EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

November 1, 2023 (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

• Nearly 150 New Housing Units Set for Spring Street Transit Center in La Mesa After MTS Vote (Times of San Diego)
• Ballot Measure Forming to Push Out SDG&E, Create Public Utility  (Voice of San Diego)
• Majority of San Diegans consider moving, citing housing crisis, living costs, survey says  (KPBS)
• Vandalism prompts closure of House of Israel at Balboa Park (KPBS)
• Late addition to energy bill may help develop a pumped storage facility at San Vicente Reservoir (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Expect to see solar panels along San Diego highways per one of the energy bills Newsom has signed into law (San Diego Union-Trbiune)
• US Border Patrol has released thousands of migrants on San Diego’s streets, taxing charities (AP
• Trolley, bus riders may have been exposed to tuberculosis, county says (10 News)
• New San Diego program teaches homeowners about fire defensible space (CBS)
• Tijuana River Valley Project to start in early 2024  (KPBS)
• San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm to lay off over 1,200 California workers

State

• Feds designate California as a hydrogen ‘hub’  (KPBS)
• Newsom signs bill to curb spread of child sexual abuse material on social media (Los Angeles Times)
• California homeowners will face new rules for where they can plant shrubs   (NPR)
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill expanding conservatorship law (ABC News/AP)
• Former Dodgers star and Republican Steve Garvey enters U.S. Senate race  (Los Angeles Times)
• Lowriders can soon legally cruise California thanks to a San Diego movement  (KPBS)
• The tax deadline was extended again for most Californians. Here's NOW when your taxes are due(NBC San Diego)

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

Local

Nearly 150 New Housing Units Set for Spring Street Transit Center in La Mesa After MTS Vote (Times of San Diego)

The Metropolitan Transit System board on Thursday unanimously approved a transit-oriented housing development at the Spring Street Transit Center in La Mesa. The Spring Street Transit-Oriented Development is part of MTS’ effort to re-purpose park-and-ride lots into affordable housing solutions across San Diego County.  The 2.2-acre development will feature 147 units (set aside for those who make from 30 to 60% of area median income). Construction is set to begin in February 2025 and take approximately two years. 

Ballot Measure Forming to Push Out SDG&E, Create Public Utility  (Voice of San Diego)

Proponents of taking power lines from San Diego Gas and Electric struck out at the San Diego City Council to put the matter before voters in November So now the group, called Power San Diego, is going the route of collecting tens of thousands of signatures….  The plan, according to Bill Powers, who is leading that effort, is to push the city of San Diego to take over the poles, wires and substations in local right of ways and end its century-long relationship with SDG&E….. A letter submitted to the City Council Rules Committee in July elucidates what Powers et al are hoping for: A not-for-profit public electric utility that operates as a city department with an independently appointed board, much like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. 

Majority of San Diegans consider moving, citing housing crisis, living costs, survey says  (KPBS)

Nearly two in three San Diegans are considering moving out of the county, with most saying it’s too expensive to live here.  Those findings are part of a new survey that also found San Diegans have grown increasingly concerned about affordable housing, climate change, mental health and racial justice. The results came out just as the city of San Diego was ranked the most expensive place to live in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report…. The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego conducts quarterly polls of more than 500 residents across San Diego County….

Vandalism prompts closure of House of Israel at Balboa Park (KPBS)

The temporary shuttering of the cultural attraction on Pan American Plaza came after the cottage was maliciously damaged for a second time this week…  [House of Israel President Ruth] Mastron said a reopening would occur "as soon as possible in a way that will ensure the safety of our volunteers and visitors. … But …I've concluded that we cannot guarantee the safety of volunteers, neighboring houses and visitors," Mastron added.

Late addition to energy bill may help develop a pumped storage facility at San Vicente Reservoir (San Diego Union-Tribune)

San Diego’s Toni Atkins advocated for adding a provision to Assembly Bill 1373. Opponents of the project are upset and are worried about possible damage to several preserves near the proposed project.

Expect to see solar panels along San Diego highways per one of the energy bills Newsom has signed into law (San Diego Union-Trbiune)

Other legislation includes help for offshore wind and potential pumped hydro project at San Vicente Reservoir

US Border Patrol has released thousands of migrants on San Diego’s streets, taxing charities (AP

Over five years, the largest U.S. city on the Mexican border developed a well-oiled system to shelter asylum-seekers.  That system is being tested like never before as U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases migrants to the streets of California’s second-largest city because shelters are full. Since Sept. 13, about 13,000 have been dropped at transit stations with notices to appear in immigration court at their final destinations in the U.S., with about 500 more arriving daily.

Trolley, bus riders may have been exposed to tuberculosis, county says (10 News)

San Diego County's Tuberculosis Program and the Metropolitan Transit System are working to notify some area travelers that they were potentially exposed to a tuberculosis infection earlier this year. / The warning was issued to riders who used certain Trolley Blue and Green lines and bus riders and drivers who used Route 901.

New San Diego program teaches homeowners about fire defensible space (CBS)

The Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego has been awarded a $500,000 CAL FIRE Defensible Space Assistance Grant.

Tijuana River Valley Project to start in early 2024  (KPBS)

A $5 million cleanup project in the Tijuana River Valley will begin in early 2024, with a completion date before the end of March, officials said on Wednesday.  On Tuesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of dredging drainage channels and building a basin for sediment and trash control in the Smuggler's Gulch and Pilot channels.  The Smuggler's Gulch channel enters the United States from Mexico and runs north until it crosses the Pilot Channel and flows into the Tijuana River and finally to the Pacific Ocean.

San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm to lay off over 1,200 California workers

The San Diego, California-based company will be laying off about 1,258 roles in California, according to a filing with the California Employment Development Department. Impacted employees include those based out of San Diego and Santa Clara in multiple roles, from engineers to legal counsel to human resources, with job reductions coming around December 13th.

State

Feds designate California as a hydrogen ‘hub’  (KPBS)

California is one of seven hydrogen “hubs” nationwide that the U.S. Department of Energy says will be a key part of the country’s clean-energy future.  State officials said California must use its $1.2 billion in federal grants to build what amounts to an industrial ecosystem in the state that makes hydrogen more plentiful, available and cheaper.

Newsom signs bill to curb spread of child sexual abuse material on social media (Los Angeles Times)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill into law that would hold Facebook-owned Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms liable for failing to combat the spread of child sexual abuse materials.

California homeowners will face new rules for where they can plant shrubs   (NPR)

…California has long had the strongest defensible space rules in the country. Now, it's drafting rules that would make it the first state to limit the vegetation directly next to buildings. In areas at high risk of wildfire, plants within five feet of a house would be strictly limited.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill expanding conservatorship law (ABC News/AP)

More Californians with untreated mental illness and addiction issues could be detained against their will and forced into treatment under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The new law, which reforms the state's conservatorship system, expands the definition of “gravely disabled” to include people who are unable to provide themselves basic needs such as food and shelter due to an untreated mental illness or unhealthy drugs and alcohol use.

Former Dodgers star and Republican Steve Garvey enters U.S. Senate race  (Los Angeles Times)

After nearly two decades of statewide Republican candidates being rejected by California’s left-leaning electorate, former Dodger All-Star Steve Garvey hopes to drag the GOP back toward political relevance.

Lowriders can soon legally cruise California thanks to a San Diego movement  (KPBS)

Last week California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 436 into law, repealing city and county bans on cruising. / The bill also lifted a state prohibition that now allows cars to legally drive while being lower to the ground.

The tax deadline was extended again for most Californians. Here's NOW when your taxes are due(NBC San Diego)

The IRS has postponed filing and payments for Californians impacted by winter storms