A thrilling victory by a young insurgent candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, against a 20-year incumbent and party boss, US Rep. Joseph Crowley, in the June 26 New York primary seems to be reverberating over state and national politics.

Getting an accurate count of how much Americans spend on healthcare every year and the specific items they purchase, like prescription drugs, is tricky.

Think about it like this. If you are a small business owner or anyone else who itemizes their expenses, you have tough calls to make.

Over the next century San Diego’s population will double to 3 million in the city and 7 million in the county. How will all these people — our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — enjoy our most sacred natural resource — our waterfronts — if we continue to wall them off from public access?

San Diego Bay is now almost completely inaccessible. Think about it: where can you dangle your feet in the bay?

Mission Bay is rapidly following suit.

The odds are stacked dramatically in your favor that your child does not have Jordan’s Syndrome. The exception to that is if your child has unexplained developmental disabilities. And if your child has developmental disabilities, you would like her to be diagnosed with Jordan’s Syndrome. Because that would put Joe Lang on your team.

A Determined Father

Joe Lang has the "Father of the Year" award nailed down. Frankly, he probably has little credible competition for Lifetime Achievement Award for a Father.

DENVER, CO. - The state of Colorado's first open primary since the reform passed in 2016 was a massive success for independent voters and the state's county clerks.

The Associated Press reports that of the 293,153 ballots cast by unaffiliated voters in the primary this year, only 2.4 percent of the ballots were rejected as invalid because the voter cast one for both the Republican and the Democratic Party's primary.

I miss Anthony Kennedy already. Other people have written eloquently about Kennedy’s contributions to the Supreme Court. After the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor (whom I miss, too), Kennedy became the swing vote in case after case.

When a seminal case was argued before the high court, Kennedy was the justice who had to be persuaded. When a 5-4 decision came down, Kennedy was usually that crucial fifth vote. Sometimes he voted with the more liberal wing of the court; sometimes he voted with the four conservatives.

LANE COUNTY, ORE. - A new voting method is close to appearing on the November ballot in Lane County, Oregon. County election officials certified more than the 11,506 signatures needed to qualify STAR Voting for the 2018 general election. It must be reviewed by the Lane County Counsel to ensure it qualifies as a single-subject amendment to officially be on the ballot.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has garnered a swell of well-deserved attention after the 28-year-old socialist democrat's stunning upset defeat of a ten-term incumbent (US Rep. Joe Crowley) in the closed Democratic primary for NY-14. The senior congressman chairs the House Democratic Caucus and was considered a strong contender to replace Nancy Pelosi's position within the party.

ILLINOIS - Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kash Jackson released a statement Saturday in support of implementing ranked choice voting and proportional representation in Illinois.

"Americans deserve the opportunity to be as in-control of their personal voting as possible. When multiple candidates are ranked on a single ballot it mainstreams the voting process, eliminates the need for run-off elections, and gives voters more say in their representation," Jackson states.