March 15,  2016 (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

• Plan would allow Cleveland forest development (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Anza-Borrego Desert wildflower watch (DesertUSA)
• San Diego Doctors Win Long Campaign For Higher Medicare Pay (KPBS)
• Rideshare bills stall in Hueso's committee (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Region Gets A Break On Water Conservation Goals (KPBS)
• Documents Raise Questions About San Diego Aquaculture Project (KPBS)
• Huge housing projects continue slow march forward (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lawsuits cloud bid to build Rosarito desalination plant (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• California Lawmakers Approve Raising Smoking Age To 21 (KPBS)
• California To Permit Medically Assisted Suicide As Of June 9 (NPR)
• Report: Criminal Justice System Errors Cost Taxpayers Millions In California (KPBS)
• At Calif. Campuses, A Test For Free Speech, Privacy And Cybersecurity (NPR)
• Judge Keeps High-Speed Rail On Track In California (KPBS)
• How Southern California Gas Could Make Up For Aliso Canyon Disaster
• Storms replenish key reservoirs amid California drought
• California's biggest reservoir, Shasta, rises to key milestone

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

East County News Service

March 15, 2016 (Washington D.C.) -- Many domestic violence victims report staying in abusive and dangerous relationships out of fear of leaving their beloved pets behind. Their abusers often threaten to harm or even kill their pets if they attempt to leave. Studies have shown this is the case for one out of every four women trying to escape domestic violence, Change.org reports.

By Miriam Raftery

March 15, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – In response to an East County Magazine inquiry asking why Alpine was excluded from a list of upcoming hearings on the proposed Grossmont Union High School District's controversial redistricting plans, The County Committee on School District Organization has announced it will hold an additional hearing in Alpine on April 4 at 6 p.m. at Joan McQueen Middle School.

The County had previously scheduled four hearings in other locations,  to get public input on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed shift to electing governing board trustees by districts. 

For Alpine, the stakes are high. Alpine stands to lose its only advocate for an Alpine High School, Priscilla Schreiber, who would lose her seat under the plan approved by the GUHSD.  Alpine would be represented by Jim Kelly, a vocal opponent of the Alpine High School, an issue currently in litigation that has also led to unification efforts in which Alpine parents are seeking to break away from the GUHSD.

For the full schedule of meetings slated across East County set by the County Office of Education, rules and details, click "read more" and scroll down.

East County News Service

March 14, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department aims to make sure your luck runs out if you get caught drinking and driving on St. Patrick's Day. Watch for increased DUI patrols by deputies across the county on Thursday, March 17th starting at 7:00 p.m. and lasting through 3:00 a.m. the following day.

East County News Service

March 14, 2016 (San Diego) — The County Medical Examiner and regional law enforcement will host the first annual “Identify the Missing” Day on March 19.

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a San Diego Online News Association (SDONA) member.

March 14, 2016 (San Diego) - Longtime San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle signed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday morning, the team reported.

April 1 in Spring Valley, April 10 in Point Loma

March 13, 2016 (Spring Valley) - The 2015-2016 performance season of the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale continues with a special choral/orchestral project in honor of the 260th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  The concert opens with his operatic overture to Don Giovanni and ends with a performance of his Requiem—a bookending of works that share a common theme: the first recognizing a man’s judgement by God for his many sins, and the last asking God for entrance ofone’s soul to Heaven.

The program is contrasted with a piece of chamber music that the composer wrote for flute and string trio: Mozart’s Flute Quartet in A Major, K. 298 as performed by GSO principal flautist, Kay Van Tassell, and members of the Grossmont Symphony String Quartet.

Grossmont Healthcare District

Photo (from left to right): Barry Jantz, CEO, Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD); Scott Evans, senior VP and CEO, Sharp Grossmont Hospital (SGH); Michael Emerson and Bob Ayres, GHD board members; Chris Crawford, SGH laboratory director; Kenneth Schell, SGH pharmacy director.

March 13, 2016 (La Mesa) -- An important milestone was recently celebrated in the progress of the taxpayer-funded construction of a new Heart and Vascular (H&V) Center at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.

Source: Chargers Press Release



Photo: Kyle Engman on Flickr



March 13, 2016 (San Diego) - The San Diego Chargers agreed to a three-year contract with former Green Bay Packers cornerbackCasey Hayward, the team announced Sunday.

East County News Service

March 13, 2016 (San Diego) – Supervisors will hear a report with options for enacting a moratorium banning future medical marijuana collective facilities on Wednesday, March 16^th.

In February, nine speakers addressed Supervisors during public comment with concerns over marijuana dispensaries.  The Supervisors asked the Chief Administration Officer to craft options now available for regulating medical marijuana collectives in light of “a recent California Supreme Court decision that allows local municipalities to ban marijuana facilities, newly adopted State laws pertaining to medical marijuana, and ballot initiatives slated for the November ballot,” according to the agenda.

Cruz wins Wyoming caucus; Trump a distant third

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Screenshot from CBS video of Chicago rally after cancellation was announced

March 12, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement indicating police and Secretary Service were “consulted and totally involved” in the the decision to cancel a Trump rally in Chicago Friday evening amid unrest. 

But Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi today told CNN that Trump’s claim was “absolutely untrue…No one from the campaign contacted the Chicago Police Department and we were not involved at all in canceling the event.”  He added that a Secret Service officer standing next to him when the announcement  of cancellation came in was also surprised.

By Liz Alper

Photo:  CBS CBB on Twitter

March 12, 2016 (Las Vegas, Nv.) - What do the Aztecs men’s basketball team and most people who travel to Las Vegas have in common?  They gamble and lose.  

By Liz Alper

Photo:  San Diego Padres on Twitter

March 12, 2016 (Peoria, Az.) - Andrew Cashner was looking to rebound from a nightmarish 2015 and oh boy, did he.

By Helen Ofield

March 11, 2016 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society will sponsor "Vietnam Remembered" on March 26 at 2 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane.  The event will fall a few days in advance of national Vietnam Veterans Day and is part of "The Remembrance Project" of LGHS, which kicked off last Nov. 21 with "JFK Remembered."

East County News Service

March 11, 2016 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Conversations invites you to a forum on The Future of Transportation in La Mesa on Wednesday, March 23 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge (4731 Date Ave., La Mesa).