Kids and adults are encouraged to enter photos by April 15 deadline

March 9, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Census data released yesterday shows California’s population grew 10% over the past decade. The public now has an opportunity to voice opinions on how districts should be redrawn for state legislative, county supervisorial, and city council districts. View census data at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
 

Photos by Bryan Koci, Red Tie Photography

March 8, 2011 (San Diego's East County)--La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid and Santee Mayor Randy Voepel on Friday crowned winners of the cities' 2011 pageants, a glamourous tradition since the late 1960s.  

Miss La Mesa Katie Martin, Miss La Mesa Teen Monica Popp, Miss Santee Maria Maes and Miss Santee Teen Savannah Keener were formally presented with their crowns.

March 8, 2011 (Rancho Jamul) – Rangers at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge in Rancho Jamul invite you to join in an easy to moderate “”Discover Wildflowers” hike with a U.S. Fish & Wildlife service ranger, featuring native plant experts from RECON Environmental Inc. The hike will be held on Saturday, March 26 from 9-10:30 a.m.

By Doug Deane

March 8, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- The following local, state and national education news items are excerpted from a very informative e-newsletter published by Doug Deane, chair of the Business Education Committee at the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.

 Our picks for Deane’s top education stories from the latest issue include:

By Miriam Raftery

March 7, 2011 (El Cajon) – A fire at a home located at 154 N. Westwind Drive in El Cajon last night caused $75,000 to $100,000 in damage, displacing three men and causing minor injury to one.

“Upon investigation, it was found that the tenants of the home had been using propane gas inside the home for lighting and heat since the electrical power had been turned off to the house,” a press release from Heartland Fire & Rescue stated. “One of the tenants, while attempting to transfer propane to smaller containers, accidentally set off the blaze.”

March 8, 2011 (Sacramento)-- Assemblymember Marty Block (D-Lemon Grove) announced today that his legislation to provide a tax exemption benefit to widows or widowers of disabled veterans has cleared the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee by a unanimous vote.

“AB 188 would correct an error that currently prevents surviving spouses of disabled veterans who move to assisted living facilities for health reasons from qualifying for a property tax exemption afforded to their spouse,” said Block, who represents the 78th Assembly District.

Update March 11:  Trustee Dick Hoy provided this update on the vote.  

"The item involving issuing layoff notices was split in two.  Librarians were voted on separately.  The vote to issue layoff/reassignment notices to teachers and Vice Principals passed 4-1--Hoy dissenting.  The vote to reassign librarians passed 3-2--Hoy and Schrieber dissenting. .. It should be posted soon.  They were difficult decisions for each member of the board."  A video of the meeting will be posted soon on the GUHSD website, he advised.

“…Schools with librarians have their students achieve better on standardized tests than those that don’t.” – Nancy Everhart, president, American Association of School Libraries

By Jeremy Los

March 7, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – High school libraries across East County will soon be losing services of trained librarians, if proposed budget cuts are approved Thursday by the Grossmont Union High School District board.  As California struggles to dig itself out of a massive budget hole, the board must also contend with massive budget gaps. 

“As I understand the proposal,” Grossmont Union High School District Board Vice President Dick Hoy told East County Magazine, “all librarian positions will be cut.”

By Mason Herron
 

March 7, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) recently introduced legislation aimed at curtailing what he views as frivolous lawsuits against small businesses that are allegedly in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The bill, entitled the ADA Notification Act, would provide businesses accused of an ADA violation with a 90-day grace period to make necessary modifications.

March 7, 2011 (San Diego) – A federal judge has cancelled a public hearing challenging Sunrise Powerlink. The trial was slated to begin today in downtown San Diego, but instead the judge has notified plaintiffs that he will be ruling based on the record.  The decision comes as a disappointment to Powerlink opponents, who say they looked forward to having their day in court.

Organizers of a “stop Powerlink” march to the courthouse have announced they will still hold a rally outside SDG&E headquarters today at 12:30 at 101 Ash Street, where speakers will include Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Michael Shamas, executive director of the Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN), and. Dave Elliot, tribal member of the Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay.

Vigil planned Monday at SDSU 6-9 p.m.

March 6, 2011 (San Diego) – On February 25, San Diego State University student Austin Taylor Bice posted on his Facebook page about his plans for the evening. “It’s in Madrid and it should be a fun night,” he wrote. Bice, 22, an exchange student studying at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain, disappeared hours later and hasn’t been seen since.

By Brian Lafferty

March 6, 2011 (San Diego) – After my mother died last November I learned something about myself: I have no regrets. I never say, “If only…” Instead, I tell myself, “If it weren’t for…” When I look back on my first twenty-five years of existence I see that I wouldn’t be where I am now if I did anything differently.

March 6, 2011 (La Mesa)--Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host a free seniors discussion group on “Cut Salt From Your Diet The Easy Way,” featuring a presentation from Sandra Parkington, a registered nurse and president of HealthTrax, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23. The public is invited to attend. RSVP is not required.

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.