EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

January 29, 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

• Should colleges do more to safeguard sleeping students? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego attorney wants to send utilities CEOs to jail if they lie about wildfire prevention measures (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego City Council approves ban on scooters (NBC 7)
• SANDAG kicks off largest effort to stabilize Del Mar bluffs, protect rail line in nearly a decade (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Gov. Gavin Newsom visits San Diego to take part in county homeless population count (10 News)

STATE

• Californians have until Friday to sign up for health insurance or pay penalty (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Hundreds of Freelancers at ‘Repeal AB5’ Rally Want Back the Right to Earn a Living in CA (California globe)
• Gavin Newsom asks Trump’s HUD to turn over California land for homeless housing (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Kobe Bryant, daughter killed in helicopter crash (10 News)
• Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020 (Time)
• California’s sleeper political issue of the year, so far, is school funding (Los Angeles Times)
• Black market marijuana vape pens were cut with deadly additives, California regulator says (Sacramento Bee)
• To fight new employment law, Uber pits California drivers against each other (Washington Post)

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

LOCAL

Should colleges do more to safeguard sleeping students? (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 The family of a dead SDSU student thinks so -- Dylan Hernandez, 19, died after fracturing his skull in a fall from his dorm’s upper bunk bed.

San Diego attorney wants to send utilities CEOs to jail if they lie about wildfire prevention measures (San Diego Union-Tribune)

By state law, the big three investor-owned utilities in California must file a wildfire mitigation plan with the state to tap into a $21 billion insurance fund if their equipment accidentally sparks a big wildfire. San Diego attorney Michael Aguirre said Wednesday he wants the Legislature to “add teeth” to the California Public Utilities Code by explicitly stating if CEOs of power companies violate “the truthfulness of the factual representations” of their respective wildfire prevention plans, they can end up in jail for up to one year.

San Diego City Council approves ban on scooters (NBC 7)

In a 5-4 vote, all motorized devices will be banned on beach boardwalks across the city. The vote came on the second reading of the proposal in council.

SANDAG kicks off largest effort to stabilize Del Mar bluffs, protect rail line in nearly a decade (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Roughly $10 million of repairs and construction expected to start in February. Top California officials pledge to find additional funding after recent collapse.

Gov. Gavin Newsom visits San Diego to take part in county homeless population count (10 News)

Gov. Gavin Newsom is among the state, county and federal officials participating in the count, along with Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, along with outreach workers and volunteers.

STATE

Californians have until Friday to sign up for health insurance or pay penalty (San Francisco Chronicle)

 About 318,000 people have newly enrolled in health insurance through Covered California, the state marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, since open enrollment began Oct. 15.  Californians who do not receive health insurance through their jobs or public insurance programs have until Friday to sign up for health coverage for 2020 — or face a tax penalty.

Hundreds of Freelancers at ‘Repeal AB5’ Rally Want Back the Right to Earn a Living in CA (California globe)

The ‘brute political force’ of AB5 unleashed on single women, men and families, seniors and needy.

Gavin Newsom asks Trump’s HUD to turn over California land for homeless housing (San Francisco Chronicle)

Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Trump administration to turn over surplus land owned by the federal government in California so cities could build housing for homeless people.

Kobe Bryant, daughter killed in helicopter crash (10 News)

Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter were killed in a helicopter crash Sunday morning in Calabasas, multiple sources have confirmed.  He was 41-years-old. The Los Angeles Lakers basketball star was among nine people who died in the helicopter crash, ABC News reported.

Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020 (Time)

In one of the most stunning and tragic losses in the history of sports, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Sunday. He won five NBA championships, made 18 All-Star teams, won an MVP award, two scoring titles and two Olympic gold medals

California’s sleeper political issue of the year, so far, is school funding (Los Angeles Times)

When divvying up state taxpayer dollars in Sacramento, lawmakers put the needs of some 9 million schoolchildren at the front of the line and give K-12 schools the biggest share. That’s exactly as Californians have said they want the system to work.

Black market marijuana vape pens were cut with deadly additives, California regulator says (Sacramento Bee)

California black market marijuana retailers have sold vape cartridges that were cut with undisclosed additives — including one chemical linked to a deadly outbreak —according to a state law enforcement department.

To fight new employment law, Uber pits California drivers against each other (Washington Post)

Critics call the "name your price" system it a race to the bottom. Uber is arguing the changes establish driver independence.