February 24, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Supreme Court has denied without comment an appeal filed by Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN), which sought to stop the Sunrise Powerlink project on the basis that it violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
February 24, 2011 (El Cajon) –Should El Cajon renew its Community Development Corporation (CDC) and Planned Business Improvement District (PBID)? Downtown merchants will be asked that question starting in mid-March, when a petition for renewal will be circulated to bring the issue up for a vote.
But a Blue Ribbon Commission chaired by developer Daryl Priest issued a report January 31st calling for the CDC/PBID to be suspected because of “ineffective management” by the CDC. The CDC in turn has issued a point-by-point rebuttal while mobilizing community support.
February 25, 2011 (La Mesa) -- Golden Artistry Jewelry Design of La Mesa is hosting their third annual jewelry design contest for high school students in the Grossmont Union High School District. The theme this year is water.
The competition is the creation of jeweler Terry Whyte, who hopes to inspire artistic students to consider careers in jewelry making, the same way he was inspired when he saw one of his professors solder a ring.
February 25, 2011 (San Diego's East County)--East County Roundup highlights top news stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s eastern region, published in other media.
Latest Roundup stories include:
• School district public records access graded (10 News)
• Newsmakers reflect on media glow (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Karate instructor pleads guilty to molestation (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego could be hurt by New Zealand-style quake (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Grossmont Healthcare CEO gets salary boost, will top $200,000 (La Mesa Patch)
• Water agencies look to power industry for lessons (North County Times)
• Planners say aging population to lessen water demand (North County Times)
February 24, 2011 (Alpine)—The Alpine Sheriff’s substation seeks information on a peeping tom reported in the 8900 block of Hunter Pass in Alpineo n February 21st at 5:30 a.m.
This week has been one of those eye-opening weeks for my family. We had one of our Leash Your Fitness family members die VERY unexpectedly in a freak accident and then my sister was in a car accident–all in the same day! It made me think–what would happen to my dog if I died?
There are so many questions to answer and we wanted you to think about this too, since NOBODY can say what is going to happen to us each day. You may think that your sibling or friend would take care of your dog--but do they know all about your dog? These are a few things that are important:
February 23, 2011 (Escondido) – Jean and Scott Adam, a Southern California couple, have been killed by Somali pirates after being taken hostage last week off the coast of Oman. Phyllis Mackay and Robert Riggle of Seattle also died during an exchange of gunfire between their captors and the U.S. Navy.
“Our loved ones were tragically taken from us and our hearts are broken,” said a statement issued by the Sem family of Escondido, relatives of Scott Adam.
February 23, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) --ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views.
Update February 23, 2011 11:40 p.m. Frank Waines has been found and is currently hospitalized for observation after suffering a medical epidsode, Lt. Andra Brown with SDPD has informed ECM.
February 23, 2011 (San Diego) – San Diego Police seeks public help to locate Frank Waines, 73 . “According to his family, he is diabetic and becomes disoriented quite easily,” said Lt. Andra Brown. Waines may also need medical treatment. He was last seen on February 21st at 6:30 p.m. at 5900 Flipper Street in east San Diego. Waines was driving a black 2009 Ford Edge with CA license 4001EDP.
February 23, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- What can be more welcoming than a warm sunny day after the winter rains? Our readers and photographers have documented the wonders of nature--and human nature, from the sands of Anza-Borrego Desert to the top of Palomar and Laguna Mountains. We had so many great shots this week, we're posting a bonus edition of our "photos of the week" feature just for your enjoyment!
February 23, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- San Miguel Fire District will add 20 Automatic External Defibrillators to its life-saving arsenal.
“The addition of the AED’s will provide critical care in a much more expedient manner,” said Leonard Villareal, spokesperson for the District. “Eighty percent San Miguel’s calls are medical aids. This additional equipment will be vital in helping to make such incidents more survivable for all members of the community.”
February 22, 2011 (Julian) – An explosion possibly caused by a faulty installation of a clothes dryer caused a fire reported at 6:32 p.m. at a home at 3208 Salton Vistas Drive in Julian.
“We had two injuries,” Cal-Fire Captain Mike Mohler informed ECM. “We had one male in his 60s with burns and one female also in her 60s with injuries from a collapse.”
February 22, 2011 (Poway) – San Diego Sheriff’s deputies from the Poway Station have arrested Deondrae Dunn, 32, a parolee suspected of vehicle break-ins at the parking lot of Blue Sky Preserve.
“Deputies witnessed the vehicle break-ins and attempted to stop Dunn at the scene,” said Sergeant William Gitner. Dunn fled in his vehicle and refused to yield at a traffic stop set up by deputies. He ran a red-light and later rear-ended a vehicle with an elderly couple at Rancho Bernardo Road and Acena Drive in San Diego.
February 22, 2011 (Borrego) -- San Diego Sheriff's Department helicopter, Copter 10, crewed by Cal-Fire and Sheriff's personnel launched from their base at Gillespie Field in El Cajon to assist emergency services personnel already on scene at the trail head of Palm Canyon in Anza Borrego. Initial reports this morning were that a hiker had sustained unknown injuries and was unable to make it out of the canyon and back to the trail head.
February 24, 2011 (San Diego) -- Young Audiences of San Diego and The Salvation Army Kroc Center invite the public to a free Family Arts and Literacy Night Thursday, February 24th at 6:30 pm. Hundreds of families will gather in the Kroc Center Multipurpose Room-Education Building for an evening of fun for the “Carnaval Around the World” event and each child will take home a brand new book.
For this family-friendly Carnaval event, Afro-Cuban/Afro-Brazilian dance group Sol e Mar will perform. There will also be Capoeira and Samba workshops with musician and dancer Claudia Lyra.
February 22, 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:
February 22, 2011 (Laguna Mountain)-- Laguna Mountain was a winter wonderland on February 21, 2011. More than a foot of snow fell from last weeks storm, bringing thousands of visitors to play in the snow on a "bluebird" Presidents day in the East County of San Diego, to use a ski term for a day of blue, sunny skies after a snowfall.
My grandsons and I took a short drive from El Cajon to Laguna Mountain today. What a sight! After leaving I-8 east, we wound up the Sunrise Highway in anticipation, where we were greeted by thick blankets of snow covering the tall pine and oak trees and meadows.
“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired in value.” – President Theodore Roosevelt
By Miriam Raftery
February 21, 2011 (Palomar Mountain) –President Theodore Roosevelt, the great conservationist who founded our national park system, once observed, “There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”
Roosevelt would have been enchanted by the pristine beauty of Palomar Mountain, blanketed in a foot of snow this President’s Day. No doubt he would also feel melancholy to learn that Palomar State Park is among those state parks under consideration for possible closure due to the state's budget gap. For now, however, visitors frolick in the powdery snow, most blissfully oblivious that the park's fate hangs in the balance.
February 21, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Two serious accidents have occurred tonight in East County. Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside is closed down due to a fatality accident at Mile Marker 1, as of 9:45 p.m. reported by Incident Page Network. In Ramona, power lines are reported down in the road and sparking on Vista Ramona Road at Timber Passage, according to the CHP website at 10:49 p.m.
Editor's Note - February 22, 2011: location has changed to Faith Chapel Church of God in Christ, 4999 Holly Drive, San Diego, near Lincoln High School.
February 18, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- The Grossmont College Music Department‘s Grossmont College Gospel Choir and Grossmont College Master Chorale will celebrate Black History Month with two performances of gospel music.
February 21, 2011 (Escondido) – Alvin Palmes, 28, died Friday of peritonitis due to small bowel perforation following surgery for stab wounds. His death has been ruled a homicide.
February 21, 2011 --San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit detectives have arrested a suspect for the murders of two people inside an apartment at 10946 Evening Creek Drive in Sabre Springs. The victims have been identified as Bernabe Magno Villamar, 26, of Spring Valley and Valerie Marabante, 23, who rented the apartment. Her estranged husband, Melchor Marabante, was arrested at a hospital in Murrieta and has been charged with the murders.
February 29, 2011 (Poway)-- The Poway Chamber of Commerce and the City of Poway will be hosting a State of the Community Breakfast on Thursday, March 3rd from 7:30am to 9:30am, at Maderas Golf Club- 17750 Old Coach Rd. Featured speakers include Mayor Don Higginson and Mickey Morera, Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield. Morera will speak on the crisis in commercial real estate.
February 21, 2011 (Descanso)-- Sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Border Patrol agents and CalFire personnel responded to a call of a dead body in rural Descanso around 7:15 a.m. Authorities found a Hispanic man dead at the scene. He may have been with a group of illegal border crossers who entered the U.S. this weekend during sub-freezing temperatures.
A man hospitalized in San Diego has identified a woman found dead in the same area as his wife. He told authorities that members of the group became separated from each other near Descanso. U.S. Border Patrol agents are now searching the area for other potential victims, said Lt. Dennis Brugos with the Sheriff’s homicide detail.
February 20, 2011 (San Diegio) – Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) announced this week that the State Auditor will conduct an investigation of California’s mutual aid response system to learn if budget cuts are undermining the program. Kehoe requested the audit at a Feb. 16 meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.
“Our mutual aid system, which was created in 1950 and has been a model for the country, is facing challenges as state and local governments slash their budgets,” Kehoe said. “If this system is further strained, it could jeopardize public safety during wildfires, earthquakes, floods, or mudslides. We can’t afford to let that happen.”
Obesity - The Solution, by Max Sturman (Do It Naturally Foundation, San Diego)
Book Review by Dennis Moore
February 20, 2011 (San Diego)--There is no more timely or urgent message than that found in Max Sturman's Obesity - The Solution. A February 1st story in the San Diego Union-Tribune states, "In a new attempt to help an overweight nation slim down and improve its long-term health, the government released new dietary guidelines that called on Americans to eat less, cut down on salt, bulk up on fruits and vegetables, and try water instead of sugary soft drinks."
Sturman, a 93-year-old San Diego author, has been delivering this message for years in fitness and healthcare books through his Do It Naturally Foundation, a non-profit that he founded. His longevity is no accident--but, he believes, the result of healthy living and a diet based on natural foods.
y Miriam Raftery![](/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/GoldenArtistry-firewinner-125x175.jpg "Last year's winning "fire" design")
February 24, 2011 (Alpine)—The Alpine Sheriff’s substation seeks information on a peeping tom reported in the 8900 block of Hunter Pass in Alpineo n February 21st at 5:30 a.m.
This week has been one of those eye-opening weeks for my family. We had one of our Leash Your Fitness family members die VERY unexpectedly in a freak accident and then my sister was in a car accident–all in the same day! It made me think–what would happen to my dog if I died?
February 23, 2011 (Escondido) – Jean and Scott Adam, a Southern California couple, have been killed by Somali pirates after being taken hostage last week off the coast of Oman. Phyllis Mackay and Robert Riggle of Seattle also died during an exchange of gunfire between their captors and the U.S. Navy.
![](/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/flower-Leucadendron-Jester--275x206.jpg "This cheerful "Jester" Leucadendron bloom was photographed by Kristin Kjaero in La Mesa.")
February 23, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- San Miguel Fire District will add 20 Automatic External Defibrillators to its life-saving arsenal.![](/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/Abigail-flower-sm-250x188.jpg "Artist Abigail Migala with flower "duet"")
Abigail Migala photography exhibition continues through February 25
February 22, 2011 (Julian) – An explosion possibly caused by a faulty installation of a clothes dryer caused a fire reported at 6:32 p.m. at a home at 3208 Salton Vistas Drive in Julian. 
February 22, 2011 (Poway) – San Diego Sheriff’s deputies from the Poway Station have arrested Deondrae Dunn, 32, a parolee suspected of vehicle break-ins at the parking lot of Blue Sky Preserve.
February 24, 2011 (San Diego) -- Young Audiences of San Diego and 
February 22, 2011 (Laguna Mountain)-- Laguna Mountain was a winter wonderland on February 21, 2011. More than a foot of snow fell from last weeks storm, bringing thousands of visitors to play in the snow on a "bluebird" Presidents day in the East County of San Diego, to use a ski term for a day of blue, sunny skies after a snowfall. 
February 21, 2011 (Escondido) – Alvin Palmes, 28, died Friday of peritonitis due to small bowel perforation following surgery for stab wounds. His death has been ruled a homicide.
February 21, 2011 --San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit detectives have arrested a suspect for the murders of two people inside an apartment at 10946 Evening Creek Drive in Sabre Springs. The victims have been identified as Bernabe Magno Villamar, 26, of Spring Valley and Valerie Marabante, 23, who rented the apartment. Her estranged husband, Melchor Marabante, was arrested at a hospital in Murrieta and has been charged with the murders. 
February 20, 2011 (San Diegio) – Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) announced this week that the State Auditor will conduct an investigation of California’s mutual aid response system to learn if budget cuts are undermining the program. Kehoe requested the audit at a Feb. 16 meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.
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