What's Your News IQ?

1. Which of the following Republican candidates running for Barbara ­Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat has openly opposed ­Arizona’s new immigration ­laws?

a) Tom Campbell

b) Carly Fiorina

c) Chuck De Vore

d) None of the above

2. Zillow.com recently reported that San Diego is leading the nation in rising home values. According to the report, what is the median price of a home in San ­Diego?

a) $413,000

b) $315,100

c) $364,800

d) $415,300

3. Harvard law professor Elena Kagan is the first U.S. Supreme Court nominee in nearly 40 years to have no prior experience as a judge. Who was the last Supreme Court justice who never served as a ­judge?

a) Hugo Black

b) Potter Stewart

c) Thurgood Marshall

d) William Rehnquist

4. Which of the following Republican gubernatorial candidates has openly opposed ­Arizona’s new immigration ­laws?

a) Steve Poizner

b) Meg Whitman

c) Both candidates

d) Neither candidate

5. After a contentious three-way election race, who is the new prime minister of Great ­Britain?

a) David Cameron

b) Gordon Brown

c) Nicholas Clegg

6. Recently released data shows that San Diego elementary students showed a slight improvement in reading scores since 2007, moving from an average score of 210 to 213. What is the national average for large city school ­districts?

a) 200

b) 250

c) 204

d) 220

7. In her testimony before the ­city’s Ethics Commission, former Centre City Development director Nancy Graham recently said that she wished she had never taken the phone call from a recruiter that lured her to San Diego. Before coming to San Diego, ­Graham’s most prolific public service job was:

a) Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas

b) City manager of Phoenix, Arizona

c) Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida

d) Public works director of Boulder, Colorado

8. San Diego was rated the 11th least-affordable metro area in the nation for the first quarter of 2010 by the National Association of Home Builders. Seven other California cities were in the top ten least-affordable ranking. Which California city was NOT ranked in the top ­ten?

a) Santa Ana

b) San Jose

c) Santa Cruz

d) Santa Rosa

9. Oil has been gushing from a broken pipe in the Gulf of Mexico since April 20. Which oil company owns the damaged drilling ­rig?

a) BP

b) Conoco Phillips

c) Chevron

d) Exxon Mobil

10. Developer Mike Reynolds recently won approval for a 36-home development on Mount Helix. The land slated for development was formerly a:

a) shooting range

b) chicken ranch

c) private school

d) undeveloped lot

11. On May 24, a judge ordered that a SCRAM (secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring) bracelet be placed on the ankle of which ­celebrity?

a) Ben Roethlisberger

b) Britney Spears

c) Nicole Richie

d) Lindsay Lohan

12. Chargers safety Kevin Ellison was recently arrested in Redondo Beach on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Police found 100 pills of which prescription drug in ­Ellison’s ­car?

a) Vicodin

b) Oxycontin

c) Provigil

d) Darvocet

13. The NFL has announced that in 2014, the Super Bowl will be at Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, marking the first time that the event will take place in an open-air, cold-weather stadium. When was the last Super Bowl held in San ­Diego?

a) 2003

b) 1998

c) 2001

d) 2005

14. Easter ­Sunday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused the appearance of a new fault near Ocotillo 80 miles east of San Diego. The California Geological Survey named the new fault

a) The Borrego-Kumeyaay Fault

b) The Lagunaa Salada Fault

c) The Yuha Fault

d) The Chupacabra Canyon Fault

15. On May 24, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to limit alcohol consumption at Balboa Park by restricting drinkers to nine specified lawn areas where alcohol can only be consumed between noon and 8 p.m.. The law will take effect in July. Under the current law, alcohol can be consumed anywhere in the park between what ­hours?

a) Any time

b) 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

c) 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

d) 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

16. Heal the Bay, an environmental watchdog group rated North Cove Beach at Mission ­Bay’s Vacation Isle number nine on the list of ten worst “beach bummers” in California because of its high contamination levels. Which California beach was rated number one (the worst)?

a) Poche Beach (Orange County)

b) Baker Beach (San Francisco)

c) Sunset Blvd and Pacific Coast Highway at Santa Ynez drain (Los Angeles)

d) Avalon Harbor Beach (Catalina Island)

17. Recently deceased TV personality Art Linkletter graduated from San Diego State College in:

a) 1924

b) 1934

c) 1932

d) 1940

18. Which senator recently told the Christian Science Monitor that voters should not be angry about the economy because, ­”We’ve come back. This is an amazing ­resurgence.”

a) John Kerry

b) Arlen Specter

c) Barbara Boxer

d) Charles Schumer

19. Many European countries faced airport shut-downs and unusual weather in April because of a volcanic eruption in which ­country?

a) Austria

b) Norway

c) Finland

d) Iceland

20. Which congressman has charged the Obama administration of attempting to bribe him with a job in exchange for dropping out of his ­state’s senatorial ­primary?

a) Dennis Kucinich

b) Eleanor Holmes Norton

c) Joe Sestak

d) Charles Rangel

ANSWERS:

1. d, none of the above
2. c, 364,800
3. d, William Rehnquist
4. b, Meg Whitman
5. a, David Cameron
6. d, 220
7. c, Mayor of West Palm Beach
8. d, Santa Rosa
9. a, BP
10. b, chicken ranch
11. d, Lindsay Lohan
12. a, Vicodin
13. a, 2003
14. c, The Yuha Fault
15. c, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
16. d, Avalon Harbor Beach, Catalina
17. b, 1934
18. a, John Kerry
19. d, Iceland
20. c, Joe Sestak