Tag: public policy

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 9, 202511:54 am

Makeshift Food Bank

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history means millions of people are not receiving federal funds for basics—you know, things like food. People employed by Uncle Sam are either furloughed or working without pay (and delayed only, hopefully). Don’t get me going about families who count on SNAP benefits and won’t receive them for November.

To the Congress, I say this: Do your job! Pass a damn budget. Stop pissing away days whining over line items like expiring subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Agree to punt! Fund the damn government for X number of days and fight among yourselves meantime about a final budget. Don’t punish people while you bicker like kids in the schoolyard or, worse, an angry soon-to-be-divorced couple gouging one another in spiteful rages over splitting assets (or assigning child custody).

Living by Joe WilcoxNov 6, 202510:23 pm

This Use to Be Grass

The homeless are increasingly pariahs, across San Diego County. The public policy is discourage and displace, rather than meaningfully address fundamental causes. The Featured Image and companion reveal one tactic: Piling jagged rocks where until recently there was grass, punctuated by shrub-like trees.

But the homeless would somewhat frequently hangout or campout on the grass. Honestly, the rocks are more unsightly than the homeless tents. Grass is great! We need more. The city destroys a lovely green space to deter the so-called unhoused? Solve the problem! Don’t create one as band-aid for another. The rocks look weird, and they are weapons. Lots of damage can be done with rocks like these.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 202510:44 pm

Eighteen Years Ago Today…

On this date, in 2007, the Wilcox family arrived in San Diego. We had left the Washington, DC-metro area to be close to my aged father-in-law, who luckily found us an apartment one block from his place. Our presence meant that in January 2017 he could pass way at age 95 in his own bed, rather than in some sterile institution.

The city is hardly recognizable from the one we moved to. San Diego seemed sleepy, small town-like for the size. Communities were tight knit, even with the massive number of renters; congestion was a rare occurrence on the roadways; neighborhood streets were wide; housing architecture was surprisingly varied and charming; and homeowners kept attractive green spaces, among many other attractive attributes, with the three-summer season weather being among them.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 17, 20258:57 pm

You Can Say It’s Not Tariffs, But…

A few weeks ago, we restocked the bulk beef burger patties we typically buy from Costco Business Center. Near the end of August, the foodstuff was sold out (it never is), so I suspected that the warehouse store no longer carried the item. Today, the patties are back—and for shockingly higher sale price.

Backtracking, when we started buying the 10-pound burger pack during the last decade, Business Costco charged $29.99, which was a good deal compared to competing choices. Fat content was higher (78 percent lean), but savings mattered more to the Wilcoxes. During the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 mandates era, price rose to $31.99 and then to $33.99. During 2025, the price continuously crept up—reaching $39.99 a few weeks ago. Currently: $49.99! Ten bucks more than in August!

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 15, 202510:17 pm

The Rally That Wasn’t Much

The majority of political email automatically goes to the junk folder. I never designated the status, choosing instead to let Gmail haul the messages away by default. But one from Amy Reichert of Restore San Diego plopped into my inbox this morning. “Stand with us as we call on Governor Newsom to reject AB 495”, she wrote. A rally was scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT at San Diego Unified School District offices about 10 minutes’ walk (thanks to traffic lights) from my apartment. I had to go.

Depending on who you speak to, AB 495 either protects immigrant kids threatened by ICE raids or puts them at risk because the law would let seemingly anyone intercede and grab your children. The thinking there is that California is about to enable anyone to legally snatch kids—ah, for their protection. They could belong to non-immigrant families and be taken using other justifications.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 202510:09 pm

The Rally at 1526 Meade Avenue

The city’s obsession with adding more housing shocks by the day. Cute, historic homes are leveled and replaced by multi-level residential buildings that are typically rentals (no condos for you, Bud) and explicitly turn out to be so-called micro-units (tiny space, big monthly payment). These new builds tower over single-family homes and/or two-story apartments/condos, dramatically obliterating local character and robbing existing homes of airflow and sunlight.

Justification: Housing shortage. That’s a lie. According to Zillow, there are currently 18,499 rentals available across San Diego County. For sale: 8,101 homes. That sure looks like plenty of inventory to me. According to Point2Homes, which business is helping people find places to rent, there are 6,142 “housing units” in my community of University Heights. Zillow says 279 of them are currently for rent; but not all list on the service, so the number should be higher.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 22, 20257:21 pm

Park and Fine

A strange, dystopian drama of greed and malice plays out in San Diego—as the mayor and city council seemingly punish citizens for failing to approve a ballot measure last November that would have raised the local sales tax. The taste of recently reaped parking revenues, from a new ordinance, has the city chasing cash like sharks drawn to blood in the water.

On Jan. 1, 2025, but not fully enforced for another two months, a new statewide daylighting law went into effect that technically prohibits parking vehicles any closer than 20 feet from a crosswalk. But practically, any intersection where someone can cross applies. Initially, San Diego meter men and women handed out $77.50 tickets—more than 4,000 in less than the first 60 days. The, ah, program was so successful that the city quickly raised the fine to $117.50.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 24, 20258:50 pm

ICE ICE Baby

Status as a super-sanctuary county, proximity to the Mexican border, and flow of immigrants—whether or not illegal—makes San Diego a target for immigration enforcement and fear of it. ICE raids flash across social media posts faster than raging flood waters. Citizens are quick to protest and news stations nearly as fast to cover arrests as they occur and the aftermath that follows.

The sign in the Featured Image is one of many posted on utility poles in my neighborhood of University Heights and adjacent Hillcrest and North Park. Presumably, they are all over the city. But I haven’t looked far enough to see. Now you know what to do should armed masked men jump out of nondescript vehicles outside your residence or workplace.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 2, 20259:53 pm

Don’t Come Around Here No More

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon news story “When did America’s public libraries become homeless encampments?” from Conservative Blaze Media. I thought: Yeah. Because that has been the situation with the carport at San Diego Public Library University Heights branch for years. I often wondered why homeless men (mostly) and (fewer) women chose the location.

While I link to the story, published on May 31, 2025, you can’t read it without a subscription. C`mon Blaze? You can’t give readers a couple free reads a month? O.W. Root writes: “Across the United States, a tragic number of public libraries have turned into daytime homeless shelters and temporary asylums for the mentally ill, the insane, and generally disturbed”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 20259:27 pm

The State of the Union

The U.S. Federal government is undergoing dramatic transformation, as President Donald Trump unleashes a nearly daily torrent of executive orders. Entire agencies are being gutted and/or face dissolution.

The poster child, so to speak, is U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which by statute delivers humanitarian aid across the globe. On Jan. 20, 2025, the Commander-in-Chief “implemented a 90-day freeze on foreign assistance“, while the organization’s future is being evaluated. Meanwhile, firings and other actions shake up FBI, Dept. Education, and other agencies.

Living by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 202510:09 pm

One Crazy Inauguration Day

A little after Noon, today, Donald Trump became President for the second time—47th and previously 45th. During his acceptance speech he promised to immediately secure the Southern Border, asserted there are two genders—male and female (and I agree)—pledged to reduce inflation and create jobs, and thanked God.

As he stopped by different venues during the day’s events, he signed a rash of executive actions (e.g. orders), which include: ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the Federal government; recognizing biological sex, not gender identity; designating international cartels (think Mexican) as terrorist organizations; and withdrawing the United States from the Paris (Climate) Agreement and World Health Organization, among a slew of others.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 17, 20249:11 pm

Thirsty?

As the November 5th Presidential election approached, I focused on preparing for emergencies—such as protests or infrastructure attacks, regardless the winner (or loser). I stocked up medical supplies and took trauma training for massive bleeding incidents. My wife and I majorly topped off food and water supplies, while I purchased some additional items, particularly for dealing with power outages.

Water bothered me most. What if some crazy person poisoned the water supply, or there was unexpected contamination incident—such as agricultural or industrial runoff or more Mexican spillage. Yikes, cyberattack? The solution that made most sense: Water-filtration system, for purifying the liquid from almost any source.