In the escalating trade conflict between the U.S. and China, more California agricultural products now face new retaliatory tariffs in one of their export markets. On Monday, Sept. 24, China implemented a new round of tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, including a wide range of foods and agricultural products. The tariffs came in response to new U.S. duties on $200 billion in…
Attorney General’s Office halts HiCaliber’s fundraising, spending for failing to file tax docs HiCaliber Horse Rescue, a Valley Center nonprofit embroiled in allegations of fraud and animal abuse, can no longer raise or spend money until it submits proper financial disclosures to the state. The California Attorney General’s Office sent HiCaliber a letter Friday stating the nonprofit is considered “delinquent” for failing to submit federal…
Whether you’re for abortion or against – can the state force you to say anything about it? What about posting a notice with information for the other side? This year, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide. A 2015 California law, the Reproductive FACT Act, requires faith-based “crisis pregnancy centers” that don’t offer abortions to post notices about state family planning and pregnancy-related services. In National…
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…
In a bizarre, and weirdly coincidental incident early Wednesday, the abandoned clubhouse at the embattled, highly controversial, Escondido Country Club burned to the ground. Karma, natural disaster, accident or even arson, the shuttered clubhouse at the property that has been the center of years of development controversy burned, baby, burned to the ground beginning just before 5:30 a.m., Escondido fire Battalion Chief Art Holcomb said. The…
What is to be done in 2018 and beyond, to get the country back on track? Just how liberal is California? It’s the home state of Amanda Chantal Bacon’s Moon Juice and a shit-ton of cannabis — but it’s also the headquarters of Scientology, the launchpad and burial place of Ronald Reagan, and where the landmark 1978 anti-tax measure Prop 13 still polls remarkably well. So how…
(Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared this week in Fair Warning, a non-profit independent investigative report on safety, health and corporate conduct news. Fair Warning partners with the Local Independent Online Publishers (LION) group to which The Escondido Grapevine belongs. This article related to California immigration and agriculture is part of a story-sharing arrangement between LION and Fair Warning.) As an attorney representing California Central…
(Editor’s Note: The Great Heat Wave chilled out on Sunday just in time for a day supposedly honoring labor, yet consisting of no work. Temps dipped below 100 degrees everywhere in San Diego County, big change from the day before when 20 local places broke the 100 degrees barrier. What happened? Tropical Storm Lidia sucked in a high pressure system bringing with it desert air….
It’s all about supply and demand in the wonderful world of avocados. Despite a large amount of foreign imports, demand has exceeded supply this year. That means higher prices at the grocery check-out for North County consumers raising the price of guacamole, and such, to record levels this season. As more people are drawn to avocados for their flavor and health benefits, consumption of the…
Bus drivers and mechanics for San Diego’s North County Transit District allege they are owed thousands of dollars in accrued vacation, sick and personal time from First Transit, a national company that operated NCTD’s bus service for the past seven years under a $178 million contract. It’s unclear how many people are affected and how much money is at stake, though interviews with drivers and…