EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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August 15, 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

Crime falls on San Diego's trolley system as MTS beefs up security  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Crime on San Diego’s trolley system has dropped in the last two years, as transit officials have revamped their approach to on-board security — cracking down on everything from riding without a ticket to public drunkenness. Starting last fall, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System more than tripled the number of code compliance inspectors patrolling trolley cars at any one time.

Helix water rates going up starting in November (San Diego Union-Tribune)

On Aug. 1, the Helix Water District Board adopted a 2018-19 budget of $89.5 million, a 5.7 percent increase over last year’s budget. With that, the board voted 3-1 to approve a 3.4 percent rate increase for its nearly 275,000 customers… Board member Joel Scalzitti was absent from the meeting. Only Dan McMillan voted against an increase.

Coroner sent letters to doctors whose patients died of opioid overdoses. Doctors' habits quickly changed (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Dated Jan. 27, 2017, the letter went out to 388 [San Diego] doctors. … Compared with the doctors who did not get a letter, those who did reduced their prescribing of opioid medications by almost 10% over the three-month study period…. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, San Diego County soon will be routinely sending “courtesy letters” that notify doctors when an overdose of certain drugs has claimed the life of a patient.

An Urban Wildfire Could Happen in San Diego (Voice of San Diego)

Urban San Diego may seem like an unlikely place for an out-of-control wildfire. After all, the city’s many canyons are small and cut-through with street networks, and close to city fire stations to ensure a quick response. But San Diego’s unique topography sets the stage for what could actually be a damaging wildfire.

Facing numerous courtroom setbacks, embattled El Cajon councilman sues his former lawyer (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Liosi disputed the allegations, saying he acted professionally but was presented an unwinnable case.

STATE

California lawmakers upset that wildfire money is left out of White House's disaster aid request (Los Angeles Times)

none of the $44 billion that the White House requested of Congress on Friday for supplemental disaster aid includes funding to rebuild California after the fires — which killed 43 people and destroyed nearly 9,000 structures — a move that’s sparked an outcry…

Sempra subsidiary agrees to $119.5-million settlement for Aliso Canyon methane leak — biggest in U.S. history (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The deal between Southern California Gas Co. and city, county and state officials and prosecutors will fund a long-sought health study and numerous environmental measures intended to offset the damage caused by the leak.  But it leaves unresolved questions about the root cause of the leak, the fate of the storage facility outside Los Angeles’ Porter Ranch neighborhood, the state’s reliance on planet-warming natural gas and residents’ medical claims against the company.

Authorities Were Warned About the Suspected California Arsonist for 3 Years (Reason)

As California suffers one of the worst fire seasons in the state's history, officials have arrested a man they suspect of starting some of the blazes. Now one local firefighter says much of the destruction could have been avoided had law enforcement not ignored years of complaints.

California’s new online tax program leads a major firm to ask for paper instead (Sacramento Bee)

KPMG, the worldwide accounting and auditing firm, tried the new [on-line] program and decided it was better off submitting tax returns on paper through the mail.

California drivers pay growing cost for climate program (SF Chronicle)

 The Low Carbon Fuel Standard]'s exact impact on prices is impossible to know. But estimates of its impact have climbed this year, due to soaring prices for a tradeable credit at the heart of the program.

Explain the Chinese spy, Sen. Feinstein  (Jewish World Review)

This week we learned that Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., had a Chinese spy on her staff who worked for her for 20 years, who was listed as an "office director" on payroll records and served as her driver when she was in San Francisco, all while reporting to China's Ministry of State Security though China's San Francisco Consulate.

 


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