EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: TOP LOCAL AND STATE NEWS

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 May 23, 2012 --  (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 top “Roundup” headlines include:  
 
 
 
 
  
 
LOCAL
  • A Q&A on San Miguel’s situation
  • Tony Gwynn joins group seeking to buy Padres (10 News)
  • San Onofre future hinges on finding cause of abnormal tube wear (Sacramento Bee)
  • San Diego ranked least expensive city in state to do business (10 News)
  • La Mesa may welcome wineries and breweries (UT San Diego)
  • La Mesa Village Development (La Mesa Today)
  • No option at all! (for condo/apartment residents with multiple smart meters) (KUSI Turko Files)
  • Walmart Neighborhood Market planned for La Mesa
  • Countywide water rates could rise nearly 10% (UT San Diego)
  • Grossmont baseball coach Jim Earley quits amid parent accusations (La Mesa Patch)
  • Wounded officer asked `Is this my time?’ (UT San Diego)
STATE
  • CA Senate passes bill for self-driving cars (Los Angeles Times)
  • CA Senate passes bill that limits salaries at CSU (Sacramento Bee)
  • California Democrats balk at deeper cuts for state’s poorest residents (Sacramento Bee)
  • Purple Super Pac launched to support registered Independents (Sacramento Bee)
  • U-T: State Plans Big Changes To Testing, Instruction
 
Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

 


LOCAL

 
A Q&A on San Miguel’s situation
 
May 21, 2012 -- As Chief Augie Ghio recovers from serious injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash, the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District has put one of his right-hand men in charge.
Gary Croucher, a 26-year veteran of the fire service who is division chief in charge of operations, has stepped into Ghio’s role at an important moment for the district. Croucher also serves on the Otay Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority.
http://web.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/21/a-qa-on-san-miguels-situation/?page=1#article
Tony Gwynn joins group seeking to buy Padres (10 News)
 
May 21, 2012 -- Tony Gwynn's agent says the Hall of Famer is joining movie producer Thomas Tull in an attempt to buy the San Diego Padres.Agent John Boggs says Gwynn's role with Tull's group hasn't been defined.
 
Tull, the chairman of Legendary Entertainment, is among several people interested in buying the Padres. Majority owner John Moores announced last month that he was selling the team after minority owner Jeff Moorad abandoned his attempt to gain controlling interest.
 
San Onofre future hinges on finding cause of abnormal tube wear (Sacramento Bee)
 
May 20, 2012  -- On January 31, alarms alerted the control room at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that a radiation leak was occurring in one of the nearly 39,000 tubes that carry radioactive water in the steam generators.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/20/4503279/san-onofres-future-hinges-on-finding.html#storylink=cp
 
San Diego ranked least expensive city in state to do business (10 News)
 
May 17, 2012 -- San Diego was ranked the least expensive big city in the state in which to do business, it was announced Thursday.

The list was compiled in the Kosmont-Rose Institute "Cost of Doing Business Survey" for 2011, a study of 421 cities nationwide that evaluated business taxes and fees, economic incentives and other programs and assigned each a cost rating based on a proprietary formula.

Mayor Jerry Sanders said the study pointed out that San Diego had the best business climate among the state's largest urban centers. "We're very proud of that. We've worked very hard over the past several years to create a business-friendly climate," he said.
http://www.10news.com/news/31079700/detail.html
 
La Mesa may welcome wineries and breweries (UT San Diego)
 
May 21 --  East County grape growers and business-minded folks brewing with ideas may want to check out Tuesday’s La Mesa City Council meeting.
The council will discuss allowing microbreweries and small scale winemaking operations in certain parts of the city, as is done in other areas of the county.
In an interoffice memo to the La Mesa City Council, Mayor Art Madrid asked for an OK for city staff to look at amending the city’s Municipal Code to allow for the making of beer and/or wine in “appropriate industrial and commercial zones.”
http://web.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/21/la-mesa-may-welcome-wineries-breweries/ 
La Mesa Village Development (La Mesa Today)
 
May 16 -- The annual Back To The 50s Car Show is supposed to start in La Mesa in just over two weeks, but the regular Thursday night summer event may be delayed for several weeks.
And when it does begin, it will be a scaled back event, missing many of the new features that had been incorporated in recent years.
Disagreements between some of the merchants promoting the event and the leadership of the La Mesa Village Merchants Association leadership has apparently thrown planning for the event into reverse.
http://www.lamesatoday.com/profiles/blogs/la-mesa-village-development-2
No option at all! (for condo/apartment residents with multiple smart meters) (KUSI Turko Files)
 
May 11 -- They called KUSI's Michael Turko about problems getting rid of SDG&E's new wireless smart meters. Turko says he's uncovered some problems with the power company's plan to let customers opt out. SDG&E says having a smart meter on your house is no big deal and shouldn't cause any problems for the people living there. If you don't believe that you can opt out by paying a special fee. But what if you have nine, ten or even more of those meters all in one place? In lots of condos and apartments, opting out is really no option at all!
http://www.kusi.com/story/18326196/no-option-at-all
 
Walmart Neighborhood Market planned for La Mesa
 
May 15, 2012 -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced plans for a new Walmart Neighborhood Market store to open later this year in La Mesa, the retailer’s second small-format store in the works for the local region.
A May 11 statement said the 39,000-square-foot store is planned for a site at 8820 Grossmont Blvd. The retailer is also at work on a Neighborhood Market store in the Sherman Heights neighborhood of San Diego.
http://sdbj.com/news/2012/may/15/walmart-neighborhood-market-store-planned-la-mesa/
 
Countywide water rates could rise nearly 10% (UT San Diego)
 
May 17, 2012 -- One month after protesting smaller rate increases at the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles, the San Diego County Water Authority proposed for local agencies by nearly 10 percent in 2013.

Just less than half of the price hike is linked to Metropolitan’s new rates. The rest is due to higher cost of water from the Imperial Irrigation District, increases in debt payments and other factors over which local officials have more control.

 
Grossmont baseball coach Jim Earley quits amid parent accusations (La Mesa Patch)
 
May 18, 2012 -- Grossmont High School baseball coach Jim Earley, who resigned this week after ending the season with 20 straight losses, is under fire from a parent who accuses him of misusing money from the program and running a booster club that violates district rules.
In a Nov. 9, 2011, memo to Principal Dan Barnes, Danilo “Dan” Nesovic made a series of complaints, including:
 http://lamesa.patch.com/articles/grossmont-baseball-coach-jim-earley-quits-amid-parent-accusations?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001
Wounded officer asked `Is this my time?’ (UT San Diego)
 
May 18, 2012  -- After being shot in the head last year by a suicidal gunman, El Cajon Police Officer Jarred Slocum said he prayed and asked God, “Is this my time?”
The wounded officer returned fire twice, then lost consciousness and collapsed into a fence.
The next thing he remembers is looking into the face of his rookie partner, Officer Tim McFarland, who dragged him to safety, holstering his own gun to do so while both were in the line of fire.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/18/shot-officer-asked-my-time/ 
 
STATE
 
CA Senate passes bill for self-driving cars (Los Angeles Times)
 
May 21, 2012  -- A bill that would allow self-driving cars on California's roads has passed the California Senate.

The bill, SB1298, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), establishes guidelines for "autonomous vehicles" to be tested and operated in California. The bill now goes to the Assembly for consideration next month.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-autos-driverless-20120522,0,1232651.story

 
CA Senate passes bill that limits salaries at CSU (Sacramento Bee)
 
May 22, 2012 -- The Senate Monday approved a bill to limit pay for California State University employees making more than $200,000 a year.
Senate Bill 952, by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, prohibits CSU workers making more than $200,000 from receiving a raise until June 30, 2014. Annual raises for those workers would be limited to 10 percent from 2014 to 2018.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/05/calif-senate-passes-bill-that-limits-presidential-salaries-at-csus.html
 
California Democrats balk at deeper cuts for state’s poorest residents (Sacramento Bee)
 
May 20, 2012 -- Legislative Democrats aren't organizing a bake sale just yet, but they say they will desperately search for cash in the coming weeks to avoid the most severe cuts proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Saying the state's budget deficit has risen from $9.2 billion to $15.7 billion, the Democratic governor has proposed more cuts to programs that serve the state's poorest residents.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/20/4502679/california-democrats-balk-at-deeper.html
Purple Super Pac launched to support registered Independents (Sacramento Bee)
 
May 18, 2012 -- A new Super PAC has started airing television ads in support of independent candidates running in California's June 5 primary.
icPurple announced today that it is backing four candidates running for office with "no party preference," including 26th Congressional District contender Linda Parkswho is running strong in a district targeted by both major parties.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/05/purple-super-pac-airs-first-ads-supporting-california-independents.html
 
U-T: State Plans Big Changes To Testing, Instruction
 
May 22, 2012 -- California has embarked on a course to fundamentally reshape how every student is taught and tested.

These new “common core standards” for grades K-12 go into effect in fall 2014 for English Language Arts and math. Revisions to the curriculum and assessments for other subjects, such as science and history, will follow in later years.

http://www.10news.com/news/31097675/detail.html

 


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