I’m a huge fan of soccer, but I recently discovered that my love for the sport is nothing compared to that of one of our own: Tierrasanta resident Joe Connor. 

San Diego Union Tribune recently shared a fun article detailing Joe Connor’s lifelong pursuit of sports experiences, a pursuit that has brought him to 47 of the 48 countries playing in this year’s World Cup.  

“Soccer, Connor realized, can transcend sports and approach religion... ‘The main thing I took away from soccer is that it’s tied to the culture of not every country but a lot of the countries, especially pretty much everywhere in Africa and South America and Europe and a lot of other places,’ Connor says. ‘Just how passionate and how much the sport is tied to the identities of these countries.” 

Joe, let’s grab coffee sometime! I’d love to pick your brain about the soccer greats and our favorite teams. 

I’ve long advocated for affordable, high-quality childcare, especially as other costs continue to rise in San Diego. Investments in childcare aren’t just investments in San Diego families – they are investments in our economy and regional progress. A workforce with childcare is a happier and more productive workforce. 

The New York Times recently published an interesting piece on the idea that childcare is a public issue rather than a private one. It’s a compelling article that describes a problem I’m sure many of you have experienced, as have I.  

You can find the full article here, but I will leave a quote below that resonated with me. 

“Society benefits when people get to experience a life in which they have time to care for other people — not just children, but neighbors and friends — and in turn be cared for themselves... A child surrounded by loving adults represents a robust civic life, filled with strong families, schools, congregations, friends who are so close they are called aunts and uncles. This should be the day-to-day practice of living together in a democracy.”