Decision puts families and eagles at risk, Protect Our Communities warns

Wind-turbine fire on Campo Reservation December 16, 2013 near site of wind farm lease approved by BIA in the same week that this blaze threatened nearby homes.

December 31, 2013  –On December 26, local residents learned that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has signed a Record of Decision approving a lease for Phase II of Iberdrola’s controversial Tule Wind Project (also known as the Reduced Ridgeline Project) in San Diego County. The Record of Decision has not been published in the Federal Register so is not available for the public to review even though the BIA has already issued a press release.

“The BIA’s decision is reckless and shows outrageous disregard for the high fire risk we all face in San Diego County,” said Donna Tisdale, POC’s Secretary. “The fire district that Iberdrola contracted has no air tankers or helicopters of its own, but must hope and pray that mutual aid fire agencies can spare them. And Iberdrola’s Tule Wind Fire Protection Plan shows that it plans to use the people of San Diego County as guinea pigs by relying on an experimental fire suppression technology instead of something already proven to work.”

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

December 31, 2013 (San Diego) – New Years Eve is a special evening, however it’s no special pass to overdo it.  “These Safe and responsible tips should be practiced year round,” says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.

By Miriam Raftery

December 30, 2013 (Ramona)--After 20 years, Hawk Watch, a popular wildlife educational program in Ramona featuring  hawks, owls and eagles, has been cancelled for 2014 .  Visitors can still go birdwatching on their own at the Ramona Grasslands  Preserve, but there will be no organized presentations or up-close looks at captive birds of prey.

 Wildlife Research Institute, which ran the program, announced the cancellation on its website with no explanation.  But the decision likely stems from trouble raising funds for the nonprofit after news broke that its founder, David Bittner, was sentenced in federal court  in August after pleading guilty to unlawful taking  a Golden Eagle without a permit and failing to file any data reports for a four-year period on birds that he had banded.

Update January 3, 2014:  Five days after his heart surgery, which wound up being a quintuple bypass, we interviewed Leon in his hospital room.  Hear for yourself how energetic he's feeling - and how he's already setting the pace for walking a mile a day around the recovery ward. This interview aired on our East County Magazine Show on KNSJ Radio:  http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/1x5gj5h5h7/Leon-HospitalInterviewPost-Surgery.mp3

Editor’s Note:  We send warm wishes for a speedy recovery to Leon Thompson, our “East County Eater.”  If you were at our holiday party, you'll recall Leon gleefully carving up the prime rib.  Tomorrow, Leon is undergoing triple bypass surgery, or as he calls it, “the trifecta.”   Undaunted, he asked us to post this message for our readers—including his witty review of hospital food, along with his New Year’s resolution for healthy dining—and a special request for our readers.

By Leon Thompson, a.k.a. the East County Eater

December 26, 2013 (La Mesa)--This is Leon Thompson, otherwise known as the East County Eater to readers of East County Magazine. Today I’m reporting from Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.  My lifetime of savoring great foods, along with a family history of coronary artery disease, has finally caught up with me.  So I’ll be undergoing triple bypass surgery Friday morning—split down the middle like an oyster, with some fancy rerouting of my plumbing by the cardiac surgeon, and then I’ll be trussed up like a holiday turkey, with a few weeks to marinate before I’m back on the beat.

So by the time you hear this broadcast, hopefully I’ll have a healthy heart just in time for the New Year.

By Miriam Raftery

December 28, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- Long-term unemployment benefits expired on Saturday , after Congress failed to authorize an extension. People who have been out of work for six months or longer will no longer be receiving unemployment checks.

About 1.3 million Americans will lose benefits immediately, including 222,000 Californians.  By the end of 2014, it’s estimated that nearly 5 million people will lose unemployment benefits. Those checks range from $40 to $450 a week, so this is a major blow for individuals who may have no other source of income.

The New York Times reports that removing this safety net for unemployed workers will push hundreds of thousands of households below the poverty line. With the cut off, only one out of every four unemployed Americans will receive jobless benefits –the lowest proportion in half a century.

Our November shows are now online—including special reports on East County issues, interviews with top newsmakers, local musicians, authors, colorful characters and people making a positive difference in our community. Click here for a list of our November shows and guests with links to listen online.

You can also hear our show live when it airs on KNSJ 89.1 FM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. and reruns Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 9 a.m.  Or listen live online during those hours at www.KNSJ.org.

December 26, 2013 (San Diego) – The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) encourages football fans to take advantage of expanded Trolley service Thursday, Dec. 26, to avoid congested traffic when traveling to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl game at Qualcomm Stadium.

MTS will operate Green Line Trolley service with 15-minute frequency or better before and after the game to accommodate increased ridership.  Fans are advised to travel early and board between 4 and 5 p.m. to ensure arrival at Qualcomm Stadium in time for pre-game festivities and kick-off at 6:30 p.m.

Fans originating travel on the Blue Line can transfer to the Green Line at the 12th & Imperial Transit Station, and those starting on the Orange Line can transfer at either the Grossmont Center, 12th & Imperial, or Santa Fe Depot stations. 

December 25, 2013 (Alpine) – A driver who died at the scene of an accident on Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego on December 22^nd has been identified as Michael Glantz, a 62-year-old Alpine resident.

December 25, 2013 (Spring Valley ) – In the early hours of Christmas morning at 12:32 a.m., Lemon Grove Sheriff Deputies responded to a radio call to help San Miguel Fire Department at a brush fire reported near homes on South Granada Avenue in Spring Valley.  Upon arrival, deputies and firefighters found a residence on fire at the rear of the house.

Fortunately, residents had safely evacuated.  Firefighters doused the blaze and asked Sheriff’’s Bomb-Arson unit to investigate. The fire’s cause was determined to be accidental.

By Miriam Raftery

December 24, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – A mountain lion has been sighted in Lemon Grove this Christmas eve morning. “Deputies met with the reporting party, who took a picture of what appeared to be a mountain lion,” said Sgt. Matt Cook with the Sheriff’s Lemon Grove substation.  The animal was apparently lying in the bushes of a vacant lot just west of the Food4Less at 7420 Broadway, the main street through the town of Lemon Grove.

The witness saw the mountain lion at 7:30 a.m. but didn’t report it until nearly 9 a.m.  Deputies searched for the big cat but did not find it.

December 24, 2013 (El Cajon) --The Halo Community Foundation has been established, just in time for a holiday gift to help people in need in our community, Visiting Angels has announced.   The mission of the Halo Community Foundation is to provide quality in-home care to low-income individuals suffering from illnesses, disabilities, and/or physical impairments.

The Visiting Angels’ East County Office can assist low income individuals receive critical in-home care for a better quality of life.  The foundation provides care to qualified individuals based upon needs and income level free of charge. 

December 23, 2013 (El Cajon) -- The Neighborhood Market Association has partnered up with Chaldean-Middle Eastern Social Services and the Chaldean American Association to help sponsor this year’s Chaldean Community Toy Giveaway, which provided over 7,000 toys to children in need this holiday season.

“Nothing brings a community together like being able to work towards bringing a smile to the face of a child, ” says NMA President and CEO Mark P. Arabo, “every disadvantaged kid deserves to feel special during this season.”

December 23, 2013 (San Diego) – If you love California’s agricultural products — our fruits, nuts, veggies, chicken, eggs and pork chops — the County Agricuiltural Department has this reminder for you: don’t pack a pest in your luggage!

The holiday season is also the season for traveling. And we should all do our best to protect the California agricultural products we love to eat — and which make up a huge part of our state and local economy — by making sure we don’t accidentally bring something home that can force quarantines, wreck crops and wreak havoc.

By Miriam Raftery

December 23, 2013 (San Diego) – If you shopped at Target between November 27 and December 15, your credit card or debit card information may have been breached due to a hack.  Up to 40 million cardholders may be impacted.

Target says it’s begun notifying customers via email and letters of the potential for fraud on these accounts, and has alerted all of the credit networks of the affected card numbers.  The major credit card companies are alerting financial institutions as well so that they can take fraud protection steps.

Customers will NOT be responsible for any fraud that may occur on these accounts.

December 23, 2013 (La Mesa) – A parolee being pursued by law enforcement officers struck two vehicles, injuring an occupant of one of the vehicles struck as well as one of the suspects.

The incident began at 8:03 a.m. on December 22, when a La Mesa Police officer attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle at El Cajon Blvd. and Baltimore Drive for a traffic violation. The officer recognized the driver as a known subject on parole. When the suspect spotted the officer’s vehicle behind him, he fled the location and failed to yield to officers. A vehicle pursuit ensued.