January 2017

Baseball, Books January 20, 2017

Tale of the Toppled Hurler: A Peter Hartwell Story (Part 9)

Tale of the Toppled Hurler: A Peter Hartwell Story by Bruce A. Kauffman c 2017  All rights reserved. For full story to date, visit: https://escondidograpevine.com/a-the-tale-of-the-toppled-hurler-a-peter-hartwell-story/. Readers will recall that intrepid journalist Peter Hartwell was en route to a watery grave when Russell, the Fat Man’s partner, shows up, a girl in tow. The Fat Man, concerned about the presence of a witness, puts the brakes on…

Blogs, Columns/Blogs, Opinion, Public Policy January 19, 2017

SD County farmers: Let them grow pot

For local jurisdictions, cannabis farming can generate significant new tax revenues, create jobs and help reverse course for the region’s declining agricultural sector. In the weeks and months ahead, county and local officials will be taking steps to implement medical and recreational marijuana regulations, including cannabis farming. The local farmers I’ve talked to think the time is ripe. In the last 16 months, the state…

Politics January 15, 2017

Protest Trump? Places to start this week.

Opportunities in San Marcos and San Diego to Protest Trump’s Inauguration By Doug Porter — San Diego Free Press San Diego gets it. Lots of us are unhappy with the incoming administration. There are community gatherings. There are rallies. There are protest marches. There are teach-ins. There are press conferences. There is art. There are even dance parties. People from all walks of life find are…

Blogs, Columns/Blogs, Opinion, Politics January 14, 2017

Special snowflake Hunter can’t take HS art

Congressman Duncan Hunter was too — too delicate to walk by a painting made by a high school kid and go about his day. He had to take it down. He unscrewed the bolts and removed it. Hunter would say that he did this because of a moral imperative, because he feels that it’s wrong to dehumanize and demean law enforcement officers. Ironically, many progressive-…

Rancho Santa Fe January 13, 2017

Pickens continues fighting ‘black people food’ federal discrimination lawsuit

Lawyers for a former chef at Madeleine Pickens’ $1,650 per night, minimum 4-night stay, dude ranch south of Wells, Nevada have filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court in Reno. They allege Pickens made racially discriminating remarks like asking him to cook “black people food.” The complaint filed this week meets the deadline imposed by U.S. District Judge Miranda Du, who dismissed Armand Appling’s original…

Breaking News, News, Politics January 9, 2017

Charges pressed against Hunter for art slam

“I’d hang it on Duncan’s door if it was up to me. But what I don’t want to do is deflect from the fact that all this is a diversion so people talk about Duncan Hunter removing a painting and picking on an 18-year-old and being a bully as opposed to talking about the fact that he continuously takes things that don’t belong to him….

North County January 9, 2017

Seaside Courier (of Encinitas) bites the dust

Another attempt to bring local independent news in the form of a print newspaper failed at Encinitas as the 2-year-old Seaside Courier announced that’s all folks, quietly fading into the dust bin of history last month. Thomas K. Arnold, who also has contributed stories to The Escondido Grapevine reported the news to another Grapevine friend Roman Koenig, who worked with us at North County Times…

Featured, Politics January 8, 2017

Issa, Hunter vote to give away federal lands

San Diego Republicans Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa joined with the House Majority in voting for a rules change would allow giveaway of federal lands to states, local governments, or tribes. Potentially, such giveaways could include national parks such as Yosemite or the Grand Canyon. It also encompasses all other public lands; here in San Diego these include Cleveland National Forest, federal recreation areas and…

Breaking News, News, Politics January 6, 2017

‘Art Critic’ Hunter rips down HS student art posted at Capitol by Missouri congressman

Battling House ethics charges for illegal spending of campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-50th District, found time Friday to rip down a high school student’s first-place award-winning art piece posted at the U.S. Capitol complex by Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo. Clay represents St. Louis and Ferguson, Mo., where the infamous Michael Brown slaying took place. The painting was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol complex…

Homelessness, San Diego January 6, 2017

Poverty in San Diego County higher than during Great Recession

When Jim Floros started his job as president and CEO of the San Diego Food Bank at the beginning of 2013, he says the nonprofit served about 330,000 people a month. The divergence between poverty and employment points to deeper problems in the San Diego region’s economy. That number has since grown to 370,000. That might seem odd given that San Diego County’s unemployment rate fell…