Two East County representatives oppose measure; Anderson attacks immigrants as criminals despite actual data on crime rates  

By Miriam Raftery

February 2, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) — Two local legislators have taken stands against SB 54, a measure that would prevent state and local authorities in California from cooperating with federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.

By Sue Strom, ASAP Steering Committee

April 24, 2016 (El Cajon) - A number of residents recently attended a community coffee for State Senator Joel Anderson.  It was hosted by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells on Thursday, April 14th, 2016.

East County News Service

March 10, 2016 (El Cajon) -- As a result of the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association (MHCP) vs. California Department of Education case, Senator Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) sent a letter (full text below) to MHCPA, urging them to take precautions in protecting former and current student’s data and identity: Parents and former students over the age of 18 can object to the court’s ruling before April 1, 2016. More information can be found on the California Department of Education’s website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/morganhillcase.asp.

By Miriam Raftery

February 21, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Joel Anderson has announced that he is withdrawing from his race to unseat Supervisor Dianne Jacob.  Anderson indicated that he will instead file to run the 2^nd Supervisorial District in 2020, when it will be an open seat due to term limits.

September 23, 2015 (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/REGIONAL

• Documents detail how nuclear material was handled at San Onofre (KNSD-7)
• Incomes rise, but poverty remains a problem (U-T San Diego)
• Sculptor's eviction means end of jumping mustangs (U-T San Diego)
• Lieutenant sues over reassignment (U-T San Diego)
• Regents reject intolerance statement  (U-T San Diego)
•  Ranch to the rescue for pot-bellied pigs (Ramona Sentinel)
• Local health insurance coverage rises to 88% under Obamacare (Times of San Diego)
• Local Water Agencies Are Making Moves to Take Control of Costs, Supply (Voice of San Diego)
• County pays $1M Sierra Club legal fees (U-T San Diego)
• Anderson Could Run for Three Different Seats in Six Years (Voice of San Diego)
• Sempra wins one showdown with Mexican rancher (U-T San Diego)
• Pension boss gets unemployment on top of $250,000 severance (U-T San Diego)
• Weber: Schools Need New Thinking — Not New Buildings (Voice of San Diego)
• La Mesan Claudia Sandoval Named Masterchef  (La Mesa Today)
• Poway Unified Might Re-Hire Controversial Bond Consultants  (Voice of SD)

STATE

• State panel outlaws ‘dark money’ in political campaigns (Los Angeles Times)
• Where have all the cops gone? (Desert Sun)
• Crowdfunding for wildfire victims: A new solution to an old problem? (CS Monitor)
• Deal would let Southern California buy surplus water from Nevada (Reuters)
•  As wildfires spread, the contractors are called in (APM Marketplace)

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

East County News Service

Photo: People with developmental disabilities, their families and caregivers rally outside Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins’ office in San Diego on September 1st.

September 6, 2015 (San Diego)—Over 24,000 people with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial Counties rely on state services to survive.  Yet California’s funding levels have fallen to the lowest in the nation, according to the Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA).

Update, August 21, 2015:  Donna Tisdale notified us that the backcountry "celebration over the death of Soitec's Boulevard projects was a bit premature. Today, County staff informed me that Soitec is going to remove the 160 cargo containers full of potentially toxic batteries from their Rugged Solar project and will resubmit the revised EIR for certification by the Board of Supervisors. (Back in February, Soitec self-terminated their Tierra Del Sol Solar project just 1 month after receiving Board approval due to a lack of buyers.) Staff is trying to docket the revised EIR for the Board agenda by October so they can meet the Court's order to report back by November 2nd on how they plan to comply," adds Tisdale, who concludes, "The battle to save the backcountry continues."

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: A Soitec solar panel in Newbury Springs, California

August 20, 2015 (Boulevard) – The last of four massive solar projects proposed by Soitec Solar in Boulevard may now be officially dead.

On August 7^th, Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil  overturned County Supervisors’ approvals of Soitec’s Rugged Acres and Tierra del Sol projects,  because the approvals violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)  Soitec and the County failed to file an appeal by the August 14^th deadline, says Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group and founder of Backcountry Against Dumps, which filed the lawsuit aiming to halt the project. View the court's judgment.

“Soitec’s Boulevard projects, approved for 1,200 acres, are now dead and buried!” Tisdale wrote in an email to project opponents. Any new projects proposed for those sites would need to start all over at step one,” requiring a new environmental impacts review, a lengthy and costly process. “I have asked the County for details on when they will set aside their voided approvals, as mandated by the court,” Tisdale added.

Anderson running against Supervisor Jacob, but refuses to answer questions about his special interest ties

A podcast of this interview is now online. Listen now at:  http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/lckbr8zs0o/Newsmaker-BiggersTom-AndersonVoter.mp3

Hear the full show from Feb. 23, 2015 here: http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/octrm252x1/ECMShow2-23-15.mp3



This interview originally aired Monday, February 23rd on KNJS 89.1 FM during our East County Magazine show which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m.. You can also listen live at www.knsj.org or download the TuneIn Ap to hear KNSJ on your cell phone.

By Miriam Raftery

February 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—State Senator Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has been endorsed by the County Republican Party for his candidacy challenging East County’s Dianne Jacob for her seat on the County Board of Supervisors next year.  But increasingly, media and constituents are raising serious questions about Anderson’s motives for running and his close ties to special interests—questions that Anderson has refused to answer.

Thomas Biggers is a constituent who voted for Anderson previously.  But after doing some research, he became concerned and visited Anderson’s local office. He asked four questions--which led Anderson's staffer to ban Biggers from the office:

Listen to our interview with Frank Tsimboukakis, now online at:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

October 9, 2014 (San Diego's East County)-- Frank Tsimboukakis, candidate for State Senate running against incumbent Senator Joel Anderson, sat down for an interview with the East County Magazine Show. The interview originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio on October 1st and is now available online at the link above.

Tsimboukakis talked about his goals if elected, drawing clear distinctions between himself and his opponent on issues ranging from education affordability to jobs. He also questioned Anderson's slogan as a "tax fighter" given that Anderson has had multiple tax liens filed in the past, both personal and business, including business tax liens that records indicate have never been paid. 

For more information, click "read more" and scroll down.

"Politics in Paradise" showcases hot issues--and partisan divide in East County

Story and photos by Sharon Penny

Hear an audio report by Janis Russell: http://kiwi6.com/file/t3ud7qryhp

Photo, left to right:  CA Senator Joel Anderson, County Treasurer Dan McAllister, Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Assemblyman Brian Jones, Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom, and Congressman Duncan Hunter

August 8, 2014 (El Cajon)--Six East County politicians participated in a lively question and answer session under the stars at Cuyamaca College's Water Conservation Garden during a mild summer evening on August 7.

The location for the annual event hosted by the joint Chambers ofCommerce in East County was apropos because the state’s water issue was a hot topic discussed by local leaders. The site exemplified ways that constituents could help with the current drought. Other issues debated at the event were welfare, immigration, the local craft beer industry, using public pension funds to invest in affordable housing, providing incentives to private developers, Proposition 13, high-speed rail, and even Shamu.

Listen online here from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wed. April 16: http://knsj.org/knsjpopup.html

Hot topics:

• ECM special investigative report on Sheriff response times. How safe is your community?

• Solar leader Daniel Sullivan says "absolutely" industrial wind/solar projects in our backcountry are not needed. We can produce more clean power for less money AND save our scenic areas. Find out what must change to stop this senseless devastation.

• Frank Tsimboukakis, candidate challenging State Senator Joel Anderson, takes stand against big energy projects in our region and shares his plan to eliminate tuitions at public universities and colleges in California.

• Ariele Johannsen’s Destination East County tells you about the hottest events coming up—from a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt to Lakeside's Western Days, a wine-and-rails ride through our backcountry and many others.

All this and more on this Wednesday's East County Magazine show!

You can listen online at the link above (it may take a few moments to load, after you click the play button) or on KNSJ 89.1 FM at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2014 (Sacramento)—Two California legislators have teamed up in an effort to curtail the National Security Agency (NSA) from warrantless surveillance of all Americans.  Senate Bill 828 is coauthored by  Republican State Senators Joel Anderson, who represents most of East County, and Democrat Ted Lieu from Torrance.

“I support this bill because I support the Constitution, our Fourth Amendment rights and our freedoms to live in the United States of America,” Senator Anderson stated in a press release.

The bill would prohibit state agencies and officials, as well as corporations that provide services to the state, from assisting the NSA in collecting data without warrants on 38 million Californians. Services that the NSA relies upon include power and water needed to cool its powerful supercomputers. 

November 18, 2013 (El Cajon) – Senator Joel Anderson cordially invites the public to a “Holiday Open House” at Toyota of El Cajon, 965 Arnele Avenue, on Thursday, November 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  The holiday season is a time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year. This open house will provide you with the opportunity to receive a 2013 legislative update and to submit your ideas to improve the state government.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.senate.ca.gov/anderson or email senator.anderson@senate.ca.gov. You may also call the El Cajon District Office at (619) 596-3136.

“SB 33 is being used by wealthy absentee landowners, foreign corporations, and investor-owned San Diego Gas & Electric to industrialize over 10,000 acres of our predominantly low-income and highly fire-prone rural community of Boulevard.” -- Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – SB 33, a bill that could force voters to pay for big energy projects through bond measures even if the majority of voters don't approve such projects,  is moving forward in the state legislature. The bill has passed the State Senate and is set for hearing June 12 in the Assembly Local Government Committee. It could have a big impact in East County communities such as  Boulevard, where big energy companies have engaged in a stealth campaign to stick voters with the bill for projects they don't want.

April 20, 2013 (San Diego’s East County ) – Senator Joel Anderson has called for a change in leadership at Caltrans, citing an independent state auditor’s report that suggests a “pattern of abuse, theft and mismanagement” under the leadership of Acting Director Malcolm Dougherty.

The study, the latest in a string of critical reports on Caltrans, found that employees falsified safety reports on bridges, jeopardizing lives, as well as stealing property.  Salaries on Dougherty’s watch also rose to over $100,000 for the department’s 20,000 employees while road conditions deteriorated, Anderson charged, contending that the agency has become a “laughingstock.”