By Joe Gandelman, Editor-In-Chief, The Moderate Voice

Reprinted with permission from The Moderate Voice, a member of the San Diego Online News Association.

April 19, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Bill O’Reilly will no longer be employed at Fox News, the network’s parent company 21st Century Fox said in a statement Wednesday. The decision comes after allegations of him sexually harassing female colleagues prompted protests outside network headquarters and a mass exodus from advertisers.

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order requiring federal agencies to buy American products and prioritize using American workers. In an effort to jumpstart the U.S. economy, the President aims to tighten up existing waivers to require approval by agency heads for making non-American procurements, GovExec reports.

East County News Service

April 17, 2017 (Sacramento) -- A California bill aims to crack down on profiteering by private charter schools that have been pocketing public funds while providing a poor quality education to students, Cal Matters reports.

East County News Service

April 16, 2017 (El Cajon) – El Cajon residents will have the opportunity to provide input on draft district maps for City Council elections.  A community workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 18 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the El Cajon Police Station community room, 100 Civic Center Way in El Cajon for input from the public.

East County News Service

April 16, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Across the nation, tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities held Tax Day protests on April 15^th – calling on President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns.  San Diego event organizers estimate that several thousands took to the streets locally, also urging Congress to subpoena Trump’s tax returns.

East County News Service

April 15, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. on Thursday dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed to destroy caves used by ISIS fighters in the Achin area of Afghanistan, the Pentagon confirms.  Some Afghan officials estimate that as many as 94 ISIS fighters and four commanders may have been killed, with no civilian deaths reported, according to NBC news.

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Neil Gorsuch begins his duties this week on the Supreme Court after the Senate invoked the ‘nuclear option’ to change long-standing Senate rules and block a filibuster by Democrats. All but two Democrats had agreed to vote against confirming Gorsuch, including California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

East County News Service

April 9, 2017 (San Diego) -- San Diego nonprofit attorney and business owner Matt Strabone has announced his candidacy for Assessor / Recorder / County Clerk centered around ethics and improved records access.

“Ours is a campaign of new ideas and new energy. We will ensure that the Assessor/Recorder/Clerk’s office serves all people of our county equally and treats everyone fairly," he said. "From impartial and fair property tax assessment to ensuring that you can quickly and easily access your own public records and documents, our primary commitment will always be to provide excellent customer service to everyone,” Strabone states.

La Mesa to vote April 11 on resolution to oppose AB 805

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Elected leaders in numerous local cities are gearing up to oppose a state bill that critics warn weaken the voices and voting power of smaller cities on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), as well as the Metropolitan Transit System and North County Transit District.  The bill gives more power to the city of San Diego, which critics contend will mean not enough clout by representatives from the county or other cities in the region to pass, block, or even place items on the agenda.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) -- Reps. Darrell Issa, former Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, have introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Fair Chance Act that would give formerly incarcerated Americans a fair chance at obtaining employment with the federal government.  Senator Booker introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) -- Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) marked Equal Pay Day on Tuesday by announcing her new legislation that will require large companies to publicly disclose data on the gender pay gap between their male and female employees. Assembly Bill 1209, the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act, has been named a top priority for the Stronger California women’s advocacy coalition for the 2017 legislative session.   

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) - As President Trump calls for dramatic cuts to life-saving medical research, Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53) led a bipartisan group of House members in an effort to increase the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Davis’s letter to House appropriators urges $36 billion for medical research and was signed by 206 members of the House. Trump is proposing a nearly 20 percent cut in NIH funding.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Marc Levin - Ivanka and Pato, CC BY 2.0

April 5, 2017 (Washington D.C.)—Tuesday was Equal Pay Day—94 days into the year, signifying how many more days the average woman must work to earn as much as a man.

Ironically, Ivanka Trump, special assistant to her father, President Donald Trump tweeted, “#EqualPayDay is a reminder that women deserve equal pay for equal work. We must work to close the gender pay gap!”  Yet days earlier, her father signed an executive order that rolled back 14 protections for women workers –including the Fair Pay order signed by then-President Barack Obama.

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) - The Constitution’s First Amendment protects free speech – but not if that speech incites violence.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump once said he’d like to punch a protester in the face.  And at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky in March last year, he pointed at African-American protesters and repeatedly told the crowd to “Get them out.”

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Republican member of House Ways and Means Committee, joins Rep. Earl Blumenauer as lead sponsor of tax reform bill

East County News Service

March 30, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives this week introduced seven measures to advance cannabis policy at the federal level. The bills covered a broad range of issues related to resolving tension between state and federal cannabis laws.