EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

April 6, 2024 (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

• Broken Border Sewage Plant Gets Its Fix (Voice of San Diego)
• MS-13 leader, one of FBI’s most wanted fugitives, arrested at California-Mexico border (Los Angeles Times)
• Hiring in San Diego’s high wage jobs, tourism helps keep unemployment rate flat(San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Community helps keep beloved Lemon Grove BBQ restaurant open (10 News)
• La Mesa City Council upholds entertainment permit for Charcoal House  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Port commissioners declare Tijuana River Valley emergency  (KPBS)
• Tens of thousands of residents moved out of San Diego County last year—almost double the number a year earlier (San Diego Union Tribune)
• AMR to offer free EMT job training for women  (KPBS)

STATE

• California opens applications for program helping first-time homebuyers with down payments (NBC San Diego)
• California’s largest home insurer won’t renew 72,000 policies (SF Chronicle)
• California Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey owes at least $350,000 in back taxes (Sacramento Bee)
• Former state Controller Betty Yee announces campaign for California governor (10 News)
• Politics Report: The Great Tax Ballot  (Voice of San Diego)

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

LOCAL

Broken Border Sewage Plant Gets Its Fix (Voice of San Diego)

Congress agreed to send more money to fix a broken wastewater treatment plant in San Diego along the U.S.-Mexico border.

MS-13 leader, one of FBI’s most wanted fugitives, arrested at California-Mexico border (Los Angeles Times)

 FBI Most Wanted Narco-terrorist who rose from LA streets to run MS-13 apprehended quietly in San Diego area... Freddy Ivan Jandres-Parada, 48, also known as Lucky De Park View, was taken into custody on March 7 by federal authorities at the San Ysidro Port of Entry...

Hiring in San Diego’s high wage jobs, tourism helps keep unemployment rate flat(San Diego Union-Tribune)

 Monthly job gains were in San Diego’s professional services and tourism sectors, while some of the largest losses were in the retail sector.

Community helps keep beloved Lemon Grove BBQ restaurant open (10 News)

After announcing its closure, a beloved Texas BBQ restaurant in Lemon Grove is back open thanks to an outpour of community support. Brad Cooper, who's from Midland, Texas, opened Coop's BBQ on Lemon Grove Avenue in 2010.

La Mesa City Council upholds entertainment permit for Charcoal House  (San Diego Union-Tribune)

City strikes down appeal and permits performances at local Mediterranean restaurant

Port commissioners declare Tijuana River Valley emergency  (KPBS)

Port officials said over 100 billion gallons of pollutants have flowed into the Tijuana River Valley.

Tens of thousands of residents moved out of San Diego County last year—almost double the number a year earlier (San Diego Union Tribune)

While there are many factors driving people to move from the county to elsewhere in California or out of state, demographers agree that the leading motivator is the region’s unabated rise in the cost of housing, coupled with a still lingering willingness of many employers to permit remote work.

AMR to offer free EMT job training for women  (KPBS)

Although there have been two other academies over the past year, AMR said this will be the first all-female academy it has sponsored.

STATE

California opens applications for program helping first-time homebuyers with down payments (NBC San Diego)

... A California down payment assistance program — known as “Dream for All” — is once again accepting applications. The program offers people assistance of up to 20% of the purchase price of a home, which can be used toward a down payment or closing costs. When a buyer eventually sells their home, they will pay back the original loan, plus somewhere between 15-20% of any appreciation of the home's value

California’s largest home insurer won’t renew 72,000 policies (SF Chronicle)

 State Farm stopped writing new homeowners policies in California last year. Now it plans to non-renew approximately 72,000 existing policies.

California Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey owes at least $350,000 in back taxes (Sacramento Bee)

 California Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey owes state and federal taxes incurred 13 years ago totaling at least $350,000 and as much as $750,000, according to his February financial disclosure statement.

Former state Controller Betty Yee announces campaign for California governor (10 News)

California’s former Controller Betty Yee announced Wednesday she will run for governor in 2026, vying to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom against other major Democratic contenders in what will be the first open race for the state's top office since 2018. If elected, Yee would be the first woman to become California's governor. She is a San Francisco native born to Chinese immigrant parents.

Politics Report: The Great Tax Ballot  (Voice of San Diego)

We’ve talked a lot about the group of tax increases voters in San Diego may have to consider on November’s ballot, but we haven’t grappled with how the California ballot could transform public taxing policy and even directly affect all the planned San Diego tax hikes.