The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
Plenty of people get the blame for eating disorders: ultra-skinny supermodels, bad parents and even the sufferers themselves.
But a UCSD scientist thinks there’s another prime suspect: the brain itself. Through scans and genetic testing, he’s gathering evidence suggesting that the biological roots of anorexia and bulimia are present in the brain at birth.
Our story looks at this work, which could lead to better treatment and reduce the stigma surrounding eating disorders. “They can at least know that it’s not their fault,” the scientist says.
In other news:
- For San Diego Explained this week, we broke down the city’s complex campaign finance laws.
A big part of that was also to explain how a lawsuit could change those laws dramatically. That actually ended up happening … on Wednesday.
As the Union-Tribune and LA Times have reported, a federal judge just threw out many of the laws we illustrate. So watch the video if you want to see how things have changed — big time.
- In education, the interim chief of San Diego schools gave the equivalent of a State of the District speech yesterday. Among other things, “he lauded the idea of opening up the superintendent search so that the public can interview the finalists, calling it ‘far more open and more inclusive than ever before.’”
The interim chief himself has been discussed as a possible candidate for the permanent top job.
- And in a follow-up to our earlier story, we have reaction to the school district’s controversial adoption of technology like interactive whiteboards.
One teacher is worried that the whiteboards will break and not repaired or replaced. Another is wowed: Thanks to the boards, “Our third grade students have literally soaked up knowledge!”
- Local judges do lots of things besides judge. They run for office (becoming the district attorney and San Diego city attorney, among other things), get in trouble and even get recalled. What they don’t tend to do is get elected to their jobs in exciting races.
As we reported last week, that seemed likely to change in one local judicial race thanks to the rarity of a criminal defense attorney scarfing up endorsements. But now he’s out of the running.
- Gina Trapani — the high-profile local programmer, blogger and subject of last weekend’s Q&A — has a new gig. She’ll be working with a nonprofit that’s helping the White House gather public input regarding a science/tech initiative.
- The headline for the Photo of the Day says “Tickle Me,” but our photographer isn’t making a rather bold suggestion. The photo’s subject is a certain puppet named Elmo.
Elsewhere:
- County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister, under fire for burying an audit that found the county “wrongly held almost $8 million in overpayments and that data in the tax office had been compromised,” told San Diegans last night that he’ll post future audits. (U-T).
The audit in question, completed in March, wasn’t publicly known until the North County Times and Union-Tribune wrote about it earlier this month.
- A student party that mocked Black History Month is drawing national attention to UCSD. The U-T reports that the university is investigating, and the president of a fraternity linked to the party has apologized.
- A survey ranks San Diego County as 15th among the state’s counties when it comes to how healthy we are. (KPBS)
- In a dispute over casino slot machines, “the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, located in northeast San Diego County and the owners of Valley View Casino, filed a $115 million lawsuit against the State of California for lost profits.” (Indian Country Today)
- An editorial in the U-T is drawing flak for complaining about efforts to make state pension funds and insurers get rid of investments in companies with certain kinds of links to Iran. CityBeat and local writer Seth Hettena (who has also written for voiceofsandiego.org) posted blistering attacks on what Hettena calls “editorial writing at its most pathetic.”
The U-T piece raises another very important question: Has anyone ever used the phrase “unadulterated folly” outside of a newspaper editorial?
- Finally, a San Diego psychologist appears in a story about caring for veterans through online medicine. She says there’s plenty of training available to support psychological consultations via the internet.
Do you get a discount for using your own couch?