East County News Service

April 16, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Across the nation, tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities held Tax Day protests on April 15^th – calling on President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns.  San Diego event organizers estimate that several thousands took to the streets locally, also urging Congress to subpoena Trump’s tax returns.

East County News Service

April 15, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. on Thursday dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed to destroy caves used by ISIS fighters in the Achin area of Afghanistan, the Pentagon confirms.  Some Afghan officials estimate that as many as 94 ISIS fighters and four commanders may have been killed, with no civilian deaths reported, according to NBC news.

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Neil Gorsuch begins his duties this week on the Supreme Court after the Senate invoked the ‘nuclear option’ to change long-standing Senate rules and block a filibuster by Democrats. All but two Democrats had agreed to vote against confirming Gorsuch, including California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

East County News Service

April 9, 2017 (San Diego) -- San Diego nonprofit attorney and business owner Matt Strabone has announced his candidacy for Assessor / Recorder / County Clerk centered around ethics and improved records access.

“Ours is a campaign of new ideas and new energy. We will ensure that the Assessor/Recorder/Clerk’s office serves all people of our county equally and treats everyone fairly," he said. "From impartial and fair property tax assessment to ensuring that you can quickly and easily access your own public records and documents, our primary commitment will always be to provide excellent customer service to everyone,” Strabone states.

La Mesa to vote April 11 on resolution to oppose AB 805

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Elected leaders in numerous local cities are gearing up to oppose a state bill that critics warn weaken the voices and voting power of smaller cities on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), as well as the Metropolitan Transit System and North County Transit District.  The bill gives more power to the city of San Diego, which critics contend will mean not enough clout by representatives from the county or other cities in the region to pass, block, or even place items on the agenda.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) -- Reps. Darrell Issa, former Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, have introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Fair Chance Act that would give formerly incarcerated Americans a fair chance at obtaining employment with the federal government.  Senator Booker introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) -- Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) marked Equal Pay Day on Tuesday by announcing her new legislation that will require large companies to publicly disclose data on the gender pay gap between their male and female employees. Assembly Bill 1209, the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act, has been named a top priority for the Stronger California women’s advocacy coalition for the 2017 legislative session.   

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) - As President Trump calls for dramatic cuts to life-saving medical research, Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53) led a bipartisan group of House members in an effort to increase the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Davis’s letter to House appropriators urges $36 billion for medical research and was signed by 206 members of the House. Trump is proposing a nearly 20 percent cut in NIH funding.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Marc Levin - Ivanka and Pato, CC BY 2.0

April 5, 2017 (Washington D.C.)—Tuesday was Equal Pay Day—94 days into the year, signifying how many more days the average woman must work to earn as much as a man.

Ironically, Ivanka Trump, special assistant to her father, President Donald Trump tweeted, “#EqualPayDay is a reminder that women deserve equal pay for equal work. We must work to close the gender pay gap!”  Yet days earlier, her father signed an executive order that rolled back 14 protections for women workers –including the Fair Pay order signed by then-President Barack Obama.

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) - The Constitution’s First Amendment protects free speech – but not if that speech incites violence.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump once said he’d like to punch a protester in the face.  And at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky in March last year, he pointed at African-American protesters and repeatedly told the crowd to “Get them out.”

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Republican member of House Ways and Means Committee, joins Rep. Earl Blumenauer as lead sponsor of tax reform bill

East County News Service

March 30, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives this week introduced seven measures to advance cannabis policy at the federal level. The bills covered a broad range of issues related to resolving tension between state and federal cannabis laws.

By Miriam Raftery and Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

March 31, 2017 (El Cajon )—El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells is leading efforts among local officials opposed to Senate Bill 54, which would declare California a sanctuary state.  Officials from several local cities joined  Wells in a press conference March 29th at the El Cajon Police Department, where about 25 protesters who support the sanctuary measure also turned out.

Opponents of SB 54 claim it would make communities less safe and put federal funds at risk.  They have launched their own website, www.mayorsforsafecities.org. 

Critics disagree, and one local official contends that backers of the Safe Cities website have disseminated "alternative facts"  that mislead the public on SB 54.

By Shaun Mullen, originally published at The Moderate Voice, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Shaun Mullen was an award-winning editor and reporter who covered the Vietnam War, O.J. Simpson trials, Clinton impeachment, Osama bin Laden and more before turning to blogging and social commentary. He was a five-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, covered 12 presidential campaigns and authored several books. Much of his work is archived and accessible online in the Shaun D. Mullen Journalism Papers in Special Collections at the University of Delaware Library. ​

March 29, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- Just because people with connections to Donald Trump’s Russia scandal keep dying or disappearing unexpectedly does not necessarily mean that their heart attacks, assassinations in broad daylight, mysterious exits and other premature departures are any more than an uncanny number of coincidences. (Cough, cough.) But the guy authorities claim was critically injured when his bathtub fell on him on the eve of a court appearance that would have been deeply embarrassing to the Vladimir Putin regime who also happens to be a key witness in a U.S. fraud case took my conspiracy-averse, never-leap-to-conclusions investigative self over the top.

Read the full proposed budget:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/...

By Miriam Raftery

March 27, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget aims to boost military spending by 10% while slashing funds for many other departments and eliminating some completely.

East County News Service

March 26, 2017 (Campo-Lake Morena) – The Campo-Lake Morena Planning Group will meet on Monday night, March 27 at 7 p.m.  The agenda includes a proposal to use 20% of new park funding for maintenance of existing parks, as well as review of applicants to fill a planning group vacancy. There will also be standing committee reports including water issues and announcements on items ranging from marijuana regulatory changes to plans for Star Ranch. Below is the full agenda and meeting location details: