EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

January 9, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:  

LOCAL

• San Diego military bases tighten security amid rising tensions with Iran (10 News)
• Grossmont Union Still Expels Black Students Far More Often Than Other Local Schools (Voice of San Diego)
• Helix Water District board approves fee hikes, other changes  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• El Cajon looking into a public relations campaign (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rehab and renovation coming for more than 60 streets in Lemon Grove  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Generator believed to have sparked fire at South San Diego home (10 News)
• Federal authorities arrest 6 protesters, including doctors, outside Border Patrol building in Eastlake (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Ramona marijuana dispensary hit by burglars, owner pegs loss at $300K (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Campa-Najjar, DeMaio, Issa confirm for 50th District forum (Valley Roadrunner)
• Suspect in 2006 La Mesa Cold Case Sword Killing Sentenced (NBC 7)

STATE

• California vaping bill would ban all flavored tobacco sales in stores (Los Angeles Times)
• California finds widespread water contamination of 'forever chemicals' (Los Angeles Times)
• California’s consumer privacy law is coming. Here’s how to exercise your rights (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Freelance Journalists Sue California Ahead of Gig Worker Law (Hollywood Reporter)
• New California law redefines who gets employment benefits. The lawsuits are just starting (Sacramento Bee)
• Uber, Postmates sue to challenge California’s new labor law (AP)

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

LOCAL

San Diego military bases tighten security amid rising tensions with Iran (10 News)

Some military bases in San Diego County have instituted heightened security measures and warned of increased entry gate delays, according to base Twitter posts.

Grossmont Union Still Expels Black Students Far More Often Than Other Local Schools (Voice of San Diego)

For the 2018-19 school year, the district expelled black students at nine times the average expulsion rate for black students countywide. “Ultimately the district just doesn’t care for black students, that’s just the reality,” said one researcher.

Helix Water District board approves fee hikes, other changes  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Some miscellaneous fees and charges will change starting in January.

El Cajon looking into a public relations campaign (San Diego Union-Tribune)

City wants to renew, revive and refresh its image.

Rehab and renovation coming for more than 60 streets in Lemon Grove  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

City to spend upwards of $1 million on repairs.

Generator believed to have sparked fire at South San Diego home (10 News)

A fire tore through a South San Diego house Thursday morning, leaving a family without a home less than a week before Christmas.

Federal authorities arrest 6 protesters, including doctors, outside Border Patrol building in Eastlake (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Doctors are seeking to administer flu shots to detained migrant children at a San Ysidro detention facility.

Ramona marijuana dispensary hit by burglars, owner pegs loss at $300K (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Three burglars pried open a door and broke into business on Pine Street early Saturday… Releaf Meds is one of three licensed dispensaries operating in Ramona.

Campa-Najjar, DeMaio, Issa confirm for 50th District forum (Valley Roadrunner)

The three top polling candidates in the 50th Congressional District, now that Duncan Hunter Jr. has dropped out of the race, have announced  they will take part in the candidate forum that has been organized for February 7, 2020 at the Maxine Theater in Valley Center.

Suspect in 2006 La Mesa Cold Case Sword Killing Sentenced (NBC 7)

Zachary Bunney, 39, was convicted of fatally stabbing La Mesa resident Scott Martinez, 47, with a sword on June 17, 2006 … The DNA of one of Bunney's extended relatives, likely a second or third cousin, was in the GEDMatch database and was traced back to Bunney.

STATE

California vaping bill would ban all flavored tobacco sales in stores (Los Angeles Times)

Days after concerns over youth vaping led the Trump administration to announce a partial ban on many e-cigarette pods, California lawmakers on Monday introduced a much stronger measure to outlaw store sales of all flavored tobacco products in the state.

California finds widespread water contamination of 'forever chemicals' (Los Angeles Times)

Nearly 300 drinking water wells and other water sources in California have traces of toxic chemicals linked to cancer, new state testing has found. Testing conducted this year of more than 600 wells across the state revealed pockets of contamination, where chemicals widely used for decades in manufacturing and household goods have seeped into the public’s water supply. An analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that within this class of chemicals, called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the two most common compounds were detected in 86 water systems that serve up to 9 million Californians.

California’s consumer privacy law is coming. Here’s how to exercise your rights (San Francisco Chronicle)

The landmark California Consumer Privacy Act, the first major statewide internet privacy law in the country, takes effect Jan. 1. Consumers will have the power to tell businesses not to sell their data and to demand that they delete the information altogether. But privacy advocates say the sweeping law, passed by state lawmakers in June 2018, will be effective only if consumers know their rights and exercise them.

Freelance Journalists Sue California Ahead of Gig Worker Law (Hollywood Reporter)

One day after reports that Vox Media is ending business ties with hundreds of freelance writers in the state in part due to Assembly Bill 5, an industry group is suing California on independent journalists' behalf before the law takes into effect. The American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc. on Tuesday announced the lawsuit, which was filed by the ASJA and the National Press Photographers Association in federal court in Los Angeles. The aim is to stop the gig economy law AB-5 from changing the livelihoods of independent journalists including writers and photographers. The suit claims that the law is unconstitutional and will devastate the lives of these reporters.

New California law redefines who gets employment benefits. The lawsuits are just starting (Sacramento Bee)

A new law that dictates which California workers must receive full employment benefits takes effect Jan. 1, but the latest battle over Assembly Bill 5 is playing out in courts and could take years to resolve. On one side are groups seeking to roll back the law, such as truck drivers who are already suing to block it, arguing it will interfere with their ability to earn a living as independent contractors. On the other side are labor advocates like bill author Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez…

Uber, Postmates sue to challenge California’s new labor law (AP)

Ride-share company Uber and on-demand meal delivery service Postmates sued Monday to block a broad new California law aimed at giving wage and benefit protections to people who work as independent contractors. The lawsuit filed in U.S. court in Los Angeles argues that the law set to take effect Wednesday violates federal and state constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Uber said it will try to link the lawsuit to another legal challenge filed in mid-December by associations representing freelance writers and photographers. The California Trucking Association filed the first challenge to the law in November on behalf of independent truckers.