Jill Biden from a previous visit. Photo by Chris Stone First lady Jill Biden is scheduled to spend about three hours in the Los Angeles area Friday for the third fundraiser for her husband’s reelection campaign in two days in two states. Biden is scheduled to arrive at Hollywood Burbank Airport early Friday afternoon, speak at a fundraiser at an undisclosed location, then fly to Phoenix for what her office described as an early evening political event. Biden spoke at fundraisers Thursday in Portland, Oregon, and Kentfield, a San Francisco suburb in Marin County. President Joe Biden arrived in ..read more

San Diego Housing Federation headquarters in an affordable housing development in North Park. Courtesy SDHF The San Diego Housing Federation said Thursday its latest research shows that the county is short 134,500 affordable housing units as wages fail to keep up with rising costs. “The need for affordable housing in San Diego is greater than ever,” said Stephen Russell, president and CEO of the federation. “Today’s data shows that investment from all levels of government is helping, but now is not the time to back down.” Russell called on the city to rework its latest budget to prioritize fun ..read more

Pro-Palestine Protesters at USC. Courtesy OnScene.tV In lieu of its traditional main stage commencement ceremony, which was canceled amid campus pro-Palestine protests and an attempted encampment that led to 93 arrests, USC will host a party of sorts for graduates Thursday evening at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The “Trojan Family Graduate Celebration” will start at 8:30 p.m. University officials said the event will include “drone shows, fireworks, surprise performances, the Trojan Marching Band, and a special gift just for the Class of 2024.” Each graduate was eligible to receive up to six ..read more

Glock semi-automatic pistols are displayed for sale at Firearms Unknown, a gun store in Oceanside. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday upheld a San Diego federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging California’s law that permits gun owners’ information to be shared with researchers studying gun violence. The lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of gun owners — including three from San Diego County — sought to block enforcement of AB 173, which amended state law to allow disclosure of gun owners’ personal information to researchers. The gun owners al ..read more

Asylum-seeking migrants from India wait by the border wall in Jacumba Hot Springs. REUTERS/Go Nakamura The Biden administration is set to tighten access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border via a new regulation that could be issued as soon as Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter said, in a targeted move aimed at reducing illegal crossings. The regulation would require migrants to be assessed at an initial asylum screening stage to see whether they should be barred from asylum and quickly deported, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal government planning. They ..read more

Jordan Gascon has been executive director of the local GOP for nearly eight years. Times of San Diego photo illuistraton Only a month after the county’s Republican leader left her chair position, the local GOP’s full-time staffer also is headed out the door. Jordan Gascon’s letter of resignation. (PDF) Jordan Gascon, executive director of the Republican Party of San Diego County, has given notice he’s leaving to take a job in the office of county recorder-clerk-assessor Jordan Marks, a fellow Republican. In a resignation letter to new chair Corey Gustafson and the Central Committee, Gascon tha ..read more

A commercial airliner takes off into an evening sky as it departs San Diego. Mike Blake/REUTERS U.S. House and Senate negotiators have agreed to revise language in an aviation reform bill to ensure quick refunds for airline passengers whose flights are canceled and who are not seeking alternative flights. On April 24, the U.S. Transportation Department finalized new rules that will later this year require automatic cash refunds for canceled flights when passengers choose not to take a new flight. A bipartisan proposal in Congress released last week said passengers must request the refunds ..read more

A member of the state Assembly’s security detail on guard on the chamber’s floor at the Capitol in Sacramento. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters Last spring, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan received a letter calling for him to be lynched because of a bill he introduced to change how ballot measures are presented to California voters. It’s not the only time he’s been subjected to threats or harassment. Bryan said he and fellow Assemblymember Mia Bonta received hundreds of threats when they didn’t vote in a committee on a bill increasing penalties for child ..read more

The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo credit: Screen shot, CBS8 San Diego via YouTube Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, on Friday called for nearly $300 million in additional funding to support ongoing efforts to clean up cross-border sewage. Peters, along with Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, led the effort to submit a bipartisan request for $278 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission’s (IBWC) construction budget. This represents a $200 million increase over President Joe Biden’s request and is in addition to the $156 million Peters s ..read more

Moderator Clara Evans (left) of Rady Children’s Hospital and Reps. Darrell Issa, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas. Photo by Chris Jennewein Members of the San Diego Congressional delegation called Friday for bipartisan immigration reform, but agreed that nothing substantial can happen until after the November election. “We have a lot of people who are showing up wanting to work. We should have a process that allows them to do that,” said Rep. Juan Vargas, whose district stretches along the border into Imperial County. But he said the “well is poisoned” because former Presi ..read more