EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

February 26, 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 Judicial Candidate Sparks Controversy With Facebook Posts (KPBS)
• In major AB 5 court ruling, San Diego judge says Instacart likely to flunk contractor test (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Vintage flea market moving from North Park to La Mesa (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Brian Jones faces new campaign law violations in Congressional race (California Political Review)
• La Mesa business owner Peter Carzis pleads not guilty to lewd acts accusation, fight with media members (10 News)
• Border Report: Complaints Detail Abuses Against Asylum-Seekers in U.S. Custody (Voice of San Diego)
• Landmark’s Ken Cinema to Shutter Next Month (NBC 7)

STATE

• The developer bonus tucked into the school bond on your ballot (Cal Matters)
• Filling out that presidential ballot? Here’s a quick look at candidates and key California issues (Sacramento Bee)
• New bill would end ‘financial incentives’ for home-schooling charter students (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Most California cities refuse to retreat from rising seas. One town wants to show how it’s done (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

San Diego Judicial Candidate Sparks Controversy With Facebook Posts (KPBS)

San Diego County Superior Court judicial candidate Shawn McMillan is under fire for sharing posts on Facebook that, among other things, have sexist, racist and transphobic themes.

In major AB 5 court ruling, San Diego judge says Instacart likely to flunk contractor test (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A San Diego Superior Court judge has ruled that Instacart is likely misclassifying some of its workers as contractors — when the law requires they be classified as employees — marking a notable step toward enforcement of the controversial new state law known as AB 5.  But the ruling came with a healthy dose of skepticism from the judge over the “wisdom” of the law itself.

Vintage flea market moving from North Park to La Mesa (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The San Diego Vintage Flea Market is moving to Grossmont Center in March and its layout will be similar to a “pop-up” market that drew a good crowd last year at the La Mesa mall.

Brian Jones faces new campaign law violations in Congressional race (California Political Review)

A Republican candidate running to replace Rep. Duncan Hunter, who resigned from Congress for misusing campaign funds, is facing questions about his own misuse of state campaign funds.

La Mesa business owner Peter Carzis pleads not guilty to lewd acts accusation, fight with media members (10 News)

…The 76-year-old owner of Peter's Men's Apparel on La Mesa Boulevard faces up to three years in county jail if convicted of the January incidents.

Border Report: Complaints Detail Abuses Against Asylum-Seekers in U.S. Custody (Voice of San Diego)

A series of complaints submitted to federal authorities by the ACLU of San Diego and ACLU Border Rights Center allege that people have suffered serious abuses while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody. The complaints stem from more than a hundred interviews conducted between March and July 2019 in San Diego and Tijuana with people who had recently been released from CBP custody.

Landmark’s Ken Cinema to Shutter Next Month (NBC 7)

Ken Cinema, known for its focus on independent and foreign films, opened in 1964 and was taken over by Landmark Theatres in 1975

STATE

The developer bonus tucked into the school bond on your ballot (Cal Matters)

 On its face this new Proposition 13 — the only statewide ballot measure to appear on the ballot for California’s March 3 presidential primary — asks voters for $15 billion in state bonds to finance the construction and renovation of California K-12 schools and public universities. But tucked into the ballot measure’s language is a provision that frees new multi-family developments around subway stops and bus stations from school impact fees.

Filling out that presidential ballot? Here’s a quick look at candidates and key California issues (Sacramento Bee)

As California Democrats weigh their options in the presidential race ahead of the state’s March 3 primary, many are looking for a candidate they believe is likeliest to beat President Donald Trump in the general election. A recent poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found 57 percent of likely Democratic primary voters care more about electability, while 33 percent said they’d prefer a candidate whose policy views align closest to theirs. But the poll also found that voters have several key issues on their minds: housing affordability, climate change, health care, higher education and immigration. Here’s a quick look at where the top presidential candidates stand.

New bill would end ‘financial incentives’ for home-schooling charter students (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 A new bill would prohibit California home-school charters from providing “financial incentives” to families for enrichment activities and would require the state to approve vendors that provide enrichment to these charter schools.

Most California cities refuse to retreat from rising seas. One town wants to show how it’s done (Los Angeles Times)

At a time when Del Mar, Pacifica and other coastal cities are fighting to defend their homes and roads from the rising sea, Marina has embarked on a path less traveled. Here in this Army turned university town, residents are learning how to adjust with the ocean as the water moves inland.