By Joe Morris

October 25, 2009 – On Tuesday, La Mesa’s City Council will vote on whether to ban drinking alcoholic beverages in public places—unless you fork over a $150 fee and apply two weeks in advance for your guzzling privileges. A City Manager’s report argues that tipsy people pose potential threats to others and cause police to waste time responding to calls about public intoxication.

How ironic, coming from a city that hosts an annual Oktoberfest touting public drinking and revelry; this year’s marketing slogan was “the big beer garden is back.”

WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH PICKETING LOCAL SCHOOLS

By J. Richards

Editor's note:  Westboro Baptist Church, headed by Fred Phelps, has gained notoriety for protesting at funerals of gay individuals. In San Diego, however, on October 16 the group (which calls Jews "Christ killers") plans to target Jewish schools and organizations.  

October 15, 2009 (San Diego)--The Westboro Baptist Church will be in San Diego County to stage a series of pickets this Friday through Monday, with their "God hates..." pretty-much-everyone-else signs and websites.

They use shock tactics to get media attention, such as picketing military funerals while declaring 9-11 to be God’s punishment and their wish for the death of more soldiers.  I might have let their presence pass without anything more than a tsk-tsk, knowing their words speak more loudly against them than anything anyone else could say.

Our children's school, however, is on their picket schedule, so that children from pre-school on will have to pass this group's picketing in order to get to class in the morning.

By Congressman Bob Filner
Democratic Representative from the 51st Congressional District

The impacts of the climate crisis are already being seen around the world through increasing hurricane intensity, melting ice caps, and refugees fleeing extreme weather conditions. Here in Southern California, we are particularly vulnerable to a variety of threats posed by unchecked global warming – threats to our environment, our economic stability, and our overall quality of life.

While residents of San Diego are no strangers to drought and emergency water conservation measures, climate change will bring a new generation of drought’s stranglehold on our communities as we see our water supply shrink from increasing average global temperatures. Local Scripps researchers concluded in an April 2009 report that if human-induced global warming continues to reduce runoff from the Colorado River, San Diego will be unable to deliver a regular water supply to the region (The press release can be found online at http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=977).

Many politicians and pundits claim that efforts to reform our health system are moving too quickly. Yet for millions of small business owners like me, health reform cannot happen soon enough.

By Vince Mudd

For 15 years, I have not only provided access to health insurance for my 45 employees and their family members, but also paid 100 percent of their premiums. I do this because I believe that when employees do not have to spend time dealing with the “problem” of health insurance they are more productive in the workplace. My employees live healthier lives. This benefits them, their families, and ultimately my business and society.

Despite these mutual gains, providing health insurance to my employees is simply unsustainable. Last year my small business premiums skyrocketed 18 percent. I wish this were surprising. But the truth is my premiums have risen significantly every one of the 15 years I have been buying coverage for my workers. Unfortunately, my health-care-related stress does not end there. Every year I pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical riders on other business-related policies like liability and property insurance, adding further to my health care costs. I want to focus on my business, not health care. The status quo makes this impossible.

By Vince Wallgren, Jr.

As the 2009 autumn sun saps the moisture from most inland San Diego County vegetation; and with yet another Santa Ana condition just a high pressure weather system away, it begs the question: Following the ’03 and ’07 wildfires, what steps has government taken to ensure a similar future event does not result in the same devastation of property and loss of life?

By Tracy Emblem

By Assemblyman Joel Anderson

September 6, 2009 (San Diego's East County)-- Richard Allen Clements kept his foot firmly on the gas pedal as he watched two 9-year-old girls glance back at him and start running. Moments later, the short lives of Christie Turner and Adina Gonzalez ended.

By Brina-Rae Schuchman

Chair, TrueVoteSanDiego

The structure of our government in Washington is not making it easy to get changes we seek and need.

The Health Insurance Industry ran amok during the Bush Years because Bush et al showed contempt for government, citizens, regulation, fair play, justice, peace, responsibility, service, commitment, etc.

By Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters

August 21, 2009 (San Diego) -- Here’s a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states. The news is breaking bad, and getting worse (I keep updating this article):

California has the 2nd highest state income tax in the nation: . 9.55% at $48,000. 10.55% at $1,000,000

By Leon Thompson

By Tracy Emblem

By Assemblyman Joel Anderson

In the year AD 64, Roman emperor Nero fiddled at the top of a tower as a devastating fire swept through the city of Rome. According to many accounts, Nero himself started the fire and then blamed it on Christians.

Today, an economic fire is ravaging California.

Unemployment has climbed to 11.5%, income tax revenue is down 33.8% from last year and the budget deficit is now $24 billion.

"It would make little sense for the federal government to assume responsibility for the 300 million Americans who are able to fend for themselves."

By Jim Stieringer

By Assemblymembers Joel Anderson and Julia Brownley

June 9, 2009 (Sacramento)--Our local libraries often hold book sales to generate funds for new books, or other needed materials or supplies. It makes sense: Sell old or out of date resources and use those funds to purchase new items. A no-brainer.

Many school districts in California have stacks of unneeded, old and obsolete instructional materials in warehouses which if resold could generate new funds for our schools.