Mass deportations ensnaring service members, veterans

Our top Sunday long read is about a topic very close to my heart: deported service members and veterans. I was a border reporter for many years (and never let anyone forget it), and came into contact with the deported veterans during the course of my work. The United States, contrary to what many people – including Americans – think, does not offer automatic citizenship for joining its military. This has been an issue since the Obama administration at least, but it is being supercharged in the time of Trump.

Our lead story is also interesting for another, more personal reason: It’s by a former intern of ours, Hannah Psalma Ramirez. She does a great job, too. Check it out.

Also, lest you forget about it for even a moment, voter pamphlets are arriving at households for the redistricting proposition. The Prop. 50 election is Nov. 4 – just a little over a month away.

Speaking of the year getting away and just flying by, you know we’re approaching Halloween season when the days begin to get cooler, leaves start dropping, and zombies come out for their annual shuffle. Check out our story about the Thriller Zombie Party Bus below for more.

Finally, I was touched to see that veteran surfer Eric “Bird” Huffman is among those inducted into the San Diego Surfing Hall of Fame this year. I don’t mean to single him out in particular, and I don’t even know him personally, but I come from a surfing family on one side and a radio family on the other, so I feel as though I’ve known Bird my whole life. If you grew up listening to the radio here in San Diego, you probably know Bird’s voice too; he’s done the surfing reports for as long as I can remember.

Bird joined Rob Machado, Debbie Gordon, Gary Linden, Jim Kempton, Bob Penuelas, Sandy Ordille, the Sunset Cliffs Surfing Association, MITSVEN Surfboards, and Witt Rowlett’s Carlsbad Pipelines. Congratulations to all the new inductees on their well-deserved recognition!

Thoughts? Opinions? Let us know what you think by emailing news@timesofsandiego.com.