Columns/Blogs

Caregivers essential in COVID-19 crisis

Feeling restless and useless isolated at home wondering what I could do to help others during this virus crisis. Not being able to work at a food bank or deliver items to seniors, I thought my knowledge with caregivers could be valuable somehow. How San Diego County and the state of California can get access to more home care providers Caregivers are essential to get…


Ammar Campa-Najjar: Mobilize the military

Make no mistake: We are at war with the coronavirus. In the wake of this public health crisis, people are scared, unsure and know the worst is yet to come. Working parents are sheltering in place worrying about their child’s next meal and their own job security. Small businesses that have been forced to shut down are struggling to meet overhead costs and keep employees…


Considering microplastics in food, water & air

This is a followup to an article of mine published on 12/13/18, and was inspired by a recent measurement of the likely ingestion of microplastics by typical Americans through diet and inhalation.  The findings are of real concern, given the risky chemicals associated with plastics and new data showing that, once microplastics get into our tissues, they can translocate to other organs and are even showing…


John Elway sent me to the Pro Bowl

John Elway sent me to the Pro Bowl. Guess who is my favorite all-time NFL player. The Pro Bowl generally is a laid-back affair, past and future, played for most of its years at Aloha Stadium. It features special rules such as no blitzing, no zone defenses, no trick offensive formations. The 2020 Pro Bowl is 12 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 26 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium for the…


Kristin Gaspar plays the victim card

“I’ve got to go back to 1964 to find people so fiercely opposed to just doing modest things to let people vote” –San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher  Funding for satellite offices in four county supervisor’s voting districts was approved by the Board of Supervisors at a special meeting on Monday. After an initial attempt to allocate additional funds failed last week because it required…


Don’t be a Trump, be a Nancy; and a social media tale: Grading San Marcos trailer parks

Baseball season has ended, my baseball season anyway since all I live for is watching multiple Major League Baseball games on numerous devices and screens. They call it the post-season for a reason. OK. While watching baseball games, I also dedicate a screen to scream at cable news while reading computer stuff about dotard and his disgusting criminal traitor regime. Not to get too far…


Climate Action Plans: A Tale of Two Cities

A funeral was held last month at the site of Iceland’s Okjökull glacier. A century ago it covered nearly six square miles, measuring 164 ft. deep. Today, it’s less than one square mile, 49 feet thick. The shrinking sheet of ice can no longer be called a glacier. A tombstone plaque was placed at the site. A Letter to the Future  This monument is to…


Out & About—She sneered at me…. TWICE!

She informed me that the Academy was private property and that I couldn’t take pictures. I apologized and told her I would leave. Then I asked her what the Academy was. She said, “It’s an Academy.” — Russel Ray When I was up in North San Diego County a couple of weeks ago visiting the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park for my San Diego Historical…


Napili Bay, Maui July 18, 2019

(Margaret McCown Liles started blogging about the Escondido City Council following the demise of the North County Times as a public resource. This is a more personal look at some of her private moments and challenges. Please visit her blog at http://ablueviewescondido.com.) This is the view from the tiny balcony of our tiny studio apartment. That’s Lanai in the background. It’s a great view, but…


San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station remains public scandal despite shutdown

Two recent scandals confirm that public safety is not top priority of either the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or SoCal Edison as they lurch forward with a faulty engineering design for removing spent nuclear waste from cooling pools and loading into dry storage at the now shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. In August 2018, a conscience-driven whistle blower exposed how, because of a system…