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It’s not easy to get work done during a pandemic. Even for the fortunate who kept their pre-pandemic jobs, productivity has taken it on the chin in 2020. The same goes for those in the lawmaking business. In March, just days after the governor instructed all Californians to shelter in their homes, legislators left Sacramento to do exactly that — and they stayed away for two months. A second viral wave, plus more than half a dozen infections among lawmakers and their staff, prompted another ext

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on The Free and Equal Elections Foundation's website and has been republished on IVN with permission from the authors. ‍ Last week’s showdown between the sitting U.S. President and his opponent was an exhausting production that played into the divisiveness of our country, rather than focusing on solutions. Since 2008, we have been sounding the alarm on the two party system’s control of Presidential debates, while creating alternative platforms tha

This is independent opinion. Have one of your own? Email it to hoa@ivn.us San Diego is at a crossroads on climate change. With heat storms and wildfires showcasing our world to come, we must carefully plan how to adapt and implement our city’s landmark Climate Action Plan, while still providing opportunities for our children and grandchildren to live and work in our community. This requires thoughtful consideration for safety, sustainability, and equity in how we plan for a San Diego that is re

West San Ysidro Boulevard in San Diego has an extra pop of color. Creatives have added fresh street art along the high-traffic thoroughfare — less than four miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Vacant buildings, alleyways and businesses serve as canvases for a series of commissioned murals. One of the murals is the work of a self-taught cartoonist. The vibrant narrative reflects the artist’s comic strip background. It’s the first public mural created by Fifi Martinez. "It's on the abstract and o

Independent Voting recently released the results of its second national survey "Confronting A New Reality: Independents Speak Out,” interviewing over 3,600 independent voters across the country on the hot button issues of 2020 (from the government's handling of COVID to police reform to what being independent means to them). The survey gave voice to a segment of the voting population that is often ignored in the current political climate. “What I love about this survey, its results, and the ac

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Monday morning, Sept. 28, California woke up sweaty, devastated, even shocked to find the state burning again. But if we’re honest, and to our great shame, no one was surprised. We’d seen this horror movie in this town. Three years ago, wildfire killed 25 people in Sonoma County. Now the Glass Fire was there, again, burning toward Santa Rosa. At 12:30 a.m., a string of seniors stood in line, many in pajamas, waiting to board an evacuation bus f

Last week TPR shared a new report from Embarcadero Institute disputing the accuracy of the state's methodology for calculating local housing needs. With the state moving to hold local governments accountable for meeting housing production goals and the report finding a 900,000 unit discrepancy, offered here is Embarcadero Institute's response to criticism received regarding the report's conclusions. Report author, Gab Layton, has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and currently serves on the advis

This is an independent opinion. IVN San Diego has invited all campaigns, including No on Measure A, to write a commentary. Have an opinion of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us The global COVID-19 pandemic has made something inescapably clear: Access to a home is a matter of public safety. Without attainable, affordable housing, the health of individuals, families and the San Diego community are at risk. The dire need for housing is why I authored and have successfully moved a $900 mil

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Email it to hoa@ivn.us. “Slam Diego” is a slogan we are seeing all around town as the Padres have set an MLB record for consecutive grand slam homeruns this season and just clinched a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2006. But, our hometown roster of Swingin’ Friars isn’t the only group swinging past the fences and sliding across home plate in East Village this year. Last week, the City of San Diego decided to enter into an e

Matthew Villongco stopped by the UCLA campus to see his friends on a Thursday night during his first year of community college. An airy lounge surrounded by a glass wall, packed to the brim with students, caught his eye — The Study. He’d imagined that people would be partying. Instead, he saw collaborative studying, an atmosphere filled with chatter, not students in their own headphone-induced bubbles. That’s the scene Villongco remembered when he was accepted to UCLA as a transfer student and