EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

December 18,  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

• 2014 set to be record year for San Diego tourism (CBS 8)
• Innocent Alpine resident detained for a week (CityBeat)
• San Diego City Council staffer suspended without pay after shooting comment (KPBS)
• Checkpoints push buttons, boundaries (UT)
• The bizarre unity of the SANDAG board (KPBS)

STATE

• Buying A Home In California Is Harder For Middle Class Families In 2014 (KPBS)
• New concerns about big quake fault (UT)
• Caltrans Broadens Its Mission As Californians Change The Way They Travel (KPBS)

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

LOCAL

2014 set to be record year for San Diego tourism (CBS 8)

2014 is on track to be a record year for tourism here in San Diego. According to the San Diego Tourism Authority, an estimated 34 million people will have visited America's Finest City by the end of the year. That translates into more than 16 million hotel room stays, and a direct economic impact of an estimated $9 billion.

Innocent Alpine resident detained for a week (CityBeat)

San Diego County faces federal lawsuit in a case of mistaken identity

San Diego City Council staffer suspended without pay after shooting comment (KPBS)

Staffer for Councilwoman Lori Zapf referred to police brutality protesters as "idiots" and said "I wanted to shoot them"

Checkpoints push buttons, boundaries (UT)

At Border Patrol checkpoints, critics say rights are trampled.

The bizarre unity of the SANDAG board (KPBS)

Is SANDAG just a rubber stamp?  SANDAG is a political Never-Never Land: A place where everyone seems to agree…”If someone speaks out, they’re ostracized,” said longtime board member Art Madrid. One explanation could be money—board members don’t want their cities to get shut out of funding. Another explanation could be the “tremendous influence” SANDAG staff members have on directors’ decisions.

 STATE

Buying A Home In California Is Harder For Middle Class Families In 2014 (KPBS)

The median income required to buy a home today is $30,000 higher than it was a few years ago. That means less than a third of California households can afford a home at the median price right now.

New concerns about big quake fault (UT)

San Diego State says San Jacinto fault system rivals San Andreas.

Caltrans Broadens Its Mission As Californians Change The Way They Travel (KPBS)

Californians are walking and pedaling a lot more than they used to, and state transportation agency Caltrans is taking notice….