EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

December 21, 2022 (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

• Covid Year Two: Deaths More than Doubled in Lakeside, and Went Down Virtually Everywhere Else (Voice of San Diego)
• Nathan Fletcher Stepping Down as Supervisor Chair (Voice of San Diego)
• Is SANDAG’s majority changing? Not so fast. (SD Rostra)
• Upgrade costs for Carlsbad desalination plant will be passed along to San Diego ratepayers  (KPBS)
• Blood bank puts out urgent call for donations; supplies 'dangerously' low  (KPBS)
• Russians find asylum lifeline to US, but at a high price (KPBS)
• Balboa Park needs nearly half a billion dollars to be brought up to modern standards (KPBS)
• Mail-in ballots constitute 90% of San Diego County's certified election results  (KPBS)
• San Diego City launches Regional Cyber Lab to bolster local cybersecurity  (KPBS)

STATE

• Southern California home prices dip in November (Los Angeles Times)
• $24 billion projected budget deficit may test California’s resolve to grow safety net amid recession (KPBS)
• Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes parts of northern California  (AP)
• Newsom slams Republicans for blocking immigration reform on visit to Mexican border (Los Angeles Times)
• So long, California: Major county votes to study secession (KPBS)

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

LOCAL

Covid Year Two: Deaths More than Doubled in Lakeside, and Went Down Virtually Everywhere Else (Voice of San Diego)

Covid-19 death rates actually increased in several East County communities in year two of the pandemic, even as they dropped virtually everywhere else. Residents there are much less likely to be vaccinated.

Nathan Fletcher Stepping Down as Supervisor Chair (Voice of San Diego)

County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher is stepping down from his role as chair and plans to nominate Vice Chair Nora Vargas to replace him. 

Is SANDAG’s majority changing? Not so fast. (SD Rostra)

On election night, two area Republican mayors were excitedly congratulating themselves on some of the cities around the region electing new GOP mayors, most particularly John McCann in Chula Vista, Dane White in Escondido, and John Franklin in Vista. These two mayors’ shared view, at least in the flurry of election night, was that the majority hold by Democrats at SANDAG was being broken, specifically in the “weighted vote” scenario when Chula Vista has often voted with the City of San Diego on controversial issues such as the Regional Transportation Plan and related road user fees.

Upgrade costs for Carlsbad desalination plant will be passed along to San Diego ratepayers  (KPBS)

Water bills in San Diego are about to go up. That increase is due in part to planned upgrades at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, estimated to cost $274 million.

Blood bank puts out urgent call for donations; supplies 'dangerously' low  (KPBS)

"We need healthy people to come in for a whole blood or platelet donation immediately in order to keep enough supply on hand for patients in our local hospitals," said San Diego Blood Bank CEO Doug Morton.

Russians find asylum lifeline to US, but at a high price (KPBS)

Phil Metzger promises to arrange entry to the United States for Russian-speaking asylum-seekers through unmatched connections with U.S. border officials and people in Mexico who can guarantee safety while traveling. Though seeking asylum is free, the pastor of Calvary San Diego said his services are “not cheap.”

Balboa Park needs nearly half a billion dollars to be brought up to modern standards (KPBS)

The report lists seven priorities, including a revenue measure for deferred maintenance, commitments to do big-time fundraising, creating a property and business improvement district, and a cabinet-level department within the city to oversee the park.

Mail-in ballots constitute 90% of San Diego County's certified election results  (KPBS)

Following a month of ballot counting, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters today certified the results of the Nov. 8, 2022 election with a voter participation rate of 54.2%.  Of 1.9 million registered voters in the county, 1,043,490 ballots were cast. Of those, 939,102 were mail-in ballots — nearly 90% of the total.

San Diego City launches Regional Cyber Lab to bolster local cybersecurity  (KPBS)

The city of San Diego on Tuesday launched the Regional Cyber Lab to help small businesses and local public agencies combat cyberattacks.  The city received $928,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to start the lab. The goal is to bolster local cybersecurity through collaboration and coordination.

STATE

Southern California home prices dip in November (Los Angeles Times)

Southern California home prices fell in November, marking the fifth time in six months that prices declined amid a broad slowdown in the housing market.

$24 billion projected budget deficit may test California’s resolve to grow safety net amid recession (KPBS)

The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently said in its annual forecast that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party-controlled Legislature are facing a $24 billion projected budget deficit for the next fiscal year.  If the state enters a recession the outlook is even worse, with revenues predicted to fall short by $30 billion to $50 billion. The governor signed a record-breaking $308 billion budget in June.

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes parts of northern California  (AP)

A strong earthquake shook a rural stretch of Northern California early Tuesday, jolting residents awake, cutting off power to 70,000 people, and damaging some buildings and a roadway, officials said. Two injuries were reported.  The magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred at 2:34 a.m. near Ferndale, a small community about 210 miles (345 kilometers) northwest of San Francisco and close to the Pacific coast.

Newsom slams Republicans for blocking immigration reform on visit to Mexican border (Los Angeles Times)

While visiting a state-funded migrant center that provides services to asylum seekers near the Imperial County border with Mexico on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Republicans in Congress for politicizing immigration while failing to support comprehensive reforms.

So long, California: Major county votes to study secession (KPBS)

The November elections saw Californians continue to embrace progressive leadership, but voters in one of the state’s most populous counties are so frustrated with this political direction that they voted to consider seceding and forming their own state. An advisory ballot proposal approved in San Bernardino County — home to 2.2 million people — directs local officials to study the possibility of secession.