By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2008 (San Diego) -- The twelfth Annual Africa Trade and Business Conference sponsored by Water For Children Africa will be held November 21-23, 2008. 

Inspired after a visit to Africa with her mother, El Cajon resident Vickie Butcher founded the nonprofit organization to create infrastructure for bringing clean, safe water and medical supplies to help children in rural African villages.

November 17, 2008 (El Cajon) — This holiday season, Sophie's Art Gallery is going green with a collection of art made form recycled materials.  Green angels are made from recycled wood, blue jean jackets saved from the landfill, and ornaments made from found objects. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2008 (Alpine) — Looking for the coolest place in East County?

The largest outdoor ice rink in Southern California is now open for the holiday season at Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine.

Book Review by Dennis Moore

Jamie Reno, an award-winning journalist and an 11-year survivor of stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has written a book about the resilience of the human spirit. Hope Begins in the Dark chronicles the lives of 50 lymphoma survivors, revealing their exclusive stories. The book speaks of the frailty of our existence as human beings and the lengths that we will go to in order to maintain a certain semblance of a quality of life.

Story and photos by Gayle Early

Amanda Costa and Erin Lannon of SDSUÕs Enviro-Business Society

November 12, 2008 (SAN DIEGO) — “Hey, you’re going the wrong way!” Amanda Costa, former co-president of SDSU’s Enviro-Business Society called out to students streaming down Aztec Center steps. A “green-career forum” was about to start, where the Society, also known as “Club e3,” would spill information on the top ten cities to find green jobs, salaries, and info on how to “put green in your pocket.” About 15 vendors, including businesses and nonprofits, lined the causeway below to discuss specific eco-opportunities and internships, all part of Society’s eco-job faire at SDSU campus. ECM was there to check out a few of the tables.

Event Raises More Than $600,000 for New Robotic Surgery Program

November 15, 2008 (SAN DIEGO)  — Grossmont Hospital Foundation hosted its Carnevale di Venezia Annual Gala on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina to help raise money for Sharp Grossmont Hospital.  The event netted more than $600,000 dollars, which will support the hospital’s new da Vinci® Robotic Surgery program.

The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation formally presented the hospital with a $300,000 contribution during the event, as the tribe’s chairman, Daniel J. Tucker, made the announcement.

SDG&E will host a series of fire preparedness community meetings on November 17, 18 and 19 in Valley Center, Alpine and Pine Valley to discuss its proposal to shut-off power during high fire-risk periods. 

November 15, 2008 - A Vegetation Fire broke out this morning East of the Tecate Border crossing. Fire officials say 35-40 acres have burned but the fire's advance has been stopped.

By Miriam Raftery

East County Chamber of Commerce President Mike Cully (left) and membership director Regina Williamson (right) present new member plaque to ECM Editor Miriam Raftery and Marketing Director Leon Thompson.

Mike Cully, president of the East County Chamber of Commerce, was at Election Central in Golden  Hall downtown as the announcement was made that Barack Obama had won the presidency. “Drivers were honking horns. There was so much enthusiasm,” he recalled, adding that Obama’s ability to inspire people to work together “espouses what it means to be an American.”  Noting that the stock market rallied up 300 points upon news of the presidential race outcome, he observed that Obama’s victory “instills hope in people—and hope is more tangible than you can imagine.  It’s what drives America--and it’s what drives business.”

"Do you think the victims of the fires of 2003 & 2007 be allowed to go homeless?" asks Randy Seol of the musical group Strawberry Alarm Clock.

This Saturday, November 8 from 3 to 8 p.m., Seol is organizing a benefit fundraiser to meet and hear musical groups slated to perform at a benefit concert next March.(The concert was originally set for October 4th but was postponed due to permit issues.)

By Miriam Raftery

November  2008 (San Diego) — Public officials and backcountry residents leveled harsh criticism at SG&E during a public meeting of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) convened in San Diego on October 14 to discuss causes of the 2007 wildfires and how to prevent future conflagrations.  Speaker after speaker blasted SDG&E’s proposal to cut power to 45,000 homes during high fire risk conditions and urged commissioners to take action to prevent future fires.  (Citizens with information for the CPUC may send an e-mail to sd2007fires@cpuc.ca.gov.)

By Miriam Raftery

Democrats gathered at House of Blues await word on Presidential race

On the night when most of America turned blue, Democrats gathered to celebrate at the aptly-named House of Blues in San Diego.  Cheers greeted the historic announcement that Barack Obama had just been declared the winner, becoming the first African-American president in U.S. history.   Kristy Mundt, president of the East County Democratic Club, exchanged high-fives with fellow Democrats, passing out Obama stickers. Hope filled the air and flowed outside onto streets flocked with revelers, where strangers embraced and even homeless people grinned, offering thumbs-up signs.

By Richard Noel

Orfila employee Dolores Castaneda pours a generous taste for Shari Zollo (right) of Vista, who enjoyed the festivities with Barbara Deuel and Drea Zollo Bush (both of Oceanside).

“Oh yes, it’s Eighties night!”

For all those who still wear their sunglasses at night, you could have worn them to Orfila Vineyards’ tasting room as the crew kept the doors open late on October 23rd for a special evening of uncorked fun.  With a 1980s music theme, wine club members and other visitors enjoyed listening to blasts from the past while sipping the Escondido winery’s latest hits.  Tasting room manager Benjamin Wier put together what may be the first of many more late-night events to come, and pulled it off with the flair of a high school reunion. 

Democratic voter registration volunteers cheer as Party Chair Jess Durfee announces San Diego County now has more registered Democrats than Republicans.

NOVEMBER 2, 2008 (San Diego) — “We have, after 24 years, returned San Diego County to the blue column,” San Diego County Democratic Party Chairman Jess Durfee announced at a press conference today.

La Mesa Council holds hearing Nov. 5 on proposal to erect cell phone tower in Lake Murray area

By Miriam Raftery

When Mom asked me to look into possible health hazards posed by cell phone panel antennas that a church in her neighborhood wants to put up, I expected to find reassuring facts to allay Mom’s concerns.  Instead, I found deeply disturbing data that makes me wonder why the public is not being informed about health risks—and why our government seems intent on covering up troubling truths.

Why does a County with 4,261 square miles have only 1 early voting place? Two San Diego Assemblymembers call for changes after ECM inquiry

By Miriam Raftery

Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña vowed to take action in Sacramento to require that San Diego have more early voting locations to avoid long lines in the future.

November 2, 2008 (San Diego) — San Diego County stretches 65 miles from north to south, and 86 miles from east to west, covering 4,261 square miles. We are the sixth largest County in America, with a population over 3.1 million people. So why do we only have one early voting location, at the Registrar of Voters office, which is a two-hour drive from some portions of the County? And why must people wait four or more hours to vote once they arrive?

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2008 (Del Cerro) — “Clients will ask, `How can we go green and still make it beautiful?  That’s really the trick,” observes designer Rick Fahmie of Kitchen Expo.

Fahmie designed a green kitchen in his own Del Cerro home, using utilizing natural and eco-friendly materials as well as maximizing energy efficiency.

Links to top stories in other publications on East County issues

POWERLINK GETS PUMMELED

ECM Editor’s note:  The CPUC decision leaves the door open for a southern route to be built, which would impact East County communities near the border, so stay tuned.

Voice of San Diego (November 1, 2008) — San Diego Gas & Electric's proposed $1.2 billion Sunrise Powerlink will not be built through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

The California Public Utilities Commission, the state regulatory agency that decides whether the power line should be built or not, issued draft rulings Friday that give the five-member commission two options to consider when deciding the Sunrise Powerlink's fate in December: Don't build it at all, or build it around the park — on the condition that SDG&E guarantee it delivers renewable energy to San Diego.

DROUGHT, BEETLES KILLING FORESTS

More than 10,000 oaks in S.D. County affected

San Diego Union-Tribune (October 25, 2008 ) — Bugs and diseases are killing trees at an alarming rate across the West, from the spruce forests of Alaska to the oak woodlands near the San Diego-Tijuana border.

Several scientists said the growing threat appears linked to global warming. That means tree mortality is likely to rise in places as the continent warms, potentially altering landscapes in ways that increase erosion, fan wildfires and diminish the biodiversity of Western forests.

A SLOW STRUGGLE

Only 9 percent of homes that were destroyed in blazes have been rebuilt

San Diego Union-Tribune (October 21, 2008 ) — Mary Wagner and her family are among the lucky ones. Although they lost their home in Rancho Bernardo in the wildfires that started a year ago today, they navigated insurance claims and building permits with little trouble and will be moving into a new, bigger house before Christmas.

“We couldn’t have been more fortunate,” she said. “The house looks a lot different, but it’s beautiful.”

Events planned this weekend by supporters and opponents of initiative to overturn same-sex marriage

By Miriam Raftery

Art Madrid, La Mesa Mayor

November 1, 2008 (La Mesa) - La Mesa’s City Council voted unanimously to take a neutral stance on Proposition 8, drawing applause from most of the crowd assembled at council chambers last week.

“The city of La Mesa will not allow its council chambers to be the battleground for conflicting social issues,” Mayor Art Madrid observed. 

By the Rev. Michael C. Boblett

Editor’s Note: Proposition 8 seeks to overturn the legality of same-sex marriages in California.

I believe that Proposition 8 is a perfect example of an important fault line dividing the conservative movement in America today.  On one side of this line are people like me, fiscal conservatives who prefer a government that does not seek to legislate private morality.  On the other side are those who seek, whether they admit this or not, to turn this republic into a theocracy. 

Story and photos by Gayle Early

November 1, 2008 (La Mesa/Spring Valley) - It’s 7:00 a.m., third Saturday of the month. The line behind Crosspointe Life Church in La Mesa snakes through the parking lot and all the way down the alley. Feeding America, a nonprofit agency formerly known as Second Harvest, has dropped off its monthly food distribution here in La Mesa, where demand from hungry people seeking food has leaped 103% this quarter. Volunteers also picked up fresh produce and staples from Albertson’s and are setting up tables. Distribution starts at 9:00 a.m. It’s chilly. Many are camped out in chairs, huddled with blankets, surrounded by retractable shopping carts, canvas and plastic bags, bins, cardboard boxes, even laundry baskets with which to carry food home. If they have a home. It’s a long wait.

Resale Clothes & Toys for Children of All Ages

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2008 - In today’s cost-conscious times, parents are rediscovering the jobs of resale shopping.  By popular demand, after reporting on my favorite women’s resale shop, I scoured East County to find a great place for parents to save money on stylish kids’ clothes, play equipment and more.

VOTER’S WATCHDOG - Be a Good Citizen: Vote!

By Penelope Young Andrade, LCSW, guest columnist

Are you ready to be a good citizen? Like many of us, you may have some trouble naming your Congressperson, or knowing the number of your Congressional district. No blame. It’s easy to get caught in demands at home or work and forget that one of your most important relationships is with your government – community, city, state, and national.