EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

March 21, 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

• These cities can hardly wait to delete their records (Voice of San Diego)
• 7 San Diego juveniles charged for school threats (Patch.com)
• San Onofre nuclear waste may go to New Mexico, instead of 100 feet from beach (KQED)
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest 115 immigrants in Southern California (10 News)
• New ICE program tracks undocumented immigrants with ankle monitors (NBC 7)
• San Diego’s Water Authority Has Reignited a Century-Old Water Dispute with Local Tribes (Voice of San Diego)
• Newland Sierra housing project nearing decision time in North County (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Environmentalists See Power in City’s Upcoming Utilities Deal (Voice of SD)
• Immigrant held in San Diego reunited with child months after separation by feds (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• More than 60 deaths in fires, floods expose weaknesses in California's emergency planning (Los Angeles Times)
• University of California To Raise Tuition for Non-Residents (KPBS)
• Tahoe bears are breaking into homes with people inside. Should they be killed? (Sacramento Bee)
• Evacuation orders in effect for parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura counties as heavy rains fall (10 News)
• Does California abortion law protect women or force clinics to deliver message they abhor? Supreme Court to decide. (Washington Post)
• White supremacists hang banners at visible locations to promote ideology and recruit, new ADL report says (Orange County Register)

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

LOCAL

These cities can hardly wait to delete their records (Voice of San Diego)

California law requires cities to keep emails for a minimum of two years, but half of the cities in San Diego County delete most of their emails from city servers in much less time — in some cases, within a few weeks.

7 San Diego juveniles charged for school threats (Patch.com)

Since the shooting massacre last month at a Florida high school, at least 19 threats have been made against San Diego-area schools, and the San Diego County District Attorney's office has charged nine juveniles in connection with those threats and menacing messages.

San Onofre nuclear waste may go to New Mexico, instead of 100 feet from beach (KQED)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a technical review of a license for an interim storage site for nuclear waste in New Mexico -- and that's a hopeful sign for those fighting to find an alternative to burying spent nuclear fuel 100 feet from the beach at the now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant, in northern San Diego County. The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, a coalition of cities and counties in the southeast corner of New Mexico, is ready and willing to accept nuclear waste — for a price.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest 115 immigrants in Southern California (10 News)

… Among the group were 50 convicted criminals and seven people who re-entered the United States after being deported. All but seven of the arrests took place in San Diego County, according to ICE.

New ICE program tracks undocumented immigrants with ankle monitors (NBC 7)

Undocumented immigrants facing removal from the U.S. have the opportunity to stay at home while their cases wait to be heard by a judge.

San Diego’s Water Authority Has Reignited a Century-Old Water Dispute with Local Tribes (Voice of San Diego)

After decades of negotiations, five North County tribes began to get their water back last year. Now, they’re fighting to keep money they thought was theirs.

Newland Sierra housing project nearing decision time in North County (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The developers of the proposed Newland Sierra community north of Escondido envision thousands of homes that will generate a healthy return on their investment while providing a much-needed supply of housing. Others look at the same property and see the destruction of a semi-rural community and a violation of established county zoning guidelines.

Environmentalists See Power in City’s Upcoming Utilities Deal (Voice of San Diego)

The last time SDG&E negotiated a whole new franchise agreement was in December 1970. The 50-year deal expires in three years. The city can either do another deal with SDG&E, do a deal with someone else, or take over SDG&E’s equipment and become its own power company.

Immigrant held in San Diego reunited with child months after separation by feds (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A Congolese mother has been reunited with her 7-year-old daughter months after they crossed the California-Mexico border seeking asylum and were separated by the U.S. government, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer said Saturday.  The daughter had been placed in a Chicago facility while the mother was held in San Diego...The mother was released from detention earlier this month.

STATE

More than 60 deaths in fires, floods expose weaknesses in California's emergency planning (Los Angeles Times)

A reckoning on public preparedness long in the making is underway in California after a year that saw unprecedented death, destruction and loss from disasters set off by extreme weather.

University of California To Raise Tuition for Non-Residents (KPBS)

The University of California's governing board approved a tuition increase Thursday for out-of-state undergraduate students of 3.5 percent, or $978 a year, starting in the 2018-19 school year.

Tahoe bears are breaking into homes with people inside. Should they be killed? (Sacramento Bee)

The Lake Tahoe region along the California-Nevada border has long drawn bears from the Sierra wilderness to the bounty of calorie-rich meals found in the trash and unattended food brought by tourists …wildlife biologists in both states say they’ve been noticing a troubling trend: A growing number of bears have transitioned from dumpster divers to expert burglars…Mother bears appear to be teaching their cubs the burglary skills, ensuring the break ins will continue year after year.



Evacuation orders in effect for parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura counties as heavy rains fall (10 News)

Thousands of residents in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties are under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday due to heavy rain that could lead to mudslides and other dangers.

Does California abortion law protect women or force clinics to deliver message they abhor? Supreme Court to decide. (Washington Post)

The 41 words at the center of the latest Supreme Court showdown on abortion are not readily visible at Christine Vatuone’s Informed Choices pregnancy center….Vatuone’s pregnancy center and others like it will be at the Supreme Court next week arguing that California’s law is a violation of their free-speech rights. They claim the legislature’s attempt to counter “fake” clinics that trick women looking for abortion services forces centers like theirs to deliver a message antithetical to their mission: encouraging women to carry on their pregnancies rather than end them.

White supremacists hang banners at visible locations to promote ideology and recruit, new ADL report says (Orange County Register)

White supremacist groups in Southern California and other parts of the country are using giant banners over rooftops and across freeway overpasses to bring attention to their ideology and to recruit more members, according to a report released Friday, March 16, by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.