EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

August 31, 2021 (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

• ​Grossmont Center, family-owned for 60 years, sells to firm with redevelopment plans (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Ramona School Board bans teaching of race theories (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Legal Marijuana Shops Are Taking on the Black Market (Voice of San Diego)
• Angry County Meeting on COVID Rules: ‘We’re Coming After Every One of You’ (Times of San Diego)
• Bankruptcy for OAN? Dominion Libel Suit Imperils San Diego Cable Outlet (Times of San Diego)
• California Border Patrol agents fired upon from Mexico while detaining migrants in mountain range (Fox)
• Supervisors OK proposal for more law enforcement on illegal pot shops (Fox5)

STATE

• Caldor Fire Grows 15 Miles Overnight in California, Nearing Nevada Border (Newsweek)
• Visiting the hospital or a nursing home? Have your vaccination card ready (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Court rules California gig worker initiative is unconstitutional (Reuters)
• Kevin Faulconer blasts California recall rival Larry Elder over past comments on women (Sacramento Bee)
• Toxic algae bloom considered in death of California family in Sierra National Forest (Press Democrat)
• Drought-stricken California on Thursday shut down one of its largest hydroelectric plants because there's not enough water to power it. (KPBS)
• RFK assassin Sirhan granted parole with support of 2 Kennedys  (San Diego Union-Tribune) 
• California could require COVID-19 vaccines at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and more (Mercury News) 

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

LOCAL

Grossmont Center, family-owned for 60 years, sells to firm with redevelopment plans (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Locally owned for nearly 60 years, La Mesa’s Grossmont Center is now controlled by an out-of-town real estate investment trust that aims to refashion the 64-acre property in the years ahead. In June, Maryland-based Federal Realty Investment Trust acquired a 60 percent stake in the 925,000-square-foot regional shopping center. The transaction valued the entire property at $175.8 million. The publicly traded firm characterized the site as a large redevelopment opportunity and will likely weigh a retail-meets-residential vibe similar to the one engineered at its flagship Pike & Rose property in Bethesda, Md.

Ramona School Board bans teaching of race theories (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Ramona Unified School District is creating several restrictions on what is taught in the classroom in order to curb certain ideas about race and racism. The policies are two of many that are being pursued nationwide by school boards, state legislatures and others to prohibit ideas that conservatives associate with critical race theory — even though some experts argue that those kinds of ideas aren’t being taught in schools and aren’t necessarily part of critical race theory.

Legal Marijuana Shops Are Taking on the Black Market (Voice of San Diego)

After years of advocating for stronger policing of the illegal cannabis industry, some local legal cannabis operators are taking matters into their own hands.  On July 6, the dispensary chain March & Ash filed a lawsuit against former San Diego County Sheriff’s Capt. Marco Garmo and a long list of alleged co-conspirators. The lawsuit alleges violations of anti-racketeering, false advertising and unfair competition laws. One of the defendants is a local media outlet that regularly runs advertisements for illegal dispensaries… Garmo admitted that he tipped off an illegal cannabis dispensary to an imminent search by other law enforcement officials… In addition to Garmo and the San Diego Reader, the six other defendants in the case brought by March & Ash include ATM operators, landlords and bootleg edibles companies. By knowingly supporting an illegal dispensary’s activity by doing business with them, even if they are not selling contraband themselves, they are complicit, the suit alleges.

Angry County Meeting on COVID Rules: ‘We’re Coming After Every One of You’ (Times of San Diego)

At least 120 people addressed the San Diego County Board of Supervisors during a contentious 4 1/2-hour public hearing Tuesday on the county’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic…Many said a mask mandate was too hard on school children, while others said the county’s overall policies had forced business to close or violated people’s basic rights. 

Bankruptcy for OAN? Dominion Libel Suit Imperils San Diego Cable Outlet (Times of San Diego)

When the owners of San Diego-based One America News sued Rachel Maddow for defamation, they scoffed at the liberal TV host’s First Amendment rights. OAN lost, and was ordered to pay Maddow’s lawyers $247,000. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Herring Networks, the OAN parent, will plead constitutional free-speech protections to stave off a $1.6 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. Another loss could spell bankruptcy. Unlike the six words Maddow uttered in a single 3 1/2-minute MSNBC segment — that OAN “really literally is paid Russian propaganda” — the Trump-friendly conservative cable outlet has aired a mountain of falsehoods over nine months, Dominion alleges.

California Border Patrol agents fired upon from Mexico while detaining migrants in mountain range (Fox)

Shooting happened near Otay Mountain just 250 yards north of US-Mexico border.

Supervisors OK proposal for more law enforcement on illegal pot shops (Fox5)

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to increase law enforcement of illegal marijuana shops in unincorporated areas. The proposal by Supervisor Joel Anderson allows the county to speed up the receivership process, allowing the county to take control of properties whose owners have repeatedly violated the law by illegally selling cannabis. The county is also developing a marijuana policy overhaul, in the form of multiple ordinances to expand farming, manufacturing and retail opportunities and create jobs in the unincorporated region.

STATE

Caldor Fire Grows 15 Miles Overnight in California, Nearing Nevada Border (Newsweek)

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Monday declared a state of emergency, citing "the anticipation" that the fire would burn across the state line from California.

Visiting the hospital or a nursing home? Have your vaccination card ready (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Starting Wednesday, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities in San Diego County and across the state will begin turning away visitors unable to show that they are fully vaccinated or, alternatively, that they have tested negative for coronavirus infection in the preceding 72 hours.

Kevin Faulconer blasts California recall rival Larry Elder over past comments on women (Sacramento Bee) Former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer lashed out at recall rival Larry Elder at a debate Tuesday, blasting the radio show host’s past comments on women. Faulconer, a Republican, cited an excerpt from a 2000 column by Elder in Capitalism Magazine in which Elder wrote that “women know less than men about political issues, economics and current events."

Court rules California gig worker initiative is unconstitutional (Reuters)

A 2020 ballot measure that exempted ride-share and food delivery drivers from a state labor law is unconstitutional, a California judge ruled on Friday, as it infringes on the legislature's power to set workplace standards. The ballot measure aimed to cement app-based food delivery and ride-hail drivers' status as independent contractors, not employees.

 

Toxic algae bloom considered in death of California family in Sierra National Forest (Press Democrat)

 Investigators are considering whether toxic algae blooms or other hazards may have contributed to the deaths of a Northern California couple, their baby and the family dog on a remote hiking trail, authorities said… ohn Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog were all found dead on a hiking trail near Hite’s Cove in the Sierra National Forest. A family friend had reported them missing Monday evening…The State Water Resources Control Board said Thursday it was testing waterways in the area for any toxic algae blooms.

Drought-stricken California on Thursday shut down one of its largest hydroelectric plants because there's not enough water to power it. (KPBS)

The six-turbine Edward Hyatt Power Plant was taken off-line after the water level in the Oroville Dam reservoir that feeds it sank to an historic low of less than 642 feet (195.7 meters) above mean sea level.

RFK assassin Sirhan granted parole with support of 2 Kennedys  (San Diego Union-Tribune) 

California’s parole board voted Friday to free Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin after two of RFK’s sons said they supported releasing him and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars. But the governor ultimately will decide if Sirhan Sirhan leaves prison.

California could require COVID-19 vaccines at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and more (Mercury News) 

Lawmakers are considering a proposal that could severely limit the activities of unvaccinated residents.