By David Leonhardi

President, Deputy Sheriffs Association of San Diego County (DSASD.org)

July 23, 2020 (San Diego) -- The past six weeks have brought a major change in public safety discussions across the country. The rise of the “defund the police” movement has dominated national attention, sparking a debate over the nature of law enforcement and the scope of their duties. Criminal justice activists throughout the nation have pressured their local cities and counties to cut funding from their respective law enforcement departments due to perceived systemic problems, most notably, that of alleged racial bias in policing.¹ Supporters of this movement seek to reallocate this funding to social services surrounding issues related to substance abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness, to name a few.² 

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: A section of the old border fence being torn down in San Diego’s East County as work continues on new wall despite lawsuit and pandemic

July 23, 2020 (Washington D.C.) -- The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt construction of President Trump’s border wall. In a motion filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, the ACLU is urging the court to lift an earlier stay that allowed the Trump administration to divert $2.5 billion from military pay and pension funds for border wall construction that Congress had specifically denied. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2020 (San Diego)  - Should you send your child back to school this fall, if facilities are allowed to open? How much risk does in-school learning pose for children, teachers, staff and families amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Is distance-only learning really an acceptable substittute for in-person instruction?

These are questions every parent and educator is now confronting. A look at childcare facilities, which have remained open throughout the pandemic, as well as checking up on schools around the world in places that have reopened, can provide some lessons learned.

As of today, 90 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in child care facilities in San Diego, according to data updated daily by the California Department of Social Services. Statewide, the number of coronavirus cases reported by childcare facilities rose five-fold in just over a month, Ed Source reported last week. 

East County News Service

July 21, 2020 (San Diego) – A horse named “Ollie” reported missing in May has been found by Border Patrol Agents in the Tijuana River Valley area of San Diego.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced Monday that agents found the horse tangled in a thicket on July 15. 

Members of the Imperial Beach Station's All-Terrain Vehicle Unit were tracking a group of people who crossed the border illegally when they discovered the horse tangled in thick brush, according to CBP agent Jeff Stephenson. A K-9 team and horse patrol agents joined the ATV team to clear a path to access the trapped horse, which appeared to be weak and in distress.

By Kendra Sitton

July 21, 2020 (San Diego) - An estimated 35,000 torture survivors reside in San Diego County. Only one torture treatment agency is accredited to serve this vulnerable population in our county: Survivors of Torture, International. East County Magazine spoke with Survivors’ Community Relations Manager, Katrina Pimental, about their clients’ experiences during the pandemic. 

Many are facing job loss without access to government help. Mental health issues such as PTSD are triggered by lockdown measures which remind them of house arrest.  Many don’t qualify for CARES Act benefits and are struggling financially. Some have gone without food for days. Their asylum claims are in limbo. 

Our interview delved into these issues, as well as how the nonprofit is responding. 

Kemper assumes new role effective July 1

Source:  GUHSD

July 20, 2020 (El Cajon) - The GUHSD Governing Board unanimously appointed Theresa Kemper as Superintendent of the Grossmont Union High School District effective July 1, 2020.

Theresa Kemper began her career in education as an English teacher at El Cajon Valley High School. She was promoted to educational administration in 1995, serving as Assistant Principal for three years at Granite Hills High School, followed by Principal of Grossmont High School for nine years. For most of the past decade, Ms. Kemper served as Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services in the Grossmont Union High School District.

By Briana Gomez

July 18, 2020 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa City Council Meeting on July 14 reflected an air of unresolved tensions, six weeks after rioting, looting and fires ravaged the community. The Council approved a grant application to help the homeless and addressed other issues, but concerns over police controversies and the riot response remained hot button issues with residents. 

“We’ve got to move all Americans towards that place where we can lay down the burden of race and create one America, one multiracial democratic society.”

–Congressman John Lewis, 2013 interview with East County Magazine in San Diego. Hear the full interview.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  President Barack Obama presented Medal of Freedom to John Lewis in 2011.

July 18, 2020 (San Diego) – Congressman John Lewis, famed civil rights leader, has died of pancreatic cancer at age 80. The son of sharecroppers, Lewis drew inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to become a courageous champion in the civil rights movement for more than 60 years.

Calling him the “conscience of the Congress” where he served as a representative from Georgia for over 40 years,  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced his death yesterday and ordered the flag over our nation’s capitol flown at half-mast.

Lewis denounced violence and was arrested more than 40 times for peaceful protests against injustice. In 1965, TV coverage of  a trooper fracturing his skull with a bully club in what became known as Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama outraged the nation, leading to swift passage of the Voting Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

By County News Center, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by Autumn Endara:  Now's the time to rescue an animal and make a lifelong buddy.

July 18, 2020 (San Diego) - Look at these adorable furry and reptilian faces that are available for adoption now at the County Department of Animal Services. In July, the County is offering an adoption special too! All adoptions are also “touchless” to better protect you and our Animal Services staff. Visit County Animal Services to get started.

By Miriam Raftery

July 17, 2020 (Sacramento)  -- Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a five-point plan for reopening public and private schools. But 30 counties currently on the state’s COVID-19 are prohibited from reopening schools this fall – including San Diego County, unless major changes happen fast to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

A five-point plan issued by the state’s Department of Public Health will allow a district to reopen for live classes only after its county has a two week decline in COVID-19 cases.

The news deals a blow to districts such as Cajon Valley Union School District, which just resumed some summer school classes and had announced a blended learning model that gave parents options for in school, online, or a combination of learning options for students. Some other districts, however, such as San Diego Unified had already rolled back reopening plans due to high numbers of COVID-19 outbreaks locally.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo of Horton's injuries, courtesy of Singleton Law Firm

July 17, 2020 (La Mesa) – A woman who claims she was shot one the side of her breast with a rubber bullet or other projectile by a law enforcement officer while waiting at the Chevron gas station for her daughter, after leaving the May 30 protest, has filed a claim against the city of La Mesa seeking unspecified damages for her injuries.

Michelle Horton, 51, a former Navy officer and healthcare administrator, is white. Her attorney, Gerald Singleton, told ECM in an interview that Horton had left the protest after a dispersal order was given. He indicated that according to Horton, the shooting occurred before dark, between 8 and 9 p.m., by an officer who pulled up in a vehicle at the gas station and shot her in the chest with a projectile, without warning.

East County News Service

July 17, 2020 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Padres have released a schedule for an abbreviated 60-game 2020 baesball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The  Padres' home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks is slated for July 24, with the season's final game September 27.  View schedule. 

Seeking to beef up the bullpen, the Padres recently acquired left-handed pitcher Tim Hill from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Franchy Cordero and right-handed pitcher Ronald Bolaños.

By Suzanne Potter

Reprinted from California News Service, originally published in June

Photo by Miriam Raftery: Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming

July 17, 2020 (Sacramento) --  Latino conservation groups say battling the pandemic goes hand in hand with fighting climate change, because poor air quality exacerbated by climate change makes people more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Juanita Mora, CEO of the Chicago Allergy Center, said Latino communities are disproportionately affected by both the pandemic and poor air quality.

July 16, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include: 

LOCAL

• San Diego County to restrict COVID-19 testing, citing nationwide supply shortage (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• U.S. Navy Ship Fire in San Diego Could Be an Environmental Disaster (Weather.com)
• Los Angeles and San Diego Schools to Go Online-Only in the Fall (New York Times)
• Beluga whale sighted off San Diego coast mystifies scientists (National Geographic)
• Honduran Family’s Complaint Says Baby Born in Chula Vista was Sent to Mexico (Times of San Diego)
• Which ‘hate’ groups are operating in San Diego? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rev. Rolland Slade, first black chair of Southern Baptist Executive Committee, elected (Religion News Service)

STATE

• Someone might call claiming to be a coronavirus contact tracer (Sacramento Bee)
• ‘It takes 150 redials’: Horror stories from Californians filing unemployment claims, getting no results (Los Angeles Times)
• Hair salon owners urge Gavin Newsom to let them go back to work — outdoors (Sacramento Bee)
• California reports record-high ICU usage and hospitalizations (San Jose Mercury)

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