Politics and local government

3-2 VOTE IN FAVOR OF REGULATING LA MESA’S RESIDENTIAL STORAGE OF FIREARMS

 
July 28, 2024 (La Mesa) -- The nationwide riots in 2020, including La Mesa, sparked whispers to defund the police. While varying degrees of this conversation are igniting again, lines are blurring between a nation’s objectivity and its intention behind police oversight boards, and now citizens are taking a stance on regulations for the residential storage of firearms. 
 
At this week's City Council meeting, members and the public spoke out on a proposal to regulate the storage of firearms.
 
For Councilmember Colin Parent, who remembers being held at gunpoint, he thinks it is a basic human right to feel safe within the community, and the prevention of unintentional uses of personal firearms is a modest and appropriate step toward the preservation of security.

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TRUMP SAYS VOTING IN U.S. WILL END IF HE IS ELECTED

East County News Service

Photo: Trump in 2024 NH rally; cc by SA 4.0

July 27, 2024 (Detroit) -- CNN reports: "During a conservative Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit, former President Donald Trump urged Christians to vote, saying they wouldn’t have to do it again if they got out there in November and elected him." Trump urges Christians to vote: ‘You won’t have to do it anymore’ (msn.com)

Donald Trump has previously said if he didn’t win there would be “bloodbath” if he loses and claimed, “I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country.”  He has called for the “termination” of our Constitution and bragged “a lot of people like” his calls to be a “dictator on day one.”

 

WATCH: Last night, Trump again vowed to end democracy if he did win, stating:  "You  won't have to do it anymore.  Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine.  You won't have to vote anymore."

 

Harris for  President spokesman James Singer issued this statement in respnse to Trump's vow to end democracy:


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UBER, LYFT, DOORDASH WORKERS REMAIN CONTRACTORS DUE TO CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING

Photo: Ride-share drivers of the California Gig Workers Union at a press conference outside the Supreme Court of California in San Francisco on May 21, 2024. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Prop. 22, a ballot initiative that allows companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to classify drivers as independent contractors. Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters
 
 
 
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
 
July 27, 2024 (Sacramento) -- In a major victory for gig-work companies, the California Supreme Court today upheld a voter-approved law that allows Uber and other app makers to treat their drivers and delivery workers as independent contractors instead of employees.
 
The decision on Proposition 22 was unanimous. Approved by 58% of California voters in 2020 and enacted the same year, Prop. 22 gave app-based gig workers some benefits but not full worker protections because the ballot initiative — which gig companies spent more than $200 million to pass — ensures they are not considered employees.

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U.S. VOTER REGISTRATIONS SURGE AS REPUBLICANS TRY TO LIMIT BALLOT ACCESS

 
July 27, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- The group behind a popular get-out-the-vote technology platform said Friday that it's registered more than 100,000 new U.S. voters since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, a surge that came amid mounting Republican efforts to make it harder to register and vote.
 
Vote.org said that 84% of voters registered in the new wave are under age 35. Nearly 1 in 5 new registrees is 18 years old. Andrea Hailey, the group's CEO, said that "since 2020, we have led the largest voter registration drive in U.S. history," with more than 7.8 million people registered.
 
After dropping out, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to face former Republican President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in the November election. The new presumptive Democratic candidate has already earned endorsements from many Democrats in Congress and groups advocating on issues including climate, labor, and reproductive rights.

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POSTCARDS GO OUT TO REGISTERED VOTERS FOR NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION

 
July 27, 2024 (San Diego) -- The San Diego County Registrar of Voters office sent over 1.9 million postcards to the County’s registered voters this week.
 
The “VOTE! MORE DAYS. MORE WAYS.” postcards are sent nearly 100 days before the election to remind voters of their voting options for the November Presidential General Election.

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CITIZENS UNITED, GOP STATE PARTIES FILE FEC COMPLAINT OVER BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN FUNDS

Editors note: *to which Harris added $127 million within three (3) days.
 
 
July 26, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- A conservative group and a group of Republican state parties Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of improperly assuming control of Biden campaign funds after he withdrew from the race.
 
The complaint is asking the FEC’s six-person commission — split evenly between Democrats and Republicans — to “immediately initiate enforcement proceedings to prevent Harris from using her ill-gotten gains for her campaign in the little time remaining between now and the November general election.”
 
After President Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris to take his place as the likely Democratic nominee, the Biden campaign officially changed its name to the Harris campaign, giving the vice president access to about $96 million* of campaign funds as of June 30.

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HARRIS GIVES FIRST CAMPAIGN SPEECH AFTER BIDEN STEPS DOWN IN HOPES OF OFFICIAL PARTY NOMINATION

By Jessyka Heredia

July 23, 2024 (United States) – Presidential hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris clinched enough delegates to proceed as the Democratic nominee today before an official vote. Harris was quick to address the public and assert herself as the democratic nominee after she secured the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to garner the nomination.

Today in her first campaign speech in Wisconsin, Harris addressed her party, “When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination. Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”


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TEETH IN THE U.S. FOR THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD THEM

No Matter Your Politics
 
 
Photo: Jonathan Goetz, who got dental coverage a decade and a half ago for three months via the California State Assembly.
 
July 23, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- This week has been an incredibly wild ride for politics in the United States. One former president is targeted by an assassin’s bullet, and one soon-to-be former president drops out of his campaign for reelection. History is unfolding, and fear about the future is rising.
 
One constant certainty for every person residing in the U.S. of the free and the brave is the extraordinary profits made by health insurance corporations and the providers who deny care to millions of Americans who don’t present themselves with enough coverage or cash to afford needed care.

This article first appeared in Common Dreams and is 


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POLITICAL RHETORIC ABOUT THIRD TRIMESTER ABORTION IS MISLEADING, EXPERTS SAY

 
Photo: ECM prompt to Bing CoPilot
 
July 23, 2024 (Topeka) -- It’s an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision — that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even “after birth.”

This article first appeared in Kansas Reflector and 


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CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC DELEGATES, WITH MORE SWAY IN WILD ELECTION, RALLY BEHIND HARRIS

With President Joe Biden announcing yesterday he won’t seek reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, some California Democratic delegates quickly went along. Gov. Gavin Newsom also endorsed Harris.
 
 
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
 
Photo: From left to right: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Harris, and civil rights lawyer Constance L. Rice celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
 
July 22, 2024 (Sacramento) -- California’s nearly 500 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month will play a key role in choosing a replacement nominee now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign.

Read earlier coverage on Biden's withdraw from our team at: BIDEN DROPS OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE AMID PRESSURE FROM FELLOW DEMOCRATS | East County Magazine or click "Read more" below for the article previewed.


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JD VANCE - WHO ONCE CALLED TRUMP 'AMERICA'S HITLER' TAPPED FOR VP

The right-wing Ohio Republican, who opposes abortion rights and backed Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, is a former venture capitalist who portrays himself as a champion of the working class.
 
 
July 21, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- Former President Donald Trump on Monday chose U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his running mate despite the Ohio Republican formerly describing himself as a "Never Trump guy" and calling the presumptive GOP nominee an "idiot," an "---hole," and "America's Hitler."

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BIDEN DROPS OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE AMID PRESSURE FROM FELLOW DEMOCRATS

By Jessyka Heredia

July 21, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Today Joe Biden released a statement on social media to announce he was dropping out of the Presidential race against former President Trump and his newly announced Vice Presidential running mate JD Vance.


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HUNDREDS OF LEMON GROVE RESIDENTS PROTEST SLEEPING CABIN PROJECT DURING COUNTY FORUM

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch full video here

July 20, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – An angry crowd of residents confronted Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe during a community forum in Lemon Grove Thursday night, most opposed to a homeless sleeping cabin project voted on by Supervisors before the community’s voices were heard. The meeting had to be moved to the recreation center’s gymnasium to accommodate the overflow turnout.

Just two days earlier, Supervisors voted 4-0 to move forward on the project, with Chair Nora Vargas absent. The forum, held after the vote, left many residents feeling lied to. as they had believed Thursday's forum was a chance for the community to be heard. The crowd was loud and passionate.


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THE GRASS IS GREENER ON CENTER STREET: CANNABIS TESTING SITE TO OPEN

 
Photo: Abhey Schweitzer, the architect behind Center Street Distribution LLC (July 17)
 
July 20, 2024 (La Mesa)—Sprouting along Center Street’s southerly side is a budding industry propagating the cultivation of cannabis products like weeds. The planning commission favored its first marijuana distribution facility last Wednesday.

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LEMON GROVE RESIDENTS FEEL DUPED BY COUNTY AND CITY OFFICIALS ON SLEEPING CABINS PROPOSAL

By Jessyka Heredia

July 17, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Residents of Lemon Grove were told there would be a community forum tomorrow  to discuss the possibility of bringing 70 sleeping cabins to Lemon Grove to house homeless people. But County Supervisors voted 4-0 yesterday (with Nora Vargas absent) to move forward on the project just two days before the community forum, leaving residents to wonder if their input ever mattered.

The project was to be built with a $10 million dollar grant from the state originally slated for 150 sleeping cabins in Spring Valley, but that project was cancelled after objections from neighbors over proximity to homes and sensitive sites. Vargas said she “heard the concerns of the community” and backed instead building a smaller-scale project in Lemon Grove near the Spring Valley boundary.


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SAN DIEGO COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIR REBECCA TAYLOR KILLED IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH

East County News Service

July 17, 2024 (San Diego) – Rebecca “Becca” Taylor, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, has died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Utah.  She was returning home from a trip when she was hit from behind.

Acting Chair Kyle Krahel-Frolander issued a statement which reads in part: ”Becca made an incalculable impact on so many and moved San Diego toward a brighter future. She was more than just a leader, she was a public servant. Becca was a Navy veteran, an advocate for victims of sexual assault, a member of the OB Town Council,and a volunteer finding resources for asylum seekers. She embodied the best of us.”


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SIERRA CLUB SUES TO BLOCK GREENHILLS RANCH HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN LAKESIDE OVER WILDFIRE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

By Miriam Raftery
 
July 17, 2024 (Lakeside) – After San Diego County Supervisors unanimously approved the Greenhills Ranch housing development in Lakeside near Lake Jennings, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the County and Atlas Real Estate seeking to block the project.

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ROUNDABOUTS FOR LAKESIDE? COUNTY HOSTS OPEN HOUSE JULY 24

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2024 (Lakeside) – The County is in the early stages of design for the proposed roundabouts, which proposes to construct two new roundabouts in Lakeside, one along Riverford Road, and the other between North Woodside Avenue.

San Diego County’s Public Works Department invites residents to a community open house on July 24 from 5-8 p.m. to ask questions and learn about the proposed Riverford Road Roundabouts capital improvement project. The meeting will be held at the Lakeside Library, 12428 Woodside Ave. in Lakeside.

According to the County, key benefits include:


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ATTORNEY ODAY YOUSIF RUNS FOR CAJON VALLEY SCHOOL BOARD TO RESTORE CORE EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND COMBAT EXTREMISM

By Miriam Raftery
 
July 16, 2024 (El Cajon) – Oday Yousif, a consumer attorney endorsed by prominent educators in East County, is the third candidate to announce he is running for the Cajon Valley Union School District in Trustee Area 5. 
 
“With a passion for education and years of proven public service, I am running to refocus the district’s values on uplifting the community and creating strong public schools that prioritize educational achievement and student safety,” says Oday Yousif, an attorney and Chair of the Valle de Oro Community Planning Group. Yousif says he aims to refocus the district’s values on core educational principles and moving the district away from “right-wing extremist policies that have harmed district morale,” a press release announcing his candidacy.

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FUTURE OF PARKWAY PLAZA MALL REENVISIONED

City awaits Council’s next motion

By Rachel Williams

July 14.2024 (El Cajon) -- With online sales taking a bite out of retail traffic, shopping malls across the U.S. are struggling and some have closed down. Seeking to avoid that scenario, the City of El Cajon commissioned a market analysis envisioning redevelopment options for Parkway Plaza,  East County’s largest regional shopping mall.

Council members unanimously favored a motion to move beyond proposed aspirational measures and begin the next step toward transforming Parkway Plaza into a mix of residential, retail, offices, entertainment and community space.

These “Eatertainment” facilities would combine compelling, traditional dining options and immersive sport-centered bars with unique, dynamic lifestyle retail shops, all oriented around a linear park.


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TRUMP SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT; 2 DEAD INCLUDING SHOOTER

Update July 14, 2024--The shooter has been identified as Matthew Cook, 20, a registered  Republican from Pennsylvania.The rifle, an AR-15, was reportedly legally purchased by Cook's father.  Motive for the shooting remains unknown as the investigation continues.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Screenshot from NBC video--Secret Agents usher injured former President Trump to safety after shooting.

July 13, 2024 (San Diego) – Gunfire erupted at a Donald Trump rally late today in Pennsylvania, injuring the former President’s ear. One audience member was killed and two others seriously injured, according to the U.S. Secret Service, which killed the gunman.

Video on multiple TV networks showed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee clutching his ear, blood on his face, moments after several shots were heard.Trump dropped to the ground below the podium as the crowd erupted in panic, many ducking for cover.

Secret Service agents huddled around Trump, who raised a fist in the air as agents hustled him our of the open-air venue. He was later treated at a hospital for what his campaign described as a minor injury, assuring that he plans to attend the Republican National Convention which begins  Monday.

A Trump spokesperson, Steven Cheung, said Trump “thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” adding that the former president is “fine” and being checked out at a medical facility.

The identity of the gunman, who was atop a nearby building, has not been released. Nor has the identity of the audience member killed or those injured been disclosed.


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SHERIFF ANNOUNCES DRUG AND CONTRABAND SCREENINGS FOR JAIL EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS

By Miriam Raftery
 
July 13, 2024 (San Diego) – San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez this week announced that random screenings for drugs and contraband will be implemented for all personnel assigned to county jails, as well as for contractors and others with business in county detention facilities, though not public visitation areas. Belongings will also be screened.
 
To protect security, the details, locations and frequency of screenings is not being disclosed, however a Sheriff’s K-9 dog trained to detect drugs will be present. 
 
The action aims to further reduce San Diego’s high rate of in-custody deaths. In 2022, a state auditor report found that 185 people died in San Diego County jails from 2006 to 2020. Since then, Sheriff Kelly Martinez has rolled out many reforms which have reduced jail deaths, most of which occurred in people being held awaiting hearings. Her actions have reduced, but not eliminated jail deaths; six people have died in custody locally so far this year.

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LA MESA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SALES TAX MEASURE FOR BALLOT

 

By Rachel Williams

July 11, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Here’s Why Your Voice Matters, La Mesa.

The La Mesa City Council voted unanimously on July 9 to let residents vote in November on whether to continue the ¾ cent sales tax extension used to fund public services.  Prop L, enacted in 2008, is set to expire in 2029.

According to a city press release sent by the city after the vote, the Prop L sales tax contributes approximately $12 million annually in local funding. Without Prop L funding, the City would need to make significant reductions to public safety services and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, parks, storm drains and other infrastructure, the release states.


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LA MESA PLANNING COMMISSION TO HOLD SPECIAL MEETING JULY 8 ON PROPOSAL TO ALLOW MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

By Miriam Raftery
 
Photo: CC via Bing
 
July 5, 2024 (La Mesa) –The La Mesa Planning Commission will hold a special meeting on July 8 at 6 p.m. The agenda includes a proposal to allow by-right approval of housing projects on designated “reuse” sites if at least 20% of units are considered affordable to lower income households.
 
A by-right approval means there would be no public hearings and projects must be approved as long as they meet zoning and design requirements in effect at the time the proposed project is submitted. View full agenda

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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: BRENDA MILLER, NURSE AND NURSING INSTRUCTOR RUNNING FOR GROSSMONT HEALTHCARE DISTRICT

Update:  Nadia Farjood has denied filing an FPPC complaint against Miller.  It is unclear who filed the complaint, but the FPPC found no wrongdoing by Miller.

June 29, 2024 (La Mesa) – Brenda Miller is a candidate for the Grossmont Healthcare District board of directors in district 3. She’s a nurse with masters and PhD degrees in nursing plus over 40 years of healthcare experience, ranging from hospitals to hospice care. Currently she’s a hospital administrative supervisor at Palomar Healthcare and a nursing program instructor at Cal State San Marcos. Now, she wants to bring her expertise as a nurse and teacher to improve healthcare for patients and conditions for healthcare workers in the Grossmont Healthcare District, which oversees Grossmont Hospital.

She says, Nurse leaders to sit at the table where healthcare decisions are made.” 

ECM interviewed nurse Miller on our radio show aired on KNSJ.  Scroll down for highlights, or click the audio link to hear the complete interview.

Audio: 


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AS WE CELEBRATE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OUR DEMOCRACY IS AT RISK

Update July 11:  Trump has recently said of Project 2025, "I have no idea who is behind it." However, CNN reports that at least 140 people who worked for Trump were involved in Project 2025's creation, including six of Trump's former cabinet secretaries,  his White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his long-time advisory Steven Miller, and several attorneys who represented Trump in election inteference cases.  The project's top architects describe it as a blueprint for a second Trump administration.

 

By Miriam Raftery

Image: Spirit of '76, painting by A.M. Wilard depicts American Revolutionary War fought to win freedom from British tyranny

 

July 4, 2024 (San Diego) – Today, we celebrate our nation’s declaration of independence from Britain’s king in 1776. But ironically, America’s democracy is at risk, along with the liberties we cherish.  Constitutional experts warn that like several failed democracies, most notably Germany in the 1930s, the United States now faces the very real threat of becoming an autocracy,  or dictatorship.

The threat is two-fold: first, a document called Project 2025 is a blueprint for converting our democracy to an autocracy and the guidebook for a second Trump term of office. Second, a Supreme Court ruling this week effectively grants Trump, Biden, or any future president king-like authority to break the law without fear of prosecution for crimes.

Steven Levitsky, coauthor of the award-winning, bestselling book How Democracies Die states, “Democracies may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders—presidents or prime ministers who subvert the very process that brought them to power. Some of these leaders dismantle democracy quickly, as Hitler did in the wake of the 1933 Reichstag fire in Germany. More often, though, democracies erode slowly, in barely visible steps.” He further warns, “This is how elected autocrats subvert democracy—packing and “weaponizing” the courts and other neutral agencies, buying off the media and the private sector (or bullying them into silence), and rewriting the rules of politics to tilt the playing field against opponents. The tragic paradox of the electoral route to authoritarianism is that democracy’s assassins use the very institutions of democracy—gradually, subtly, and even legally—to kill it.”


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REP. LEVIN, AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER, BLASTS SUPREME COURT'S 'DRASTIC' CHEVRON DECISION

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
 
Photo: Rep. Mike Levin speaks at a veterans event in May. Courtesy of his office
 
July 5, 2024 (San Juan Capistrano) -- Rep. Mike Levin, who worked as an environmental lawyer before his election to Congress, blasted the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to overrule a nearly 40-year-old precedent guiding government regulation of the environment and medicine.
 
The 1984 precedent the court overturned arose from a ruling involving oil company Chevron that called for judges to defer to reasonable federal agency interpretations of U.S. laws deemed to be ambiguous.

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SANTEE COUNCIL PUTS SALES TAX INCREASE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

By Mike Allen

June 30, 2024 (Santee) -- The Santee City Council has unanimously approved an initiative to raise the sales tax charged within the city by a half cent for improved fire protection, including two new stations and firefighters.

The measure, which would increase the tax on items sold in the city from 7.75 to 8.25 percent, will expire in 15 years if passed by a a simple majority of Santee voters in November. Called the Santee Emergency Safety Protection Ordinance, the initiative was championed by the Santee Firefighters Association, which collected some 3,800 valid signatures from city residents to qualify for the ballot.

The Council voted this week to place it on the ballot and forego a detailed report on how the funds would be spent.


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WHAT’S IN THE COUNTY BUDGET FOR EAST COUNTY?

By Miriam Raftery

June 29, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County Supervisors this week approved a balanced budget of $8.5 billion for fiscal year 2024-2025. Among the East County capital projects funded are:

  • Ramona Fire Station 80 - $250,000
  • Ramona Sheriff's Substation - $5,000,000
  • Stowe Trail - $4,400,000
  • Sycamore Canyon Trails - $3,600,000
  • Lindo Lake Improvements - $4,000,000
  • East County Archery Park - $150,000
  • Keeping Lake Hodges, Lake Sutherland, and El Capitan Reservoirs Open = $59,000
  • $65.5 million for resurfacing 101 miles in unincorporated areas, including sections of Tavern Road and Japatul Road in Alpine. Report roads that need repairs here.

Supervisor Joel Anderson says, “Our balanced County budget is a huge win for District 2 residents and our shared top priorities of strong public and fire safety, attainable housing, improving homelessness and mental health, and supporting economic development.”


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HOW TO WATCH OR LISTEN TO THE CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE TONIGHT

By Jonathan Goetz
 
June 27, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Tonight's Presidential debate . between Presidents Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78, is set for 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, hosted by CNN. It will be their first debate in the 2024 cycle as neither participated in debates during their respective primaries. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 70, did not qualify for the debate per CNN qualifying rules.
 
Unlike the Superbowl, it will be very easy to tune into the CNN Debates moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash no matter your t.v., streaming, internet or radio routine. 

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

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