EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

September 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

• Sheriff’s Department to begin video surveillance in Lemon Grove (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• DA files charges against 20 people in wake of May protest-turned-riot in La Mesa  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Citizens report shows developers buying far-right Santee City Council Votes (Preserve Wild Santee, via OB Rag)
• It Starts With A Conversation: How To Protect Your Child From Falling Victim To Sex Trafficking Or Predators Online  (NBC 7)
• El Cajon City Council candidate dealing with fake website (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Jury Trials To Resume In October In San Diego County (Patch)
• ICE makes dozens of arrests in San Diego County (Patch)
• Missing San Diego couple found dead in Baja California (Borderland Beat)
• Plea deal reached in San Diego County sheriff's deputy sexual misconduct case (10 News)
• Over 28,000 Property Owners In Tax Default Amid Coronavirus (Patch)

STATE

• California Sets Record With 2M Acres Burned So Far in 2020 (NBC 7)
• As fire ‘engulfed everything’ around campers, an air rescue like no other in the Sierra (LA Times)
• UC must immediately drop use of the SAT and ACT for admissions and scholarships, judge rules (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lawmakers fail to approve wildfire protection money, help for California insurance crisis (Sacramento Bee)
• California Bill to Strip Badges From ‘Bad Officers' Fails (NBC 7) 
• California seeks immediate reversal of U.S. Postal Service changes  (Los Angeles Times)

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

LOCAL

Sheriff’s Department to begin video surveillance in Lemon Grove (San Diego Union-Tribune)

By the end of this month, Lemon Grove will become the pilot site for a video surveillance program called “SafeSanDiego-Lemon Grove.” Under the new system, nine cameras will be mounted on poles in some of the city’s public parks and at a busy intersection. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is footing the cost and so far has spent about $35,000.

DA files charges against 20 people in wake of May protest-turned-riot in La Mesa  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has charged 20 people with crimes ranging from looting to child endangerment and one case of insurance fraud in connection with the protests that devolved into looting and rioting in La Mesa on Memorial Day weekend.

Citizens report shows developers buying far-right Santee City Council Votes (Preserve Wild Santee, via OB Rag)

A new report, “A Money Laundering Web: Who is Buying Santee City Council Votes” traces the flow of funds from the development industry through intermediaries with the intent of purchasing favorable decisions. The report documents substantial flows of money from Fanita Ranch and Carlton Oaks Golf Course Development interests flowing directly to Santee elected officials campaign and allied PACs.

It Starts With A Conversation: How To Protect Your Child From Falling Victim To Sex Trafficking Or Predators Online  (NBC 7)

“STOLEN” is a year-long NBC 7 investigation into the sex trafficking and exploitation of children in San Diego County. The seven-episode documentary series is told from the perspective of survivors, advocates -- even traffickers, and sex buyers, explaining the depth and scope of this problem in our communities and our schools. And with more children online during the coronavirus pandemic, experts say they are at greater risk of exploitation now more than ever.  “STOLEN” celebrates the strength of survivors and their families, as they struggle to free themselves from the bonds of sex trafficking. See the full series here.

El Cajon City Council candidate dealing with fake website (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A fake website created about two months before the November 2020 election is causing stress for a first-time City Council candidate. Michelle Metschel, looking to represent El Cajon’s District 2, isn’t sure who owns the domain at www.michellemetschel.com, but she knows it’s not her.

Jury Trials To Resume In October In San Diego County (Patch)

The San Diego Superior Court announced that it has begun summoning jurors again in anticipation of trials resuming next month.

ICE makes dozens of arrests in San Diego County (Patch)

The operation, which took place between July 22 and Aug. 20, resulted in 46 arrests across the county, ICE public affairs reported.

Missing San Diego couple found dead in Baja California (Borderland Beat)

The San Diego Police Department confirmed Friday that two bodies found in Baja California, Mexico have been identified as the remains of a San Diego couple, missing since last weekend. "They are now confirmed deceased in Mexico and family has been notified," a SDPD spokesperson wrote in an email to News 8. Mexican authorities discovered the couple's vehicle in Ensenada…The bodies were found but the exact location was not released. Relatives said there is an active, law-enforcement investigation into the deaths and foul play is suspected.

Plea deal reached in San Diego County sheriff's deputy sexual misconduct case (10 News)

A former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy accused by multiple women of sexual assault pleaded guilty Monday as part of an agreement that was reached on the day his trial was scheduled to begin. Richard Fischer faces up to five years in prison and several years of parole for pleading guilty to seven new charges, instead of the 16 he initially faced and pleaded not guilty.

Over 28,000 Property Owners In Tax Default Amid Coronavirus (Patch)

"We know many of the late bills are due to COVID-19, and we want our taxpayers to know there could be relief."

STATE

California Sets Record With 2M Acres Burned So Far in 2020 (NBC 7)

The most striking thing about the record is how early it was set, with the most dangerous part of the year ahead, said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

As fire ‘engulfed everything’ around campers, an air rescue like no other in the Sierra (LA Times)

The call came in to the California National Guard at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A fast-moving brush fire had choked off the only road out of a popular recreation area in the Sierra National Forest. Hundreds of campers were trapped.

UC must immediately drop use of the SAT and ACT for admissions and scholarships, judge rules (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Superior Court judge’s ruling came in a case challenging the use of test scores for students with disabilities but will affect all students

Lawmakers fail to approve wildfire protection money, help for California insurance crisis (Sacramento Bee)

… As smoke from wildfires left Sacramento cloaked in a haze, the Legislature ended its session early Tuesday without taking significant action to reduce the state’s enormous fire risks – or to address the crisis that has left thousands of rural Californians struggling to find affordable homeowners insurance… Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made reducing the state’s wildfire threat a priority of his administration, said the legislature did the best it could with a budget that had been hammered by the COVID-19 crisis.

California Bill to Strip Badges From ‘Bad Officers' Fails (NBC 7) 

The bill failed despite the extraordinary momentum created by months of anger and nationwide protests following the death in May of George Floyd while he was being detained by Minneapolis police…But other proposals did pass the Legislature on the final day of the 2020 session. Lawmakers approved a bill that would ban police officers from using choke holds and carotid holds. A choke hold applies pressure to a person’s windpipe while a carotid hold applies pressure to a person’s carotid artery, which slows the flow of blood to the brain. Gov. Gavin Newsom has pledged to sign that bill. Lawmakers also approved a bill to require the state Attorney General to investigate every time police kill an unarmed civilian.

California seeks immediate reversal of U.S. Postal Service changes  (Los Angeles Times)

The legal move announced Thursday by Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra follows reports in The Times and other outlets about rotting food and dead animals in stockpiled packages in mail facilities, and customers who have gone long stretches without income and crucial medication due to the delays.