EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

July 24, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include: 

LOCAL

• Pandemic accelerates San Diego’s efforts to create ‘city of the future’ using technology (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• El Cajon takes new look at its homeless population (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Officials Want to Dig Deeper on What’s Driving Black Homelessness (Voice of San Diego)
• COVID-19 cases, deaths surpass flu numbers for the entire 2019-20 season in San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Community Planning Groups Skew Richer, Whiter and Older (Voice of San Diego)
• Padres Ready for 2020 But Miss the Friar Faithful (NBC San Diego)

STATE

• California was impatient. Now it tops New York for most coronavirus cases (Los Angeles Times)
• Through the looking-glass: Family members fight restricted access to loved ones in long-term care (Cal Matters)
• This is not a solution.’ Sacramento nail salon owners rebel against operating outdoors (Sacramento Bee)
• How Vietnamese Americans rallied behind nail salons during the California shutdown (Politico)
• California Legislature will let some lawmakers vote remotely amid COVID-19 pandemic (Associated Press)

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

LOCAL

Pandemic accelerates San Diego’s efforts to create ‘city of the future’ using technology (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego city officials said they are using the COVID-19 pandemic to reinvent how the city operates, including greater use of technology, more people working from home, streamlined problem-solving and increased focus on city assets like buildings.

El Cajon takes new look at its homeless population (San Diego Union-Tribune)

El Cajon is proud of the work it has done to help the homeless community, funding one of East County’s only temporary housing sites at the East County Transitional Living Center, and partnering with groups including Crisis House, The Salvation Army and Home Start to provide services and programs to homeless persons …On Tuesday, July 14, the city signed an agreement with two of its partners to continue providing services that help connect the homeless to temporary or permanent housing and do more for those who are among the most vulnerable.

Officials Want to Dig Deeper on What’s Driving Black Homelessness (Voice of San Diego)

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless has for years documented Black San Diegans’ overrepresentation in the region’s homeless population. Now two members of the group are pushing to create an advisory group focused on addressing Black homelessness.

COVID-19 cases, deaths surpass flu numbers for the entire 2019-20 season in San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 In just four months, the novel coronavirus has produced 2,362 more confirmed cases and 373 more deaths across San Diego County than influenza did during the entire 2019-20 season. And the COVID-19 curve, it is clear to see, is not a seasonal disease. Numbers are still increasing daily as the flu largely slumbers.

Community Planning Groups Skew Richer, Whiter and Older (Voice of San Diego)

In its first survey of who makes up the city’s community planning groups, the San Diego planning department found current and past members of the groups are unrepresentative of the city.

Padres Ready for 2020 But Miss the Friar Faithful (NBC San Diego)

Playing without fans in Petco Park will be a big adjustment.

STATE

California was impatient. Now it tops New York for most coronavirus cases (Los Angeles Times)

California is No. 1 in part because it is the most populous state but also because millions of residents have been unwilling, or unable, to practice the social distancing and mask-wearing that public health experts say are the best measures to keep SARS-CoV-2 somewhat in check.

Through the looking-glass: Family members fight restricted access to loved ones in long-term care (Cal Matters)

 Maitely Weismann moved her 77-year-old mother from New York into a Los Angeles assisted living facility in mid-March, planning frequent visits to help her settle in. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as California’s pandemic lockdown had just banned virtually all visits in long-term care homes.

This is not a solution.’ Sacramento nail salon owners rebel against operating outdoors (Sacramento Bee)

Although Gov. Gavin Newsom declared this week that nail salons could operate outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, salon owners say the governor’s overture is unworkable.

How Vietnamese Americans rallied behind nail salons during the California shutdown (Politico)

Nail salon owners say they face two obstacles: recovering from the hit to their bottom line from months of closure, as well as worries about their reputation.

California Legislature will let some lawmakers vote remotely amid COVID-19 pandemic (Associated Press)

Citing the threat of coronavirus, both houses of the California Legislature plan to allow some members at higher risk for COVID-19 to weigh in on pending bills from their districts when the Legislature reconvenes in Sacramento next week, a change in the rules that has drawn criticism from some current and former lawmakers.