My Watergate Scandal Tell-All: How I Unwittingly Caused This Historic Event, by Bruce Givner (ExecuProv Press, Santa Ana, California, 2019, 258 pages.)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

“This is a story I’ll tell to my students many times. Internships can make history!”

• Larry J. Sabato, Director, UVA Center for Politics

November 8, 2019 (San Diego) - The Watergate story never dies. It has become more and more intriguing (and popular) as time goes by. It has evoked comment many a time when a Washington D.C. official becomes entangled in a self-styled web of deception. Watergate is no longer the name of a hotel and office complex. It is more than a proper noun that branded a piece of property and cemented its “title” in numerous pages of history books. It is now the go-to reference to identify any scandal, though its origin was first reserved for the most sordid political scandal our nation has ever witnessed – at least up until the writing of this book. In that respect, it ranks right up there in significance with Teapot Dome, Wounded Knee and Gettysburg.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: George Gastil, former Lemon Grove Councilmember who spearheaded the petition drive

November 8, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – The Registrar of Voters confirms that the Lemon Grove sales tax measure has qualified to appear on the March 2020 ballot. If approved, the initiative would increase the city’s sales tax by three-fourths of a cent to 8.5 percent, the same as neighboring La Mesa.

According to the Registrar, 1,987 signatures have been verified as valid, substantially more than the 1,482 required for the measure dubbed the "Lemon Grove Security Initiative."

Advocates for the measure posted on their “Sweeten Lemon Grove” Facebook page, “Shoutout to all of the volunteers who circulated 233 petitions and to every person who provided their signature in support of the measure.”

The stakes are high for Lemon Grove residents and businesses.

By Miriam Raftery

November 8, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – At a special meeting last night, Lemon Grove’s City Council voted to fill the vacancy left by Matt Mendoza’s resignation through appointment.  Applications will be accepted starting Monday, Nov. 11 through Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. at City Hall.

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove Councilman Matt Mendoza resigned Monday after moving to Florida due to his work for Boeing.  The Council will meet tonight in a 6:30 p.m. public session to discuss options for filling the vacancy. The  Council originally planned a closed-door meeting but changed to an open session after the San Diego Union-Tribune raised questions about the legality of a closed-door process, the newspaper reported.

The resignation comes at a critical time for the city, which has been forced to dip into its financial reserves.  An initiative to raise sales tax by three-quarters of a cent has just qualified for the ballot – a measure that Mendoza, a conservative, has said he supports.  He told the Union-Tribune that his greatest regret has been the inability of the city to attract enough new businesses to attain fiscal stability. The city has even faced calls from some to consider disincorporation, or giving up cityhood to revert to county control.

Mendoza’s departure comes just weeks before a December 19, 2019 jury trial in a lawsuit against the city of Lemon Grove and Counclman David Arambula is set to commence.  Judge Richard Whitney authorized Cory Briggs, attorney for plaintiff Chris Williams, to take a deposition from Mendoza but so far, Mendoza has been unavailable for that deposition, Candid Chronicle reports.   

East County News Service

November 7, 2019 (San Diego) -- The Old Globe celebrates six years of making theatre matter to more people.  Its talented Globe for All company of professional actors will bring a stirring production of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale to a variety of economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities throughout San Diego County. The free-admission Globe for All Tour kicked off in late October and has already held several performances around the County.  The Tour comes to the El Cajon branch of the County Library with the Chaldean Middle Easter Social Services on Friday November 8 at 5:34 (799 East Washington).

November 7, 2019 (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

• Donations to Anderson’s 2020 county supervisor campaign draw questions (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego farmers find innovative solutions to climate change problems (10 News)
• Morning Report: Backlogged Rape Kits Yielded Dozens of DNA Hits (Voice of San Diego)
• Lemon Grove Councilman Matt Mendoza resigns (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Explained: The Policy That's Wreaking Havoc on San Diego's Immigration Courts (Voice of San Diego)
• Salvation Army’s Red Shield Center opens in El Cajon (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• California DMV ‘data breach’ exposes thousands of drivers’ Social Security information (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Apple pledges $2.5 billion to help with housing crisis (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Judge orders state takeover of insurer at heart of Lara political controversy (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• As Newsom Meets With PG&E, Nearly A Dozen Mayors Propose To Make The Utility A Customer-Owned Co-Op (San Francisco Chronicle)

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

East Counrt News Service

November 7, 2019 (Julian) – Julian resident Jim Baker served as a firefighter for 41 years as well as Fire Chief in Del Mar.  But now he faces financial struggles after his wife, Janet, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. According to family friend Beatriz Cauzza, who has started a GoFundMe page to help the couple, “Within the first 26 days of that diagnosis Mr. Baker spent $143,000 on medical bills that were not covered by their insurance.”

November 6, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

Impeachment inquiry

• Trump impeachment hearings to go public next week (BBC)
• Sondland becomes 4th witness to confirm quid pro quo between Trump, Ukraine (MSNBC)
• Giuliani associate willing to comply in Trump probe (Reuters)

Other national news

• Democratic sweep in Virginia gives new life to the Equal Rights Amendment (CNN)
• Trump formally pulls out of landmark Paris climate agreement (The Hill)   
• In historic shift, The Salt Lake Tribune gets IRS approval to become a nonprofit (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Trump advisers have a plan for national parks: Amazon, food trucks and no senior discounts (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall (Washington Post)
• Frank Luntz reveals unprecedented findings on how voters view President Trump (Fox News)

WORLD

• Iran fuels centrifuges, resumes uranium enrichment at Fordow (Reuters)
• Indigenous leader who protected rainforest in Brazil ambushed and killed (CNN)
• Slain U.S. citizens were part of Mormon offshoot with sordid history (NBC)
• Protests Greet Spanish King in Secession-Focused Catalonia (Time)

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

November 6, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Facebook launches new tool to help you get health tests and screenings (CNN)
• Why You Might See a Nurse Practitioner and Not a Doctor at Your Urgent Care Clinic (Healthline)
• New Guidelines Issued for Colorectal Cancer Tests: Earlier Is Better (Healthline)
• Measles virus may wipe out immune protection for other diseases (Health News) 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Alcohol breath tests, a linchpin of the criminal justice system, are often unreliable, a Times investigation found (New York Times)
• UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS (Reuters)
• Why does the Arctic have more plastic than most places on Earth? (National Geographic)

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