EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

July 4, 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

• New legislation would ban move by San Diego DA requiring defendants to give up future rights in plea bargains  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Mother of boy hit and killed by car in Lemon Grove files claim against city (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• New scooter regulations take effect in San Diego (10 News)
• Police transparency law does not cover car accidents, SDPD says (NBC 7)
• Pair convicted of murder in 2017 shooting outside La Mesa clothing store (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Ramona butcher claims top prize in History Channel contest (Ramona Sentinel)

STATE

• Hate crimes targeting Jews and Latinos increased in California in 2018, report says (Los Angeles Times)
• California lawmakers race to pass wildfire legislation by July 12 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Scant details: Are California utilities doing enough to fireproof their equipment? (Cal Matters)
• Chicken-killing Newcastle outbreak shows signs of subsiding (Riverside Press Enterprise)
•  Trump administration still holding on to $9 million owed to California fire departments (Sacramento Bee)

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

LOCAL

New legislation would ban move by San Diego DA requiring defendants to give up future rights in plea bargains  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The bill is in response to prosecutors in San Diego requiring defendants in some cases to give up any chance in the future of getting a reduced sentence if state laws change.

Mother of boy hit and killed by car in Lemon Grove files claim against city (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The mother of Trevon Harris, the 13-year-old boy who was hit by a car and killed on San Miguel Avenue in Lemon Grove in May, has filed a claim against the city. The claim says the city knew that particular area was dangerous for students because of speeding cars …A claim is typically a precursor to a lawsuit. Tanya Harris’ attorney, Rhonda J. Holmes, said a similar claim will be filed against the Lemon Grove School District.

New scooter regulations take effect in San Diego (10 News)

People who ride scooters in San Diego will have to follow new rules as of Monday, July 1.

Police transparency law does not cover car accidents, SDPD says (NBC 7)

A law intended to increase public access to police records does not apply to cases of officers killing people in accidental car crashes, according to the San Diego Police Department. KPBS sought records related to an incident on the night of June 8, when 33-year-old Bernadette Grantling was struck and killed by two police cars, but the police department denied the request.

Pair convicted of murder in 2017 shooting outside La Mesa clothing store (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Derrick Eli Henderson and Kathryn Luwana Williams face mandatory life imprisonment without parole when they are sentenced for the July 20, 2017, death of 30-year-old Travis Lewis outside La Mesa’s Burlington Coat Factory.

Ramona butcher claims top prize in History Channel contest (Ramona Sentinel)

Ramona resident Daniel Scepurek, 40, had never been on television until he competed in a high-stakes butchering competition for the History Channel’s “The Butcher” series. Scepurek, the head butcher at Bisher’s Quality Meats butcher shop in Ramona, brought 17 years of butchering experience to the recent competition that pitted him against three other top-notch butchers.

STATE

Hate crimes targeting Jews and Latinos increased in California in 2018, report says (Los Angeles Times) Despite a slight decline in the overall number of hate crimes reported statewide, incidents targeting Latinos and Jewish people in California surged last year, an uptick experts have blamed on vitriolic rhetoric over immigration and emboldened hate groups.

California lawmakers race to pass wildfire legislation by July 12 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Legislators try to avoid ratings downgrades for utilities without looking like they’re bailing them out

Scant details: Are California utilities doing enough to fireproof their equipment? (Cal Matters)

With much fanfare and no less hand-wringing, state regulators approved plans that for the first time set out how California’s electric utilities intend to prevent their equipment from sparking wildfires. But the plans provide scant details, and little evidence to support the companies’ claims that indiscriminately clear-cutting millions of trees and replacing hundreds of thousands of wooden utility poles with steel ones will actually reduce the risk of wildfires.

Chicken-killing Newcastle outbreak shows signs of subsiding (Riverside Press Enterprise)

 It’s been nearly a month since the last positive test for the chicken-killing Newcastle disease that’s led to the euthanasia of 1.2 million birds, spurring guarded optimism from officials that the 13-month-old outbreak could be nearing an end. But 273 birds were euthanized as recently as June 28 as state and federal officials continue to track down poultry that may have been exposed to the virus in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, even if they haven’t tested positive.

Trump administration still holding on to $9 million owed to California fire departments (Sacramento Bee)

California still has not heard from the Trump administration about $9 million the state believes local fire departments are owed for work fighting wildfires last year, according to the Office of Emergency Services.