EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

August 28, 2014 (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

• San Diego among top spots for terrorism (10 News)
• Spring Valley Church arsonist sentenced to 29 years in prison (10 News)
• ACLU: Suit puts end to deceived detainees (UT San Diego)
• Killer, kidnapper smiles as he’s sentenced (UT San Diego)
• City allows hookah lounge to add live music, dancing (La Mesa Courier)
• Historical View: Village improvements: a 1970s déjà vu (La Mesa Courier)
• San Diego Egg Farmers Work To Improve Conditions For Hens (KPBS)
• Where the Good Jobs Are (Voice of SD)

STATE

• California Senate approves measure banning warrantless surveillance (Reuters)
• In California drought, big money, many actors, little oversight (Reuters)
• California wait period doesn't apply to gun owners (AP)
• Drought leaves California homes without water (Sacramento Bee)
• U.S. inspector wanted reactor shut on quake fears: report (Reuters)
• Napa earthquake: California's early-warning system worked (The San Jose Mercury News)

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

LOCAL

San Diego among top spots for terrorism (10 News)

Team 10 is learning new details about San Diego's deep ties to terrorism following the death of a former San Diego City College student killed while fighting for ISIS. Douglas McCain went to school in San Diego before traveling to Syria.

Spring Valley Church arsonist sentenced to 29 years in prison (10 News)

An ex-con who set a series of fires inside a Catholic church near Mount Helix, causing more than $200,000 in damage, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 29 years in state prison.

ACLU: Suit puts end to deceived detainees (UT San Diego)

U.S. immigration authorities being sued on allegations of using coercive and deceptive tactics to push undocumented immigrants into voluntarily returning to Mexico have agreed to reforms that include providing detainees access to a phone and giving them up to two hours to reach an attorney or family member, lawyers announced Wednesday.

Killer, kidnapper smiles as he’s sentenced (UT San Diego)

Drug henchman sentence to life in prison without parole.

City allows hookah lounge to add live music, dancing (La Mesa Courier)

It almost felt like a scene out of Footloose on Aug. 20 as the La Mesa Planning Commission tried to determine whether a “no dancing” rule was enough to keep a local lounge in the city’s good graces.

Historical View: Village improvements: a 1970s déjà vu (La Mesa Courier)

La Mesa Boulevard through the downtown village was the scene of excavation, grading, utility trenching and loud and dusty demolition of outdated concrete sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping.

San Diego Egg Farmers Work To Improve Conditions For Hens (KPBS)

With a 2015 deadline approaching, Hilliker's Farm Fresh Eggs in Lakeside and other farms in the state are having to upgrade their hen houses to comply with laws requiring the birds have more space.

Where the Good Jobs Are (Voice of SD)

While California and San Diego specifically have performed relatively well in job creation since the (slow) U.S. recovery began in 2009, important questions remain about the quality of those jobs.

STATE

California Senate approves measure banning warrantless surveillance (Reuters)

The California State Senate passed legislation on Tuesday imposing strict regulations on how law enforcement and other government agencies can use drones, a move supporters said will protect privacy and prevent warrantless surveillance.

In California drought, big money, many actors, little oversight (Reuters)

In the middle of one of the worst droughts in California's history, no one knows exactly how many agencies supply the state with water. While state regulators supervise three companies that provide gas and electricity for most of California, drinking water is delivered through a vast network of agencies which collectively do billions of dollars of business, setting rates and handing out contracts with scant oversight.

California wait period doesn't apply to gun owners (AP)

A federal judge has overturned part of a California law requiring a 10-day waiting period for gun buyers, ruling that it does not apply to those who already own firearms.

Drought leaves California homes without water (Sacramento Bee)

Government officials and community groups say hundreds of rural San Joaquin Valley residents no longer can get drinking water from their home faucets because California's extreme drought has dried up their individual wells.

U.S. inspector wanted reactor shut on quake fears: report (Reuters)

A federal nuclear inspector urged U.S. regulators to shut down a California nuclear power plant until tests showed its reactors could withstand shocks from nearby earthquake faults, according to the Associated Press and an environmental group.  

Napa earthquake: California's early-warning system worked (The San Jose Mercury News)

 The successful alert was the biggest test yet in the Bay Area for a type of earthquake early-warning system that's not yet available to the public in the U.S. but already is providing precious seconds of notice before quakes hit in Mexico and Japan.