Articles by Special to The Grapevine

Meet California’s new Consumer Privacy Act

California’s landmark digital privacy regulations will become the de facto law of the land when they take effect in January, allowing consumers more control over the personal data companies collect about them. Beginning January 1, consumers will be able to ask for direct access to the information about them that companies keep, and request that the data be deleted. Consumers will also be able to…


Wait, what? Hunter plea shows two pet bunnies flown on campaign fraud dollars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 3, 2019 Congressman Duncan D. Hunter Pleads Guilty to Stealing Campaign Funds Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily W. Allen (619) 546-9738, W. Mark Conover (619) 546-6763 and Phillip L.B. Halpern (619) 546-6964 NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 3, 2019 SAN DIEGO – U.S. Representative Duncan D. Hunter pleaded guilty in federal court today to the major count in his indictment, admitting…


Feds sued for targeting journalists at border

When the government tries to circumvent constitutional protections, we must hold it accountable. No journalist should have to fear government interference for having the persistence, courage, and commitment to expose the truth. — ACLUF-SDIC As part of a coordinated effort that undermined the freedom of the press, the U.S. government tracked, detained, and interrogated journalists who were reporting on conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Five…


Electric vehicles, within reason, benefit US

Climate plans are the order of the day in the presidential primary campaign because carbon pollution is a global threat of unique proportions. But it’s worth asking whether candidates’ plans are based in the reality of the climate, the economy and the election. All three dimensions must come together for any climate plan to achieve its goals – and this is especially true when the…


Dr. Bronner’s path to 100% renewable power

Soap, bees, teachers, farmers, community “There is an urgent need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, dramatically reduce wasted energy, and significantly shift our power supplies from oil, coal, and natural gas to wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources.” – Bill McKibben, Environmentalist “I’m convinced that if every home had solar panels on the roof, we could create all the energy we…


California is living America’s dystopian future

The Golden State is on fire, which means that an idea of American utopia is on fire, too. Utopias are the good places of our imagination, while dystopias are the places where everything goes terribly wrong, where evil triumphs and nature destroys her own. Frequently utopias and dystopias are the same place, because perfection may not be possible without someone suffering. Ursula LeGuin writes about…


Many people can’t afford wildfire insurance

California’s relatively quiet 2019 fire season ended in October, with serious wildfires in both Northern and Southern California. There are many things Californians can do to prepare for these blazes, but one option – taking out wildfire insurance – is out of reach for many of them. For example, after massive fires in 2018, an estimated 350,000 Californians could no longer get property and casualty…


Learning from Native American wildfire management strategies

For several months in 2019, it seemed wildfires wouldn’t rage across the West as they had in recent years. But then came the dry autumn and California’s Santa Ana and Diablo winds, which can drive the spread of wildfires. Utilities are shutting off power across the state to reduce the risk of damaged equipment or downed trees on wires causing fires. There’s no lack of…


Treating wildfires as a public health issue

Deadly fires across California over the past several years have shown how wildfire has become a serious public health and safety issue. Health effects from fires close to or in populated areas range from smoke exposure to drinking water contaminated by chemicals like benzene to limited options for the medically vulnerable. These kinds of threats are becoming major, statewide concerns. Many people still think of…


YOUR state senator Brian Jones opposes gun control and state assault weapons ban

Leave it to the poor suffering residents of the Duncan Hunter-Joel Anderson reign of Trumpist political terror, and corrupt behavior, to be saddled with their obvious successor at outrageous and dangerous political malpractice. Enter the gates of gun violence hell with state Sen. Brian Jones, (R-NRA), elected in California’s 38th Senate District, as the successor to ALEC’s favorite son, Anderson, who got term-limited out of…