This is definitely one of the more random scientific studies I have seen in a while but it seems to conclude that traffic deaths go up on election day.  Please don't let that stop you from voting

October 1, 1890
Yosemite National Park established

The report released today walks through the direct and indirect positive fiscal impact of the University of California, San Diego on the region. 

September 30, 1955
James Dean dies

On this day in 1955, movie star James Dean dies at age 24 in a car crash on a California highway. Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed "Little Bastard," headed to a car race in Salinas, California, with his mechanic Rolf Wuetherich, when they were involved in a head-on collision with a car driven by a 23-year-old college student named Donald Turnaspeed. Dean was taken to Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:59 p.m. Wuetherich, who was thrown from the car, survived the accident and Turnaspeed escaped with minor injuries. No charges were ever filed against him.

This week we have a special guest blogger—Samantha Fritz—my 12 year old cousin.  Sam is a prolific reader and I really enjoyed her book review of Ana’s Story.  

Anna's Story by Jenna Bush

Anna is a girl whose life has been hard since the day she was born. Living with a deadly disease, living without a mother, and battling all the secrets she has to keep from the world around her. But the worst of it, is that she knows if the world finds these secrets, she will be shunned.

The San Diego tech and biotech cluster offers many advantages to companies...  we seem to hear about companies that are leaving or expanding in other states -- it is great to hear when they choose to expand here.

Cardinal says it will spin off tech business, base it in S.D.

By Terri Somers
STAFF WRITER

September 30, 2008

Bringing a glint of sunshine to an otherwise gloomy day for the economy, Cardinal Health announced yesterday that it will spin off its medical technology business as a separate company based in San Diego.

September 29, 2005
Reporter Judith Miller released from prison

On this day in 2005, New York Times reporter Judith Miller is released from a federal detention center in Alexandria, Virginia, after agreeing to testify in the investigation into the leaking of the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame. Miller had been behind bars since July 6, 2005, for refusing to reveal a confidential source and testify before a grand jury that was looking into the so-called Plame Affair. She decided to testify after the source she had been protecting, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, signed a waiver giving her permission to speak.

Reform is a buzz word in campaigns -- certainly one I use frequently.  This piece by Joel Fox through walks through some of the recent reform proposals and provides links to stories on individual reform ideas. 

September 28, 1941
Ted Williams becomes last player to hit. 400

On this day in 1941, the Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams plays a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics on the last day of the regular season and gets six hits in eight trips to the plate, to boost his batting average to .406 and become the first player since Bill Terry in 1930 to hit .400. Williams, who spent his entire career with the Sox, played his final game exactly 19 years later, on September 28, 1960, at Boston’s Fenway Park and hit a home run in his last time at bat, for a career total of 521 homeruns.

September 27, 1964
Warren Commission report released

The Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is released after a 10-month investigation, concluding that there was no conspiracy in the assassination, either domestic or international, and that Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin, acted alone.