Plus Part I in a series of essays Bell is writing on attaining sustainability for our region

April 4, 2015 (San Diego) – Last month, we sat down for an in-depth interview on our radio show with ecological designer Jim Bell, an internationally recognized expert on sustainable development. You can hear the interview, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM, here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... 

Bell has a plan to make the San Diego and Tijuana region sustainable in terms of energy, water, food, and more.  Currently he is working to distribute 20,000 free copies of his newest publication, Consciousness and Knowledge, throughout our region including 10,000 in Spanish.  You can download a copy here.

Director of the Ecological Life Systems Institute and the San Diego Center for Appropriate Technology,  Bell is also the Sierra Club’s representative on the City of San Diego’s Regional Advisory Energy Committee.  He has lectured at the World Conference of the Society of International Development in Mexico City, the American Institute of Architects’ California conference, and many other prominent events.  A past mayoral candidate, he is the author of “Achieving Eco-nomic Security on Spaceship Earth” as well as many other articles and papers on creating sustainable economies.

Below is the first in a series of essays by Bell on how we can achieve sustainability in our region.

March 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Our January radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (note sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in January, click here and scroll down.

Our top newsmaker interviews included representatives from Cleveland National Forest, the County’s Farm to School produce program, a War Victims group seeking reparations for Iraq War refugees, the postal workers’ union on cuts in postal services, a leading solar company on changes in solar incentives for consumers, an environmental advocate battling Soitec Solar’s projects in Boulevard, and La Mesa’s Chamber of Commerce president on honoring local heroes. Plus we interviewed two law-enforcement officers-turned-authors, La Mesa Police Chief Dan Willis and former ICE special agent Timothy Daniels.

You can hear the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Hear our interviews with representatives of San Diego County’s “Farm to School” program aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

February 7, 2015 (San Diego) – The second annual State of Farm to School in San Diego County Report reveals growth in farm to school programs bringing healthy produce to area school children – also generating returns for our region’s health and economy. See our earlier article on the program’s success here.   Recently we held a radio show on the County's Farm to School task force. We interviewed JuliAnna Arnett Director of Operations & Food Systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Community Health Improvement Partners, along with Eric Larson, Executive Director at the San Diego County Farm Bureau,Johnna Jenkins, Director of Child Nutrition at Valley Center-Pauma school district, and Jill Wittenberg, Child Nutrition Director, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.

They shared success stories on how this innovative program is helping farmers and students reap healthy rewards.  More participants are sought to meet rising demand for fresh produce in our public schools.

“This is the people’s postal service, it doesn’t belong to big corporations or politicians.” - Vice President Eddie B. Cooper Jr.

Update: Listen online now to our interview with the APWU representatives:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

January 16, 2015 (San Diego)--Hear our interview with Tom Wood and Eddie B. Cooper jr. of the San Diego American Postal Workers Union. Learn about major cuts to the postal service and how they may affect you, your business and your community.  We’ll also have information about a boycott of Staples organized by Postal workers and supported by teachers’ organizations over the out-sourcing of postal work to Staples and efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service established by Benjamin Franklin.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview with Jack Shu, Cleveland National Forest Foundation president: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... 

December 31, 2014 (San Diego)—Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation (CNFF), sat down for an in-depth interview with East County Magazine on KNSJ radio.  CNFF and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the regional transportation plan proposed by the San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG) .  California Attorney General Kamala Harris joined the suit in support of environmentalist.

CNFF contends that instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as state law requires, SANDAG’s plan will increase them by 700 percent (see chart). 

San Diegans rely 95% on automobiles for transportation and only 3% on transit, yet SANDAG’s plan calls for more freeways instead of expanding transit in the near future.  San Diego also has the seventh worth ozone pollution in the nation as well as serious asthma issues, CNFF argues, yet SANDAG failed to provide a health impact analysis in its plan.

An appellate court and trial court agreed with plaintiffs that SANDAG failed to adequately address air pollution and climate change concerns, yet SANDAG voted 20 to 1 to appeal to the California Supreme Court.

Hear our interview with Noori Barka, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

December 18,2014 (El Cajon) –Imagine a place where people who want to start new businesses in East County can have free space, resources and investors—if they pledge to provide jobs here in East County. That’s the concept that Noori Barka, president of Calbiotech and a leader in the Iraqi-Chaldean community in El Cajon, aspires to attain by starting up an incubator business concept here.   He’s helped to launch a new 501c3 nonprofit, the San Diego East County Business Incubator with a goal of opening its doors next year.

 “If you have an idea, you want to start a business…we will incubate you for up to three years and during this time we will give you the full support,”  Barka told East County Magazine. Start-up businesses will be given space, tools, expertise, and investors.  After graduating in three years, people can receive continuing support – provided that they launch new businesses in East County. 

Barka hopes to create good-paying jobs in the biotech industry and other fields, helping to solve the high unemployment in East County, particularly among the new immigrant community, where unemployment is nearly 50 percent.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview (originally aired on KNSJ):  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

December 11, 2014 (La Mesa)—It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in La Mesa’s downtown village, where holiday lights are twinkling and festivities are set to begin for the 25^th annual Christmas in the Village celebration on Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13.  

East County Magazine sat down for an interview with John Vigil, self-proclaimed “Chief Elf” from the La Mesa Village Merchants Association and Shannon O’Dunn, owner of O’Dunn Fine Art, for a sneak preview of this year’s event—and why it’s especially important this year for local merchants to have a strong community turn-out.

Our interview is now online! Listen to the full interview, with excerpts of 3 of Dannie Marie's songs, here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/audio/2019/August/DannieMarie-FINAL-interview%2B3excerpts.mp3

December 8, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Hear our interview with Dannie Marie, a talented local singer, songwriter and actress who is taking Nashville, Memphis and Los Angeles by storm.  Those of you in East County may know her as Danielle Marie Pupa, a graduate of Steele Canyon High School. 

Watch the sneak preview excerpt here http://youtu.be/nIEdflaq_MI and full interview at the link above, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM. .The program also features excerpts from three songs that will be featured on Dannie Marie's soon-to-be-released CD, along with our interview with this rising local star.

Dannie Marie’s hit music video, “Flavor of the Week” has been winning awards and recognition at music festivals; it was also featured in the movie “Music High.” She’s been in movies and commercials, and on TV.  She’s also been performing at major venues across our region, including a performance coming up in February at House of Blues in San Diego. Her songs serve up country music with a pop flair—and her musical style has been likened to Taylor Swift.

Photo, left: Anne Hoiberg and Marie Johnson

December 2, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – The United Nations is hosting 16 days of events aimed at stopping violence against women, culminating in international Human Rights Day on December 16^th.  East County Magazine interviewed Anne Hoiberg, past president of the United Nations Association of San Diego, who is also president of the International Museum of Human Rights in San Diego.  We also interviewed Marie Johnson, president of Activist San Diego, which recently hosted a forum on violence against women; she is also a survivor of domestic violence in her family.

You can listen online now to our interviews, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM, by clicking here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...  (sound file may take a few moments to load)

November 27, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Our October radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (note sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in October, click here and scroll down.

We spoke with top newsmakers including Congresswoman Susan Davis, many candidates for local offices (note: we invited ALL candidates in races we covered to be interviewed), authors, a theater producer, a mother who started the EP Save-a-Life foundation after losing her own son, the founder of Angels for Haiti, a Water for Children Africa spokeswoman on a new technique to derive drinking water from air, an executive from the East County Boys and Girls Clubs, and a Comic Fest organizer, among others.  We also went on location--covering events from the Jacumba Hot Springs Centennial to a Ramona benefit to save wild cheetahs. Plus we had news stories on many more hot topics.

You can listen to the East County Magazine Radio Show live on KNSJ 89.1 FM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. and reruns airing Tuesday and Thursday at 9.a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m.

November 15, 2014 (Spring Valley) – Our interview with Gretchen Burns-Bergman, founder of A New Path, is now online. Listen now at : https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...  .   Hear from this Spring Valley mother who helped lobby successfully to change drug sentencing laws and put more emphasis on getting help for those battling addiction. 

In the interview, she discusses newly announced reductions in federal drug sentencing laws that can also impact those already behind bars, as well as the impacts of Prop 47, the California ballot initiative recently passed.  This interview originally aired Wednesday on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio.

Listen now! (audio files may take a few moments to load)

Congresswoman Susan Davis:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Challenger Larry Wilske: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

October 23, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – We sat down for in-depth interviews with Congresswoman Susan Davis, a Democrat, and her opponent, Republican Larry Wilske, a Navy Seal.   Hear their views on jobs, the economy, energy, women’s issues, education, healthcare, Social Security, military actions in the Middle East and the refugee crisis, immigration, border security, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the needs of veterans and military families, the prospects of another government shut-down, and more.

Wilske called for boots on the ground in Syria, reform of NAFTA to encourage manufacturing in the U.S., creation of a cross-border rail line, increased use of oil refineries, nuclear and algae fuels, arming teachers to reduce school violence, stopping employers from hiring illegal immigrants, and allowing veterans to receive private healthcare when VA hospitals are backlogged.  

Davis discussed ideas to increase commerce at the border, boost funding for National Institute of Health research on Ebola, strengthen public education and keep college affordable, boost the economy through immigration reform, protect healthcare , Social Security and women’s rights, address climate change and seek a long-range strategy for addressing the ISIL terrorist threats in Syria and Iraq.

East County News Service

Four candidates are running for two seats on the Helix Water District Board.  We invited all four to be interviewed on our radio show and two of them responded. In our radio interviews, we asked candidates their views on the drought, creating new regional water supplies, the tiered rate structure, budget priorities, the future of Lake Jennings, and transparency, among other issues.

You can listen to their interviews here:

Kathleen Hedberg interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Steven Rotsart interview:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Hedberg is an incumbent and civil engineer who is running as a ratepayers’ advocate. She voted against rate hikes passed by the board majority.  Her opponent is Maria Mariscal, who has worked for the County Water Authority. 

Rotsart says he’s running because rates are too high, having nearly tripled in the past nine years. He He believes his experience in nonprofits will help him bring financial accountability to the board. He is running against incumbent Deana Verbeke, whose website says she is a voice of ratepayers but who voted consistently to raise rates despite objections from the vast majority of ratepayers who submitted public comments.

Hear our interview with La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid, originally broadcast on KNSJ radio:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

By Miriam Raftery

October 16, 2014 (La Mesa)—La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid has been serving the city for the past 33 years, as Mayor since 1990 and on the Council before that since 1981. He led the city through its centennial celebration and has held numerous other leadership positions including chair of the San Diego Association of Governments, president of the League of California Cities San Diego Division, and as a member of 125 different boards and commissions.

In an in-depth radio interview on the East County Magazine Show on KSNJ, Mayor Madrid discussed his history of accomplishments, his views on leaderships, and his vision for La Mesa for the future if reelected.  To read highlights of our interview, click "read more" and scroll down.