(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…
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…
The number of influenza deaths in San Diego County increased to 57 after seven more fatalities were reported last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today. The ages of the new flu deaths ranged from 60 to 89 years of age and all had underlying medical conditions. A total of 1,548 lab-confirmed influenza cases were reported last week, compared to 1,689 cases…
As California contends with drought, wildfires and other impacts of climate change, a small yet passionate group of residents are attempting to lessen these effects and reduce the state’s carbon emissions. They are ranchers – but not the kind that most people picture when they hear that term. These first-generation ranchers are young, often female and ethnically diverse. Rather than raising beef cattle destined for…
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego Union Tribune recently ballyhooed a documentary it created based on that newspaper’s coverage of California’s 50th Congressional District’s disgraced former representative Duncan Hunter, R-Vapeville. The 5-part series, accessed through this link ,debuted on Jan. 22 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. An hour-long version of “The 50th” first played on Jan. 26 on Cox Cable and Spectrum Cable in San Diego. Episodes are…
An African-American man fired from his TV talk show producer job at One America News Network was not harassed on the basis of racial prejudice, but was fired in part because he lodged his complaint, a California jury found. The San Diego Superior Court jury on Monday, Feb. 4 awarded Jonathan Harris nearly $290,000 in damages, the Union-Tribune reported. The verdict followed roughly eight days…
Fire incident calls tied to homelessness are on the rise in San Diego. Last year, they made up nearly 13% of all fire-related calls. “We’re addressing it as best we can,” said Assistant Fire Chief Chris Webber, who added that the growing homeless problem is “no secret.” While the number of all fire calls has fluctuated over the past five years, fire calls that mentioned…
Veteran homelessness has been cut nearly in half in the last 10 years, but tens of thousands of vets remain on the streets, and a program intended to help is short-staffed and thousands of housing vouchers are going unused. On Tuesday, members of Congress heard the story of a veteran known simply as “Mr. Brown.” Brown received an other-than-honorable discharge because of alleged drug use during his…
One of these centuries soon—but really, soon—Congress has got to come to grips with the problem of its errant members. So far, for the crimes you commit, you can be ordered to stop voting on bills, you can be deprived of all committee assignments, and of course you won’t be held accountable for any number of absences from Congressional sessions, you can be expelled, you…