'East of the Line' debuts this week

A
new column by award-winning rural journalist Billie Jo Jannen makes its exclusive
debut this week in East County Magazine.

The column, dubbed East of the Line, will deal with backcountry land
use, border and political affairs, topics in which Jannen has 21 years of experience
as journalist, newspaper editor and resident of Alpine and Campo.

The line in question is the service area of the San Diego County Water Authority
(www.sdcwa.org). It’s a ragged and wandering border that delineates the
western portion of San Diego County, which receives piped in water from any
of SDWCA’s 24 member water agencies.

The people who live in the open and often wild places east of that line are
on their own, not only for finding and pumping their own water from the ground,
but in many other ways that aren’t readily apparent to their metropolitan
neighbors. The challenges they face range from fending off well-heeled and
determined developers and monster fires to surviving the onslaught of equally
determined and far more direct border smugglers. The rewards they find in their
independent lifestyles may be as simple as having a true night sky to look
at in the evening or as complex as learning how to live “off the grid.”

Jannen has served variously as editor of The Alpine Sun, managing
editor of East County Community Newspapers, editor of the Wallowa
County Chieftain, beat reporter for The Alpine Sun, crime reporter
for The Daily Californian and freelance features writer in several
other publications.

Her awards include three first place public service awards from California
Newspaper Publisher’s Association, one for investigation of massive trans-border
student attendance in Mountain Empire Unified School District and another for
her series on Operation Gatekeeper impacts in the backcountry. Her earliest
award was for an investigative series on hazardous waste dumped in Campo by
San Diego County staff. Her work has been recognized by San Diego County, State
of California, San Diego Press Club and the Sierra Club.

Read Jannen's first East of the Line column at eastcountymagazine.org/?q=east_of_the_line_november.

Jannen lives in Campo with her husband David and raised both of her children
there. She may be reached by email at jannen@inbox.com.