February 9, 2023  (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• In State of the County speech, Board Chair Nora Vargas pledges to boost housing, small businesses and air quality (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• ‘We are not forgotten’: Formerly deported veterans become U.S. citizens in special San Diego ceremony (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• After the Vaccine, Republicans Became Far More Likely to Die with Covid-19 Than Democrats (Voice of San Diego)
• Here come the flowers (Borrego Sun)
• Reopened Chamber rebuilds (The Alpine Sun)
• Change in towing policy coming to San Diego (KPBS)
• Rincon reclaims power from state to oversee its gaming (Valley Roadrunner)
• Sharp data breach impacts nearly 6,300 (Fox 5 San Diego)

STATE

• California won't require COVID vaccine to attend schools (KPBS)
• The winter storms in California will boost water allocations for the state's cities  (AP)
• New Bill Would Mandate California Gun Owners Purchase Liability Insurance (Times of San Diego)
• President Biden Approves Emergency Aid for California in Wake of Deadly Storms (Times of San Diego)
• New cars in California must be zero-emissions by 2035. Can the power grid handle it?  (NPR)

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

December 21, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Covid Year Two: Deaths More than Doubled in Lakeside, and Went Down Virtually Everywhere Else (Voice of San Diego)
• Nathan Fletcher Stepping Down as Supervisor Chair (Voice of San Diego)
• Is SANDAG’s majority changing? Not so fast. (SD Rostra)
• Upgrade costs for Carlsbad desalination plant will be passed along to San Diego ratepayers  (KPBS)
• Blood bank puts out urgent call for donations; supplies 'dangerously' low  (KPBS)
• Russians find asylum lifeline to US, but at a high price (KPBS)
• Balboa Park needs nearly half a billion dollars to be brought up to modern standards (KPBS)
• Mail-in ballots constitute 90% of San Diego County's certified election results  (KPBS)
• San Diego City launches Regional Cyber Lab to bolster local cybersecurity  (KPBS)

STATE

• Southern California home prices dip in November (Los Angeles Times)
• $24 billion projected budget deficit may test California’s resolve to grow safety net amid recession (KPBS)
• Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes parts of northern California  (AP)
• Newsom slams Republicans for blocking immigration reform on visit to Mexican border (Los Angeles Times)
• So long, California: Major county votes to study secession (KPBS)

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

December 4, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Poison pill: San Diego County’s battle against fentanyl (NBC San Diego)
• San Diego Has the Highest Rate of Whooping Cough in California  (NBC San Diego)
• East County Company Pleads Guilty To Selling Fake COVID Cleaner (Patch)
• Threatened coastal railroad is San Diego’s only link to national military rail network. What if it shuts down? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Construction begins in Poway on statewide high-speed internet project (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The veteran who helped disarm the gunman at gay club says he followed his instincts (NPR)
• Data: no exact link between homeless voucher use, crime increase (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego to Release 250 Million Gallons of Water From Hodges Reservoir Into Nearby River (NBC 7)
• Musgrove Heads to Antarctica Not Just to Set World Record, But to Benefit Challenged Athletes (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought funding (KPBS)
• The shadow race is on to succeed Feinstein (Politico)
• Big tobacco tries to stop California flavored tobacco ban (KPBS)

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

October 16, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• East County School Coach Investigated For Alleged Sexual Misconduct (Patch.com)
• Fate of more Than 100 pet pigs abandoned in Santa Ysabel still unclear  (KPBS)
• 'Invisible' crime of extortion takes a heavy toll on Tijuana, according to new study(KPBS)
• Buonasera Cucina To Replace Trattoria Tiramisu In San Diego's La Mesa (San Diegoville
• Metrolink, Amtrak suspend train service to Oceanside because of unstable slope (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• New California housing laws let builders convert commercial property more easily  (NPR)
• California could ban gas furnaces and gas water heaters  (KPBS)
• California agencies float Colorado river water cuts proposal (AP)
• A California project would store solar energy to use when the sun goes down  (NPR)
• San Diego researchers probe underwater chemical dump (KPBS)
• Did Incumbent Democrat Schaefer give $30K to buy Republican support? (Sacto Politico)
• California governor approves farmworker unionization law (AP)
• Ex-PG&E execs to pay $117M to settle lawsuit over wildfires (AP)
•  New California abortion laws set up clash with other states(KPBS)

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“Those of us living in San Diego County already pay the highest  electrical rates in the nation, and they’ll go even higher with an added bill from Diablo Canyon cost.” –Senator Brian Jones

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Diablo Canyon; Creative Commons license by Tracey Adams

September 9, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee) has issued blistering condemnation of SB 846, a bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom which aims to keep open the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for five years beyond the scheduled 2025 closure date. But the bill also authorizes a $1.4 billion loan to the plant’s operator, Pacific Gas & Electric, and opens the door for potential rate hikes statewide.

“”I voted against electricity rate hikes and the $1.4 billion gift to PG&E – I did not vote against Diablo Canyon and nuclear power,” says Senator Jones, in an editorial sent to media outlets.

June 28, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Santee divvies up extra Covid money to tackle homelessness by the river (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sheriff’s Department makes changes to health care services, drug-treatment programs for inmates (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Plane crashes while landing at Gillespie Field; no injuries reported (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump Aide and Ex-San Diego Politician Peter Navarro Indicted on Contempt of Congress Charges (Times of San Diego)
• Some San Diego police claim a COVID swab test violates their religion (KPBS)
• As housing prices skyrocket, La Mesa won’t raise fees to improve parks
• Seized Russian Superyacht Docks In San Diego (Patch)

STATE

• 'California Dream for All' program could help thousands of first-time home buyers (CBS)
• California Voters to Weigh Constitutional Right to Abortion (NBC 7)
• California’s COVID-19 case rate jumps again as new subvariants spread throughout state (Sacramento Bee)
• California may require labels on pot products to warn of mental health risks (NPR)

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

May 24, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• 20% of region’s homeless live in East County, data shows (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lemon Grove residents would have an easier time building accessory units under proposal (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Media, legislators sound alarm on law enforcement radio encryption (North Coast Current)
• No boating or fishing at Lake Hodges while dam is repaired (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Two San Diego tribes receive grants to broaden high-speed internet access

STATE

• First possible Cailfornia monkeypox case reported in Sacramento County (10 News)
• CA Minimum Wage Pushed Up By Unprecedented Inflation Trigger (Patch)
• California could see mandatory water cuts amid drought (10 News)
• California's under-21 gun sales ban is unconstitutional, court says  (NPR)
• Toni Atkins vows to enshrine a woman’s right to choose in California (KPBS)
• Plot to Blow Up Democratic Headquarters Exposed California Extremists Hiding in Plain Sight

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

International Scientists Warn: Time to Fight Climate Change is Now

By Suzanne Potter

Story and photo from California News Service, originally published April 5, 2022

April 11, 2022 (Sacramento) --State and international reports on the effects of climate change are out this week, urging government efforts fighting climate change to speed up significantly if the world is to avoid the worst effects, from megafires and drought, to sea level rise and floods.

In a report released April 4, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said countries need to cut carbon emissions by 43% in the next eight years.

Lauren Sanchez, senior climate adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, said California is taking a "whole-of-government approach."

"The world's leading climate scientists have made it clear," Sanchez asserted. "Our window to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis is narrowing faster than expected, and success requires unprecedented collective effort and transformational change."

March 2, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Some school districts in rural San Diego County can’t catch a break with COVID  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego restaurants pull Russian vodka and wear flags of solidarity to protest war in Ukraine (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego passes San Francisco as least affordable city in the United States (KUSI)
• Baber announces he won’t seek reelection in La Mesa (SD Rostra)
• San Diego's Decades-Old Valley Farms Market Closes BBQ Shack & Releases Plans For New Brewery Restaurant (SanDiegoVille)
• Anger surfaces at SDSU over rule requiring faculty to include Kumeyaay acknowledgment in syllabi (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego firefighter dies of COVID-19 complications (10 News)
• Trial Ordered For Man Accused Of Killing Ex's Twin Daughters (Patch)

STATE

• Will Russia’s attack on Ukraine push gas and food prices even higher? (Los Angeles Times)
• Fast-moving wildfire grows to 500 acres in Cleveland National Forest (Los Angeles Times)
• More college freshmen want to attend University of California schools (San Jose Mercury)
• San Francisco voters recall 3 school board members  (NPR)
• Newsom Rips Into Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Calling Them “Propaganda Networks”; Announces New State Unit To Combat Misinformation (Yahoo News)

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

February 3, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• California to pay for wildfire retrofits up to $40,000 per home, starting with rural San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Federal agency confirms San Diego has the highest electricity rates in the country (CBS 8)
• San Diego unemployment rate sinks. Here are the industries that are hiring (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• SDG&E Rates Have Gone Up — a LOT — and Here's Why (NBC 7)
• San Diego representatives prepare for primary challenges in new districts (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Taylor Guitars: A San Diego Success Story – Owners Leave Legacy in the Hands of Employees (San Diego Business Journal)
• Arson Suspected In Fire That Damaged Supervisor Fletcher's Home (Patch)
• From the Inside: San Diego County jail inmates describe filthy conditions, few COVID-19 protections (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego-born fundraising firms unite: GoFundMe Buying Nonprofit Fundraising Platform Classy (San Diego Business Journal)

STATE

• Don’t have a 401(k) through work? Californians have CalSavers and other options (Los Angeles Times)
• Teens could get vaccinated against parents’ wishes under proposed California law (Sacramento Bee)
• Kamala Harris announces wildfire money in California visit  (Los Angeles Times)
• December storms allow for ‘modest increase’ in state water deliveries  (Los Angeles Times)
• California judge delays enforcement of part of new bacon law (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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

January 9, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• County warns of fake COVID-19 testing sites (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• New district maps pit some San Diego Assemblymembers against each other (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego gains a state senator under new California voting districts ((San Diego)
• Ambulances forced to wait longer as COVID fills up emergency rooms  (KPBS)
• San Diegans Turn to Private COVID-19 Testing Companies As Demand Soars (NBC 7)
• Border wait times swell as staffing shortages plague inspections booths (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Internet Hall of Fame inducts local (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• A plan to offer COVID-19 survivor benefits could pave the way for California ‘baby bonds’  (Los Angeles Times)
• California 2022 ballot will be heavy on health care (San Jose Mercury News)
• Kind of ridiculous’: Snowy foothills face very long waits for PG&E to restore power (Sacramento Bee)
• Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state storm emergency in multiple counties (Sacramento Bee)

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

December 6, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Trial begins for former La Mesa police officer accused of lying on report (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Arsonist Who Set Fire to Chase Bank in La Mesa Sentenced to Probation (NBC San Diego)
• Lemon Grove Councilmember Liana LeBaron files complaint against city manager, city attorney (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego’s burrowing owls get new homes at Ramona Grasslands after sprawl drove them away (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• 'Making malicious threats'| CEO of Sullivan Solar Power arrested on felony stalking charges (CBS 8)
• Daniel Sullivan of Sullivan Solar Power a no-show at bail review hearing (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Santana Student Raped Countless Times in Early 1980s by Counselor, Suit Alleges (Times of San Diego)
• Black job applicant in San Diego sues company for discrimination over hairstyle (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Police investigating several flash mob thefts in California (10 News)
• Rain, snow and chill are heading to Southern California this week (Los Angeles Times)
• ‘There is nothing alive on that tree’: Inside a giant sequoia grove scorched by the KNP Complex fire  (Los Angeles Times)
• Derby winner Medina Spirit collapses, dies in California (San Jose Mercury News)

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

November 12, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Invasion of privacy or crime prevention? Santee considers new camera program (Fox 5)
• Common Cause warns El Cajon it may be violating state election law (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Poway Unified School District received death threats, board meetings now virtual (10 News)
• EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Deputies’ Survey Airs Concerns, Resistance to Vaccines & Reforms (La Prensa)
• Rural Residents Largely on Their Own Negotiating Over Clean Energy Projects (Times of San Diego)
• La Mesa baker gets called into the spotlight (La Mesa Courier)
• The Pentagon released a new report showing….San Diego County receives more money from the Pentagon than almost any other county in the country.  (KPBS)
• Photographer lost 'entire life' in truck theft outside El Cajon theater (10 News)
• Recall effort launched against Poway Mayor Steve Vaus (10 News)

STATE

• Gavin Newsom reveals why he canceled Scotland trip: His kids staged an ‘intervention’ (Sacramento Bee)
• COVID-19 has cost LAFD $22.5 million in overtime, much of it to cover for sick firefighters (Los Angeles Times)
• Satellites reveal the secrets of water-guzzling farms in California (NPR)
• Can California Tourism Survive Climate Change? (New York Times)

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

August 9, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• San Diego parent group sues state to end school mask mandate (San Diego Unon-Tribune)
• San Diego County substitute teacher, Boy Scout leader arrested on child pornography charges (10 News)
• Navy Charges Sailor With Starting USS Bonhomme Richard Fire (Patch.com)
• San Diego County to employees: Get the COVID-19 vaccine or get tested regularly (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• After Caltrans takes down 100 American flags, Lakeside residents put them back up (10 News)

STATE

• California says federal ‘let it burn’ policy is reckless as wildfires rage out of control (Los Angeles Times)
• Thousands of California residents are ordered to evacuate as the Dixie Fire nears 500,000 acres (CNN)
• Map: Dixie Fire perimeter and evacuation (San Jose Mercury News)
• California's PG&E to bury 10,000 miles of power lines to prevent wildfires (Reuters)
• California orders vaccine or testing for health care workers, state employees (Cal Matters)
• Newsom’s biggest recall danger: Complacent Democrats who don’t turn out to vote (Los Angeles Times)
• Half of California community college students lack money for food. New funding aims to help  (Sacramento Bee)

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

July 10, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• County Nixed Spending $1.5 million for Fire Retrofits in Backcountry (iNewsSource)
• Number of Delta variants in San Diego County more than doubles in a week (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Search on for trio who broke into popular San Diego restaurant DZ Akins (10 News)
•  State auditor to investigate deaths in San Diego County jails (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• La Mesa’s new police chief didn’t let tough childhood drag him down (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• U.C. San Diego forced to cut out of state admissions (KPBS)

STATE

• Delta variant now California’s dominant coronavirus strain (Los Angeles Times)
• Gov. Newsom files lawsuit against his secretary of state over recall filing 'mistake' (KCRA)
• Gavin Newsom recall election date officially set: California voters to cast ballots in September
• FEMA Rejected 95% Of Aid Applicants During California's Last Wildfire Disaster. Why? (NPR)

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