Laurie Leonard (top) was one of the founders of Mama’s Kitchen in 1990. Although the organization originally was designed for those suffering from AIDS-related illnesses, it grew to provide nutrition for any critically ill person who qualifies. Last year, more than 375,000 meals were delivered to 1,327 clients. (Courtesy Mama’s Kitchen)

Regardless of how you’ve learned about the food-delivery organization, what’s most important is realizing all the good it does on a daily basis for San Diego County residents affected by HIV/AIDS and cancer—who often are too ill to meet their individual nutritional needs.

The organization was launched in 1990 at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

A group of volunteers from the AIDS Assistance Fund, who ran a small grocery store for low-income people with AIDS, discovered patients were dying from malnutrition long before their immune systems were overcome by AIDS-related infections.

                                        

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The restaurant at 30th and Upas streets opened in 1961 and its “age is showing,” says a Jack in the Box spokesman. (Christy Scannell/SDUN)

The project calls for a 2,491-square-foot building—about 500 square feet larger than the existing structure—and seeks code deviations to allow 24-hour operation, a drive-through and reduced parking. Built in 1961, the restaurant is currently open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., including a drive-through open 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. that was added prior to establishment of the location’s city code.

The deviations require Jack in the Box to apply for a Planned Development Permit, a discretionary application that will ultimately be decided by the city’s Planning Commission. Meanwhile, the proposal is being evaluated by the city’s Development Services Department, which issued its first Cycle Issues report on the project Aug. 13, finding 22 outstanding review issues, including the need for a number of studies on impacts such as traffic, greenhouse-gas emissions and water quality.

                                        

After passing the appropriations committee and receiving support from several environmental groups, the California State Senate failed last week to pass a bill that would ban single-use plastic bags.

"This is a sad day for California," Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) said in a press release. "Communities across the state were waiting for the state to adopt a uniform, statewide ban on single-use bags before they adopt their own ordinances.”

The Senate voted 21-14 on AB 1998, the bag ban bill. The bill had faced opposition from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which invested heavily in ads arguing that the bill would kills jobs.

“We congratulate Senate members for discarding a costly bill that provides no real solutions to California’s litter problem and would have further jeopardized California’s already strained economy,” said Tim Shestek, senior director of State Affairs for the ACC in a press release.

The ACC argued that the bill would cost the state thousands of jobs and $4 million in new state bureaucracy.

                                        

Many people have questioned whether the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly referred to as the economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, actually created any real jobs.  Well, the answer is “yes,” it did in San Diego County.

Out of the $787 billion in stimulus funds, $53 billion went to education and training, of which $3.45 billion was designed for job training.  In San Diego County, the ARRA stimulus funds enabled the San Diego Workforce Partnership to offer two new programs through three training subcontractors:

• Manpower – covering North and East County
• Occupational Training Services - covering the San Diego Metro area
• Comprehensive Training Systems – covering south Metro and South County

These program are designed to help laid-off workers and unemployed persons find work and help employers find the qualified workers they need, while providing financial reimbursement to help cover training costs.  The training options are summarized below:

On-the-Job-Training (OJT)

The OJT training program is designed to help businesses hire and train persons who do not have sufficient experience and knowledge in the jobs for which they are being hired.  The employer’s training expenses will be paid as a percentage of the wages the new hire earns during the contracted training period.  Program guidelines include: