(Stock Photo courtesy of Pixaboy on Stockvault.net)
December 10, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Amazon Prime announced on Dec. 8 that it will ban products that contain “forever toxics” or PFAS/PFOS in their Amazon Kitchen Products. But the same banned chemicals remain in many products – including foam used to fight industrial and airport fires, as well as in firefighting gear and more.
PFAS are not present in foams used to fight wildfires, according to Cal Fire, so the risk is predominantly to firefighters and people living on our near military bases, as well as those close to airports.
The movie “Dark Waters” illustrates the dangers of these chemicals, which are contained in many consumer products, have been linked to cancer and never break down in the environment.
Senate Bill (SB)1044 makes changes to the PFAS levels allowed in fire-fighting foam, will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022 in California.
John “Jack” Sexton, with Pyrocool Technologies, alleges that the bill does not go far enough in protecting firefighters from the toxins in competitors’ firefighting foams. His company produces firefighting foams without PFAS/PFOS, but though he contends the products are effective, they have not been authorized by federal authorities.
December 10, 2020 (San Diego) - San Diego County public health officials reported the second highest daily increase in coronavirus cases on Wednesday and pleaded with residents to follow the stay-at-home order to avoid overwhelming the health system.
There were 2,104 new cases and 15 deaths, with 8.4% of the latest tests coming back positive.
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher told a media briefing that projections showed all county ICU beds would have been occupied before Christmas without the regional lockdown, which is now in its third day.
“When you have as many cases as we have, and it is spreading as fast as it is, there are very few settings that are safe,” warned Fletcher.
Partnering with local businesses to connect resources with those in need
East County News Service
December 10, 2020(San Diego’s East County) -- On Thursday, December 10 the Rock Church City Heights campus will also host a food distribution and on Tuesday, December 15th, the Rock Church East County campus will also host their food distribution. All events are free and open to the community.
Chairwoman expands efforts to improve lives of Native peoples
East County News Service
December 10, 2020 (Jamul) - On Monday, November 30, Erica M. Pinto, Chairwoman of The Jamul Indian Village of California (JIV), was elected Chair of the Southern Indian Health Council, Inc. (SIHC). The SIHC, founded in 1982, is a Native American organization which aims to protect and improve the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the Native American community. Having intermittently served on the 14-member SIHC board since 2004, Ms. Pinto will begin her two-year term as Chair in January 2021. The Chairwoman, who was honored last month with the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California’s highest honor, the Warrior Award, has become a recognized leader in the effort to improve the lives of Native peoples.
December 10, 2020 (La Mesa) – The city of La Mesa today revealed that before retiring, Police Chief Walt Vasquez terminated the employment of Officer Matt Dages. Dages was fired due to his actions during the controversial stop of Amaurie Johnson at a trolley station on May 27. Three days later, on May 30, a protest against La Mesa Police erupted into a night of looting, rioting and the burning down of three buildings.
Dages had accused Johnson, 23, of assault but the charge was dropped after body camera footage failed to substantiate Officer Dages' version of the incident. A video that went viral on social media prompted accusations of racial profiling by Dages.
Photo via CC by NC-ND: a coin toss or other game of chance will determine the outcome in this race
Update December 16, 2020: Gene Doxey won the coin toss -- and the seat on the Warner Sprngs Unified School District board.
December 9, 2020 (Warner Springs) – It’s been a wild week in Warner Springs. First, an earthquake centered near the tiny mountain town jolted residents awake on Sunday morning. Then high winds prompted SDG&E to shut off power in the area for multiple days, forcing closure of schools in the Warner Springs Unified School District.
Now, an election for one of three seats on the school board has ended in a draw. Gene Doxey and Terry Cox each got 352 votes, tying for third place. There’s an important lesson to be learned for parents and students: every vote counts!
By Donnie Ryan, County of San Diego Communications Office
Photo: Valley Fire, by Ron Kasper Dronesystems
December 9, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -There is only one week left for San Diego County homeowners and renters affected by the Valley Fire in September to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, as the assistance program is scheduled to end Dec. 15.
The FEMA grant program is designed to help with serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance such as rent, home repair or replacement, medical or dental costs, transportation or other personal property losses.
December 9, 2020 (Sacramento) – Home heating fires caused over 48,000 fires last year, killing 500 people and causing $1.1 billion in damages. Most of those tragedies resulted from chimney fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. With power outages in winter weather, many residents in East County’s mountain and rural areas are relying on fireplaces to stay warm. Many others enjoy fireside family time during the holiday season. But before you light the Yule log or hang stockings with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there, you should take some simple safety precautions.
The California Office of Emergency Services has provided these tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on how to prevent chimney fires.
By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office
Photo: Alpine Branch Library, courtesy Jonathan Goetz
December 9, 2020 (San Diego County) - With the state’s new COVID-19 Stay Home order in effect, the County of San Diego’s 33 libraries have moved to door-side service to help county residents practice social distancing and still enjoy all the library books, digital magazines, music, movies and other fare they love.
People can still check out all library materials and safely pick them up right at their library’s door. No appointments are necessary.
Photo: The district’s pledge to award these scholarships assists students and professionals in their educational and professional focus on hands-on healthcare field studies.
December 9, 2020 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) recently announced new scholarship opportunities worth more than $210,000 for local students and professionals working in or entering the healthcare field.
Each year, a portion of the overall agency grants and sponsorships budget has been allocated for scholarship programs offered to local students living, working, or attending school within GHD boundaries.
The programs are designed to meet the demand to maintain a robust and diverse local healthcare workforce, particularly in professions where shortages have been projected in the coming decade even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application deadline for all programs is February 12, 2021.
By Dr. Michael Mantell, San Diego Jewish World, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
December 8, 2020 (San Diego) - One of the many benefits of being a long-time weekly writer for this publication/website, is the opportunity to review books that hold special meaning for me. So when Don Harrison, our beloved editor, inquires if I’d like to review a new book, the title, the content, or the author will interest me, or not. When it came to our friend Ben Dishman, Pharm.D., BCPP and his new book, "I Can Treat That...Well Maybe?” there was no question but that I wanted to read and review this book.
Photo: Duncan D. Hunter and his wife, Margaret, are seen in La Mesa at 2014 Polonia United event for Polish-Americans in the San Diego region. Margaret is the oldest daughter of Steve and Miroslawa Jankowski, who moved their two daughters to America in the late 1980s. Photo by Miriam Raftery
December 8, 2020 (San Diego) - The estranged wife of former Rep. Duncan D. Hunteris suing for divorce after 22 years of marriage — bringing an end to a family and legal drama that saw her cooperate with prosecutors in the East County Republican’s corruption scandal.
December 8, 2020 (San Diego) - San Diego native Arden Pala, who was recently awarded “Best Child Actor” by the Los Angeles Film Awards, writes about celebrating cultures and similarities in his new book series benefiting San Diego COVID-19 Community Response Fund.
December 8, 2020 (La Mesa) - Dateline with a touch of Glee sprinkled in best describes this virtual performance by Lamplighters Theatre in La Mesa. Director O.P. Hadlock's The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey shines a light on two things: first, the brilliant acting of James Steinberg, portraying eight characters in this one man show. It takes a great talent to pull shows like this off and have viewers leave feeling as if a whole group of people were witnessed.
CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.
Photo:CC-By-ND via Bing
December 8, 2020 (Sacramento) - With California’s eviction moratorium set to expire in less than 60 days and 2 million people at risk of losing their rental homes, a group of tenant-friendly lawmakers want to forestall evictions for another year.
December 8, 2020 (Santee) -- With only five votes separating winner Dustin Trotter and Samm Hurst in Santee’s City Council District 4 race, a recount of the nearly 8,000 votes cast has been requested.
The San Diego Democratic Party has requested the recount in a letter sent to Registrar of Voters Michael Vu yesterday, one day before the deadline. Hurst, a UCSD professor, is a registered Democrat.
Will Rodriguez Kennedy, party chair, signed the letter which states that given the closeness of the vote, “I believe a thorough recount could affect the outcome.”
He said the process should involve not only the nearly 8,000 ballots cast, but the ballots that were not counted, including unopened and rejected mail-in ballots, as well as provisional ballots.
December 8, 2020 (Rancho San Diego) – GoFundMe has notified East County Magazine that a fundraising page has been set up to assist Doug and Michele Howarth, retired local educators whose home was destroyed in the Willow Fire on December 2.
The GoFundMe page for the Howarths states, “The Howarth’s lost everything in the Willow fires last night as they watched their home go up in flames. Doug barely got out in his PJs as his wife, Michele, watched on TV in Carlsbad while she was visiting her daughter Gwendolyn P.” The fundraising page was set up by Josie Kasyouhannon on behalf of Gwendolyn Pavlick.
”Please help this kind and generous couple who have resided in our community for decades. Michele Howarth was a first grade teacher at Vista Grande Elementary School and is now retired. Doug Howarth worked as a guidance counselor at Cuyamaca Community College,” the site states.”Please help donate to help rebuild their lives. Every donation helps.” To date, around $12,000 has been donated.
Fire burning in Mexico near Tecate is visible across East County
By Miriam Raftery
December 8, 2020 (San Diego’s East County)—With wind speeds up to 65 miles per hour reported last night, SDG&E has shut off power to 15,441 customers in rural, high desert and mountain areas as of 9 a.m. today, with shut-offs possible for another 45,042 customers. Expected restoration time is 6 p.m. tomorrow night in most areas without power, according to SDG&E’s outage map.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning extended through Wednesday night, due to high fire danger from gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity. A high wind warning is also in effect locally.
The Alpine Union, Valley Center-Pauma Unified and Warner Unfied school districts have cancelled classes today due power shutoffs and high winds.
A brush fire burning in Mexico near Tecate cast a red glow overnight visible across much of East County. Cal Fire reports the fire is well within Mexico and is not considered a threat to the U.S. at this time. (Photo, right, viewed from Campo, by Don Lumb)
SDG&E has set up community resource centers from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. today in Descanso (9545 River Drive), Julian (17606 Harrison Park Rd), Potrero (24550 Highway 94), Ramona (1275 Main St.), Valley Center (29200 Cole Grade Rd.), and Warner Springs (30950 Highway 79.)
December 8, 2020 (San Diego) – Nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 (1,998) were reported yesterday in San Diego County, two days after an all-time record of 2,287 cases were found. A month ago, cases hovered around 500 cases a day. Equally concerning, the region’s ICU bed capacity has dropped to just 10.9% across all Southern California counties.
In San Diego County, intensive care unit (ICU ) bed capacity in hospitals is 24%, above the state’s 15% threshold for regions to shut down. That’s prompted objections from many San Diego County business owners and politicians over state health officials lumping our county in with others that have lower ICU availability and may be doing less to contain the virus, such as not enforcing masking and social distancing mandates.
But ICU beds aren’t the only measurement. It takes specially trained nurses to staff an ICU unit, where critically ill patients may be placed on ventilators and must be closely monitored. Across the U.S., there is a shortage of medical personnel including ICU nurses, a shortfall compounded by medical personnel taking time off to quarantine or in some cases, ill after contracting COVID-19 themselves. That's resulting in some patients in critical condition from other illnesses or accidents being transferred hundreds of miles for care and has led to triaging of patients in some areas to determine who may receive ICU beds or ventilators, putting some vulnerable patients at higher risk.
“This holiday season, online shoppers need to have a safe and secure delivery plan.” –InsuranceQuote.com
East County News Service
December 8, 2020 (San Diego) -- Have you created your safe delivery plan yet? According to insuranceQuotes.com’s newly released 2020 Porch Pirates in the Age of COVID-19 Report, 7% of Americans—over 17 million people—have had a delivered package stolen from their porch or doorstep since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to make an impact. Furthermore, 47% of Americans say that all or most of their holiday shopping this year will be done via online delivery. Locally, posts on local NextDoor.com forums confirm that porch pirates have been active locally—Grinches stealing Christmas gifts and more.
“As online shopping and delivery increases, so does the risk of porch pirates—which is not only being compounded by a once-in-a-100-years pandemic spurring online ordering, but also now, holiday shopping. This holiday season, online shoppers need to have a safe and secure delivery plan,” said Michael Giusti, analyst at insuranceQuotes.com and author of the report.
Update November 9, 2020: The Ramona Water District Board voted last night to fill this vacancy by appointment. Click here to learn more.
By Miriam Raftery
December 7, 2020 (Ramona) – Thomas Ace, 73, an incumbent on the Ramona Municipal Water District Board and former Lakeside Fire Protection District Chief, died October 24. He still received the most votes in the November election for the water district’s Division 3 seat, with 1,766 votes to defeat Rex Schildhouse, who got 1,654 votes – a margin of just 112 votes, according to the election results certified Dec. 3 by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
The water district’s board of directors has the option to fill the vacancy by appointment, or call a special election. Options will be discussed at the next board meeting Dec.8 at 2 p.m., which will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board agenda indicates.
December 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Brian Jones will hold his annual holiday open house online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“2020 has been a year of changes and challenges,” says Jones on the party invitaiton. “But in keeping with past traditions,my wife and I will still greet every attendee!” Each guest will have a 3-minute meeting slot assigned when you RSVP, as well as an opportunity to talk with staff on any ideas for legislation or if you need help with a state agency.
By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
Photo by Chris Stone: Republican Joel Anderson returns to office after stints in the state Legislature.
December 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Joel Anderson declared victory over fellow Republican Steve Vaus on Thursday as the San Diego County Registrar of Voters certified results of their close county Board of Supervisors race.
“I am grateful to have earned the trust and support of the residents of East County to represent them on the county Board of Supervisors,” said District 2 winner Anderson. “I also want to recognize Supervisor Dianne Jacob, the longest-serving county supervisor, for 28 years of dedicated service to East County.”
Results stayed the same as recent days — with Anderson edging Poway Mayor Vaus by 282 votes of nearly 290,000 cast.
December 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
December 7, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media. This week's round-up stories include:
Photo: Prete-a-Porter Salon & Spa in La Mesa moved outside during the last shutdown, but this time, salons are ordered to close completely.
December 6, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Healthcare leaders, business owners and public officials are offering mixed reactions to the state’s latest stay-home order and business shutdowns prompted by Southern California dropping below 15% ICU bed availability.
Update December 10, 2020: The Trump administraton has officially begun accepting new DACA applications again, under the court's order.
By Jessica Corbett
Originally published by Common Dreams under a Creative Commons
December 6, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - Immigrant rights defenders celebrated Friday after a federal judge delivered yet another blow to the Trump administration's drawn-outeffort to kill Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that protects certain undocumented residents who were brought to the United States as children from deportation.
December 6, 2020 (San Diego) - The San Diego State men's basketball team used a 24-4 run midway through the second half to erase a 16-point deficit and defeat the Pepperdine Waves, 65-60 on Sunday afternoon at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
Photo via Fire District 1, Edmonds, Wash. Home destroyed by a portable generator fire
December 6, 2020 (San Diego)—Generators have sparked several wildfires in California, ironically during power outages planned by utility companies to prevent fires. While generators are vital for many homeowners to operate electric well pumps, lights, refrigerators, computers, medical equipment and other necessities during prolonged outages, generators can pose hazards if not not used or maintained properly. Explosions, electric shocks, electrocution, hearing loss from noise, vibration hazards, and carbon monoxide poisoning from exhaust are all potential risks from generators.
Last year, three fires caused by generators during power shut-offs by PG&E were reported in Nevada County, CA, Wildfire Today reported. This week, the Bond Fire that has scored over 7,300 acres in Orange County may have been triggered by a faulty domestic generator, according to Reuters. Neighbors have said that a generator exploded when a homeowner without power tried to start up the generator, though fire authorities have not yet confirmed the wildfire’s cause.
The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) have published guidelines on how to use portable generators safely. Below are highlights from the OSHA advice:
By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office
The Southern California intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity has dropped below 15%, and the state will require San Diego County to implement a Regional Stay Home Order that prohibits gatherings of any size and closes operations in multiple sectors, including restaurants, bars, wineries and personal services.
The current ICU capacity for the Southern California region, which includes San Diego and 10 other counties, is now 12.5%. The order will go into effect Monday and will last for at least three weeks or until the region’s ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. The order will be assessed by the state on a weekly basis after the three-week period.
"Lives are at stake, so this action is necessary," said Eric McDonald, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of Epidemiology and Immunization Services at the County Health and Human Services Agency. "We must restrict our activities and avoid contact with others to reduce transmissions of COVID-19."
Among restrictions that go beyond the current Purple Tier that already apply to San Diego:
Partnering with local businesses to connect resources with those in need
Chairwoman expands efforts to improve lives of Native peoples
By Miriam Raftery
By 
East County News Service
By 
By Dr. Michael Mantell, 
By Ken Stone, 
East County News Service
By Kathy Carpenter
By Matt Levin, CalMatters
By Mike Allen
Fire burning in Mexico near Tecate is visible across East County
“This holiday season, online shoppers need to have a safe and secure delivery plan.” –InsuranceQuote.com
December 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
December 7, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media. This week's round-up stories include: 
By Miriam Raftery
Source: goaztecs.com
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