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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.

Alaska voters sent a clear message to state officials in the 2020 election: they want elections that better serve the interests of voters, and by doing so made history as the first state to approve a top-four nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting in the general election. Ballot Measure 2 for Better Elections trailed in the early vote count. However, after two weeks of counting absentee ballots, it ended up ahead by a percentage point of the vote as the trends shifted more and more to i

This is the first in a two-part series. Check back with IVN San Diego next week for the next column More than 50 years have passed since the groundbreaking Equality of Educational Opportunity Coleman Report was published, yet it remains relevant today. The 750-page Coleman Report, led by James Coleman, was mandated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and – although not without controversy – is still the go-to document for evidence-based education policy. Before the Coleman Report was released,

Supporting homelessness causes can sometimes feel like rooting for the Los Angeles Chargers. Not that San Diegans should feel obligated to cheer for a greedy, mercenary NFL owner who unforgivably ripped the heart out of a faithful community by moving his team to L.A. Anyone still grasping on to Chargers loyalty, though, has watched recent squads master the art of unlikely last-minute losses. One pundit wrote that the team deserves “a black belt in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.” I

When Sen. Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president as expected, Gov. Gavin Newsom will have the extraordinary constitutional privilege to appoint her replacement to the U.S. Senate. This will be one of his most important decisions as governor, as his choice will influence the next generation of political leaders of the world’s fifth largest economy and the nation’s most diverse state. While the headlines have been focused on the history-making fact that our former Attorney General is the fi

The COVID-19-related private event cancellations started in February, reaching a crescendo in March as the pandemic closed down travel worldwide. Meetings, conventions and catered private events, including weddings, ground to an abrupt halt. By the time the state and county issued lockdown orders catering and event professionals' suspended businesses were already facing hibernation at best. San Diego’s tourism and events industry, which represents about $11.6 billion in annual total visitor spe

The biggest overlooked story from this election is how reformers made history, once again. From Virginia to California, voters sent a message that they want less hyper-partisanship, greater voter choice and better representation. To celebrate our accomplishments and dive deep into how we move forward in the coming years, we’re hosting a two-day December Spotlight on Friday, December 11, and Saturday, December 12. The Zoom event will feature workshops, briefings, and group discussions, hosted

With California’s junior senator Kamala Harris poised to become America’s first female vice president, a remarkable pattern has taken hold: Once again, a woman from California is making history in the nation’s capital. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris vowed in her victory speech Saturday night. California also is home to the first woman to become Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who first won the post in 2007. And, whe

This is the second installment of a two-part series on Gompers Preparatory Academy in Southeast San Diego. Read the first installment here. The Gompers community has made its position clear. About 80 students, teachers, alumni and community members staged a protest Oct. 27 at the district office, demanding that the San Diego Unified School District reverse its recent decision to eliminate on-loan agreements for four top Gompers Preparatory Academy charter school employees. The on-loan agreeme