East County News Service
February 9, 2025 (Oakland, CA) – Last week, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Trump administration from carrying out a spending freeze. “Each day that the pause continues to ripple across the country is an additional day that Americans are being denied access to programs that heal them, house them, and feed them,” Judge Loren AliKhan wrote in the ruling.
Now California Attorney General is accusing the Trump administration of defying the judge’s order and continuing to block funds to states under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA and the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure act). Bonta on Feb. 7 filed a motion on behalf of 23 state attorneys general. The motion asks the court to enforce the earlier ruling and and to order Defendants to immediately restore funds until the preliminary injunction motion can be heard and decided.
The coalition seeks to preliminarily enjoin the Trump Administration’s funding freeze, emphasizing the widespread and irreparable harm to states, which rely on billions of dollars of critical federal assistance for public services that ensure access to education, clean air and water, and health care and that support essential infrastructure projects. More than $100 billion in Medicaid funding, tens of billions in infrastructure and climate funding, among the funding at risk in just California, according to a press release issued by Bonta.
The case, NY v.Trump, challenges actions by President Trump, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and federal agencies attempting to pause nearly $3 trillion in federal assistance funding allocated to the states that support critical programs and services that benefit the American people.
The Trump administration has argued that the injunction doesn’t apply to IRA and IIJA funds, the motion indicates. But the judge’s order makes no mention of any such exception.
Bonta’s motion further highlights the harm states face without these funds .
“Let’s be crystal clear: the power of the purse belongs to Congress, not the President,” said Bonta. “The Trump Administration’s dangerous and unconstitutional actions have created chaos and confusion across this country, and caused significant harm to states across the country and the millions of Americans who rely on federal funding, from children to the elderly. In yet another unlawful move, we have evidence that despite the Temporary Restraining Order we secured, the Trump Administration has continued to block funds needed for our domestic energy security, transportation, and infrastructure provided under the IRA and IIJA.”
He added, ”We’re asking the court to enforce its order and ensure that the Trump Administration reinstates access to this critical funding. No one is above the law, and at the California Department of Justice, we will not waver in our commitment to uphold the law and ensure that necessary funding for critical programs and services in states across our country can continue.”
In just this fiscal year, California is expected to receive $168 billion in federal funds – 34% of the state’s budget – not including funding for the state’s public college and university system. This includes $107.5 billion in funding for California’s Medicaid programs, which serve approximately 14.5 million Californians, including 5 million children and 2.3 million seniors and people with disabilities. Additionally, over 9,000 full-time equivalent state employee positions are federally funded. As detailed in the preliminary injunction motion, without access to federal financial assistance, many states could face immediate cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs like funding for healthcare and food for children and to address their most pressing needs.
Additionally, as of January 2025, California has been awarded $63 billion from the IIJA and nearly $5 billion from the IRA, not including funds going to California cities, air and water districts, or other political subdivisions. Due to ongoing disruptions impacting disbursements to states despite the court’s TRO, efforts that bolster clean energy investments, transportation, and infrastructure have been put at risk, including:
- The Home Electrification and Appliances Rebates Program, for which the IRA appropriates $4.5 billion to the Department of Energy. The rebate program, administered by state energy offices under final federal grants, subsidizes low- and moderate-income households’ purchase and installation of electric heat pump water heaters, electric heat pump space heating and cooling systems, and other home electrification projects. Thousands of California homeowners have signed up for these programs, received approvals, and even started installation in reliance on these rebates, and are stuck paying their contractors an extra $8,000 if our state energy offices cannot draw down funds. As of February 5, that remained the case: the home rebate grants were being held “for agency review.”
- The Solar for All program, administered by EPA and funded by the IRA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, awarded $7 billion to 60 grantees to install rooftop and community solar energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities. These awards—all subject to final grant agreements—support the construction of cheap, resilient power in underserved neighborhoods, and provide particular protection to communities in which wildfire risk regularly causes utilities to de-energize transmission lines. As of February 5, numerous states in the coalition were unable to access their Solar For All grant accounts.
- The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, administered by EPA and funded by a $5 billion IRA appropriation, supports states, tribes, and local governments in planning and implementing greenhouse-gas reduction measures. For example, the regional air district covering Los Angeles received a $500 million award, subject to a final grant agreement, to clean up the highly polluting goods movement corridor between the Imperial Valley's logistics hubs and warehouses to the Port of Los Angeles. As of February 5, this grant and other Climate Pollution Reduction Grants remained inaccessible.
- The national air monitoring network and research program under Clean Air Act sections 103 to 105, which has been administered by EPA for the last sixty years to protect communities from dangerous pollution. The IRA appropriated $117.5 million to fund air monitoring grants under this program to increase states’ abilities to detect dangerous pollution like particulate matter (soot) and air toxics, especially in disadvantaged communities. These pollutants create a particular public health emergency in areas recovering from wildfires. As of February 5, air monitoring grants remained inaccessible.
Attorney General Bonta, along with the attorneys general of New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Illinois, led the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the motions.
The motion to enforce and motion for a preliminary injunction are available here
East County News Service
February 6, 2025 (Sacramento, CA) -- Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 286, which will close what he calls a “dangerous loophole” in California’s Elderly Parole program that allows violent sex offenders and murderers as young as age 50 to be released early. Click here to read the bill’s fact sheet.
“Releasing violent rapists under the so-called ‘elderly parole’ is not only an insult to victims but a grave danger to Californians,” Jones states in a press release.. “Survivors of violent sex crimes and the families of murder victims should never have to live in fear that their attacker could walk free long before serving their full sentence. But under current law, the system is rigged in favor of criminals, forcing the Board of Parole Hearings to justify why these offenders shouldn’t be released. That’s completely backward. The law should protect law-abiding Californians, not violent criminals.”
The current Elderly Parole program was expanded through a last-minute amendment to a budget bill, Assembly Bill 3234 (Ting – 2020), which lowered the age threshold for elderly parole from 60 years of age to 50 years of age during the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent sex offenders can be eligible for elderly parole after serving only 20 years, under AB 3234. Despite its major societal and fiscal impacts, AB 3234 was rushed through the process without a single Senate policy committee hearing, according to Jones.
“Proponents of AB 3234 vowed that sex offenders and rapists would not be eligible for Elderly Parole, but ‘accidentally’ left out that key protection—and have refused to fix their mistake,” Jones says.”SB 286 will finally correct this dangerous loophole, ensuring that rapists, child molesters, and murderers serve their full terms—no matter their age.”
Since its passage, multiple child molesters have become eligible for Elderly Parole, forcing victims and their families to fight to keep their perpetrators behind bars.
SB 286 is the second attempt by Jones to close this loophole for rapists in the Elderly Parole program. His previous bill, SB 445 (2021), was blocked by Senate Democrats in the Public Safety Committee on a party-line vote.
SB 286 is supported by San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephen. The measure is awaiting assignment to a Senate policy committee for a hearing.
Updated February 7, 2025 with statement from the Council on Islamic Relations in San Diego.
By Miriam Raftery
February 6, 2025 (Washington D.C.) – Many world leaders as well as Congressional leaders in both parties are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s call for the U.S. to “takeover” Gaza, relocate Palestinians to neighboring nations and turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump initially spoke of a permanent resettlement, with the U.S. taking ownership. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio later walked that back, indicating relocation of Palestinians would only be temporary during debris removal and new construction. “In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” he stated, AP reports.
Trump insisted,”Everyone loves my Gaza idea,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
But with the exception of some Israeli leaders, reactions around the world have overwhelmingly rejected the concept. Here are their statements:
”He (Trump) has a different idea, and I think it’s worth paying attention to this,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a White House visit
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League released a joint statement rejecting any plans to move Palestinians out of their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. according to AP. The leaders caution that Trump’s plan would “threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples” and undermine long-term efforts to attain a two-state solution.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres reportedly told Trump to “stay true to the bedrock of international law,” avoiding making the problem worse by removing Palestinians from their homeland, according to Reuters.
Forcibly removing people from their homeland violates the Geneva Convention under international law, the Washington Post reports.
Yousef Munayyer, the head of the Palestine-Israel Program at the Arab Center Washington D.C, had this reaction to the proposal, the New York Times reports: “Outrageous, criminal, harebrained.” He noted that the idea of forcing Palestinians from their homes brings up a troubling history. “The region has suffered for decades from instability and conflict precisely because of the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948,” he added.
Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for Hamas ,told called the proposal “ridiculous and absurd.” He told Reuters, “Any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region.” Hamas’ attack that killed over1,300 Israeli civilians and seized hostages sparked the war in Gaza, prompting Israel’s massive retaliation which has killed an estimated 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that Moscow maintains the only way to resolve the Middle East conflict is through the creation of a Palestinian state to exist side-by-side with Israel, Reuters reports. "This is the thesis that is enshrined in the relevant U.N. Security Council resolution, this is the thesis that is shared by the overwhelming majority of countries involved in this problem. We proceed from it, we support it and believe that this is the only possible option," the Russian spokesman said.
Many Palestinians have voiced fear that if relocated, they may not be allowed to return home—and some expressed anger over the proposal.
“Trump can go to hell with his ideas, his money, and with his beliefs. We are going nowhere. We are not some of his assets.” -Samir Abu Basel, father of five in Gaza City displaced by the Israel-Hamas war.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned President Trump for stating the "U.S. Will take over the Gaza Strip" and "own it." In addition CAIR San Diego reaffirms its commitment to Palestinian self-determination and condemned Trump’s assertion that the U.S. will “take over Gaza.”
Community Organizer Summer Ismail issued a statement urging the American public to recognize the role of U.S. tax dollars and military support in the continued suffering of Palestinians even amid a cease-fire. “The idea that the U.S. should take control of Gaza is a reckless and blatant endorsement of illegal occupation in violation of international law. The Palestinian people have a right to self-determination. Attempts to impose foreign control will only perpetuate oppression and violence," Ismail states, also calling on the state department to comply with international law. "We need a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank. Only then can we rebuild and restore Palestinian sovereignty."
San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a Democrat, had this to say in a post on X. “No one wants another indefinite U.S. military occupation in the Middle East or anywhere else. This is ethnic cleansing – and this is Palestinian land, not ours. The best path for long-term peace and security is a two-state solution.”
Even some Trump supporters are strongly opposing the idea.
“I thought we voted for America first. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers’ blood,” Republican Senator Rand Paul posted on X.
Arab Americans for Trump has announced it has changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace following Trump’s call for the U.S. to takeover Gaza. “Obviously we’re completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in historic Palestine,” the group’s chairman Bishara Bahbah stated, AP reports.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he is keeping an “open mind” on the idea, but voiced concerns about the potential for U.S. troops to be sent to Gaza, which he noted “would be a tough place to be stationed as an American,” according to Politico.
There is some precedent for a major U.S. intervention after a conflict, notably the Marshall plan to rebuild Japan after World War II, despite the fact that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and fought on the Axis side against the Allied forces. But the U.S. is not a direct party in the Israeli-Gaza conflict, though the U.S. has sent arms to Israel.
Rebuilding Gaza is expected take many years, given the vast toll of devastation. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that Trump was not committing U.S. troops and didn't plan to use taxpayer dollars to rebuild Gaza, Axios reports.
Without support from Arab nations, the United Nations, or the Palestinian people, and with no U.S. troops to keep the peace nor American funding to clear debris and rebuild, it appears implausible that Trump could achieve a peaceful relocation of Palestinians, let alone muster the massive international resources needed to make Gaza safe and stable.
Update: An earlier version of this article contained information added by our editor stating that the vote violated California's Brown Act. The City has disputed this and indicated that a public vote was held. Our earlier report was based on a text from a Councilmember indicating that the vote was "anonymous" after ECM's editor asked whether the vote was unanimous. An anonymous vote during a public meeting would be illegal. Please see correction note below this article for full details.
By Jessica Brodkin Webb
Miriam Raftery contributed to this report.
February 5, 2025 (Lemon Grove) –Lemon Grove’s City Council last night appointed Yadira Altamirano to fill the seat left vacant after Allyson Snow was elected as Mayor in 2024. She was previously appointed to finish City Council Member Matt Mendoza’s term from late 2019 through December 2020.
To members on the dais, Altamirano recalled her arrival in Lemon Grove as a young child who did not speak English but felt safe walking to and from school, playing in neighborhood parks and navigating city streets.
Since then, the businesswoman said, she grew to appreciate where she was raised and chose to come back and raise her own children in the small city.
“My desire is to make an impact and make Lemon Grove as I remember it when I was little,” Altamirano said.
Answering questions posed by Snow and city council members, Altamirano said her top focus points would be improved safety, infrastructure projects and city repairs.
“Our youth are our future,” Altamirano said, and emphasized her desire to clean up the city is rooted in wanting to restore the Lemon Grove she remembers from her own youth. Her application indicated her goals include reopening the city’s rec center.
She also said she wants to see time dedicated to community service projects, and suggested residential buildings could be cleaned up to illustrate a sense of pride in Lemon Grove.
When Council members asked about her experience, she suggested she might be a wiser choice than other candidates, as this will be her second go-round on the dais.
Her first time on the Council coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many operations including City Council meetings were handled remotely. She did not address how that experience would inform her ability to affect change under current, post-pandemic practices.
When pressed for suggestions on what she might do to enhance the city, she cited La Mesa’s car show and farmers market as examples of events which bring the community together, but reiterated the city’s need to clean up its appearance so events are attractive to residents. On her application, she mentioned bringing back the Old Times Parade as a goal.
Altamirano landed this second appointment to City Council over candidates Kenneth Davies, Robert Holaday, Cody Littleton, Oyuki Littleton, Minola Manson, Robert Rael, Seth Smith and James Stout. Jay Bass withdrew his application before last night’s Council meeting, which included interviews with all applicants.
After the interviews, Councilmembers were asked to place marks next to up to three candidates whom they would be willing to have serve on the Council. Altimirano received three votes, the most of any applicant. A subsequent vote was held publicly, with a motion and second, according to the Mayor, with Altimirano receiving a unanimous vote of all four Councilmembers.
The next Lemon Grove City Council meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Lemon Grove Community Center.
Correction: An earlier version of the article indicated that the vote was held anonymously, which would violate California’s Brown Act prohibiting secret votes on any agendized item in a public meeting. The Brown Act information was added to our reporter's original article draft, due to a text from a Councilmember to our editor stating that the vote was “anonymous” and that each councilmember could vote for “up to three.” This text was in response to our editor's text asking who voted for or against the appointment, which was not in our reporter’s draft. The Councilmember’s text also included a photo of the vote tally for each applicant, without any Councilmembers identified on the vote tally. That tally showed three votes for Yadira Altamira.
Mayor Snow and a city legal representative have both since advised that a second vote was held in public and seconded (after the initial tally), and that this vote was public and unanimous, with all four Councilmembers supporting Altamirano's appointment.
Lemon Grove does not videotape its Council meetings, unlike all other East County cities, nor are email addresses for staff listed on the city’s webpage, making it difficult to verify information or obtain answers to question in a timely manner after a meeting. In this case, ECM sought information from the only city representative we had contact for after hours, since our editor wanted to post the news about Altamirano's appointment before leaving town for three days. ECM regrets the error.
By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson
February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees. DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data. The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” states a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court against the U.S. Department of the Treasury, its Bureau of the Fiscal Service which disperses payments, and newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
The suit was filed by the Alliance for Retired Americans and two labor unions under the AFL-CIO: The American Federation of Government Employees and Service Employees International Union.
“People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his `DOGE.’ And federal law says they don’t have to,” the lawsuit states. “The Privacy Act of 1974 generally, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for Secretary Bessent to hand over access to the Bureau’s records on individuals to Elon Musk or other members of DOGE.”
The lawsuit seeks a temporary and permanent injunction to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury system, though according to Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, DOGE’s access has been “complete”; there is no way to know if the data has been further shared, or with whom.
Concerns have also been raised over the illegal shutting off of funding to any programs that Trump does not approve of. Trump initially ordered a broad freeze on spending, even though Congress has the power of the purse strings under both the Constitution and a law passed by Congress during the Nixon era which prohibits a president from refusing to spend money allocated by Congress.
Trump later rescinded his memo ordering the freeze after a judge ordered a halt, CBS News reports.
But Musk has already shut down all funds to U.S. Aid, the agency that provides foreign aid around the world, such as programs to ease hunger and prevent AIDS. The agency’s website has gone dark. Other funds halted thus far include money allocated by Congress for green energy programs and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Federal law requires that if a president wants funding reduced or halted, the president must ask Congress and cannot take action unless Congress passes a bill to change the funding mandates.
“Controlling the system could allow the Trump administration to unilaterally--and illegally--cut off payments for millions of Americans, putting at risk the financial security of families and businesses based on political favoritism or the whims of Mr. Musk and those on his team who have worked their way inside,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, stated in a letter to Bessent on Feb. 2.
Though Trump has long touted Musk’s DOGE as an independent, non-governmental entity, after the lawsuit noted that Musk is not a federal employee, Trump’s White Houe announced that Musk is serving as a “special government employee.” Such employees work only part of the year and have less stringent conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements than full-time government workers.
The world’s richest man, Musk is CEO of Space X and Tesla, which have received billions of dollars in federal contracts.