Property Tax Revenue to Increase by $66M

1. Property tax revenues for San Diego County are expected to increase by $66 million this fiscal year over last year, Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said Tuesday. McAllister's office is preparing to mail tax bills to 978,873 property owners. Revenue for the county government is expected to be $4.54 billion, McAllister said.

2. The California Public Utilities Commission Tuesday ordered San Diego Gas & Electric to stop using helicopters to build the Sunrise Powerlink transmission line until further notice. According to the CPUC, the air-crane helicopters used on the project have been involved in eight incidents, seven since June. The latest took place Monday, the dropping of a straw boom used to prevent erosion.

3. The USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate's Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County fell 1.0 percent in August, the largest decline since the height of the national recession in March 2009. The drop was led by steep falls in the value of local stocks, consumer confidence and the number of building permits taken out by contractors, according to USD Professor Alan Gin.