May 25, 2010 (San Diego) -- The new San Diego County Library Acoustic Showcase offers a wonderful variety of some of San Diego's very best singer/songwriters, folk music performers and story tellers.

These concerts are FREE to the community and include locations in East County.  The following are upcoming concerts for June 2010.

UTILITY ALSO PRESENTS ITS ENERGY RESOURCE PLAN FOR OUR REGION AT ECEDC COMMUNITY LEADERS SPOTLIGHT

May 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has announced that the company will bring the world’s largest heavy-lifting helicopter in the world to our region to construct Sunrise Powerlink, which SDG&E hopes to begin constructing this summer. “It can also be used for firefighting—and it can bring up to 2,500 gallons of water,” said Michael R. Niggli, president and chief operating officer of SDG&E. By contrast, the largest firefighting helicopter previously in San Diego had a capacity of 300 gallons, he said.

Niggli made the remarks during the East County Economic Development Council’s Community Leaders Spotlight at Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego yesterday.  The company's executives also presented business and education leaders with its plans for economic revitalization and sustainable energy that SDG&E indicated will benefit East  County. 

Times have changed since La Mesa became a city in 1912--the year the Titanic sunk, Teddy Roosevelt ran as a Bull Moose, and silent movies were the hot pop culture crazes.

May 24, 2010 (La Mesa) – The jewel of the hills will be a century old in 2012—and city leaders are gearing up to celebrate La Mesa’s history and culture through exhibits, education venues, institutional presentations and community events. (Get ready to party hearty!)

How much do you know about La Mesa's history and how times have changed in the past 100 years?

May 24, 2010 (Washington D.C.) -  Congressman Duncan Hunter praised a not guilty verdict in the case of Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, who faced court-martial for allegedly beating Iraqi detainee Ahmed Hashim Abed and lying to investigators.

Abed was arrested in September in Iraq for allegedly orchestrating the 2004 murders of four U.S. contractors working for Blackwater USA in Falluja. The contractors' burned bodies were later hung from a bridge, triggering the siege of Falluja.

Conservative group's candidates found not qualified for judicial positions by County Bar

May 24, 2010 (San Diego) – Judicial races are rarely headline news. But an organization called “Better Courts Now” founded by the late Don Hamer, an East County pastor, has lined up a slate of right-wing candidates to challenge four incumbent judges.

The group’s website states that judges should be accountable, uphold the law and make fair, impartial decisions—yet does not cite a single instance in which the incumbents failed on any specific point. (Better Courts Now notes that doing so would violate Canon 5 of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, which prohibits judicial candidates from leveling specific criticisms against opponents.) 

Better Courts Now’s candidates were not found qualified for the positions they seek by the County Bar Association.  In response, Better Courts Now has accused the Bar of "blatant political bias" and noted that Larry Stanwood Johnson, chair of the Bar's Certified Family Law Specialists Committee, has solicited donations from Committee members for the incumbent judges.  

Police seek 2 suspects in a black SUV

May 24, 2010 (San Diego) – A 25-year-old man was shot in a home invasion robbery last night at 6937 Saranac Street in a college-area neighborhood east of San Diego State University. According to San Diego Police Department, the man heard knocking or banging on his front door. He opened to find a robber armed with a gun. The thief and at least one accomplice pushed the victim to the ground and fired one round into his chest, then robbed the victim and two roommates of wallets and cash.

Next on tap:  A Pirates of the Caribbean Party for Haitian earthquake relief

May 23, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Yo, ho, it was a pirate’s night on the town last night as “Sam the Pirate” Mejia led a group of revelers on a pub crawl through East County in celebration of his birthday.

Best known for his uncanny resemblance to Johnny Depp and the Captain Jack Sparrow character popularized by Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Mejia started the evening off at his favorite place for grog and grubb: Hooley’s Irish Pub & Grill in Rancho San Diego.

May 23, 2010 (Descanso) – Three-year-old Noah Hale was found by his mother floating face-down and unresponsive in the family’s backyard pool on Friday. Following a 9-1-1 call, the toddler was air-lifted to Rady Children’s Hospital, but emergency room medical personnel were unable to save him.

May 22, 2010 (Rancho San Diego)—Cub Scouts from the Wolf Den of Pack 391 donned gloves and helped pick up trash around Steele Canyon Bridge earlier this month—all as part of their recycling requirement to earn Wolf badges.

The Pack includes students at local elementary schools in first through fifth grade. Second graders from the wolf Den picked up three bags of trash as well as some items to be recycled.

The Franklin Scandal, By Nick Bryant ( Trine Day LLC, Walterville, Oregon, 2009, 652 pages.)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

May 23, 2010 (San Diego) –Author Nick Bryant reveals a tragic and sinister tale of a nationwide pedophile ring that pandered children to a cabal of the rich and famous, stretching from Southern California to cornfields of Nebraska and beyond to our nation’s capitol. The Franklin Scandal reveals political powerbrokers who had access to the highest levels of our government and connections in the CIA. One of those powerbrokers is Lawrence E. "Larry" King, Jr. (no relation to the TV talk show host of the same name), identified by other sources as the primary pimp of the nationwide pedophile ring.

This book gripped me and held my attention like none I have ever read; I couldn’t put it down. The Franklin Scandal is riveting!

City of La Mesa and City Heights Community Center also among honorees in San Diego's eastern regions

May 22, 2010 (San Diego) – Walk San Diego’s recent Golden Footprint Awards included a special recognition to Lemon Grove’s Mayor Mary Sessom for “outstanding vision and leadership in promoting walkable communities.”

May 22, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Two earthquakes measuring 5.3 and 4.8 in magnitude struck at 10:33 and 10:00 a.m. The temblors were centered 14 and 13 miles SSW of Seeley, California, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

The quakes caused significant shaking in East County and San Diego, causing windows to rattle on Mount Helix.  If you had damage from the quake, please post in the comments section below. Click here to see an enlarged map. 

No reports of damage have been received, said a dispatcher for Heartland Fire, which services much of East County.

May 22, 2010 (San Diego) – San Diego Police are investigating  a complaint of a man who reportedly chased a 15-year-old girl last night near South 39th Street and Ocean View Blvd. in the Mountain View neighborhood of San Diego, located east of I-15 and south of Highway 94.

Donations, supplies also needed to help children who survived quake

May 21, 2010 (Mt. Helix) – Dr. Carolle Jean-Murat gives a grim update on the plight in Haiti. “Only a few people have received tents, tarps, or food to sustain them. Many are presently dying of disease, malnutrition, or simply checking out mentally or dying with a broken heart.”

Swarm may be Africanized “killer” bees

May 21, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – A 68-year-old man has been attacked by bees in the 500 block of Tecate Road. According to Cal-Fire firefighters at the scene, the aggressive swarm may be Africanized bees.