Sign up for our eNewsletterBy Rep. Susan A. Davis
Over a year ago I used this space in San Diego Uptown News to talk about the killing of 49 innocents at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. As we grieved for the victims, we also pushed for a debate in Congress and action to prevent gun violence.
As is typical with such a tragedy, there was a moment of silence on the House floor for the victims of Orlando. There is a growing sense that the only thing Congress can do on gun violence is “moments of silence.”
Read MoreBy Ben Baltic and Jim Frost
The San Diego City Council approved the annual Uptown Community Parking District (UCPD) budget at its Sept. 12 meeting. Few are aware of the events that took place before the vote. Critically, those events focus on Benjamin Nichols and his blatant conflict of interest.
Nichols serves as the unpaid chairman of the UCPD while he is employed full time as executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA).
Read MoreOpposing AIDS memorial at Olive Street Park
Re: San Diego AIDS Memorial and Olive Street Park, Bankers Hill
(Editor’s note: This letter was sent to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, the City Council and the San Diego AIDS Memorial Task Force. It was copied to Uptown Planners chair Leo Wilson, LAMBDA Archives of San Diego and the San Diego LGBT Community Center. The letter was also shared with local media and has been lightly edited for grammar and style.)
Read MoreBy Leo Wilson
Recently, the visionary concept of building a public park on top of a multi-story parking garage in Hillcrest has been put forward by the Uptown Gateway Council.
The Uptown Gateway Council is a group of commercial property owners in Hillcrest who hope to transform the area roughly between Fourth and Seventh avenues and from Washington Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Read MoreBy Rep. Susan A. Davis
When thinking of higher education, most people’s minds go straight to a four-year degree. There is no doubt we need to expand opportunities and increase the affordability of two-year and four-year degrees.
However, higher education is essentially all the formal learning we do after high school. Higher education is the bridge between high school to many careers. A neglected component of higher education and our economy is apprenticeships. They are key to building a highly skilled workforce and closing the skills gap.
Read MoreBy Toni G. Atkins | Notes from Toni
As this column, derived from my newsletter “Toni Times,” was being prepared, my top-priority bill, SB 2, was still under consideration in the Assembly — the deadline for Senate bills to pass “the other house” is Sept. 15.
SB 2 — the Building Homes and Jobs Act — is part of a package of bills aimed at addressing California’s severe housing crisis. Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon all pledged to make the package a priority during this session’s home stretch.
Read MoreBy Rep. Susan A. Davis
In the current political climate, bipartisanship can be a rare thing. But it is not extinct. Proof of that was on display this month when Congress passed legislation to expand education opportunities for our veterans.
The Forever GI Bill, as it is commonly known, which I am proud to have co-sponsored, will ensure that this critical education benefit will always be there for future generations of veterans. It also just became the law of the land.
Read MoreBy Omar Passons
My mother is 84 years old. She did not earn a high school diploma, and spent the better part of her life caring for children in San Diego County whose parents were unable, unwilling, or unfit to care for them.
She was a foster parent to me and over 100 other children in this community. But she could not afford the incredible surge in rents and costs at assisted living facilities that have overwhelmed the San Diego region.
Read MoreBy Toni G. Atkins | Notes from Toni
There was reason for celebration on July 17 when the Senate and Assembly worked with Gov. Jerry Brown to pass a package of bills that will extend California’s Cap and Trade program, clean up the air in our communities and continue our leadership role in the fight against climate change.
But what made it even better was that it passed with bipartisan support — Democrats and Republicans coming together to move California forward.
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