July 24, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• A plan to repair, revitalize American Legion Hall in La Mesa (La Mesa Courier)
• San Diego County tackles housing shortage with general plan changes (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A tale of two cities’ transparency: Carlsbad and La Mesa (SD Rostra)
• SD County Planning Commission recommends building Jacumba solar project despite resident opposition (KUSI)
• Judge rules Poway synagogue shooting victims can sue Smith & Wesson (The Hill)
• Good Samaritans Rescue Driver of Burning SUV Accused of Hit-and-Run Spree (NBC San Diego)
• San Diego Police Announce Crackdown on Growing Violent Crime, Deadly ‘Ghost Guns’ (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• Gov. Newsom signs $12 billion plan to address homelessness(10 News)
• California approves 1st state-funded guaranteed income plan (AP)
• California businesses hiring homeless workers can get a $30,000 tax credit through new law (Sacramento Bee)
• California changes course on schools  enforcing mask mandate (AP)
• California’s Cliffs Are Collapsing One by One (Atlantic)
• Trump supporters linked to plot on California Democratic HQ had guns, zip ties, steroids (Sacramento Bee)
• California fires are burning faster, hotter, more intensely — and getting harder to fight  (Los Angeles Times)
• LA County Will Require People To Wear Masks Indoors  (Los Angeles Times)
• Couple charged in Southern California wildfire sparked by gender reveal(10 News)

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

By Miriam Raftery

July 25, 2021 (El Cajon) – A rally and march in El Cajon is being planned today at 2 p.m. by pro-Palestinian groups, in reaction to a “We are Israel” rally slated for 3 p.m. at a separate location that Palestinian leaders locally describe as "Zionist" and "anti-Palestinian."

Organizers of the “We are Israel” rally at 3 p.m. on Prescott Promenade at 201 East Main St. have stated that their event is in response to the record number of violent attacks on Jewish people and synagogues in the U.S. and in San Diego County, not policies in the Mideaast.

Organized by Shield of David, that rally is slated to include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as keynote speaker and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells as one of several other speakers, as ECM reported.  Pompeo, as Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, broke with decades of U..S. foreign policy tradition by declaring that Israeli settlements in the West Bank did not violate international law. But Pompeo also helped broker a peace deal between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.

CAP Update Measure Development Workshop: Energy, Water, and Waste Emissions Reduction Sectors

East County News Service

July 24, 2021 (Unincorporated San Diego) - The County invites you to participate in their online Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update measure development workshop series. The July 28 virtual workshop covers Energy, water, and waste emissions reduction sectors.

Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Use this link to register for the workshop and add the event to your calendar. You will receive a confirmation e-mail and a numeric passcode to participate in the meeting. 

If you are interested in being notified of their upcoming opportunities to participate, please sign up for the County’s CAP mailing list.

East County News Service

July 23, 2021 (El Cajon)  - Spectators at the upcoming Cajon Classic Cruise events in downtown El Cajon will have two opportunities to view iconic autos: on the streets and at Car Gaze being held in The Gallery Without a Name, 134 E. Main St., where acclaimed photographers will offer their images of vehicles in a limited showing.

“A parked car can be, well, not much to think about,” said Jake Rose, an award-winning San Diego-area photographer. “But the right car, in the right place, conjures memories, mystery and curiosity. “Some photographers can’t resist what a car says about its place, an old car in front of an old building, a view back in time.”

East County News Service

July 24, 2021 (Chula Vista) - The Chicano Federation, in partnership with the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club, proudly presents 'Kickin' it With the Loyal,' an eight-week soccer camp for children ages 5-12.

By Miriam Raftery

June 19, 2021 (El Cajon) – Sponsors are needed for a golf tournament on Friday, July 30 at Cottonwood Golf Course in El Cajon for the “Saddles in Service” golf tournament.  The event will support local veterans, active duty military, and first responders receive mental health wellness and healing through equine assisted activities at Saddles in Service in Alpine, CA.

East County News Service

July 22, 2021 (Dulzura) --  Members of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) San Diego Sector’s (SDC) Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) team rescued a Mexican citizen yesterday who was lost in East County San Diego and suffering from a heat emergency.

By Briana Gomez

July 22, 2021 (San Diego) -- Thousands of people flocked to the Hillcrest area this weekend from across San Diego County for the region’s annual pride weekend.

Source:  Representative Darrell Issa

July 21, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) - Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) announced today that he is now an original cosponsor of legislation to reauthorize “Johanna’s Law,” which supports federal campaigns to raise knowledge and awareness among women and health care providers about gynecologic cancers. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2021 (San Diego) —  Why does San Diego County have the highest rate of jail deaths of any other major California county?  Local legislators hope to find out.  On July 1st, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved a measure to ask California’s State Auditor to provide independently developed and verified information on inmate deaths in the custody of the San Diego Sheriff’s department.

The request for the audit was introduced by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) along with other members of the San Diego delegation including Assemblymembers Tasha Boerner-Horvath, Brian Maienschein, Christopher Ward, Lorena Gonzalez, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Senator Ben Hueso.

“The approval of this audit request may provide answers to the many families who have lost loved ones while in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office,” said Assemblymember Weber. "A jail sentence should not be a de facto death sentence. We can use this opportunity to uncover the disparities of the department protocol so that we can implement better procedures for protecting the safety of incarcerated individuals.”

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: Screenshot of Josef Aschbacher at July 13 signing ceremony

July 21, 2021 (San Diego) — Recognizing that climate change is an urgent global challenge, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a strategic partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to observe Earth and its changing environment. In a statement, NASA says, "Together we are leading and supporting a global response, with combined efforts in Earth science."

“Climate change is an all-hands-on-deck, global challenge that requires action now,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA and ESA are leading the way in space, building an unprecedented strategic partnership in Earth science.”

East County News Service

July 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region: Then and Now by Marie Simovich and Mike Wells, published by Sunbelt Publications in El Cajon, has been named a Gold Medal winner in the Contribution to Publishing category at the 90th Annual California Book Awards.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left to right: Mejgan Afshan, Letitia Dickerson, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian

July 20, 2021 (La Mesa) – So far, the lineup of candidates seeking to serve on La Mesa’s City Council have one thing in common: all are women who filed papers to run for a vacancy on the Council left when ex-Councilmember Akilah Weber won election to the state Assembly.  Dr Weber, a Democrat, was the first Black woman to serve on the Council.

The filing deadline opened July 12 and will close on August 6, so more candidates may yet file. The candidates who have filed to run so far are:

By Briana Gomez

July 19, 2021 (El Cajon) - The first of four redistricting meetings in El Cajon took place last Wednesday.

Local governments redistrict every 10 years to reflect a change in local population. The redistricting plan will affect how residents elect their council members.

SDSU represented across three sports in Tokyo

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo:  Xander Schauffele courtesy goaztecs.com

July 19, 2021 (San Diego) - Three former San Diego State athletes and one incoming student-athlete are set to compete at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which begins on Tuesday (Pacific Daylight Time).