Photo: City of El Cajon’s first fire truck, 1924

July 8, 2015 (El Cajon)--It’s been years in the planning, but retired El Cajon Fire Chief Ed Jarrell, partnering with Parkway Plaza, is bringing a fire museum to the City of El Cajon!  It’s been a long-time dream for the former Fire Chief to provide the City with a history of firefighting in El Cajon, inspiring youth to pursue a fire career and to provide safety education to those who visit the museum.

By Leon Thompson

Photos: Mayor Voepel, left, favors lifting limits; Councilman Dale, right, opposes.

July 8, 2015 (Santee)—Candidates running for Santee City Council or Mayor can only receive campaign contribution from individuals and for no more than $650.00 dollars.  However, that may change due to a proposal that would strike the restriction to individual donors and open campaign contributions up to corporations,political action committees (PACs) and other organizations. 

City Attorney Shawn Hagerty made clear that the current law is similar to ones many other California jurisdictions have.  Despite recent court rulings on some campaign finance issues, he made clear, “local limits to individuals have not been called into question and there is no requirement to change that.” Despite that, some Council members seemed eager to allow corporate and political action company money into local races to help fund rising campaign costs.

July 9, 2015 (Pine Valley) --The Mountain Empire Men’s Club will present Pine Valley Days on July 24^th and 25^th.  This mountain town’s annual summer event includes a parade rolling out on July 25^th  at 9 a.m., plus other activities both days at the Pine Valley Park (28810 Old Highway 80, Pine Valley).

July 9, 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:

LOCAL

• Chariot of fire: Jeep collected debris, led to destruction of Shriners camp, says lawsuit (SD Reader)
• CA Counties find issues with GPS company monitoring criminals (KNSD)
• Desert water agency approves $1 million for grass removal (Borrego Sun)
• Free speech zone: Wobbly ghosts haunt waterfront park (Union-Tribune)
• Santee budget is looking healthy, but PERS is concern (Union-Tribune)
• Family Raises Concern About Charity WishWarriors (NBC7)
• Council takes strong stance against density-bonus bill (Coast News)
• 400 Steps for San Diegans, a Giant Leap for Commuters (Voice of SD)
• City will keep filling lake with tap water (Union-Tribune)
• Following El Cajon’s Booze-Restricting Example (Voice of SD editorial)
• Refugee Students Experience Coronado Beach In Outreach Event (KPBS)
• Democrats struggling to muster mayoral candidates (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• Making the community college to UC transfer a little easier (Los Angeles Times)
• California bills to raise smoking age and regulate e-cigarettes stall (Los Angeles Times)
• 2 new warrants served in CPUC case (Union-Tribune)
• Californian cities hike up water rates while customers conserve amid drought (CS Monitor)
• California's farm economy "ruined" (SD Reader)
• Sending cheap water to China in midst of drought (Union-Tribune)
• California’s leaders, not voters, to blame for bad roads  (Union-Tribune)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Hear our interview online now, originally aired on KNSJ: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Photo: ECM editor Miriam Raftery, second from left, welcomes Philippino delegation at ECM's studio

July 9, 2015 (San Diego) –Recently, East County Magazine (ECM) sat down with visitors from the Philippines who were in town through the International Visitors Leadership Program through the U.S. State Department, welcomed locally by the San Diego Diplomacy Council. The program aims to improve accountability by public officials and enhance civic engagement, promote respect for the rule of law and human rights,  also promoting transparency and accountability in government to eliminate the culture of corruption.

The delegation spent a month traveling across the U.S., seeking potential ideas to apply in their homeland—such as legislation modeled after our Freedom of Information Act and means of holding accountable corrupt officials such as former San Diego Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who served prison time for bribery.  Their last stop was San Diego, where they met with East County Magazine’s editor, Miriam Raftery.

By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Financial penalties imposed by Medicare on hospitals that have to readmit too many patients is having a positive impact. Scrutiny of readmissions is mandated under the Affordable Care Act.

        "47th NAACP Image Award Nominee in Literature"

The Audacious Woman: Blaze Your Own Path To Prosperity, by Pamela Y. Toussaint, MBA (Courageous Women Publications, 2015, 118 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

“Looking and acting like a leader depends on getting three things right, a trio we refer to as Appearance, Communication, and Gravitas. Individuals who nail each of these elements exude true executive presence.”

~ “Executive Presence” By the Center for Talent Innovation

July 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Pamela Y. Toussaint, MBA, the president and founder of Ultimate Image Coach, has authored with her daughter, Tamara Toussaint, JD, the quintessential book on women’s empowerment; The Audacious Woman: Blaze Your Own Path To Prosperity. A personal branding consultant, corporate trainer, author, and keynote speaker, Toussaint came from humble beginnings to write this well researched and documented book. Born and raised in a small village in Jamaica with three sisters and brother, her mother was widowed when Pamela was 10 years old. Against all odds, motivated by the values her mother instilled, Toussaint achieved success as a corporate executive and community leader in the United States. She took an audacious step to re-write her life’s story, and re-branded herself as The Ultimate Image Coach. Click to view.

East County News Service

July 7, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Warning: Your future utility bills may provide a shock.

Electric utility bills will soon be going up for most San Diegans, though some heavy energy users’ bills will go down.   Instead of four tiers for energy use and payments, there will now be just two.  Not only will low energy users and low-income people be paying more,  they will also be charged more for energy use during peak periods such as mid-afternoon. Those hikes come despite the fact that San Diego already has among the highest electricity rates in the United States.

July 5, 2015 (Santee) – Last night Sheriff’s deputies conducted a driving-under-the-influence (DUI) sobriety and driver license checkpoint near the 9200 block of Carlton Hills Blvd. in Santee from 8:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Story and photos by Susan A Mahalick

July 7, 2015 (Baja, Mexico)--The day dawned cloudy and cool as it often does this time of year; sometimes the marine layer stays all day, or for a month at a time along the Pacific coastline. At about three in the afternoon the layer was thin enough that the sun came out for a brief time. Time to go to Angel’s Camp for the annual 4^th of July pig roast.

East County News Service

July 7, 2015 (Sacramento)--As the legislative session draws near its close, a flurry of bills are making their way through the state Capitol this week. Here is an update on several key measures: motorcycle lane-splitting, discrimination against transplant patients using medical marijuana, a patient right-to-die bill, and sick-time pay for California workers.

East County News Service

Photo: U.S. Border Patrol

July 7, 2015 (Pine Valley) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint on I-8 near Pine Valley found three undocumented Mexican immigrants in a vehicle trunk and arrested three American citizens on Monday.

Listen to our podcast of this week's Destination East County by clicking the audio  link.

July 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County features lots of  community concerts, from jazz in a lavender field to blues in a park, plus the Descanso Days Parade, and more. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including Pine Valley Days, outdoor movies, off-road madness and Jimmie Johnson night in El Cajon. So stay tuned for all of these events and much, much more!

July 6, 2015 (Lakeside) – Residents across East County are invited to a Neighborhood Watch training program put on by staff of the Lakeside Sheriff Substation. The training will be held on Friday, July 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lakeside Community Center, 99841 Vine Street in Lakeside.

July 6, 2015 (San Diego) – East County Magazine’s Bookshelf host Reina Menasche sat down for an interview with Cherie Kephart, author of A Few Minor Adjustments, A Memoir on KNSJ.

Hear a podcast online now: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Cherie Kephart, the sweet girl next door who longed for adventure, traveled the world from the remote villages of Central Africa to the majestic coastlines of New Zealand until a mysterious illness thrust her to the precipice of death. Cherie spent seven frantic and comical years seeking support from both medical specialists and eccentric New Age healers to find her life saving answers. A Few Minor Adjustments will move you with its fiercely inspirational and humorous account of one woman's incredible journey to answer the age old question—is life worth living?