SD CityBeat: Medical marijuana lawyers react to Bonnie Dumanis statement

Alex Kreit, a Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor who chaired the city's Medical Marijuana Task Force, has published a reaction on the liberal blog Two Cathedrals, criticizing Dumanis for hypocrisy and daring her to "walk her talk." He breaks down her statements one-by-one, highlighting the reality. 

Read the post here.

Labor Council Sponsors Withdrawal Wedne$day

WHAT:          
Withdrawal Wedne$day – Community rally to encourage San Diegans to transfer money from big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo to community credit unions that keep and invest money locally.

WHO: 
Lorena Gonzalez, Treasurer-Secretary/CEO for San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council; Norma Chavez-Peterson, Director/Lead Organizer for Justice Overcoming Boundaries, and Pat Zaharopoulos, President/CEO for San Diego Middle Class Taxpayers Association will be onsite to call attention to the importance of transferring money from the big banks to local community credit unions.

WHEN:           
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011
12:00 noon

WHERE:         
5th Ave & B Street (outside Bank of America & Wells Fargo), San Diego, CA 92101
Supporters will meet at 1200 B Street and march to the 5th & B rally location.


HIGHLIGHTS:         
·         Meet: Lorena Gonzalez (San Diego Labor Council), Norma Chavez-Peterson (Justice Overcoming Boundaries), Pat Zaharopoulos (San Diego Middle Class Taxpayers Association) 
·         Rally to promote National Bank Transfer Day
·         Community march from Civic Center to Downtown banks on 5th & B
·         Public setting provides excellent crowd shots, signage and natural sound
·         Opportunities for midday local news live-shots or stand-ups are also available


ADMISSION: This event is FREE and open to the general public.

San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council

www.unionyes.org

# # #

SDUT: Filner urges Obama to back off medical marijuana

Rep. Bob Filner and congressional colleagues are urging President Barack Obama to reschedule marijuana as a legitimate controlled substance for medicinal purposes, saying state and local governments must be allowed to develop and enforce their own public health laws with regard to medical cannabis.

Read the article here.

Vargas endorsed by Assemblyman Manuel Pérez (D-80) and the Chula Vista Democratic Club

This is according to his Twitter feed.

SDUT: Dumanis navigates early bumps in mayoral bid

That’s not to say there haven’t been changes. In August, Dumanis hired a new campaign manager and Ron Nehring, the former chairman of the Republican Party on both the state and county level, as a strategy consultant.

In addition, Dumanis said she is now open to participating in debates, backing off her initial plan to wait until March when the mayoral field is officially set. Her reversal was first mentioned in response to questions for this story; a week earlier her campaign said she would wait until March.

Read the article here.

Labor Council endorses Juan Vargas for U.S. Congress

For Immediate Release                                                                                                 

Labor Council endorses Juan Vargas for U.S. Congress

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council is proud to announce its endorsement of Juan Vargas for California’s 51st Congressional District. Vargas, a state senator, is running for the open seat in a district that encompasses portions of San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and Imperial County.

“Juan Vargas has demonstrated a strong commitment to improve job quality for San Diego and Imperial County workers,” said Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer/CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. “He isn’t afraid to stand up for working families like he has in the ongoing fight to protect neighborhoods and small, local businesses against big box retailers like Wal-Mart.”

To receive an endorsement from the Labor Council, a candidate must receive two-thirds approval from Labor Council delegates.
 
In addition to Vargas, the Labor Council also endorsed candidates in other 2012 elections.
Candidates receiving Labor Council endorsements include:

·         Juan Vargas – United States Congress, 51st Congressional District

·         Marty Block – California Senate, 39th State Senate District

·         Toni Atkins – California Assembly, 78th State Assembly District

·         Ben Hueso – California Assembly, 80th State Assembly District

·         Pamela Bensoussan – Chula Vista City Council

·         Mary Graham – San Diego Community College District D

·         Bill Garrett – Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District 3

·         Mary Kay Rosinski – Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District 4

·         Mark Anderson – San Diego County Board of Education District 4

For more information, contact Patrick Pierce, Communications Director of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council at (619) 228-8101 ext. 226 or ppierce@unionyes.org.

###

                                                 

Sac Bee: California Supreme Court rejects challenges to Senate, Congress maps

The two separate lawsuits were rejected by identical 7-0 votes, said Lynn Holton, court spokeswoman.

The court's decision ended the first hurdle to implementing boundary lines that were drawn this year, for the first time, by a 14-member citizens commission created by voter passage of Proposition 11 in 2008.

Read the article here.

SDUT: Log Cabin Republicans back Fletcher for mayor

The local chapter of the nation’s largest Republican gay advocacy group has endorsed state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher for San Diego mayor, dealing a major blow to the two prominent gay Republicans in the race.

Read the article here.

La Mesa Patch: Assemblyman Jones Backs State Prisons in Other Nations

Assemblyman Brian Jones, who represents much of inland San Diego County and a wide stretch of the border, says Sacramento should explore the “wild idea” of building state prisons in the countries of illegal immigrants to relieve overcrowding in the state.

“Let’s build their prisons in their home countries and send them to those prisons,” he said Friday morning in a meeting with Patch editors in his hometown of Santee.

Read the article here.

La Prensa: Dumanis and DeMaio demonstrate a lack of character by avoiding debate

A mayoral forum for the City of San Diego was held Wednesday night and of the four announced candidates only two participated and answered the questions from a diverse panel. What the audience did hear were the positions of candidate Bob Filner and Nathan Fletcher on a variety of topics. But, the audience probably learned more about the two candidates who did not show up. They learned that Bonnie Dumanis and Carlo DeMaio lacked the courage and the courtesy to attend this mayoral forum.

Read the editorial here.

VOSD: Downtown Is Starkest Contrast Between Filner, Fletcher

But another significant city issue showed the starkest contrast between the two: downtown redevelopment.

Filner wants to eliminate it. Fletcher's the one who recently extended its lifespan for two decades.

Read the article here.

SDNR: Fletcher endorsed by probation officers

The announcement came one day after the San Diego Police Officer's Association and the San Diego chapter of the Peace Officers Research Association of California showed their support for Fletcher's campaign.

Read the article here.

LGBT Weekly: Strange bedfellows: DeMaio, Hedgecock and Lysol Larry Stirling

That is what is so troubling about recent endorsements of mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio. DeMaio has rolled out the endorsements of Roger Hedgecock and Larry Stirling; both of these men have a homophobic past in which they have expressed animosity and shown hostility toward the LGBT community.

Read the article here.

SDUT: San Diego mayoral candidates talk stadium

Wednesday night's San Diego mayoral debate featured an exchange between Democratic Rep. Bob Filner and Republican Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher about the new Chargers stadium being backed by current Mayor Jerry Sanders.

Read the article here.

VOSD: Style in the Mayor's Race

At this point in San Diego's mayoral election, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher can't compete with their Republican counterpart Councilman Carl DeMaio on his knowledge of city issues.

Actually, let's be real. It's doubtful Dumanis and Fletcher ever will — or even try to.

Read the article here.

SDUT: Does a candidate's unwillingness to debate opponents influence your voting decision?

Check out the votes and results here.

Protest Rally Tomorrow for School Funding and to make Nathan Fletcher listen to his Constituents.

In the three years that Nathan Fletcher  has been representing constituents in the 75th AD, including members of the Poway Unified School District community, California public schools have undergone their worst financial crisis since the inception of the state constitution in 1849, and the constitutional establishment of California public schools.  Over $17 billion have been cut from public education and the per pupil loss in the Poway Unified is over $1,300.  Even before 2008, schools were struggling with constant underfunding. 

Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher has signed a pledge to vote against allowing his constituents the opportunity to vote on a revenue extension measure, on the June 2011 special election ballot, that would protect education from deeper budget cuts. 

Without this revenue extension measure, the Legislative Anaylst’s Office (LAO) reports that funding for schools would fall by at least $2 billion, or more than $335 per student.  The Governor has stated that the cuts to schools could be twice that amount, which would be devastating for our classrooms.

Currently the Poway Unified School District has Kindergarten classes of 28 students, middle school classes with more than 40 students and high school classes with more than 50 students.  We are in survival mode.  If voters are denied the opportunity to determine the fate of the tax extension measure we will be facing a $25 million budget shortfall in 2012-13 and a budget so dire the following year that it is beyond comprehension.

Protest rally tomorrow, Friday 21, from 8:20AM to 9:20AM on the street corner at Los Penasquitos Elementary School in Rancho Penasquitos (14125 Cuca St., San Diego, 92129)

SD Reader: Juan Vargas Gets $1000 of Roski Campaign Cash

Majestic Realty honcho Edward P. Roski, Jr., locked in a battle with AEG's Philip Anschutz for the chance to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles, gave $1000 to help retire the campaign debt of state Sen. Juan Vargas, now seeking the congressional seat that fellow Democrat Bob Filner is giving up to run for mayor.

Read the article here.

SDUT: The empty chairs at mayoral debates

It is still more than seven months before the June 2012 primary election that will whittle the list of candidates for mayor of San Diego from the current crop of 15 down to the top two, and we are hesitant to rush things along too much. But it is nevertheless disappointing that two of the leading contenders have not yet joined in debates.

Read the editorial here. 

VOSD: What the Police Endorsement Says About the Mayor's Race

To be sure, it's not as if this move was entirely unexpected. Fletcher carried a bill at the union's behest through the state Legislature last year. Fletcher's signature achievement, a law that gave tougher penalties to sex offenders, had strong law enforcement backing.

Fletcher's political consultant, Tom Shepard, owns the lobbying company that represents the police union. Marvel said his lobbyist, Kimberly Hale Miller, recused herself from the union's endorsement discussions.

Read he article here.