EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

February 5, 2024 (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 round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• State Superintendent tours flood damaged schools in Spring Valley  (CBS 8)
• Lemon Grove City Council member again arrested for violating temporary restraining order (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego MTS to Increase Officers, Improve Security on Public Transit  (Times of San Diego)
• Convicted Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Federal Prison  (Times of San Diego)
• New Instagram DMs and an MTS Letter Shed Light on the Nathan Fletcher Scandal (Voice of San Diego)
• Will disastrous flooding force San Diego to finally fix its storm drains? (KPBS)
• ‘Where's the help?' San Diego residents blame a debris-filled Chollas Creek for flooded homes (NBC San Diego)
• Thousands of acres once envisioned for Otay Ranch housing will instead be preserved (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego exempts police databases, security cameras from surveillance transparency law — with more changes likely  (KPBS)
• Former Border Patrol agent admits taking bribes to help drugs, people cross border while on duty – (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego spearfisherman hailed as hero for saving neighbors from floodwaters (NBC San Diego)

STATE

• The Los Angeles Times plunges into ‘chaos’ as brutal layoffs loom and senior editors call it quits (CNN)
• Life-threatening’ storm to inundate Southern California beginning Sunday, last for days (Los Angeles Times)
• Parents’ lawsuit forces California to spend $2 billion on learning loss. Here’s what will change (Cal Matters)
• FEMA Can’t Pay Undocumented Disaster Victims. California Is Stepping In (Wall St. Journal)

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

LOCAL

State Superintendent tours flood damaged schools in Spring Valley  (CBS 8)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond's first stop was Bancroft Elementary, a school that was so badly damaged by the January 22nd storm, that the entire student body, roughly 450 students, were temporarily moved to a different school.

Lemon Grove City Council member again arrested for violating temporary restraining order (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Liana LeBaron, a Lemon Grove City Council member, was taken into custody earlier this month on suspicion of violating a protective order, Sheriff’s Department records show.

San Diego MTS to Increase Officers, Improve Security on Public Transit  (Times of San Diego)

Following a passenger survey that revealed requests for security improvements, the MTS Board signed off last year on a $4.2 million increase to its security budget, the agency said. MTS’s 2024 transit security initiative will include a 60% increase in the number of security officers throughout the MTS system.

Convicted Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Federal Prison  (Times of San Diego)

A man who robbed the same La Mesa bank twice in the span of nearly 11 years was sentenced Friday to 57 months in federal prison. /Asim Shakir Daniels pleaded guilty last year to robbing a Bank of the West in La Mesa on Jan. 4, 2022, as well as a Sun Community Federal Credit Union in the Imperial County city of Holtville one day earlier.

New Instagram DMs and an MTS Letter Shed Light on the Nathan Fletcher Scandal (Voice of San Diego)

Recent filings in a lawsuit against disgraced former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher shed new light on his relationship with ex-MTS employee Grecia Figueroa, as well as Figueroa’s firing.  

Will disastrous flooding force San Diego to finally fix its storm drains? (KPBS)

Hundreds of San Diegans are assessing the damage caused by Monday's flash floods, which washed away cars, caused a sinkhole in Miramar and blanketed homes and streets in Southcrest with mud and debris. The intense rainfall in the span of just a few hours laid bare the longstanding inadequacies of San Diego's stormwater infrastructure. And it provided a glimpse into the future, when climate change is likely to hit low-income communities of color the hardest.

‘Where's the help?' San Diego residents blame a debris-filled Chollas Creek for flooded homes (NBC San Diego)

"This problem is for the city. The city hasn’t cleaned the canyon for 40 years that I’ve lived on this property… nobody does," one resident said.

Thousands of acres once envisioned for Otay Ranch housing will instead be preserved (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Nearly 1,300 acres of wildland in southwest San Diego County once envisioned for housing development will remain undisturbed under a successful land swap. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has acquired and will manage the swath of land where a developer had planned to build more than 1,000 homes just east of Chula Vista and south of Jamul along Proctor Valley Road.

San Diego exempts police databases, security cameras from surveillance transparency law — with more changes likely  (KPBS)

San Diego’s City Council on Tuesday approved substantial changes to the city’s regulation of surveillance technology used by police and other departments, despite vocal opposition from privacy rights advocates.

Former Border Patrol agent admits taking bribes to help drugs, people cross border while on duty – (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 A former San Diego-area U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to bribery and drug charges, admitting that he was paid at least $110,000 to use his position to help smuggle drugs and undocumented immigrants across the border from Mexico.

San Diego spearfisherman hailed as hero for saving neighbors from floodwaters (NBC San Diego)

A San Diego man’s efforts to unclog a storm drain helped save his neighbors who were threatened by rising floodwaters.

STATE

The Los Angeles Times plunges into ‘chaos’ as brutal layoffs loom and senior editors call it quits (CNN)

The Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong-owned newspaper, which houses the largest newsroom in the western U.S., has been thrown into a state of mayhem as severe layoffs loom and senior editorial leaders abruptly call it quits.

Life-threatening’ storm to inundate Southern California beginning Sunday, last for days (Los Angeles Times)

The dangerous, intense storm will move into Southern California this weekend, lingering for days and bringing the potential for widespread flooding, power outages, downed trees and debris flows.

Parents’ lawsuit forces California to spend $2 billion on learning loss. Here’s what will change (Cal Matters)

Learning loss during the pandemic hit California’s low-income students hardest. An agreement requires the state to focus spending there.

FEMA Can’t Pay Undocumented Disaster Victims. California Is Stepping In (Wall St. Journal)

The Golden State created an aid program to help undocumented communities devastated by floods. Critics say the state can’t afford it.