EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

February 19, 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

• Court overturns concealed-carry rule in blow to California gun law (Reuters)
• Grossmont school board discusses members’ rights (UT San Diego)
• Santee firearms trainer pleads guilty to molestation (Santee Patch)
• San Diego’s stormwater bill: $4 billion (UT San Diego)
• San Diego County Jail Changing Medical Model For Needs Of Long-Term Inmates (KPBS)

STATE

• State could lower gas tax by 10 percent  (UT San Diego)
• California Toasts 2013's Record Wine Grape Harvest (NPR)
• Green killing grounds (National Review)
• California Drought Could Bring Higher Electricity Costs (KPBS)
• Obama promises money for drought relief (Sacramento Bee)
• California Given 2 More Years To Reduce Prison Numbers (NPR)
• High poverty, few jobs, yet Democrats complacent (UT San Diego)
• Water meters gain grudging acceptance up north (U-T)

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

LOCAL

Court overturns concealed-carry rule in blow to California gun law (Reuters)

 A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a requirement by San Diego County that residents show "good cause" to carry a concealed firearm, a ruling that could force local governments across California to revisit the way they license handguns.

Grossmont school board discusses members’ rights (UT San Diego)

ension among Grossmont Union High School District trustees was evident Thursday when the board passed a resolution to limit trustees' influence if attending meetings of the district's Bond Oversight Committee…. Michael Waterman, an attorney who spoke during public comment portion of the meeting, told the board before they voted on the resolution that "if this were adopted, I see potentially the ACLU suing the district on First Amendment rights. It's also a federal civil rights violation.

Santee firearms trainer pleads guilty to molestation (Santee Patch)

Tony Lee Burleson, who ran Burleson Academy in El Cajon, plead guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the molestation of four teenage boys.

San Diego’s stormwater bill: $4 billion (UT San Diego)

Last week San Diego officials alerted Wall Street that regulations designed to scrub pollution from urban runoff could cost $4 billion over the next 17 years. / For perspective, the city’s infamous unfunded pension liability was $2.3 billion in June 2012, according to the most recent actuarial report. San Diego’s total revenue last year was $2.75 billion. 

San Diego County Jail Changing Medical Model For Needs Of Long-Term Inmates (KPBS)

Lack of access to medical care in state prisons was a significant part of the problem that eventually resulted in prison realignment. Ironically, one of the side effects of prison realignment in San Diego is being seen in the medical care being dispensed at San Diego County jails.

STATE

State could lower gas tax by 10 percent  (UT San Diego)

Board of Equalization proposing to cut the gas excise tax by 3.5 cents per gallon.

California Toasts 2013's Record Wine Grape Harvest (NPR)

Finally there's some good news out of drought-ravaged California. The state's reporting the largest wine grape harvest on record.

Green killing grounds (National Review)

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Ivanpah solar-power facility is controversial because it “costs about four times as much as a conventional natural-gas–fired plant but will produce far less electricity.” Once that electricity goes online, customers can expect to pay twice as much for it, if not more. No one knows for sure, because the utilities and state regulators involved haven’t disclosed that information. Oh yeah, and the plant is apparently scorching a bunch of birds to death.

California Drought Could Bring Higher Electricity Costs (KPBS)

The drought is drying up an important source of energy for California residents.

Obama promises money for drought relief (Sacramento Bee)

The easiest part of the Obama administration’s response to the California drought is now over. The White House has provided money, commitments and a presidential visit. But the money is limited, the president is moving on and the commitments will soon be tested on Capitol Hill and deep within the federal bureaucracies.

California Given 2 More Years To Reduce Prison Numbers (NPR)

Federal judges on Monday gave California two more years to meet a court-ordered prison population cap. It's the latest step in a long-running lawsuit aimed at improving inmate medical care.

High poverty, few jobs, yet Democrats complacent (UT San Diego)

… California has plunged in comparison with the rest of the U.S. Only three states have a worse unemployment rate. Only one state has a higher percentage of people who want to work full time but can’t find such jobs. According to revised Census Bureau measures of poverty that include the cost of living, California has by far the nation’s highest rate of poverty — 24 percent.

Water meters gain grudging acceptance up north (U-T)

 Sacramento area-residents use nearly 50 percent more water than Southern Californians