Summer is here, and kids have time on their hands. That could mean hours of unsupervised internet use while parents are working. It’s been estimated that 95% of teens aged 13 to 17 use social media, and that can include younger children as well. 40% of children ages 8 to 12 report they use social media despite age restrictions.

Last week, a rally of over two hundred people opposed to placement of a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) in a rural Poway neighborhood was held at Garden Road Park. Fortunately, Mayor Steve Vaus received a call from the Director of State Hospitals just prior to the start of the rally announcing that the placement had been withdrawn. The rally instantly turned into a victory celebration.

A number of new laws passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor have gone into effect this year. New laws that went into effect July 1st:

Recently, at a ceremony in the Capitol, I was honored to recognize Shannon Keith, President and Founder of the Beagle Freedom Project, along with volunteer Melina Shirley, to recognize their tireless efforts to save the lives of countless dogs, cats and other animals in laboratories.  This extraordinary organization is the world’s leading advocate for rescuing and rehoming animals used in experimental research.

The main state budget bill passed prior to the June 15th constitutional deadline, and the Governor will have until June 30th to sign it into law (and use his line item veto pen). But many trailer bills that fund specific state programs were still being voted on last week.

For over 10,000 years, the Luiseño people have lived in the San Luis Rey Valley. Historically, their villages extended along the coastline, and inland along the San Luis Rey River. The largest recorded village was known as Topomai, located in what is now Camp Pendleton. Other historic villages to the east included Páume (Pauma) and Palé (Pala).

Last week, the Legislature passed the Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 -2025. The Governor will have until June 30 to sign the budget, which goes into effect July 1st.  Over the coming weeks/months, a series of trailer bills to fund specific programs must be passed, and since the Governor has line-item veto powers, additional programs may still be cut.  

As with so many issues involving medical research and healthcare, San Diego County is ground zero in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease.

This year, the “House of Origin Deadline” was May 24th, the final day for bills to pass the house in which they were first introduced - either the Assembly or the Senate.  Any bills that failed to pass by the 24th have died.

California’s gas taxes are the highest in the nation, and they are set to go even higher. Most of you probably know that we have yearly, built in gas tax increases, and they are scheduled to go up by another two cents per gallon on July 1st.