East County News Service

June 28, 2017 (Washington D.C.) — President Donald Trump has signed into law the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017. The bipartisan legislation aims to increase accountability at the VA by allowing the Secretary to dismiss poorly-performing employees and those who engage in misconduct while strengthening protections for whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing.

East County News Service

June 27, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Andrew Hayes, a district representative with California Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine), has been honored with Wendell Cutting Legislative Staff Member of the Year award from the Republican Party of San Diego County. The award, presented at the recent Lincoln Reagan Dinner, recognizes excellence in constituent service and community participation.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview by clicking the audio link and scroll down to read highlights.

June 25, 2017 (San Diego) – East County Magazine sat down for an interview with Morgan,  the San Diego Union-Tribune reporter who has been named “Journalist of the Year” by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in San Diego. 

In our exclusive interview, aired earlier this month on KNSJ radio, we asked what led her to investigate Congressman Duncan D. Hunter’s campaign finances, how his office responded, and what challenges she faced in her investigation.  Cook’s findings helped lead to an ongoing U.S. Justice Department criminal probe of allegations that Hunter spent lavish sums on personal expenditures and charged them to his campaign, including a family vacation to Italy , expensive jewelry, resort visits, money paid to his children’s school, first-class airfare for his son’s pet rabbit, and more. 

Gordon D. Walker will direct agency charged with overseeing regional homeless planning and local distribution of federal homeless and affordable housing dollars       

Source: County News Service

June 22, 2017 (San Diego) -- The San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) has selected Gordon D. Walker as its new chief executive officer. Walker most recently served as director of Utah’s Division of Housing and Community Development where he gained national attention for his efforts to reduce homelessness.

The Los Angeles Times reports in an article today that Utah has reduced its chronic homeless population by 91 percent.  From 2oo5, when Utah state officials began placing people in permanent housing, there were 1,932 chronically homeless people. Today, nearly all of those are housed, with only 178 chronically homeless people in the entire state of Utah – and officials have their sights set on soon bringing that number down to zero through an approach that is compassionate, not punitive.

East County News Service

June 20, 2017 (Rancho Bernardo) – Farouk Al-Nasser, president of the San Diego World Affairs Council, will offer his perspective on geopolitical events in the Middle at a meeting of the Rancho Bernardo Democratic Club on Monday, June 26^th. In addition, former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher will speak on the Voting Rights Act.  Refreshments and registration start at 6:30 p.m. with the program starring at 7 p.m. at The Remington Club II, 16916 Hierba Drive. This event is free of charge and open to the public. 

East County News Service

June 20, 2017 (San Diego) -- The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to appoint current Chief Deputy District Attorney Summer Stephan as interim District Attorney. She will fill the vacancy left by the retirement of District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis on July 7.

East County News Service

June 17, 2017 (San Diego) - The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act has been reintroduced and will be considered in the House Judiciary committee this week.  Contrary to its name, refugee advocates say the measure would actually endanger the lives of refugees in need ot immediate resettlement as well as any refugees already in the U.S. who travel home to visit family.  A letter opposing the legislation has been sent to the committee’s chair and ranking member, signed by 117 refugee advocate organizations including many local groups ranging from churches to human rights advocates.

East County News Service

June 17, 2017 (San Diego) – “I understand how concerned all of you are by the challenges facing our country, and so I look forward to another opportunity to hear from you,” says Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego), who will hold her next town hall meeting on Monday, June 19^th from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at San Diego State University’s Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union (6075 Aztec Circle Drive, San Diego).  Her district encompasses San Diego and parts of East County including La Mesa, Spring Valley and parts of El Cajon.

No RSVP is needed; the event will be first-come, first-served. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. The event will also be live-streamed; you will be able to view it here: https://www.facebook.com/RepSusanDavis/

View full testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on C-Span.

By Miriam Raftery

June 15, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee June 13^th , calling any suggestion of  Trump campaign team’s collusion with Russia to rig the U.S. presidential election “a contemptible lie.” 

 Sessions also denied any “inappropriate” meetings with Russians but repeatedly claimed fuzzy memory. He said he could not recall meeting Russia’s ambassador during a reception at the Mayflower hotel.  After his testimony, the Week published a photo of Sessions speaking with the Russian ambassador at the Mayflower.

He refused to answer any questions about conversations with President Donald Trump about the investigation or possible discussion of pardons, citing a department policy. But Sessions was unable to name that policy, whether it exists in writing, or whether he reviewed it before testifying when grilled by California Senator Kamala Harris. (View Senator Harris questioning Sessions.) 

By Jordan Damond

June 14, 2017 (San Diego) -- President Donald Trump and his attorney have accused fired FBI director James Comey of being a “leaker” for providing what they claim was privileged information in memos that Comey arranged for media to receive. But many legal experts contend that Comey may be protected as a whistleblower--and that any actions to retaliate against him could be construed as obstruction of justice. The controversy raises a key question:

Is James Comey a leaker?

By Miriam Raftery

June 13, 2017 (San Diego) -- The Board of Supervisors will look at ideas next week designed to help get the homeless into homes.  County Supervisors Ron Roberts and Dianne Jacob unveiled the three initiatives to spur the building, renovation and acquisition of affordable housing and stem the growing tide of homelessness.

East County News Service

June 10, 2017 (Ramona) – Nonie Darwish, a human rights activist, will speak on “The Difference between Biblical and Islamic Values” at a Ramona Tea’d forum on Saturday, June 24^th.   Darwish was born and raised in Egypt as a Muslim, but converted to Christianity after moving to the United States.  She is an author, lecturer and Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy.

East County News Service

June 8, 2017 (San Francisco) – In what a patient advocacy group calls a ”devastating turn," the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to not only terminate its short-lived ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreements in nursing homes but to endorse their use as a condition to receiving vital care and services.

By Miriam Raftery

June 7, 2017 (San Diego’s East County ) – Major TV networks including CBS, NBC  and ABC will be interrupting regular programming tomorrow morning  to broadcast live testimony by fired FBI director James Comey to the Senate Intelligence Committee slated to start at 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

A copy of Comey's pre-prepared statement has been released and can be read here. Comey confirms "inappropriate" actions by President Donald Trump including demanding loyalty and pressuring him to drop the investigation into former National Security Director Michael Flynn.  Comey's statement directly contradicts Trump's denial that he asked Comey to drop the investigation.  After Comey refused,  and also refused to swear a loyalty oath to Trump, Trump fired him.

 Comey’s testimony under questioning by Senators tomorrow could provide evidence for special prosecutor James Mueller, who is heading up an investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

The stakes have ratcheted up after the Intercept published  excerpts of a leaked top-secret National Security Administration report detailing that Russian military intelligence sent phishing messages to at least 100 U.S. election officials days before the 2016 presidential election and earlier executed a cyber attack on at least one voting software supplier.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Senator Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins, authors of Healthy California Act.

June 4, 2017 Sacramento) – Both houses of California’s Legislature have passed a landmark bill  called the “Healthy California Act”  to create a single-payer, universal healthcare system and eliminate private insurance companies  from covering anything covered by the state plan, which is broad.   

If enacted  the measure coauthored by Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) would  cover all Californians, with no premiums, copays or deductibles, for all medical, dental, vision care, mental health and chiropractic services.   

But Senate bill 352 must go back to the Assembly to remedy a major flaw: the bill was advanced without details on how to pay for it, in order to meet legislative deadlines, and contains a clause that without the Secretary of Health and Human Services determining that a new Healthy California Trust Fund has sufficient revenues to fund the bill’s costs,  it will not become law.