The president is declaring war on California over its so-called “sanctuary” laws, and he may soon find a prominent ally — the county of San Diego. The five Republican supervisors may join his bid to sue the state over three recently passed laws.
Three? Yes, as our reporter Maya Srikrishnan explains in a new VOSD story, the Trump and the Department of Justice is targeting more than the bill that restricts how local law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Another targeted law “sets a protocol that private and public employers should follow when federal officials give them notice of an audit or worksite inspection, during which they verify employees are allowed to be working in the United States.”
And a third law under fire allows the state to monitor both federal and private immigration facilities in California. The federal lawsuit supported by the president claims the state “isn’t placing such restrictions on any other local or federal agency and is targeting immigration enforcement.”
• County Supervisor Ron Roberts wants the county to stay out of the fight, saying the mostly symbolic action would distract from things the supervisors could actually influence like housing and mobility. But he also said he wasn’t going to be there for the Tuesday vote.
Politics Report: South Bay Ballot Beefs
National City, one of the oldest cities in the county, has become the newest battleground for factions in the local labor world. As the latest edition of VOSD’s Politics Report explains, voters in the city will face two competing ballot measures about term limits for the mayor and City Council, and the unions are taking sides.
The situation is complex, but it boils down to a bid to kick the current mayor out of office — he currently can’t run again in November because he’s held the office for the max of two terms — or give him a reprieve. Unions care about him because suburbs now have more influence within SANDAG, the coalition of local governments that handles big planning tasks. Dems want to dominate SANDAG. A controversial labor leader is another piece of this puzzling puzzle.
• Also in the Politics Report: More on union vs. union strife, a proposed tax hike in Chula Vista that has conservatives furious. And former DA Bonnie Dumanis also weighed in on the supervisor’s pending decision about whether to join Trump in the lawsuit versus California on immigration enforcement policy.
• Finally, we’ve finished talking via podcast to the candidates in the San Diego City Council’s District 2, which covers some coastal communities. The Politics Report has details including a recap of a chat with candidate Jen Campbell.
Voters May Be Mighty Confused This June
Remember the infamous butterfly ballot? Some of you are already having unpleasant flashbacks to the 2000 election. (Youngsters, just Google it.) Now comes word that the California Senate election may create similar problems for voters here.
The problem, according to an L.A. Times story, is that there are so many candidates that the lists of them may spill over into two or even three columns. This can create problems for even circumspect voters who may accidentally vote for someone else then they intended.
“For now, the best that California elections officials can do is sound the warning,” the Times reports, even though it’s clear that more than 200,000 voters were confused by the 2016 ballot listings for Senate candidates and had their votes thrown out because they voted for more than one candidate.
The Fake News Business Goes South
Did one candidate for high office “pose nude with a drag queen”? Nope. How about this one: is another candidates wife the granddaughter of a Nazi? Naw. “And no, a third contender did not vow to win the election by buying votes.”
It’s all fake news, but it’s not here. These candidates are running for president in Mexico, the L.A. Times reports, in a race that’s been plagued by a familiar problem to Americans — fake news. There are fact-checkers south of the border too, and they’re quite busy.
“Fake news is everywhere in Mexico, pushed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter by sham news sites and armies of digital bots,” the newspaper reports. “It’s been a problem here since before the issue gained global attention in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with online disinformation campaigns playing a key role in Mexican politics since the country’s 2012 presidential race.”
Quick News Hits: Do You Want to Be Alone?
• Hundreds of horses are returning to North County’s San Luis Rey Downs Training Center after the December wildfire forced evacuations. (U-T)
• As shopping centers continue to struggle, the landmark Ruby’s Diner in Mission Valley seems to be closing.
• After a tussle over whether it was discriminating against boys, San Diego Fire-Rescue’s Girl’s Empowerment Camp went forward over the weekend with 69 girls signed up and 1 boy. (NBC 7)
• Was that a UFO in the night sky the other day? (Fox 5)
• Maybe you can help a Reddit user figure out where a really nifty 1940s-era photo of his grandmother and a friend was taken. (Check out those outfits! These ladies have got attitude for days.)
The grandmother worked at a movie theater in Chula Vista, so some users guessed the photo shows that city’s downtown Vogue Theater, where I wiled away much of my non-misspent youth. But the movie posters in the photo suggest the Vogue wasn’t around yet.
• Hmm.
• Another Reddit user asks for places where he can be alone and just think. Among the suggestions: Sunrise Highway, Mission Trails Regional Park, Sunset Cliffs, Presidio Park and Del Mar Mesa Preserve.
As for me, I’m just going to stick with savoring the sweet, sweet solitude at my Chargers Fan Club meetings.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego. He is also immediate past president of the 1,200-member American Society of Journalists and Authors (asja.org). Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.