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July 15, 2025 (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
- San Diego residents protest water rate hikes as county votes on new pricing (10 News)
- San Diego’s Sycuan And Viejas Tribes, Qualcomm & Sempra Among Top Donors To Trump's 2025 Inauguration (SanDiegoville)
- Plainclothes ICE arrest in San Diego raises questions about legality (Fox 5)
- Businesses Threaten Referendum as Minimum Wage for Hotels, Amusement Parks and Event Venues Moves Forward
- SANDAG pares back freeway expansions in draft transportation plan (KPBS)
- La Mesa bar owner speaks out after business burglarized twice in 5-day span (10 News)
- San Diego Police issue new license plate reader policy after DOJ says dept. violated state law
- La Mesa shopping center near Grossmont Hospital sold for $21.6M
- They were repeatedly ticketed because of their homelessness. What did it change? (Cal Matters)
- Camp Pendleton Marines deployed to Campo, reinforce border wall (CBS 8)
STATE
- California overhauls environmental rules to ease housing crisis (KPBS)
- Immigration raids leave crops unharvested, California farms at risk (Reuters)
- Trump administration sues California over egg prices and blames animal welfare laws (AP)
- 'Trump Caved': 150 National Guardsmen To Return To CA Control (Patch)
- Newsom sues Fox News for defamation over story about call with Trump (Politico)
- Trump administration sues City of Los Angeles over `sanctuary' policies (10 News)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
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LOCAL
San Diego residents protest water rate hikes as county votes on new pricing (10 News)
Water Authority votes to increase rates by 8.3% in 2026.
San Diego’s Sycuan And Viejas Tribes, Qualcomm & Sempra Among Top Donors To Trump's 2025 Inauguration (SanDiegoville)
....Two influential tribal nations based in San Diego County - the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians - were among the prominent contributors to President Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration, according to a newly released filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Plainclothes ICE arrest in San Diego raises questions about legality (Fox 5)
Recent reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents making arrests while dressed in plain clothes—with no visible uniforms or apparent badges—have raised concerns about whether such practices are legal.
In February, Darshan Patel, the CEO of the Hotel Investment Group, asked the San Diego City Council’s Select Committee on Cost of Living to exempt small hotels from plans to raise the minimum wage for hospitality workers.
San Diego and other municipalities sue over grant funding conditions (CNS)
The city of San Diego and around 70 other jurisdictions nationwide are suing a group of federal agencies and their representatives for allegedly withholding billions in federal grant funding unless the local governments agree to certain conditions that align with President Donald Trump's policies. The lawsuit alleges that more than $12 billion in already-awarded funding will only be received if the plaintiffs agree to several newly imposed conditions that "appear to require federal grant recipients to agree to promote the political agenda President Trump campaigned on…" The lawsuit... alleges such conditions are unconstitutional and "bear little or no connection to the purposes of the grant programs Congress established."
SANDAG pares back freeway expansions in draft transportation plan (KPBS)
SANDAG is accepting public comments on its draft plan through July 18. The SANDAG board of directors must officially adopt the plan by the end of the year to continue receiving state and federal transportation dollars.
La Mesa bar owner speaks out after business burglarized twice in 5-day span (10 News)
It’s a wake-up call that bolted Dean Velasco and his wife out of bed last Saturday night. The owner of Deano’s Pub in La Mesa said they got a call about their alarm going off.
San Diego Police issue new license plate reader policy after DOJ says dept. violated state law
CBS - San Diego police align with state law, ceasing data sharing with federal agencies after state violation notice.
La Mesa shopping center near Grossmont Hospital sold for $21.6M
Times of San Diego - La Mesa Village Station, a multi-tenant retail center totaling approximately 57,911 square feet, has been sold for $21.6 million, according to a brokerage. The property, located at 5901–5999 Severin Drive, sold on June 9…
They were repeatedly ticketed because of their homelessness. What did it change? (Cal Matters)
In Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego, homeless Californians describe their experiences over the past year as camping ban enforcement has increased.
Camp Pendleton Marines deployed to Campo, reinforce border wall (CBS 8)
CBS 8 rode along with Marines reinforcing the U.S.-Mexico border wall near Campo, focusing on barrier upgrades and security enhancements.
STATE
California overhauls environmental rules to ease housing crisis (KPBS)
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that will remake California's landmark environmental protection rules, an overhaul that he says is essential to address the state’s housing shortage and resulting homelessness crisis. Newsom had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment... The new law only pertains to urban “infill” housing developments — housing built in and around existing development.
Immigration raids leave crops unharvested, California farms at risk (Reuters)
... In the vast agricultural lands north of Los Angeles, stretching from Ventura County into the state’s central valley, two farmers, two field supervisors and four immigrant farmworkers told Reuters this month that the ICE raids have led a majority of workers to stop showing up. That means crops are not being picked and fruit and vegetables are rotting at peak harvest time, they said.
Trump administration sues California over egg prices and blames animal welfare laws (AP)
The Trump administration is suing the state of California to block animal welfare laws that it says unconstitutionally helped send egg prices soaring. But a group that spearheaded the requirements pushed back, blaming bird flu for the hit to consumers’ pocketbooks. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California on Wednesday, challenges voter initiatives that passed in 2018 and 2008. They require that all eggs sold in California come from cage-free hens.
'Trump Caved': 150 National Guardsmen To Return To CA Control (Patch)
Amid an ongoing legal battle and weeks of debate over military presence in Los Angeles, the top military commander intervened on Tuesday.... The head of the guard's U.S. Northern Command, Gen. Gregory Guillot, requested Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth return some of those forces to state command. While 150 troops will return to wildfire duty in California..."Nearly 5,000 soldiers — including police, paramedics, and first responders — are still sitting idle in L.A. for nothing," Newsom said Monday.
Newsom sues Fox News for defamation over story about call with Trump (Politico)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for defamation, alleging that the news outlet intentionally manipulated a video to give the appearance that the governor lied about a phone call with President Donald Trump.
Trump administration sues City of Los Angeles over `sanctuary' policies (10 News)
The Trump administration Monday sued the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council over L.A.'s so-called "sanctuary city" policies, alleging in federal court that the ordinance violates the Constitution by "thwarting" immigration enforcement. The lawsuit contends that the sanctuary laws -- in which local law enforcement officials refuse to assist immigration enforcement efforts -- are illegal...
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