EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: December 22, 2009

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East County Roundup highlights the most important news stories published in other publications about East County or on issues that will impact people in East County.


Top recent stories include:


• Senate health-care reform bill clears another hurdle
• Officials: Beware of dangerous toys
• Folks line up to swap guns for groceries
• Homeowners warned of property tax scam
• Drug war surges in Tijuana: 24 dead in 2 days
• Merriam Mountains opponent accuses Horn of wrongdoing
• Merriam Mountains project turned down
• S.D. urged to look at raising fees
• Panel rips S.D. budget “gimmicks”
• City Council finalizes budget plan
• Emerald’s campaign debt could bring fine
• Prior driver of Lexus said pedal stuck
• Escondido EHS grad alleges affair with Tiger Woods
• Shameful showing a bipartisan slap at state schools’ status quo
• Regents raise college tuition in California by 32 percent

 

SENATE HEALTH-CARE REFORM BILL CLEARS ANOTHER HURDLE
 

Washington Post (December 22, 2009 ) -- The Senate cleared a set of key procedural hurdles on President Obama's health-care legislation early Tuesday with more party-line votes, continuing the effort to pass the $871 billion bill before Christmas.
 

All 60 members of the Democratic caucus supported votes that set up a third and final 60-vote hurdle for Wednesday, while all 39 Republicans in the chamber voted to block the action.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/22/AR200912...

 

OFFICIALS: BEWARE OF DANGEROUS TOY IMPORTS
 

Associated Press/Channel 10 News (December 22, 2009) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials warned holiday shoppers Monday to stay away from toys that might be dangerous for children or break copyright, patent or trademark laws.

http://www.10news.com/holidays/22027061/detail.html

 

FOLKS LINE UP TO SWAP GUNS FOR GROCERIES
 

San Diego Union-Trbiune (December 21, 2009) - Armand Gonzales, 74, drove from Chula Vista to southeastern San Diego Monday morning to turn in four guns he said he no longer needed in exchange for groceries that he definitely could use.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/21/folks-line-up-to-swap-gun...
 

HOMEOWNERS WARNED OF PROPERTY TAX SCAM
 

Channel 10 News (December 18, 2009) -- SAN DIEGO -- Scam artists are tricking property owners into paying for a service that is already free, and soon that will be against the law, 10News' Joe Little reported.
 

If you own a home, chances are you've received a letter offering a paid service to lower your property taxes. While it sounds good on the surface, homeowner Amy Denney decided to dig a little deeper.
http://www.10news.com/news/22011093/detail.html

 

DRUG WAR SURGES IN TIJUANA: 24 DEAD IN 2 DAYS
 

24 of 71 so far this month occur in past two days
San Diego Union-Tribune ( December 17, 2009)--Five victims were shot inside a seafood restaurant, four were decapitated and one was shot and hanged from a bridge. A surge in gangland-style killings in Tijuana is being linked to two rival drug-trafficking groups vying for control of the region.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/17/killings-point-surge-drug...

 

MERRIAM MOUNTAINS OPPONENT ACCUSES HORN OF WRONGDOING
 

 

North County Times (December 17, 2009)— Lawyers representing the Golden Door Spa accused County Supervisor Bill Horn on Wednesday of communicating illegally with Merriam Mountains developers before last week's hearing on the proposed 2,700-hundred home development north of Escondido.
 

In a letter addressed to Horn and county counsel John Sansone, the lawyers ask the supervisor to recuse himself from any future hearings on the project, saying his prehearing discussion with the developer violated county and state codes and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_c034a3ad-947d-55c7-b...

 

MERRIAM MOUNTAIN PROJECT TURNED DOWN
 

San Diego Union-Tribune (December 9, 2009) – A divided county Board of Supervisors yesterday rejected the huge Merriam Mountains housing development proposed for rural North County, but the project may not be dead yet.
 

The plan’s fate now rests on the shoulders of Supervisor Ron Roberts, who missed yesterday’s vote and said last night he’s not sure what he will decide.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/09/bn09merriam-mountains-pro...

 

S.D. URGED TO LOOK AT RAISING FEES
 

San Diego Union-Tribune (December 16, 2009)--The chairman of a new city commission studying San Diego’s financial problems said yesterday that he wants to consider ways to raise revenues, including storm water and trash collection fees.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/16/city-panel-chief-eyes-rev...
 

PANEL RIPS S.D. BUDGET’S ‘GIMMICKS’
 

San Diego Union-Tribune ( December 15, 2009) -- If city leaders are unwilling or unable to fix San Diego’s ongoing budget deficit, then voters will have to do it for them by adopting ballot measures to force the city to fire workers or drastically cut services, according to a report being released today by a citizen task force.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/15/citizen-panel-rips-budget...
 

CITY COUNCIL FINALIZES BUDGET PLAN
 

San Diego Union-Tribune (December 14, 2009) -- About 200 city workers will lose their jobs and municipal services will be trimmed as part of an 18-month budget plan that the City Council finalized today in an effort to close San Diego's $179 million budget deficit.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/14/city-council-finalizes-bu...
 

EMERALD’S CAMPAIGN DEBT COULD BRING FINE

San Diego Union-Tribune (December 12, 2009) -- San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald raised money throughout the first half of this year to pay off campaign debt that was not publicly disclosed.
Now the former television reporter could be forced to pay a fine of as much as $10,000 for failing to report the debt properly.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/11/emerald-faces-10000-ethic...

 

PRIOR DRIVER OF LEXUS SAYS PEDAL STUCK
 

San Diego Union-Tribune (December 5, 2009 ) -- Three days before the fiery crash of a loaner Lexus sedan that killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and his family, a man who was given the same car experienced a similar sudden acceleration problem and reported it to the dealership, a Sheriff’s Department investigation found.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/04/report-loaner-car-in-fata...

 

ESCONDIDO: EHS GRAD ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH TIGER WOODS
 

Jaimee Grubbs says she had 31-month liaison with world's No. 1 golfer
North County Times (December 1, 20009 ) - A 2003 Escondido High School graduate who once said she planned to study zoology at Cal State San Marcos may have caught herself a Tiger.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_964a1fa8-e817-5da6-9b...

 

SHAMEFUL SHOWING/A BIPARTISAN SLAP AT STATE SCHOOLS’ STATUS QUO
 

San Diego Union-Tribune editorial (November 27, 2009 )-- The frequency with which combatants on both sides of policy clashes wield impressive-sounding academic studies that reach opposite conclusions should give any reasonable person pause.
 

A little bit of research usually can provide clues as to what’s going on. It’s no surprise that research funded by tobacco groups has long downplayed the health effects of smoking. It’s also no surprise that research funded by advocacy groups worried about global warming downplays the economic downside of forcing California businesses to have to pay much more for energy than rival states and nations.
So when along comes a study headlined “Education Report Card” that is jointly released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress, an influential liberal think tank led by John Podesta, former White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, its bipartisan pedigree means it should carry great weight.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/27/shameful-showing-bipartis...
 

REGENTS RAISE COLLEGE TUITION IN CALIFORNIA BY 32 PERCENT
 

New York Times (November 19, 2009) -- As the University of California’s Board of Regents met Thursday at U.C.L.A. and approved a plan to raise undergraduate fees — the equivalent of tuition — 32 percent next fall, hundreds of students from campuses across the state demonstrated outside, beating drums and chanting slogans against the increase.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/education/20tuition.html
 


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