Susan and Gregg are in conversation about his historical novel THE DEATH OF US ALL Inspired by the life of Sister Dorothy Stang, research in writing an historical novel, the critical environmental situation in the Amazon and more.
FIRST TIME AUTHOR PENS BOOK ON NUN ASSASSINATED IN THE AMAZON
Sister Dorothy Stang dedicated 40 years of her life striving to save the Amazon rainforest and stop the atrocities inflicted upon Brazil’s indigenous peoples. These efforts ultimately cost Dorothy her life when she was brutally murdered by contract killers at age 73. Already being hailed as a masterwork in storytelling, Gregg Brandalise’s first book – The Death of Us All – follows Sister Dorothy’s narrative from early childhood when she knew her life would be dedicated to the service of God. Embracing her purpose, she spent decades working tirelessly to combat corruption, subjugation, and deforestation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR______
With almost 50 years in the entertainment industry, as a musician and recording artist, Gregg Brandalise has won many awards, including Emmy, Wildscreen Panda Award (Green Oscar), and Telly, for his music compositions, songwriting, and sound design. He has recorded the likes of Louise Hay, Tony Robbins, Matthew McConaughey and many other well-known personalities.
Born and raised in Southern California, Gregg received a BA from San Diego State University majoring in Creative Writing and Music. An Adventure Scientist, Eagle Scout, and environmentalist, he maintains local hiking trails, volunteers for the La Jolla Playhouse Partners, and has provided music programs for the local elementary school.
Gregg currently resides in Poway, CA, where he and his wife, Christie, enjoy the bliss of retirement and being grandparents.
The award-winning burger from Isleta Grill (Photo: by Andi Murphy)–Native America Calling Website
NATIVE AMERICA CALLING M-F 12-1pm
WEDNESDAY NEWS: The Menu: Troubling wild rice trend, heirloom Cherokee apples, and a prize-winning New Mexico burger
An unassuming café on Isleta Pueblo just won one of the most sought-after culinary recognitions in New Mexico. Isleta Grill is this year’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge Champion for their frybread version of a regional delicacy. In northern Wisconsin, this year’s wild rice yields are low. The state Department of Natural Resources blames wind damage and heavy rainfall from a series of strong storms. It’s part of a pattern of diminished wild rice harvests in recent years. Cherokees cross-bred and cultivated apple varieties when they lived in the southeast U.S., but when the federal government forced a majority of Cherokees to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), they left their orchards behind. Now one cultural group is reviving those lost varieties of apples along with the history that goes with it. These are among the topics we’ll hear about on The Menu, a special feature of Native America Calling on Indigenous food sovereignty and stories with Andi Murphy. GUESTS Leticia Romero (Isleta Pueblo), owner of the Isleta Grill Esiban Parent (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe and Purépecha descent), Manoomin Wiidookaage for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission Amber Allen (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), project coordinator at the Noquisi Initiative Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of the Noquisi Initiative
Chris Ernest Nelson is a poet, painter, and historian. He is a graduate of San Diego State University, and taught history and art for 27 years at Mount Miguel High School, in Spring Valley, CA. He has lived in San Diego since 1959, and presently resides in Golden Hill.
Nelson’s original history of the 1939 election contest over food-stamps for the elderly, “The Battle for Ham and Eggs,” appears in the Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1992 and is cited by Professor Kevin Starr in his definitive history of California, The Dream Endures.
Nelson was named Author of the Month, November 2018, by the San Diego Public Library for his book HARVEST the poetry of Chris Ernest Nelson, which is now available in an updated and expanded sixth edition. Nelson reads his poetry regularly at local poetry venues, and you can see all of his work on his blog: chrisernestnelson.wordpress.com – and feel free to friend him on Facebook.
THE COLUMBUS CLUB, 4425 HOME AVENUE, SAN DIEGO 92105
Join KNSJ for A Conversation with Thom Hartmann as he previews themes from his forthcoming book—connecting history, power, media, and the future of American democracy. Thom shares insights, then opens the floor for a community Q&A.
Expect sharp analysis on corporate power, the health of our institutions, the information ecosystem heading into 2026, and what practical civic action looks like right now.
Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host whose shows are available in over a half-billion homes worldwide. He’s the New York Times bestselling, 4-times Project Censored Award-winning author of 24 books in print in 17 languages on five continents. Leonardo DiCaprio was inspired by Thom’s book “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight” to make the movie “The 11th Hour” (in which Thom appears), and the movie “Ice On Fire.”
Talkers Magazine named Thom Hartmann as the 10th most important talk show host in America in 2019 and has been in the top ten for over a decade and is the #1 most important progressive host, in their “Heavy Hundred” ranking.
A new poll reveals that Americans continue to support organized labor at historic levels, even as the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress take a battering ram to union rights and the nation’s working class.
Gallup’s annual survey, released Thursday, shows more than two-thirds of people in the US (68%) approve of labor unions and the economic security and prosperity they provide working families. The popular support matches record-high numbers of recent years after a long decline from the 1960s through the early 2000s.
As Gallup notes:
When Gallup first measured Americans’ ratings of labor unions in 1936, 72% approved. Approval reached the record high, 75%, in 1953 and 1957 and ranged between 63% and 73% from 1958 through 1967. Then, from 1972 through 2016, approval was lower, with few readings over 60%, including the 48% all-time low recorded in 2009. This was the only time approval fell below the majority level. Since 2017, approval has been above 60%, the longest period at this level since the 1960s.
“Working people want unions and the numbers prove it,” said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in response to the latest polling.
The survey shows sharp partisan divides despite the overall approval of organized labor. While 90% of Democrats surveyed and 69% of independents voiced support, only 41% of Republicans expressed the same level of support for organized workers and their unions. “All party groups show increased support for unions compared with 2016,” said Gallup, “though Republican support has declined since peaking at 56% in 2022. That was the only time Republicans’ approval has risen above 50% in the past 25 years.”
Saunders, like other members of the labor movement, has been a steady voice in rebuking President Donald Trump and his Republican Party as they run roughshod over labor rights and wage a relentless war against the working class by attacking Medicaid, food assistance, public education, better wages, collective bargaining, and workplace safety—all while slashing regulatory safeguards designed to protect America’s working families from industry greed and handing out massive tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.
“Gallup polling once again shows historically strong support, because workers understand that they have the power to win fair pay, safer working conditions, and dignity on the job when they organize a union. Today, that power matters more than ever,” said Saunders. “While billionaires and their yes-men in Congress try to slash wages, gut health care, and silence working people, we are fighting back—organizing, mobilizing, and demanding a voice.”
Despite the support of a large majority of Americans across the political spectrum, union density remains at historic lows, which makes sense given the hostility from both major parties to the needs of the working class and their fealty to represent the interests of big business over those of working families over the last five decades.
In his latest attack on the working class—and just ahead of the Labor Day weekend—Trump on Thursday issued a new executive order expanding his assault on the government agencies where federal employees would lose their collective bargaining rights.
Union members and labor experts immediately called the order unlawful—just like the original March order upon which it was based—and vowed to fight it tooth and nail in court.
“This is how President Trump is commemorating Labor Day: continuing his administration’s all-out attack on workers and unions,” said Liz Schuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “This new executive order once again distorts the law by ripping away the collective bargaining rights of federal workers in an attempt to silence their voices on the job.”
“Issuing these executive orders just days before the holiday that honors everything working people have fought and died for—including our right to come together with our co-workers in a union and bargain for what we deserve—shows us that this administration’s callous disregard for workers’ rights knows no bounds,” added Schuler. “No matter what it throws our way, the labor movement will never stop organizing and fighting for each other—and we’ll see him in court.”
AFSCME’s Saunders, suggested the polling should serve to invigorate the labor movement, even at a time when corporate power’s hold on the levers of power seems near complete.
“We know that working families are the backbone of our economy. But instead of getting the respect they’ve earned, they’re getting squeezed by CEOs and anti-worker politicians who want to hand out tax breaks to the billionaire class at the expense of Medicaid, food assistance, worker protections and our communities,” he said. “It is easy to see why trust in Congress and big corporations is hitting new lows, while support for unions remains strong.”
Saunders added that his union’s 1.4 million members are “proud to stand with every worker who is fighting back to demand dignity, fairness, and a voice on the job. Because when we stand together, we can defend our freedoms from billionaires who want to rob us of them.”
Bemoaning how Republicans have been able to coopt the mantle of being the party of the working class, all while undermining wages, workplace safety, and the right to collectively bargain, Les Leopold, executive director of the Labor Institute, has been among those warning the Democratic Party that it must change direction, or die trying, if it wants to win back the working class.
As he wrote following Trump’s 2024 reelection, “It’s time to end this sad chapter in U.S. history when the Democratic Party leaders refuse to be genuine allies for workers and the Republican Party is rewarded for pretending to be.“
ABOUT SCHEERPOST: ScheerPost is an award-winning, independent news organization that focuses on progressive politics and human rights issues that the mainstream media miss or decline to cover. Founded on the principle of honest reporting and holding those in power to account, we make it our mission to bring our readers the latest cutting-edge news and analysis about these issues. With our original articles written by renowned journalists and reposted articles curated by our award-winning staff, we present our readers with daily content from various perspectives that explain and challenge dominant narratives. Since our inception in March 2020, we’ve been able to maintain our independence through grants and reader donations — we will never erect a paywall — and in the process, our stories have been viewed more than 15 million times by our readers from around the world.
At the helm of ScheerPost are editor Narda Zacchino, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sacramento Bureau Chief, Orange County edition editor, associate editor and vice president, deputy editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, and senior editor at the Center for Investigative Reporting and Robert Scheer, former Ramparts magazine managing editor, Los Angeles Times national correspondent and columnist and author of 13 books. With a combined 60 years-plus of mainstream journalism experience, they created ScheerPost, which has become an essential internet news outlet. At a time of increasing dominance of billionaire ownership in journalism, they materialized the warning of legendary media critic A.J. Liebling that “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” Led by passion for independent journalism and bringing light to the truth, the founders do not take any compensation so all donations can go to site staff and operations.
ScheerPost fills a news media gap by reporting on issues other publications often shy away from or ignore entirely, such as controversial international issues; the threat of nuclear war; economic, racial and gender inequality; criminal justice reform; defense industry profiteering, and important moments in history that textbooks totally ignore. Our journalism is vital to providing an alternative understanding of what is going on in our world today. ScheerPost is committed to raising the voices of those marginalized by mainstream media and amplifying issues suppressed by the most powerful people and organizations in the world.
Geoff Hueter is the Chair of Neighbors for a Better San Diego, a volunteer grassroots organization that promotes sensible, data-driven planning for San Diego. Prior to that, Dr. Hueter was the Chief Data Scientist and Co-Founder of Certona Corporation, a leader in real time, AI powered omnichannel personalization for the world’s largest retailers. Dr. Hueter holds 12 patents and received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California at San Diego, where he studied gamma ray bursts.
WOMEN’S RADIO HOUR with Patricia Law Wed 5pm ADUs, PACIFIC BEACH DEVELOPMENT BUILDERS and WHAT WE CAN DO with Guest Mikalyn “Micki” Mellby
Patricia and Micki are in conversation about ADUs in Pacific Beach development and builders, intent of ADUs, how they are being built now, concerns about the environment safety from fires, parking and many more issues. ABOUT MIKALYN “MICKI” MELLBY I am a retired 30+ year small-business, community banker residing in Eastern Pacific Beach, San Diego. I am married with three grown children. My husband and I have worked on flipping houses since we started dating back in 1987, pre-HGTV. We have completed over 25 home remodels over 38 years together. We have remodeled and lived in three homes in this neighborhood over the last 20 years. Our mantra was always to buy the ugliest house in the best neighborhood we could afford and then make it pretty. Upon sale, it was on to the next project. We are not opposed to development. We built an ADU next to our rental bungalow near the beach two years ago, and our son lives there. Currently, we are building an ADU adjacent to our current home for my daughter, son-in-law, and new granddaughter to live in. A couple of years ago, the neighbor below my home sold her large lot and residence to a well-known, rather notorious, ADU developer, Christian Spicer of SDRE. Early this year, several neighbors alerted us to the investment/development plans for this site and adjacent parcel. In March and April, discussions became serious when it was realized what the long-term, negative impacts of such a large apartment project could impose on our community. We had always been under the impression since moving here in 2010 that the lots below us could not be developed due to the significance of well-known Kumeyaay tribal artifacts on the undeveloped land dating back 8000-10,000 years. The cultural significance of the historic site is recognized in all the surviving California tribal communities. Consultations were made with a tribal attorney, and a legal team was put together to represent the neighbors’ best interests in monitoring the subsequently named Chalcifica project. What was 116-units has grown into 136 units under review. Plans are in review with the City of San Diego, and the legal team advised the neighbors to file action before permits are granted. We organized Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach and established a website at www.protectpb.org. Our goal is to raise $250,000 of the expected legal cost to get us to trial. We have raised over half the funds to date. We have joined and are monitoring the legal efforts of other San Diego communities in opposing these monstrous bonus ADU projects, many of which continue to proceed through the development pipeline even after City Council voted to significantly scale back the program in June
June 27, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery won two awards from Society for Professional Journalists in the San Diego SPJ Journalism competition. The honors bring ECM’s total awards to 149 since our founding in 2008.
In the series category for daily reporting and writing, Raftery took third place for her series on the Water Conservation Garden’s growing pains. The series chronicled the Garden’s financial struggles, brief closure, and reopening after operations were taken over by the Garden’s joint powers authority. View the series: part 1, part 2, and part 3.
Raftery also won third places in the opinion/editorial category for her editorial published last July 4 , titled As we celebrate Independence Day, our democracy is at risk. Several of the threats to our democratic system of government that she warned of have since come to pass via authoritarian actions rolled out by the Trump administration following the blueprint outlined in Project 2025.
GUESTS: VETERANS FOR PEACE MIKE FERNER and LISA LING
Studio Call-in Number 619-790-KNSJ (5675)
Don Kimball is originally from Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts. Don got the “radio bug” in 1971, when he became a DJ at the student-operated radio station KVPC-FM on the campus of Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. He’s holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Cal Poly Pomona and is a graduate of the Brown Institute of Broadcasting. Don is a veteran of the US Air Force where he worked as an air traffic controller. Don is a board member of Military Families Speak Out, and a Veteran For Peace member of Chapter 91 in San Diego.
Don started Friendly Fire, A Voice For Veterans in 2017 at WMPG-FM, a community radio station on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. Friendly Fire is also heard on KURU-FM in Silver City, NM. He has interviewed veterans and their families and supporters from as far away as Japan and Ireland. He guests have included everyone from enlisted personnel to US Senators and Congresspeople. Don’s guests have included author Norman Solomon, author of War Made Invisible, UCSD professor Colonel Greg Daddis, whistleblower Reality. L Winner and Veteran For Peace Advisory Board Member, former US Marine Captain, State Department official, NC Green Party Senatorial Candidate and current Eisenhower Media Institute co-director, Matthew Hoh.
Among the many issues Don has covered on his show are those dealing with veteran homelessness, PTSD, MST, deported veterans, TBI, The Veteran’s Administration, USAF veteran whistleblowers Daniel Hale and Reality Winner, and the epidemic of veteran suicide. Don hopes his show will give veterans an opportunity to let the listeners know what really happens to them and their families when they serve, and how people can work together for the common good of everyone instead of making war against helpless women and children in third world countries, destroying their homes and lives, while at the same time creating an atmosphere of hatred towards the US making citizens here less safe as terrorists seek revenge for America’s endless wars.
