EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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August 2, 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

What Happens if Lemon Grove Sours on Cityhood? (Voice of San Diego)

Some residents of Lemon Grove are flirting with the idea of disincorporating to resolve the city's financial problems. Here is how that would work and what we don't know.

Local activist sues El Cajon City Councilman Ben Kalasho, claims he's blocking critics on Facebook (San Diego Union-Tribune)

On Wednesday, [Mark] Lane referred questions to his lawyer, Cory Briggs. 

Audit Reveals Tough Decisions Coming at SANDAG  (Voice of San Diego)

A new audit into the San Diego Association of Governments... encourages the agency to lay out how it will cancel, delay or reduce the scope of its transportation projects to deal with the tax-funded program’s financial problems….. And the audit determined that SANDAG could have more trouble if there’s a recession. If there’s a recession, the agency might have to take money that was intended for public improvements and use it to pay off its debts instead.

Searing temperatures claim seven lives, send hundreds to Mexicali shelters (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Seven people have died of heat stroke in recent weeks as high temperatures have hit Mexicali, Baja California’s desert capital…. Temperatures in the region reached a peak for the year of of 118 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday and 122 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday

Study: county pension benefits soar (San Diego Reader)

a new study that benefits promised by the San Diego County Employees’ Retirement Association jumped 1,237 percent from 1986 to 2016 — a rise that was four times more than the 372 percent increase of personal income in the county.

Supervisors approve hundreds of new homes in north San Diego County (KPBS)

The San Diego County Board Supervisors on Wednesday approved new developments that will add hundreds of new homes in Harmony Grove in North County. A key concern was whether residents will be able to evacuate in time to escape in the event of a wildfire.

STATE

Northern Calif. wildfire claims sixth victim (The Hill)

…Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that another victim had been found in a home that had become engulfed in flames. 

State regulators approve San Onofre nuclear settlement, trimming $750M from original deal (San Diego Union-Tribune)

By unanimous vote, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed to a new cost-sharing settlement that halts payments by utility customers for the failed power plant as of December 2017….Under the plan approved by regulators in 2014, those charges were scheduled to persist until 2022.

CPUC wipes away Peevey/Edison collusion, criminal investigation (SD Reader/Don Bauder)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) yesterday (July 26) made an unimpressive adjustment to a rape of the ratepayer that began with a secret meeting between the then-top commissioner, Michael Peevey, and a representative of Southern California Edison in a hotel in Warsaw, Poland.

California farmers and Mexican cheese sales, U.S. trade war takes a toll (Reuters)

Stephen Mancebo, a fourth-generation California dairy farmer with 2,300 cows, has battled ups and downs in his temperamental industry for a quarter-century only to find himself a casualty of a U.S trade war with one of his biggest customers - Mexico.

She desperately put a wet blanket over her great grandchildren as their home burned. All three died. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A Redding woman tried to save her two great-grandchildren by covering them with a wet blanket as the Carr fire swept through her home, her family said Saturday.

Yosemite fire: Flames threaten park’s giant Sequoia trees (San Jose Mercury News)

 As flames from the Ferguson Fire burn closer to some of the world’s oldest and largest trees, firefighters are racing to protect ancient sequoias on Yosemite National Park’s western edge

40 California Hospital Employees Lost Their Homes In A Wildfire. They Showed Up To Work Anyway. (BuzzFeed News)

 “Those who are coming in are very sick and we have to take care of them,” said Woods, a palliative nurse. “The hospital is really resilient. We’re a family. What we are doing for our patients we are doing for each other. It’s a community of caring right now.”

CA State Parks Revises Reservation Rules After Complaints From Campers (NBC 7)

An online system launched in August 2017, meant to make the process to reserve campsites at California State Parks easier seemed to do the opposite.

PG&E spends more than $1 million to lobby California officials on wildfire laws (Sacramento Bee)

PG&E spent $1.7 million on lobbying over three months this year as the utility pressured California officials to reduce its legal liability for wildfire property damages…  Southern California Edison also reported spending $900,000 and Sempra Energy disclosed $502,000 in lobbying payments during the quarter.  The lobbying surges took place as the utility companies urged Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators to rethink how the state pays for damages from massive wildfires.


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Comments

PG&E

Yeah, this information is 'shocking'.

CPUC

Are there any honest politicians out there?

Ben Kalasho

In the hot seat again. I should be mildly surprised, yet I'm not.