EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: MARCH 30, 2011

March 30, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Roundup highlights important stories of interest to East County and our region, published in other media.

Latest “Roundup” headlines include:

• Jerry Brown declares budget talks dead (Sacramento Bee)
• City Council approves medical pot ordinances (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California construction jobs up in February (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Nearly $44K of lawn art stolen since October (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California adds nearly 100,000 jobs in February (Los Angeles Times)
• 3 arrested in stabbing near Mast Park (Santee Patch.com)
• Sleeping controller = safety concerns (CNN)
• First sign of radioactivity reaches County (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Small businesses at risk for cyber attacks (KPBS)

JERRY BROWN DECLARES BUDGET TALKS DEAD

March 29, 2011 (SacramentoBee)--Gov. Jerry Brown announced this afternoon he halted negotiations with legislative Republicans over a deal to place taxes on the ballot to help resolve California's remaining $15.4 billion deficit.
 

A June election appears to be off the table entirely. Brown is no longer pursuing a two-thirds vote for a June tax election, while Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told reporters he will not pursue a majority-vote option, either.
 

"Yesterday, I stopped the discussions that I had been conducting with various members of the Republican party regarding our state's massive deficit," Brown said in a statement this afternoon. "The budget plan that I put forth is balanced between deep cuts and extensions of currently existing taxes and I believe it is in the best interest of California. Under our constitution, however, two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the Senate must agree before this matter can be put to the people."
 

"Each and every Republican legislator I've spoken to believes that voters should not have this right to vote unless I agree to an ever changing list of collateral demands," the Democratic governor added.
 

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/03/brown-budget-talks-with-republ.html#ixzz1I41RCY2C

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES MEDICAL POT ORDINANCES

City Council Approved Greater Restrictions On Medical Marijuana Cooperatives, Operators

March 28, 2011 (San Diego Union-Tribune)-- The San Diego City Council voted Monday to confine marijuana dispensaries to light industrial and commercial areas of the city, at least 600 feet from homes and other sensitive areas.
 

The new restrictions are incorporated in two ordinances -- one on zoning restrictions and the other on public safety -- that were approved by council members on 5-2 votes. Carl DeMaio and Lorie Zapf dissented, and David Alvarez was absent.

http://www.10news.com/news/27343189/detail.html

CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION JOBS UP IN FEBRUARY

March 28, 2011 (San Diego Union-Tribune) -- California added 15,500 construction jobs from January to February, far outpacing all other states.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/29/california-construction-jobs-february/

NEARLY $44K OF LAWN ART STOLEN SINCE OCTOBER

Thieves Have Stolen Nearly $44,000 Worth Of Lawn Art, Mostly In San Marcos, Ramona
March 28, 2011 (San Diego Union-Tribune)-- San Diego County authorities are trying to stop art thieves who've made off with at least 18 metal, wood and concrete statues -- including a 600-pound bronze moose.

http://www.10news.com/news/27343543/detail.html

CALIFORNIA ADDS NEARLY 100,000 JOBS IN FEBRUARY

March 25, 2011 (Los Angeles Times)-- A hiring surge led the California's hallmark industries – high-tech, movies and tourism – generated nearly 100,000 new jobs in February and provided the surest sign yet that the state economy is on the mend.
 

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-jobs-20110326,0,3919526.story

3 ARRESTED IN STABBING NEAR MAST PARK

March 28, 2011 (SanteePatch.com) – Two juveniles and one adult were arrested after Friday night's stabbing incident near Mast Park, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a report obtained on Monday.
 

Two young males were stabbed after a reported disturbance near Mast Park on Friday night at about 8 p.m., Sheriff's Lieutenant Jim Duffy said.
 

http://santee.patch.com/articles/three-arrested-for-mast-park-stabbing-details-still-vague

SLEEPING CONTROLLER = SAFETY CONCERNS: 2 JETS LAND AT REAGAN WITHOUT TOWER HELP

March 25, 2011 (CNN) -- You may think the country's air traffic control towers are bustling with activity around the clock, but it turns out that it's a lonely job late at night for workers in some places when few planes are landing and taking off.

About 30 tower-controlled airports in the U.S. regularly have only one air traffic controller on duty on the overnight shift, said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. They include San Diego International Airport and Sacramento International in California; Tucson International Airport in Arizona; and Reno-Tahoe International in Nevada.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/25/air.traffic.controller.staffing/index.html?hpt=C1

FIRST SIGN OF RADIOACTIVITY REACHES COUNTY

March 25, 2011 (San Diego Union-Tribune)--Harmless traces of radioactive iodine have been detected in San Diego County, suggesting that the plume of nuclear material spewing from the damaged reactors in Japan finally has reached the region, state public health officials said Friday.
The measurement was recorded on March 18 by an air monitoring device operated by the state.
State officials said their devices also detected iodine at seven California locations outside San Diego County and tellurium-123 at two of those sites.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/25/first-sign-japanese-radioactivity-reaches-san-dieg/

SMALL BUSINESSES AT RISK FOR CYBER ATTACKS

March 25, 2011 (KPBS)--Small-business owners may think they will not be targeted by cyber criminals the way a big company or military contractor might, so it's natural to become lax about cyber security.
 

That is the mindset a local program wants to change by raising awareness and educating entrepreneurs that they are also vulnerable to cyber attacks.
 

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/mar/25/small-businesses-high-risk-cyber-attacks/