EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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April 27, 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

STATE

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

LOCAL

State's Dept. of Toxic Substances Control Takes Over Investigation of El Cajon Toxic Plume (NBC)

The investigation, done by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, was in a transition process to California's Department of Toxic Substance Control

Mexico floats retaliatory strike against border wall: an entry fee for vacationing Americans (IJR)

Mexico saw over 11 million international tourists between January and April of 2016, and the majority were from the United States. Between January and October of 2016, nearly 8 million Americans vacationed in Mexico.

SANDAG’s Investigation Might Not Investigate Several Major Issues (Voice of SD)

…Here are three big questions about the investigation that could be clarified as more details into the probe come available.

Paralyzed vet gets first robotic legs in San Diego VA (San Diego Union-Tribune)

one minute, Lt. j.g. Brandon Myers was a hard-charging Navy officer gunning it through the Naval Special Warfare obstacle course in Coronado. The next minute, he was falling from a tall vertical cargo net. Landing hard, he hasn’t felt his legs or pelvis since. Now 28-year-old Myers is the first San Diego U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patient to be issued a pair of robotic legs that allow him to walk fully upright again — if only for a few hours a day.

Water authority members meet more in private than public (U-T Watchdog)

Members of the San Diego County Water Authority met behind closed doors more than 100 times last year — four times as often as they met in public. 

Public safety costing more, says Fire Chief  (Ramona Sentinel)

The challenge of funding Ramona Fire Department and maintaining its level of service while costs continue to escalate was the focus of an informational workshop presented to Ramona Municipal Water District directors, who were told the problem is not unique to the community.

Did Trump and military lie about San Diego warship rushing to North Korea? (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Allegedly ordered to hurry to North Korea as a show of force to deter despot Kim Jong-Un from testing a nuclear weapon, the U.S. Navy Third Fleet’s Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group instead ended up in Australia last week — nearly 4,900 miles away from where it was officially supposed to be.

Apartment Developer Buys Hallowed San Diego Hospice Site (KPBS)

The former San Diego Hospice campus on Third Avenue in Hillcrest has been sold for $20 million to a Houston developer, Camden, USA Inc.

STATE

The trees that make California shady and green are dying. Fast. (Los Angeles Times)

T he trees that shade, cool and feed people from Ventura County to the Mexican border are dying so fast that within a few years it’s possible the region will look, feel, sound and smell much less pleasant...Botanists in recent years have documented insect and disease infestations as they’ve hop-scotched about the region, devastating Griffith Park’s sycamores and destroying over 100,000 willows in San Diego County’s Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, for example.

Unarmed intercontinental missile test fired from California amid tensions with North Korea (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Air Force test fired an unarmed intercontinental missile from central California early Wednesday — a common event that took on deeper meaning due to deepening political tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Marinelli to leave for Russia; CalExit ends (Reporting San Diego)

You remember the heady days after the election when a group of people said that they wanted to mount an independence movement for California?... Louis Marinelli is not only stopping the effort but calling Moscow, Russian Federation, his next home address….He made it quite clear as well, “Consequently, if the people of Russia would be so kind as to welcome me here on a permanent basis, I intend to make Russia my new home.”

Gunman targeting white men kills 3 in Fresno, California (Reuters)

A gunman who went by the nickname Black Jesus killed three white men in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, and fired at another before he was taken into custody while shouting "Allahu Akhbar," police said. / The suspect, 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting last week of an unarmed security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno.

BART takeover robbery: 40 to 60 teens swarm train, rob weekend riders (SF Chronicle)

A recent string of robberies on BART trains took a frightening turn when dozens of juveniles swarmed an Oakland station over the weekend and commandeered a train car, forcing passengers to hand over bags and cell phones and leaving at least two with head injuries, witnesses told the transit agency.

California bill punishing border wall builders may violate Constitution (San Diego Union-Tribune)

California politicians attempting to stop Donald Trump’s border wall brought the fight to San Diego on Thursday, but the business bans they are proposing could lead to legal challenges

Ann Coulter backers sue UC Berkeley over cancellation (+video) (CS Monitor)

Students on Monday filed lawsuit against the university, saying the school is violating their right to free speech by canceling the conservative pundit's speaking event on campus this week.


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