By Liz Alper

Photo: Youtube screenshot

March 1, 2016 (Radford, Va.) - A Time Magazine photographer was physically attacked by Secret Service agents at a Donald Trump rally on Monday. The assault comes just two days after Trump issued a threat against media.

East County News Service

February 26, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - State Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) has introduced Senate Bill 1216, which would establish a business tax credit for employers who hire high-risk youth.  The credit applies only to jobs for young people ages 18-25, who have been convicted of a crime and completed a work readiness program through a qualified job training provider.    

East County News Service

February 25, 2016 (San Diego) — Following President Barack Obama’s announcement calling on Congress to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, San Diego Congresswoman Susan Davis, a Democrat and senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued this statement:

Photo: Youtube screenshot

Jeb Bush exits race

East County News Service

February 21, 2016 (San Diego) – Two key presidential contests were held on Saturday – the Nevada Democratic Caucus and the Republican primary in South Carolina.

By Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed an amendment that would impose a federal ban on vaping or e-cigarettes on all airlines in the U.S..  Congressman Duncan Hunter, who took over $10,000 in tobacco industry campaign contributions this election cycle, opposed the amendment–even lighting up during the hearing and puffing a cloud of vapor to make his point.

By Miriam Raftery

February 13, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – The sudden death of prominent conservative Justice Antonin Scalia today leaves a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court and the prospect of numerous high-profile cases deadlocking 4-4.  President Barack Obama has announced he intends to appoint a replacement, but  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested any nomination would be blocked by Senate Republicans and stated that in this election year,  Obama should leave nominating a Supreme Court justice for the next administration.

McConnell’s remark may be viewed as hypocritical, since he voted for Republican President Ronald Reagan’s appointment of Justice Anthony Kennedy in an election year.  Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats.

In fact, since 1900 there has not been a single case of the Senate refusing to confirm a presidential appointment to the Supreme Court in an election year due to the pending election. The stakes are high for both sides in filling the void left by Scalia, but so are the consequences of leaving a seat vacant for nearly a year.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Bernie Sanders, by Troy Page; Photo, right: Donald Trump, by Gage Skidmore

February 10, 2016 (San Diego) – Last night’s presidential primary in New Hampshire proved historic on several fronts.  By huge landslides, voters in both Democratic and Republican parties cast their ballots for candidates running outside the mainstream political framework: mavericks Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.  Sanders is also the first Jewish candidate ever to win a presidential primary. 

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders pulled in 60% of the vote to win the Democratic primary, trouncing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who got 38%. Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is running on a platform of closing the wealth gap by reining in Wall Street, taxing the rich and providing free healthcare for all. 

On the Republican side, billionaire businessman and former reality TV show host Donald Trump won with 35% of the vote. Ohio Governor John Kasich took second at 16% in an upset over the Iowa caucus winner, Senator Ted Cruz, who got 12%, narrowly edging out Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had 11% and 10% respectively. Other candidates placed in single digits, with 100% of precincts now reported.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

February 7, 2016 (Los Angeles) -- Teams are hitting the streets gathering signatures for a ballot measure this fall that would extend part of Proposition 30, which raised income taxes on the wealthy and raised the sales tax by a quarter of a percent, then funneled the money to public education. 

East County News Service

February 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Ben Hueso, a San Diego Democrat, and his campaign treasurer Nancy Haley are being sued by activists Ken Mosher and  retired Marine Colonel Richard Shigley  for allegedly failing to properly disclose campaign expenditures.  The action is the latest in a string of controversies involving Hueso's campaign finances.

East County News Service

February 2, 2016 (Sacramento) – Californians beleaguered by a barrage of ballot initiatives in recent elections may be surprised–and relieved—to learn that only one statewide ballot measure has qualified for the June election.

Listen now:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

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January 31, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) --Congresswoman Susan Davis was our special guest on the East County Magazine radio show on KNSJ on January 21^st.

She shared highlights of the past Congressional session, her legislative efforts, and what we can expect in the coming year. Topics covered include education reforms, college affordability, healthcare, hate targeting religious minorities, support for military women, families and veterans. She also spoke out on the need to prevent future infrastructure disasters such as the L.A. natural gas leak and Flint water poisoning, both the results of regulatory failures.

East County News Service

January 29, 2016 (San Diego) -- Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Senator Patty Murray praised President Obama’s proposal to reduce child summer hunger by making permanent the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program nationwide. 

During the school year, low-income children have the opportunity to receive free or reduced-price meals at school. However, millions of these same children go hungry during summer break.  The President’s budget will address this summer meals gap by investing $12 billion to scale up the successful Summer EBT demonstration project that has decreased hunger among participating children by about 33 percent while increasing healthy food intake. 

By Miriam Raftery

January 26, 2016 (San Diego)—Former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña announced on her Facebook page that she has filed papers to challenge San Diego’s Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer. A long-time progressive, environmental leader and former Assembly Speaker Pro Tem, Saldaña was a Democrat for years but will be running as an independent.

Saldaña has said that her main issue will be inequality in income and city services, including lack of high-speed internet in low-income communities, crumbling city infrastructure, and lack of affordable housing, Voice of San Diego reported.

“I’m running to give voters of San Diego a choice,” Saldaña said, adding that she will be “there for people who otherwise feel disenfranchised by the process…I want to encourage more people to turn out to vote and I want to have a very spirited debate on the future of this city.”

By Miriam Raftery

January 16, 2016 (San Diego) –A Muslim woman and a Jewish man were forcibly removed from a speech being given by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in South Carolina last week.  They were staging a peaceful, silent protest over Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, both wearing yellow Holocaust stars of David and the word “Muslim.”  The woman also wore a hijab head scarf and a shirt that read, “Salam. I come in peace.”  She stood up after Trump suggested refugees fleeing Syria are affiliated with ISIS terrorists.  Hecklers shouted hateful remarks at the pair and Trump later backed their ouster.

By contrast, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, speaking at a rally in Virginia five days later, stepped from behind the podium to embrace a Muslim woman student who voiced concerns over “Islamophobia” and bigotry voiced by some candidates.  Sanders, stood hand in hand with the woman, then spoke of his father’s family who died in concentration camps and gave an impassioned speech, vowing to stand against racism of all forms.