EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

July 30, 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

• Downtown La Mesa's parking crunch (San Diego Reader)
• US signs MOU with Mexico on Tijuana River sewage crisis (Fox 5 San Diego)
• At least 8 people killed in crashes on state Route 67 over 10 days (Ramona Sentinel)
• Fearing Lawsuits, El Cajon Police Stopped Responding to Some Mental Health Calls (Voice of SD)
• As dog euthanasias spike in San Diego County shelters, former employees say the system is broken (KPBS)
• Boat Hits USS Midway, Causing $100K In Damage To Decommissioned Aircraft Carrier: Police (Patch)
• San Diego County’s Schools Have 27,000 Fewer Students Than a Decade Ago. It Will Get Worse. (Voice of SD)
•  San Diego County Supervisors vote 4-1 in favor of program for employers in ICE era (City News Service)
•  Oceanographers create 5-day forecast for beach pollution (KPBS)
• ‘Open retribution’ alleged as San Diego’s DOJ office hit by resignations, demotions (Times of San Diego)
• Trump administration asks San Diego sheriff for data on all noncitizen inmates despite state law (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Police changing approach to immigration enforcement
• Investigation Continues After Small Plane (from Ramona) Goes Missing Off San Diego Coast (Patch)
• San Diego Police changing approach to immigration enforcement (KGTV)

STATE

• COVID Cases Surge In CA As 'Razor Blade Throat' Variant Takes Hold (Patch.com)
• California cannabis companies hoped Trump would be an ally. Then the raids happened (Cal Matters)
• Marines to leave LA (LAist)

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

LOCAL

Downtown La Mesa's parking crunch (San Diego Reader)

What will happen when they add 211 apartments?

US signs MOU with Mexico on Tijuana River sewage crisis (Fox 5 San Diego)

The U.S. and Mexico on Thursday took collaborative steps toward curbing a longstanding cross-border environmental crisis: the unfettered sewage flow from Tijuana into Southern California.

At least 8 people killed in crashes on state Route 67 over 10 days (Ramona Sentinel)

In just over a week, at least eight people have died in traffic accidents on state Route 67 in Ramona and Poway.... The SR-67 Highway Improvements Project is now being studied, Maxson said. Several studies are happening simultaneously, which will result in a Draft Environmental Report. Design is slated for late 2027, she said. In the meantime, the accidents keep happening.

Fearing Lawsuits, El Cajon Police Stopped Responding to Some Mental Health Calls (Voice of SD)

The decision means county mental health teams sometimes also can’t respond to crisis calls involving a threat to a single person or lack police support when they do. 

As dog euthanasias spike in San Diego County shelters, former employees say the system is broken (KPBS)

A KPBS investigation reveals the shelters are beset by poor recordkeeping and high turnover rates. Former staffers claim many dogs are being put down unnecessarily.

Boat Hits USS Midway, Causing $100K In Damage To Decommissioned Aircraft Carrier: Police (Patch)

... The pleasure craft hit the mid-ship of the floating museum and the operator fled but was arrested within a few hours for hit-and-run boating and suspected boating under the influence.

San Diego County’s Schools Have 27,000 Fewer Students Than a Decade Ago. It Will Get Worse. (Voice of SD)

 Over the past decade, enrollment at San Diego County public schools has declined by about five percent… State officials are projecting rates of decline will only get worse, which will force educators to make some hard decisions. 

San Diego County Supervisors vote 4-1 in favor of program for employers in ICE era (City News Service)

 The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of a program to train owners and employees of small businesses about their rights in the event of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid.

Oceanographers create 5-day forecast for beach pollution (KPBS)

Beaches on San Diego’s south coast have been closed countless times by sewage discharge in the Tijuana River Valley. Now there’s a way to predict when water pollution will be a problem.

‘Open retribution’ alleged as San Diego’s DOJ office hit by resignations, demotions (Times of San Diego)

 As many as 10 federal prosecutors in San Diego have quit under acting U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, and other high-ranking lawyers have been demoted while the office struggles to fill vacancies…

Trump administration asks San Diego sheriff for data on all noncitizen inmates despite state law (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Sheriff Kelly Martinez's office did not signal how it will respond when it receives the formal request from the Department of Justice.

San Diego Police changing approach to immigration enforcement

(KGTV) — San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order Wednesday requiring more transparency…  The order directs the mayor's staff to provide information on ICE operations in the city, including locations, dates, arrests and the use of masks by agents.  It also directs the San Diego Police Department to stop sharing certain data with federal authorities, specifically information from the Automated License Plate Reader System….The order requires SDPD to notify the mayor anytime officers respond to immigration enforcement in the city…. 

Investigation Continues After Small Plane Goes Missing Off San Diego Coast (Patch)

The single-engine Cessna TTX took off from Ramona Airport and was presumed to have been destroyed after an impact with the Pacific Ocean.

San Diego Police changing approach to immigration enforcement (KGTV)

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order Wednesday requiring more transparency… The order directs the mayor's staff to provide information on ICE operations in the city, including locations, dates, arrests and the use of masks by agents. It also directs the San Diego Police Department to stop sharing certain data with federal authorities, specifically information from the Automated License Plate Reader System….

STATE

COVID Cases Surge In CA As 'Razor Blade Throat' Variant Takes Hold (Patch.com)

COVID-19 is rising again in California, with experts warning that immunity has waned and new variants are circulating.

California cannabis companies hoped Trump would be an ally. Then the raids happened (Cal Matters)

After massive federal raids last week at two Southern California cannabis farms, the United Farm Workers posted an urgent message to its social media accounts. Because weed remains illegal under federal law, the union advised workers who are not U.S. citizens to avoid jobs in the cannabis industry, even at state-licensed facilities.

Marines to leave LA (LAist)

The  Pentagon says 700 U.S. Marines sent to Los Angeles by President Donald Trump during immigration protests more than a month ago will be withdrawn as soon as Tuesday. The departure of the Marines follows the withdrawal of half of the nearly 4,000 National Guard troops Trump also deployed to Los Angeles.