By Janis Mork

“I’m very close to the homeless. They’re people. Not all are troublemakers….. I know several who need help. We need to get tools together for a community committee, so we can get people off the streets and into homes.” – Clifva Budke, Medical Billing Enterprise

“I’ve stated many times that Santee is not a social services business. We’re in potholes, we’re in law enforcement, and we’re in fire fighters. .. I have a problem with the homeless industry.” – Mayor Randy Voepel

March 15, 2013 (Santee)- At Wednesday’s Santee City Council meeting, City Manager Keith Till brought up a report on strategies to reduce  problems related to the transient [homeless] population, sparking a robust discussion on how best to address homelessness in Santee—and whether the solutions should be purely punitive, or include services to help those in need. 

March 7, 2013--(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

• San Diego-based air traffic control errors soar (U-T San Diego) 
• Rising permitting fees driving up housing prices in East County (EC Californian) 
• Manzanita health study (The Alpine Sun) 
• SD’s Share of Federal Homelessness Funding Doesn’t Add Up (Voice of San Diego) 
• San Diego City Council To Consider $600K Settlement Over 2011 Blackout ( KPBS) 
• Mayor recommends funding of homeless shelter, public restrooms (SD CityBeat) 
• Lakeside residents use Facebook for neighborhood watch (Fox)
• Ramona utility demands big money from ratepayers (10 News) 
• Blackbird foot malady poses mystery (U—T San Diego) 
• Cassandra Steppat Crowned Miss La Mesa, City’s First Title-Holder of Color (La Mesa Patch) 
• Call to action: Master plan threatens historic spring house at Collier Park: (La Mesa Today)

STATE

• Former parks employee fined by ethics commission (Sacramento Bee) 
• New bill would separate reform CPUC hierarchy (Sacramento Bee) 
• Republican leaders emphasize Latino candidates (Sacramento Bee)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

December 19, 2012 -- (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

• Mayor Filner calls San Diego Summit in response to Sandy Hook shooting (San Diego Free Press)
• Lemon Grove supports assault weapon ban (U-T San Diego)
• As Loans Come Due, District Asks Ramona Teachers to Sacrifice (Voice of San Diego)
• The $900 million question re: San Diego’s crumbling infrastructure (U-T San Diego)
• Grossmont Students Witness Courtroom Assault By Defendant on Attorney (La Mesa Patch)
• Disgraced U.S. Rep Cunningham released to halfway house (U-T San Diego)
• UC San Diego Researchers Create A 'Designer' Cancer Drug With Algae (KPBS)
• La Mesa party of the century will be pricey, exclusive affair on Jan. 12 (La Mesa Patch)
• Think You Can Fix Local Government? Apply To Be Part of County Grand Jury (La Mesa Patch)
• Gun dealer near Murray Manor School: ‘My heart weighs very heavy’ for town (La Mesa Patch)
• Couple appeals $700 water bills, calls usage claim ‘physically impossible’  ( Ramona Patch) 
• Evaluating Homelessness, as Far as the Eye Can See and Count (Voice of San Diego)
• Who should pay for SDG&E wildfires? (U-T San Diego)
• After just a year, Gingham may be selling (La Mesa Today)

STATE

• Federal appeals court OKs lower payments to Medi-Cal providers (Sacramento Bee)
• Doctors Livid About Medi-Cal Pay Cut  (KPBS)
• San Diego desalinization impact on Calif.  (SFGate )
• California health officials sound alarm over hookah smoking (Reuters)
• UC Suspends Use of Controversial New Logo (KPBS)
• The UC system’s modesty problem (U-T San Diego)
• California wins a round in electricity battle with JPMorgan Chase (Sacramento Bee)
• California state employees involved in bribery, theft, auditor reports (Sacramento Bee)
• Calif. mall on lockdown after shots were fired U-T San Diego)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

• Radiation from Japan disaster found along California coast (ABC)
• If California taxpayers paid up, state’s deficit would disappear (Sacramento Bee)
• High-stakes vote nears in California water waters (KPBS)
• California deer population declines as habitat disappears (Sacramento Bee)

• La Mesa, El Cajon to get armored vehicle (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Program to help chronically homeless showing results (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Abandoned orchards must be monitored for pests (Sacramento Bee)
• 15-year-old Santana High School student injured in crash awakens from coma (Santee Patch)
• U.S. says beware of ads placed by drug smugglers (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• El Cajon City Council fills vacancy (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• La Mesa home prices trending up (La Mesa Today)
• Feds misled by SoCal Edison on San Onofre changes, group says (KPBS) 

Survivors of Human Trafficking/Commercial Sexual Exploitation Among Those Getting Help  

March 18, 2012 (San Diego) -- Four new regional projects have received more than $1.7 million in federal funding for the first time thanks to efforts by County Housing and Community Development, the lead agent for the Regional Continuum of Care.  The new projects will provide transitional and long-term housing and support services for homeless people. 

October 9, 2011 (San Diego) -– As part of its national drive to end veteran homelessness by 2015, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) and its community partners will host a Homeless Veterans Outreach Campaign event on Oct.12, 2011. The event will inform the public about the many programs available for veterans who are currently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in San Diego County.

By Miriam Raftery

November 26, 2010 (San Diego, California) – As temperatures hit record cold Thanksgiving night, San Diego’s homeless still had no winter shelter.

“People are literally freezing out there,” said Bob McElroy, director of the Alpha Project, which helps San Diego’s homeless and mentally ill get off the streets.

Council first considered a shelter in the East Village area, to serve homeless people countywide. (East County has no winter shelter.) Then in October, Council voted to open Golden Hall as a temporary winter shelter—but reneged on that pledge the day after the election, voting to shift the shelter to Barrio Logan instead. But yesterday, workers were still assembling beds—leaving the homeless outside in a bitter cold that dipped below freezing.