March 5, 2025 (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 round-up stories include:
LOCAL
- More Industrial Chemicals Found in Sweetwater Reservoir (Voice of San Diego
- Keeping Lakeside egg ranch flu-free takes constant vigilance. Would a vaccine help? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- ‘Daylighting' law to be enforced in San Diego starting Saturday (NBC San Diego)
- La Mesa’s ‘Parking T’ program aims to end street parking headaches (CBS)
- Trump cuts to NOAA already felt in San Diego (KPBS)
- Could NOAA layoffs affect San Diego? (Fox 5)
- Report finds illnesses among Navy SEALs training in polluted water in San Diego (NBC San Diego)
- Santee School District one of few performing above pre-pandemic levels in math and reading (KPBS)
- Air Pollution Control District to begin distributing air purifiers to South Bay residents (KPBS)
- San Diego's congressional Democrats send letter opposing science funding cuts (KPBS)
- Family shares history of mental illness in El Cajon man arrested for mother's death (10 News)
- Sobering times for some San Diego breweries as closures rise (NBC 7)
STATE
- Bill aims to prohibit 'surveillance pricing' based on customers’ online behavior (KPBS)
- ‘It was just a regular morning’: Californians picked up in recent ICE raids include kids, volunteers (KPBS)
- LA mayor dismisses fire chief over response to most destructive wildfire in city history last month (AP)
- Big homeowner rate hike from State Farm shot down by California regulator
- Trump funding freeze includes payments to keep the Colorado River flowing (NPR)
- Power lines sparked new fires in LA after the Eaton Fire began, radio traffic shows (NPR)
- California homeowners will have to fund half of high-risk insurer's $1 billion ‘bailout’ (Cal Matters)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
LOCAL
More Industrial Chemicals Found in Sweetwater Reservoir (Voice of San Diego
New testing shows rising levels of toxic PFAS chemicals in water sent to thousands of households in South San Diego County. Fixing the problem could cost tens of millions of dollars or require decommissioning the Sweetwater Reservoir.
Keeping Lakeside egg ranch flu-free takes constant vigilance. Would a vaccine help? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Rancher has kept H5N1 at bay with a few relatively simple steps. Experts say avian influenza vaccine, long forbidden by trade policy, may finally be in the offing.
‘Daylighting' law to be enforced in San Diego starting Saturday (NBC San Diego)
Beginning Saturday, motorists may be ticketed for parking in violation of the law -- 20 feet is about the length of an average vehicle and a half.
La Mesa’s ‘Parking T’ program aims to end street parking headaches (CBS)
La Mesa has launched a free program allowing residents to request T-shaped street markings for clearly defined parallel parking spaces in neighborhoods.
Trump cuts to NOAA already felt in San Diego (KPBS)
Cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration affect research and sea monitoring partnerships between NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Could NOAA layoffs affect San Diego? (Fox 5)
...Hundreds of employees, including meteorologists in National Weather Service offices across the U.S., were fired last Thursday.... a spokesperson for NWS confirmed to FOX 5/KUSI there were no cuts made to San Diego’s local office... However, the impact of the layoffs may be felt locally in other ways, especially in research. NOAA was a known benefactor of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the site of modern-day climate change research.
Report finds illnesses among Navy SEALs training in polluted water in San Diego (NBC San Diego)
More than eleven hundred cases of health issues among NAVY seals were reported after training in the polluted water, including acute Gastrointestinal illnesses... A report released this month by the inspector general earlier this month revealed 76 percent of its test came back with bacteria surpassing safety levels.
Santee School District one of few performing above pre-pandemic levels in math and reading (KPBS)
District leaders say math teacher training, smaller class sizes and counselors at each school have helped.
Air Pollution Control District to begin distributing air purifiers to South Bay residents (KPBS)
The limited number of purifiers means SDAPCD will prioritize distribution to households with children and people 65 and older, and communities closest to the Tijuana River.
San Diego's congressional Democrats send letter opposing science funding cuts (KPBS)
San Diego's congressional Democrats are now speaking out about executive orders that could hinder local scientists. That’s weeks after the Trump administration suggested freezing federal funding and banning words that could threaten research. / Reps. Scott Peters, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Juan Vargas signed a letter asking for funding cuts to be reinstated.
Family shares history of mental illness in El Cajon man arrested for mother's death (10 News)
Family members say 51-year-old Jamison Webster had a big heart, especially when it came to those she loved. But it's that kindness that may have cost her life.
Sobering times for some San Diego breweries as closures rise (NBC 7)
Economic challenges and changing tastes are forcing some breweries to tap out.
STATE
Bill aims to prohibit 'surveillance pricing' based on customers’ online behavior (KPBS)
“What we have found is a growing body of evidence where companies are being encouraged to use surveillance pricing, using your own personal data from your cell phone, from the IP address attached to your home computer, to modulate the pricing on goods and services that you pay,” said Chris Ward, assemblymember from the 78th district. Ward…has introduced a bill to prohibit surveillance pricing in California.
‘It was just a regular morning’: Californians picked up in recent ICE raids include kids, volunteers (KPBS)
A church-going agricultural worker. An Echo Park man taking his son to school. A 16-year-old kid searching for work to support his family in Mexico. Three weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge of some of the first Californians targeted in his high-profile immigration crackdown. It’s very different from the descriptions of hardened criminals President Donald Trump has touted.
LA mayor dismisses fire chief over response to most destructive wildfire in city history last month (AP)
Six weeks after the start of the most destructive wildfire in city history, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ousted the fire chief Friday amid a public rift over preparations for a potential blaze and finger-pointing between the chief and City Hall over responsibility for the devastation.
Big homeowner rate hike from State Farm shot down by California regulator
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today rejected State Farm’s request for “emergency” rate increases, setting up what could be a highly consequential showdown with the state’s biggest insurer — and going against the recommendation of his staff experts.
Trump funding freeze includes payments to keep the Colorado River flowing (NPR)
The first executive order President Trump signed in his second term, "Unleashing American Energy," ... says, "All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022."... at least $4 billion was set aside to protect the flow of the Colorado River, which supplies about 40 million people with drinking water, is the foundation for a massive agricultural economy across the Southwest, and generates significant hydroelectric power.
Power lines sparked new fires in LA after the Eaton Fire began, radio traffic shows (NPR)
Days after the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles first ignited, firefighters observed that power lines operated by Southern California Edison were live and starting new fires, radio traffic obtained by NPR reveals.
California homeowners will have to fund half of high-risk insurer's $1 billion ‘bailout’ (Cal Matters)
After saying it would run out of funds by March, California’s last-resort fire insurance provider will impose a special charge of $1 billion on insurance companies — which will in turn pass the costs along to homeowners — the first such move in more than three decades. The state Insurance Department today approved a request from the provider, the FAIR Plan, to impose the charge and ensure it stays solvent as it covers claims from victims of the Los Angeles County fires, the department said in an order by Commissioner Ricardo Lara.