EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: TOP LOCAL AND STATE NEWS

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June 28, 2012 --  (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 
  • Helix Water Board approves rate hike for September (UT San Diego)
  • Large El Cap parcel conserved in East County (UT San Diego)
  • Good deeds gone wrong – Rural Fire District (Turko Files-KUSI)
  • Beat the heat in County cool zones: locations in East County (UT San Diego)
  • Could Imperial Valley become Owens Valley? (San Diego Reader)
  • What does climate change mean for water in the Colorado River basin? (National Geographic)
  • Hunter bunks at his office in Washington (UT San Diego)
  • UT San Diego to set up online paywall (KPBS)
  • The Starting Line: Getting past the UT San Diego firewall (San Diego Free Press)
  • U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Mt. Soledad cross case (UT San Diego) 
STATE 
  • Google says California legislators could drive away robotic cars (CNET)
  • Bill to regulate and tax marijuana dies in state Legislature (Sacramento Bee)
  • Budget tweaks could help  Gov. Brown make his case for tax hikes (Sacramento Bee)
  • Warning given on illegal fireworks in California (Sacramento Bee) 
Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.
 
LOCAL
 
Helix Water Board approves rate hike for September (UT San Diego)
 
June 20, 2012 -- The Helix Water District on Wednesday tentatively approved higher water rates that will show up in customers' November bills.
The board of directors vote 4-1 in favor of the proposed increases, with Director Kathleen Coates Hedberg casting the lone dissent.
If at least 50 percent of the ratepayers submit protest letters, the increase - about $2.75 a month for the average customer - could be avoided.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/20/helix-water-board-approves-study-rates-go-septembe/ 
Large El Cap parcel conserved in East County (UT San Diego)
 
June 22, 2012 -- The San Diego River Park Foundation announced this week that it has secured $220,000 needed to acquire the largest remaining privately owned property on El Cajon Mountain, also known as El Cap, in East County. The deal is expected to close in the next few weeks.
Purchasing the 157-acre parcel is part of the foundation’s Save the Source Initiative, designed to safeguard wildlife, watershed and recreation lands along the upper reaches of the San Diego River.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/22/large-el-cap-parcel-conserved-east-county/ 
Good deeds gone wrong – Rural Fire District (Turko Files-KUSI)
 
June 6, 2012 -- A back country landowner called KUSI's Michael Turko when he got sideways with the Rural Fire District. He's trying to evict them from land he's owned for decades but Turko says they're refusing to leave. Now here's the saddest part of this story, Turko has been told that the people running the fire district and Robbie Ivey all used to be good friends. But if they can't work out some kind of reasonable compromise in a hurry, they'll be facing off in court.
http://www.kusi.com/story/18724200/good-deed-gone-wrong
 
Beat the heat in County cool zones: locations in East County (UT San Diego)
 
June 21, 2012 -- San Diego County’s “Cool Zones” program, initiated by County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, whose constituency encompasses places with some of the highest temperatures every summer, is ready to start Friday.
Cool Zone sites, specifically for seniors and persons with disabilities to escape the extreme heat during the summer, include more than 100 locations countywide.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/21/beat-heat-county-cool-zones/ 
Could Imperial Valley become Owens Valley? (San Diego Reader)
 
June 20, 2012 -- The San Diego County Water Authority is glowering at the north when it should be warily eyeing the east. The authority, which wholesales water to county water districts, is spending piles of money on a lawsuit against the Los Angeles–based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to communities throughout the Southland. The San Diego County Water Authority, a customer of Metropolitan, thinks it is being overcharged.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/jun/20/citylights1-imperial-valley-become-owens-valley/ 
 
What does climate change mean for water in the Colorado River basin? (National Geographic)
 
June 20, 2012 -- Secretary of State Hilary Clinton recently celebrated the work of an Israeli scientist whose innovations in water conservation have been applied throughout the Middle East, noting “the importance of getting the most out of every drop of water. In many regions of the world, water is either too scarce or too unpredictable to sustain an American style of agriculture.”
But it’s not clear that the American Southwest can sustain an American style of agriculture, or for that matter an American style of lawn.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/06/20/what-does-climate-change-mean-for-water-in-the-colorado-river-basin/
Hunter bunks at his office in Washington (UT San Diego)
 
June 26, 2012 -- When Rep. Duncan Hunter finishes a work day on Capitol Hill, he doesn’t retreat to a condominium or a house in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, like many of his congressional colleagues.
Instead, the 52nd District representative heads back to his office in The Cannon House Office Building, pulls out an inflatable camping pad, and sleeps. He showers after working out at a local gym.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/26/hunter-bunks-his-office-washington/ 
UT San Diego to set up online paywall (KPBS)
 
June 21, 2012 -- U-T San Diego today became the latest major daily newspaper to charge for full access to its online content, but its front page and select digital services will remain free.
Subscribers to the print edition who have had home-delivery for at least one year will not be charged for full website access, according to the newspaper.
More and more newspapers nationwide have put online content behind a "pay wall,'' in part because online advertising across the industry is failing to replace the decline of ad revenue in print editions. U-T San Diego did not discuss its advertising revenues in its announcement, which was made on utsandiego.com.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/jun/21/u-t-san-diego-sets-online-pay-wall/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kpbs%2Flocal+%28KPBS+News%3A+Local+Headlines%29
 
The Starting Line: Getting past the UT San Diego firewall (San Diego Free Press)
 
June 22, 2012 -- It didn’t take long yesterday for news to spread that San Diego’s daily dead tree news operation had decided to monetize its internet operations by charging customers for access once they’d passed a monthly limit of fifteen page views. And, by the end of the day, savvy local computer users were spreading the word on methods to bypass the company’s paywall.
http://sandiegofreepress.org/2012/06/the-starting-line-getting-past-the-ut-sd-paywall-bridgepoint-in-the-crosshairs/
 
U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Mt. Soledad cross case (UT San Diego)
 
June 25, 2012 -- The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal Monday to review a lower court ruling that the cross atop Mount Soledad is unconstitutional means the structure will have to be changed significantly to avoid being taken down, according to a professor at the California Western School of Law.

The case will revert to local courts to create a remedy that satisfies last year's opinion of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, said constitutional law professor Glenn Smith. Solutions could range from altering the memorial to going as far as taking the 43-foot-tall cross down, but the status quo will not do, he said.
http://www.10news.com/news/31167001/detail.html
 
STATE
 
Google says California legislators could drive away robotic cars (CNET)
 
June 25, 2012 -- During his testimony Monday, a Google representative said if California legislators amend a proposed driverless car bill to effectively forbid their "driverlessness," the state will be telling autonomous car technology to get out of town.
Authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), the bill -- SB 1298 --aims to establish safety and performance standards for cars operated by computers and not people on California roads and highways. The California Assembly's Transportation Committee discussed the bill today, during which several members expressed concerns over liability issues and fear that the bill doesn't provide enough oversight to guarantee the safety of truly driverless cars. Legislators will continue discussion regarding these issues this week.
 
Bill to regulate and tax marijuana dies in state Legislature (Sacramento Bee)
 
June 26, 2012 -- A push to regulate California's medical marijuana industry amid heightened federal scrutiny of cannabis producers and sellers has fizzled due to a lack of support in the state Senate.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano called off a scheduled Senate committee vote on his medical marijuana regulation legislation Monday, acknowledging that he was short on votes to advance ahead of a July deadline. "Certainly in counting noses, the noses weren't there even in committee," the San Francisco Democrat said. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/26/4588411/bill-to-regulate-and-tax-marijuana.html
Budget tweaks could help  Gov. Brown make his case for tax hikes (Sacramento Bee)
 
June 26, 2012 -- Two days before California lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a new state budget, details emerged Monday on new provisions that could help Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative at the polls.
One of the biggest surprises was language propelling all bond measures and constitutional amendments to the top of the ballot, likely ensuring that Brown's tax hike on sales and upper-income earners will take the favorable lead spot on a November ballot chock full of voter questions.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/26/4588628/budget-tweaks-could-help-gov-jerry.html
Warning given on illegal fireworks in California (Sacramento Bee)
 
June 26, 2012 -- Law enforcement and fire agencies warned residents Monday they will enforce a "zero tolerance" policy against the purchase, sale, use and possession of illegal fireworks.
At a news conference, state Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover said violators not only will be prosecuted but also will be liable for the cost of any fire damage caused by illegal fireworks.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/26/4588727/warning-given-on-illegal-fireworks.html 


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