The Coast News INLAND EDITION
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VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 7, N0. 15
JULY 22, 2022
Minor cases may add up to big deal S.D. court mulls Brady protections for lower offenses By Jacqueline Covey
AIR SCARE ESCONDIDO — Palomar Health is partnering with national provider Kindred Healthcare to construct a new 120-bed behavioral health hospital near its current Escondido campus, in hopes of continuing to bridge San Diego County’s mental health services shortfall. Palomar Health officials announced plans for the three-story, 90,0000 square-foot Palomar Behavioral Health Institute with Kindred last week, stating that they have long been planning a comprehensive expansion to their existing behavioral health services. The institute will be one of over 30 joint-venture specialty hospitals operated throughout the United States by Kindred’s behavioral health partnership program. Palomar also partnered with Kindred to open a 52-bed
TURN TO MEDAL OF HONOR ON 14
TURN TO BRADY ON 7
A small aircraft made an emergency landing July 16 in San Marcos, at the intersection of South Rancho Santa Fe Road and Melrose Drive, hitting a car in the process, around 6:15 p.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. All the passengers in the plane and the car were evacuated safely and were treated for minor injuries. Photo via Twitter/San Marcos Fire Department
Palomar Health plans new behavioral health hospital By Laura Place
warded to the Senate. Issa made a speech on the floor of the House hailing Williams as “an American hero and a Top Gun pilot like no other,” saying there were few comparisons to the “the heroism and valor he demonstrated for 30 harrowing minutes, 70 years ago, in the skies over the North Pacific and coast of North Korea.” “It is, to this day, the most unique U.S.-Soviet aerial combat dogfight in the history of the Cold War — and one that is truly for the ages,” Issa said. Williams, who retired from the Navy as a captain in the mid-1970s, was on combat air patrol in a single-seat F9F Panther fighter jet, flying with three other squadron mates deployed from a carrier anchored in the Sea of Japan, on Nov. 18, 1952, when the Americans encountered seven Soviet MiG-15s at higher altitude along the
REGION — A pending decision on nearly two dozen minor infraction cases in the city of San Diego will impact thousands of county residents’ ability to contest traffic offenses and municipal code violations in court. Coleen Cusack, a defense attorney for Matthew Houser and other pro bono clients, argued for discovery in 17 lower-level cases — with others pending — and made motions against the constitutionality of practices within the San Diego City Attorney’s Office on July 15 in San Diego Superior Court. Cusack is — and has been — trying to extrapolate evidence from the San Diego Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office on all of her pro bono cases. The city has previously argued it has no obligation to turn over evidence to defendants in low-level cases, most of which carry fines but no jail time. If the court grants her discovery motion, the city will have to turn over any evidence that qualifies under rights established in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of Brady v. Maryland in 1963, a legal standard for minor infractions that would be applied countywide. Brady materials include exculpatory and impeachment evidence, including records of police misconduct, public complaints, body camera footage and use-of-force reports. In August 2021, a Superior Court commissioner ruled the city violated Houser’s constitutional rights after failing to turn
inpatient health rehabilitation facility at Palomar Medical Center Escondido in 2021. “To achieve the extraordinary in healthcare, the entire organization constantly seeks better ways to improve every part of the patient experience and to always provide the highest quality of care,” said Diane Hansen, Palomar Health CEO and president. “This partnership helps us reimagine behavioral health and offer support to so many people who need it, which is very important to us and our community.” Officials say they plan to break ground on the $100 million project within the next 12 months and begin accepting patients in 2024. Around 200 people will be employed at the institute. Rather than being TURN TO HOSPITAL ON 14
Ex-pilot on Medal of Honor path
E. ROYCE WILLIAMS, 97, of Escondido was a Navy combat pilot during the Korean War. He survived a dogfight with seven Soviet fighter jets in November 1952. Photo by Vincent Passaro By City News Service
ESCONDIDO — An amendment to grant the Congressional Medal of Honor to an Escondido resident and former U.S. Naval aviator who prevailed in perhaps the longest aerial dogfight between a lone American fighter pilot and enemy combatants was approved July 14 by the House
of Representatives. E. Royce Williams, 97, was the focus of an amendment that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Bonsall and other representatives attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, nominating the veteran for the nation’s highest award for heroism. The amendment and bill were approved and for-