EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

June 29, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

Local

• SEC sues La Mesa financial adviser over selling investments linked to a Ponzi scheme (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Miguel Fire district looking to replace two board members (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Preservation of Galleta Meadows, Sculptures (Borrego Sun)
• La Mesa nursing home fined thousands in sexual abuse case(10 News)
• Woman nearly dies after botched weight loss surgery in Tijuana (CBS 8 San Diego)
• ‘Give me my water back.’ SDG&E project in Valley Center generates complaints from neighbors (San Diego Union-Tribune)

State

• California deserts have lost nearly 40% of plants to hotter, drier weather, satellite data shows( Palm Springs Desert Sun)
• California unveils system to provide digital COVID-19 vaccine records (Los Angeles Times)
• Highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant spreading fast in California  (Los Angeles Times)
• Getting unemployment benefits in California is changing (Los Angeles Times)
• As California reopens, some unvaccinated people feel left behind (KPBS)

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

Local

SEC sues La Mesa financial adviser over selling investments linked to a Ponzi scheme (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Federal regulators filed a civil lawsuit charging a La Mesa financial adviser with selling unregistered real estate securities to investors in what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking the return of sales commissions, civil penalties and other measures against Robert Joseph Armijo and his company, Joseph Financial.

San Miguel Fire district looking to replace two board members (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The seven-member San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District Board of Trustees is minus two members and actively seeking to fill the seats. Mike Vacio and David Pomeranz last Wednesday tendered their resignations from the board of the fire protection district that oversees a nearly $23 million annual budget. of San Miguel Fire. San Miguel is the county’s largest fire district.On Friday, the board held an emergency meeting to figure out the best way to fill the seats, with Fire Chief Criss Brainard noting that the board has 60 days to make the appointments.

Preservation of Galleta Meadows, Sculptures (Borrego Sun)

… Representatives Of Borrego's nonprofit and business entities were approached recently by Under The Sun Foundation, owner and stewards of the Galleta Meadows and it's sculptures, for input on suggestions for preserving the condition of Galleta Meadows area and preservation of the 130 sculptures spread over 1,500 acres of undeveloped desert land… Increasing numbers of visitors over the years have mitigated an impact on the condition of the sculptures and surrounding desert floor. Trampled top soil is compounded, causing the land to sink a couple of inches annually, then swept away by winds which alters the natural growth cycle of wildflowers and typical desert flora.

La Mesa nursing home fined thousands in sexual abuse case(10 News)

An East County nursing home was fined $16,000 by the state for failing to protect one of its residents against sexual abuse by a certified nursing assistant. Matthew Fluckiger is currently in custody, facing four counts of forcible lewd acts and one count of lewd acts against an adult dependent. The citation, issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), found that Parkway Hills Nursing & Rehabilitation in La Mesa “failed to protect Resident 1 from sexual abuse

Woman nearly dies after botched weight loss surgery in Tijuana (CBS 8 San Diego)

Not only were her intestines enlarged and infected, but they were also stapled shut at both ends.

‘Give me my water back.’ SDG&E project in Valley Center generates complaints from neighbors (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A San Diego Gas & Electric project in Valley Center to place electrical lines underground has inadvertently led to a much larger than expected discharge of water, sparking complaints from some neighbors near the worksite that water levels in the wells on their properties have dropped considerably. Residents also worry about possible environmental impacts and potential danger to nearby oak trees and olive groves.

State

California deserts have lost nearly 40% of plants to hotter, drier weather, satellite data shows( Palm Springs Desert Sun)

Desert plants — famous for tolerance of torrid landscapes — are dying at an alarming rate due to the twin threats of even hotter temperatures and less rain, according to new research published this week. After analyzing more than three decades of satellite data, UC Irvine scientists found a 37% decline in native vegetation across nearly 5,000 square miles of the southern California Sonoran desert, from the Mexican border north across Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to below Palm Springs.

California unveils system to provide digital COVID-19 vaccine records (Los Angeles Times)

While everyone who’s been inoculated for COVID-19 should have received a white paper card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailing where and when they got their shot, state officials said an electronic option will give residents an alternative.

Highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant spreading fast in California  (Los Angeles Times)

The Delta coronavirus variant is now the third-most common in California, new data show, underscoring the danger of the highly contagious strain to people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Getting unemployment benefits in California is changing (Los Angeles Times)

 Starting next month, Californians who receive unemployment benefits will have to show that they are looking for work, a requirement that the state waived last year when COVID-19 led to economic upheaval.

As California reopens, some unvaccinated people feel left behind (KPBS)

Bernice had a difficult choice to make. The Clairemont resident works in a food manufacturing lab, so back in February she knew she would be near the front of the line for a COVID-19 vaccine. But Bernice, who is not using her real name for privacy reasons, has multiple sclerosis. And at the time her symptoms were flaring up. She had numbness on one side of her body, difficulty holding her young son and problems typing on a computer. There are drug treatments that alleviate these symptoms, but they suppress the patient’s immune system, making the vaccines far less effective. So, if Bernice were to take the treatments she couldn’t take the vaccine for six months.