EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

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November 19, 2014 (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

SDG&E seeks 7.5% rate increase for 2016 (U-T)

San Diego Gas & Electric is asking state regulators for a 7.5 percent rate increase at the start of 2016, according to filings submitted Friday. The request to recover $1.91 billion from customers represents a $133 million increase over 2015 authorizations. The filing kicks off a periodic review of utility costs that now takes place every three years. Inflationary adjustments would bring the total rate increase for 2016-2018 to $687 million.

Whose utilities commission is it, anyway? (U-T)

Records show accommodation of utility executives by regulators. 

Sheriff dumps Facebook over lawsuit (UT San Diego)

When someone posts an unflattering picture or nasty slur on your personal Facebook page, you delete it. But what happens when the Facebook page belongs to a public, taxpayer-funded agency?

Who Lied? Part II: DeMaio’s Deceptive Emails (Voice of SD)

…To understand DeMaio’s perspective on the allegations of sexual harassment that he believes derailed his campaign, you need to understand the way his campaign used the internet.  DeMaio himself admits to some level of anonymous online postings and the use of accounts in other people’s names to get information to the media or public. He and his team also oversaw dozens of deceptive email accounts.

Quite the grand larceny, if proven true (SD Reader)

Last evening (November 13), attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson filed a suit in federal court saying that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Southern California Edison took 17.4 million ratepayers' property (money) by charging them $3.7 billion for electricity while the San Onofre nuclear plant was shut down, beginning in early 2012. The theory is that the regulatory body and Edison were taking customers' private property without just compensation. That is banned by the Fifth Amendment.

Border rail line faces 40-mile gap (UT San Diego)

The investor group that was awarded a 99-year lease by Metropolitan Transit System to resurrect the dormant Desert Line railroad hasn’t been able to reach a key agreement with officials in Mexico, dashing hopes for a binational railroad that economic boosters have long sought.

Instead, railroad officials have switched to a secondary plan using only U.S tracks.

Sempra earnings surge 18 percent (UT San Diego)

Profits at Sempra Energy soar 18 percent, with help from SDG&E.  Sempra reported earnings of $348 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, up from $296 million during the same 2013 period. SDG&E profits for the third quarter rose 22 percent to $157 million from $129 million.

STATE

UC regents move tuition plan forward (Sacramento Bee)

University of California regents moved forward with a controversial plan Wednesday to raise tuition if the state does not give the system more money, with the proposal expected to be finalized Thursday. The vote by a committee of regents came over the objection of students, who linked arms to block the entrance to the Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco, and of Gov. Jerry Brown, who moved days before the meeting to appoint two regents opposed to the tuition plan.

Huge solar plant lags in early production (Yahoo News)

The largest solar power plant of its type in the world — once promoted as a turning point in green energy — isn't producing as much energy as planned.

Napolitano makes case for University of California tuition increase (SacBee)

University of California President Janet Napolitano said the system has reduced costs but needs the revenue from the proposed 5 percent annual tuition increase to maintain the system’s standards and to increase enrollment.

California ordered to speed up inmate releases (SacBee)

Federal judges are telling California to speed up its process for releasing some nonviolent inmates as part of a previous order forcing the state to sharply reduce its prison population.

 


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