North County

It’s tough to be a renter in San Diego County

San Diego County is one of the least affordable places to live in America, and renters know it. When housing costs are high, people have less money to spend on other necessities such as food and medical care, which hurts their quality of life. In 2017, 57 percent of the county’s renters were considered burdened by their housing costs, meaning they spent 30 percent or more…


Ammar Campa-Najjar hits comeback trail

Ammar Campa-Najjar makes it official It’s official, Campa-Najjar is back in the race to replace the disgraced, and clinging to a real person’s job in Congress, Duncan “Friggin’” Hunter. Campa-Najjar this week filed to run against Hunter in California’s 50th Congressional District in 2020, should Hunter even make it that far. Hunter’s date with campaign finance fraud destiny at Federal Court in September may result…


Climate change challenges San Diego farms

Facing the heat of global warming, farmers in San Diego are trying to survive and build resilience through practice—and are pushing policymakers to keep up. At Pauma Valley, a flat stretch of crop- and rangelands at the base of the Palomar Mountains in North San Diego County, July is usually a month of hot weather and raucous growth—with lemons, avocados, blackberries, and peppers all flourishing….


Let us now praise Bruce Kauffman

Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש‎ mentsh, cognate with the German word Mensch meaning a “human being”) means “a person of integrity and honor”.[1] Highly savvy in the ways of journalism, and a brilliant analyst of the ways of the world, Bruce Kauffman was the very epitome of a mensch. He always was ready to lend an ear to a friend’s tale of joy or woe and help…


Joel Anderson turns into political punchline

ALEC’s favorite legislator, previously guilty of campaign finance fraud and most lately known for drunkenly threatening to “bitch slap” a female lobbyist at a Sacramento bar this summer, career Republican politician Joel Anderson finally has been ejected from the body politic. And that’s just Anderson’s political punchline. Anderson was elected to the Senate in 2010 after serving in the Assembly for four years. He termed out…


Mapping how the 49th flipped and 50th didn’t

Click here to see precinct results for the 49th and 50th Congressional District seats decided in the Nov. 6, 2018, election. In the 50th Congressional District, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter beat Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar. Hunter is facing federal charges for misusing $250,000 of campaign money from previous elections, but he still captured 54 percent of the vote to Campa-Najjar’s 46 percent. Campa-Najjar refused donations…


Progressive voter guide for June 5 election

(Editor’s Note: Here’s a quick and easy way to vote in the June 5, 2018, primary election brought to you courtesy of Doug Porter and the San Diego Free Press. The Grapevine endorses all his endorsements, so get out there and get rid of every Republican enabler of Donald Trump and unAmerican values. It’s especially important to vote for the best local progressive candidates because Republicans…


Desmond campaign finance fraud alleged

San Diego County supervisor candidate and San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond committed campaign finance fraud, taking $2,150 in illegal campaign contributions from San Marcos Highland project officials seeking to do business in San Marcos since 1981, a Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group member alleged Wednesday. Desmond is considered the leader in the June 5 primary being held to replace District 5 Supervisor Bill Horn,…


VC horse rescue wracked by fraud, abuse

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…


Coastal North County least diverse in area

Brian Pollard with the Urban Collaborative Project, a San Diego nonprofit, walks around a southeastern San Diego community where he says new residents have made once primarily African-American areas more diverse. (Megan Wood, inewsource) By the numbers: San Diego County’s most diverse neighborhoods When two residents in the southeastern San Diego neighborhood of Encanto meet, there’s a 71 percent chance they’re of different racial and…