By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – For years, the mayors of East County’s four cities (El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Santee) have met informally to recommend who should represent the region on San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) committees. But on January 31, with the mayors at an impasse, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells put forth a proposal for what he called “an equitable process for tie-breaking” that would keep El Cajon represented on SANDAG committees. 

Mayor Wells’ list of proposed appointments would have given every city a primary member on at least one committee.

In the end, newly elected SANDAG Chair Nora Vargas followed SANDAG procedures to break the tie and announce the final appointments, which leave El Cajon with only alternates, no regular members on any SANDAG committee.

Poll finds only 9% of voters support such cuts, including just 15% of Republican voters.

By Raquel Damus

January 31, 2023 (Washington D.C.) --After the U.S surpassed its debt limit, lawmakers are calling for important decisions to be made so that the government can continue paying bills already authorized by Congress.  

Story and photos by Ken Stone,Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

January 28, 2023 (Santee) - Former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller took the lectern at Wednesday’s Santee City Council meeting and declared that she “identified” as Christynne Wood — and thus deserved the same three minutes of public comment time.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: Rich Riel announced settlement in lawsuit over violations of open government laws by Downtown El Cajon Business Partners

January 25, 2023 (El Cajon) – Downtown El Cajon Business Partner is settling a lawsuit over Brown Act violations, according to testimony presented at Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council meeting. But complaints remain over no-bid contracts for downtown events.  The City Council also heard plans to bring back Foodie Fest during the America on Main festival, expand a tiny homes program for the homeless, and build a veterans’ memorial.

By Christianne McCormick

Photo: Project approved for 4757 Palm Ave. in La Mesa’s downtown village, courtesy City of La Mesa

January 23, 2023 (La Mesa) -- On January 10, La Mesa’s City Council ratified the Design Review Board’s approval of the Palm Avenue Apartments, which are slated to be built at the same site where the historic Randall Lamb building burned down during the 2020 George Floyd riots. The vote was 4-0, with Councilmember Laura Lothian abstaining because her office is close to the site.  

The development proposed by Palm Street Ventures LLC has brought about much debate among La Mesa residents. The five-story building would house 64 rental units, with only 29 parking spaces – less than one for each unit.  There will also be room for at least one business in the building, where apartment rents are expected to start at around $1,000 for units designated as affordable and run from $2,100 to $2,900 for other units, per the developer, Palm Street Ventures LLC.

Biden opposes phase-out of gas stoves, but many cities are adopting bans

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Gas stove, cc by SA-NC via Bing

January 12, 2023 (San Diego) – Debate over banning gas stoves is heating up.

Dozens of cities have banned some or all natural gas appliances in new construction, including the cities San Francisco, Seattle, New York, San Diego and Los Angeles. Conversely, at least 20 states have passed laws prohibiting cities from banning natural gas, CNN reports.

By Alexei Koseff, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils his budget proposal for the 2023-24 fiscal year during a press briefing at the California Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento on Jan. 10, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

January 12, 2023 (Sacramento) - California will delay some spending commitments, reverse recent steps to shore up its fiscal health and shift funding sources to limit the cuts it must make to close a projected $22.5 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom said today.

By Miriam Raftery

January 3, 2023 (Sacramento) – Hundreds of new laws take effect in California starting in 2023. Here are some of the most consequential new laws impacting Californians.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  U.S. Capitol, cc by SA

December 24, 2022 (Washington, D.C.) - The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military spending and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight shutdown deadline.

By Miriam Raftery

December 12, 2022 (La Mesa) – Patricia Dillard and Laura Lothian have won their races for the La Mesa City Council.  According to the final certified results, Dillard will fill the seat vacated by Bill Baber’s retirement, drawing 8,600 votes, or 23.92%, while Councilmember Lothian won reelection with 8,414 votes or 23.40% -- just 11 votes above civil rights activist Mejgan Afshan, who got 8,403 votes, or 23.37%.

By Mike Allen

Photo:   Rocky Qualin (beard) and Brian Fordyce, new directors of Padre Dam Water District

December 12, 2022 (Santee) -- Brian Fordyce was appointed this month as the newest director for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District board of directors, taking over a seat for District 1 formerly held by Doug Wilson.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Sens. Scot Wilk (left) and Brian Jones in Sacramento. Courtesy of Jones’ office

December 9, 2022 (Sacramento) - State Sen. Brian Jones of Santee was unanimously elected minority leader in the California State Senate on Monday, increasing the San Diego area’s clout in the top legislative body.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Rep Sara Jacobs speaks on election night. Photo by Chris Stone

December 4, 2022 (Washington, D.C.) - Rep. Sara Jacobs, who represents the new 51st District in central San Diego County, was elected a Caucus Leadership Representative for the 118th Congress that will convene on Jan. 3.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Governor’s office: The five biggest oil refiners — Chevron, Marathon, Phillips 66, PBF Energy and Valero — all rejected invites to the California Energy Commission’s hearing today on gas prices.

November 30, 2022 (San Diego) – Here’s some news to brighten your holiday season: the average price for regular self-serve gasoline in San Diego County has dropped below $5 a gallon, to $4.98.  That’s the lowest since early March -- 21.6 cents less than one week ago and 62.4 cents lower than one month ago, though still 31 cents over a year ago.

By Manuela Tobias, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom explains why he withheld, then released, $1 billion for local governments to reduce California homelessness. The two sides met in Sacramento on Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

November 21, 2022 (Sacramento) - Two weeks after withholding $1 billion in homelessness funding over lackluster local plans, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that most cities and counties would get the funds as early as next week anyway — as long as in the next round, they commit to more aggressive plans to reduce street homelessness.