East County News Service

June 29, 2015 (El Cajon)—Three suspects are in custody after a group of people reportedly forced their way into a garage and tried to assault a homeowner and collect a debt, But the homeowner, who lived in the 8200 block of Limon Lane in unincorporated El Cajon, armed himself with a shotgun and shot one of the suspects in the leg.

The Huge, Gigantic, Humongous Lizard; in my Living Room, by Anat Tour (Amazon, 2015, 26 pages)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

June 29, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Anat Tour, an East County resident and high school math teacher, has come a long way since our initial meeting at a Barnes & Noble Author Forum that I was moderating in La Mesa in April of 2011. Then, an unpublished author, Tour asked me at the end of the event how to get her Mama’s Shoe published. I suggested getting it published as an eBook with Barnes & Noble, which she did, and now with her 7^th publication; The Huge, Gigantic, Humongous Lizard: in my Living Room, she is a firmly established author and illustrator.

By Dan Herman, Public News Service

PHOTO: More than 60 organizations have sent a letter calling on Congress to remove a rider in its budget bill they claim would block the FCC from implementing net neutrality rules. Photo credit: Sean MacEntee/Flickr Commons.

June 29, 2015 (Washington D.C.) --- More than 60 civil-rights and public-interest groups have sent a letter urging Congress to protect the Federal Communications Commission's decision to keep the Internet open.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: U.S. Congressional Districts, by Matte, Creative Commons license

June 29, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the right of voters to approve an independent redistricting commission. In a case that has implications in California, Justice Anthony Kennedy sided with four liberal justices to uphold Arizona’s redistricting plan approved by the state’s voters.

East County News Service

June 28, 2015 (La Mesa)--Two pedestrians in the 4300 block of Rosebud Lane in La Mesa were robbed at gunpoint at 12:50 this morning by a suspect armed with a handgun.

The unknown suspect approached the male and female victim as they were standing on the sidewalk. The suspect produced a silver semi-automatic handgun and demanded the victims’ money and cell phones. After the victims complied, the suspect ran away southbound on Rosebud Lane.

By Miriam Raftery

Update July 1, 2015: The Governor has signed this bill, stating "the science is clear" on the benefits of vaccinations.

June 28, 2015 (Sacramento) – A bill that would eliminate the personal belief exemption for childhood vaccines in California has passed the Assembly and now goes to the Senate for concurrence in amendments.  The Assembly voted 46-30 to pass the measure, Senate Bill 277, the Sacramento Bee reports.

If the amendments are approved by the Senate and the bill is signed by Governor Jerry Brown, then children who have not been vaccinated for diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough would not be allowed to attend public schools in California, unless a child has a medical condition such as an allergy or immune system disorder that could raise the risk of complications.

San Diego State Senators Marty Block and Lorena Gonzalez, both Democrats, are cosponsors of the bill.  Republican Senator Joel Anderson voted against it in an earlier Senate vote and Democrat Ben Hueso did not cast a vote. Among local Assemblymembers, Democrats Toni Atkins, Mary Salas and Shirley Weber voted in favor, while Republicans Brian Jones and Rocky Chavez voted no.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Avaaz, 700,000 marchers for climate change action

June 28, 2015 (San Diego) – It’s been front-page news in Europe, but scarcely reported in the U.S. – though the news is of epic proportions. 

On June 6^th, at a meeting in a Bavarian resort,  all seven of the G7 world leaders agreed to end all use of fossil fuels by the end of this century and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 70 percent by 2050, compared to 2010 emission levels.   In another sweeping commitment, they agreed to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, Reuters reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, dubbed the “climate chancellor”, led the successful efforts to gain the commitments from the G7 leaders of  Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States, which was represented by President Barack Obama.   Next up, the G7 leaders aim to create an agreement at the upcoming United Nations conference in Paris, where some 200 nations will work to set a new global agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

June 26, 2015 (El Cajon ) – From now through July 4, Coldstone Creamery in Rancho San Diego (2963 Jamacha Road, El Cajon) will donate 20% of all purchase to benefit the ACES Foundation, which supports the El Cajon Animal Shelter. Just mention “El Cajon Animal Shelter” when ordering, or present the flyer in this story.

June 26, 2015 (Julian) – The Volcan Mountain Foundation is offering a series of events, from hikes to beer-tasting to a summer film festival.  Scroll down for highlights, and visit www.VolcanMt.org. for full details.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob welcomes news after leading efforts to launch Alzheimer’s Project

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: National Institute of Health

June 27, 2015 (San Diego) – The University of Southern California (USC)’s Keck School of Medicine announced Friday that it has established the USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute  in San Diego.

CAL-FIRE ISSUES WARNING TO DRONE OPERATORS, UPDATES ON FIRES

By Miriam Raftery

June 26, 2015 (San Diego)—With wildfires raging across California, an unmanned hobby drone interfered with firefighting aerial drops yesterday on the Sterling Fire in San Bernadino Fire.  According to CAL-FIRE Captain Kendal Bortisser, this is the second time in two days that a drone has halted air drops. The near-misses have prompted CAL-FIRE to issue this stern warning to hobby drone users: “If you fly, we can’t!”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: The Moderate Voice

June 26, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – In a historic ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court majority has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, protected under the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

President Barack Obama likened the decision to “justice that arrives like a thunderbolt,” declaring, “When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.”

The high court, ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, was asked to decide two issues: can individual states ban  same-sex marriage and must all states honor same-sex marriages for weddings performed in other states. 

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointed by Ronald Reagan, wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 opinion, joined by the court’s four liberal justices.