East County News Service

April 8, 2017 (Sacramento) -- California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with 15 fellow attorneys general, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio et al v. Hodges before the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals on Thursday. The amicus brief defends a woman's right to access essential healthcare services, including reproductive health services, and a qualified healthcare provider's right to participate in offering publicly-funded health services to all people.

By Sam Warren, copyright 2017

April 8, 2017 (San Diego) – Whether you’re looking to write your first novel, meet a novelist, or hear from the White House insider who disclosed President Nixon’s secret taping system, you’ll find a trove of events for readers and writers in San Warren’s literary calendar this week.

La Mesa to vote April 11 on resolution to oppose AB 805

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Elected leaders in numerous local cities are gearing up to oppose a state bill that critics warn weaken the voices and voting power of smaller cities on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), as well as the Metropolitan Transit System and North County Transit District.  The bill gives more power to the city of San Diego, which critics contend will mean not enough clout by representatives from the county or other cities in the region to pass, block, or even place items on the agenda.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Oroville Spillway, Calif. Dept. of Water Resources

April 7, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – It’s official:  Governor Jerry Brown today declared an end to California’s statewide drought, thanks to heavy winter precipitation.

But groundwater levels in some areas remain low, so the state will maintain some restrictions on water use to encourage conservation. Brown did not lift the drought order for Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties, where wells went dry and some residents continue to rely on trucked-in emergency water supplies.

Residents are asked to continue avoiding wasting water by hosing off sidewalks or watering lawns during or shortly after a rainstorm.

By Miriam Raftery

April 7, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – A pack of candidates are lining up to challenge Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) for the 50^th Congressional seat.  Now, filmmaker  Mike Garcia, has announced that he is producing a documentary titled “The Race to Replace Duncan Hunter.”

Hear our interview with Mike Garcia, originally aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link and scroll down for details.  Garcia talked about his vision for the film and what key issue he believes could flip this red district blue in 2018—or sooner, should there be a special election if the seat becomes vacant.

Hunter is viewed as vulnerable for the first time in this conservative-leaning district, since he is under investigation by the Justice Department for using some $60,000 of campaign funds for personal expenses.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Alpine) -- Alpine Garden Club Presents the Waterwise & Butterflies Plant Sale & Festival in Alpine on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Christ the King Episcopal Church (1460 Midway Dr., Alpine).

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Lemon Grove) — Three separate accidents on Palm Street in Lemon Grove on April 4^th and 5^th caused serious damages and injuries, Sergeant Jorge Dueno with the Sheriff’s Department reports.  No charges are expected to be filed, as drugs, alcohol and distracted driving did not appear to be factors. 

Community unites to remember two-year-old cancer fighter, raise $75,000 for childhood cancer research

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Alpine) - The Kylie Rowand Foundation will host its 4th Annual Prayers for Kylie Golf Tournament at the Steel Canyon Golf Club on Friday, April 21 at 1 P.M.

Company’s farm manager sexually bullied female farmworkers and fired workers who complained of widespread abuse, federal agency charges

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) – Bornt & Sons, Inc., its former farm labor contractor Barraza Farm Service, LLC and Barraza Farm Service, Inc. violated federal laws by allowing ongoing sexual harassment of female farmworkers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed this week. Bornt & Sons and Barraza also unlawfully retaliated against workers who opposed the harassment and against family members of victims, the EEOC alleged.

Funds to furnish training room for Employment and Career Services at JFS Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (San Diego) – Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has been awarded more than $19,600 by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to create a special training room that will allow the agency’s Employment and Career Services department to provide job training and preparation services. The training room will be a resource for low-income San Diegans and will include new computer equipment, training materials and supplies.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Tomahawk missile launch off U.S. ship, courtesy of the Pentagon

April 6, 2017 (Washington D.C.)— The U.S. today launched over 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles  at the Al-Shayrat Air Base in Syria, on orders of President Donald Trump. The base is believed to be where a chemical  nerve gas weapons attack was launched on April 4^th by Bashar al-Assad’s regime that killed scores of civilians, including possibly hundreds, including many children in Idlib.

Key political leaders on both sides of the aisle voiced support for the action,  though even some supporters argue that the Constitution requires a declaration of war by Congress  to take such action. Others voice concerns over a unilateral action that Assad could view as an act of war. Now  prominent Senators and Representatives in both parties are calling for Congress to reconvene and debate whether to declare war on the Syrian government, at a time when the U.S. is already waging war against ISIS.  Assad has also fought ISIS even as his country has been split by six years of civil war.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Sacramento) -- Legislation introduced this week would make California the first state to ban perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, from fast food wrappers and takeout containers.

The bill, AB 958 by Assembly Member Phil Ting of San Francisco, would prohibit the use of the entire class of PFCs in sandwich and pastry wrappers, french fry bags, pizza boxes, and other paper and paperboard used to serve food. It is co-sponsored by the Environmental Working Group and Clean Water Action.

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Lakeside) – The 52^nd annual Lakeside Western Days Parade will be held on April 29^th starting at 9:35 a.m.  This year’s theme is “Courage, honor and sacrifice: a salute to our law enforcement.”

East County News Service

April 7, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) - As President Trump calls for dramatic cuts to life-saving medical research, Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53) led a bipartisan group of House members in an effort to increase the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Davis’s letter to House appropriators urges $36 billion for medical research and was signed by 206 members of the House. Trump is proposing a nearly 20 percent cut in NIH funding.

Story and photo by Ken Stone

Originally published at Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Tom Steyer speaks at La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club

April 6, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Billionaire Tom Steyer gave a stemwinder Wednesday, railing against the “liars and cheaters” of the Trump administration and calling the White House “malevolent, shallow and incompetent.”

Tom Steyer slammed the White House but cautioned against a “Fortress California” mind-set. But a La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club audience didn’t hear what some wanted most from the biggest single donor in the 2016 election.