By Miriam Raftery

February 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Radio Shack has been a fixture in the American retail market for over 90 years. The company started off selling radio parts to ship operators before opening retail stores.

By Patsy Fritz

February 16, 2015 (San Diego)--The County General Plan, adopted August 3, 2011, took 12 years and cost $18,600,000. It’s based on smart growth/smart location. But if you think it will effectively control sprawl in the backcountry, you may have to think again.

On Saturday, February 21 at 9:00 a.m. the County will hold its second public workshop on a controversial clause in the General Plan that limits “leapfrog development.” The County Planning & Development staff is seeking to abandon the current limitation and are seeking an “equivalent” standard. Location of the workshop will be 5500 Overland Avenue, Room 120 at the County Operations Center (on Kearney Mesa in San Diego). 

Lasting two hours, the agenda is identical to one held Wednesday, February 11, where opposition was raised to any change, by many of the rural Community and Sponsor Group members who attended.

February 15, 2015 (San Diego)--Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday it will provide over $3.2 million in free transportation to patients seeking medical treatment and to their caregivers.  Grants will be made through Southwest’s Medical Transportation Grant Program, which will have a 14% increase over last year.

By Miriam Raftery

February 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--A toddler who captured the hearts of a community has died after a long battle with neuroblastoma cancer.  A memorial service was held on Valentine’s Day for Kylie Rowand of Alpine, with hundreds of mourners dressed in pink at Shadow Mountain Church in El Cajon.

East County News Service

February 15, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – Conservatives in Congress are threatening to let the Department of Homeland Security shut down on February 27^th, refusing to fund a measure authorizing funding of Homeland Security unless they can secure approval of language to repeal President Obama’s executive orders on immigration. The agency was formed to protect national security after the 9/11 terrorism attacks in 2001.

“Articles Concerning Trusts, Wills, Probate, Family Law & more”

By: Stephen C. Ross, Esq.

February 13, 2015 (San Diego County) – The federal estate tax exemption for 2015 is increased to $5,430,000.00 per person from $5,340,000.00 per person in 2014. A husband and wife each have an exemption. Therefore, a couple can pass on up to $10,860,000.00 without paying estate tax. This assumes they have not made prior lifetime gifts. This is important to people with a large estate as they can pass on $90,000.00 more tax free this year than in 2014. The top federal estate tax rate is 40% and is applied to amounts exceeding the exemption amount.

February 13, 2015 (San Diego) — With Valentine’s Day approaching, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials want to remind travelers of prohibited flowers from Mexico, so there are no surprises at the border.

By Ariele Johannson

NOTE: Check with the County of San Diego if you plan to attend the hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 20^th, in case the hearing is postponed. San Diego County Planning Commission meets in the COC Conference Center Hearing Room at 5520 Overland Avenue, San Diego. Phone: (858)-694-3816. Agenda changes must be made 72 hours before the hearing.

February 12, 2015 (Ranchita)—Visitors driving to the Anza-Borrego Desert  on Highways S2 and S22 pass through the small community of Ranchita. The unincorporated community of Ranchita is approximately 12 miles southwest of Borrego Springs at 4,065 feet elevation. A Telecommunication Facility Major Use permit application—APPLICATION #P-11-034—has been made by Vista Towers, LLC, a company that owns and manages a number of urban and suburban sites. Its website states,“Our specialty is developing multi-carrier facilities in underserved rural areas.” The proposed Verizon and AT&T cell towers would be visible from designated Scenic Highway S22. In fact, the proposed site is only 800’-1000’ from what is called the “view shed” on roads designated as scenic highways or byways. A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail goes through this area, also.

A hearing is scheduled in San Diego at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 20th to review the permit application made by Vista Towers, LLC, Wireless Site Solutions.

February 12, 2015 (San Diego)—Writers of all levels are invited to join the Southern California Writers’ Conference and Retreat this weekend, February 14-16 at the Crowne Plaza Resort Hotel in San Diego. 

Learn secrets of how to get published and improve your writing craft at this annual event, which is founded and run by professional writers. The conference and retreat provides veteran and emerging talent with authoritative guidance to help distinguish those manuscripts that are ready for market consideration, having facilitated some $4 million worth of first-time authors’ book and screen deals.

By Miriam Raftery

February 12, 2015 (San Diego's East County)--Six days after Supervisor Dave Roberts voted for the highly controversial Soitec industrial-scale solar projects in Boulevard which were approved 4-1 on February 4th,  he sent supporters an e-mail with an invitation to a fundraiser for his campaign at the La Jolla home of Jim Waring, co-founder of CleanTech San Diego.

Waring lobbied and testified on behalf of Soitec, which has a manufacturing facility in San Diego, at the Feb. 4th hearing.  Co-hosts of the fundraiser also include Jim Whalen, whose firm, J. Whalen and Associates, represents Sempra Energy and Hamann Companies. Hamann owns land on which the Soitec projects are slated to be built. Whalen, too, testified before Supervisors on February 4th and other occasions in favor of the Soitec projects.

These cozy ties raise a serious question: just how impartial was Roberts when casting a vote to scrape bare  more than 1,100 acres of habitat in East County including land along a scenic highway, putting a town’s groundwater supply at risk as two hydrologists have warned, and increasing fire danger with an unmitigatable fire risk as Supervisor Dianne Jacob observed?  Whose interests was Roberts really representing?

February 12, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Romance is in the air, and this week’s Destination East County includes some romantic Valentine’s events including a campout and stargazing, Valentine’s dances, a poetry campout, and dinner in a vineyard. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including Air Supply in concert, a string ensemble performance and a Salute to Local Heroes. Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.

February 11, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Obama asks Congress to authorize 3-year ISIS fight (NY Times)
• U.S. leads 12 air strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military (Reuters)
• Electrified rail pierced New York train in crash, official says (Reuters)
• Could a Single Food-Safety Agency be the Answer? (Reason)
• This Valentine's Day growers hope 'slow flower' movement will take root  (CS Monitor)
• Three in St. Louis indicted for helping ISIS and Al Qaeda (CS Monitor)

WORLD

• The TransAsia crash and the rise of dashcam journalism (+video) (CS Monitor)
• Troops kill eight in highway battles in northern Mexico (Reuters)
• September 11 conspirator Moussaoui says Saudi royals backed al Qaeda (Reuters)
• Muslim clerics demand 'crucifixion' of ISIS terrorists who burned Jordanian pilot to death (JPost)
• UK anti-Semitic incidents hit record in 2014, says charity (AP)
• Jewish groups rap German anti-Semitism commission for omitting Jews (Reuters)
• Boko Haram kill more than 100 in Cameroon: local leader (Reuters)
• After Horrific Taliban Massacre, Pakistani Teachers Are Bringing Concealed Weapons to School

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

February 11, 2015 (San Diego)—San Diego State University celebrates Black History Month with several campus-wide events. The month of February marks the celebration of Black History Month to acknowledge the important events and people of African diaspora.

February 11, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL/REGIONAL

• Burnham in a rush for U-T San Diego takeover (SD Reader)
• Rail partners face federal inquiry (U-T)
• Meeting links CPUC probe to San Onofre (U-T)
• Supes curb GOP with elephant in room (UT San Diego)
• San Diego Gangs Outsourcing Pimping Duties To Women (KPBS)
• The other Anderson-Jacob feud (UT San Diego)
• Sempra in Mexico (Voice of San Diego series):
• The Mexican Businessman Who Drives Lambos, Peddles Spy Gear and Started a War With Sempra
• The Fall of José Susumo Azano Matsura
• Sempra’s Shady Road to Dominance in Mexico
• The Politician Who Gave Sempra Mexico

STATE

• At U.C. Davis, Students for Justice in Palestine chant "Allahu Akbar," endorse terrorism (Washington Free Beacon)
•  CA bill would limit police searches of smartphones (UT San Diego)
• Measles outbreak spurs new action in California, New Mexico (Reuters)
• California lawmakers seek to end 'personal belief' vaccine exemptions (Reuters)
• Peevey urged PG&E to lobby Jerry Brown, but warned, ‘You will miss Arnold’ (SacBee)
• A legal use of power: parties funnel millions to California candidates (SacBee)

For excerpts and links to full stories, please click “read more” and scroll down.

Update 10:40 p.m.:  The suspect is now in custody, CBS 8 reports.  San Diego Police, also on scene, took the lead in convincing the suspect to surrender.

Photo: Suspect Mike Montana, courtesy  ECM news partner 10 News

February 10, 2015 (El Cajon) - 9:06 p.m. -- The El Cajon SWAT team has surrounded a home at Prescott & Noden in El Cajon, seeking suspect Mike Montana wanted for shooting of CBS News 8 sports anchor Kyle Kraska. Kraska was shot and seriously wounded earlier today outside his Scripps Rancho home.

There are many emergency vehicles in the area of Chase and Avocado in the vicinity of the SWAT action, ECM reporter Paul Kruz reports.  AVOID AREA. View map .

The suspect was seen leaving the shooting scene in white van with Superior Painting logo on the side.