EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

June 20, 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

• Rising fire insurance rates causing East County homeowners to pay up or move out (NBC 7)
• Court rules in county’s favor, strikes blow to Julian volunteer firefighters (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lemon Grove starts strategizing on plans moving forward (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Here’s What San Diego’s Getting Out of the New State Budget (Voice of SD)
• SDG&E says there is a 100% chance it will start or contribute to a major wildfire (KPBS)
• Neighbors cry foul over proposed egg ranch manure plant (Ramona Sentinel)
• Judges orders 3 charter school shut down (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Public urged to file fire hazard reports online (The Alpine Sun)
• Uber says it will start delivering fast food by drone in San Diego this summer (The Verge)
• 15 beach-goers stung by stingrays in one day at (Coronado) beach (Daily Mail)

STATE

• California governor calls Native American treatment genocide (San Francisco Chronicle/AP)
• In Risk-Prone Areas, Fire Insurance Is Getting Harder and Harder to Come By (Voice of San Diego)
• California man suspected of threatening synagogue free on bond (Reuters)
• 3 of 4 Californians want to restrict housing in wildfire-prone areas, poll says (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

Rising fire insurance rates causing East County homeowners to pay up or move out (NBC 7)

East County homeowners are struggling to find or maintain fire insurance as insurance companies are either raising rates or dropping customers.

Court rules in county’s favor, strikes blow to Julian volunteer firefighters (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A judge Friday dealt a serious blow to the Julian volunteer firefighters hoping to regain control of their department from the county. San Diego Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp set aside a ruling she made on April 5 that found the board of directors of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District had violated the state’s open meeting law in early 2018 by secretly agreeing to vote to seek the dissolution of the volunteer fire district.

Lemon Grove starts strategizing on plans moving forward (San Diego Union-Tribune)

With budget problems continuing to put a strain on the smallest of the four East County cities, the Lemon Grove City Council last week took a step toward trying to stop the financial bleeding. Plans are now in place for the City Council to start a formal discussion about putting a one-cent sales tax before the voters next year.

Sacramento Report: Here’s What San Diego’s Getting Out of the New State Budget (Voice of SD)

The state budget approved by the Legislature this week includes all kinds of big-picture expenditures. But it also includes small local projects that lawmakers can tout back at home. San Diego lawmakers got quite a few of those this time around.

SDG&E says there is a 100% chance it will start or contribute to a major wildfire (KPBS)

In an astonishing series of regulatory filings, SDG&E said it is almost certain to cause or contribute to a catastrophic fire sometime in the next 20 years.

Neighbors cry foul over proposed egg ranch manure plant (Ramona Sentinel)

About 40 neighbors of the Pine Hill Egg Ranch crowded into the Ramona Library Community Room June 6 to oppose aspects of a manure processing plant permit being reviewed by the Ramona Community Planning Group.

Judges orders 3 charter school shut down (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A judge has ordered three storefront charter school sites in San Diego County to close after school districts said they were operating illegally within their boundaries. The Diego Valley East charter school in El Cajon, and the San Diego Workforce Innovation High charter schools in Lakeside and Lemon Grove will close at the end of June, forcing out about 1,000 students, said State law requires charter schools to locate within the district that authorizes them. …A charter school can open one other location outside its authorizing district in certain cases.

Public urged to file fire hazard reports online (The Alpine Sun)

The Alpine Fire Protection District encourages residents to use their online form, Hazard Complaints, to report any conditions that may lead to a fire. “It is an online form that a homeowner can fill-out anonymously,” said fire marshal Jason McBroom. “Homeowners may not be aware of the online form. Forms are acted on within 48 hours and a notice of abatement is issued.”

Uber says it will start delivering fast food by drone in San Diego this summer (The Verge)

Fast food drone deliveries: coming sooner than you think.

15 beach-goers stung by stingrays in one day at a beach in California (Daily Mail)

Up to 15 people were stung by the sharp barbs of stingrays in one day [in Coronado].

STATE

California governor calls Native American treatment genocide (San Francisco Chronicle/AP)

Gov. Gavin Newsom formally apologized Tuesday and pushed the state to reckon with California’s dark history of violence, mistreatment and neglect of Native Americans, saying it amounted to genocide.

In Risk-Prone Areas, Fire Insurance Is Getting Harder and Harder to Come By (Voice of San Diego)

Some companies are no longer writing new policies in high-risk areas, others are going so far as to drop long-time customers and almost everyone is raising rates. That’s sent California homeowners scrambling to find another insurance company in places like Alpine, a town of 15,000 near the Cleveland National Forest.

California man suspected of threatening synagogue free on bond (Reuters)

California police have arrested a man suspected of making online threats to shoot up a Jewish temple, saying he had a fascination with Adolf Hitler and planned to emulate a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a similar one near San Diego.

3 of 4 Californians want to restrict housing in wildfire-prone areas, poll says (Los Angeles Times)

The survey revealed broad backing across party lines, demographic groups and all regions in California for restricting growth in wildfire zones. Nearly 85% of Democrats support doing so compared with 57% of Republicans and 72% of independent voters.