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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

One of my cherished memories is camping with my husband and son in Yosemite. The beauty and serenity of the park are breathtaking. So, the news that it is at the center of one of the largest wildfires in California history is devastating. At this point,...

As a Californian, I am thrilled to discover there is actually one business our bureaucrats won't over-regulate. Sadly, it is medical marijuana farming. However, the lessons it offers about the effects of selective reinforcement of regulations are enlightening. In the Merced Sun-Star, Dan Morain describes how marijuana...

I am happy to report the San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who has been accused by 17 separate women of sexual harassment incidents, has announced his resignation. The San Diego City Council voted 7-0 to accept Mayor Bob Filner's resignation. Filner will step down on August...

As a co-founder of the first San Diego Tea Party group, I appreciate grassroots activism that lights fires under our politicos. I would like to feature two new citizen-organized protests and update my Legal Insurrection friends on the local one I have been closely following. They...

There has been an important ruling on a court case involving the construction of California's budget-busting high speed train. And provisions written into the ballot measure approved by voters when they agreed to the train may save them from its unintended consequences. A Sacramento judge ruled...

San Diegans have been gathering together for a number of events with Mayor Bob Filner as their central theme. However, the messages for Filner, who has now been accused by 16 women publicly of sexual harassment,  have been strikingly different. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="360"] From San Diego...

Professor Jacobson is right: With the acquittal of Egypt's supposedly evil dictator Hosni Mubarak, we’re almost back to square one. Square one minus many national treasures of unsurpassed beauty and historical importance, that is. I have been following the nearly unreported news of the plundering of Egypt's...

I have noticed some of the comments on the pieces regarding San Diego's scandal-ridden mayor, Bob Filner, saying that the news is a distraction from items that really impact citizens, and that the women were consenting adults who didn't complain...

Detroit is poised to become the largest American city to go bankrupt. So what are politicians to do with city workers whose votes were guaranteed with the promise of lavish pension perks like free healthcare? Obamacare exchanges, of course! The retirees that cities like Detroit are trying to...

Some Californians are giving new meaning to the phrase "surfing the web". Large-scale rioting in the wake of the George Zimmerman trial verdict failed to materialize as predicted; however, after hosting a national surfing competition this weekend, a California beach town was the site of a...

In addition to the George Zimmerman trial, one case that Americans have been following closely is that of Cleveland's notorious sex deviant and kidnapper, Ariel Castro. To avoid the death penalty for his crimes, Castro just made a deal that includes life in prison...

As an amateur historian, I often like watching old news and documentary clips; via LA Observed, I came across a fascinating one featuring another metropolitan area: The background: This public domain film narrated by then-mayor Jerome P. Cavanaugh was made in 1965 to promote Detroit. The city...