EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

November 20, 2017 (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

• County acquires Dictionary Hill open space  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Desert View Tower, Jacumba roadside site, on sale for $1.25M (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hunter calls for preemptive strike against North Korea  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Judge orders Arabo to repay Neighborhood Market Association $248,000 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Record of physician running for Congress warrants scrutiny (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Board of Supervisors Approve $500K in Rental Assistance For Homeless (KPBS)
• To resist scammers, SDG&E makes changes in worker uniforms (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego's only commercial marijuana grower to greatly expand production (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Scathing Emails Highlight Dem Party-Union Rift (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• How California ranks in the nation’s opioid epidemic (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California judge says companies must remove pre-1951 lead paint in homes (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

County acquires Dictionary Hill open space (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The county Board of Supervisors is planning on adding part of Dictionary Hill in Spring Valley to its open space areas across the county.

Desert View Tower, Jacumba roadside site, on sale for $1.25M (San Diego Union-Tribune)

… The Desert View Tower site in Jacumba, totaling 90 acres, is on the market for $1.25 million. Built in the 1920s, the location is a popular spot for roadtrippers…In recent years, it has doubled as a yoga retreat. The site is best known for its circular four-story tower built in the 1920s that has expansive views of the Anza-Borrego Desert and serves as a landmark for travelers on Interstate 8. The site also has nearly 40 animals and objects carved into boulders, including a ceremonial fertility rock owners have said was made by Native Americans.

Hunter calls for preemptive strike against North Korea  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Rep. Duncan Hunter said that the United States needs to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea in order to prevent the rogue nation from harming the U.S. first.

Judge orders Arabo to repay Neighborhood Market Association $248,000 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego judge ordered Mark Arabo, the longtime leader of the Neighborhood Market Association and prominent activist for Middle Eastern Christians, to pay back $248,000 in bonus and expense payments that the judge said he should not have been given by the association’s board.

Record of physician running for Congress warrants scrutiny (San Diego Union-Tribune)

When Dr. James Veltmeyer announced his campaign for Congress, he touted his resume as a doctor. He’s a board certified family physician, has a leadership position at work and was named by his colleagues to a list of top doctors four times. But a review of public records show that some of the claims Veltmeyer’s campaign has made about his education, training, and charitable work warrant further explanation.

Board of Supervisors Approve $500K in Rental Assistance For Homeless (KPBS)

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved $500,000 in rental assistance for the homeless in unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

To resist scammers, SDG&E makes changes in worker uniforms (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Earlier this year, San Diego Gas & Electric warned of scam artists making phone calls to customers, looking to rip them off. Now, in part due to reports of impostors physically showing up at the homes of some ratepayers, the utility Monday debuted new uniforms for SDG&E field employees.

San Diego's only commercial marijuana grower to greatly expand production (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego County’s only licensed commercial marijuana grower plans to at least double production, largely to help meet demand when stores begin selling recreational cannabis in early January.

Scathing Emails Highlight Dem Party-Union Rift (Voice of San Diego)

…Leaders of the county’s Democratic Party and one of the most politically influential local unions have been at odds throughout the year. The behind-the-scenes fight climaxed this summer with a physical altercation, followed by a series of scathing emails obtained by Voice of San Diego.

STATE

How California ranks in the nation’s opioid epidemic (San Diego Union-Tribune)

… California ranks No. 1 when it comes to the raw number of drug-overdose deaths — more than 4,600 victims in 2015, a trend primarily driven by opioids.… In California last year there were 1,925 deaths blamed specifically on opioids, including at least 234 fentanyl deaths, according to the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard. San Diego County accounted for 12 percent of those deaths, with 239.

California judge says companies must remove pre-1951 lead paint in homes (San Francisco Chronicle)

Paint companies must pay the state for the cost of removing lead paint from the interior surfaces of homes in San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo and seven other counties, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday. The Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose upheld a judge’s ruling that the three companies — Conagra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams — had marketed lead paint for decades while knowing of its health dangers to children.

Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country (Los Angeles Times)

The first atmospheric river-fueled storm of the season is expected to make landfall in California on Wednesday afternoon ... The storm should hit the entire northern half of the state by Friday and pack enough moisture to wet the ground after the hottest summer in recorded history