EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

June 6, 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

• Supervisors will consider reorganizing fire services in unincorporated areas (Times of San Diego)
• Protests Against Racial Inequality Continue Across San Diego County (NBC 7)
• Morning Report: When is a protest unlawful? Depends.  (Voice of San Diego)
• Looter returns stolen items to La Mesa business owner (Fox 5)
• San Diego County revives human relations commission in wake of racist incidents in Santee (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• COVID-19 numbers bump up a bit in San Diego County (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Here Are the 13 Triggers That Would Move San Diego Back Into Lockdown (Voice of San Diego)
• Fairgrounds says it faces possible closure without financial aid (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Coronavirus: Can Gov. Newsom make rent, mortgage debt vanish? (San Jose Mercury News)
• California coronavirus cases surpass 120,000; protests, closed testing sites worry health officials (Los Angeles Times)
•  Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California are latest to reopen (Los Angeles Times)
• Gavin Newsom backs ‘stranglehold’ restraint ban for California police after George Floyd’s death  (Sacramento Bee)

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

LOCAL

Supervisors will consider reorganizing fire services in unincorporated areas (Times of San Diego)

The San Diego County Administration building is shown in this image from Nov. 8, 2015. (Brad Racino/inewsource) The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to discuss the reorganization of the county’s fire protection and emergency medical services into two separate agencies at its July 7 meeting..

Protests Against Racial Inequality Continue Across San Diego County (NBC 7)

Protests large and small formed across San Diego County demanding justice for George Floyd, reform on policing, and racial equality in the U.S.

Morning Report: When is a protest unlawful? Depends.  (Voice of San Diego)

What defines an unlawful assembly is not always clear. Protests erupted this weekend across the United States, but how police treated those gatherings differed depending on the department. 

Looter returns stolen items to La Mesa business owner (Fox 5)

Dan Buxton’s business, Play It Again Sports in the La Mesa Springs Shopping Center, was destroyed Saturday night during the riots, set on fire and looted. But the response from his community — and one young man’s attempt at redemption — have heartened him during a dark hour.

 San Diego County revives human relations commission in wake of racist incidents in Santee (San Diego Union-Tribune)

On the heels of two racist incidents in Santee this month, San Diego County supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday to revive a countywide human relations commission focused on fostering a more inclusive and equitable San Diego. The commission, dubbed the Leon Williams San Diego County Human Relations Commission, will look critically at government policies and practices and likely host public forums and workshops throughout the year.

COVID-19 numbers bump up a bit in San Diego County (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Though a single day’s number does not mean much, it came alongside reports from two large local medical providers that said they are seeing higher COVID activity in some locations than they were previously.

Here Are the 13 Triggers That Would Move San Diego Back Into Lockdown (Voice of San Diego)

This week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors created a set of 13 complicated triggers that will dictate when to start dialing up a renewed lockdown.

Fairgrounds says it faces possible closure without financial aid (San Diego Union-Tribune)

General manager says property in dire financial straits and needs $20 million in federal aid

STATE

Coronavirus: Can Gov. Newsom make rent, mortgage debt vanish? (San Jose Mercury News)

Legal questions send lawyers digging deep for historic cases

California coronavirus cases surpass 120,000; protests, closed testing sites worry health officials (Los Angeles Times)

 With protests across California decrying the death of George Floyd in their seventh day, health officials continue to sound the alarm that such close gatherings are likely to contribute to the spread of the coronavirus.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California are latest to reopen (Los Angeles Times)

Giant sequoia groves and the backcountry will reopen Thursday at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in the western Sierra. It’s the latest national parks in California to begin welcoming visitors with new safety rules during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gavin Newsom backs ‘stranglehold’ restraint ban for California police after George Floyd’s death  (Sacramento Bee)

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he’s moving to ban police in California from restraining people with the tactic used in Minneapolis on George Floyd. Newsom said he’ll remove the technique, known as a carotid restraint, from statewide law enforcement training and is endorsing a bill, AB 1196, to ban the practice. He said there is no longer a place for a policing tactic “that literally is designed to stop people’s blood from flowing into their brain.”