Something to Know - July 22, 2015

Keeping it classy.

1) Another day of Donald Trump still supposedly running for the Republican party nomination. We learned a lot more about his wealth today. His daughter Ivanka claims that there are residents in their towers who have called to inquire about obtaining promotional material for her dad's campaign, and that nobody has expressed any negativity to her. Personally, I'm torn about even mentioning Mr. Trump, lest this little corner of the universe serve to inflate his ego any further. Frank Bruni of the NYTimes shares my concern. Oy vey. There are now sixteen people supposedly running for the GOP nomination, and since Mr. Trump is polling well, he'll make it into the first televised debates.

2) Bill Cosby's Legal Team is now back on the defense. They are trying to normalize his use of quaaludes. I'm supposed to believe that they were used in tandem with consensual sex? Apparently this was a thing in the 1970s? Yeah. I am not falling for any of this. His newest attorney has stated that it is insignificant and not newsworthy that word has come of Mr. Cosby having extramarital affairs: "it's not newsworthy; it's history."

3) Time to be worried about social security again. If Congress doesn't replenish its trust fund, benefits to those eligible for disability benefits from Social Security will face cuts in 2016.
Link: http://nyti.ms/1HKiQRk

In more uplifting news:
1) The University of California is looking at raising its campuswide minimum wage to $15 an hour, in alignment with the movement to hike the minimum wage to $15 in the City and County of Los Angeles respectively. The hike would benefit workers who are employed at least 20 hours a week; and these workers would include people who work for outside contractors. It is reported that the pay increase would come from auxiliary services, such as bookstores and parking revenue (and that would come about in the form of land rent paid for by the parking dept). I find that a bit unsettling, particularly with respect to parking. I do come from a school of thought where parking pricing should be set in order to manage supply and influence travel behavior.

Link: http://nyti.ms/1LvlVJ0

2) Every Wednesday this summer, Sutter Brown issues a water saving tip through his social media presence. Today's tip is to use mulch, since it has water retention qualities!

Mom & Dad say mulch reduces evaporation. I dig it. #WaterWiseWednesday #SuttersTipOfTheWeek #CADrought #KeepSavingCA pic.twitter.com/oz1Fl8JX8h

— Sutter Brown (@SutterBrown) July 22, 2015