EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

March 5, 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

• Storm far from a drought buster  (U-T San Diego)
• DUI victim wanted to make a difference (NBC)
• Floods force 3 families out of homes in San Carlos (NBC TV)
• Charter cities in SD County sue over prevailing wage law (UT San Diego)
• San Diego Open Government Ballot Measure Tabled By City Council (KPBS)
• Plan For San Diego Police To Wear Uniform Cameras Receives Support (KPBS)
• City’s plan to delete emails should be scrapped (UT San Diego)
• San Diego County wins round in battle with water district  (LA Times) 
• Document says Navy knew USS Reagan was dangerously contaminated by Fukushima (Common Dreams)
• Special Report: 'Teflon' Cop Avoided Serious Investigation for Years (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• Jerry Brown signs drought relief package  (Sacramento Bee)
• California drought: Why state's big cities aren't in crisis mode (CS Monitor)
• Toni Atkins, the Assembly’s Speaker to be (Los Angeles Times)
  
   

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

LOCAL

Storm far from a drought buster  (U-T San Diego)

The Pacific storm that blew ashore Friday has temporarily reduced the risk of wildfires across San Diego County, but the system did little to alleviate the region’s long-term drought, says the National Weather Service.

DUI victim wanted to make a difference (NBC)

Monday was an emotional day inside an El Cajon courtroom. Sunny Hall was sentenced to nine years in prison.Hall admitted to crashing her car along Interstate 8 (in Alpine), killing a UC San Diego student just days before her graduation and an El Centro teacher who pulled over to help.

Floods force 3 families out of homes in San Carlos (NBC TV)

… Firefighters believe the culprit that caused the flooding was a clogged culvert running behind the homes…Residents say the drain is poorly maintained by the city.

Charter cities in SD County sue over prevailing wage law (UT San Diego)

Branding it an unconstitutional intrusion, four charter cities in San Diego County have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a new state law that forces them to choose between paying contractors higher prevailing wages on all public works projects or lose state construction dollars.... Vista, Carlsbad, El Cajon, and Oceanside united to file the lawsuit....  Statewide there are about 120 other charter cities, of which two — El Centro and Fresno — are part of the litigation.

San Diego Open Government Ballot Measure Tabled By City Council (KPBS)

Former City Councilwoman Donna Frye's open government ballot measure was tabled by the City Council indefinitely.

Plan For San Diego Police To Wear Uniform Cameras Receives Support (KPBS)

City officials hope the cameras, which can be worn on an officer's uniform, will prevent some of the problems that have plagued the department in recent years, including alleged sexual misconduct. They can also protect officers from false claims of abuse.

City’s plan to delete emails should be scrapped (UT San Diego)

The San Diego city government is on the brink of an epic mistake.

San Diego County wins round in battle with water district  (LA Times) 

A judge in San Francisco tentatively ruled that Metropolitan violated the California Constitution in setting the rates it charged for transporting water from the Colorado River to San Diego County through its aqueduct and other water transportation facilities

Document says Navy knew USS Reagan was dangerously contaminated by Fukushima (Common Dreams)

A stunning new report indicates the U.S. Navy knew that sailors from the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan took major radiation hits from the Fukushima atomic power plant after its meltdowns and explosions nearly three years ago. Tepco and the Navy contend the Reagan did not receive a high enough dose to warrant serious concern. But Japan, South Korea and Guam deemed the carrier too radioactive to enter their ports. Stock photographs show sailors working en masse to scrub the ship down. The $4.3 billion boat is now docked in San Diego. Critics question whether it belongs there at all. 

Special Report: 'Teflon' Cop Avoided Serious Investigation for Years (Voice of San Diego)

Before former San Diego police officer Anthony Arevalos’ arrest in 2011, his supervisors knew he had made sexually charged comments to a woman with mental disabilities while transporting her to a hospital. They knew he looked at pornography at work on his department-issued computer. And they knew he had been accused of behaving inappropriately toward a 16-year-old girl during a traffic stop.

STATE

Jerry Brown signs drought relief package  (Sacramento Bee)

With drought conditions still challenging California, Gov. Jerry Brownsigned a $687 million relief package Saturday, including money for infrastructure improvements, emergency water shortages and aid to farmworkers.

California drought: Why state's big cities aren't in crisis mode (CS Monitor)

As cattle languish on dried-out grazing lands, kids splash in fountains in Los Angeles and San Diego. The difference? One issue is water storage. Many cities invested heavily in infrastructure after the last drought.

Toni Atkins, the Assembly’s Speaker to be (Los Angeles Times)

 

It's not like the days when a Willie Brown or a Jesse Unruh could all but take out a lease on the Assembly speaker's offices in Sacramento. Term limits mean Toni Atkins will have to vacate the premises not much more than two years after she takes over the gavel in June as the Assembly's next speaker. But she's nothing if not prepared. Starting in 2000, she served eight years as a popular San Diego City Council member, and in 2005, became the city's acting mayor after the incumbent resigned. Atkins was elected to the Assembly in 2010 and reelected in 2012.