Ballot initiative proposed to break up CPUC

East County News Service

February 12, 2016 (San Diego)--A San Francisco Superior Court Judge has ruled that secret e-mails between Michael Picker, the President of the California Public Utilities Commission, the Governor's Office and Southern California Edison must be made public.(Read the order.)

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Motorists on State Route 94 report longer commutes in recent months due to delays at the Otay Border Patrol checkpoint south of Jamul, as well as construction of a casino at the Jamul Indian Village and existing delays due to Steele Canyon High School traffic.

“Since April, the lines at the checkpoint have been consistently long and wait times longer,”  Jan Hedlun, a Potrero resident who commutes to work in San Diego, wrote to the Border Patrol last September. She described backups of over two miles at the checkpoint at times, with waits of nearly a half hour. 

February 11, 2016 (San Diego)--SANDAG is considering placing a measure on the November ballot that would ask voters in the region to increase our local sales tax by up to one-half cent to support specific projects and programs.

The SANDAG Board of Directors will receive an overview of the results of public outreach efforts and discuss initial draft expenditure plan alternatives developed for the potential measure at its board meeting on Friday, February 12.  The item will begin at 10 a.m.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

February 11, 2016 (Santee) — Patrick Wehrung, 25, an employee at Champion Gymastics and Cheer in Santee, has been arrested for allegedly having sex repeatedly with a 15-year-old female student. The gym has since fired Wehrung, who is free on bail and slated to appear in court next week, 10 News reports.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Lead contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan; photo by Jessica Owens

February 11, 2016 (San Diego) -- In response to the crisis in Flint, Michigan, the House of Representatives voted to require water system officials to alert their customers if the EPA notifies them of increasing level of lead.  The Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act (H.R. 4470) passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote of 416-2 with all five of San Diego’s Congressional members voting for the bill.

By Joe Green

February 11, 2016 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

Presidential primary

• Presidential hopefuls in dead heat in national Reuters/Ipso poll (Reuters)
• Under Sanders, income and jobs would soar, economist says (CNN)
• FBI confirms Clinton probe (The Hill)
• Court Orders Government To Explain The Holdup With 7,000 Clinton Emails (NPR)
• Stark Divide Between Democrat, Republican Candidates on Veterans Health Care (Reason)
• Carly Fiorina quits presidential race (Politico)
• Christie drops out (Politico)
• How Ohio Governor John Kasich is making life hell for women seeking abortions (Mother Jones)

Other national news

• Feds sue Ferguson to force police reforms (USA Today)
• Genital mutilation risk triples for girls and women in U.S., CDC study finds  (The Guardian)
• Lead contamination of Flint water draws multiple lawsuits (Washington Post)
• Gulf Of Mexico Open For Fish-Farming Business (NPR)
• After Returning the Money They Stole, Feds Will Pay Interest and Legal Expenses Too (Reason)
• Rams Stiff St. Louis, Leave City with $144 Million Bill (Reason)

WORLD

• Progress in the global war on poverty (CS Monitor)
• Syria ‘exterminating detainees’ – UN report (BBC)
• UAE says ready to support anti-Islamic State coalition with troops (CS Monitor)
• Mt. Sakurajimi erupts in fiery blast (Japan Times)
• Zika outbreak means it is now time to cancel Rio Olympics (Forbes)
• Germany Opens 62-Mile Bicycle Highway That's Completely Car-Free (Nature Knows)
• France Has Banned Supermarkets From Wasting Food (iflscience.com)
• Thousands flee as Russian-backed offensive threatens to besiege Aleppo (Reuters)
• German spy agency says ISIS sending fighters disguised as refugees (Reuters)
• Armed with new U.S. money, NATO to strengthen Russia deterrence (Reuters)
• Quake fells Taiwan apartment building, at least two dead  (Reuters) 
• Bomb threats made to Jewish schools in UK (JPost)
• Assailant stabs Jewish boy, 11, in Ramle attack (JPost)
• More than four months of terror, by the numbers (JPost)
• Pilot after Somalia emergency: Airplane security is “zero” (CS Monitor)

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

Financing from Fident Capital helped infill project get off the ground

East County News Service

February 10, 2016 (Lemon Grove) --  Celsius, an 84-unit multi-family rental project by CityMark Development, broke ground in December in Lemon Grove, with phase I slated for completion mid-year. 

February 10, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• What’s the best way to keep mosquitoes from biting? (NPR)
• State Of Emergency On Hawaii's Big Island Over Dengue Fever Outbreak (NPR)
• Can fish help stop spread of Zika virus? (BBC)
• Colombia: 3,177 pregnant women with Zika; no microcephaly (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Just what the doctor ordered: connectivity (U-T)
• Mosquito Blight (Snopes)
• No Comment From Grinning Martin Shkreli At House Hearing On Drug Prices (NPR)
• Scientists Discover A Second Bacterium That Causes Lyme Disease (NPR)
• Liver tissue bioprinted from stem cells (U-T)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• France is paving more than 600 miles of road with solar (Smithsonian)
• Twitter Says It Has Shut Down 125,000 Terrorism-Related Accounts (NPR)
• Bayer rejects EPA request to pull insecticide from U.S. market (Reuters)
• Humans have a hand in spreading bee virus, scientists say. Is it too late? (CS Monitor)
• One statistic shows just how dramatically our electricity system is changing (Washington Post)
• Ship noise linked to orca whale decline: Are some boats safer than others? (CS Monitor)
• Earthquakes May Have More Reach Than Previously Thought (KPBS)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Bernie Sanders, by Troy Page; Photo, right: Donald Trump, by Gage Skidmore

February 10, 2016 (San Diego) – Last night’s presidential primary in New Hampshire proved historic on several fronts.  By huge landslides, voters in both Democratic and Republican parties cast their ballots for candidates running outside the mainstream political framework: mavericks Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.  Sanders is also the first Jewish candidate ever to win a presidential primary. 

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders pulled in 60% of the vote to win the Democratic primary, trouncing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who got 38%. Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is running on a platform of closing the wealth gap by reining in Wall Street, taxing the rich and providing free healthcare for all. 

On the Republican side, billionaire businessman and former reality TV show host Donald Trump won with 35% of the vote. Ohio Governor John Kasich took second at 16% in an upset over the Iowa caucus winner, Senator Ted Cruz, who got 12%, narrowly edging out Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had 11% and 10% respectively. Other candidates placed in single digits, with 100% of precincts now reported.

By Lynn Neff

February 9, 2016 (Campo) - Come on out and join the fun at the Community Fundraiser in Campo on Saturday, March 19, 2016 from 2-6 pm at 976 Sheridan Rd.  The reason for this event, however, is no laughing matter.

By Miriam Raftery

February 9, 2016 (La Mesa) — The Mesa Village Merchants Association failed to pay back nearly $48,000 it owes to the city of La Mesa for the 2015 Oktoberfest, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Now the city has referred the debt to its collection agency. Arlene Moore, president of the nonprofit merchants’ group, told the Union-Tribune that the organization plans to repay the debt and hopes to continue hosting the Oktoberfest in future years.

The situation has sparked controversy in the community, with some criticizing the merchants for financial mismanagement, while others find fault with the city for requiring full cost recovery for Oktoberfest and other public events.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2016 (Washington D.C.) - Congressman Duncan Hunter has introduced the Draft America’s Daughters Act, a bill that would require young women to register for the Draft with the Selective Service. 

East County News Service

Photo: 2007 Harris Fire

February 9, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Last year, 65 percent of the U.S. Forest Service’s $5 billion budget was spent on fighting wildfires, leaving only 35 percent for everything else.