Here are five things that caught my attention!
Addressing homelessness: Addressing our homelessness problems isn’t going to happen overnight and it definitely isn’t going to be solved by one person. But if you caught our recent State of the County address, you know that we are taking an all-of-the-above approach to addressing homelessness, including doing everything we can, with all willing partners, to construct new shelters, continuing a complete re-imagining of how we provide substance abuse and mental health services, and a new $10 million incentive to bring new cities to the table in the effort to meet these challenges head-on. More to come!
Truth still matters: The horrific shooting in Sacramento led to the familiar response—heartbreak for normal folks and political posturing by others. Sadly, the political posturing of the right was rooted in a lie. The alleged gunman wasn’t released early due to recent criminal justice reforms. He wasn’t let out on bail over the objections of a DA. None of that was accurate. This LA Times piece walks through the truth surrounding the politicization of a tragedy.
Just take the win: Bad stuff and needless irritations are a sad reality of life…and often for no discernable reason–someone cutting you off in traffic to remain stuck…in the same traffic. LaQuendra Edwards was at the grocery store when a stranger bumped into her, knocking her into the lottery machine and pressing a button for a ticket she had no intention of buying. He didn’t even apologize. Her unwanted lottery ticket won her a cool $10 million dollars. Take that life!
Deeper dive (literally): This week's “deeper dive” is a great profile in National Geographic about Jacques Cousteau, best known for his films and TV shows about ocean exploration, but also the co-inventor of the “aqua-lung” in the early 1940s. This device, now known as self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) has opened the world of exploration to regular folks! A great profile on a great inventor!
Back in Washington DC: In the Obama days I spent a fair amount of time in our nation's capital. But I have not been back since Trump was elected. This week, I made the trip and it was wonderful. Full schedule of meetings advocating for San Diego County and of course swinging by the people's house with our new President!!!!
