By Miriam Raftery

September 27, 2017 (Mt. Helix) – Michael Todd Littlefield, 50, was taken into custody Monday on Weston Road near Grandview in the Mt. Helix area.  “Littlefield had a felony warrant for auto theft,” Ryan Keim, Media Relations Director for the San Diego Sheriff department informed East County Magazine.

September 27, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

•         Buyer’s remorse? Chargers could reportedly move back to San Diego (Times of San Diego)
•        Borrego Springs trying to deal with underground water crisis (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•         Lemon Grove moving on climate action plan (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•         Cox Communications to begin charging heavy Internet users who exceed monthly data caps (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•        Diabetes-Related Amputations Up Significantly in California — and San Diego (KPBS)
•        State seeks more documents from El Cajon councilman's beauty pageant (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•         New FBI Data Places San Diego Among 2016's Safest Cities Nationwide (KPBS)
•          CCAs Have Value Far Beyond Just Price (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

•        A Tale of Two States: California Loses and Texas Wins Under GOP Health Plan (KQED)
•         University of California Blows Big Money on Gold-Plated Pensions (Reason)
•        What a difference three days makes: How voters shook up California’s Legislature (Cal Matters)
•        Solar growth threatened by trade ruling, with Trump to have final say (San Francisco Chronicle)
•        Lawsuit accuses MWD of predatory water diversions in Riverside, Imperial counties (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Existing border fence in Campo

September 27, 2017 (San Diego) – Construction of eight border wall prototypes, each costing up to a half million dollars, is now underway in Otay Mesa.  After testing of alternative materials and designs built here, President Donald Trump aims to erect a wall along the entire U.S.- Mexico border at a cost of some $60 billion.  But it is unclear why San Diego was chosen for the prototypes and many local officials have raised concerns.

East County News Service

Photo:  (from left to right):  Marla Black, Junior Achievement of San Diego County; Wendy McKinney, American Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties; Martha King, King Schools; Van Tran, Sharp Grossmont Hospital; Michelle Bergquist, Connected Women of Influence; Kristine Costa, Waste Management, Inc.; Barbara Ryan, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego; Bonnie Rush, Breast Imaging Specialists.

September 26, 2017 (La Mesa) – The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce recently honored eight women with 2017 Women in Leadership Luncheon (WILL) awards. Now in its 15th year, the annual WILL event honors women for their outstanding leadership, exemplary character and integrity in the community, as well as their efforts to empower women to succeed and prosper in life and business, Chamber officials said. The awards event was held Friday, Sept. 22 at the Town and Country Resort Hotel in Mission Valley

Source:  Sycuan

September 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Rick Michel, a master impressionist who has performed and headlined in Las Vegas since 1981, will present “Sinatra Forever,” a show focusing on the music of Frank Sinatra. Michel has been called “the closest thing to Sinatra we have ever heard” by Variety.

Update:  The CPUC has announced it will hold this agenda item slated for the Thursday morning hearing, meaning no vote will be taken on this agenda item.  Public comment will still be accepted before all five commissioners at the start of the mornng hearing .

Public comment will also be taken during an all parties meeting later in the day, but not all commisioners will be present at the later meeting. See more details at the end of this story.

By Miriam Raftery

September 26, 2017 (San Diego) –The California Public Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Chula Vista City Council Chambers  (276 Fourth Ave., Chula Vista) on the CPUC’s proposed decision to deny SDG&E’s application to charge ratepayers $379 million for recovery of its uninsured losses related to the 2007 Witch, Rice and Guejito wildfires.  A similar request for $594 million was previously denied in 2012.

SDG&E sought to recover those losses through a Wildfire Expense  Memorandum Account (WEMA).  The proposed decision against SDG&E has drawn praise from some, including Supervisor Dianne Jacob, but concerns from others including a fire survivor and intervener in the case.  Some ratepayer advocates also warn that the CPUC could  change its mind on the proposed denial of SDG&E’s WEMA application or postpone action following ex-parte lobbying efforts by the utility company.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Screenshot, CNN debate

September 26, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- In a lively debate on the future of healthcare in America hosted by CNN last night, Republicans Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) authors of a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) sought to defend their measure while admitting they lack enough votes for passage. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Washing hands for at least 20 seconds with soap is an important step you can take to prevent spread of Hepatitis A.

September 25, 2017 (La Mesa) – After the County’s emergency declaration over Hepatitis A,  ECM learned that eight cases have been reported in La Mesa and at least six cases in Santee. So we asked both cities what steps they are taking to  address this public health problem.

By Frans Leppanen, San Diego County Library

September 25, 2017 (Rancho San Diego) -- Six San Diego County authors will appear at a two-hour Author Event, Saturday, October 7 at 2 p.m. at the Rancho San Diego Branch of the San Diego County Branch Library, located at 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon, CA 92019.  Authors Oyuki Aguilar, Renee Barnes, Sarah Bates, Dr. RH Gutierrez, Suzette Valle, and Wanjiru Warama will discuss their books. A book signing and reception will follow the authors’ presentations, with copies of the books available for purchase.

By Jo Moreland

By Miriam Raftery

September 25, 2017 (Sacramento) – A duck-billed creature called Augustynolophus (Aw-gus-tin-o-lo-fus) morrisi is now California’s official state dinosaur. The giant reptile roamed California around 66 million years ago – and its fossilized remains have not been found anywhere else.

This year's wildfire season is the most expensive on record. Last year, the Pioneer Fire burned nearly 190,000 acres of the Boise National Forest.

By Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service

Photo: U.S. Forest Service

September 25, 2017 (Boise, ID) -- A rare moment of bipartisanship is catching on among Western states' members of Congress with a bill to treat wildfires more like other natural disasters.

Aztecs extend scoreless streak to 256:05 in fourth win of the year

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

September 24, 2017 (Edinburg, Tex.) - Behind a Kyle Adams fourth minute goal, the San Diego State men’s soccer team capped a perfect weekend in the Lone Star State, defeating Incarnate Word 1-0 on Sunday night. The Aztecs now head into conference play with an even 4-4 record, while Incarnate Word falls to 2-4-1 on the season.

East County News Service

September 24, 2017 (San Diego) – As San Diego County’s hepatitis A outbreak continues to grow, here are some helpful fact sheets from the County’s Health and Human Services agency to help you learn more about how to stay safe and minimize your chances of contracting the potentially dangerous disease, including clean-up tips for sanitizing your home or office. 

By Miriam Raftery

September 24, 2017 (Sacramento) -- “Today, my office was informed for the first time by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that Russian cyber actors scanned California’s Internet-facing systems in 2016,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced on Friday.