Social Equity

This spring, as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted campus life for college students across California, UC San Diego sophomore Kayla Monnette had trouble sleeping at night.

The stress of moving to online classes, figuring out how to safely buy food during quarantine, and worrying about the well-being of her immunocompromised family manifested in what Monnette described as persistent anxiety. Not knowing how many students on campus might have contracted coronavirus, she said, added to her fears that she could become infected.

An associate warden of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility resigned last Friday — days after seven officers were attacked by inmates, an incident the leader described as a "lack of responsiveness" by his superiors.

I am an armchair psychologist. I had planned to go to graduate school to become a therapist, but my divorce, death of my mom and coming out as a lesbian (all at once) – derailed my plans. But I remain fascinated by why people do what they do, why some thrive and others do not, and why some change for the better and others get stuck. This is what led me to San Diego resident Latham Staples.

This is an independent opinion. Want to respond? Write your own commentary! Email hoa@ivn.us.

“Suffrage is not a right. It is a privilege that may or may not be granted. Politics is no place for a woman, consequently the privilege should not be granted to her.”

It’s crunch month for California legislators who promised sweeping reforms in response to the police killing of George Floyd and the protests his death unleashed.

Yet some social justice advocates doubt that politicians’ stomachs for change are as strong as their rhetoric: A Senate bill to excommunicate corrupt or misbehaving cops may be denied a floor vote, while another measure to involve the attorney general in certain deadly force investigations is gaining new opposition from those who say it won’t do much if signed into law.

This is an independent opinion. Want to respond? Write your own commentary! Email hoa@ivn.us.

Gilbert Polanco is described as a man who was “proud of his job” and represented "the best of CDCR.” After working at San Quentin State Prison for three decades, Polanco became infected with COVID-19 and died Aug. 9 — two weeks before his 30th wedding anniversary. He was 55.

This is an independent opinion. Want to respond? Write your own commentary! Email hoa@ivn.us.

The leader of the NAACP’s San Diego chapter on Friday offered La Mesa help in selecting its new police chief in the wake of its current chief, Walt Vasquez, announcing his retirement Thursday.

Prior to Governor Newsom’s announcement of state assistance for California’s immigrant and undocumented workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, TPR spoke with San Diego City Council President, Georgette Gomez, on the critical value of providing accessible and factual information and resources to the city’s diverse constituents during this unprecedented public health crisis.