BOMB THREAT AT SDSU
August 22, 2012 (San Diego)—Campus police are evacuating the West Commons area on the San Diego State University campus due to a bomb threat, an alert posted at the SDSU website and updated at 4:30 p.m. states. The bomb threat was called in at 3:30 p.m. at the U.S. Bank branch at West Commons. SDSU police and a bomb unit are investigating. Sign up to receive free Viejas Wildfire & Emergency Alerts at the top right side of our homepage and also receive a free weekly copy of East County Magazine. You can also follow ViejasAlerts on Twitter for brief text messages on your mobile device. We recommend all of the above, since you don’t know what communications will work best in a major regional emergency.
PROP 32, YES OR NO?
Officials,organizations across party lines dissect benefits and shortcomings of initiative; consumer interest groups call measure deceptive By Thea Skinner August 19, 2012 (San Diego)–According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) for the State of California, Proposition 32 is an initiative that seeks to prohibit political contributions via payroll deductions and contributions to candidates. The ballot measure proposes to change state campaign finance laws to restrict spending by public and private labor unions, corporations and government contractors in local and statewide political races. The measure has sparked fierce debate and is emerging as one of the most controversial measures on the November ballot. The measure, finalized August 13 by a Sacramento County Superior Court Judge, prohibits unions from using payroll-deducted funds for political purposes. It applies the same use prohibition to payroll deductions, if any, by corporations or government contractors. It further prohibits union and corporate contributions to candidates and their committees. It also prohibits government contractor contributions to elected officers or their committees." The initiative concerns California’s Political Reform Act of 1974. As it stands, in 2012 a business, group or individual may contribute up to $26,000 to a candidate for governor and up to $3,900 to a candidate for a legislative office, according to LAO. Also at present, unions use some funds from payroll deductions to support activities other than collective bargaining. These expenditures may include independent expenditures and political contributions, along with communicating political views to union members. If the measure is approved, LAO estimates the combined cost is in excess of 1 million annually. Supporters of the measure include: the main campaign – YES on 32, Stop Special Interest Money Now; the California Republican Party; former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz; Richard Riordan, a former mayor of Los Angeles; and former State Senator Gloria Romero, director of Democrats for Education Reform California. With ample resources, special interests are able to hold lawmakers hostage to their agenda , said Romero. She argues that Californians deserve officials who work for them, so by tackling the flow of money, Prop 32 would take a serious step in that direction. California Republican Party chairman Tom Beccarro made clear that he expects the measure to give his party an edge in California. "Republicans will have a new day and be rather competitive statewide,” he stated. A yes vote means: Unions and corporations may not use money from an employee’s payroll check toward political purposes. Unions, corporations and government contractors remain subject to additional campaign finance restrictions. A no vote means: There would be no change to existing laws regulating the ability of unions and corporations to use money deducted from an employee’s paycheck for political purposes. Unions, corporations, and government contractors would continue to be subject to existing campaign finance laws. Those opposed to the measure include: the main campaign against the measure – No on 32, Stop the Special Exemptions Act; the California Democratic Party; Dave Low, the executive director of the California School Employees Association; and the California Labor Federation. Non-partisan groups that advocate for policies curbing special interest influence also urge voters not to support the measure. Such groups include the California League of Women Voters, California Common Cause, Public Citizen and Public Campaign. "Prop. 32 is not what it seems, and it will hurt everyday Californians," said Trudy Schafer of the League of Women Voters of California in a Los Angeles Times blog post. The LWV predicts that the initiative would give rise to new Super PACS for corporations, while hobbling unions’ primary means of raising funds. In an e-mail to East County Magazine Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party and Democratic National Committee member offered his take on the measure. "It’s their (Republican Party) latest attempt to win elections through voter suppression and campaign finance loopholes," Durfee said. "They’ve already put Prop. 32 on the November ballot — a deceptive move to silence the voices of workers and starve Democratic candidates of funding. A voter ID law would do further harm by making it harder for students, the elderly, and the poor to participate in our democracy." The California Labor Federation, representing 2.1 million of the approximately 2.5 million union workers in the state, opposes the proposition stating: “This one-sided measure would make our system even more imbalanced and it does nothing to stop the flow of money from the wealthy in politics.” The Federation cites three facts in opposition including: limiting the voice, both in private and public sectors, of union workers and creating special exemptions for corporate interests, giving well connected and the wealthy power to write their own rules; exempting secretive super political action committees and corporate front groups to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporate special interests to support their candidates or defeat their enemies; the proposition is not campaign finance reform; giving lobbyists and corporate CEOs greater influence over our political system. Corporations outspend unions 15-1 in politics; the primary financial backers are retired CEOs and millionaires associated with the right-wing Lincoln Club of Orange County . All key funders of the proposition would personally benefit from exemptions created for organizations and companies. The federation further states: “The measure does nothing to prevent anonymous donors from spending unlimited amounts to influence elections.” For more information visit: www.yesprop32.com; www.stopspecialexemptions.org and www.opensecrets.org/overview/blio.php
POLITICAL REFLECTIONS: ORGANIZED LABOR’S LAST-DITCH STAND
By Mark Gabrish Conlan August 22, 2012 (San Diego) – Whoever you think won last June’s elections, there can be no doubt that organized labor was one of the biggest losers. In San Diego, voters overwhelmingly approved the pension “reform” initiative sponsored by City Councilmember and Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio that abolishes guaranteed-benefit pensions completely for newly hired city employees, freezes all city workers’ pay for five years (on top of five years they’ve already gone without a raise) and pushes workers into a 401(k)-style program that will actually cost the city more to administer than the current pension system. What’s more, DeMaio placed first in the city’s mayoral primary and the three candidates who supported his “reform” — himself, Nathan Fletcher and Bonnie Dumanis — got 70 percent of the vote to opponent Bob Filner’s 30 percent. In Wisconsin, labor lost its expensive bet to repeal anti-union governor Scott Walker. In San Jose, voters passed an anti-labor pension initiative similar to the one in San Diego. And as if that weren’t bad enough, this November, California voters will have a chance to drive a stake through the heart of labor’s remaining political influence by passing Proposition 32. This initiative, sponsored and funded by multimillionaires with long records of donating to Republican and Right-wing political causes, would eliminate unions’ ability to create political war chests by getting members to donate automatically as part of their union dues. In 1998 and 2005 — in less economically desperate, more union-friendly times — California voters have twice rejected milder versions of this measure. What’s different now is that the proponents are selling it as a political reform measure. They’ve named it the “Stop Special Interest Money Now Act” and inserted a few deceptive clauses that make it seem like the initiative would stop corporations from collecting automatic deductions from their workers for political campaigns. Of course, in the real world almost no corporations actually assemble their war chests from automatic employee deductions. Corporations stay in business by making a profit off the goods and services we buy every day — and there’s nothing either in current law or in Proposition 32 that prevents them from diverting some of those profits to funding political action committees (PAC’s). “When corporations can just write a check from their general treasury, the idea that [Proposition 32] is a meaningful ban is ridiculous,” Richard L. Hasen, election and campaign law expert at UC Irvine, told Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik. Proposition 32 is yet another effort in the long-term campaign of former Republican House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich called “Defund the Left.” Its purpose is to keep conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular, in power in the U.S. permanently by eliminating any alternative ideas from public discussion. There’s an old proverb about whether a tree in the forest really falls if no one is there to hear it. The equivalent in American politics today is that candidates, initiatives or ideas don’t exist for voters if there isn’t enough big money behind them to make sure that voters hear their messages. Already business interests spend 15 times as much as labor on U.S. political campaigns. This goes far to explain why massive bailouts for big Wall Street banks sailed through the Congress; why legislators even in a “blue” state like California continually balance their budgets on the backs of the working poor and, increasingly, what’s left of the middle class; why the distribution of wealth and income in the U.S. has become progressively less equal over the last 40 years; and why the most popular alternative for voters fed up and disgusted with these realities is … the Tea Party, whose programs will increase economic inequality in the U.S. and destroy what’s left of the social safety net. And organized labor, one of the few remaining institutions with the ability to raise enough money to get non-conservative candidates and ideas a fair hearing among American voters, is desperately clinging to what’s left of its power. A lot of factors have contributed to labor’s long, slow decline as a political and social force in this country. Probably the most important is the de-industrialization of the American economy, as corporations moved high-paying, unionized industrial jobs first to non-union (so-called “right to work”) U.S. states — mostly in the South — and then to other countries, first to low-wage havens in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and then to even lower-wage havens in China and other parts of Asia. Other factors speeding labor’s decline include aggressive anti-union tactics on the part of private employers like Walmart, who routinely fire entire departments and relocate them rather than recognize a union. Many anti-union tactics routinely practiced by giant corporations, including firing workers who try to start a union and threatening en masse firings of workers who join, are technically illegal, but the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that is supposed to enforce the laws against employer union-busting, rarely does. What’s more, the laws themselves are so weak about all the NLRB could do is impose a fine that’s a fraction of what the companies stand to gain by keeping themselves non-union; like the equally insignificant fines imposed on them if they’re caught illegally polluting the environment, they count these as a cost of doing business and go on flouting the law. As a result, less than seven percent of all U.S. private-sector employees are represented by unions — and the unions themselves, aware of how much clout they’ve lost over the years, seem more interested in preserving the gains made by long-term employees than in representing all their members. In industry after industry unions have agreed to “two-tier” wage structures that allow companies to hire new workers at a fraction of what they have to pay their old ones — and the younger people who get the shaft in these arrangements naturally look upon unions as big institutions that take their money in dues
POSSIBLE IDENTITY SCAM ALERT FROM ALPINE SHERIFF
August 22, 2012 (Alpine) – Paula Dickenson, crime prevention specialist with the Alpine Sheriff’s Substation, has sent the following alert to the community on a possible identity theft scam, along with information on how to protect yourself and your children from identity theft: Here is an example of Suspicious Activity! Please call us when this happens. Never let a stranger into your home. "Two girls came to our door to sell subscriptions for servicemen and they would get a trip to Disneyland–asked for a glass of water-then asked to use the bathroom." "A neighbor of ours said the same thing happened to him with the same girl going to the bathroom. He said the girl was in there a long time." You may not know what information or item was taken either. Remember, all they need is something with your social security number on it. (or if left to go to your bathroom, your medicine cabinet with vital information on medications you may have.) They write it down and may even sell the information to others! This is not our grandparent’s generation anymore. Distracting you while another person "cases" your home is a typical scam in action. Beware and Be Careful! Call us for this activity at 858-565-5200! If you desire, let the Sheriff’s Dispatcher know you would like to have the Deputy call you back for an update. We want the Scams out of our community! Let them locate another community to go to! Add to your Back to School List: Check your child’s (or grandchild) social security number! They may own a condo or car in Florida or Hawaii. They are vulnerable to identity theft the moment their number is issued at birth! We would encourage you to check with each credit reporting agency separately. Beware of advertising from those that state " free " to check all three at one time. Usually this results in future obligations and/or monthly fees. Do your research on these types of companies. Go directly to the credit agency! Credit Reporting Agencies: TransUnion www.transunion.com P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834 1-800-680-7289 Experian www.experion.com P.O. Box 1017, Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 Equifax www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374 1-888-766-0008 This site can also be used for checking your credit reports: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING
August 22, 2012 (San Diego)–THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL SAN DIEGO COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA UNTIL 630 PM. * AT 335 PM PDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED PERSISTENT THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY SHOWERS OVER SHELTER VALLEY…AGUA CALIENTE SPRINGS…AND CANEBRAKE WHICH WILL LIKELY PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. * LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO OCOTILLO WELLS…SAN FELIPE CREEK…VALLECITO WASH…FISH CREEK…HARPER CANYON WASH…AND HIGHWAY 78.
IGNORANT COMMENTS ON RAPE BY GOP SENATE CANDIDATE SPARK NATIONAL FUROR
Amid controversy, Republican Party adopts platform calling for ban on all abortions, including rape victims By Nadin Abbott August 22, 2012 (Washington D.C.) – A U.S. Senate candidate’s false belief that pregnancies from rape are rare has sparked national outrage. The incident also reveals fissures in the Republican party-drawing attention to the party’s new plank calling for all abortions to be outlawed—and revealing just how unpopular the party’s extremist platform is with women. Missouri Republican Congressman Todd Akin, who is running for U.S. Senate, sparked a national scandal when he stated that rape victims should not be allowed to have abortions. “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare," Akin said in a radio interview. "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down." What has now become a national scandal is revealing some fissures in the Republican Party. It is also exposing how unpopular the party plank is among women. Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO-02) said in a radio interview when asked about abortion that the rape exception should not exist. He went on to say that "the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down.” http://fox2now.com/2012/08/19/the-jaco-report-august-19-2012/ His comments reveal an astounding level of ignorance. Each year, over 32,000 pregnancies resulting from rape occur in the U.s. according to an article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Moreover, CNN interviewed a medical expert who confirms that “A woman’s chances of becoming pregnant are the same after rape as they are after consensual sex, according to medical experts and published studies.” http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/health/rape-pregnancy/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Akin has subsequently admitted he was misinformed and apologized for his remark. But he has not backed away from his position that rape victims should be forced to carry pregnancies to term. Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown has called on Akin to step down from his race against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, who has seen donations skyrocket as a result of Akin’s remarks. Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Ronmey and Vice-Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan have also urged Akin to quit the race. Given those high profile GOP figures voicing disapproval of Akins’ remarks, you would think that Akin is far out of the party mainstream. But in actually, he’s not. Rather it’s the Republican party platform that has drifted from mainstream views Congressman Paul Ryan, Romney’s nominee for Vice President, coauthored a bill in 2009 declaring that life begins at conception and granting full protections to fertilized eggs. Ryan’s bill would outlaw all abortions—yes, even for rape victims, children victimized by incest, and women who develop life-threatening conditions during pregnancy. A close examination of the Party platform, first aired on CNN and now being broadcast across other media outlets, seeks to amendment the U.S. Constitution by declaring that life begins at conception. No one would be allowed to terminate a pregnancy—not even if a woman is raped, or if her life is in peril. The Republican platform reads in part: "Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children." http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/gop-platform-to-exclude-abortion-exceptions-for-ra So you may ask, how about our local delegation? Where do they stand on life-begins at conception? A close examination of voting records reveal that Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. (CA-52) shares the ultra-extremist stance of Akin and his party’s platform. In fact, Hunter coauthored the life-begins-at-conception bill, along with Akin and Ryan. He supports outlawing abortion even for rape victims and women whose lives are in danger if they carry a pregnancy to term: http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Duncan_Hunter_Jr_.htm While Congressman Issa did not vote for the 2009 Personhood Bill, he did vote for other bills that make him a staunch pro-life candidate. He has voted against federal funding of abortion, against stem cell research, and for eliminating funding to Planned Parenthood. http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Darrell_Issa.htm Both Issa and Hunter Jr, voted for a bill forbidding the transport of minors across state lines to facilitate abortion. Issa also has voted to forbid federal dollars in family planning, either in the United States or abroad. (2001). Of our area’s three representatives, Bilbray is the most moderate, and you could say out of step with the Republican Party Plank. Bilbray voted to expand stem cell research, but did vote to ban partial birth abortions and to forbid transporting minors across state lines to get abortions. http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Brian_Bilbray_Abortion.htm While the nation remains divided on abortion, even many voters who are pro-life support exceptions for rape and incest victims, as well as women with life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, or tubal pregnancy for whom pregnancy termination may offer the best hope of survival. To cite just one example, one in every 50 to 100 pregnancies today is ectopic, in which the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube, not the womb. Such a pregnancy cannot be carried to full term; if not terminated the egg eventually bursts the Fallopian tube, leaving the woman at high risk of peritonitis, sterility or death. It is not an overstatement to say that the lives and health of women are on the line in this election, as well as concerns for the unborn. The U.S. Supreme Court is one vote away from overturning Roe v. Wade and making abortions illegal. A conservative sweep would likely result in appointment of a Justice to make that happen. Even more radical, a Constitutional amendment to declare life begins at conception would eliminate even the possibility of the Supreme Court intervening in the future to protect women’s lives, health, or reproductive choice. Voters should carefully examine representatives’ voting records and stances before casting their own votes in November. To
DAVIS INTRODUCES BILL TO IMPROVE WILDLIFE SERVICES PROGRAM – H.R. 6302
August 21, 2012 (San Diego) – Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) has introduced legislation in response to revelations that federal wildlife officials have killed thousands of animals locally without disclosing justifications to the public. “I closely follow local events and local reporting, so in response to constituent concerns and a series of articles published by Voice of San Diego on the activities of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services program, I recently introduced the Transparency for Lethal Control Act (TLC Act, H.R. 6302), legislation to require the USDA to publish clear and accessible information about its activities in San Diego County and other counties throughout the country,” Rep. Susan Davis stated in a press release. H.R. 6302 has been endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States. The Wildlife Services program is responsible for intervening in situations when an animal is considered a threat or serious nuisance to humans. In some cases, animals are killed to fulfill this mission. In San Diego County, 18,700 animals have been killed since 2005 by federally funded trappers – including some of our region’s most iconic animals – and we don’t know how or why. “I believe the killing of animals should not be a routine or reflexive government response. It should only be undertaken, if at all, after careful deliberation and under strict supervision. For that reason, the public and Congress need to have the opportunity for vigorous oversight to ensure that the USDA is acting appropriately and considering all cheaper and more humane alternatives,” David concluded.
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY
Your Online Weather for San Diego on Wednesday: http://youronlineweather.com/coasts/ http://youronlineweather.com/valleys/ http://youronlineweather.com/mountains/ http://youronlineweather.com/deserts/
AERIAL PHOTOS SHOW WIND PROJECT’S TOLL ON THE DESERT
By Shaun Gonzales Reprinted with permission from www.MojaveDesertBlog.com . Original posted at http://www.mojavedesertblog.com/2012/08/aerial-photos-show-wind-projects-toll.html August 21, 2012 (Ocotillo)–Pattern Energy has begun clearing beautiful desert near Anza-Borrego State Park for the nearly 16 square mile Ocotillo Express Wind project. Once completed, the facility will consist of 112 wind turbines, each one standing over 400 feet tall, and requiring wide new roads carved into the fragile desert soil. Photographer Phillip Colla gives us a birds-eye view of the beginning phase of the destruction with a series of images available at his website. The photos were made possible by aviation support provided by LightHawk. A photograph of preparations for a single wind turbine pad. Notice the new dirt road, and clearing around the pad, with a deep pit that will be filled with tons of cement and steel to anchor the turbine. Photo by Phillip Colla. Aviation support provided by LightHawk. Wide new roads are carved into the desert soil to accommodate construction traffic and the arrival of turbine parts larger than an average home. The disturbance of the soil for roads will invite invasive plant species, create dust storms, and lead to further erosion of the adjacent desert habitat. Photo by Phillip Colla. Aviation support provided byLightHawk A large swath of the desert is ripped open by Pattern Energy, probably to accommodate cement mixing operations. Wind turbines require large amounts of cement and steel to anchor the massive structures in the ground. Both ingredients require greenhouse gas intensive manufacturing. Photo by Phillip Colla. Aviation support provided byLightHawk This destruction for new pads and roads will be repeated to accommodate 112 turbines across an area larger than downtown San Diego, shattering the quiet and peaceful desert landscape. Photo by Phillip Colla. Aviation support provided by LightHawk A photo of the desert habitat that is being destroyed and fragmented to make way for Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Express Wind project. Majestic Ocotillo plants tower over other cacti and shrubs, blooming after spring rains. Photo by Terry Weiner. This photo shows a truck carrying just one section of a single turbine to the project site — the beginning of an industrial landscape near Ocotillo, California. The project will require dozens of additional trips by long-haul trucks to bring all of the required components. Photo by Jim Pelley. A single blade for a wind turbine requires its own diesel truck and two cranes. The blade dwarfs the desert vegetation. Photo by Park Ewing. Earth movers have graded some of the intact desert. Photo by Tom Budlong. Ocotillo plants and cactus are discarded after Pattern Energy bulldozed this once intact desert habitat. Photo by Tom Budlong. As climate change, urban sprawl and other industrial uses target our wildlands, we should be challenging ourselves to adopt a more sustainable renewable energy pathfocused on improving our energy efficiency, and deploying solar panels on rooftops, over parking lots, or on already-disturbed lands.