EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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May 3, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

STATE

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

LOCAL

E-cigarette restrictions to be eased under bill by San Diego’s ‘vaping Congressman (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a prominent advocate of using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, has introduced legislation to ease impending federal restrictions on vaping products.

Backcountry development could be halted if county doesn’t quickly deal with climate change, judge rules (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The latest twist in the Sierra Club’s longstanding legal battle to force the San Diego County government to embrace a plan for curbing greenhouse-gas emissions came Friday.

Family of man killed by FBI after allegedly kidnapping Hannah Anderson will file amended wrongful death claim (NBC)

…Attorney Keith Greer will file the amended $20 million claim in Federal Court in Idaho on Friday. The suit claims FBI agents used excessive and unjustified force in killing DiMaggio in Idaho after a 6-day manhunt.

El Cajon’s poverty rate highest in East County (San Diego Union-Tribune)

According to a study by the Center on Policy Initiatives, the city of El Cajon had the highest poverty rate of the four East County cities between 2011-2015. 

Issa: Obamacare repeal position ‘none of your business’ (The Hill)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) refused to share his position on the House GOP’s revised healthcare bill in a tense exchange on Tuesday. As Issa waited for an elevator to leave the House floor, reporters asked Issa what his position is on the GOP’s latest healthcare proposal.  

“None of your business,” Issa replied tersely.

Dumanis got campaign money from pot shop landlords (San Diego Union-Tribune)

While District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has earned a reputation as tough on marijuana-related crimes, a review of donations to her past two campaigns shows she accepted contributions from dozens of people with ties to marijuana dispensaries.

Don’t Believe the Big Story About Humans Roaming America 130,000 Years Ago (Buzzfeed)

Scientists are bashing a big study claiming that people lived in the Americas 100,000 years earlier than was thought. "I was astonished by it. I was astonished not because it is so good, but because it is so bad," one said.

Swimmer attacked by shark at San Onofre 'fighting for her life’ (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A woman who was attacked by a shark while swimming at a popular surf spot off Camp Pendleton’s San Onofre beach is “fighting for her life,” her mother wrote Sunday…. Surfline’s webcams have caught great white sharks breaching waves in the area over the past month…

San Diego Unified Partners with Baja Schools as More US Kids Enroll South of the Border (KPBS)

Schools in Baja California are seeing more new students from the United States than from Mexico. Now, the San Diego Unified School district is partnering with those Baja schools and the Mexican consulate to better serve those students.

District Attorney's Office spent $100,000 on weaponry in 2016 — almost as much as SDPD (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office spent almost $100,000 in 2016 on weapons for its Bureau of Investigation, an amount greater than that spent by three other Southern California prosecutors’ offices and almost as much as the San Diego Police Department.

Transparency test: Seeking web browser histories of local officials (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Thirteen agencies provided the web-activity logs within four business days ….Twenty-seven agencies provided the records in more than four business days….The remaining agencies have either declined the requests or are still processing them.

STATE

Public energy companies save customers money – at least in the beginning (Los Angeles Times)

Southern California Edison customers looking to cure their power-bill pain might find some relief in Los Angeles County’s new government-run energy program — but the track records of similar public energy efforts show that the initial cost advantage doesn’t last. From California to Massachusetts, the kinds of community energy programs that L.A. County approved this month lowered electricity bills 5% to 40% when they began. But after an initial honeymoon period, the savings have tended to shrink.

Utility regulators again decline to release emails with governor (U-T)

The decision means — at least for now — that the public will not see more than 60 exchanges between commission President Michael Picker and Gov. Jerry Brown or his aides as the commission considered how to divvy up billions of dollars in closure costs between utility shareholders and customers.

California Spent Nearly $1.8 Million on Controversial Facial Recognition Software (Motherboard)

NeoFace is capable of 1,500,000 searches a day, and appears to be fully integrated with a massive array of police databases.

Most Californians back tax-funded school vouchers(OC Register)

According to a recent survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, while most Californians give high marks to their local public schools, majorities also support tax-funded vouchers for use at the school of their choice, be it a public, private or parochial school. The PPIC survey assessed support for school vouchers at 60 percent, consistent with the 58 percent level of support found among Californians in 1998


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