New CBS poll shows Warren drawing even with Biden, Sanders ahead in Calif. on Election Eve:  Biden and Warren could see boosts after Klobucher withdrawal

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Amy Klobucher, cc by SA via Bing

March 2, 2020 (San Diego) – Minnesota Senator Amy Klobucher plans to suspend her presidential campaign and endorse moderate Democrat and former Vice President Joe Biden, CNN reports.

The news follows disappointing finishes for Klobucher in four early primary states including sixth places finishes in South Carolina and Nevada.  Tomorrow, her home state of Minnesota is among those voting on Super Tuesday. However a rally by Vermont Senator Bernie slated there tonight raises the prospect that Klobucher could lose her home state, since Sanders has been drawing rock-star crowds numbering over 10,000 in other recent appearances.

She is expected to appear with Biden at a rally tonight to announce her formal endorsement.

Klobucher is the third prominent candidate to suspend or end a campaign after the South Carolina primary, following the withdrawals of Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer.

Despite her endorsement of Biden, some pundits speculate that a substantial number of Klobucher’s supporters could shift to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the only remaining woman in the race who has earned delegates to date.

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2020 (San Diego) – If you still have a mail-in ballot but want to change your vote (for instance, if you marked a candidate who later dropped out of the presidential primary, or simply changed your mind on a measure or candidate), there are two ways to change your choice, according to San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael  Vu.

“If they still have their ballot, they can cross out their initial choice and vote another candidate,” Vu advises voters in an e-mail response to ECM. “If they cross out and select another…and we can determine their intent, we will count the [choice] that they did not cross out. “

There is a second option. Vu says a voter can also “surrender their ballot and receive a replacement ballot. It is important that they go to their assigned precinct in order to receive a replacement ballot that matches the one they have in hand.”

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) – Georgette Gomez, San Diego City Council president, is the California Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate in the 53^rd Congressional District, where Congresswoman Susan Davis is retiring.

Daughter of immigrant parents, if elected, she will be the first LGTBQ Latina in Congress, where she wants to focus on needs of working families and communities. On the City Council, she’s worked to expand affordable housing and protection for renters, as well as implementing the city’s climate action plan.  She holds an environmental degree from San Diego State University and as former associate director of the Environmental Health Coalition, led a campaign to protect children from toxic chemicals in neighborhoods.

The 53^rd Congressional district includes the heart of the city of San Diego as well as La Mesa, Lemon Grove, part of El Cajon, Jamul, Chula Vista, and more.

Hear our interview, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM Radio, by clicking the audio link, or scroll down for highlights.

141 people are being monitored in San Diego County for possible exposure

By Miriam Raftery

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) – Over 85,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide on every continent except Antarctica, causing approximately 3,000 deaths, the World Health Organization reports. The first U.S. death has occurred in Washington state and at least 30 cases have been identified in California, the Los Angeles Times reports. These include cases among people who did not travel overseas recently and it is unknown how they were exposed to the virus.

San Diego County has 141 people  being monitored who may have beene exposed .  Mexico also reported its first case this week.

Now, a broad study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that the COVID-19 virus has a death rate nearly as high as the 1918 influenza epidemic, which killed 50-100 million people worldwide and infected a third of the world’s population, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The standard flu kills only about 0.1% of those infected. By contrast, the 1918 epidemic had  fatality rate of 2.5%.  As for COVID-19, out of 72,314 cases in China studied, JAMA reports a death rate of 2.3%--but much higher in older people and patients with underlying health conditions. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Tom Steyer, cc by SA

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) – Tom Steyer announced yesterday that he is dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary, though his name will still appear on California ballots.

The billionaire businessman stated after a third place finish in South Carolina, “I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency.”

By Miriam Raftery

“I believe the county planning commission should be banned and that authority should be vested in each individual planning board,”—Brian Sesko

February 27, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Last week, we published interviews with three of the four candidates running for the 2^nd supervisorial seat being vacated by Dianne Jacob through term limits. Now we’ve interviewed in depth the fourth candidate, Brian Sesko.

He’s chairman of the Lakeside Planning Group and a member of the Lakeside Design Review Board. He’s also a homebuilder, realtor, and a rancher who calls himself a “real life cowboy.”

Click the audio link to hear the full interview and scroll down for highlights.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Barto's bruised and swollen hand after the alleged door-slamming incident

February 26, 2020 (El Cajon) – Cajon Valley Union School District trustee Jill Barto has filed a police report alleging that executive coordinator Naomie Rodrigues intentionally slammed a door on Barto’s hand at the district office on Dec. 19, causing pain, distress and injury.  ECM journalist Paul Kruze has told police that he witnessed the alleged injury.

The district calls the allegations of the door-slamming and injury to Barto “false.” The district’s law firm, Artiano Shinoff, has sent a letter threatening ECM with legal action after learning that ECM intended to publish a news report on the alleged physical attack.

The alleged door-slamming injury occurred just two weeks after Barto filed a federal lawsuit against the district alleging violations of her civil rights and First Amendment free speech rights, as ECM reported. The district then filed a countersuit against Barto. The legal threat to ECM, moreover, came just two days after journalist Kruze filed his own claim against the district alleging  "false and harmful" defamatory statements..

February 26, 2020 -- A high wind warning is in effect until 4 p.m. for San Diego's mountains and inland valleys. A wind gust of 106 miles per hour was measured early this morning at Sill Hill in East County--possibly the highest ever recorded in our county, the Natioal Weather Service reports.  Gusts up to 75 mph with sustained winds of 30-40 mph are forecast for today. 

The National Weather Service issued this specific warning: "Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Power outages are possible. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles." 

SDG&E's outage map at https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map  reports numerous outages have already occurred across our mountain and rural areas this morning. You can view estimated restoration times on the map.

East County News Service

February 25, 2020 (San Diego) – On Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m., San Diego County’s Planning & Development Services will present to the Board of Supervisors a Zoning Ordinance amendment to include “Former Forest Conservation Initiative Properties Overlay of Part Five: Special Area Regulations” on former Forest Conservation Initiative lands that lie outside of Village or Rural Village boundaries.

The Forest Conservation initiative passed initially by voters once protected extensive forest lands in the vicinity of Cleveland National Forest, but the measure expired through sunsetting and was not renewed by Supervisors.

The Overlay does not change underlying land use regulations or General Plan densities. However, it requires additional analyses and findings before approval of any proposals that increase residential density on these lands beyond what is currently allowed by the General Plan.

The Supervisors meeting will be held in the County Administration office at 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, Room on the north end of the third floor.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: screenshot from video uploaded by Sanders' campaign; speaking after in Texas after his Nevada win

View video of Sanders' victory speech, delivered  before a large crowd in San Antonio, Texas

February 23, 2020 (San Diego) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders scored a decisive win in yesterday’s Nevada caucus, winning 46% of the votes, more than twice as many as any other candidate. His big win raises questions over whether Sanders' has the potential to mobilize his substantial grassroots support to defeat President Donald Trump in November, or whether the divided moderate wing of the party should unify to block a Sanders' win.

 He also proved wrong critics who claimed he couldn’t appeal to minority voters in swing states, picking up support of over half of Nevada’s large Latino population and holding his own (along with former Vice President Joe Biden) with strong support among African-American voters, as well as most white voters according to exit polls. He had by far the biggest support among voters age 30 or younger, drew many moderate voters and even won five of seven caucus sites at casinos among rank-and-file union workers, despite the culinary workers union opposing his Medicare for All proposal.

With 60% of votes tallied, Sanders has 46%, Biden 19.6%, Pete Buttigieg 15.3%, Elizabeth Warren 10.1%, Amy Klobucher 4.8%, and Tom Steyer 4.1%.

Of note, Nevada’s early voting period had already closed before last week’s debate, in which Warren attacked billionaire Michael Bloomberg over efforts to buy the election and over Bloomberg’s history of demeaning comments toward women as well as settling many sexual harassment and discrimination claims filed against Bloomberg or his company.

Warren’s campaign reported a $14 million bump in fundraising after the debate, too late to help her in Nevada, but she could potentially see a rise in South Carolina, the next state to vote, and/or on Super Tuesday, March 3^rd, when 14 states will hold primary elections, including California.

Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, was not on the ballot in Nevada, skipping caucus states but investing over half a billion dollars on ads in Super Tuesday states.