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Story by Liz Alper

Photo:  Austin Hedges drove in the game's only run and it was enough to give the Padres a win in their first game back home.  Via @Padres on Twitter

June 23, 2017 (San Diego) - The Padres lost two out of three to the Cubs, but they did win the season series.  Now it’s time to come home and have an interleague weekend series with the Tigers.  Michael Fulmer started on the mound for Detroit against Luis Perdomo.

By Rachel Williams

Video:  interview with homeless woman Lorraine Leighton

June 23, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Lorraine Leighton was among hundreds of homeless people who connected at Rock Church in El Cajon on June 2nd. More than 30 organizations offered health care and legal services for rebuilding a healthy, safe life.

East County News Service

June 21, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes the return of caboose rides at the Campo railway depot, the Broadway Tenors onstage at Sycuan, a flea market in Alpine, and Elvis tribute artist Scott Bruce in El Cajon.

Plus, preview coming attractions including Fourth of July fireworks, parades and picnics, Descanso Days, the Pine Valley Parade, astronomy on Mt. Helix, and music superstars Lionel Ritchie and Mariah Carey coming to the Viejas Arena at San Diego State.

So scroll down for all of these events and many more!

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

June 23, 2017 (Sacramento) --  Health advocates warn the Senate GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare would cause millions of Californians to lose their healthcare - by phasing out the Medicaid expansion and then capping the program altogether.

The "Better Care Reconciliation Act" or BCRA, lifts the government mandate for people to have insurance, and lets states allow insurance policies that exclude services like maternity and mental-health care.

Anthony Wright, executive director of the nonprofit Health Access California, says the bill would harm many different groups.  "It still eliminates the Medicaid expansion that 4 million Californians depend on," he says. "But it also has a harsher cap on the entire program, which 14 million Californians depend on - including a third of the state, half of all children, and two-thirds of all nursing-home residents."

The Senate bill also lets insurance companies charge Americans ages 50 to 64 five times what younger people pay, compared to the current limit of three times. And it lifts a ban on charging much higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions.

East County News Service

June 22, 2017 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Village Association invite you to the next Boulevard Stroll, which features a luau theme on July 11 from 5 to 8 p.m.  In addition to leis, music, art and specials at local merchants, participating restaurants are encouraged to serve up Hawaiian drinks or Happy Hour themed specials.

Activities confirmed so far include:

Gordon D. Walker will direct agency charged with overseeing regional homeless planning and local distribution of federal homeless and affordable housing dollars       

Source: County News Service

June 22, 2017 (San Diego) -- The San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) has selected Gordon D. Walker as its new chief executive officer. Walker most recently served as director of Utah’s Division of Housing and Community Development where he gained national attention for his efforts to reduce homelessness.

The Los Angeles Times reports in an article today that Utah has reduced its chronic homeless population by 91 percent.  From 2oo5, when Utah state officials began placing people in permanent housing, there were 1,932 chronically homeless people. Today, nearly all of those are housed, with only 178 chronically homeless people in the entire state of Utah – and officials have their sights set on soon bringing that number down to zero through an approach that is compassionate, not punitive.

Source:  Ramona Valley Vineyard Association

June 22, 2017 (Ramona) -- The Ramona Valley Vineyard Association (RVVA) announced that a total of thirteen wines from six of its winery members received top awards from the sixth annual The Toast of the Coast Wine Competition. The competition is produced by the 22^nd District Agricultural Association in conjunction with the San Diego County Fair. 

By Mike Allen

June 22, 2017 (Santee) -- Despite cutting their water use by nearly 30 percent over the past nine years, Padre Dam Water District customers were hit with another five years of higher rates by its board, which voted unanimously June 21 to trigger the new charges starting Nov. 1.

By Miriam Raftery

June 22, 2017 (La Mesa) -- After several years on hiatus, the beloved San Diego Lake Murray Music Fest and Fireworks show is coming back on July 4^th from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the fireworks show at 9 p.m. The music fest is held at Lake Murray Community Park in San Carlos (5540 Kiowa Drive, La Mesa, off Lake Murray Blvd.). 

Petition for California Supreme Court review anticipated

East County News Servic

Updated with statement from MWD

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) – The 1^st District Court of Appeal today issued a ruling in favor of the San Diego County Water Authority on key points in its lawsuits against the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  The County Water Authority has charged that MWD rates charged are illegal. The case is expected to be appealed to the California Supreme Court, where if upheld it would mean a big win for San Diego County ratepayers.

By Tom Christensen, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) - The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is looking for anybody that may have come into contact with a dead bat that tested positive for rabies and was found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on June 19.

June 21, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Johns Hopkins researchers say they’ve unlocked the key to cancer metastasis – and how to slow it (Baltimore Sun)
• Trump ‘simply does not care’ about HIV/AIDS, say 6 experts who just quit his advisory council (Washington Post)
• Cholera Ravages Yemen (NPR)
• In Italy, parents can now be fined for skipping kids’ shots (Newsweek)
• A Good News Story About Diarrhea — With One Surprising Exception (NPR)
• Need to Fix a Heart Attack? Try Photosynthesis (Smithsonian)
• Cardiologist: Breast implants skew heart attack test (BBC)
• Survivors of Childhood Diseases Struggle to Find Care as Adults (NPR)
• Eating fried potatoes linked to higher risk of death, study says (Fox 5)
• Coconut oil 'as unhealthy as beef fat and butter' (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Coffee under threat: will it taste worse as the planet warms? (BBC)
• A Republican voter database firm likely exposed your personal information for days –and you don’t have much recourse (Los Angeles Times)
• Is the Concern Artificial Intelligence — Or Autonomy? (NPR)
• Silicon Valley giants outrank many nations, says first 'techplomat' (Reuters)
• China's quantum satellite makes breakthrough in secure communications (Reuters)
• Dams could 'permanently damage Amazon' (BBC)
• Trump’s divided desert: wildlife along the border wall (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Source: Society of Professional Journalists

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Unified School District recently announced it will start deleting emails older than six months effective July 1, a change the district describes as a cost-saving measure. The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is concerned this policy will significantly hamper access to important public information at a time when the public and the media already have problems obtaining information and records from the district.

East County News Service

June 21, 2017 (Campo-Lake Morena) – The Campo Lake Morena Community Planning Group’s agenda for its June 26^th meeting includes appointing a new planning group member, a proposed agricultural clearing permit on Buckman Springs Road, and an update on Navy helicopter flight issues, among other topics.  View the full agenda below.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: City Commissioners Angeles Nelson (with flowers) and Yajaira Preciado

June 21, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – Breweries may soon be opening up their doors in Lemon Grove, based on action taken at yesterday’s city council meeting. In addition, Angeles Nelson, Yajaira Preciado and James Davis were appointed to the Lemon Grove Community Advisory Commission along with alternates Tom Clabby and Walter Oliwa.