Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.

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The coronavirus pandemic has already changed how millions of Americans will vote this year, and a new poll makes clear it's also going to change when they vote.

Homelessness has been largely obscured by the pandemic. The issue is receiving attention and affirmation from, of all places, the reality TV show “America’s Got Talent.” A singing group composed of people experiencing homelessness that has made it to the semifinal rounds of the highly rated talent competition. 

Paradise Hill resident Alicia Muhammad says said she loves chatting with her son every other day, but at 33 cents-per-minute — she can’t talk very long. Her son, Reginald Harmon, is incarcerated at the George Bailey Detention Facility in Otay Mesa where inmates must pay to use the phone.

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

We've all heard the famous quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet — "What's in a name?" — which suggests that the name of things do not affect what they really are. But what happens when the thing in question is a crime, and the name given that crime could result in the early release of a criminal?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvMkCE106Wo

‍Mayor‍

San Diego Councilmember Barbara Bry faces state Assemblymember Todd Gloria in the November election for San Diego mayor.  Here’s a list of key endorsements in the race. ‍

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SANDAG, the region's planning board, proposed its 2021 Regional Plan, titled the "5 Big Moves." The agency, which estimates the plan will cost roughly $177 billion over 30 years, are calling the five moves: Complete Corridors, Transit Leaps, Mobility Hubs, Flexible Fleets and the Next OS. 

It seems every week another twist is added to the story of 101 Ash Street. Here’s how the story began.

The city acquired the building in a lease-to-own agreement valued at $72 million in the Fall of 2016. At the time the building was represented in public meetings as being in excellent condition and available for immediate occupancy with minimal work. More than two years later the City found itself paying $18,000 per day for a building that was still not occupied. Worse, the building turned out to be in dramatically poorer condition than thought.

Housing First is a program developed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness that requires that homeless individuals receive stable and permanent housing before they can benefit from other services.

In San Diego, the Housing Commission launched its program in 2014. Since that time the Housing Commission has created nearly 8,500 permanent housing opportunities and approved 761 new housing units. 

The Embarcadero Institute released a report in September titled, "Double Counting in the Latest Housing Needs Assessment."

The acronyms stand for “Yes in my backyard” and “Not in my backyard.”

In an August 2020 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, data shows that people of color were more likely to be impacted by the coronavirus. In fact, cases increased among the Black or African American and non-Hispanic community by 2.6. The same group were also 4.7 times more likely to be hospitalized.