“Two Banks Burned to Ground in San Diego (CA) Suburb - FireEngineering.com” plus 1 more

Two Banks Burned to Ground in San Diego (CA) Suburb - FireEngineering.com

Posted: 31 May 2020 12:00 AM PDT

LA MESA, Calif. — The quaint downtown of suburban La Mesa near San Diego has suffered major damage with Chase and Union banks next door to each other burned to the ground.

Windows were smashed at many businesses, including a Goodwill store, a Sotheby's real estate office and a popular bar.

San Diego police officers, aided by other law enforcement agencies, walked shoulder to shoulder through the streets after 2 a.m. Sunday, telling hundreds of protesters and observers that they would be arrested for unlawful assembly if they didn't disperse.

The east San Diego suburb of 60,000 people borders El Cajon, where the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a police officer triggered days of major unrest in 2016.

The La Mesa protest that began peacefully Saturday afternoon and turned increasingly violent as night fell.

ALSO

One Dead in Indianapolis Shootings Amid Protests

Protests Spread Around U.S., Thousands Ignore Minneapolis Curfew

Police Cars Burn, Windows Shatter as Protests Roil New York

National Guard Called in to Los Angeles

Federal Officer Slain Guarding Courthouse Near CA Protest

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FERGUSON, Mo. — Mostly peaceful protests took a turn late Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri, where police said at least six officers were injured after they were hit with rocks and fireworks.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that police used tear gas to disperse a large group of protesters who had set off fireworks inside Ferguson police headquarters.

Gov. Mike Parson activated the Missouri National Guard late Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Ferguson Police Chief Jason Armstrong spoke to a group of about 500 peaceful protesters about how Michael Brown Jr.'s death was a "wake-up call to law enforcement." The 18-year-old Brown, who was black, was shot and killed by a white Ferguson police officer in 2014, sparking a wave of protests throughout the country.

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RICHMOND, Va. — Photos on social media show several fires throughout downtown Richmond overnight as protests in the Virginia capital continued.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the headquarters of the nearby United Daughters of the Confederacy burned early Sunday and was marked with graffiti. Several Confederate statues along the city's Monument Avenue were defaced with graffiti.

The newspaper reports that an apartment building on a downtown street also caught fire, but protesters initially wouldn't let fire crews through until police cleared the area with tear gas.

Protesters targeted police headquarters for the second night in a row as officers formed a barricade around the building.

A dumpster was set afire near the police headquarters, which had its front windows broken out Friday night. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the police fired tear gas to move crowds away from the building.

Several blocks away near Virginia Commonwealth University hundreds of protesters blocked streets chanting "George Floyd," referring to the black man who died Monday after an arresting officer in Minneapolis pushed his knee into Floyd's neck while he was on the ground handcuffed.

Media reports showed video of protesters hurling what appeared to be water bottles at a police car, which moved through the crowd and sped away. A police cruiser was burned in the violence on Friday night, along with a city bus.

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PHOENIX — Protesters marched the streets of downtown Phoenix and Tucson Saturday after the cities' leaders implored them to refrain from violence.

The marches appeared to be largely peaceful, according to local media reports.

On Saturday night, however, Phoenix police had to defend the department's headquarters. Shortly after 10 p.m., Phoenix police said a large group of protesters downtown had become an unlawful assembly, the Arizona Republic reported.

The police said they needed to disperse immediately. The protesters were seen kneeling with their hands up in the streets outside Phoenix police and municipal buildings, the Republic reported.

They chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Black lives matter."

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed has declared a citywide curfew for Sunday night as violent protests rage throughout the city in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.

Breed says the curfew will last from 8 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday.

The mayor says she has asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to put the California National Guard on standby.

Authorities say there have been increased levels of violence, crime, vandalism and assaults on police officers Saturday night as the protests took a dark turn.

Los Angeles is already under a citywide curfew overnight and the National Guard is en route to help police quell the violence.

Poseidon desalination proposal for Huntington Beach may face new requirements - OCRegister

Posted: 31 Jul 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Poseidon Water could be headed back to the drawing board to better compensate for the marine life expected to be killed by its proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach.

After hearings this week for one of two remaining major permits needed for the project, several members of the Regional Water Quality Control Board indicated they were dissatisfied with the proposed mitigation for the larvae and other small marine life that would die as a result of the plant's ocean intake pipes.

"I don't think this mitigation comes close to addressing the impacts this project will have," said regional board Director Daniel Selmi on Friday evening, July 31, near the end of two 10-hour days of online hearings and public testimony for the proposed permit.

While advocates applauded the controversial project for creating a drought-proof source of drinking water for Orange County, foes told the regional board that the water isn't needed, is too expensive, will unnecessarily harm marine life and disproportionately burden low-income households.

But the primary concern of regional board members focused on the proposed mitigation at Bolsa Chica Wetlands as well as the lack of details in Poseidon's mitigation plan. The board will meet Aug. 7 to discuss how to address those issues.

Among the possibilities discussed Friday was a requirement that Poseidon to build an artificial reef to promote sea life, in addition to the work proposed for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

The new issues represent the latest bureaucratic hiccup for the $1 billion project, which has been in the works since 1998. And it's the third time since 2006 that Poseidon has been before the regional board for a permit, thanks to previous permits expiring and new regulations being put on the books.

Poseidon Vice President Scott Maloni, who's overseeing the project, took heart that the conditions linked to the permit on Friday have, so far, remained unchanged from conditions recommended by the regional board's staff. And while many opponents would like to see the permit rejected completely, board concerns appeared limited to mitigation requirements.

"After two days of testimony, the facts supporting the (proposed permit), and staff recommendation to approve the renewed permit, are unchanged," he said after the meeting.

"We are pleased that so many local teachers, Bolsa Chica conservationists, water district leaders, elected officials and residents voiced their support for the project. We look forward to the Board deliberations on Friday, Aug. 7th."

A total of 76 speakers supported the project, including trade union representatives eager for jobs constructing the $1 billion plant and San Diego County backers of Poseidon's existing desalination operation in Carlsbad. Several county business groups also said they backed the plant.

Another 99 people spoke against the proposal, including a coalition of more than 20 environmental groups and neighbors of the project, which would be adjacent to the AES power plant on Pacific Coast Highway.

More hurdles ahead?

The mitigation proposal developed by Poseidon calls for restoring 5.7 acres of wetlands at Bolsa Chica, enhancing water circulation there and paying for the inlet dredging. That dredging is necessary for the Bolsa Chica estuary to remain open to the ocean and sustain the existing bounty of wetland wildlife. Funding dedicated for dredging, needed every year or two, has been exhausted.

But some regional board members — along with some environmentalists — challenged the proposed 129 acres of mitigation credit proposed by regional board staff to be awarded to Poseidon for the work at Bolsa Chica.

While the dredging accounted for 108 acres of that credit, critics complained that the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach had already received mitigation credit for building the inlet and establishing the now-depleted trust fund for dredging. They also attacked the proposed credit for not creating any new habitat to replace that to be damaged by the plant.

Additionally, Tom Luster of the Coastal Commission said the mitigation was inadequate by the standards of his agency, which Poseidon would need a permit from if it gets the green light from the regional board.

Luster raised the possibility that the Bolsa Chica Wetlands mitigation had more serious problems: Because of the effect of sea level rise on the wetlands, the mitigation proposal could not anticipate the long-term maintenance needs of the wetlands. He said Coastal Commission staff determined that additional mitigation would be needed elsewhere.

Luster also questioned the location of the Poseidon plant, saying the proposal didn't adequately address the future threat of sea level rise, flooding and tsunamis at the site.

Even if those issues don't interfere with Poseidon winning a permit from the regional board, Luster signaled that they would likely have to be addressed to satisfy the Coastal Commission.

Expensive water

Poseidon plans to sell 50 million gallons of desalted water a day — enough for about 450,000 people — to the Orange County Water District.

The district manages the groundwater basin that is used by its 19 member agencies to distribute water to 2.5 million residents in north and central Orange County. That local groundwater supplies 77 percent of the water to the district's service area, while 23 percent is imported from northern California and the Colorado River.

Reliance on imports is far less in central Orange County than in many parts of Southern California, including areas of south Orange County that depend on imported flows for more than 90% of their supply.

Poseidon's water would supplant about half of the imported water sent to north and central Orange County. Imported flows are vulnerable to shortages due to drought, demands from other areas and the conveyance reliability of waterways if disrupted by earthquakes.

The desalted water is estimated to cost about $2,200 an acre foot in 2022, the earliest the plant could be operating, according to John Kennedy of the Orange County Water District. Current groundwater costs about $600 an acre foot while water imported currently costs about $1,100 an acre foot. An acre foot is enough for about three families for a year.

Poseidon and some advocates point out that, historically, water prices have tended to go up. They say, over time, desalted water would cost less than imports. However, Orange County Water District projections in 2018 show that would take between 13 years and 30 years, and the Municipal Water District of Orange County, which oversees imported water, has estimated it could take 48 years.

The Orange County Water District has estimated the average home would see a monthly cost increase of $3 to $6. But a Municipal Water District study found that the desalted water, in a worst case scenario, could cost customers nearly $400 million more than imported water over 30 years.

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