By Dianne Jacob

Making communities healthier: The county is taking big steps to bolster services for those dealing with mental illness and substance addictions.

Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, Sheriff Bill Gore, District Attorney Summer Stephan and I recently received initial Board of Supervisors support to create crisis stabilization centers and to explore expanding PERT, our Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams, into schools.

These initiatives are part of a broader effort to radically transform the local delivery of care into a coordinated system that puts the needs of people, not programs, first

Not a dumping ground: I continue to work closely with residents to fight the placement of sexually violent predators in our community.

I’ve asked the state attorney general to investigate the disproportionate placement of these serial rapists and molesters in rural East County. Ten of the 13 predators released in our county have been placed in the Jacumba/Campo/Boulevard area.

In their attempt to quietly house these monsters in San Diego County, state prison and hospital officials are exploiting small communities that lack the resources and clout to challenge these placements.

Power of choice: The Board of Supervisors recently agreed to develop options for launching a community choice energy program. The vote opens the door to real competition in the energy market and aims to provide ratepayers with the freedom of choice.

The board will be briefed on the development of the program over the next few months, with a detailed proposal expected to reach us in October.

— Dianne Jacob is chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and represents District 2. For more District 2 news, visit diannejacob.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter. For assistance with a county issue, call 619-531-5522 or email [email protected].