EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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January 14, 2014 (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

STATE

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

LOCAL

San Diegans flee costs, joblessness  (U-T San Diego)

More families leaving than arriving in region, a sign of deep economic woes

From Iraq to City Hall, Councilmember Star Bales follows her father’s dreams to a new life in America (EC Californian)

“The happiest year of my life was 1979. I finally had the opportunity to come to the United States. My dad was sending us over here one at a time. My two brothers were here already and then my sister and me came along,” said Star Bales, El Cajon councilmember.“I can’t tell you the feelings that I had when the pilot announced we were flying over the United States,” she said. “It is a feeling I will never forget.

Future of La Mesa in 3D: Simulation envisions Grossmont Center (La Mesa Patch)

Imagine Grossmont Center was more than a mall. Imagine it had parks, city streets, places to gather and felt more like its own neighborhood.  Imagine it was a mini metropolis.   That's the idea behind a 3D simulation created with funding from the San Diego Association of Governments or SANDAG.

Turbulence hits farm: Wind facility owner and utility launch dueling lawsuits  (Great Falls Tribune)

…  San Diego Gas and Electric filed a lawsuit Thursday in San Diego Superior Court against Rim Rock wind farm owner NaturEner asking the court to confirm its allegation that the company did not meet contractual requirements related to the preservation of eagles, raptors and other protected bird and bat species.

Kaiser hit with sexual harassment suit (SD Reader)

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, along with employee Emmanuel Iheke, have been hit with a superior-court sexual harassment and battery lawsuit by another employee, Adriana Arias.

A Life Of Pain And Hope — Former San Diego Foster Care Children Speak Out (KPBS)

Giving foster care children something to hold onto — that's what a local group says their CASA program offers children. These CASA's or court-appointed special advocates, are volunteers who represent the interests of children in foster care. Now, some of those grown-up children are speaking out about how their CASA made a positive impact on their lives.

 

Three San Diego County School Districts Each Receive $50,000 Grant (KPBS)

The Coronado Unified, Grossmont Union High School and Valley Center-Pauma Unified school districts all received grants to assist specialized high school instruction programs on Monday.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kpbs/local/~4/FtrHMo2fD8Y

San Diego County Emergency Services To Unveil Improved Mobile App (KPBS)

County authorities said the upgraded app for Apple and Android mobile devices will have more features for emergency planning.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kpbs/local/~4/VNUNjQ1E0rU

San Diego's STD Rate Higher Than National Average (City News Service) --  In figures compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, increases were discovered both nationally and locally for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available.

STATE

Jerry Brown's $154.9 billion budget will propose repaying school funds, bolstering reserves (Sacramento Bee)

Gov. Jerry Brown will propose reducing the state's long-term debt by more than $11 billion next budget year and fully eliminating it by 2017-18, according to a copy of the budget document obtained by The Sacramento Bee. He also will propose repaying about $6 billion in deferred payments to schools and contributing $1.6 billion to a rainy day fund. Brown wants to restore some of the money cut from social service programs in recent years, and will propose a 5 percent increase in welfare grants.

Calif database lists hazardous cosmetic chemicals (Sacramento Bee)

California public health officials are launching a new online database to help consumers determine if the cosmetics they're using contain harmful chemicals.

Unprecedented winter wildfires in Northern California (SF Gate)

In an "unprecedented" step for this early in the year, firefighters are heading to far Northern California to battle wildland blazes - and team leaders are afraid more such fires could be on the way.

Not taking liberties with legislative session (UT San Diego)

Bipartisan bill would forbid state from helping NSA : “The National Security Agency’s massive level of spying and indiscriminate collecting of phone and electronic data on all Americans, including more than 38 million Californians, is a direct threat to our liberty and freedom,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, a Torrance Democrat, in a statement.  On Monday, he – and La Mesa Republican Sen. Joel Anderson – introduced the “Fourth Amendment Protection Act.” SB 828 would prohibit the state government, its employees and contractors from assisting the federal government in collecting metadata unless it is “based on a warrant that describes the person, place and thing to be searched.”

Calif regulators mull electricity pricing changes (Sacramento Bee)

California Public Utilities Commission will vote whether to change the price of electricity depending on the time of day it was used, rather than the amount of power consumed.  Proponents say the new pricing scheme would encourage conservation during afternoons when demand is at its peak.  Ratepayers would still have the option of choosing a flat rate, which would go up for those using the least electricity and go down for those who use the most.  Consumer advocates say the pricing changes would likely raise bills significantly for people in hot areas who rely on air conditioning.

 


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