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By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Ron Logan and Miriam Raftery

Click here to read our interviews with a diverse range of rally attendees, including an East County community leader who met Senator Sanders.

April 23, 2016 (San Diego) – Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of over 13,000 people at the San Diego Convention Center last night, informing the crowd that his campaign is doing ”something unusual in politics. We are telling the truth.”  He then stated, “We cannot go forward as a nation unless we are willing to confront real issues.”  

In his opening remarks of a speech interrupted by frequent enthusiastic applause, Sanders took aim at voter suppression tactics on a day when long lines at minority polling places and other questionable tactics drew strong criticism in Arizona.

 “In America today, we are living under a corrupt primary campaign system which is undermining our democracy,” Sanders said.

March 23, 2016 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

General news

• There were five hour lines to vote in Arizona because the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act (The Nation)
• Obama arrives in Cuba; hopes visit will usher in change (CNN)
• At water-crisis hearing, what Flint residents hear is broken government (CS Monitor)
• U.S. wrestler Hulk Hogan wins $115 million in sex tape suit (Reuters)
• Study finds U.S. visa security weaknesses, system slow to modernize (Reuters)
• U.S. Eases Sanctions Against Cuba Ahead Of Obama's Landmark Visit (NPR)
• Bullet hole in LaVoy Finnicum’s truck traced to elite FBI team (Oregon Live)
• How US green cards ended up being sent to the wrong people (CS Monitor)
• The Lost Generation of Millennial Entrerpreneurs (Reason)
• Vacancies shift balance of power at the Fed (Marketplace.org)

Presidential campaign

• Brussels attacks show how presidential candidates differ on security(CS Monitor)
• Trump presidency on top 10 global risk list: EU (BBC News)
• Top experts confounded by advisers to Donald Trump (New York Times)
• Bernie Sanders campaign is still raising far more money than Hillary Clinton’s (Vox)
• GOP elites line up behind Ted Cruz (Politico)
• Older voters may be Hillary Clinton’s answer to Bernie Sanders’ youth appeal (New York Times)

WORLD

• AP: ISIS has trained 400 fighters for European bloodshed (CBS)
• Paris terror attack suspect captured in Brussels (CS Monitor)
• Syrian Kurds declare their own region, raising tensions   (Washingotn Post)
• Refugees in freezing limbo on Greek-Macedonian border (Reuters)
• Witnesses: Warplanes bomb Yemeni market, killing dozens (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Seventeen corpses found after Venezuela miners' massacre (Reuters)
• The homemade explosion used in the Paris attacks was a chemical nightmare (Tech Insider)
• Getting out of ISIS: American among the few to escape (CS Monitor)
• After worst smog in 11 years, Mexico City braces for more (San Diego Union-Tribune)    

For excerpts and links to full stories, click "read more" and scroll down.

March 23, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Cuba’s had a lung cancer vaccine for years, and now it’s coming to the U.S. (Huffington Post)
• The Poignant Cry Of Babies With Birth Defects Linked to Zika (NPR)
• Big pharmacies are dismantling the industry that keeps US drug costs even sort-of under control (Quartz)
• The Gendered Brain (Slate)
•  Here's What Food Grown Near Chernobyl Is Like, 30 Years After The Nuclear Disaster (IFL Science)
• How Gut Bacteria Are Shaking Up Cancer Research (Bloomberg)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Huge Underwater Methane Craters Discovered In The Arctic (IFL Science)
• CO2 levels spiked as world leaders negotiated historic climate deal (CS Monitor)
• WATCH: Shadow Of The Moon Crosses Earth During Solar Eclipse (NPR)
• Scientists discover plastic-loving bacteria in recycling plant (CS Monitor)
• Tree planting 'can reduce flooding'(BBC)
• These tiny birds can fly over 1,000 miles – nonstop (CS Monitor)
• Obama Administration Set to Expand Sharing of Data That N.S.A. Intercepts (New York Times)
• Skype co-founder launches ultra-private messaging, with video (Reuters)
• Nevada Solar Power Business Struggles To Keep The Lights On (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Belgian terror suspects; 2 men on left were brothers killed in the bombings; the third is wanted by authorities.

March 23, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning to and throughout Europe in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly bombings in Brussels, Belgium.  The bombs at the airport and subway killed dozens and injured at least 230 people.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane, left, in San Diego tonight

March 22, 2016 (San Diego) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gained some momentum for his presidential campaign tonight, winning 74% of the Democratic delegates in Utah and 78% of the delegates in Idaho, the New York Times projects.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Arizona, with about 59% of the vote. Overall, Sanders won 73 delegates tonight, 16 more than Clinton, who won 57 tonight.

Sanders’ strong showings in conservative Utah and Idaho, where independent voters were allowed to vote, could bode well for his chances to pull in independents in a general election should he win.  Clinton’s win in Arizona and some other key states recently came in places where only Democrats could vote.

By Miriam Raftery

March 22, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - What if politicians in California had to wear NASCAR-style stickers emblazoned with the logos of their campaign contributors? 

By Miriam Raftery

March 21, 2016 (Sacramento) – The tobacco industry is threatening to snuff out reform measures recently passed by the California Legislature.

By Liz Alper

Photo: Dakarai Allen via GoAztecs.com on Twitter

March 21, 2016 (San Diego) - Maybe it helped that the Huskies were without 6 feet, 8 inch forward Noah Dickerson.  Maybe it was heart. Maybe the over-12,000-strong sellout crowd at Viejas Arena made their chants be heard on the court. Maybe it was something else.  

By Liz Alper

Photo:  San Diego Padres on Twitter

March 21, 2016 (Peoria, Az.) - The Padres would have had a game tonight, but it was canceled in favor of a special episode of the Wil Myers Show.

East County News Service

March 21, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Insect infestations and drought have killed off thousands of oak trees in San Diego County and more statewide.  Now Assembly Bill 2162, the Oak Woodlands Protection Bill, has been introduced by Assemblyman Kansen Chu. (Read full text.)

From the Editors of E - The Environmental Magazine

March 20, 2016 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: What should I know about artificial sweeteners before I opt for them for myself or my kids in place of regular ol’ sugar? -- Gretchen Abdow, Philadelphia, PA

By George Barnett

March 19, 2016 (Alpine) – Grossmont Union High School District Trustees are in the process of gerrymandering its voter district. Grossmont intends to move from a process of electing trustees on an “at large” basis to a re-districting to a by-trustee basis.  This means that individual communities such as that across Alpine, Blossom Valley, Harbison Canyon – for example – could elect their own chosen representative on the Grossmont board.  Grossmont is being forced into re-districting by threat of separate law suits. 

Fundamentally, it is a sound idea.  However, Grossmont also decided to do this without voter input or approval.  The scheme of re-districting that Grossmont has selected is gerrymandering and results in:

Action is “monumental step forward” – Mark Arabo, Minority Humanitarian Foundation

By Miriam Raftery

March 20,2016 (San Diego’s East County) — Since 2014, local Iraqi Chaldean leaders have been speaking out and urging the U.S. to take action to halt what they termed “genocide” committed by ISIS against religious minorities including Christians, Yezidis, and others.  

10,000+ Attendees, 5 bands, 150+ Vendors, Carnival Rides, Face Painting, & More

 March 20, 2016 (Rolando) – The 20^th annual Roland Street Fair will be held today , hosted by the Rolando Community Council (RCC),  a grassroots neighborhood organization devoted to making life in Rolando better. Live music, unique vendors, and tasty food make for a family-friendly day in Rolando, a San Diego community just east of La Mesa.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated March 31 with new info from the County Office of Education.

March 15, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The County Committee on School District Organization will hold six hearings to get public input on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed shift to electing governing board trustees by districts.  The GUHSD board voted 4-1 to adopt a controversial map and seek a waiver of a public vote despite opposition from members of the public who spoke, some alleging gerrymandering to oust a dissenting board member and break up a vocal minority voting block, as ECM reported.

The six hearings are set for March 17 in La Mesa, March 28 in El Cajon,  April 4 in Alpine,  April 5 in Jamul, April 6 in Lemon Grove, and April 11 in Lakeside.  The public can testify at the meetings and also submit written comments up until April 7.  The County’s committee will vote to approve or disapprove the district’s request at its April 13 meeting. The Alpine hearing was added after ECM and community members asked that Alpine be added as a location due to the many controversies involving the Alpine area.

For the full schedule of meetings, rules and details, click "read more" and scroll down.

To view the San Diego County Office of Education hearings announcement in English, Spanish and Arabic, click here.

To view data on the GUHSD redistricting plan including demographic details and maps, click here.