EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

May 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 residents push for police oversight at community forum (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rent cap could be coming to San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Newly Released Internal Report Details La Mesa Police Deadly Standoff In 2017  (KPBS)
• San Diego Ranks Eighth In Population Growth Among Major US Cities (KPBS)
• Two Additional Lanes To Open On South I-5 At U.S.-Mexico Border (KPBS)
• How Kevin Faulconer Touched Off a Historic Debate About San Diego’s Transportation Future (Voice of San Diego)
• San Diego approves plans to expand Mission Trails park with a series of upgrades (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Uncovering A San Diego Porn Scheme: Deception, Humiliation Follow Online Ads (NBC 7)
• San Diego State Center apologizes for using photo of Palestinian terrorist (JPost)
• SD County Supes approve intellectually disabled hiring program (Patch.com)
• Advisory board recommends 30 changes to SDPD practices (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Chicken slaughter due to Newcastle spread tops more than 1.1 million in Inland Empire (Riverside Press Enterprise)
• PG&E says it will build Paradise power lines underground (Sacramento Bee)
• Think California’s too big and influential? Wait for the presidential primary (Los Angeles Times)
• Bye bye, big top? California lawmakers vote to ban the use of circus performing animals (Sacramento Bee)
• California (Poverty And Taxes) And Texas (Jobs And Freedom): A Few Key Comparisons (Forbes)

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

LOCAL

El Cajon to permit up to four dogs or cats per household (San Diego Union-Tribune)

El Cajon dog lovers, rejoice! Where once you were allowed just two dogs, now you can have four. And feline fans, instead of just two kitties, you will now be able to snuggle with up to four cats. Residents wishing to own more than four animals will need an administrative zoning permit.

La Mesa residents push for police oversight at community forum (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Several dozen La Mesa residents met Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of creating a community oversight board for the La Mesa Police Department.

Rent cap could be coming to San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)

There might be a limit on how much a landlord can raise your rent if new legislation is signed by the governor. An Assembly bill from a San Francisco Democrat would stop landlords from raising rent more than 5 to 10 percent in a year. It’s not exactly the type of rent control that many activists want, but it may stop some of the more extreme rent hikes endured by many San Diegans.

Newly Released Internal Report Details La Mesa Police Deadly Standoff In 2017  (KPBS)

Internal police records from the La Mesa Police Department detail a 2017 standoff when two officers shot and killed an armed 19-year-old man who had fired shots into the air. The records describe what began as an attempt to pull over a car with Isaias Raziel Ochoa-Batista and two other people on August 24, 2017. The car didn't stop and instead sped away.

San Diego Ranks Eighth In Population Growth Among Major US Cities (KPBS)

 The city of San Diego had the eighth largest population increase between July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2018 among cities with populations of 50,000 or more, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday.

Two Additional Lanes To Open On Southbound I-5 At U.S.-Mexico Border (KPBS)

 The two lanes opened at 9 a.m., widening southbound I-5 to six lanes from south of the Camino De La Plaza Bridge to El Chaparral in Tijuana, Mexico. The lane opening marks the completion of the third phase of the GSA's San Ysidro Land Port of Entry modernization project, which also includes the addition of nearly 40 inspection booths at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

How Kevin Faulconer Touched Off a Historic Debate About San Diego’s Transportation Future (Voice of San Diego)

SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata has laid out a controversial vision for a transit system that is convenient but expensive. Conservatives are laying out another very different vision. How it resolves itself will determine what the region looks like and how people move from place to place within it.

San Diego approves plans to expand Mission Trails park with a series of upgrades (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Updated master plan includes East Elliott, uninhabited area where housing was once planned

Uncovering A San Diego Porn Scheme: Deception, Humiliation Follow Online Ads (NBC 7)

Nearly two dozen women say what started with a response to a modeling ad on Craigslist ended with videos of them having sex posted on some of the most popular porn websites in the world.

San Diego State Center apologizes for using photo of Palestinian terrorist (Jerusalem Post)

The Women’s Resource Center at San Diego State University has apologized for including on its weekly newsletter an image of a female Palestinian terrorist holding a gun. …The photo...included the text “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a Palestinian slogan laying claim to all of present-day Israel…. Khaled was arrested in 1970 by Israeli sky marshals while carrying two grenades in an attempt to hijack an El Al flight from Amsterdam with a partner, whom the security officers killed.

SD County Supes approve intellectually disabled hiring program (Patch.com)

The County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to create a program that would allow county government to hire more people with intellectual disabilities.

Advisory board recommends 30 changes to SDPD practices (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The 15-page report, which has been sent to the Police Department and the city’s elected officials for review, represents the culmination of the first two years of work by the advisory board, which has no oversight power. …  But the board’s chair, Barry Pollard, believes it’s unlikely the San Diego Police Department will implement the report’s recommendations, despite assurances from police leaders that they’ll carefully consider each one.

STATE

Chicken slaughter due to Newcastle spread tops more than 1.1 million in Inland Empire (Riverside Press Enterprise)

… The main gripe is that chickens, pigeons and other species not tested positive for the deadly avian virus are being euthanized anyway, and that there should be a better way to corral and eradicate the virus without killing so many birds, which is traumatizing chicken owners who rely on the livestock for food or commercial purposes.

PG&E says it will build Paradise power lines underground (Sacramento Bee)

Facing intense pressure to eliminate fire risks, PG&E said Wednesday night it plans to rebuild the electric distribution system in devastated Paradise with underground power lines.

Think California’s too big and influential? Wait for the presidential primary (Los Angeles Times)

… For it is the trademark issues and values of California — immigration, healthcare, trade and the environment — that to a large extent will drive this presidential contest…An early March 3 primary and the presence of California candidates, including Sen. Kamala Harris and Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell, among the nearly two dozen Democratic contenders, only serves to heighten the California orientation of the 2020 election.

Bye bye, big top? California lawmakers vote to ban the use of circus performing animals (Sacramento Bee)

The Big Top’s days in the Golden State could soon be numbered; California lawmakers voted Monday to outlaw the use of circus performing animals. The state Senate voted unanimously for the Senate Bill 313, a ban on the commercial use of wild animals which was supported by animal rights groups…The language initially could be interpreted as banning not just circuses, but also wildlife conservancy and education groups’ outreach efforts..In response to the criticism, the bill’s author, Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, tightened up the definition of the bill, specifically wording the ban so that only circuses would be affected.

California (Poverty And Taxes) And Texas (Jobs And Freedom): A Few Key Comparisons (Forbes)

Comparisons between the two most-populous states (California and Texas) are useful because both states have diverse populations and economies, but vastly different politics. That, in turn, leads to divergent public policies in taxation and regulation—with very different outcomes.