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The proposed Aquatic Safety and Junior Lifeguard Facility is a beautiful design for a praiseworthy organization that we all can support in concept. The Junior Lifeguard program provides an invaluable service working for safeguarding the aquatic safety of young people. The important question, however, is whether a multi-million dollar, 9,000 sf facility that would serve almost exclusively administrative purposes for the Junior Lifeguard Foundation is an appropriate use of dedicated parkland? T

Universal health care — or single-payer health care, or medicare for all, or socialized medicine — has come of age as a mainstream political issue in the United States. There is now an "official" Medicare for All Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives that launched with 66 members. The latest research indicates a majority of Americans support some form of government guarantee of health care. But while Democrats and Republicans at the federal level attempt to coalesce their competing vision

The independent and nonpartisan reform movements have never seen the momentum they are seeing today. Voters are ditching the Republican and Democratic Parties in droves. A record number of independent and third party candidates are running. And, powerful coalitions are forming to transform the US political system into one that is more representative of the diverse political landscape in America. We are witnessing history in the making. Here are the 15 biggest developments in the independent mov

San Diego, CA. - There is no debating the value of the San Diego Junior Lifeguard program. Now in its third decade, the program gives kids ages 7 to 17 the opportunity to learn a litany of useful skills including: first aid and CPR, surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, water rescue techniques, the importance of physical fitness and techniques to improve their swimming skills. In short, it's a great program, and the community knows it. Now, with help from the City of San Diego, the Junior Lifeguard F

JUNEAU, ALASKA - Independent Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed a new anti-corruption law Thursday that reduces the influence of special interests, lobbyist gifts, and cracks down on taxpayer-funded foreign travel. HB 44 passed the legislature after a nearly identical ballot measure was proposed earlier this year. The bill received broad support from Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the legislature. Rumors suggest that lobbyists for the oil industry made a last minute effort against

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwyVJ_-q0mE&feature=youtu.be Video Source: Rebel HQ When it comes to electoral reform right now, there is no hotter topic -- arguably -- than ranked choice voting (RCV). I have covered its use and its growth in popularity extensively on IVN, and momentum for the reform continues to grow. The biggest news came in June when Maine became the first state in the US to use RCV for state and non-presidential federal elections. The numbers indicate that independent vot

FLORIDA - In March 2017, I was asked to assume leadership of the grassroots organization Florida Fair and Open Primaries (FFAOP). The organization was created by Duane Pike, of Tampa, FL in 2012 under another name, but the mission was always to advocate for Florida’s adoption of a top-two open primary. At that time, a couple of events intersected that provided a prime opportunity to build on what Duane had created. I was introduced to John Opdycke, president of Open Primaries, at Independent Vo

I was on a roll. As the Green Party congressional candidate for District 21 in upstate New York (NY-21), I participated in five congressional candidate debates or forums between April and June 2018. The forums originally focused on the June primary with seven then six then five people competing to be the Democratic candidate in the November election. I was already on the Green Party line on the November ballot, yet organizers of the five forums invited me so audiences could hear more points of v

Nearing the two year mark since the shocking 2016 presidential election result devastated both the Democratic and Republican Party power structures, liberal mainstream media journalists are still stuck in the denial stage of the Kübler-Ross model of grief. They were so certain Hillary Clinton would win, the election result they expected was so cemented into their minds as an immutable reality before the election had even taken place, that they could not let go of the perfect world they had crea

Maine became the first state in the nation to use ranked choice voting in statewide elections in June. The historic moment has boosted interest in alternative voting methods that offer better election results and an improved system for choosing elected officials. ALSO READ: Independents Made the Difference in Maine’s Ranked Choice Voting In response to IVN's coverage of Maine ranked choice voting (as well as the growing interest in the reform), a number of other voting methods have been sugges