Ortiz defends actions as "only about public safety"

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2025 (El Cajon) – “You betrayed the large immigrant community here,” Mairene Branham told El Cajon Councilman Phil Ortiz at yesterday’s city council meeting, where she served him with a recall notice.

The recall effort was sparked by Ortiz’s vote on Feb. 11 in favor of a resolution that authorized the city’s police to cooperate with federal immigration officials in handing over undocumented immigrants who have been convicted, or accused, of a violent crime. The resolution passed narrowly on a 3-2 vote.

Ortiz represents District 4, a district with a majority of Latino voters, as well as many other immigrants.

League of Women Voters, groups representing veterans and seniors, and Issa’s Democratic opponent Curtis Morrison all oppose action in court

By Miriam Raftery

April 20, 2025 (San Diego) – Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican representing the 48^th Congressional district, has filed a lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. The suit, Issa v.Weber, seeks to halt California’s decade-long practice of allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to a week after an election, provided they were postmarked by Election Day.

Ballots at risk of not being counted include many cast by military members deployed overseas, as well as seniors and others who rely on mail-in ballots.  Motions to intervene in the suit have been filed by organizations representing veterans, women, voters, and by Issa’s political opponent.

Santee City Manager Marlene Best (left)

By Mike Allen

April 18, 2025 (Santee) – Marlene Best, Santee’s city manager for the past nine years, is leaving the job effective April 23.

Following a closed session of the Santee City Council on April 18, Mayor John Minto announced he will sign a separation agreement with Best, and begin the process of looking for a new permanent city manager, and hiring an interim city manager.

“I can’t tell you a whole lot because this is a personnel matter,” Minto said.

East County News Service

Photo: Getty Fire, courtesy of LA Fire

April 14, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) -- U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) has introduced his first bill. 

The Firewall Act aims to help homeowners hit by climate-fueled disasters such as recent Southern California fires. It would provide a tax credit for upgrades to make houses more resilient.

“By getting ahead of natural disasters, we can save taxpayer dollars and prevent the devastation that so often comes along with wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters,” Sen. Schiff says.

By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

Apr 10, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- In a party-line vote, House Republicans on Thursday approved a budget blueprint that sets the stage for the GOP to pass another round of tax cuts for the rich, paid for in part by slashing Medicaid, federal nutrition assistance, and other critical programs.

The final vote was 216 to 214, with two Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana—and every Democrat opposing the measure, which now must be converted into legislation.

The budget reconciliation process that Republicans are using for their sweeping bill means it can pass with a simple majority in both chambers of Congress.

By Miriam Raftery

View the court’s ruling

April 9, 2025 (San Diego) – San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfei has struck down San Diego County’s Transportation Study Guide.

The decision in a lawsuit filed by Cleveland National Forest Foundation (CNFF) and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF) is a win for environmentalists seeking to reduce emissions from vehicles to reduce impacts on climate change, but a setback for opponents of a controversial vehicle miles traveled (VMT) proposal that the county previously scrapped following objections the building industry and an East County supervisor.

Update April 10: This bill passed the House and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

April 8, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- Pro-democracy groups are speaking out against a bill being considered next week in the U.S. House of Representatives to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require people to present a birth certificate, passport or certificate of citizenship in person to the county registrar.

Sydney Bryant, policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, noted a driver's license or a REAL ID alone would not count and called the bill unnecessary, since the government already has the records."

By Mike Allen

April 7, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee’s City Council and its mayor are looking at giving themselves a 5 percent pay hike at the Council’s next meeting on April 9, if they agree with the recommendations of the citizens salary setting advisory committee.

The committee voted April 2 to boost the pay for the council’s part time jobs, as well as giving them a $100 monthly raise in their gas allowance, and maintaining a $90 per month technology allowance.

The committee said the increases should apply to the next two fiscal years, 2025-26, starting July 1, and for the following fiscal year.

The projected pay hikes exceed the current national cost of living increase, which was 2.8 percent as of February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are more than the last round of pay increases the Santee Council approved in 2023, which was 4 percent for each of the next fiscal years.

Two Democratic candidates vying for the District 1 seat want the county to delay its budget approval until after the seat is filled. 

By Lisa Halverstadt and Jim Hinch, Voice of San Diego

April 4, 2025 (San Diego) - Two Democratic candidates for supervisor are urging the county to delay its annual budget vote until after a now-vacant District 1 seat is filled. That push appears unlikely to garner needed support from a sitting board majority but a 2-2 political split on the county board may mean the candidates get their wish by default.   

Some borrowers will have to pay more

By G. A. McNeeley 

April 1, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — Some student loan borrowers are seeing their payment plans get suspended, which means their payments are rising. This has to do with changes at the Education Department implemented by President Donald Trump’s Administration. 

Approximately 43 million Americans have some kind of student loan debt, according to Newsweek. 

The Education Department reported that Americans collectively have $1.5 trillion in student debt nationwide. 

Trump has made efforts to dismantle the Education Department, and said that student loan programs could be moved to different agencies if the department is eliminated. Nearly half of all Education Department workers are being laid off, as the agency undergoes major restructuring. 

Attendees object to Congressional Republicans ceding authority to executive branch

View video of the March 23 "Empty Chair Town Hall

By Karen Pearlman

Screenshot:  Crowd chants "Shame" over Issa's refusal to hold a town hall in his district.

 March 28, 2025 (Escondido) – Hundreds of constituents in Republican Congressional Rep. Darrell Issa’s district gathered at an “Empty Chair Town Hall” event at the California Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 23.

A standing-room only crowd in the venue that holds about 400 people expressed a variety of concerns about everything from healthcare needs and veterans’ services to immigration and education. The event was also live-streamed on social media.

Created to bring attention to what they say is Issa’s penchant to avoid meeting constituents in a Town Hall format, the event was organized by Indivisible North County San Diego.

By Karen Pearlman

Photo:  Rabbi Scott Meltzer said his synagogue in San Diego has twice been vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.   

March 26, 2025 (El Cajon) -- The El Cajon City Council took a step toward condemning hate by unanimously voting for a resolution to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of Library Foundation San Diego

March 26, 2025 (San Diego) - On Friday, March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to drastically reduce funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services.