EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

October 25, 2024 (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

• First locally acquired case of dengue virus reported in Escondido (NBC San Diego)
• Sheriff introduces new jail safety efforts, and faces critics, in first oversight-board appearance and in-depth interview
• State delivers millions in funding for rail corridor in San Diego and Orange County (KPBS)
• ‘They took away the love of my life’: Widow sues over diabetic man’s death in San Diego jail  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• County Official Accuses Two Supes of Racist Remarks (Voice of San DIego)
• Grossmont High School math teacher named one of California's top 5 educators (10 News)
• First phase of CDC survey on health impacts of sewage crisis launching (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• State Bar seizes law office of El Cajon woman accused of posing as attorney (10 News)
• Big Donor Dominance: Campaign Finance in San Diego (Maplight)

STATE

• Fact-checking claims about California's Proposition 36: What it means for drug arrests (CBS 13)
• Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Workers Continue Strike; Union Accused of ‘Slow Walking’ Negotiations (Times of San Diego)
• California’s plan  to overhaul a key climate program — raising the cost of gas — ignites debate (Cal Matters)
• Endangered birds released at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu  (Fox 5)
• L.A.’s quake mystery: 2024 brings the most seismic activity in decades. Why now? (LA Times)

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

LOCAL

First locally acquired case of dengue virus reported in Escondido (NBC San Diego)

Spray treatments began Friday at Escondido homes until Oct. 10

Sheriff introduces new jail safety efforts, and faces critics, in first oversight-board appearance and in-depth interview

If no one else dies in San Diego jails this year, it will be the least deadly year over the last decade.

State delivers millions in funding for rail corridor in San Diego and Orange County (KPBS)

Problems along southern California’s coastal rail corridor are getting state attention, and millions of dollars of state money.

‘They took away the love of my life’: Widow sues over diabetic man’s death in San Diego jail  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Last month, the county Medical Examiner took the unusual step of ruling Keith Galen Bach’s death a homicide, citing neglect.

County Official Accuses Two Supes of Racist Remarks (Voice of San DIego)

Longtime county official Michael Vu has filed a claim against the county alleging he was denied its top unelected post due to illegal moves by Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer.  / He alleges that Vargas claimed he didn’t have the right racial background for the post and that Lawson-Remer sought to orchestrate the appointment of a Democratic strategist as his No. 2. 

Grossmont High School math teacher named one of California's top 5 educators (10 News)

Kristen LoPrell, a mathematics and AP calculus teacher at the El Cajon school, was recognized as one of "five outstanding teachers who have had a tremendous impact in their schools, students, and communities," according to the state Department of Education.

First phase of CDC survey on health impacts of sewage crisis launching (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The CDC will conduct 210 door-to-door surveys with randomly selected households. People who live and work near the U.S.-Mexico border have complained for years about the ill effects from the cross-border pollution: noxious odors, headaches, breathing difficulties, nausea, stomach ailments.

State Bar seizes law office of El Cajon woman accused of posing as attorney (10 News)

The State Bar of California has seized the law office of an El Cajon woman who was allegedly pretending to be an immigration and family law attorney, authorities said Wednesday.

Big Donor Dominance: Campaign Finance in San Diego (Maplight)

MapLight’s newest report on San Diego highlights the outsized role that money plays in who runs for office and what policies they enact.   

STATE

Fact-checking claims about California's Proposition 36: What it means for drug arrests (CBS 13)

Proposition 36 -- also known as The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act -- aims to revive drug court participation and increase penalties for certain theft and drug offenses in California.  Supporters of Proposition 36 say it will force people into treatment and get them off the street. Opponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, argue that it will fill up jails and mark a return to the 1980s war on drugs. 

Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Workers Continue Strike; Union Accused of ‘Slow Walking’ Negotiations (Times of San Diego)

“This is about equity for mental health care,” Jessica Rentz, a Kaiser therapist in Fontana, said in a statement released by the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

California’s plan  to overhaul a key climate program — raising the cost of gas — ignites debate (Cal Matters)

California plans to overhaul one of its cornerstone climate programs — a decision that could push gasoline prices higher in a state where residents already pay the most at the pump. On Nov. 8, just three days after an election marked by concerns over rising costs, the California Air Resources Board will hold a public hearing and vote on its plan to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Endangered birds released at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu  (Fox 5)

Staff with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Living Coast Discovery Center and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released seven endangered birds in Ventura County.

L.A.’s quake mystery: 2024 brings the most seismic activity in decades. Why now? (LA Times)

A spate of notable quakes have rattled Southern California in recent months — a reminder that the last three decades of relative seismic quiet won’t last forever.