December 2017

No taxation without representation, Hunter

Spoiler alert. Rep, Duncan Hunter (R-50th Congressional District), like his President idol (for now) Donald Trump should do everyone a favor and resign. Considering Hunter’s multiple transgressions, topped off by breaking the law by spending campaign finance $$$ for his, and his family’s, personal expenses, self-admitted by Hunter: The vape, on-the-take, Hunter managed to outdo himself last week. Hunter VOTED FOR THE GOP TAX PLAN…


Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson celebrated

A California firefighter who died while battling what has become the largest blaze in the state’s recorded history was honored in a memorial service Saturday, Dec. 23 in his home county. The celebration of life for Cal Fire Engineer Cory Iverson, 32, of Escondido, wove raw emotion into the rituals of a line-of-duty death as Iverson’s widow, his younger brother and other family members spoke. Iverson died…


Escondido firefighter dies in Thomas Fire

California fire officials say the massive Thomas Fire has claimed the life of an Escondido firefighter. The body of Cory Iverson, a 32-year-old father from Escondido, was driven out of the fire zone in a procession as firefighters lined the road saluting in respect. He had been with Cal Fire since 2009. The San Diego County resident is survived by his wife, Ashley, and a 2-year-old…


Del Mar racetrack back to normal after Lilac Fire horse rescues head home to Bonsall

Thoroughbreds jogged on the main racetrack at Del Mar this week as life after the horrific training track fire in nearby Bonsall began to settle for horses and horsemen involved with the events at San Luis Rey Downs last Thursday. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and 22nd District Agricultural Association officials reported that there were currently 260 Thoroughbreds and approximately 500 other-breed horses stabled on the…


Vista Dreamer’s ‘open letter’ to Darrell Issa

(Editor’s Note: A Vista native, Marco Ortiz Sanchez is a UC Irvine student and a DACA recipient. He traveled to Washington with a group of 100 Dreamers in October.) Dear Congressman Darrell Issa, Thank you for welcoming me into your office to discuss the current situation facing American Dreamers, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals beneficiaries, like myself. Not everyone gets the opportunity to meet their representative on…


Anti-wall protestors blast police inaction

(Editor’s Note: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-50th congressional District) and other far right-wing Trump Border Wall adherents held a rally Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Otay Mesa site of wall prototypes. At the event, right-wing activists attacked the protestors. Here is an account from protestors about the violence and police actions there. During his speech, Hunter repeated discredited claims he has made in the past that…


Cougar spirit runs all in the family

Cal State San Marcos had a different feel when Rylee Leavitt’s grandmother attended in the early 1990s. Back then, Jane DeRoche was a single mother returning to school for her bachelor’s knowing it would help her earn a better living. “I gathered all my transcripts and kind of dumped them on the counter and said, ‘I want to go to school here. What do I…


End Citizens United begins GOP ditch drive

A major democratic political action organization that’s working to get big money and all of the temptation it offers out of politics recently released a list of 20 Republican Congress members that it intends to target next year. The organization on attack is End Citizens United, and it is calling its targeted Congress members the “Big Money 20.” A Group that Favors Its Special Interest…


Plastic ocean pollution and climate change

Although burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of global warming, fossil fuels could also be driving climate change via a completely different mechanism involving ocean plastic debris and tiny, bioluminescent fish living hundreds of meters beneath the ocean’s surface. Lanternfish (aka myctophids) are only a few inches long typically but so ubiquitous that they account for over half the ocean’s total fish-mass. They are…