Tragedy raises questions on evacuation notifications, causes and potential utility liability; locally concerns rise over power outages and building in areas where a wildfire could cause  traffic gridlock and mass fatalities

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2018 (San Diego) – The Camp Fire’s grim toll has risen to 60 confirmed deaths while the list of missing has skyrocketed to 630 as authorities review 911 calls and other reports.  The Paradise Post has published a list of those missing in the state’s deadliest wildfire, which thus far has burned 142,000 acres. The Post has dropped bundles of its newspapers off at evacuation shelters, since delivery is impossible in a town where 90% of the buildings are now gone.

The blaze has destroyed 9,600 homes and 230 commercial buildings in Butte County, leveling the town of Paradise and also causing severe damage in several nearby communities north of Sacramento. The fire is now 45% contained.

But even those who survived without losing homes or businesses may suffer long term adverse health impacts due to air polluted by chemicals that have burned as the fire scorched through urban areas.   Air quality is rated hazardous across the Sacramento Valley and into San Francisco, where trolley car service has been temporarily halted due to the air pollution.

Meanwhile questions remain as to why so many were trapped and unable to escape. Most of those who perished were elderly and some who did get out report that they received no emergency warnings or evacuation notices. Authorities awaiting confirmation from fire officials reportedly got notices out too late for some residents closest to the monster wind-driven fire.

East County News Service

November 15, 2018 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – A celebration of life and spaghetti dinner will be held on November 16th from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Jacumba Spa for friends and family to honor the memory of Richard Henry Alcorn.  

East County News Service

November 14, 2018 (San Diego) – Yesterday, Petco announced it will not sell food and treats containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives* for dogs and cats by May 2019. The move makes Petco the first and only major retailer of pet food and treats to take a stand against such ingredients, reaffirming the company’s commitment to being the lifelong, trusted partner – for pets and pet parents, alike. 

East County News Service

November 13, 2018 (Campo) – Beginning Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association (PSRM), a historical and educational nonprofit based in Campo, Calif., will launch a year-long, 100-year anniversary celebration of the Nov. 15, 1919 completion of the San Diego & Arizona Railway.

East County News Service

November 12, 2018 (Lakeside) – The Sheriff’s department announced tonight that a 14-year-old student at El Capitan High School has been arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall for making criminal threats on social media toward the school.

Source:  SDG&E

Photo:  Sempra Energy headquarters in downtown San Diego. Courtesy of Sempra Energy

November 12, 2018 (San Diego) - Sempra Energy is launching an annual charitable-contribution program for Veterans Day to benefit support organizations for veterans and their families, with the inaugural grant of $20,000 going to the Gary Sinise Foundation.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  Rorick Luepton is the landlord liaison with County Housing and Community Development Services.

November 12, 2018 (San Diego) - Rorick “Rory” Luepton is looking for landlords.

No, he is not moving, nor does he need a new place to live.

By Julie Cart, CALmatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

November 11, 2018 (San Diego) - With a quarter-million Californians evacuated from their homes and wildfires so far claiming nine lives, President Donal Trump today took to Twitter and inflamed tensions—blaming California for causing the fires by mismanaging its forests and threatening to cut off federal funds.

East County News Service

Photo: SDG&E camera

November 10, 2018 (Ramona) -- A small plane crashed into a field west of the Ramona airport shortly before 8 a.m today and caught fire, but fortunately the pilot and a passenger escaped unharmed.

According to Cal. Fire/County Fire Authority, the fire was swiftly doused without spreading to adjacent brushy areas.

East County News Service

November 9, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – The County Registrar of Voters has posted results with 100% of precincts counted in all races, though some 465,000 late mail-in and provisional ballots remain to be tallied.

We've reported on the major races in East County, but with more than 52 districts on the ballot locally, plus numerous local ballot measures, it's impossible to cover them all. 

You can view results for all local races from water, fire and school boards to community planning groups and more at www.SDVote.com and click on election results.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Judge-elect Matt Brower at an Election Night party downtown

November 9, 2018 (San Diego) – Matt Brower has defeated incumbent San Diego Superior Court Judge Gary Kreep by a 59% to 41% margin. 

It’s rare for a sitting judge to be voted out of office. But Kreep was censured by the State Commission on Judicial Performance for 29 counts on judicial misconduct and running his courtroom in a biased manner, making derogatory comments about minorities, women attorneys, and people with cases before him. He came within one vote of being removed as a judge by the Commission for his misconduct

Brower is a deputy district attorney and judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was backed by the San Diego County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and other law enforcement groups, as well as by the San Diego County Democratic Party and also had cross-party support including Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

 Protests against Whitaker takeover of Trump-Russia probe are slated at 5 p.m. today, including Ramona’s Collier Park  and federal courthouse downtown

By Miriam Raftery

November 8, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – Critics are accusing President Donald Trump of obstructing justice after the President forced resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Washington Post reports. The removal of Sessions shits oversight of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

Sessions had recused himself from oversight of the special counsel probe due to conflict of interest laws, leaving Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge.  But with Sessions gone, Whittaker is now in charge of the investigation that he has long criticized.

By Miriam Raftery

November 8, 2018 (Sacramento) – California voters will continue to pay a gas tax to fund repairs of roads and bridges, after Proposition 6, a ballot measure that would have repealed the tax, failed by a 55-45% margin. 

Prop 10, an effort to make it easier for cities to impose rent controls, failed by a whopping 62-38% vote. 

But voters approved ending daylight savings time, passing Prop 7 by a 60-40% margin.  Voters also passed Prop 1, approving bonds to fund affordable housing and housing for veterans by a 54-46% margin.

Below is a rundown on all 11 measures on the ballot (a 12th, Prop 9, was removed by a court due to constitutional concerns.)

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2018 (San Diego) – Republican State Senator Joel Anderson is in a tight race for Board of Equalization seat 4.  The Secretary of State reports that overall in the race spanning five counties, Anderson leads 50.9% over Democrat Mike Schaeffer, who has 49.1%.   The real shocker is that in his home county, San Diego, Anderson has lost with just 47.7% of the vote to Schaeffer’s 52.3%.