San Diego County Grand Jury

COUNTY GRAND JURY ANNOUNCES 2019-2020 JURORS

By Miriam Raftery

 

Photo by Chris Stone, Times of San Diego

 

July 28, 2019 (San Diego) – Four East County residents from La Mesa and Spring Valley are among the newly impaneled San Diego County Grand Jury. The East County jurors include a retired attorney, a caterer, an Army veteran/retired technical consultant, and an elementary school reading mentor.


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NEW COUNTY GRAND JURY MEMBERS NAMED

 

Source:  San Diego County Grand Jury

September 27, 2017 (San Diego) - Jeff Bryson, a retired San Diego State University psychology professor, was named chairperson of the 2017-2018 San Diego County Grand Jury, which began service on July 10, 2017.

The jury members, six women and 13 men, were drawn by lot from 90 volunteer applicants.  They serve for one year under a state constitution mandate that counties establish the full-time "watchdog" panels to look into the workings of city and county governmental agencies.


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EL CAJON REJECTS FINDINGS OF GRAND JURY REPORTS ON HOMELESSNESS AND POLICE OVERSIGHT

 

By Jonathan Goetz

Photos:  Councilman Tony Ambrose, left, leveled harsh words at Richard Graydon, right, a citizen seeking more help for homeless people.

August 11,2016 (El Cajon) – Tempers grew heated during Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council hearing, where  Council member Tony Ambrose scolded a citizen, Richard Graydon, who had criticized the City's approach to homelessness.  The agenda included the city’s responses to two critical Grand Jury reports, one on homeless issues and the other calling for formation of a citizens’ police oversight board. 

The City determined it already does enough to help homeless people--more than other East County cities-- and also concluded there is no need to allow citizens'oversight of any complaints against El Cajon Police.


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LA MESA COUNCIL REFUSES GRAND JURY REQUST TO CREATE CITIZENS’ POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD, ACCEPTS RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOMELESSNESS

By Tasha Matthews

ECM Editor Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report

August 4, 2016 (La Mesa)--Councilmember Guy McWhirter opened the La Mesa City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 26th by expressing concern for our country in the wake of recent shootings of police officers. He thanked police for their brave work helping to protect citizens—two days before two San Diego Police officers were shot, one fatally.

But the Council rejected a Grand Jury recommendation to create a police oversight board aimed at assuring that citizens’ rights are protected if officer misconduct is alleged. The Grand Jury made its recommendations to La Mesa and other local cities in a report on Citizens Oversight Boards of Police Behavior.


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GRAND JURY CALLS ON LOCAL CITIES TO INCREASE OVERSIGHT OF POLICE

 

“Trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy” --President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

June 29, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- In response to complaints about law enforcement officers’ behavior, the 2015/2016 San Diego County Grand Jury recommends improvements to existing citizens’ review boards and calls upon cities without review boards to establish them.


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EDUCATION ACTIVIST POSTS SITE ON GROSSMONT SCHOOL BOARD CONTROVERSIES

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 26, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A new website, www.GUHSDBoardCandidate.com, has been set up by critics of the Grossmont Union High School District Board to draw attention to controversies involving some board members seeking reelection.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

GRAND JURY: NO MONEY FOR FOOD AT CITY'S HOMELESS CENTER

 

May 31, 2014 (San Diego)—The San Diego County Grand Jury has issued a report, “Give Me Shelter” on Connections Housing, a downtown homeless shelter. While the center has made a “good start,” the report found,  there are still many people in the City of San Diego living a marginal life.  While the report found some positive strives and praised a dedicated staff,  a press release issued by the Grand Jury also states that “it appears that more money is put into staff salaries and the public relations aspect than the programmatic aspect of services for the homeless. No money is earmarked in the budget for food purchases, although the kitchen and food services are obligated to provide breakfasts and hot dinners for up to 150 residents per day.” Instead the program relies entirely on donated food.


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GRAND JURY: CITY FAILS TO RECOGNIZE SERIOUSNESS OF WATER PIPELINE PROBLEMS

 

May 16, 2014 (San Diego) - There has been much attention recently focusing on current and impending water shortages in the State of California, County of San Diego, and specifically the City of San Diego. But water shortage is only part of the problem, concludes a Grand Jury report titled “Don’t Give Me A Break—Water Problems in the City of San Diego.” There are continuing problems with pipeline distribution of the City’s existing water supplies—and the City has failed to alert citizens to the urgency of future water main replacement, the Grand Jury concluded.


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CREATING NEW LIFE FOR OLD COMPUTERS CAN SAVE MILLIONS FOR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS, GRAND JURY FINDS

 

May 15, 2014 (San Diego) - California adopted nationally-recommended standards for English-language arts and mathematics in 2013 as a condition for receiving federal education funds. These state standards are generally referred to as the Common Core curriculum that all California schools must now follow. While there are many benefits that can be attributed to the new curriculum, one downside is that beginning with the 2014-2015 school year all future statewide student achievement testing must be done on-line, utilizing computers instead of manually completed pen-and-ink forms.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

GRAND JURY: COUNTY IS BREAKING STATE EDUCATION LAW AT JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES

 

Source: San Diego County Grand Jury

May 10, 2014 (San Diego)--Recent changes in how at-risk youngsters in custody in San Diego County’s six juvenile detention facilities are educated violates state law, according to a report released May 8th by the San Diego County Grand Jury. The facilities are operated by the San Diego County Probation Department, with the educational component provided by the San Diego County Office of Education.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES ARE LAGGING IN SOME AREAS, THE GRAND JURY HAS FOUND

 

May 2, 2014 (San Diego) -- Where you live in the City of San Diego affects how quickly emergency response teams can bring help to you when you need it, according to a report just issued by the 2013/2014 San Diego County Grand Jury.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.