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The mainstream political narrative would have people believe that Americans are more deeply entrenching themselves under the banner of the Republican or Democratic Party as the divide between the parties continues to widen.Yet, a closer look at registration trends shows a different story. The Open Primaries Education Fund (OPEF) released a new report Monday titled, “The Next Great Migration: The Rise of Independent Voters.” Its findings show that in nearly every state that registers voters by

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Email it to hoa@ivn.us The looming expiration of the city of San Diego’s franchise agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric may not be on your radar as a citizen, but perhaps it should be. Through this agreement, an outside company delivers gas and electricity to homes in San Diego, using transmission and distribution lines located on city property. Right now, and for the past 50 years, that’s SDG&E, and its franchise agreement with the city

California is in the throes of another COVID-19 surge — cases are skyrocketing and hospital beds are filling up quickly. On Tuesday, hospitals had 3,300 more COVID patients than at the beginning of this month, state health officials said. But a glimmer of hope has emerged in the last leg of 2020: The first batch of vaccines could arrive in early December. On Friday, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it had requested approval for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and

San Diego advocates of Ranked Choice Voting said they have renewed momentum after the election reform measure was approved in several U.S. cities and in the state of Alaska. Five cities, including Albany and Eureka in California, and the state of Alaska approved Ranked Choice Voting measures during the last election cycle. The election change allows voters to rank their candidate preferences on the ballot rather than just pick one candidate. If a candidate doesn’t receive the majority of votes

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Next year's redistricting landscape is, at best, a mixed bag for good-governance advocates. Although the mapmaking process has become fairer and less politicized in a handful of states over the past decade, partisan gerrymandering will still have a profound impact on representation across most of the country. Democrats had high hopes of taking back enough power

When Dennis O’Connor co-purchased the vacated Fraser's Boiler Service building in 2015 — he had big plans for the historic Barrio Logan space. It began with creating a production space for his brewery, Thorn Brewing Co., and was meant to be completed with eateries and a speakeasy with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. Five years later, the space known as Acre of Awesome, is finally open but it’s looking different than O’Connor had anticipated. He, along with his partners, have pause

This is the second in a two-part series. Read the first part here. Providing preschool at the earliest stages of a child’s development can help close the achievement gap in learning for many low-income children because what’s at stake is a lack of solid preparation for kindergarten and beyond. It begins with family poverty. If parents can’t afford to provide early childhood education for their children, those kids are likely to lag behind their wealthier peers for years. “Having that oppor

The good news: The recession California officials predicted in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic has not been as dire as they thought it would be, leaving the state with a $26 billion windfall heading into the next fiscal year. The bad news: A reason for the unanticipated cash reveals the state’s stark economic divide. Pandemic-induced job losses have been concentrated among low-wage workers, who pay relatively little taxes to begin with, while wealthy residents have continued to mak

David Lewis was just a few credits shy of earning his associate’s degree in journalism from Long Beach City College when the pandemic hit. Lewis, 29, was already encountering scheduling conflicts between his classes and a new job at Trader Joe’s. As the assignments for his online classes started to pile up, he struggled to keep pace. In March, he left school. It was a difficult choice because he’d returned to college just months before, determined to fulfill a promise he’d made to his mother b

When it comes to improving neighborhoods, Pete Garcia and Beth Callender aren’t holding their breath while waiting for others to step in. The San Diego couple are the minds behind Urban Interventions, a grassroots nonprofit that takes the initiative to improve unsightly areas in downtown San Diego. So far, the couple have planted trees, cleaned streets and installed artwork in the neighborhood. “We’re instigators, integrators and we make things happen,” said Garcia, a real estate developer.