EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

October 8, 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

• El Cajon Nursing Home Reaped Big Profits While Shortchanging Resident Care, Analysis Shows (KPBS)
• Most San Diego County school districts have reopened or plan to reopen in October (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• SDG&E launches $107.4 million program for zero-emission buses, trucks and forklifts (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• COVID-19 Exposure at SD City Council Meeting Forces Councilmembers Into Quarantine (NBC 7)
• USMC F-35 fighter crashes near U.S.-Mexico border after midair collision (UPI)

STATE

• It’s official: we have our first ‘gigafire’ in Northern California (Norcal News)
• Wildfires Continue to Ravage California; At Least 1,200 Fatalities Linked to Inhaling Toxic Smoke  (Democracy Now)
• California adds COVID-19 equity requirement. It could trip up counties’ reopenings (Los Angeles Times)
• In latest clash with NRA, Newsom signs bill to help police trace guns (Los Angeles Times)
• ‘Significant areas of total devastation’ as California fires torch wine country (Los Angeles Times)
• California moves to end sales of new gas-powered cars (KCRA)
• California to ban chokeholds, independently review police shootings under newly signed laws (Politico)
• California’s Filipino American nurses are dying from COVID-19 at alarming rates (San Jose Mercury News)
• California task force will consider paying reparations for slavery (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

El Cajon Nursing Home Reaped Big Profits While Shortchanging Resident Care, Analysis Shows (KPBS)

In recent years, residents at Avocado Post Acute provided its residents with far less care from registered nurses than regulators expected while reporting millions in yearly profits, according to a KPBS analysis of its finances.

Most San Diego County school districts have reopened or plan to reopen in October (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Many are reopening first by bringing back the youngest students or by offering hybrid learning, where students attend for part of the week or day and continue with distance learning part time.

SDG&E launches $107.4 million program for zero-emission buses, trucks and forklifts (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Through a $107.4 million project called Power Your Drive for Fleets, San Diego Gas & Electric will build charging stations and other infrastructure to pave the way for at least 3,000 medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles and equipment in the region.

COVID-19 Exposure at SD City Council Meeting Forces Councilmembers Into Quarantine (NBC 7)

Several San Diego city councilmembers and city employees who were present at Tuesday's city council meeting were told to quarantine after the city learned an employee who was at the meeting tested positive for the coronavirus, the city confirmed Wednesday.

USMC F-35 fighter crashes near U.S.-Mexico border after midair collision (UPI)

A Marine Corps fighter jet has crashed in Southern California after clipping a refueling tanker in flight, military officials said. The F-35B Lightning II, the military's newest and most expensive fighter aircraft, went down Tuesday near Salton City, Calif., and Ocotillo Wells State Park, where it caused some fires upon impact that were quickly extinguished. The pilot of the jet ejected safely before it crashed…

STATE

It’s official: we have our first ‘gigafire’ in Northern California (Norcal News)

… Now, we have a fire in Northern California that dwarfs all other fires ever recorded and it has officially surpassed a millions acres burned. The August Complex Fire is now what is known as a “gigafire,” a very rare designation for wildfires that surpass a million acres burned.

Wildfires Continue to Ravage California; At Least 1,200 Fatalities Linked to Inhaling Toxic Smoke  (Democracy Now)

… As California enters the peak of its historic fire season, a record-shattering 3.4 million acres have already burned. Climate scientists warn greenhouse gas emissions have led to searing record heat and an enduring drought that’s dried out vegetation and left Californians vulnerable to explosive fires. This comes as Stanford University researchers found at least 1,200 people — and as many as 3,000 — died as a result of inhaling toxic smoke that’s blanketed California in recent weeks.

California adds COVID-19 equity requirement. It could trip up counties’ reopenings (Los Angeles Times)

California’s larger counties will not be permitted to reopen their economies further unless they reduce coronavirus infections in the hardest hit places where the poor, Black people, Latinos and Pacific Islanders live.

In latest clash with NRA, Newsom signs bill to help police trace guns (Los Angeles Times)

New pistol models sold in California will eventually have to include micro-stamping technology that will make them easier to trace by law enforcement if they are used in crimes, under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

‘Significant areas of total devastation’ as California fires torch wine country (Los Angeles Times)

After days of explosive growth, crews are beginning to get a handle on two significant wildfires chewing through parts of Northern California, the latest blazes in what has already been a punishing and unprecedented fire year.

California moves to end sales of new gas-powered cars (KCRA)

California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation's most populous state that could force U.S. automakers to shift their zero-emission efforts into overdrive. The plan won't stop people from owning gas-powered cars or selling them on the used car market … California would be the first state with such a mandate while at least 15 other countries have already made similar commitments, including Germany, France and Norway.

California to ban chokeholds, independently review police shootings under newly signed laws (Politico)

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed policing bills that ban chokeholds, allow the state Department of Justice to investigate police shootings and give counties more oversight of sheriff's departments. The signings represent a win for police reform advocates …Still, the moment is bittersweet for these groups after some of the most aggressive proposals — including bills to establish a police decertification process and mandate officers intercede to stop excessive force — stalled in the Legislature.

California’s Filipino American nurses are dying from COVID-19 at alarming rates (San Jose Mercury News)

More than two-thirds of nurse deaths are among Filipino Americans

California task force will consider paying reparations for slavery (Los Angeles Times)

 With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, California became the first state government in the country on Wednesday to adopt a law to study and develop proposals for potential reparations to descendants of enslaved people and those impacted by slavery.