EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

January 30, 2019 (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

• La Mesa and Santee to partner with Chula Vista on energy choice study (San Diego Union Tribune
• New nuclear rule passed by federal regulators will not apply to San Onofre (San Diego Union-Tribune
• County Will Consider Suing Trump Admin Over Migrant Release Policy (Voice of San Diego)
• How to help asylum seekers in Tijuana (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Bids to Remake the Plaza de Panama Are $20M Higher Than Expected (Voice of San Diego)
• Bird, Lime sued by disability rights activists who claim obstructed sidewalks (Ars Technica)
• It Can Be Hard to Tell Where the Water Authority Ends and a Powerful Law Firm Begins (Voice of San Diego) 

STATE

• A judge wants to impose strict fire-safety rules on PG&E. Why the state is objecting (The Sacramento Bee)
• Newsom’s move: Not yet health care for all, but health care for more (Cal Matters)
• Atmospheric river boosted California snowpack well above average by mid-January (The Sacramento Bee)
• Gavin Newsom takes wealthy Southern California city to court over its lack of housing (Sacramento Bee)
• Judge upholds state protections for endangered grey wolves (CBS)
• Special education enrollment in California is up. No one can say exactly why (The Sacramento Bee)

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

LOCAL

La Mesa and Santee to partner with Chula Vista on energy choice study (San Diego Union Tribune)

The City Councils in La Mesa and Santee last month unanimously agreed to piggyback onto Chula Vista’s CCA feasibility study with EES Consulting, Inc…. The total cost of the study is just over $89,000. / EES also is preparing feasibility studies for Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar and Oceanside. The consulting group has provided services for Solana Beach, which is the only city in San Diego County that already has an active CCA. Solana Beach started its program last June. 

New nuclear rule passed by federal regulators will not apply to San Onofre (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 A controversial rule passed late last week by the Nuclear egulatory Commission based on lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster in 2011 will not apply to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station because the plant, also known as SONGS, no longer produces electricity. 

County Will Consider Suing Trump Admin Over Migrant Release Policy (Voice of San Diego)

 As it voted to lease the old family courthouse building to Jewish Family Service to shelter migrant families, the County Board of Supervisors also floated suing the federal government over how it's handled the release of migrant families into San Diego. The board will consider taking action at its Feb. 12 meeting. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob wants to sue the federal government over the end of its “Safe Release” program, which has resulted in thousands of asylum-seeking families being released in San Diego, often with scant resources or a place to go.

How to help asylum seekers in Tijuana (San Diego Union-Tribune)

It’s unknown how many — if any — of the Central Americans who trekked to Tijuana eventually will win asylum in the United States. But this is known: while awaiting their fate, caravan members are in dire need of food, shelter and medical aid. “Their situation is critical, very bad,” said Leticia Martinez Hermosillo, development manager at the International Community Foundation. Some agencies providing assistance:

Bids to Remake the Plaza de Panama Are $20M Higher Than Expected (Voice of San Diego)

 The lowest bid for the project to clear Balboa Park’s central mesa came in almost 40 percent higher than a previous estimate – at least $83.5 million for construction alone. 

Bird, Lime sued by disability rights activists who claim obstructed sidewalks (Ars Technica)

 Lawsuit: stray scooters "have…caused Plaintiffs to use the sidewalks less often.” 

It Can Be Hard to Tell Where the Water Authority Ends and a Powerful Law Firm Begins (Voice of San Diego) 

Over the past two decades, the San Diego County Water Authority has paid $25 million to a single law firm. The firm and two of its attorneys have been involved in major Water Authority decisions since the 1990s – decisions that affect the cost and availability of water in San Diego. 

STATE

A judge wants to impose strict fire-safety rules on PG&E. Why the state is objecting (The Sacramento Bee)

 The California Public Utilities Commission on Monday protested a federal judge’s plan for strict wildfire-safety rules for PG&E.

Newsom’s move: Not yet health care for all, but health care for more (Cal Matters)

It was way easier for candidate Gavin Newsom to endorse single-payer health care coverage for everyone than it is now for Gov. Newsom to deliver it. Yet hardcore advocates say they’re pleased with the moves he’s made thus far—even if it may take years to come to fruition.

Atmospheric river boosted California snowpack well above average by mid-January (The Sacramento Bee)

 Snowpack across California is about 110 percent of normal for this time of year, thanks in no small part to an atmospheric river that brought heavy snowstorms to the Sierra range. 

Gavin Newsom takes wealthy Southern California city to court over its lack of housing (Sacramento Bee)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is giving teeth to his efforts to build more housing in California by suing a city that he argues isn’t allowing enough low-income housing, as required by state law.  Newsom announced that Attorney General Xavier Becerra is suing Huntington Beach, a coastal city in Orange County, to compel it to support construction of more affordable apartments and houses.

Judge upholds state protections for endangered grey wolves (CBS)

A judge in San Diego Monday upheld protections for gray wolves under the California Endangered Species Act, rejecting a petition from ranching agencies challenging the animals' designation as wildlife at risk of extinction.

Special education enrollment in California is up. No one can say exactly why (The Sacramento Bee)

 Special education enrollment has surged in the last decade, with more than 96,000 students pouring into school districts across the state, according to data from the California Department of Education.