   [Read more…]

With a New Captain, San Diego Democrats Forge Ahead Into New Era

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Francine Busby takes the helm of the San Diego Democratic Party after eight years of solid growth under Jess Durfee.

The San Diego Democratic Party enters a new era following the 2012 elections, and for the first time in nearly nine years the party will have a new leader. Jess Durfee announced in December that he would be stepping down as the Party’s Chairman, opening the door for a new authority to step forward.

That new leadership emerged in the form of a familiar name to San Diego area Democrats: Francine Busby, the former challenger for the 50th District Congressional seat held at the time by Brian Bilbray.

“I felt it was time to bring new ideas into the Party and to continue to evolve as the electorate evolves,” said Durfee. Busby, he said “is the best possible successor to take over for me.”

Ten Years ago there was no Party infrastructure, and Republicans held a 90 thousand voter advantage in registered voters and four out of five Congressional seats. Today Democrats have a 20 thousand voter advantage and hold three out of five Congressional seats. It’s been a long, hard slog, and Busby’s goal now is to continue that growth through new ideas.   [Read more…]

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