By Miriam Raftery

January 3, 2021 (San Diego) – Virtual public hearings are planned January 9, 12, and 13 on proposed transit fare changes for trolley and bus services proposed by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), North County Transit District (NCTD), and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

If approved, these changes would take effect when the Compass Card system is replaced by the new regional PRONTO fare system in mid-2021.  They include fee hikes for most riders, but a reduction in youth ridership fees for ages 6-18.

Two fare adjustment scenarios are under consideration and detailed in the table inside this Notice Both scenarios would:

Update: The deadline to apply has been extended until January 13.

December 30, 2020 (Sacramento) -- California's $500 million #SmallBusiness #COVID-19 Relief Grant website is LIVE. The first round of applications opens Dec 30 and closes January 8, but webinars on how to apply are being held every day at 11 AM. Register today at http://bit.ly/38tKcPp

Grants range from $5,000 to $25,000.  To apply or get more information, visit  https://careliefgrant.com/ and scroll down for additional details.

Flu cases also rise; 171 reported in past week, with several patients contracting both COVID-19 and flu.

Local hospitals are cancelling organ transplants and cancer surgeries due to COVID-patients filling up hospital ICU beds.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Dr. Kristian Anderson of Scripps Research speaks on the newly discovered UK strain

December 30, 2020 (San Diego) – A new, fast-spreading strain of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom has been confirmed in San Diego County.  A 30-year-old local man who has not traveled outside our county has tested positive for the new strain known as B.1.1.7., the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

Also today, the Governor extended the stay-home order for another three weeks with Southern California’s intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability at zero. The order will remain in effect until ICU availability is at least 15%.

Dr. Kristian Andersen, of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, where the new virus was identified in lab testing, stated, “We need to prepare” in anticipation of the new variant spreading rapidly here as it has in Britain, where the new virus prompted other European nations to bar travelers from the UK. 

San Diego-area hospitals are now postponing organ transplants and removal of cancerous tumors due to the strain on hospitals and ICU units.

"Going out to party on New Year’s Eve during a global pandemic is putting your life at risk and the lives of your friends and family,” said Supervisor Greg Cox in his final press conference, since he leaves office in early January due to term limits. He also urged everyone to get the flu vaccine to help ease the strain on hospitals.

East County News Service

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Friends of East County’s Diane Mattingly are circulating these photos of her taken earlier this month, via Times of San Diego

December 29, 2020 (San Diego) - Friends and neighbors of Diane Mae Mattingly of the high desert near Anza-Borrego say she’s been missing more than two weeks but haven’t had much help from the Sheriff’s Department.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via CHEU:  Palomar Healthcare nurses at a protest earlier this month

December 29, 2020 (Escondido) – Registered nurses and caregivers will hold a car caravan from Palomar Medical Center to Palomar Health’s administration building today to protest a blanket waiver of nurse-to-patient ratios approved by the state Department of Health Tuesday. Nurses contend that the change is dangerous for patient safety.

The action comes as the California Office of Emergency Service announced plans to activate a vacant floor of Palomar Medical Center to handle COVID-19 patients. National Guard members arrived Wednesday to complete a buildout of the surge unit begun earlier this year. Hospital ICU units across Southern California are completely full, with zero capacity, currently due to COVID cases that have increased ten-fold locally since early November. CNN reported yesterday that one of every 1,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19.

Progressives in both chambers of Congress are pressuring the GOP majority leader to urgently hold a vote on the Covid-19 legislation

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer, Common Dreams

Originally published by Common Dreams under a Creative Commons license

December 28, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - Demands from progressive lawmakers and the public surged for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to urgently support and hold a vote on a bill that would boost coronavirus pandemic direct relief checks from $600 to $2,000 after at least two-thirds of Democrat-controlled House approved the legislation on Monday evening.

Story and photos by Henri Migala

Photo, left:  Maskless rally participants called for all businesses to open now, despite pandemic shutdown orders from the county and state.

December 23, 2020 (El Cajon) – A rally titled “All I Want for Christmas is Freedom” was held on Monday, Dec. 21 at El Cajon Centennial Plaza calling for a lifting of pandemic shutdowns.  The timing of the rally coincides with hospital ICU units filled to capacity across Southern California, after 18 million people in the U.S. have contracted COVID-19 and 323,000 Americans have died.

There are legitimate equity questions, such as why big-box retailers have been allowed to stay open while many small businesses have been ordered shut down, particularly after data obtained from San Diego County reveals that many outbreaks have been tied to large stores such as Walmart, Home Depot and Target. Although the event was promoted as an opportunity to support local small businesses adversely affected by restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, any rational discussion of those issues was largely overshadowed at the protest by speakers, including prominent elected officials, who urged attendees to openly and actively defy local and state restrictions. Some used such inflammatory words such as devil, battle, war, evil, Marxist, tyranny, socialism, 2^nd Amendment, and even a reference to “killing babies like Planned Parenthood" that seemed largely out of context to a discussion of economic vs. public health concerns.

Eighteen “vendors” were set up, of which about half were small businesses selling products. The others were related to a political cause or agenda, such as recalling Governor Newsom, or opening San Diego. Approximately 150 people attended the event.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

Photo via Cal-Fire on Twitter

December 24, 2020 (Fallbrook) – The #CreekFire which erupted in Fallbrook overnight has burned over 3,000 acres, prompting evacuation of thousands of residents. The blaze, which began shortly before midnight in the 37000 block of De Luz Road two miles west of Sandia Creek Drive. The blaze is 35% contained as of 8 a.m., San Diego Cunty Fire authority reports.

The fire has been burning west, into Camp Pendleton.

A temporary evacuation point has been established at Fallbrook High School, 2400 Stage Coach Lane, the sheriff’s department said.

By Miriam Raftery

December 22, 2020 (San Diego) – East County’s Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has been appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to serve as California’s Secretary of State, the first black woman to hold the office. The daughter of sharecroppers who were once denied the right to vote, Dr. Weber went on to earn a doctoral degree and rise to prominence as an educator and later, a powerhouse champion in the Legislature for voting rights, police reform and strengthening public schools.

Governor Newsom posted on Twitter, “Dr. Weber is a tireless advocate & change agent with unimpeachable integrity. Now, she’ll be at the helm of our elections as our next Secretary of State, the first African American to be California’s Chief Elections Officer.”  He added, “With her, CA will continue to be a model for the nation in expanding democratic participation and access to the ballot box.”

Weber, a Democrat whose district includes La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Bonita and portions of San Diego and National City, will fill the vacancy left by Alex Padilla, whom the Governor appointed to be California’s new U.S. Senator. Padilla will replace Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris in the Senate.

President also pardons other high-level allies and Blackwater guards who committed massacre in Iraq

Trump has also pardoned Margaret Hunter

Story and file photo by Miriam Raftery

December 22, 2020 (Washington D.C.) --- East County’s former Congressman Duncan D. Hunter won’t be reporting to prison in Texas in January.  Today, President Donald Trump delivered an early Christmas gift to Hunter and other Republican allies, issuing pardons for their crimes.

Hunter, a staunch Trump supporter and Republican from Alpine, pleaded guilty in late 2019 to conspiracy to diverting a quarter million dollars in campaign funds for personal use, but his sentencing was delayed due to COVID-19 in La Tuna, the federal  penitentiary near El Paso. He resigned soon after, forcing constituents to be without representation for a full year that proved to be tumultous amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom. Courtesy of the governor’s office

December 22, 2020 (San Diego) - With ICU capacity essentially zero in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the regional stay-at-home order will almost certainly be extended beyond the current Dec. 28 end date.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Di'Marcus Lavonne Mayes, murder victim, courtesy of his family via LMPD

December 21, 2020 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police today announced the arrest of Alexander Cesar Nghiem of San Diego. He is charged with murder of Di’Marcus Lavonne Mayes, 29, who was shot multiple times in his upper torso on December 11^th.

La Mesa Police responded to calls reporting gunshots in the parking lot of the Marketplace at Lake Murray Village, 5600 Lake Murray Boulevard.  Officers found Mayes unresponsive and performed CPR and other medical aid until medics arrived.

Update December 21, 2020: The House and Senate have both approved the virus relief package, which is now on President Trump's desk.  If it is signed into law, stimulus checks could begin to be deposited in recipients' bank accounts starting in early January.

By Miriam Raftery

December 20, 2020 (Washington D.C.) – The four top leaders in the U.S. House and Senate have hammered out a $900 billion relief package, bringing welcome news just in the for the holidays to American households, businesses, schools and tribes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congressional leaders tied the relief measure to a bill to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, also passing stopgap measures to fund the government over the next several days. The measure is expected to be voted on and adopted Monday; the White House has indicated that President Donald Trump is prepared to sign the measure.

It’s the first relief measure since March, despite surging cases and overloaded hospitals, new business shutdowns, unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums set to run out at year’s end. The bipartisan measure was crafted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy.

WHAT’S IN THE BILL: