EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS
January 11, 2019 (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
- More than 100 homeless people died in San Diego County in 2018, down 10 percent from 2017 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Arrests for illegal border crossing hits 46 year low (NPR)
- The other new guy: For Supervisor Jim Desmond, it’s the fundamental things (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Two weeks later, no sign of 'Remain in Mexico' policy in action (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Salvation Army Center getting closer to opening day [in El Cajon] (San Diego Union-Tribune)
STATE
- Kamala Harris to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president (CBS News)
- Study: Number of monarch butterflies in California declined by 86 percent in one year (S.F. Gate)
- Gavin Newsom’s health plan could help lower your insurance costs—or make you pay a fine (Sacramento Bee)
- Federal shutdown has halted some preparations for wildfires, and it could get worse (McClatchy)
- Cameras near Camp Fire did record in early stages: Cal Fire (Action News Now)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
LOCAL
More than 100 homeless people died in San Diego County in 2018, down 10 percent from 2017 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Marine veteran Deryck Bacon was killed when he was run over while sleeping on a sidewalk in Hillcrest in April. Holly Anderson died after a long illness that same month last year, leaving behind three children and the man who loved and still thinks about her.
Arrests for illegal border crossing hits 46 year low (NPR)
Arrests of people trying to cross illegally into the U.S. from Mexico plunged to the lowest level since 1971, as fewer people attempted the trek, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.
The other new guy: For Supervisor Jim Desmond, it’s the fundamental things (San Diego Union-Tribune)
…Desmond and Nathan Fletcher bring fresh perspectives to the board. They were elected to replace Bill Horn and Ron Roberts, who each served for 24 years.
Two weeks later, no sign of 'Remain in Mexico' policy in action (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Just over two weeks after the Trump administration announced a new policy that would force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their turns in U.S. immigration court, there is no sign yet at the border that it has been implemented. Though the Department of Homeland Security said on December 20 that the change was “effective immediately,” advocacy groups all along the border continue to receive large numbers of migrant families who have been released from immigration custody into the U.S.
Salvation Army Center getting closer to opening day [in El Cajon] (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Humbert Cabrera got choked up watching several nearly 50-foot-tall concrete walls go up last week at The Salvation Army in El Cajon.… The community center will include a food pantry, community garden, social services center, gymnasium, youth center, meeting spaces for senior nutrition and youth classes.
STATE
Kamala Harris to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president (CBS News)
California’s Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, sources close to her told KCBS Radio. She'll announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland, the sources said. Harris, 54, has been making the rounds of television talk shows and appearing at several events this week as part of a brief tour to promote her new book, "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey."
Study: Number of monarch butterflies in California declined by 86 percent in one year (S.F. Gate)
If you enjoy watching the annual migration of the western monarch along the California coast you have probably already seen the signs of trouble in recent years. Numbers have declined precipitously over the last two decades and extinction looks increasingly likely.
Gavin Newsom’s health plan could help lower your insurance costs—or make you pay a fine (Sacramento Bee)
California’s new governor wants to reinstate the individual mandate at the state level. It’s part of a sweeping health care plan Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled just hours after being sworn into office Monday. Here’s a breakdown of what the individual mandate is, what Newsom’s proposal means and how it might affect Californians…Newsom wants to reinstate the individual mandate at the state level to bolster the Affordable Care Act and fund insurance subsidies for middle-income families. Revenue from the penalty would subsidize health insurance for individuals earning up to $72,840 annually and families of four earning up to $150,600.
Federal shutdown has halted some preparations for wildfires, and it could get worse (McClatchy)
Training has been halted for thousands of western firefighters. The U.S. Forest Service can’t let contracts for needed equipment. In forests across the West, no federal employees are doing work to reduce dry “fuel” that feeds catastrophic blazes.
Cameras near Camp Fire did record in early stages: Cal Fire (Action News Now)
Some Action News Now viewers have written in asking if the fire detection cameras on Sawmill Peak or Flea Mountain caught the Camp Fire in its early stages. Cal Fire says the cameras did record the fire but did not set off an alert when it started. Cal Fire had the alarm feature turned off.