By Miriam Raftery

July 24, 2014 (San Diego)—A growing number of veterans who served at Ft. McClellan in Alabama, where chemical and biological weapons testing and training was done, are now suffering health problems including cancer, autoimmune diseases and birth defects in children that may be linked to exposures to these toxins. Radioactive materials were also used. Sixty Minutes has called it one of the most toxic sites in America.

Now those who served at Ft. McClellan are taking their case to Congress.  House Resolution 411, introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko D-NY] and cosponsored by several other members including Rep. Duncan Hunter [R-El Cajon]  would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a registry of certain veterans who were stationed at Fort McClellan. (Read the Bill).

Plus previews of coming attractions

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Les Miserables on Mt. Helix

This week on Destination East County, we’ll start with some hot concerts and summer plays, a star party campout and the Pine Valley Days Parade.  Plus we’ll have previews of more super summertime events, from jazz in Julian to some rollicking times at the Ramona Country Fair.

By Janis Russell

Photo: Applicant Bill Adams states his case for 7-Eleven

July 23, 2014 (El Cajon)- At Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council meeting, Council had two public hearings on the appeal of planning commission’s decision denying request for beer and wine sales at 1021 West Washington Avenue and 500 North Second Street.  The stores sought permission to sell alcohol for off-site consumption. 

Council confirmed the planning commission’s decision and voted unanimously to deny the requests as well.

July 23, 2014 (San Diego's East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• VA San Diego nurses call for improved patient care (KPBS)
• More Refugee Girls Are College Bound, Flipping the Cultural Script (Voice of SD)
• Lemon Grove nixes raises in salary, car allowance (UT San Diego)
• Man who fired homemade cannon that exploded, killing girlfriend, talks to 10 News (10 News)
• San Diego Home Prices Rise While Sales Slip Nearly 8% (KPBS)
• Nonviolent offenders charged with violent crimes (UT San Diego)
• Business improvement districts fees upheld in court ruling (UT San Diego)
• Local Fishermen Land the Big One: a Dockside Market (Voice of San Diego)
• La Mesa Politics: Candidates filing now for council, mayor  (La Mesa Today)

STATE

• State alert system would target drivers in hit-and-run collisions (SacBee)
• California Supreme Court nomination a ‘statement’ to U.S. (SFGate)
• 5 men sue over anti-terror info-sharing program (SacBee)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

July 23, 2014 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Charge your phone, or you can't fly with it (APM Marketplace)
• USA Court ruling creates new uncertainty for Obamacare (Reuters)
• Candidate pool for Congress is missing moderates, study finds (CS Monitor)
• Inmate’s execution takes over two hours (USA Today)
• Lapses at high-security CDC labs reveal culture of negligence (CS Monitor)
• Florida airport staff get lesson in nation's geography

WORLD

• Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was shot down for money (Huffington Post)
• Great Wall of Japan? Locals balk at tsunami-protection plan. (CS Monitor)
• 2 Ukranian fighter jets shot down over rebel-held territory (Reuters)
• Israelis express anger over U.S. flight ban to Tel Aviv (Washington Post)
• Seized nuclear material in Iraq 'low grade': U.N. agency
• Anti-Israel protesters besiege Paris synagogue (JTA.org)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2014 (Jacumba) – Several registered sex offenders have been released recently in East County, with promises from authorities that electronic monitoring would protect people in the community.  But on Monday, a sex offender being monitored by authorities broke into a 70-year-old woman’s home in Jacumba and molested her, the Sheriff’s office has announced.

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2014 (San Diego)--How should America deal with the tens of thousands of children fleeing violence in Central America, arriving at our borders?  Many are traveling alone, trying to reach family members in the U.S.  Most are teens, but some are as young as three years old.

By Walter G. Meyer

July 22, 2014 (San Diego)--Don’t let the word “opera” in the title make you think this is your grandmother’s type of opera. Borrowing less from Verdi and Wagner than Out and Seventeen, this show is a powerful look at the very real problems of today’s teens. “Bare: a pop opera” is set in a Catholic boarding school and features some kids who have problems. Although most of the show is sung—there is very little dialog—including parts of Romeo and Juliet, the show moves quickly and is easy to follow.

July 21,2014 (La Mesa)—A case of tuberculosis has been reported at La Mesa Middle School, where others may have been exposed, , the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reports.

July 21, 2014 (El Cajon) – Latin heartthrob Lorenzo Antonio will perform at Sycuan’s Live & Up Close Theater on Saturday, July 26^th at 8 p.m.

July 21, 2014 (Spring Valley) – The Young Actors Theatre (YAT) production of Music Man continues this weekend,  July 24-27, at the YAT Theatre in Spring Valley.

July 22, 2014 (San Diego)--The impacts of violence in Gaza are being felt here in San Diego.  Over 700 people turned out on Sunday at a rally in a San Diego park to raise donations for humanitarian relief in Israel. The rally was organized by the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.

Hear our  radio special report on the Save Iraq Christians rally, plus our interview with East County Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce president Ben Kalasho on the worsening crisis in Iraq:  http://kiwi6.com/file/iw4izsdhq7

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2014 (El Cajon) –They carried an American flag, proud to be in a country where they are free. But their hearts ache for loved one endangered in their homeland: Iraq.  They are Iraqi-American Christians who rallied Friday in El Cajon's Promenade Park, pleading for political leaders to save Iraqi Christians from massacre by terrorists invaders who have declared an Islamic state, or caliph.

Farouk Georges shared the latest chilling news. Just one day earlier, he revealed, sources inside Iraq told him that the terrorist group ISIS “issued a decree against the Christians of Nineva…They are asking them to leave, or to convert to Islam, or be killed.”   

A million and a half Christians in Iraq have been displaced, said Ben Kalasho, president of the Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce and organizer of the rally. “We’ve counted 120 churches that have been bombarded and destroyed.” Thousands of Iraqi Christians have been killed, hundreds have been kidnapped and as of a few days ago, he revealed, “ISIS has spray-painted the letter N on Christian homes, letting everyone know where the Christians live.”  The N is for Nasrani, an Arabic word meaning Christian.

(caution: graphic photos)

Laker Girl by Jeanie Buss, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2013, 310 pages.

Book Review by Dennis Moore

The Los Angeles Lakers are at a crossroad in history and basketball lore and legacy. These last few years have not been kind to them, and author and Lakers’ VP in charge of basketball affairs Jeanie Buss puts it all in perspective in her book Laker Girl. She writes a candid tell-all account of the Lakers’ rise to basketball and sports’ glory, and their descent into implosion on a scale that is astounding, especially considering the legendary history and beginnings of this franchise.

By Donn Rutkoff

"Man About Wine"

July 19, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- Hello to all wine lovers in the East County and all wine lovers anywhere who are reading East County Magazine.  This is my first column and we hope there will be many more.  I will be bringing you news of what is happening here in the county, news of interest to the local growers and fermenters, and some educational "fluff" to help you enjoy wines.

Here is a preview of this week's wine-worthy topics.  (Hit "read more" and scroll down for the full stories.) 

• Sparkling wines in an hour?
• Warm-weather red grapes
• New tasting rooms - thanks to rezoning underway
• Wine columnist shares his roots

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2014 (Ocotillo)—A Summary of Violations has been issued to Ocotillo Wind Express (OWE) for alleged violations of state law due to hydraulic oil leaks observed during a complaint investigation, Sandy Nax at the Department of Toxic Substances Control with the California Environmental Protection Agency in Imperial County confirmed today.

July 21, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

By Robert Clark, El Cajon

July 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – The next musical performance at Mission Trails Regional Park will feature vocalist and recording artist Lillian Palmer on August 3 from 3 to 4 p.m.  Palmer performed in nightclubs and cabarets in Italy before returning home to Southern California.

July 20, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - The Three Musketeers take the stage at Grossmont College's Stagehouse Theatre on July 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. and on July 30 and 31 at 2 p.m. The play by Ken Ludwig  is based on Alexander Dumas’ classic tale of heroism, treachery, and close escapes. To defend the honor of the Queen of France, the Musketeers must outwit the wicked Cardinal Richelieu and Countess de Winter, and out –swashbuckle their enemies’ deadly henchman.

July 20, 2014 (Ramona) -- This year's Ramona Country Fair will be held on Thursday, July 31st through Sunday, August 3rd. The Ramona Chamber of Commerce's 44th Annual Ramona Country Fair features the Ramona Junior Fair & Livestock Auction, two stages of music and entertainment, amusement rides,  craft and business vendors,  and food court. Entertainment includes a battle of the bands, music by headlining musical groups, the annual Ramona Idol competition, a singer/songwriter showcase, and much more.

July 20, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - The New Media Arts Center is airing preview screenings of “Hellion,” a drama featuring Breaking Bad star Arron Paul. The next screenings will be July 21, 22 and 24 at 1 p.m.at Media Center’s single-screen, 50 seat cinema.

2 arrests made in string of vehicle break-ins at golf courses

East County News Service

July 20, 2014 (Santee)--If you’ve been a victim of a car burglary at a local golf course, Santee Sheriff’s Station may have some good news for you.

By Miriam Raftery

July 20, 2014 (San Diego)—Many politicians talk about helping our veterans. But James Kimber, a physician assistant and candidate for California’s 50th Congressional District, actually  donned scrubs and gave medical treatment to homeless veterans during San Diego’s 27th annual Stand Down event on July 18.

As the Senior Medical Officer aboard two combat warships (USS ELLIOT DD-967, USS REID FFG-30), Kimber is all too familiar with Emergency Medicine and treating those who have served.  He spent 20 years in active duty in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Senior Chief Hospital Corspman. Currently he is a Physician Assistant practicing neurosurgery at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.

Kimber says he is is alarmed at how veteran’s needs are being neglected and feels we as a country owe them more. He worked Stand Down last year as a provider and was shocked at some of the patients he treated.

By Miriam Raftery

July 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Santee resident Simonetta Carr’s book, Anselm of Canterbury, was named Best Biography in the San Diego Book Awards.  East County Magazine recently interview Carr on the Bookshelf segment of our East County Magazine Radio show on KNSJ.

You can now hear our interview here:  http://kiwi6.com/file/51gcwpzbuy.

For more information on the author and her works, scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

July 20, 2014 (La Mesa) - Basketball superstar Bill Walton, a Helix High School graduate in La Mesa, got his start playing basketball at neighborhood centers such as the Boys & Girls Club. He earned his way to the Boys & Girls Clubs Hall of Fame and went on to play with the UCLA Bruins. He later became a National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player and won two NBA championships.

East County News Service

July 20, 2014 (San Diego)—Campus police at San Diego State University are seeking public help to locate three suspects who fled a party in the 5000 block of College Place where an SDSU student was stabbed by an unknown person during an altercation.  The attack occurred  at 12:30 a.m. The victim was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Book Review by Dennis Moore

July 19, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - Tameka Hicks is on the Dean’s List at Xavier University in New Orleans, but as proud as she might be of that achievement I get the feeling from reading her book; Said I Wouldn’t Tell It…But I Just Can’t keep It To Myself, that she is most proud of being on “God’s List.” Being given up at birth by her parents and after being placed in from foster home to foster home, Hicks describes in this spiritual and heartrending book how her trust level had bottomed out, describing in vivid detail how she was abused mentally, emotionally and physically. This young lady has aspirations of being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company and building her own ministry. From talking with her and reading this book, I can say that she is well on her way.

East County News Service

Photo: Latima “Latty” Dover

July 19, 2014 (El Cajon)—Two Jamaican men are sought as “persons of interest” by the Sheriff in a homicide investigation. The victim, Kevin McCalla, was found dead of gunshot wounds on a pathway in an apartment complex at 1475 Graves Avenue in the unincorporated portions of El Cajon back on June 25^th  at 8:44 p.m.

July 19, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - The County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has issued a Boil Water Order and Public Notification for the Girl Scouts Whispering Oaks Program Center located at 4949 Pine Hills Road, Julian, CA 92036 effective immediately.  This public water system serves a ranger’s area, lodge, health center, three cabin areas, and restroom located by a ball field.