January 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Local author Raymond Wong, author of the book I’m not Chinese: the Journey from Resentment to Reverence, will make three appearances locally on January 24th at the San Diego State Writer’s Conference, as well as on January 29 and February 7th at libraries in Santee and El Cajon. Below are details.
January 15, 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:
January 14, 2015 (Pine Valley)-- Earlier today, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a fugitive and convicted sex offender with an outstanding warrant after he confessed to being wanted by authorities during a routine stop of a bus in Pine Valley.
January 15, 2015 (San Diego) – San Diego Unified School District’s Board has voted to sell the former Cleveland Elementary School campus site in San Carlos where student Brenda Spencer shot and killed the principal and custodian back in 1979, also injuring eight more including a police officer in America’s first school shooting. At the time she reportedly stated she committed the shootings because "I just did it for the fun of it. I don't like Mondays," according to the San Diego Police Museum account of Spencer and her crimes Spencer later said she committed the crimes because she wanted to die, the Daily Beast reported years later. She remains in prison and won’t be eligible for a parole hearing until 2019.
January 14, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - Cool weather is upon us and that means more home heating use. This time of year, firefighters respond to an increase call load of “odor of gas in a structure” says Chief DiGiovanna. You likely haven’t used your heating unit in several months. It’s a good idea to have them checked before firing them up this winter. Heating appliances should be serviced annually to keep them operating safely and efficiently. “A licensed heating contractor or Southern California Gas Co. Representative can provide this service for you.”
January 14, 2015 (Washington D.C.)--The House of Representatives has voted to block funding for immigration reforms ordered by President Barack Obama. The action puts the status of millions of undocumented people who would have been allowed to stay in America under that order in limbo. The language to block funding was inserted into a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September.
In addition, the House added an amendment to halt the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals Program, which stopped deportation for some immigrants who were children when they came to America.
January 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County has events ranging from an art show at Mission Trails Regional Park to a pipe organ concert in La Mesa and a photo tour of the Anza Borrego Desert. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including a Ballet Folklorico dance production in Lemon Grove to a circus coming to El Cajon. So stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.
Photo, left: Fire inspector Natalie Grimes receives recognition for her service
By Paul Kruze
January 15, 2015 (Spring Valley)--Following a campaign promise which rode a trio of new directors into office on the San Miguel Fire District Board last November, board member Theresa McKenna has introduced a proposal to return control of the agency to local management control. The district currently has a partnership with CAL FIRE to manage firefighting services that was adopted due to an earlier budget shortfall.
McKenna proposed that an ad hoc committee be formed to study the feasibility of the management change at the agency’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Wednesday evening, January 14th.
Update January 15, 2015 - The Urgent Care is now reopened.
January 14, 2015 (La Mesa) – The Sharp Rees-Stealy Urgent Care on the campus of Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa temporarily shut down due to six patients who came in today with rashes and symptoms consistent with measles. The clinic reopened in the evening.
The patients arrived shortly before noon and were soon isolated after healthcare workers recognized symptoms of measles, a highly contagious disease that can be spread by coughing or sneezing. Tests were conducted to confirm whether the patients in fact have measles; results are pending.
January 14, 2015 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa City Council held their first full meeting since being sworn into office in December.
The annual State of the City address, outside Board council assignments, village parking meters, a marketing and communications plan, and the appointment of two students to the Youth Advisory Commission were the topics of the day.
January 14, 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:
January 12, 2015 (San Diego)--Full Disclosure: I met radical Abbie Hoffman at a party in Mexico City when he was hiding out there as Barry Freed. He had had a nose job, but I knew who he was as I had been following his antics since 1968 and had read his books. We hit it off immediately and spent the whole evening on a sofa chatting away. He was hysterically funny, smart and very flirtatious. He still had his rebel, radical side, but it had also softened. I never saw him again, but that evening will stay with me forever.
January 12, 2015 (San Diego) – Mental healthcare clinicians marched in protest outside the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center on Zion Avenue in San Diego today, claiming Kaiser’s rules are unfair to them and their patients. It’s part of a statewide,week-long strike at over 65 locations --the largest walk-out of mental health workers in the nation, 10 News reports.
Photo, right: Chance with Lila and Zack Tater before he went missing
January 10, 2015 (El Cajon)--When the Tatar family came home in 2006 to find their dog had been apparently stolen from his outdoor kennel, they posted fliers around their El Cajon neighborhood and checked the local shelters. But there was no trace of their then 4-year-old boxer, Chance.
January 10, 2015 (San Diego)--U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) became an original cosponsor of legislation that would end the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in its entirety and ensure marriage equality for all. A companion bill in the Senate has been introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California).
Overnight mail service ends; privatization push triggers boycott of Staples
By Hayden Parsley
Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report.
Click here to hear our radio interview with Tom Wood and Eddie B. Cooper Jr. with the American Postal Workers Union Local 197 in San Diego.
January 9, 2015 (San Diego) – Many Americans are shocked to learn that effective January 5th, the U.S. Postal Service has stopped all overnight deliveries. Nationwide, 82 mail processing plants are closing, hours have been cut at Post Offices, and patrons are being steered toward competitors such as Staples, triggering a backlash in the form of a Staples boycott.
It’s all part of an effort by conservatives in Congress to slow down, outsource and privatize postal services—a move that could ultimately lead to the demise of the Post Office completely. That could mean price hikes for stamps and delivery services, lay-offs for workers, inconveniences and new costs for businesses, as well as potential cuts in delivery for rural residents. That’s concerning for those reliant on mail deliveries of vital items such as prescription medications.
January 11, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – At the request of Native American tribes, the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a policy statement offering guidance to U.S. Attorneys on priorities for enforcing marijuana laws on tribal lands. Given that many states have legalized marijuana for medical, agricultural or recreational use, the statement lists eight priorities for enforcement on Indian lands—and makes clear that any enforcement must require consultation with tribal partners.
January 10, 2015 (El Cajon)—Robert Gehr snapped this photo of a Mallard Duck and Seagull standing together on a recent cold morning at the water-scape by the waterfall in downtown El Cajon.
“They make for an interesting pair, don't they?” he says.
January 11, 2015 (Sacramento)—Governor Jerry Brown has unveiled his proposed $164.7 billion budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year(including $113.3 billion in general funds), drawing mixed reactions from around the state following several months of healthy revenue growth. Seeking a fiscally prudent path, the Governor aims to pay down long-term debts and boost California’s rainy day fund for budget reserves by $2.8 billion.
January 10, 2015 (La Mesa) –Anwar al-Awlaki, a former cleric at a mosque on the La Mesa-San Diego boundary and ex-student at San Diego State may have inspired the jihadist brothers who massacred 12 people at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Awlaki was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in September 2011 and was believed by U.S. authorities to have been a terrorist mastermind tied to the 9/11 attacks and many other terror plots around the world.
Cherif Kouachi , one of two brothers who reportedly gunned down journalists at Charlie Hebdo, was later killed by police following a massive manhunt in Paris. Before he died, Koachi told BFM-TV, “I was sent, me, Cherif Koachi, by Al Qaeda of Yemen. I went over there and it was Anwar al Awlaki who financed me.” Reuters reports that the statement was recorded and aired on French television.
January 10, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – On the first day of the new Congressional session, House Republicans pushed through a rule change that advocates for senior citizens and the disabled warn will lead to major benefit cuts for retirees and people on disability.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) legislative policy director calls the action “a mistake” that could lead to devastating 20% cuts for people dependent on disability payments as well as negative impacts for retirees--including reductions in benefit payments and another rise in retirement age, which is already set to go up from age 65 to 67.
Without a single Democratic vote, House Republicans pushed through a rule change that prohibits members from approving any financial fix to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program unless it is tied to broader “reforms” in Social Security that critics including the AARP say will lead to privatization of the program and weakening of benefits.
January 10, 2015 (La Mesa)--Spencer McCall, a senior at Helix Charter High School and son of Drs. Michael and Madhavi McCall of La Mesa, earned a top composite score of 36 on a recent ACT test. Nationally, while the actual number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year, on average, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earns the top score. Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2014, only 1,407 of nearly 1.85 million students earned a composite score of 36.
January 10, 2014 (La Mesa)—A 56-year-old man walking with a cane up a steep sidewalk on Saranac Place to Thorne Drive was struck by a large pickup truck yesterday shortly before 7 a..m. He suffered several broken bones and internal injuries, according to La Mesa Police.
January 9, 2015 (El Cajon) – A man wearing dark clothing was struck by two vehicles after trying to jaywalk between signals in the 800 block of Avocado Avenue in El Cajon.
January 9, 2015 (Borrego Springs) - Enjoy the original artwork of 60 selected fine artists and craftsmen while experiencing the unique beauty of "California's Secret Desert" at the 26th annual Circle of Art Show & Sale March 14 & 15, 2015 in Borrego Springs. Circle of Art is outdoors on Christmas Circle right in the center of Borrego Springs, just 2 hours from San Diego and Palm Springs.
Photo: Je Suis Charlie rally in support of slain French journalists, by Claude Truong NGOC, creative commons
Editorial originally published in Le Monde January 8, 2015 and on the U.S. Embassy website in Paris
January 9, 2015 (Paris)--Wednesday’s barbaric attack on the journalists and staff of Charlie Hebdo, as well as on policemen guarding them, shocked and saddened the entire world. As we pause to mourn the loss of life, I am reminded of how the people of France showed their support to us in the aftermath of 9/11. On September 11, Americans were in a state of shock as we tried to come to grips with that terrible loss and our own grief and a growing sense that our world would be different from that moment on. I remember seeing Le Monde’s headline that day: “We are all Americans”, and how much those words meant to me that day as an American, a New Yorker and a friend of France.
January 8, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police have arrested a woman suspected of fraudulently buying at least seven vehicles at dealerships in El Cajon and San Diego.
January 8, 2015 (Washington D.C.)--The House of Representatives voted today to strike down a portion of the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare mandate. The law requires that employers must provide healthcare for all employees working 30 hours a week or more.
January 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County has events ranging from riding the rails at the Campo Railway Depot to dropping a line at the Santee Lakes trout reopener. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including the Martin Luther King Jr. Choir concert in Lemon Grove, candlemaking classes in Alpine, and a blast from the past when Herman’s Hermits take stage at Sycuan. So stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.
January 14, 2015 (La Mesa) – Incoming Mayor Mark Arapostathis presented the annual State of the City address at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
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