EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

August 16, 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

El Cajon Family Endures Months, Possibly Years of Toxic Indoor Air (KPBS)

Eight months ago, when the family arrived home from the hospital after Gabriel’s birth, difficult news awaited them. A flier had blown up against the fence. It said their El Cajon mobile home sits above a highly polluted stream of underground water flowing from an old aerospace manufacturing firm.

Pope names new bishop for Chaldean eparchy of San Diego (Catholic News Agency)

The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Francis has named Bishop Emanuel Hana Shaleta as head of the eparchy of Saint Peter Apostle of San Diego of the Chaldeans, pulling him from his prior post in Canada.

Care about climate change? San Diego County seeks input (Times of San Diego)

The county of San Diego announced Thursday that it’s seeking input from residents on a plan to address climate change in unincorporated areas. A 45-day public comment period will run through Sept. 25 for the plan, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 levels by 2 percent in 2020, 40 percent in 2030 and 77 percent in 2050.  More info:  http://www.countynewscenter.com/county-releases-draft-climate-action-plan-for-public-comment/  Written comments on plan can be submitted to CAP@sdcounty.ca.gov. Read plan: http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/ceqa/Climate_Action_Plan_Public_Review.html   

Already suing, El Cajon officer says she faces harassment, discrimination (SDUT)

An El Cajon police officer already suing the city for sexual harassment on the job received a series of salacious texts and photos from another department official — and plans to amend her lawsuit to include the new allegations. According to a complaint filed earlier this month with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, El Cajon police Sgt. Anthony Kolombatovic sent Officer Christine Greer numerous improper messages.

Energy choice might come down to which entity people hate less: government or SDG&E (Voice of SD)

The San Diego City Council is expected to decide early next year whether the city should part ways with San Diego Gas & Electric. If so, the Council would create a new government agency to buy energy for its 1.4 million residents.

Large tents to house San Diego homeless endorsed (Times of San Diego)

Leaders of a plan to erect industrial-sized tents to house San Diego’s burgeoning homeless population announced Monday that more than 200 people have endorsed the proposal, including many civic leaders.

Bark beetle makes way in Julian (Borrego Sun)

The Bark Beetle has taken a serious toll on the native oak trees in the back country including parts of the mountains in and around Julian.

New Arguments Emerge Against AB 805 (Voice of San Diego)

Opposition to Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher’s bid to overhaul the San Diego Association of Governments, AB 805, has until recently been pretty specific. … In the months since it was introduced, it’s the provision on SANDAG’s voting structure that’s been the major topic of conversation. But in recent weeks, a few new arguments have popped up….One is the result of a new addition to the bill. Gonzalez Fletcher last month added a provision requiring the agency to use a “skilled and trained” workforce for large projects.

 Escondido mom says Homeland Security agent pointed gun at her on I-15 (10 News)

An Escondido mom says she had a gun pointed at her while driving on northbound Interstate 15 with her toddler son in the backseat….The California Highway Patrol says it is investigating the incident and confirmed to 10News that the other driver works for Homeland Security.

District admits it urged low-performing students to transfer to charters (Voice of San Diego)

The San Diego Unified School District landed an impressive 91 percent graduation rate in 2016. It’s the highest grad rate on record, and the district achieved it even as it beefed up graduation standards. The district has refuted much of VOSD’s reporting on how it achieved its grad rate, and even created an entire webpage vehemently denying that the lowest-performing students were pushed to charters. But now district officials have reversed course and admit that it has been happening.

STATE

Despite California's strict new law, hundreds of schools still don't have enough vaccinated kids (Los Angeles Times)

At nearly 750 schools, 90% or fewer kindergartners had been fully vaccinated last year, the analysis found. Experts say the rate should be at least 95% to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases such as measles.

Faulconer lays out vision for ‘new California Republicans’ (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Mayor Kevin Faulconer has said he won’t be running for governor next year, but on Tuesday night he outlined his view of the path forward for the Republican Party in California. In a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, San Diego’s chief executive said the state GOP needs to regain its role as the “party of freedom,” embrace inclusion, encourage legal immigration, build stronger ties with Mexico and combat climate change.

California hopes ‘healthy soil’ will help fight climate change (KPBS)

… California’s $7.5 million Healthy Soils initiative will pay farmers up to $50,000 if they adopt "carbon farming" practices, including applying compost on rangeland to increase carbon retention capacity. State officials say it could remove the equivalent of millions of tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Schwarzenegger donates $100,000 to anti-hate group in aftermath of Charlottesville violence (Los Angeles Times)

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday donated $100,000 to help a Los Angeles-based group’s effort to fight hate, saying he was “horrified” by anti-Semitic and racist protests in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.