By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO COUNTY (Wednesday, May 3, 2022)
San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera says when he was working as an intern at a legal clinic in the City Heights neighborhood, “Week after week, the most common issue community members sought assistance with was housing. We heard from renters who had received eviction notices despite not doing anything wrong or who were facing significant increases in rent they would not be able to afford. Others were living in slum-like conditions and facing threats of being reported for their immigration status if they spoke out. … I was convinced the impact I wanted to make in the community was less likely to come via legal work and more likely to come via policy work.” Elo-Rivera expressed satisfaction that the City Council has passed his Tenant Protection Ordinance, which “will expand rights for hundreds of thousands of San Diegans. They will have protections on the first day of their lease, they will receive a lifeline of support when they are forced to move at no fault of their own, and they will have better access to legal representation to ensure their rights are respected.”
Yehudi Gaffen is the CEO pf 1HWY1, the company which has the contract to redevelop Seaport Village and environs. Part of that redevelopment, in association with the San Diego Unified School District and the Birch Aquarium, is a Blue Campus, which according to an article in The San Diego Union-Tribune, “is envisioned as a leading center for ocean education and outreach, open to youth and adult learners from throughout California.” The Birch Aquarium would operate a Learning Center within the Blue Campus, and the San Diego Unified School District would design curricula for middle school students who take on-the-water field trips. The article was co-authored by Gaffen, School Board Member Richard Barrera, and Birch Aquarium Executive Director Harry Helling.
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Israeli Pop-Rock Signer Danny Robas will entertain at the House of Israel’s celebration of Israel’s 75th anniversary, which begins at 12 p.m., Sunday, May 21, at the international cottage area of Balboa Park, across the way from the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. There will also be a performance of the IDF’s ‘Special in Uniform’ band.
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Columnist Mickey Zeichik reports in the Mission Times Courier that the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation plans to build a permanent restroom by the historic Old Mission Dam Staging Area. It also is in the process of prioritizing for purchase parcels of land in the East Elliott area that may provide trail connections. Additionally, there are plans to build a loop trail from the South Fortuna Trail to provide rock climbing access to the eastern face of South Fortuna Mountain and constructing a new trail to the Kwaay Paay peak.
NATIONAL
The Wall Street Journal, inspecting the late investor Jeffrey Epstein’s calendar, reports that even after his conviction as a sex offender, he met with such prominent people as former Harvard University president and U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and comedian Woody Allen, and Apollo Global Management cofounder Leon Black. The latter has been accused by Cheri Pierson of raping her at Epstein’s mansion, a charge Black has denied.
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U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida) sold First Republic Bank stock on March 16 and purchased JPMorgan stock six days later, according to a financial disclosure report. JP Morgan purchased the troubled First Republic Bank after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took possession of the bank on May 1. Frankel said the stocks were sold and purchased by an independent money manager. Value of both transactions was reported to be between $1,001 and $15,000.
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Abby Grossberg, the fired Fox News producer who used to book guests for Tucker Carlson to interview, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that Republican politicians were “terrified” of Carlson. She added: “I don’t think journalists should have that kind of power to threaten and bully people. And Tucker did and reveled in it.” Grossberg has a suit pending against Fox News in which she contends Fox was a hostile workplace.
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U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan has told the jurors in the civil case in which former President Donald Trump is accused of rape and defamation by Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll that “you can reasonably expect to get the case early next week.” This came after Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, notified the court that Trump does not plan to testify and that he does not plan to call any witnesses for the defense. Leslie Lebowitz, a clinical psychologist, who testified for the plaintiff, said the alleged assault by Trump “made her feel she was worthless. She felt degraded, diminished.”
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Letty Cottin Pogrebin has summarized the latest chapter in the fight over abortion rights in her emailed newsletter, “More than 100 scientific studies affirm the effectiveness of the abortion pills used in the U.S. for twenty years, yet one flagrantly anti-choice federal judge ruled they’re unsafe. When another federal judge ruled otherwise, The Supremes granted a stay.”
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Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) scored a big endorsement in her three-way race with Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Katie Porter (D-Orange County) to succeed U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein when her term expires. Lee received the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina), the Assistant Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said he is hopeful that Feinstein will return to the Senate next week after a prolonged absence while recuperating from shingles. The 89-year-old senator’s vote is needed by Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee desiring to approve some of President Joe Biden’s judicial appointments.
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U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) is one of the leaders of the revived Latino-Jewish House Caucus. Another is Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida), who is her friend. Former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Florida), who is now CEO of the American Jewish Committee, commented, “When it comes to fighting the scourge of antisemitism and hate against Latinos, my former colleagues have shown time and again they will fight extremism and intolerance in whatever form it takes.”
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Klezmer musician Alicia Svigals will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on May 18 from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. In addition to her work with The Klezmatics in the 1980s and 1990s, Svigals has won awards for her musical compositions.
INTERNATIONAL
Marian F. Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, has urged the American Anthropological Association to reject a pending resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. She commented: “It’s legitimate to ask whether any members of the AAA who are now once again promoting a divisive resolution to boycott Israel’s system of higher education have ever visited an Israeli university or college in recent years. If they had, they would have witnessed a campus climate that’s open and free to dissenting views, including Palestinian voices. In recent years, Israeli universities have launched major initiatives to enroll Palestinian students along with programs that foster diversity and coexistence. There are many legitimate ways that AAA members can express their opposition to Israeli government policies. Boycotting Israeli universities and punishing their Israeli colleagues shouldn’t be one of them.” Her organization was one of 80 that is urging opposition to the resolution.
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Dermatologist Steve Feldman gave a lecture on physician-patient relationships to medical students at the University of Arkansas. However, according to the Raw Story website, Arkansas declined to pay his $500 fee because he declined to check a box attesting that he would not boycott the state of Israel—a requirement for anyone doing business with the State of Arkansas. Feldman has made several trips to Israel and says of Arkansas: “They’re asking Americans who have a conscience, who know Israel is keeping Palestinians from their homes.”
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com