By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association 

Photo:  Sara Jacobs. Campaign photo from 2018 congressional race

June 18, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) - Rep. Sara Jacobs of San Diego has been named to the new House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth — one based on an FDR panel in the Great Depression, her office said Wednesday.

By Jackie Botts, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Dr. Shirley Weber of San Diego testifies during her confirmation hearing as Secretary of State. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

June 13, 2021 (San Diego's East County) - For more than three decades, Black members of Congress have introduced legislation to study the lasting harms of slavery on African Americans, and propose remedies. Year after year, the federal proposal languished.

By Briana Gomez

View City Council meeting: https://elcajonca.new.swagit.com/videos/122576

Photo:  Vice Mayor Gary Kendrick, screenshot from Council video

June 11, 2021 (El Cajon) – At its June 8 meeting held in person at 50 percent capacity, El Cajon’s City Council addressed several major agenda items including encouraging transparency in elections by assuring that mayoral and council candidates live in the districts where they run.  In addition, Council members present voiced unanimous support for using $100,000 from the city’s reserves to fund de-escalation training for police and a half million dollars of federal funds to launch a pilot program to outsource responses to non-violent emergencies to social workers. 

Source: Senator Jones’ office

Image: Creative Commons via Bing

June 10, 2021 (Sacramento) -- Legislation authored by Senator Brian W. Jones (R-Santee) to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to social workers has been unanimously approved by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

Jones’ Senate Bill 549 will guarantee that social workers, once declared essential workers during a state of emergency, will be given priority to receive health and safety equipment necessary to do their jobs. Despite being declared essential workers during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, most social workers have not been prioritized to receive health and safety equipment. As a result, they have often had to work from home online or in-person in unsafe conditions.

By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

June 6, 2021 (Sacramento) - Community activists are urging California lawmakers to reject two bills that would limit local control in order to clear the way for 5G small-cell wireless equipment near homes, schools and businesses.

By Mike Allen

June 2, 2021 (Santee) -- On the same day that a San Jose rail yard employee fatally shot nine of his co-workers before killing himself, the Santee City Council unanimously voted to send a letter to Congressman Darrell Issa opposing a bill in Congress that would place more controls on gun ownership, including more stringent background checks.

By Alexa Oslowski

May 31, 2021 (La Mesa) - The La Mesa City Council is on track to fill  Dr. Akilah Weber’s former seat with a special election, but the date remains uncertain. The vacancy occurred after Dr. Weber won a special election to the state Assembly, filling a vacancy left when her mother, Shirley Weber PhD, was appointed Secretary of State.

The Council has until a June 18 deadline to announce an appointment process or call for an election, under the city charter. But on April 27, the Council meeting ended in no decision after a 2-2 vote, with Mayor Mark Arapostathis and Councilman Bill Baber in favor of an election and Councilmen Jack Shu and Colin Parent in favor of an appointment.  So the Council agreed to postpone its decision until the May 11 Council meeting.

On May 11, a still divided Council agreed to monitor the California Secretary of State's office for announcements of the recall election for Governor Gavin Newsom, since a special election for Dr. Weber’s seat would be less costly if timed to coincide with the statewide recall race and should also generate higher voter turnout.

East County News Service

May 23, 2021 (Washington D.C.) -- Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) expressed concern over the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan during Tuesday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the US-Afghanistan Relationship earlier this week. At the hearing, Congresswoman Jacobs directed her questions to The Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad, Special Representative on Afghanistan Reconciliation, U.S. Department of State.  

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Supervisor Joel Anderson organized a press conference opposing the measure

May 15, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – An association representing landlords has filed a lawsuit against San Diego County and County Supervisors, one week after the Supervisors voted 3-2 to enact a temporary ban on most evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

East County Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond opposed the measure, with Anderson joining several East County city officials in a press conference speaking out on behalf of rental owners. Supervisors Nathan Fletcher, Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer voted in favor of the ordinance, which drew nearly five hours of impassioned testimony on both sides.

By Briana Gomez 

May 12, 2021 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa’s community relations division hosted a Commission on Citywide Communication meeting in late April via Zoom. Commissioners began by answering questions about internet access, linguistics, and education. The main concern was improving how to get information out to residents following the COVID-19 pandemic and the riots that plagued La Mesa last year.

By Briana Gomez

May 9, 2021 (El Cajon) - The East County People’s Forum launched by the East County Justice Coalition took place over Zoom on May 4, 2020. The Coalition launched a call for transparent & inclusive city planning in El Cajon.