Opinion

Measure ‘A’ gets crunked with endorsements

San Diego County Measure A, Voter Approval For Land Use Amendments to County General Plan probably sounds more than a little wonky. However, it is a measure that affects regional housing, transportation  and development in a profound way; and is on the March 3 primary ballot. Supporters refer to it in a somewhat more people-friendly manner as “Safeguard Our San Diego Countryside (SOS) Citizens’ Initiative.”…


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…


3 carpetbaggers infest the 50th Cong. District

As a 25-year veteran of California’s 50th Congressional District, we’ve seen a lot of the strangest political stuff possible. This ain’t your standard issue power to the people kind of place. It’s been more like a political cesspool represented by the worst bottom feeders imaginable. Think about it. Dear old Randy “Duke” Cunningham, top gun and top corruption felon, who parlayed his 50th stewardship into…


Coal-fired plant shutdowns saves lives, improves crop yields, UCSD study says

The decommissioning of coal-fired power plants in the continental United States has reduced nearby pollution and its negative impacts on human health and crop yields, according to a new University of California San Diego study. The findings published this week in Nature Sustainability use the U.S. transition in recent years from coal towards natural gas for electric power generation to study the local impacts of…


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…


ACLU steps up for stranded asylum seekers

The ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC) filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesady against the U.S Department of Homeland Security. The suit demands that people seeking asylum who have been subjected to the Trump administration’s dangerous Remain in Mexico policy – referred to by the government as the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) – and who have expressed a fear of being returned to…


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…


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…


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…