March 16, 2013 (Lake Murray) -- Spring has sprung, warm weather is here and the wild Ramona Lilac is in bloom all over the hills in the East County. It is the time of year to keep a keen eye open for the Oriole. These birds winter in Mexico and then start to come north as the days get longer. In my experience, March and April have always been the best time to observe these beautiful, bright yellow-orange birds with sharp contrasting black on the back, throat and top of the head.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Thomas Jefferson School of Law will open a Veterans Self-Help Legal Clinic on March 20 to help former military service members with their legal needs. The veterans will be assisted by volunteer lawyers from the community working side-by-side with TJSL law students.
The clinic will be appointment-only and will operate the third Wednesday of every month from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at 495 Eleventh Avenue. The clinic is now taking appointments.
March 17, 2013 (Julian) – All of Julian is invited to join the Fourth of July Parade Committee for an evening of fun, festivity and fundraising at Wynola Pizza on March 25. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Red Barn.
You can enjoy a pizza dinner plus locally produced wine and cider while supporting the parade. The committee will also offer raffle tickets for a ride on a vintage aircraft, an opportunity to purchase t-shirts worn on parade day 20 years ago, and share in the 50/50 drawing.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Dear EarthTalk: What are the main drivers of food scarcity that lead to so much starvation around the world, and how can they be addressed?
-- Marjorie Millerton, Provo, UT
Food scarcity is a bigger problem than ever as human population numbers continue to swell, putting additional stress on already fragile food production and distribution systems. And it’s not just happening in far away places: A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the number of U.S. homes “lacking food security” rose from 4.7 million to 6.7 million in just the last five years.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego)--A coalition of local and national organizations will hold four days of action in San Diego to protest the U.S. government’s use of drones, from April 4-7, 2013. The host group, Drone Diego, has invited participants from across the nation to call attention to the threats from increasing unmanned robotic warfare by the United States. Drone Diego will host varied events over a half-week-long series of actions.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP) today announced the launch of the Independent Living Association (ILA) online directory. This groundbreaking new community resource will help connect San Diegans with quality Independent Living housing options. Stable and supportive housing is one of the most effective ways to encourage recovery and reduce inappropriate use of the healthcare system.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) -- On March 11, San Diego’s City Council unanimously approved funding for a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. The CAD system is used for dispatching emergency 9-1-1 calls and is of critical importance to emergency response times. In an emergency, seconds can make every difference, including that of a life or death situation. The current software was originally written in the mid-1970s and the existing CAD system was installed in 1991. The council’s action approved $6.9 million in one- time revenue toward the long overdue CAD system replacement.
The new CAD system will improve response times and modernize the tools available for the efficient dispatching of 9-1-1 calls. By committing the necessary funding to upgrade the CAD system, we increase public safety for all San Diegans and give our first responders the tools necessary to serve our residents. It is estimated that the CAD system replacement will take three to five years, depending on the scope of work.
March 17, 2013 (El Cajon) – The City of El Cajon Recreation Department is the recipient of California Park and Recreation Society’s (CPRS) Achievement Award for the City’s Centennial Celebration Event held on November 12, 2012. The award was announced in February, and formally presented at the March 12, 2013, City Council Meeting by CPRS Board President Susan Richardson.
Richardson stated that El Cajon is one of the leaders in the State of California in recognizing that recreation programs and parks are essential to the quality of life within a community.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego)--Paris Jablonski has a seemingly idyllic life in San Diego with her charming French husband and young daughter. But that illusion is shattered on her seventh anniversary, when she finds love letters in her husband’s closet from a woman in France.
Twice Begun, a novel by San Diego author Reina Menasche, opens with this line: “Before I stepped into the closet, my life felt like an Impressionist masterpiece—filled with elusive light yet made of simple dabs of color that even a child could paint.”
But Paris is given no opportunity to absorb the shock, caught in the moment not by her philandering husband, Serge, but by the family dog tailed closely by Paris' 7-year-old daughter, who asks innocently, “Mommy, why are you in the closet?”
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – A 50-year-old man was struck and killed while attempting to cross Interstate 15 north of the Landis Street overcrossing near University at 6:55 p.m Wednesday night.
According to the CHP, the victim was hit by a Mercedes traveling 50 to 60 mph in the number one lane. The driver was not injured. The victim’s name has not yet been released, pending notification of family. The collision remains under investigation.
If you have information on this accident, call Officer Jake Sanchez at the San Diego CHP office at (619) 220-5492.
March 16, 2013 (Vallecitos) -- A soldier, a sailor, and a mountain man—all bringing to life tales from the 1850 and '60s, shared their stories at Vallecitos Days. The two-day event continues Sunday morning (ending at 2 p.m.) at the Vallecitos Stage Station in the Anza-Borrego Desert .
For details see http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/12586. To get there, take I-8 east to S-2 at Ocotillo and continue north until you reach the Vallecitos Stage Station on your left.
As we arrived, a soldier in a Union Army uniform offers visitors bread cooked over a campfire. It resembles s’mores, baked long and narrow to fit on a soldier’s gunstock to be carried on the trail. Another Army man launches into a story of how he wound up at this outpost, while nearby, a woman in a hoopskirt shades herself with a parasol.
March 16, 2013 (San Diego)--Mayor Bob Filner has launched the City’s first ever Open Government web pages. The newly created web pages are another step by Mayor Filner to provide easier access to documents the public has a right to and need to know.
“The public has a right to know what their government is doing, and why,” said Mayor Filner. “This information will help make it easier for the public to participate and find documents.”
“Your source for Trusts, Wills, Probate, Family Law & more”
By Stephen C. Ross, Esq.
March 16, 2013 (San Diego County) – Probate is a legal proceeding whereby the court ensures the decedent's assets are collected, creditors paid and the remaining assets distributed pursuant to the terms of the decedent's will. If the decedent died without a will (intestate), the estate assets will be distributed pursuant to the California law of intestate succession.
March 16, 2013 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: I’d like to have a garden that encourages bees and butterflies. What’s the best approach?
-- Robert Miller, Bakersfield, CA
Attracting bees and butterflies to a garden is a noble pursuit indeed, given that we all depend on these species and others (beetles, wasps, flies, hummingbirds, etc.) to pollinate the plants that provide us with so much of our food, shelter and other necessities of life. In fact, increased awareness of the essential role pollinators play in ecosystem maintenance—along with news about rapid declines in bee populations—have led to a proliferation of backyard “pollinator gardens” across the U.S. and beyond.
For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org
March 16 (Saturday, 2:30pm) — Ladies Literary Tea Adventure. Adventures by the Book, in partnership with The Westgate Hotel, presents the next in its series of Ladies Literary Tea Adventures with award-winning author Christopher Castellani at the Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue, San Diego.
“I’m very close to the homeless. They’re people. Not all are troublemakers….. I know several who need help. We need to get tools together for a community committee, so we can get people off the streets and into homes.” – Clifva Budke, Medical Billing Enterprise
“I’ve stated many times that Santee is not a social services business. We’re in potholes, we’re in law enforcement, and we’re in fire fighters. .. I have a problem with the homeless industry.” – Mayor Randy Voepel
March 15, 2013 (Santee)- At Wednesday’s Santee City Council meeting, City Manager Keith Till brought up a report on strategies to reduce problems related to the transient [homeless] population, sparking a robust discussion on how best to address homelessness in Santee—and whether the solutions should be purely punitive, or include services to help those in need.
The week-long festival includes keynote speaker, Leilani Munter, the world’s No. 1 Eco-Athlete.
March 15, 2013 (San Diego)--All next week, San Diego State University's Associated Students will host GreenFest, a week-long festival that educates the campus community about sustainability, while promoting school spirit. The keynote speaker, Leilani Munter,is the world’s number one eco-athlete. For full schedule and details, please read more.
March 15, 2013 (Santee) - At Wednesday’s city council meeting, the council was informed of a Santee Public Art Sub-Committee under the Santee Park and Recreation Committee. Community services director Bill Maertz explained that the new sub-committee hopes to have public art projects and paintings among other things to promote works of art, such as depictions of nature. “We’re looking at proceeds from the Bluegrass Festival, volunteer painters, and donations from public” along with anyone else who may offer their skills and expertise, he said.
March 15, 2013 (San Diego) – There are hookers with hearts of gold. In Like Someone in Love, Akiko (Rin Takanashi) is no such character. She’s a hooker with a heavy heart. She works in Tokyo and is engaged to the abusive, controlling, and emotionally abusive Noriaki (Ryo Kase). Her boss asks her to visit an old widower friend of his, Watanabe (Tadashi Okuno). The next 48 hours the two spend with each other are life-changing for everyone involved.
March 15, 2013 (Alpine) -- An 11--year-old boy has been struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Alpine Boulevard and Tavern Road, Incident Page Network (IPN) reports. Mercy Air is on standby.
According to the CHP website, the vehicle that struck the child is a Honda Odyssey.
January 30, 2013 (El Cajon) Updated March 15, 2013- Last week, Troy McKinney, Fresh Fund coordinator from the International Rescue committee (IRC), participated in an exclusive interview with East County Magazine. He gave more details of the future farmers’ market that will be set up on the Prescott Promenade in downtown El Cajon each Thursday starting March 21.
Like the IRC’s farmer’s market started four years ago in City Heights, the El Cajon farmer’s market will help both local refugees and the broader community.
March 14, 2013 (El Cajon) – Mollison Avenue is closed between Washington and East Main Streets due to eight power poles that toppled over.
“It might be a good 24 hours,” Monica Zech, spokesperson for the City of El Cajon, told ECM late tonight. Earlier an estimated 1500 residences were without power, though all but about 300 have now been restored.
“Some residents are trapped in parking lots and can’t get out of their homes. Others parked on side streets and went in,” she said, adding that there were no evacuations and El Cajon Police have been escorting pedestrians back into the area.
Measure will lead to taxpayer savings, energy efficiency
March 14, 2013 (San Diego)--County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Dave Roberts want to save taxpayers’ money and quickly bring more energy-saving projects like solar to the region.
Several days after meeting with San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to discuss energy issues, Roberts and Jacob on Tuesday pushed for more green energy and less reliance on fossil-fuels in the county’s unincorporated area. Roberts called for a working partnership with the city of San Diego “on all things green”.
HooleyFest moves to March 16, race takes off on March 17
March 14, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Sure ‘n’ what could be finer on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, than to take a run to benefit several East County charities – and have a chance to win a bit of green for your efforts?
The5K Hooleys to Hooleys half-marathon race will benefit the East County Chamber of Commerce, St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, Home of Guiding Hands, Stoney’s Kids, Partnership with Industry, and the East County Transitional Living Center. Get a T-shirt for entering and a medal for finishing—plus you can s cash prizes of $500 for the lad and lassie who place first and additional prize money for second and third places.
Also enjoy Hooleys beer and plenty of St. Patrick’s Day cheer—and don’t forget to wear some green.
March14, 2013 (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 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:
March 13, 2013 (Boulevard) – Iberdrola’s Tule Wind project has been slapped with a federal complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The lawsuit was filed by two nonprofits in San Diego’s Rural East County, the Protect Our Communities Foundation and Backcountry Against Dumps.
If built, Tule Wind’s phase I would include 67 turbines on federal land, each nearly 500 feet tall in rugged McCain Valley, a federal wildlife management and popular recreation area. Additional turbines are planned on adjoining state, tribal and private property. Turbines would be close to campgrounds and homes in rural Boulevard, a predominantly low income community in East County where numerous other massive-scale energy projects have already been proposed. (See map showing cumulative impacts.)
“Eastern San Diego County is targeted as a rural sacrifice industrial energy and transmission zone without benefit of equal protection under the law,” said Donna Tisdale, also a plaintiff in the suit.
March 14, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – East El Capitan ridge, a habitat of the threatened California coastal gnatcatcher and home to a golden eagle nesting site, has been preserved and protected thanks to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the United States Forest Service.
March 14, 2013 (San Diego's East County)--Give the Dream, a fundraising extravaganza to benefit Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students facing financial emergencies, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at three East County locations: Grossmont Center, Parkway Plaza and Santee Trolley Square Center.
The event is being held to raise money for Dreamkeepers, a program that awards scholarships of up to $500 to students who face a financial hardship that threatens their ability to stay in college.
March 14, 2013--(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:
March 1, 2013 (Vallecitos) -- Step back in time at Vallecitos Days, set for March 15-17 at the Vallecitos Stage Station Regional Park, 37349 County Route S-2 (mile marker 34-35), Vallecito Valley, in the Anza-Borrego desert.
Ramona Trails Association, Backcountry Horsemen-San Diego Unit, California State Parks, and San Diego County Parks, sponsor the annual Vallecito Days. Join in celebrating life on the 1860’s frontier and the role of the Southern Overland Trail.
Activities will include a tour the original stage station, a mountain man camp where you can try your hand at some of the skills needed in an 1860’s life, plus visits with a Civil War infantry squad as they re-enact the California Column’s 1862 march from California to Texas. Plus many other demonstrations and exhibits.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Thomas Jefferson School of Law will open a Veterans Self-Help Legal Clinic on March 20 to help former military service members with their legal needs. The veterans will be assisted by volunteer lawyers from the community working side-by-side with TJSL law students.
March 17, 2013 (Julian) – All of Julian is invited to join the Fourth of July Parade Committee for an evening of fun, festivity and fundraising at Wynola Pizza on March 25. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Red Barn.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Dear EarthTalk: What are the main drivers of food scarcity that lead to so much starvation around the world, and how can they be addressed? 
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP) today announced the launch of the Independent Living Association (ILA) online directory. This groundbreaking new community resource will help connect San Diegans with quality Independent Living housing options. Stable and supportive housing is one of the most effective ways to encourage recovery and reduce inappropriate use of the healthcare system.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) -- On March 11, San Diego’s City Council unanimously approved funding for a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. The CAD system is used for dispatching emergency 9-1-1 calls and is of critical importance to emergency response times. In an emergency, seconds can make every difference, including that of a life or death situation. The current software was originally written in the mid-1970s and the existing CAD system was installed in 1991. The council’s action approved $6.9 million in one- time revenue toward the long overdue CAD system replacement.
March 17, 2013 (El Cajon) – The City of El Cajon Recreation Department is the recipient of California Park and Recreation Society’s (CPRS) Achievement Award for the City’s Centennial Celebration Event held on November 12, 2012. The award was announced in February, and formally presented at the March 12, 2013, City Council Meeting by CPRS Board President Susan Richardson.
March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – A 50-year-old man was struck and killed while attempting to cross Interstate 15 north of the Landis Street overcrossing near University at 6:55 p.m Wednesday night. 
By Stephen C. Ross, Esq.
March 16, 2013 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: I’d like to have a garden that encourages bees and butterflies. What’s the best approach? 
By Brian Lafferty
March14, 2013 (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 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:
March 14, 2013--(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:
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