EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

November 21, 2013 (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

• U.S. Border Patrol has ‘alarming’ alcohol problem, says inside memo and outside source (10 News)
• Another high speed crash at end of Route 125 reignites concerns (Santee Patch)
• 4 months after Chariot fire, historic al Bahr Shrine Camp still in ruins (10 News)
• To protect Mount Helix homes and drivers, slope repairs begin near Fuerte Drive (La Mesa Patch)
• What’s going to happen to San Onofre’s nuclear waste? (KPBS)
• New grant awarded for San Diego River trail through Santee (Santee Patch)
• Balboa Park introducing annual pass (UT San Diego)
• San Diego's economic recovery lags state, nation  (SD Reader, Don Bauder)
• El Cajon’s Bostonia Recreation Center gets rebuilt in a day after community input (EC Californian)
• Community Rallies For Hungry Students During Holidays (La Mesa Today)

STATE

• California’s fiscal analyst projects large surpluses (Sacramento Bee)
• California takes down 10 fake Obamacare websites (Reuters)
• CalPERS loses round in SB bankruptcy fight (Sacramento Bee)

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

LOCAL

U.S. Border Patrol has ‘alarming’ alcohol problem, says inside memo and outside source (10 News)

An internal memo obtained by Team 10 shows grave concern by the head of the U.S. Border Patrol about drinking and driving among agents. The concerns are taken a step further in what an inside source told Team 10 about how agents report to work under the influence of alcohol.

Another high speed crash at end of Route 125 reignites concerns (Santee Patch)

… 2006 and 2012 there were 61 traffic collisions at the intersection of Mission Gorge Road and SR-125, 14 caused by a DUI driver, 16 caused by speeding, and three deadly, according to the Sheriff's Department.

4 months after Chariot fire, historic al Bahr Shrine Camp still in ruins (10 News)

Four months after the Chariot Fire roared out of the desert into Mount Laguna, the Al Bahr Shrine Camp looks just as it did after the fire."We would have been in here the next day to clean up but we can't. We have to negotiate with the U.S. Forest Service and they will decide what they will allow us to do," said Deborah Chandler, a spokeswoman for the Al Bahr Shrine…

To protect Mount Helix homes and drivers, slope repairs begin near Fuerte Drive (La Mesa Patch)

Drivers should expect delays on Fuerte Drive through January as crews make repairs to sloped areas near the street.

What’s going to happen to San Onofre’s nuclear waste? (KPBS)

San Onofre's nuclear reactors were permanently shut down earlier this year. Fully dismantling the plant will take years, probably even decades. But one of the problems facing San Onofre is going to stick around even longer. What to do with all its nuclear waste?

New grant awarded for San Diego River trail through Santee (Santee Patch)

Santee has been awarded a $247,830 grant to help fun the construction of a 1.3-mile long multi-use trail along the river at the city's east end, which will be part of the San Diego River Trail.

Balboa Park introducing annual pass (UT San Diego)

Long-awaited park-wide pass offers unlimited admission to 17 Balboa Park institutions

San Diego's economic recovery lags state, nation  (SD Reader, Don Bauder)

Big reason: Defense expenditures have softened since 2010

El Cajon’s Bostonia Recreation Center gets rebuilt in a day after community input (EC Californian)

What could be more fun than playing on a children’s dream playground? For adults, that just might be building it - See more at: http://www.eccalifornian.com/article/el-cajon%E2%80%99s-bostonia-recreat...

Community Rallies For Hungry Students During Holidays (La Mesa Today)

About four weeks ago members of the Crosspointe Life Church on La Mesa Boulevard heard that many children who count on free school breakfasts and lunches can go hungry during the holidays when schools are closed. Church members contacted the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, assessed the scope of the problem, and decided to see what they could do.

STATE

California’s fiscal analyst projects large surpluses (Sacramento Bee)

California's budget is on track for multibillion dollar surpluses in the coming years, the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal analyst said Wednesday in an upbeat assessment of the state's fiscal picture… The state is projected to have a $5.6 billion reserve by June 2015.

California takes down 10 fake Obamacare websites (Reuters)

Authorities in California shut down 10 fake Obamacare websites, amid nationwide concern among law enforcement officials about potential fraud during the program's rollout, the state's attorney general said on Thursday.

CalPERS loses round in SB bankruptcy fight (Sacramento Bee)

California's biggest public pension system has lost its appeal of the ruling that allowed the city of San Bernardino to file for bankruptcy.