(Editor’s Note: A statewide panel of pest control experts says San Diego and other urban areas in California are experiencing a rat infestation that threatens public health. A report released by Reform California last year said a survey of 23 rodent control companies across the state showed a sharp increases in rat populations everywhere. More than 78 percent of the companies reported an increase of at least…
Census 2020 has gotten off to a Trump Administration start, which is to say already under scrutiny for lack of competency, missed deadlines and multiple causes for concern. The General Accountability Office (GAO) last week said “readiness for upcoming operations is mixed” for the 2020 Census. GAO is the authoritative agency providing Congress, the heads of executive agencies, and the public with timely, fact-based, non-partisan information…
All three male members of the San Marcos Planning Commission, whose two-year terms expired in December, were reappointed by the mayor and city council in January. The only woman on the seven-member commission, Wendy Matthews, was also reappointed. There are no term limits for commissioners, allowing for the growth of the good old boys network. Kevin Norris begins his eleventh year on the council, while…
Cal State San Marcos professor Natalie Wilson wants us to look at zombies, vampires and witches as warriors for social justice. Wilson, who teaches primarily for the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department and who has written extensively about horror in popular culture, has released a new book, “Willful Monstrosity: Gender and Race in 21st Century Horror,” examining characters in the current horror renaissance as…
Gov. Gavin Newsom made a bold move Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. In his second State of the State address, an annual speech that usually focuses on political wins or the state’s booming economy, Newsom dedicated 35 of 42 minutes to the urgent but unsexy issue of homelessness. By proclaiming homelessness the most “pernicious crisis in our midst,” the first-term Democratic governor staked his political reputation…
For the first time ever, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego has bred and successfully hatched two rare Weedy Seadragons. This is a first for Birch Aquarium, now one of the few aquariums in the world to hatch this unusual fish. The inch-long babies display the characteristic camouflaging appendages of the elaborate adult Weedy Seadragons in miniature, and have already had…
(Editor’s Note The block party-style event, hosted by stars of the restaurant makeover show, raised at least $119,000 for Kaitlyn Rose “Rosie” Pilsbury, 33, the owner of Rosie’s Cafe who was struck by a white Ford Explorer while she was riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle through Vista, according to KNSD 39/7 San Diego.) Got to give it to to reality TV makeover chef Robert Irvine…
Turn out the lights, the party is over for Sergio Gutierrez, a San Diego local musician and acrylic artist. Gutierrez has been painting playing music in his studio on the grounds of Forgotten Barrel Winery at 1120 West 15th Ave Escondido, CA 92025 for over a year now. He intends to bring it all to an end with an art-and-music bash there from noon to 6 p.m….
Celebrating all things romantic, Valentine’s Day comes this way on Friday, Feb. 14 throughout Escondido, North County, San Diego and the world. What are you going to do about that, lovers of love. Let’s consider some options. Sure, flowers, candy or other sweet things, and the exchange of cards, called valentines, expressing love are going to be big everywhere. But some people are going the…
After a campus visit, a state-funded agency, the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistant Team (FCMAT) issued its November 8, 2019 report, describing Palomar College’s financial position and management practices. The news wasn’t good. The report gave the school’s Fiscal Health Risk Analysis a 44.5% rating, indicating its probability of insolvency in the near future. According to FCMAT, in two years the school will have drained all…