“It’s bad enough that seniors and people with disabilities are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using it as a subterfuge to undermine their financial security is unconscionable and unacceptable.” -- National Education Action

By Miriam Raftery

August 29, 2020 (Washington D.C.) – Disability payments will end next year and Social Security payments to the elderly will stop in 2023 under President Trump’s executive order to cut payroll taxes, which took effect Friday, unless alternative funding is provided, Market Watch reports. That dire warning was issued August 24 by the program’s Chief Actuary, Stephen Goss, in a letter to key Senators.

Effective Aug. 28, Trump’s executive order temporarily suspends the 6.2% payroll tax collections from employers for employees under $104,000, which is used to fund Social Security and disability payments. (Employers until now have matched a 6.2% deduction paid by workers.)

Trump wants to make that permanent if reelected. On Aug. 8, Trump stated, “If I’m victorious on Nov. 3, I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax.” He made clear, “In other words, I’ll extend it beyond the end of the year and terminate the tax.”

Fact-checkers assess candidates' statements, find Trump had most misleading statements

By Miriam Raftery

View video of President Trump's hour-and-a-half long acceptance speech or scroll down for highlights and analysis.

August 28, 2020 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump made his case for reelection during his acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention last night.  The President delivered his formal acceptance from the south lawn of the White House, but earlier in the week surprised delegates with a live appearance at the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trump touted his record, stating, he was “ proud of the extraordinary progress we have made together over the last four years; and brimming with confidence in the bright future we will build for America over the NEXT four years.” The President also sharply criticized Democrats in general and rival Joe Biden in particular and sought to position his party as the party of law and order.

East County News Service

Photo: Captain Matt Nicholass, tomorrow's Interim Chief of Police (left), and soon to be former Chief of Police Walt Vasquez (right). Chopper the Biker Dog, law enforcement mascott wishes Chief Vasquez "all the very best on his retirement during his 'final walk-out."  Photo courtesy of Facebook, Chopper the Biker Dog

August 27, 2020 (La Mesa) - The City of La Mesa plans to hire an executive recruiting firm to conduct a nationwide search for its next Chief of Police, according to a  new release earlier today from the City of La Mesa.

There will be a community input component to the selection process. The process is expected to take several months to complete. Once the recruiting firm is hired additional details will be released.

Captain Matt Nicholass will assume the role of Acting Chief of Police tomorrow, August 28, 2020.

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2020  -- In the first Democratic National Convention held remotely due to the coronavirus, former Vice President Joe Biden accepted the nomination in a powerful speech in which he promised to unite and heal America.  

He also pledged to provide leadership to address ”four historic crises” facing our nation:  the worst pandemic in over 100 years: the worst economic crisis since the Great Depressing, the strongest calls for racial justice since the ‘60s, and the  accelerating threat of climate change.

“If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw om the best of us not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.  It’s time for us, we the people, to come together,” said Biden, speaking from Deleware, his home state.

August 27, 2020 (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

• Are schools reopening safely? UC San Diego experts recommend measures beyond state guidelines (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Spy Games? Civil Rights Advocate Calls out San Diego PD's Covert Use of iPhone Spyware (NBC 7)
• Firm Investigating Breonna Taylor's Death Tapped to Review La Mesa Police, City's Protest Response(NBC 7)
• How many COVID cases are in your zip code? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• We’re Suing for COVID-19 Data (Times of San Diego)
• Racism, QAnon and ‘cold civil war’: Inside the 20,000-strong Defend East County Facebook group (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Border Wall Targeted in Sacred Sites Suit: Indian Band Names Trump, Others (Times of San Diego)
• Sycuan Casino Resort won’t allow certain face coverings (Fox 5)
• Sheriff releases details of 2 hanging suicides in San Diego County jails (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sources: Sailor under investigation for arson in USS Bonhomme Richard ship fire (10 News)

STATE

• California fires claim 5 lives, threaten thousands of homes (Associated Press)
• ‘My God, we’ve got nobody’: Strained firefighters struggle to stop Bay Area wildfires (Mercury News)
• Firefighters ready to battle into night, Cal Fire to all residents of California: ‘Be ready to go’ (Mercury News)
• 9th Circuit ends California ban on high-capacity magazines  (Asosciated Press)
• Uber and Lyft get reprieve from court, won't shut down in California for now (CNN)
• Tighter federal rules end free meals for thousands of California students (Ed Source)
• With data backlog cleared, California coronavirus cases officially decreasing, Newsom says (San Jose Mercury News)
• As California AG, Kamala Harris Took a Political Risk to Fight Climate Change(Cal Street Blog)

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

August 27, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Kamala Harris condemns looting, violence in wake of police shooting (CNN)
• Trump accepts GOP nomination for president (The Hill)
• News Analysis: Joe Biden counters Democrats’ anxiety with a pledge of light against darkness (Los Angeles Times)
• Postal Crisis Ripples Across Nation as Election Looms (New York Times)
•  Postal service inspector general reviewing DeJoy's policy changes and potential ethics conflicts (CNN)
• UPS, FedEx shoot down calls to carry mail-in ballots (Reuters)
• Some parents will get a $500 stimulus check this fall, IRS says. Here’s what to know (Sacramento Bee)
• Hurricane Laura Kills 4, Devastates Swath of Louisiana; Roofs Ripped Off, Buildings Shattered (Weather.com)

WORLD

• Putin critic Navalny fights for life, aides suspect poisoning (Reuters)
• Wealthy nations applaud their leaders’ covid-19 responses. The U.S. and U.K. are the exceptions.
• Israel condemns U.N. decision not to extend Iran arms embargo  (Reuters)
• Mexico needs 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses; shots could start in April (Reuters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click "read more" or scroll down.

East County News Service

August 27, 2020 (San Diego) - Many people could use extra cash during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office is doing all it can to reunite $450,324 in county refunds with its rightful owners. See if your name is on the list at sdttc.com.   The deadline to claim this money is Oct. 26.

"This is a stunning betrayal of public health that will spread the pandemic and lead to more unnecessary deaths." 

By Lisa Newcomb, staff writer, Common Dreams, reprinted under a Creative Commons license

Photo:  Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testifies during a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the plan to research, manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, known as Operation Warp Speed, July 2, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

August 26, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - As the number of Covid-19 cases in the United States nears six million, and with more than 176,000 Americans dead from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly altered its coronavirus guidelines, worrying public health experts and raising suspicions among healthcare advocates that the moves are politically motivated.

By Liz Alper

Photo via @padres on Twitter

August 25, 2020 (San Diego) - The Padres continued interleague play tonight with a visit from the Mariners.  Marco Gonzales started for Seattle against Chris Paddack.  

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2020 (San Diego) – Due to state and county restrictions on gatherings of any size, most theaters, concert halls and other large event sites remained closed to prevent spread of COVID-19.  On Aug. 13, the San Diego Event Coalition held an “empty venue” rally to call not for reopening due to safety concerns, but for aid to assist the industry.  

By Henri Migala

August 23, 2020 (La Mesa) - After being closed for several months, BO-beau in La Mesa has re-opened with reconfigured sitting areas that not only conform to mandated social distancing guidelines, but in an elegant way actually enhances the sense of intimacy for diners and patrons.

A member of the Cohen restaurant group, BO-beau is located in the historic downtown village in La Mesa.  The website describes the restaurant as where “Bohemian-chic meets industrial elegance.”  That is probably an accurate description when all sections of the restaurant are open, but with only the outdoor seating areas being available, the full experience of ‘Bohemian-chic and industrial elegance’ is replaced more by a comfortable, delightful and stylish experience of open-air garden dining.

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

Photo:  Margaret Hunter, wife of former Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, walks past the federal courthouse on Broadway with her attorney Logan Smith after her sentencing on corruption charges. Photo by Chris Stone

August 24, 2020 (San Diego) - Former Rep. Duncan D. Hunter is going to prison. His wife and co-conspirator will not.

Thanks to her “extraordinary” cooperation with federal prosecutors, Margaret Hunter will serve just eight months of “punitive home detention” starting immediately.* Her estranged husband will begin 11 months behind bars in January.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo,left by Della Elliott:  A shrine to commemorate 21-year-old shooting victim Fabian Cerda has been created by community members at the site where he was fatally shot. 

May 24, 2020 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police today announced the arrest of George Louis Garcia, 42, following a tense standoff in La Mesa with police from multiple law enforcement agencies. Garcia is charged in the shooting death of Fabian Esteban Cerda, 21, on August 18 in El Cajon.

According to Lt. K. MacArthur with El Cajon Police, Cerda became involved in an argument with Garcia, the former boyfriend of Cerda’s mother around 1:30 a.m. on August 18 in front of 1548 East Main Street in El Cajon. “He was shot several times and later died as a result of the shooting,” Lt. MacArthur says. The victim succumbed to his injuries in an ambulance en route to a hospital.