EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

October 13, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) -- 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

• UC San Diego Health to welcome Alvarado Hospital into network (KPBS)
• SANDAG votes to exclude 'road user charge' from future transportation plans (KPBS)
• Mercury levels in fish caught from El Capitan Reservoir prompts advisory (Fox 5)
• 'Oscars of Beer': Success for San Diego brewers amid industry changes  (KPBS)
• San Diego County pension debt increased 10-fold in past 15 years, records show (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Two Large Medical Groups Shun Medicare Advantage Plans (MedPage Today)
• More than $1 billion needed to overhaul San Diego's stormwater system  (NBC San Diego)

STATE

• New California law aims to force people with mental illness or addiction to get help 
• California governor signs law to bolster eviction protections for renters (Associated Press)
• Newsom blocks a bill to ban caste discrimination in California (Cal Matters)
• With Feinstein’s death, what happens with her seat on Judiciary committee, other panels? (Los Angeles Times)
• California legislature passes bill that prevents counties from taking foster children benefits
• California bill to have human drivers ride in autonomous trucks is vetoed by governor 
• California is first state to ban 4 food additives for cancer, other health risks 

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

LOCAL

UC San Diego Health to welcome Alvarado Hospital into network (KPBS)

UC San Diego Health is preparing to welcome Alvarado Hospital Medical Center into its network, following last month's UC Regents approval of the $200 million purchase from Prime Healthcare. The final acquisition of the 302-bed medical campus is expected to be completed late this year.

SANDAG votes to exclude 'road user charge' from future transportation plans (KPBS)

Board members of the San Diego Association of Governments voted Friday against including a policy that would charge drivers by the mile in their 2025 regional transportation plan.…The board's vote Friday has no impact on the state of California's continued pursuit of a road user charge. States including Oregon, Utah and Virginia have already started transitioning to a road user charge in an effort to replace dwindling gas tax revenues.

Mercury levels in fish caught from El Capitan Reservoir prompts advisory (Fox 5)

 A state fish advisory was issued for El Capitan Reservoir in San Diego County last month. The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) says those eating fish from this lake, which is located about two miles northwest of the town of Alpine, should follow their “safe eating advice.”

'Oscars of Beer': Success for San Diego brewers amid industry changes  (KPBS)

Eighteen San Diego breweries took home medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado last weekend, outpacing last year's 15 wins. …More than 9,000 beers were entered, and only 303 awards were given out. 

San Diego County pension debt increased 10-fold in past 15 years, records show (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The disclosure comes as the Board of Supervisors approves a voluntary $31 million payment into the county retirement fund

Two Large Medical Groups Shun Medicare Advantage Plans (MedPage Today)

Signaling what may be an emerging national trend, two influential medical groups with San Diego-based Scripps Health are cancelling their Medicare Advantage contracts for 2024 because of low reimbursement and prior authorization hassles, leaving 30,000 enrolled seniors to look for new doctors, or different coverage.

More than $1 billion needed to overhaul San Diego's stormwater system  (NBC San Diego)

Engineers with the city of San Diego say local neighborhoods are always one rainstorm away from disastrous flooding. They say it’s because our storm system is decades past its lifetime. And right now, they say, the city doesn’t have enough money to set aside to fix problems that keep them up at night.

STATE

New California law aims to force people with mental illness or addiction to get help 

The new law, which reforms the state's conservatorship system, expands the definition of “gravely disabled” to include people who are unable to provide themselves basic needs such as food and shelter due to an untreated mental illness or unhealthy drugs and alcohol use…. / The bill was aimed in part at dealing with the state’s homelessness crisis. California is home to more than 171,000 homeless people — about 30% of the nation’s homeless population.

California governor signs law to bolster eviction protections for renters (Associated Press)

California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Saturday to bolster eviction protections for renters and close a loophole in an existing law that has allowed landlords to circumvent the state’s rent cap.

Newsom blocks a bill to ban caste discrimination in California (Cal Matters)



Gov. Newsom vetoes what would have been a first-in-the-nation law banning caste discrimination in education, housing and the workplace. The bill divided South Asian communities in California.

 

With Feinstein’s death, what happens with her seat on Judiciary committee, other panels? (Los Angeles Times)

 Sen. Dianne Feinstein was the most senior Democrat on two of the Senate’s most powerful committees, and her death could set off a cascade of changes that affect California’s power in Washington.

California legislature passes bill that prevents counties from taking foster children benefits

….Agencies will be prohibited from using a foster child's state or federal benefits to pay for their care. It will also require that agencies notify the child or their guardian of the benefit payments. … Public documents obtained by CBS 8 show that San Diego County has collected $3,214,968 in retirement benefits, disability payouts, or Social Security survivor benefits from 310 foster youth in the past eight years. Signing foster children up for disability benefits and survivor benefits if their parent has died without informing the child is the standard operating procedure at Child Welfare agencies in San Diego and throughout the country….

California bill to have human drivers ride in autonomous trucks is vetoed by governor 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks….  The legislation vetoed Friday night would have banned self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) — ranging from UPS delivery vans to massive big rigs — from operating on public roads unless a human driver is on board.

California is first state to ban 4 food additives for cancer, other health risks 

California has become the first U.S. state to outlaw the use of four potentially harmful food and drink additives that have been linked to an array of diseases, including cancer, and are already banned in dozens of countries.