This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us

California’s early 20th century reformers sought to thwart an obviously corrupt political system that benefited entrenched interests and ignored the larger public.

Their reforms included ways for voters to bypass the system through direct ballot box action — the initiative, the recall and the referendum.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The New York Times and has been republished on IVN with permission from the author.

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Incredible investigative work1 by Dorian Hargrove and the NBC7 investigative team laid out how City of San Diego officials allowed a questionable land deal to go through that generated significant profits for politically connected and influential special interests while causing taxpayers to waste hundreds of millions of dollars.

A stinging report issued by California’s state auditor today slams the University of California for a culture of privileging wealth and access over merit in its admissions process, galvanizing concern that talented low-income students and students of color are displaced by less qualified but better connected students.

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us

COVID-19 has presented our society with a public health crisis, but a larger problem exists if we don’t act now. Childhood domestic violence is on the rise as a result of the stresses caused by the pandemic.

"The Extra Point with Jeff Marston" is aired weekly on Mightier 1090am from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday. In this episode, Marston talks to Fox 5 sports director Troy Hirsch and KUSI sports reporter Maddison Sinclair about the concerns surrounding Aztecs playing in Carson. Plus, we talk to local seniors about how they are doing during the pandemic.

Bankers Hill resident Rebecca Mitsingas lives just 5 miles away from her mother, Suzanne Papp, yet she misses her. She went from seeing her 77-year-old mother daily to rarely now because of the coronavirus. 

“Typically, I would see her almost every day,” Mitsingas said. “We would do dinner together at least once a week. Since COVID, it’s been hard because I miss her even though she lives close by.”

This is an independent opinion. Have an opinion of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us

We have all had to make significant adjustments this year. And like most of you, my life has been dramatically impacted by this pandemic. Although I cannot advise on every subject, there is one thing I am fiercely aware of and that is the importance of good oral care.

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us

It’s not often that a serious book about politics is written as a graphic novel, but that is what author and activist Daniel G. Newman has done with "Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy."

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Lori Thiel and Jennifer Avina join host T.J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss how the League of Women Voters is trying to make a non-partisan difference in the 2020 elections.

Ms. Thiel is president of the League of Women Voters of San Diego. Ms. Avina is an attorney and a member of the League, who currently coordinates the San Diego chapter’s Youth Internship program and the "101 Days of Action" campaign that provides daily activities related to the upcoming election.