January 10, 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

• Delays, cancelations at San Diego airport after Alaska Airlines door plug incident grounds some jets (NBC 7)
• Six San Diego synagogues targeted in bogus bomb threats (CBS 8)
• Lemon Grove City Council member was absent or late to half of meetings in 2023 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Potential tuberculosis exposure at Mission Valley YMCA (10 News)
• Caltrans opens third truck lane at Otay Mesa border crossing facility (KPBS)
• New California law would allow separate sales of ADUs — if cities and counties opt in (KPBS)
• Major I-8 construction in El Cajon starts Friday  (CBS 8)
• San Diego County awards $42 million to 9 affordable housing developments  (KPBS)
• San Diego’s Most Polluted Beaches in Three Charts (Voice of San Diego)

STATE 

• California Gov. Newsom wants reserves and cuts to fix nearly $38B deficit, mostly sparing schools (10 News)
• How Newsom plans to fix California’s projected $37.9-billion budget deficit(Los Angeles Times
  
  The State Is Serious About Forcing Housing Production in Small Cities (Voice of San Diego)
• California law banning carrying concealed firearms in many public places is once again blocked (CNN)
• California exports the risk from its hazardous waste. One neighborhood in Mexico shows the consequences  (KPBS)
• The State Is Serious About Forcing Housing Production in Small Cities (Voice of San Diego)

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

By Jonathan Goetz

January 9, 2024 (Santee) -- Santee Chamber of Commerce and the East County Chamber of Commerce invite you to a joint mixer hosted by Sportsplex USA Santee 9951 Riverwalk Dr, Santee, CA 92071. Make new and strengthen current connections with other local business representatives. 

January 9, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Congress faces crisis at home and abroad as 2024 deepens partisan division (CNN)
• How Trump's promise to pardon Jan. 6 rioters raises the threat of extremism (NPR)
• Most people think the U.S. crime rate is rising. They're wrong.  (MSN)
• House GOP majority to shrink to 2 with Ohio lawmaker’s early resignation (The Hill)
• Haley declines to say slavery was cause of Civil War (Politico)
• Trump shares poll showing voters associate potential second term with "revenge"  (Reuters)
• Ohio governor vetos ban on transgender care, sports participation (Reuters)
• Maine state official who removed Trump from ballot was targeted in swatting call at her home  (AP)

WORLD 

• Gaza war spreads to Beirut with killing of Hamas deputy leader (Reuters)
• Hundreds of passengers escape after jet collides with small plane on its way to Japan quake zone (Sky News)
• Russia pounds Ukraine's two biggest cities in new wave of attacks (Reuters)
• Chinese military purge exposes weakness, could widen (Reuters)
• Houthi militants attack container ship, Maersk halts Red Sea sailing (Reuters)
• At least five dead after huge earthquake rocks Japan on New Year's Day (Reuters)
• More than 20 countries now part of US-led Red Sea coalition, Pentagon says (Reuters)
• More Ukrainian children from Russia-held regions arrive in Belarus  (NPR)
• Worldwide, 2024 elections are a target for bad actors trying to disrupt democracy  (NPR)
• Second North Korean nuclear reactor appears to be using fuel, IAEA says (Reuters)
• India probes suspected human trafficking after 276 nationals return home (Reuters)
• Iran threatens Mediterranean closure over Gaza, without saying how (Reuters)
• In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South (Reuters)
• Egypt plans expansion of new capital as first residents trickle in (Reuters)

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

January 9, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Emergency rooms not required to perform life-saving abortions, federal appeals court rules (Tribune)
• Medicare Advantage plans are popular, but some seniors feel trapped when ill  (NPR)
• Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during Covid, study finds (Politico)
• Tampa's new water filtration system is expected to help remove forever chemicals  (NPR)
• It's been 4 years since COVID hit. Here's what's happening to prevent the next pandemic. (USA Today)
• Why hospitals in several states are reinstating mask requirements (ABC News)
• Early intervention for schizophrenia is effective, but insurance won't cover it (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months  (Reuters)
• Here's how to safely charge e-bikes, prevent fires (CBS 8)
• Why Are Alaska’s Rivers Turning Orange?  (Scientific American)
• Consumer Reports finds 'widespread' presence of plastics in food (Reuters)
• An abused wife took on Tesla over tracking tech. She lost. (Reuters)
• Driverless car startup Cruise's no good, terrible year (NPR)

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

By David R. Shorey, East County Programs Director, Institute for Public Strategies 

January 8, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) -- As the landscape of cannabis legalization continues to evolve, a new concern is emerging. It’s the proliferation of hemp-derived Delta 8 and Delta 10 products found in hemp. These derivatives of cannabis, purportedly legal, are skirting regulations and putting our youth at risk. It’s time to shine a light on these products and the dangers they pose to our communities, especially our vulnerable younger generation.

Delta 8 and Delta 10, often marketed as "hemp-based" products, are synthetic cannabinoids derived from hemp, claiming to offer a legal high. However, their production and distribution operate in a gray area, exploiting loopholes in existing cannabis laws. While some proponents argue their legality due to their source from hemp, these products deliver psychoactive effects similar to traditional THC, leading to intoxication and potential health hazards.

East County News Service

January 8, 2024 (Ramona) -- Oasis Camel Dairy in Ramona invites you to open farm tours on Saturday, January 13 and January 27 from 12 to 2 p.m.  Enjoy a bird show and camel show, meet and feed camels and lambradoodles, take a camel ride, and enjoy camel milk products such as artisan soaps, lotions, chocolate and camel milk.

Tickets must be purchased online.

By Cassie N. Saunders, County of San Diego Communications Office

January 8, 2024 (San Diego) -- The County’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs is promoting a federal immigration program that supports immigrant families of U.S. service members.  

The Military Parole in Place (MPIP) program provides some members of U.S. military families temporary permission to remain in the country while seeking permanent residency.  

The temporary immigration status allows spouses, widow(er)s, parents and children of U.S. service members to stay, work and travel freely in the United States. The Board of Supervisors previously approved promoting the program to reaffirm the County’s support for service members and their families. 

“Families can be divided when a loved one serves in the U.S. armed forces,” said Rick Wanne, Director of County Self Sufficiency Services. “This program allows them to be reunited in our country and recognizes our military men and women for their honorable and selfless service.”

By Miriam Raftery

January 7, 2024 – A day before the anniversary of the deadly Jan.6,2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden and his likely campaign opponent Donald Trump presented sharply divergent messages.

In a speech near Valley Forge, Biden spoke of General George Washington crossing the Delaware with patriot soldiers in 1777 to defeat the British and win freedom and democracy—the then radical idea that the people could govern themselves, without a king or dictator. “But if democracy fails, we’ll lose that freedom,” the President said.  He warned that Trump has openly announced plans to dismantle our democracy, stating bluntly, “Democracy is on the ballot.  Your freedom is on the ballot.”

Trump meanwhile posted a video on his social media platform that proclaimed “God created Trump” to be a “shepherd to mankind” who would be “willing to go into the den of vipers, call out the fake news for their tongues as sharp as the serpents” as well as “wrestle the deep state” and  “wield a sword.”

East County News Service

January 7, 2023 (El Cajon)—The parents of three children are dead of in an apparent murder-suicide at their home in the 1600 block of Hilton Head Court in unincorporated El Cajon. The deceased have been identified as Jose Benjamin Lopez Valle, 41, and his wife, Brenda Valle, 38.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon and gunshots. Inside the residence, they found the victims with a firearm nearby. Deputies and paramedics provided medical care but could not save the couple. 

“It appears that Jose’s injuries were self-inflicted,” says Lieutenant Joseph Jarjura with the Sheriff’s homicide unit.

They were parents to three children, ages 18, 16 and 11.

By Jessyka Heredia

January 5, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – Tuesday during a hearing over Zoom, Superior Court Judge Peter A. Lynch ruled that Lemon Grove Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza must pay fellow Councilmember Liana LeBaron’s $32,000 in legal fees from an anti SLAPP suit filed by LeBaron.

East County News Service

Photo: Orioles, by Greg Dunne

January 5, 2024 (San Diego) – Mission Trails Regional Park invites you to a birding basics class on Saturday, January 27 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

By Jeanne Fleetwood

Photo: C-Span screenshot of Donald Trump rallying supporters at the Capitol ellipse, moments before they marched to attack the Capitol.

January 6, 2023 (El Cajon) -- As we mark the third anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, it’s important to remember how we got to that moment and who was responsible for it. Donald Trump and his allies engaged in a months-long criminal conspiracy after the 2020 election. They spread lies about voter fraud and used those lies to put pressure on state officials to illegally overturn election results. When their scheme to interfere with Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results failed, Trump and his co-conspirators incited a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

MAGA Republicans nationwide have continued this assault on our democracy by introducing radical voter suppression bills in Congress and state legislatures, spreading false election conspiracy theories, and threatening to overturn election results they disagree with.

Now, Trump is running for president again and he and his allies are planning for a second term that is even more extreme and authoritarian than the last one. If he is re-elected, he plans to pardon himself and his supporters, use the Department of Justice to exact revenge on his enemies, and purge the federal government of anyone who doesn’t agree with him until there’s no one left to say no.