EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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January 11, 2018 (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

SDG&E wants another shot at billing customers $379M for 2007 wildfires (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Barely more than a month after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rejected a request by San Diego Gas & Electric to have ratepayers pick up $379 million in costs related to three deadly wildfires in 2007, the utility is not giving up. Attorneys for SDG&E have filed an application with the CPUC, asking for a rehearing.

Powerful storm sets record, causes countywide havoc (Times of San Diego)

A strong winter storm buffeted the San Diego area Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses, flooding roadways, tangling traffic and prompting a 24-hour closure of SeaWorld. The wet and blustery conditions — the first dose of significant precipitation to hit the county in months — delivered much-needed moisture to the parched region, from two-plus inches along the coast to twice that amount in parts of the eastern highlands.

$900 million bond measure proposed to address San Diego homelessness (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Local affordable housing advocates are proposing a $900 million bond measure in November that would fund roughly 7,500 subsidized apartments for the chronically homeless, veterans, senior citizens, disabled people and low-income families. Supporters say the measure, which would raise property taxes in San Diego by about $72 a year for the average homeowner, would provide enough affordable housing to potentially solve the city’s homelessness problem.

Rock vandal targets La Mesa neighborhood  (10 News)

Some families in La Mesa woke up Wednesday morning to a loud noise and a frightening sight inside their homes.

Some (not all) refugees find new homes after improper settlement practices (KPBS)

… The Alabedeens were one of at least seven families that KPBS found had been placed under false leases by the International Rescue Committee in San Diego. Large families were living in small but affordable apartments in violation of occupancy limits.

New San Onofre deal reached between utilities, consumer groups (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Three-plus years after state regulators permitted Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric to start charging consumers billions of dollars for the failure of the San Onofre nuclear plant, utility executives and consumer advocates appear to have settled a long-running dispute over premature closure costs.

San Diego firefighter who died became trapped by flames (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The San Diego County firefighter who died last month fighting the Thomas fire in Ventura County was putting out a spot fire when he found himself trapped by flames, according to a preliminary report released by Cal Fire this week. The report details the events that led to the death of 32-year-old Cory Iverson…

Alpine railway — train, tracks and stations — headed south. Next stop: Campo (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A train is making its way from Alpine to Campo, but how it’s getting there and why is a little off the beaten track.

Labor boss Kasparian settles one sexual harassment lawsuit (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego labor leader Mickey Kasparian has settled one of several lawsuits filed against him by women accusing him of sexual harassment, court records show.

Lecturer who led mascot retirement fight discriminated against white student because of her race, investigation finds (Daily Aztec)

Investigation found evidence of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation

Bill Aims to Stop SDPD from Collecting DNA from Minors Without Convictions (Voice of San Diego)

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher introduced a bill last week targeting the San Diego Police Department policy that lets officers collect DNA from minors without the knowledge or consent of a parent or guardian.

Carlsbad License Plate Readers Draw Mixed Reviews from Residents (NBC 7)

NBC 7 Investigates found agencies in San Diego County have been using [them] since 2009. An NBC7 Investigates report last year found the San Diego County Sheriff's Department had scanned more than 8 million license plates since March 2014.

STATE

Jerry Brown’s last budget: 19 billion reasons to smile and two big questions (Sacramento Bee)

…Eight years after he took office in the free fall of the Great Recession, the state is on pace to build a $19.3 billion surplus by July 1, 2019. But these are not necessarily flush times, warn the liberal policy advocates who normally would be urging Brown to put the surplus into new government services. They see two strong headwinds they expect Brown to cite when he reveals a budget that salts away revenue and avoids expensive commitments.

Marijuana Use Is A Likely Death Sentence For A Military Career, Even In California (KPBS)

Pot is legal in California and there have been a few cracks in the military's zero tolerance policy. But San Diego's sailors and Marines risk discharge if they are found with marijuana.

13 dead in southern California as rain triggers mudslides (Sacramento Bee)

At least 13 people were killed and dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month. Helicopters were used to pluck more than 50 people from rooftops because downed trees and power lines blocked roads, and dozens more were rescued on the ground, including a mud-caked 14-year-old girl pulled from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.

California legislators introduce bill to block Trump’s offshore drilling push (KQED)

The Trump Administration is proposing a major expansion of offshore oil leasing nationwide, including off the California Coast. It would be the first West Coast oil lease sale since the 1980s, but that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. State and local officials could easily throw a wrench in the plans.

California reduces automatic kill permits for marauding mountain lions (NBC 7)

Mountain lions that kill pets and livestock in Southern California will no longer be automatically targeted for death….Now, the applicant must first try non-lethal methods to scare away or keep out the cougar, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.

San Onofre 2050: Tide’s in, nukes out (San Diego Reader)

Are northern San Diego County and southern Orange County headed for another Fukushima Daiichi–like nuclear disaster?

Illegal immigrant acquitted in California death gets prison on gun charge (Reuters)

 An illegal immigrant acquitted in a fatal San Francisco shooting... was sentenced to three years in prison on a lesser gun charge on Friday.


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