EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

June 13, 2018 (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

• San Diego Gas & Electric Company proposes 28% rate hike (10 News)
• Sempra hit with a challenge from activist investors (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hundreds protest outside Otay detention center, calling for release of asylum seekers (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Deaths surge for fentanyl-laced street drugs in San Diego County (KPBS)
• Birth rates fall most where home prices rise fastest (San Diego Reader)
• Sacramento Report: Anderson Looks Beyond the Legislature (Voice of SD)

STATE

• Proposal to split California into three states makes November ballot (10 News)
• Governor, legislative leaders agree on funding boost for higher education (Cal Matters)
• California drinking water tax dies in budget compromise (Sacramento Bee)
• The Mexican Mafia’s Iron Grip on California’s Jails (Daily Beast)
• California's 'Top-Two' Primary Debacle (HuffPost)
• California State Officials Voice Concerns Over a Federal Plan  (PS Mag)
• You can buy this entire ghost town for less than the price of a San Francisco condo (Sacramento Bee)

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

LOCAL

San Diego Gas & Electric Company proposes 28% rate hike (10 News)

San Diego Gas & Electric, the energy provider for San Diego and Southern Orange County, is requesting its biggest rate increase in several years.

Sempra hit with a challenge from activist investors (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Two activist investor groups that control a 4.9 percent stake in San Diego-based Sempra Energy — the parent of utilities San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas — said Monday the Fortune 500 company is under-performing and called on Sempra to dramatically remake its corporate structure.

Hundreds protest outside Otay detention center, calling for release of asylum seekers (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Protesters and immigrants’ rights organizers gathered outside of the Otay Mesa Detention Center on Sunday morning to demand the release of asylum seekers fleeing gang violence and state repression.… “They force us to work for six hours (a day) for a payment of $1.60,” said David Obud, with immigrants’ rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, translating one of the letters…”They threaten … to damage our cases. “When we ask for medical attention, they do not treat us, and many of us have pains and wounds…”

Deaths surge for fentanyl-laced street drugs in San Diego County (KPBS)

Street drugs laced with fentanyl are becoming a deadly problem among drug users in San Diego County. The white powdery substance is more potent than heroin and can be lethal even in small doses.

Birth rates fall most where home prices rise fastest (San Diego Reader)

...San Diego and Los Angeles are the best examples, says Zillow. In 2016 in San Diego, 1,148 fewer babies were born than expected. In Los Angeles, the shortfall was 2,588 babies. Between 2010 and 2016, San Diego home prices rose 34 percent and Los Angeles prices rose 31 percent. The drop in the birth rate in those years was 19 percent in San Diego and 17 percent in Los Angeles.

Sacramento Report: Anderson Looks Beyond the Legislature (Voice of San Diego)

Sen. Joel Anderson had a good showing on Tuesday in his bid to replace Republican Diane Harkey on the state Board of Equalization. He captured nearly twice the votes of his next closest competitors...

STATE

Proposal to split California into three states makes November ballot (10 News)

… Under CAL 3, the Golden State would be split into Northern California, California, and Southern California.

Governor, legislative leaders agree on funding boost for higher education (Cal Matters)

California’s public universities will get an infusion of cash to increase enrollment, smooth students’ progress toward graduation and repair aging buildings under a state budget agreement reached today…The two university systems will also each receive more than $160 million in one-time money under the agreement, some of which is targeted for specific programs including fighting student hunger and providing legal services for undocumented students.

California drinking water tax dies in budget compromise (Sacramento Bee)

 A proposed tax on California's drinking water, designed to clean up contaminated water for thousands of Californians, was abandoned by Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders Friday as part of the compromise on the state budget.

The Mexican Mafia’s Iron Grip on California’s Jails (Daily Beast)

Two new federal indictments spell out just how far-reaching the gang’s power extends, from California prison cells to nearly every neighborhood where Latino gangs are active.

California's 'Top-Two' Primary Debacle (HuffPost)

Its boosters wanted to send more moderate politicians to Sacramento. Some reformists believed it might also increase the typically abysmal turnout for primaries. The limited academic research on the jungle primary system suggests it is failing at both of these goals.

California State Officials Voice Concerns Over a Federal Plan  (PS Mag)

Heightening the dam will increase the size of California's largest reservoir, but it could also create problems for local fish and wildlife populations.

You can buy this entire ghost town for less than the price of a San Francisco condo (Sacramento Bee)

The town is Cerro Gordo, just east of Lone Pine in Inyo County. It includes about 22 buildings that total about 24,000 square feet and 300 acres of mining claims, according to the property’s listing. And it could be all yours for $925,000.