EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

East County News Service

March 22, 2017 (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

• Lakeside district rethinks decision to remove principals (CBS 8)
• San Miguel Fire District halts plans for new station (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sempra Services lobbyists met with San Diego officials, potentially violating state ban (KPBS)
• El Cajon gives out grant funds to several local groups (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump budget: San Diego faces housing cuts (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The City of San Diego takes first step toward committee on homelessness (Reporting San Diego)
• San Diego police go after drugged drivers with new mouth swab test (SD Union-Tribune)
• San Diego gets bonanza of nonstop routes (SD Union-Tribune)
• MTS boss gets raise as agency considers fare increases (SD Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Big L.A. earthquake could cause beach areas to sink up to 3 feet in seconds, study finds (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California state senators to unveil major criminal justice legislation (Sacramento Bee)
• Will California farms find enough workers amid Trump’s immigration crackdown? (Sacramento Bee)
• This California Democrat is proposing a tax on millionaires to make public colleges tuition-free for in-state students (Los Angeles Times)
• Why are Californians so happy? (CS Monitor)
• Harris pleads for Medi-Cal kids, but critics decry a welfare state (KPBS)

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

LOCAL

Lakeside district rethinks decision to remove principals (CBS 8)

News of potential pink slips did not go ever well. And Monday night, the school board got an earful from the community. Lakeside Union School board ultimately rescinded the reassignment notices, which were issued last week to all the district's principals and vice principals.

San Miguel Fire District halts plans for new station (San Diego Union-Tribune)

T he San Miguel Consolidated Fire District Board has decided not to build a new fire station in El Cajon near the Lakeside border. Board members voted 4-3 to stop a plan that has been in the works for three years. The property is less than a mile away from a new Lakeside Fire District station on Winter Gardens Boulevard.

Sempra Services lobbyists met with San Diego officials, potentially violating state ban (KPBS)

State officials say lobbyists for Sempra Energy's new marketing division, Sempra Services, may have violated state law by meeting with some San Diego elected officials. That’s because Sempra Services has not received full approval from the state agency that oversees utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission.

El Cajon gives out grant funds to several local groups (San Diego Union-Tribune)

El Cajon estimates it will receive about $1.2 million in community development block grants this year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development… Cities with more than 50,000 residents are eligible, and groups receiving money must spend it on activities that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

Trump budget: San Diego faces housing cuts (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego’s poorest renters could be hit hardest under a $6.2 billion cut proposed by the Trump administration for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The City of San Diego takes first step toward committee on homelessness (Reporting San Diego)

The Council approved two reports on homelessness, and will refer the creation of a select committee on Homeless to the April 5 meeting of the Rules Committee. This first step for the city to deal with what has become a human-made disaster. This committee will explore different ways to address the emergency, including the creation of affordable housing units.

San Diego police go after drugged drivers with new mouth swab test (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A mouth-swab device that is already being used by police departments in more than a dozen states and is expected to become more popular with the legalization of marijuana.

San Diego gets bonanza of nonstop routes (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Alaska Airlines is yet again stepping up its presence in San Diego, announcing Wednesday it will add six more domestic nonstop routes, the first of which will start in August.

MTS boss gets raise as agency considers fare increases (San Diego Union-Tribune)

…The move comes at a time when system wide ridership is down, with passenger fare revenue 5.9 percent below projections in the first half of the 2017 fiscal year, according to a presentation for MTS board members.

STATE

Big L.A. earthquake could cause beach areas to sink up to 3 feet in seconds, study finds (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A new study suggests that Southern California’s Newport-Inglewood fault has a greater earthquake risk than previously believed.

California state senators to unveil major criminal justice legislation (Sacramento Bee)

… Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, are expected to announce legislation – eight bills in total – that seek to keep kids out of the juvenile justice system and address what the lawmakers characterized as “inequity” for juveniles and adults

Will California farms find enough workers amid Trump’s immigration crackdown? (Sacramento Bee)

Concerned farm owners and farmworkers strategize over immigration.

This California Democrat is proposing a tax on millionaires to make public colleges tuition-free for in-state students (Los Angeles Times)

To tackle concerns about college affordability, a Democratic legislator is proposing to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for all Californians, and wants to tax millionaires to do it… Eggman's proposal would impose a 1% tax on incomes over $1 million to help pay for the approximate $2.2-billion price tag to cover tuition and fees for all in-state students in conjunction with existing aid.

Why are Californians so happy? (CS Monitor)

Eight of the top 10 happiest US cities are in California, according to a new analysis of the 150 biggest cities in the country.  WalletHub researchers, including Professor Hirschl, compared 150 cities … Emotional and physical well-being included factors like adequate sleep, sports participation, and suicide rates. The category of income and employment looked at the poverty rate, work hours, and job security in a given city, among other factors. The community and environment dimension investigated levels of volunteerism, ideal weather, and daily leisure time.

Harris pleads for Medi-Cal kids, but critics decry a welfare state (KPBS)

Newly minted California Sen. Kamala Harris recently tweeted her warning about the doom to befall her state’s children if the GOP’s health care replacement cuts federal Medicaid spending…Harris probably didn't expect the hostility and ridicule that erupted in response. Dozens of tweets poured in suggesting that California’s policies are overly generous and expand health care to those who don’t need it, wasting taxpayer money.