By Scott H. Kidwell, La Mesa

At the June 14, 2011 La Mesa City Council meeting Mayor Art Madrid moved to remove the city from the East County Economic Development Council and rather use the $5,000 annual membership fee to allow city officials to do more travel to defend city financing at state and federal levels. Time will tell how worthwhile this plan will be.

By Laura Cyphert

June 10, 2011 (Lakeside)--As we watch the fires burning our neighbors in Arizona, we are again reminded why relying on imported power transmitted over hundreds of miles of vulnerable transmission lines, is a dangerous gamble for San Diego.

By Mike Thaller

May 15, 2011 (San Diego) --I read today that Rep Duncan Hunter is out bashing gays again. Now he wants to revive Don't Ask Don't Tell: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54644.html. 

By Billy Ortiz

April 23, 2011 (Lakeside) – It’s a beautiful April day as I head down East Main Street in El Cajon towards my home near Tunnel Hill. I can't help but notice Old Glory high above the El Cajon skyline and beyond, my favorite place towering in the background: El Cajon Mountain, also known as El Capitan.

By Russell Buckley

March 31, 2011 (La Mesa)--"Today's benefit structure for public employees is unrecognizable from the design, funding structure and goals of the original 1932 version. Instead of retirement security, the public pension became a wealth generator. Initially, state workers retiring at age 65 could expect retirement income at roughly half of their final compensation, based on an average salary earned during their last five years of employment. The retirement formulas and benefits began ratcheting up in the 1940's and never stopped. California's pension plans are dangerously under funded, the result of overly generous pension promises, wishful thinking and an unwillingness to plan prudently. Unless aggressive reforms are implemented now, the problems will get far worse, forcing counties and cities to severely reduce services and layoff employees to meet pension obligations."

The words above are taken from the 50 or so pages of the Little Hoover Commission Report released last month. The report is about the State at large - but its words apply so accurately to La Mesa that it seems to be talking about us.

By Jon Mattes

March 26, 2011 (San Diego)--Did you miss the proposed trillion dollar government giveaway last week to big corporations? No, that is not a typo, a trillion not a billion, and yes, a Congressman proposed just that.

Representative Brian Bilbray of San Diego, a former lobbyist, proposed a bill that would allow US corporations to dodge taxes on a trillion dollars in profits. Forget the debate over the estate tax or a tax break for the super rich; this proposed giveaway has them all beat, hands down!

By Michelle Mann, Boulevard

“In a time of economic fallout it is nice that there are still jobs for good hard working Americans. That is what these guys are that are out building the power line.”

March 19, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- It is amazing to hear all the buzz about this new power line going in. It is astonishing how many people are trying to sabotage this project and oppose it. I would like to see all those people who are making such a stink about this project turn their power off. The only reason why these guys are out here building the power line is to provide power to those that are complaining.

By Russell Buckley

March 16, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- Last month, the Little Hoover Commission issued a report about California's pension system: Public Pensions for Retirement Security. The Report is filled with information about where our pension finances stand, explanations about how we got here, and dire warnings about where we will be without an immediate change of course.

The Little Hoover Commission is an independent government oversight commission created in 1962. By statute, it is a bipartisan board consisting of five members appointed by the Governor and four named by the Legislature, as well four legislators. Here are a couple of examples of the Little Hoover Commission findings:

“This plan to subordinate Community Plans would eventually harm every unincorporated community in this County.”

By Jack Phillips, Chair
Valle de Oro Planning Group

One spends more than twice as much on employee health insurance--almost one million dollars more

By R. Perry

March 5, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- The San Miguel Fire Protection District spends more than twice as much on health benefits for its 96 employees than does the neighboring fire department in El Cajon.

In 2009 San Miguel Fire asked voters for a 1.5 million dollar benefit fee. The voters turned them down. The result was the closure of an entire engine company reducing response capability by eleven percent.

By Wren Osborn

February 26, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) --I do not think the anti-abortion groups should be allowed to lay claim to the name "pro-lifers."

After all, they now want Congress to pass a law to prohibit abortions needed to save a woman's life.

By David Smyle, La Mesa

February 11, 2011 (San Diego's East Count)--On Thursday February 10, the SD County Taxpayer Association held an informative breakfast on 401(k) plans for public employees. All County and City leaders were invited to attend for free--but only representatives from the City of San Diego, San Marcos, Oceanside, the Port Authority, SD County Water Authority and the SD Firefighters and Police Associations were present, besides the public.

Since no East County city or Other County officials or their representatives were in attendance, I guess they already had all the answers and had determined that this route was not for them. With Helix Water District currently under employee MOU negotiations and paying the most beneficial employee package of any public agency, it would have been nice to at least see one of the two negotiators in attendance for good PR even if they didn't plan to use the information.

Editor’s note: San Diego’s Board of Supervisors is slated to consider this issue on Wed., Feb. 9.

By Dr. Richard Parker and Scott Barnett

February 8, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) --Like anything in life, there’s no use doing something quickly if it’s not going to be done right. The adage couldn’t be more relevant to the current effort to update San Diego County’s General Plan. The Board of Supervisors will soon meet again on the plan, and after years of hard work, dozens of meetings and an abundance of feedback from the community, there is an apparent rush to suddenly, unfortunately, and haphazardly complete the effort, despite very significant flaws that threaten the long-term economic viability of the unincorporated areas of our County.

We understand that there may be (again) a declared "delay" of the 12th GUHSD HS startup. This will effectively kill this project forever. -- Bill Weaver

By Bill Weaver

By Robert Pinto, Sr., Tribal Chairman
Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians

January 25, 2011 (San Diego’s East County)--We’d like to set the record straight about the proposed Tule Wind Power Project’s expected impacts to protected species, namely the golden eagle and California condor.
 

As the Tribal Chairman of the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians on whose land a portion of the Tule Wind Power Project is being proposed, I represent the tribe when I say that we fully support the entire Tule Wind Power Project. Our Reservation’s Class 7 wind resource (the highest rating and one of the few available sites in the U.S.) is our Tribe’s only natural resource and currently our only potential for economic development on our remote lands. The project is proposed in a remote, rugged and sparsely populated area, and the wind turbines would be unseen by nearly everyone, including the Tribe’s residents who will only partially see a few turbines.