EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

October 17, 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

• San Diego County Has Enough Water For 2019, Water Authority Says (KPBS)
• Planners gather support for SR-67 widening (Ramona Sentinel)
• Long-awaited desert rail line, touted as regional economic boom, continues to clear hurdles (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego approves ban on polystyrene with grace period for small restaurants (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Before Budget Crisis, Sweetwater Trustees OK’d Raises Despite a Warning from State Officials (Voice of San Diego)
• Ramona school district to create map for trustee elections (Ramona Sentinel)

STATE

• Firefighters Sue California Gas Company Over Massive Leak (NBC LA)
• Emails show California agency's cozy ties to gas tax backers (ABC News-AP Exclusive)
• Supreme Court lets stand California ruling holding lead paint makers liable for $400-million cleanup cost (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Big bluefin tuna make comeback after 80-year hiatus off California coast (Business Insider)
• Noncitizens registered to vote? Put California’s bungled 'motor voter' system on hold right away (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

San Diego County Has Enough Water For 2019, Water Authority Says (KPBS)

 San Diego County will have enough water for 2019 in spite of low rainfall and high temperatures over the past year, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Monday.

Planners gather support for SR-67 widening (Ramona Sentinel)

With endorsements from six elected officials, Ramona Community Planning Group (RCPG) members approved sending a letter to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to request priority status for state Route 67 improvements.

Long-awaited desert rail line, touted as regional economic boom, continues to clear hurdles (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Progress is accelerating on reviving a defunct rail line connecting the San Diego-Tijuana region to El Centro, which could be a local economic catalyst that would reduce border congestion and take thousands of trucks off local roads. Negotiations are under way with U.S. officials on an inspection...

San Diego approves ban on polystyrene with grace period for small restaurants (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego joined 119 other California cities on Monday by banning polystyrene food and beverage containers, which have been blamed for poisoning fish and other marine life and damaging the health of people who eat seafood. Critics of the ban, which the City Council approved in a 5-3 vote, said it would financially damage many small restaurants by forcing them to use more expensive paper containers when they’re already coping with recent minimum wage hikes.

Before Budget Crisis, Sweetwater Trustees OK’d Raises Despite a Warning from State Officials (Voice of San Diego)

 A 2015 report warned Sweetwater Unified High School District its budget would be in trouble if it didn’t find a way to cut costs and bring in more money. District trustees went on to OK 3.75 percent raises. Now they’re scrambling to cut $19 million mid-year.

Ramona school district to create map for trustee elections (Ramona Sentinel)

The Ramona Unified School District (RUSD) will hold a series of public meetings in rapid succession to get input on dividing the district into five regions for trustee elections.

STATE

Firefighters Sue California Gas Company Over Massive Leak (NBC LA)

 Firefighters who worked in and around the site of a massive natural gas leak sued the Southern California Gas Co. on Monday, saying the utility knowingly let them be exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals

Emails show California agency's cozy ties to gas tax backers (ABC News-AP Exclusive)

 Emails show California's transportation agency coordinated frequently with the public affairs firm working to block the repeal of the state gas tax hike

Supreme Court lets stand California ruling holding lead paint makers liable for $400-million cleanup cost (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Supreme Court on Monday dealt a defeat to business groups in a closely watched California case, rejecting appeals of a ruling that requires former makers of lead paint to pay $400 million or more to clean up old homes. / Business lawyers said they fear the decision will give a green light to other suits seeking to hold manufacturers liable for damage inflicted on the public, including the opioid crisis and climate change.

Big bluefin tuna make comeback after 80-year hiatus off California coast (Business Insider)

 Large Pacific bluefin tuna not seen in California waters for decades have reappeared, to the delight of fishing enthusiasts and scientists, as global conservation efforts have proven effective for one of the ocean's priciest and most sought-after fish.

Noncitizens registered to vote? Put California’s bungled 'motor voter' system on hold right away (Los Angeles Times)

First, the California Department of Motor Vehicles admitted in May that the motor voter system mistakenly generated duplicate registration forms for thousands of Californians who had visited the DMV. Then last month it disclosed that an “administrative processing error” had caused inaccurate registrations for about 23,000 people, including wrong party designations, phantom requests for mail-in ballots and even registrations for people who had opted not to be enrolled at all.  This week came the most disturbing news yet: The DMV revealed that about 1,500 people — including some noncitizens — were wrongly registered to vote between late April and late September because of DMV employee errors. The group potentially included people less than 18 years old, those not allowed to vote because of a criminal conviction and noncitizens living in the country legally.