EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

July 26, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• La Mesa hikes effort on local climate plan (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hunter hires a law firm amid campaign finance review (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Seven horses euthanized in Del Mar’s first eight days of racing (10 News)
• San Diego city okays plastic bag ban (Times of San Diego)
• San Diego, Tijuana officials question safety of new pedestrian crossing (KPBS)
• Santana coach arraigned for alleged sexual relations with student (Patch)
• Supervisors punt on Lilac Hills (Voice of San Diego)
• San Diego man held captive in Iran, family says (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego County Water Authority, Coastkeeper Trade Barbs Over Conservation (KPBS)
• San Diego facing $4.6M water pollution fine (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rep. Issa proposes bipartisan-backed changes to H1-B visas (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• Out of control wildfire grows to 33,000 acres in Santa ClaritaValley (Los Angeles Times)
• Cal-Trans launches nine month road-charge pilot program(Equipment World)
• Report: San Onofre reactor was pushed too far, leak resulted(San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump backers sue San Jose for allowing 'mob' assault (Reuters)
• Court defies appellate order on San Onofre emails (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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

LOCAL

La Mesa hikes effort on local climate plan (San Diego Union-Tribune)

La Mesa is ramping up its efforts on a climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions. In light of a heated City Council meeting last month in which the city was chastised by some residents for not moving fast enough on climate concerns, the city’s Environmental Sustainability Commission met on July 18 to start engaging the public.

Hunter hires a law firm amid campaign finance review (San Diego Union-Tribune)

After months of questions about personal use of campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign committee has hired a law firm that specializes in political law, according to financial reports released Friday.

Seven horses euthanized in Del Mar’s first eight days of racing (10 News)

In the first eight days of races at the Del Mar Racetrack, veterinarians have had to euthanize seven horses. 

San Diego city okays plastic bag ban (Times of San Diego)

A ban on plastic shopping bags was tentatively approved by the San Diego City Council Tuesday, making it the 150th jurisdiction in the state of California to pass such a law.

San Diego, Tijuana officials question safety of new pedestrian crossing (KPBS)

San Diego and Tijuana officials are questioning the safety of a temporary ramp leading to a new pedestrian border crossing called PedWest. Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazarán said the structure, which is on the Mexican side of the border, appears unstable. He urged the elderly and people with physical disabilities to avoid using it because the floor is uneven, with protruding parts, and the structure shakes and sways under the weight of pedestrians.

Santana coach arraigned for alleged sexual relations with student (Patch)

Former Santana High School track coach Keith Alan Silvia,48, was arraigned Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty.

Supervisors punt on Lilac Hills (Voice of San Diego)

The fate of the big Lilac Hills Ranch development in inland North County is still up in the air as opponents stand ready to sue.The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to have its staff do an impartial analysis of the Lilac Hills Ranch initiative before it votes on whether to send the measure to the ballot in November…the initiative allows the developers to circumvent some fixes they would have needed to make if they’d stuck with the normal county permitting process.

San Diego man held captive in Iran, family says (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Robin Shahini, a U.S. citizen and a May graduate of San Diego State University, might have been detained because of his online comments criticizing Iran's human rights record, said Denera Ragoonanan, a friend of Robin Shahini.

San Diego County Water Authority, Coastkeeper Trade Barbs Over Conservation (KPBS)

San Diego Coastkeeper is criticizing the San Diego County Water Authority's decision to eliminate mandatory water conservation targets.

San Diego facing $4.6M water pollution fine (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Local water quality officials proposed on Tuesday fining San Diego $4.6 million for allegedly allowing private construction sites to pollute sensitive waterways, including the Los Penasquitos Lagoon.

Rep. Issa proposes bipartisan-backed changes to H1-B visas (Times of San Diego)

Rep. Darrell Issa has introduced bipartisan legislation designed to close loopholes in the H1-B temporary visa program to ensure that only the most highly skilled foreign applicants can work in the United States.

STATE

Out of control wildfire grows to 33,000 acres in Santa ClaritaValley (Los Angeles Times)

The brush fire raging in the rugged mountains of the Santa Clarita Valley grew by more than 10,000 acres on Sunday, scorching an estimated 33,172 acres by the late evening as the blaze continued to threaten hundreds of homes while firefighters battled to keep flames from spreading, authorities said.

Cal-Trans launches nine month road-charge pilot program(Equipment World)

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has launched its Road Charge Pilot Program, a nine-month study using volunteers to gauge the effectiveness of a pay-by-mile system of collecting fees to help pay for transportation infrastructure projects.

Report: San Onofre reactor was pushed too far, leak resulted(San Diego Union-Tribune)

Owners of the failed San Onofre nuclear power plant operated the reactor outside the allowable limits for pressure and temperature, causing the radiation leak that shut down the facility for good in 2012, a new report has found.

Trump backers sue San Jose for allowing 'mob' assault (Reuters)

Police in the California city of San Jose, motivated by the political leanings of city officials, allowed an angry mob to assault Donald Trump supporters as they left a rally for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate last month, a lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges.

Court defies appellate order on San Onofre emails (San Diego Union-Tribune)

An appellate court last month ordered the lower court to vacate a February order, which kept alive the lawsuit by San Diego attorney Michael Aguirre seeking release of the emails.  In a letter dated Friday, Superior Court Judge Harold E. Kahn said the judge who issued the ruling earlier this year has retired and no one now working at the court is familiar enough with the case to implement the appellate court ruling.