November 13, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – Yesterday at 2:55 p.m., a student at Monterey Heights Elementary School in Lemon Grove told school officials that a stranger grabbed him and dragged him along a sidewalk away from school. The student claimed he had freed himself from the suspect’s grasp and ran back to school. Deputies obtained a suspect description and launched a search of the surrounding neighborhood with help from a helicopter.
November 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – La Mesa City Council Vice Mayor Kristine Alessio will meet with members of the Pacific Southwest Association of REALTORS® (PSAR) starting at noon today at the PSAR East County Service Center, 1150 Broadway, El Cajon. Topics will include an update on new projects in La Mesa, new development opportunities in La Mesa, the city’s homebuyer assistance program and a review of the city’s boards and commissions.
Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. For more information and to RSVP, call PSAR at (619) 579-0333 or visit www.psar.org. PSAR, a trade group for San Diego-area realtors, offers educational training, advocacy and other services and resources to its realtor members.
November 13, 2013 (Alpine) – A little known secret in East County is that each winter, you can enjoy outdoor ice skating at a rink larger than the famed Rockefeller Center rink in New York. Viejas Outlet Center’s rink is also the largest in Southern California. You can enjoy shopping, holiday décor and entertainment, sip hot cocoa or order off a rink-side menu.
The rink is now open through the holiday season. If you bring a new, unwrapped toy worth $5 or more by December 4, you can also get a $3 discount on skating prices (see rates below).
November 13, 2013 (Spring Valley) – Favorite Disney characters will appear at Young Actors’ Theater, 9620 Campo Road in Spring Valley this weekend, where Aladdin Jr., a stage adaption of the Disney hit film, is being staged.
The production promises to be filled with “magic, mayhem, and flying carpet rides” along with the Academy award-winning score including “A Whole New World” and “Friend Like Me.”
November 13, 2013 (San Diego)--Three of the four so-called “major” candidates for mayor of San Diego in the November 19 special election — Republican Kevin Faulconer and Democrats David Alvarez and Mike Aguirre — debated November 11 at California Western School of Law in an event co-sponsored by the school and KNSJ 89.1 FM Descanso, San Diego County’s new community radio station. The fourth “major” candidate, Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher, did not appear.
Surprisingly, given how most of the local media outlets have scripted their coverage of the race — Faulconer the center-Right Republican, Alvarez the progressive Democrat and Fletcher the man in the middle — Faulconer and Alvarez, colleagues on the current San Diego City Council, agreed on as many issues as they disagreed. It was Aguirre, running a distant fourth in most polls, who challenged the other two candidates and confronted many issues that both Faulconer and Alvarez did their best to duck.
Sandwiches and salads sold by Glass Onion Catering, a California company, have been recalled due to possible contamination with e-coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced. There have been 15 cases of bacterial illness believed to be associated with the products so far.
November 12, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee City Councils meet this week to discuss matters ranging from the future of Oktoberfest to choosing a new mayor. Below are highlights from the agendas for each community.
November 12, 2013 (Poway) -- Scott Dixon with the San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) shot this fiery image showing the head of the Pelican Nebula. The photo was taken in Poway in August.
November 11, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Wind turbines killed over 600,000 bats last year in the United States. That’s according to BioScience, which made the projection based on the startling number of dead bats found at 21 facilities. The number could be even higher, nearly a million bat deaths, according to the author, Mark Hayes at the University of Colorado.
November 11, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The past month has been deadly on East County roadways. Accidents in Jamul, Spring Valley, San Diego, Lakeside, and Ramona have claimed the lives of several local residents.
Steven John Eastman, 24, of El Cajon died November 3 of injuries sustained when he was struck by a cement truck while walking along Mission Gorge Road and Cottonwood Avenue on November 1. Witnesses called 911 and paramedics found him unresponsive. He was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where despite treatment, his health declined.
News hits hard in San Diego, home to second most Filippinos in nation
By Miriam Raftery
November 10, 2013 (San Diego) -- The International Red Cross estimates that as many as 10,000 people may have been killed by a powerful typhoon that has struck the Philippines. Haiyan, also known as Yolanda in the Philippines, may be the strongest typhoon in history.
The typhoon generated winds three and a half times more powerful than Hurricane Katrina. It also triggered a storm surge 16 feet high. Nearly a thousand deaths have been confirmed so far.
The news is hitting hard locally. With 182,000 Filippino residents, san Diego has the second largest Filippino population of any city in America, according to the 2010 census.
Murder Is A Family Affair, by Donalie Beltran, (Killing Time Press, LLC, 2013, 352 pages).
Book Review by Dennis Moore
November 8, 2013 (San Diego)--Donalie Beltran, an author with strong religious convictions, has written an historical true crime novel that uncovers the ancestry of a sordid and evil past that belies her faith: Murder Is A Family Affair. The author sets the stage for this story and the tone of this well-written novel by asking a rhetorical question: “Do you have a murderer in your family – maybe a violent tempered wife beater – those who feel they have a right to take a life?”
November 11, 2013 (San Diego)--During November, veterans and active duty military personnel can adopt a dog or cat at half price through County Animal Services. This includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, a microchip, and a free health examination. The adoptions are limited to one dog or two cats per household.
Dawn Danielson, director of the County’s Department of Animal Services, says “This is truly a win-win situation for both the pets that deserve a loving home and our service members who will gain a loyal, forever companion.” Pets can often have healing effects on veterans and can help them transition back into their civilian lives, she added.
November 10, 2013 (Pine Valley) -- Fall is a fabulous time to take a drive through East County's backcountry. The photos on this page were taken yesterday along Old Highway 80 from Guatay to Pine Valley, where trees wear coats of gold, rust and crimson on these late autumn days.
November 9, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Arbor Day in Mission Trails is being celebrated at the Equestrian Staging area on Saturday, December 7, 2013, 9:00 a.m. The public is invited to take part in the donation and/or planting of oak trees. Volunteers may help with the planting - or act as cheerleaders. Volunteers are also needed to pull weeds and help with general landscape maintenance of the area. Some shovels will be available, but Mission Trails says it would be helpful if you could bring your own. Gloves and comfortable shoes are recommended. To make a donation, please complete and mail the Arbor Day Donation Form.
November 9, 2013 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Police Department is hosting a toy drive on behalf of the City of La Mesa to support Rady Children’s Hospital. The collection box is located in the La Mesa Police station lobby and they will be collecting toys until November 14, 2013. The La Mesa Police Department will transport the collected toys to AJ’s crane on November 15th. All toys must be new and sealed in their original packaging. Rady Children’s Hospital also asks that no toys include guns, religious themes, or violent games.
November 9, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The Descanso Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest will conduct prescribed burning from November 2013 to May 2014, if weather and fuel moisture conditions permit. The project will cover approximately 500-700 acres and will take place near the communities of Mount Laguna, Alpine, and Pine Valley.
The prescribed burns are for the purpose of assisting in providing community protection by slowing the spread of wildfires that occur under normal summer conditions as well as forest health. Some drifting smoke may be visible during the period of burning along Sunrise Highway, Japatul Road, and Interstate 8.
November 9, 2013 (El Cajon) – Hookbill Hobbyists of Southern California will offer a free nail and wing trim clinic in El Cajon on Sunday, November 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mite Bingo Hall, 1365 North Johnson Avenue in El Cajon.
November 9, 2013 (El Cajon) – Following Mayor Mark Lewis’ resignation, the East County Democratic Club’s president has sent an open letter to council members and residents urging that the vacancy be filled by appointing one of two minority candidates. The Club cites the region’s changing demographics and lists support for Ben Kalasho, an Iraqi Chaldean who narrowly lost a council race in 2012, and Vickie Butcher, an African-American who has served on the City’s planning commission and is active in local charities.
Presently,Councilman Bill Wells, a Republican, is serving as interim mayor. If Council should decide to appoint Wells as Mayor, members would then also have a vacancy to fill on the City Council.
November 8, 2013 (San Diego) – For all the gripes I hear about Hollywood’s glut of sequels – particularly about its apparent unwilling to try something new – there exists an upside that frequently gets lost in all the grousing: whereas the first film acts the set-up, the second can just get right down to business. Such is the case with Thor: The Dark World.
November 8, 2013 (Alpine) – The Alpine branch of the San Diego County Library will be honoring our veterans on November 7 at 6 p.m., at 2130 Arnold Way, Alpine.
The event will feature speaker Diana Saenger, author of “Mission Honored – A Dream Achieved; True stories of the Veterans on the Alpine Wall of Honor.” A musical tribute will be performed by the East County Children’s Choir.
November 7, 2013 (Washington D.C.) –The Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act was introduce November 4 in the Senate.
“The FAA’s plan falls far short of putting in place the necessary privacy protections for the commercialization of drone use in U.S. airspace,” Senator Ed Markey (D-MA)said in a statement. “This disregard for the need for strong and comprehensive privacy safeguards underscores why we must pass federal legislation to protect innocent individuals from expanded use of commercial and government drones.”
Markey said that his legislation requires transparency on the domestic use of drones and adds privacy protections that will “ensure this technology cannot and will not be used to spy on Americans.” Markey’s bill would require law enforcement agencies to acquire warrants before they use drones to conduct surveillance. A copy of his bill can be viewed here.
November 9, 2013 (El Cajon) – An argument between several men in an El Cajon parking lot ended in gunfire last night, with a bullet striking a woman in her 20s. One of three children in the vehicle was also injured by broken glass.
Deputies from the Santee Sheriff’s station responded at 5:09 p.m. to a report of shots fired at 340 East Bradley Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon. The woman, seated in an SUV at Graves and Bradley, had a bullet wound in her shoulder and a child was struck in the arm by shattered glass. Paramedics from Lakeside Fire took the woman to a hospital, where she was treated for a non-life threatening wound.
Production Details Kumeyaay History and Sycuan’s Evolution in the Region
November 6, 2013 (El Cajon)-- On Friday morning, Sycuan will debut a historical documentary that chronicles its 12,000-year existence in the present-day San Diego/Northern Baja region. It’s taken 16 months to produce and features local Native American anthropologists, historians and curators who help weave and trace the Kumeyaay ancestry. It also contains biographical accounts that make it an even more compelling and thought provoking piece.
“It really shows our history from a perspective that most people have never heard of, it goes beyond anything in textbooks and accounts ever written or told about the Kumeyaay and Sycuan,” said Daniel Tucker, Chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
November 8, 2011 (Alpine) -- On Monday, November 11th, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., a ceremony will be held at the Alpine Wall of Honor (next to Alpine's Community Center) to celebrate the addition of an additional row of heroes and remember all of the great men and women on the Wall of Honor who have served our country or are currently serving.
VFW Post 9578 will be providing our Color Guard, and Peter Hastings will perform some patriotic songs.
After the ceremony, the VFW will be serving hamburgers and hot dogs at the Post and is inviting all who are interested to continue the day's celebration.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The Cameron Highlanders Pipe Band of San Diego County is having its 65th annual Tartan Ball on Nov. 16, 2013 at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. The Camerons have a long history, being one of the oldest continuously competing bands in the west coast. The group also offers free bagpiping and drumming lessons at Helix High School every Wednesday from7 to 9 PM.
"We are always in the look out for new guests to join us for an evening of bagpiping, singing, dinner, and highland dancing," said spokesman Robert Yslas, Jr.
November 7, 2013 (El Cajon) – The City of El Cajon’s Special Events Committee, a group of city employees volunteering their time for city and community projects, is seeking item and monetary donations to mail care packages to military members serving overseas through the second annual “They Serve Us, Let’s Serve Them” campaign from “9-11 to 11-11.”
“We’ve had an outpouring of care package item donations and will probably be able to assemble 30 care packages to help our military this year,” according to Ron Luis Valles, a coordinator and member of the special events committee.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego) – Tuesday morning, in response to recent crime alert bulletins, SDSU Police received a call from a student reporting a male subject was asking to use his cell phone at the intersection of Campanile Drive and Montezuma Road.
The student refused to give him his phone and called police. Officers later arrested the subject on unrelated felony charges. The suspect’s connection to prior cell phone theft cases is currently under investigation.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego) – The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) advises fans taking the Trolley to Qualcomm Stadium for the Chargers versus Denver Broncos game Sunday, Nov. 10, at 1:25 p.m. to travel early and to purchase trolley tickets on their smart phones to avoid crowds.
MTS will increase the number of pre- and post-game Green Line trains that provide direct service to Qualcomm Stadium from downtown and Santee. Expanded service begins at 8:45 a.m. between Old Town and the stadium and at 9:50 a.m. between Santee and the stadium. After the game, MTS will operate extra Green Line service in both directions as needed.
November 7, 2013 (Santee) – Each year since 2003, the City of Santee has launched the holiday season by hosting its Holiday Lighting Celebration at Santee Trolley Square.
This year’s celebration -- 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 -- will include booths, music, and activities guaranteed to ensure a fun outing for the entire family.
Live music will be provided at the amphitheater stage by the Bayou Brothers, recent winners of “Favorite Blues Band” at the San Diego Music Awards. Also performing will be roving carolers dressed in period costumes and a community theater group singing holiday tunes.
Sandwiches and salads sold by Glass Onion Catering, a California company, have been recalled due to possible contamination with e-coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced. There have been 15 cases of bacterial illness believed to be associated with the products so far.
November 12, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee City Councils meet this week to discuss matters ranging from the future of Oktoberfest to choosing a new mayor. Below are highlights from the agendas for each community.
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