The World

Learning from Native American wildfire management strategies

For several months in 2019, it seemed wildfires wouldn’t rage across the West as they had in recent years. But then came the dry autumn and California’s Santa Ana and Diablo winds, which can drive the spread of wildfires. Utilities are shutting off power across the state to reduce the risk of damaged equipment or downed trees on wires causing fires. There’s no lack of…


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…


Madeleine Pickens, you are what you eat

Or what’s eating Madeleine Pickens? Rancho Santa Fe resident and ardent Donald Trump supporter Madeleine Pickens wanted the African-American chef she recruited from the Del Mar Country Club she owns in Southern California to cook “black people food” — not “white people food” — at her rural Nevada dude ranch and wild horse sanctuary, according to a federal lawsuit accusing her of racial discrimination. Armand…


Robocars could gobble up downtown parking

Imagine a scene from the near-future: You get dropped off downtown by a driverless car. You slam the door and head into your office or appointment. But then where does the autonomous vehicle go? It’s a question that cities would be wise to consider now. Self-driving cars may be on the roads within the next decade or two. Automakers and specialized startups alike are aggressively…


CREW: Trump’s 2,000 conflicts of interest

(Editor’s Note: While we primarily focus on local news, we also are Americans. In this light, we are sharing this report by the non-profit, non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) issued Saturday, Aug. 19, 2019. For the full report, visit here. It tells you all you need to know about the criminal who stole the presidency with aid of our Russian enemies….


Visa concerns deter foreign-born PHDs

Foreign-born Ph.D. graduates with science and engineering degrees from American universities apply to and receive offers for technology startup jobs at the same rate as U.S. citizens, but are only half as likely to actually work at fledgling companies, finds a study co-authored by researchers at Cornell University and the University of California San Diego. Instead, they choose to work at large technology companies with…


From Janis Joplin to Vista biz for Lee Bittner

Times they have a-changed since the countercultural 1960s. So has drummer-turned-Vista-restaurant supply company owner Lee Bittner — to a degree. A former drummer with Janis Joplin’s Big Brother & the Holding Company, Bittner, 54, has toned down his personal act somewhat these days. But he maintains a lot of the core values of that youthful age which he combines with modern-day business acumen and a…


Support for immigration is at record highs

Among Americans that is, but the government under the Trump Administration is out of sync with their views… Since its start, the Trump administration has implemented policies to step up immigration enforcement and reduce the number of immigrants admitted into the U.S. Many of these efforts – like the border wall, the travel ban, family separations, DACA termination and detention centers – have received wide…