EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS
February 28, 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
- Hueso, City Attorney Pushing Law to Make Enforcement of Public Records Act Far More Difficult (Voice of San Diego)
- SDCFA Puts Backcountry In Danger, San Diego LAFCO Knows About It Too. (Julian Times)
- Lemon Grove looking at allowing short-term rentals to make money (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- `A new day at SANDAG,’ as agency admits it must cut promised projects (Voice of San Diego)
- La Mesa amends its laws about moving parked cars (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- George Bailey, East County icon, turns 100 (San Diego-Union Tribune)
- Major Shake-Up at San Diego’s Water Department (NBC 7)
- Tribe dips toes into pot trade with dispensary at former Santa Ysabel casino (San Diego Union Tribune)
STATE
- Governor Newsom declares state of emergency from winter storms (Patch.com)
- California lawmaker makes aggressive push against local development restrictions (Los Angeles Times)
- It’s Been Snowing in the Desert and People Are Losing Their Minds (Sunset)
- Saying no to the nurses: California Democrats aren’t pushing government-run health care this year (Sacramento Bee)
- Russian River reaches flood stage — evacuations ordered (San Francisco Chronicle)
- California Almond Growers Feel the Sting After Bee Thieves Abscond With Hives (Fortune)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
LOCAL
Hueso, City Attorney Pushing Law to Make Enforcement of Public Records Act Far More Difficult (Voice of San Diego)
Sen. Ben Hueso has written a bill, sponsored by the San Diego city attorney’s office, that would make it much harder for members of the public to take government agencies to court in order to obtain records under the California Public Records Act.
SDCFA Puts Backcountry In Danger, San Diego LAFCO Knows About It Too. (Julian Times)
A Julian Times Special Investigative Report.
Lemon Grove looking at allowing short-term rentals to make money (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lemon Grove is looking into yet another way to bring some money to the cash-strapped city — hoping that short-term vacation rentals will lead to extra Transient Occupancy Tax collections.
`A new day at SANDAG,’ as agency admits it must cut promised projects (Voice of San Diego)
The San Diego Association of Governments admitted Friday it would not finish building everything it promised in 2004, when voters extended a sales tax to pay for highway and transit projects across the county.
La Mesa amends its laws about moving parked cars (San Diego Union-Tribune)
La Mesa is putting its residents on notice that cars cannot stay in one place for more than three days.
George Bailey, East County icon, turns 100 (San Diego-Union Tribune)
George Ferguson Bailey still knows how to draw a crowd. About 80 friends of one of East County’s most influential politicians filled up a little church in La Mesa on Sunday to celebrate his birthday — a very special one. The former La Mesa mayor and San Diego County supervisor turns 100 on Feb. 28.
Major Shake-Up at San Diego’s Water Department (NBC 7)
The city of San Diego announced today a major overhaul of its troubled water department, including the departures of five top directors and managers.
Tribe dips toes into pot trade with dispensary at former Santa Ysabel casino (San Diego Union Tribune)
The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel last month opened a marijuana dispensary inside what once was the tribe’s casino
STATE
Governor Newsom declares state of emergency from winter storms (Patch.com)
The emergency proclamation lists the following counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, and Yolo. It directs the California Department of Transportation to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program and directs the Office of Emergency Services to provide assistance to local governments.
California lawmaker makes aggressive push against local development restrictions (Los Angeles Times)
Citing the increasing cost of housing across California, a Bay Area lawmaker wants to sweep away a host of local restrictions on development in an effort to spur new homebuilding. Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) has introduced new legislation that would block high-cost regions from imposing new prohibitions on housing construction or decreasing the number of homes allowed on certain pieces of land. It would also prohibit local governments in those areas from enforcing requirements that developers install parking spots alongside buildings among a number of other proposals.
It’s Been Snowing in the Desert and People Are Losing Their Minds (Sunset)
Ever seen snow on a cactus? The white stuff is falling on some of the West’s hottest and driest places.
Saying no to the nurses: California Democrats aren’t pushing government-run health care this year (Sacramento Bee)
Many California Democrats say they support single-payer health care, but none introduced a new version of the state’s landmark single-payer bill before a key deadline last week.
Russian River reaches flood stage — evacuations ordered (San Francisco Chronicle)
The second day of a wet and unrelenting storm socked the Bay Area and beyond on Tuesday to drench the North Bay, knock out power to thousands, dump several feet of snow in the Sierra and trigger mandatory evacuations along the Russian River.
California Almond Growers Feel the Sting After Bee Thieves Abscond With Hives (Fortune)
Nearly 200 hives were stolen in early February from a Central Valley orchard