EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

January 7, 2014 (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

• Ocotillo, CA – A Wind project without wind (Reviving Gaia)
• 2013 among driest years in decades  ( U-T San Diego)
• Not taking liberties with legislative session (U-T San Diego)
• New mobile app shows San Diego beach conditions and water quality (KPBS)

STATE

• Ruling allows unauthorized immigrants to practice law (U-T San Diego)
• New California Law Requires Doctor's Note For Vaccine Exemptions... But There's An Out (KPBS)

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

LOCAL/REGIONAL

Santee firefighters question chief’s leadership (U-T San Diego)

The Santee City Council has met in closed session to discuss the city manager’s view of firefighter complaints about Chief Robert Leigh, and while no information about the discussion has been made public, city officials say a reorganization of the department is under consideration.

Ocotillo, CA – A Wind project without wind (Reviving Gaia)

People have been talking about the Ocotillo Wind Farm’s poor performance almost as long as the project has been online. One of the most devastating critics has been Ocotillo resident Jim Pelley, who documented the scarcity of wind in a long series of videos. The existence of this chronology was revealed when East County Magazine published links to some of the titles between March 5, 2012, and January 23, 2013. Pelley’s videos indicate that this project, in California’s Imperial County, generated little power throughout the year that followed. Documents from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) show he is right.

2013 among driest years in decades  ( U-T San Diego)

The dome of high pressure that’s been steering most storms away from Southern California since late November will linger until at least Jan. 6th, guaranteeing that 2013 will be among the driest years that San Diego has experienced in the past three decades…

Not taking liberties with legislative session (U-T San Diego)

Bipartisan bill would forbid state from helping NSA . “The National Security Agency’s massive level of spying and indiscriminate collecting of phone and electronic data on all Americans, including more than 38 million Californians, is a direct threat to our liberty and freedom,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, a Torrance Democrat, in a statement.  On Monday, he – and La Mesa Republican Sen. Joel Anderson – introduced the “Fourth Amendment Protection Act.” SB 828 would prohibit the state government, its employees and contractors from assisting the federal government in collecting metadata unless it is “based on a warrant that describes the person, place and thing to be searched.”

New mobile app shows San Diego beach conditions and water quality (KPBS)

The app will allow residents and tourists to check water quality at 80 beaches and waterways. It will be available for smartphones, iPads and tablets.

STATE

Ruling allows unauthorized immigrants to practice law (U-T San Diego)

The California Supreme Court issued its landmark unanimous ruling Thursday.

New California Law Requires Doctor's Note For Vaccine Exemptions... But There's An Out (KPBS)

A new law went into effect Jan. 1 making it a little harder for California students to skip required vaccinations. But there's still an easy way out for parents who don't want their kids to get shots.