Articles by Special to The Grapevine

San Diego Free Press announces its demise

Let it be known that Frank Gormlie, Patty Jones, Doug Porter, Annie Lane, Brent Beltrán, Anna Daniels, and Rich Kacmar did something necessary and beautiful together for 6 1/2 years. Together, we advanced the cause of journalism by advancing the cause of justice. It has been a helluva ride. “Sometimes a great notion…” We — the people who’ve overseen this incredible platform called the San Diego…


Local journalism can upend ‘fake news’

“For the first time media is the least trusted institution globally,” Edelman, the global PR and marketing firm concluded in its annual worldwide study on trust in institutions like the media, business and government. These international findings are in line with recent data coming out of the U.S. A 2016 Gallup poll reported that just 32 percent of Americans trusted the mass media, while an…


Prohibition history — Valley Center Museum

Prohibition, which banned alcohol for 13 years starting in 1920, is being remembered at the History Museum in Valley Center where an area store was issued one of three original alcohol licenses awarded in San Diego County to sell beer on the first day it was legal in 1933. The display commemorates the 85th anniversary of the end of the booze ban on December 5, 1933.  …


TEN Tenors return to Cal Center for the Arts

WHO: The TEN Tenors WHAT: Home for the Holidays concert WHERE: California Center for the Arts, 340 N Escondido Blvd, Escondido, CA 92025 WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 The TEN Tenors, one of Australia’s most famous musical exports, are returning to the United States this fall, for a 38-date tour of the Midwest, South, West Coast and Southwest. Catch them while you can at…


Hunter banned by new House GOP rules

New proposed House GOP rules being voted on this week mandate that if a Republican lawmaker gets indicted “for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed” they have to step down from their committee assignment or their leadership posting. Those rules were written specifically for Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, and as a result of the messy…


San Diego County 2018 Election Results

Local San Diego County election results are complete. More commentary to follow this evening. Visit these links to see the results: https://www.sdvote.com/content/rov/en/elections/results.html https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/california-house-district-50   https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-california-elections.html https://apnews.com/apf-politics? ************************************************************************************************* BEHIND SCENES, CA50 TURNOUT DRIVEN BY PROGRESSIVE PACs An unprecedented campaign by independent progressive groups to oust Rep. Duncan Hunter in CA50 has boosted the candidacy of Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar through an aggressive voter outreach drive. The San…


Climate change and wildfires, is there a link?

Once again, the summer of 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere has brought us an epidemic of major wildfires. These burn forests, houses and other structures, displace thousands of people and animals, and cause major disruptions in people’s lives. The huge burden of simply firefighting has become a year-round task costing billions of dollars, let alone the cost of the destruction. The smoke veil can extend…


California’s ‘jungle primary’ sets up polarized governor’s race for November

Voters who took part in California’s innovative and anti-party “jungle” primary on June 5 delivered a typical and predictably partisan result in the governor’s race. They sent Democratic Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom as the heavy favorite into a November contest against Republican businessman John Cox, who now lists his residence as Rancho Santa Fe. With the liberal Newsom positioning himself as a Bay Area Bernie…


Golden State’s crazy, cheezy dreams

It’s World Cheese Day, don’t you know… Gold rush opportunists, hippie goat ladies, Latino newcomers: California entrepreneurs dream of cheese: The idea for Humboldt Fog goat’s milk cheese first came to Mary Keehn in a dream. She fell asleep on an airplane and awoke with a vivid picture in her mind of how the cheese looked. And then she set out to realize her vision –…


Abed: Wrong on immigration, wrong period

Escondido mayor Sam Abed is running for re-election as a Donald Trump Republican with his main issue, apparently, the desire to keep immigrants in a constant state of fear. This election presents a clear contrast between myself and Abed who has been running his mouth all over the county against so-called “sanctuary cities.” This supposed outrage is a ploy, a distraction from the real work…