By Miriam Raftery

July 13,2016 (Spring Valley) – A reader of ours posed two questions regarding the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District board’s decision to drop its contract with Cal Fire and begin the process of returning to being a stand-alone district.

Our reader asked whether the change would affect ISO ratings, which determine property owners’ insurance rates. He also inquired whether the district had considered a partnership with Heartland Fire, as the cities of La Mesa, El Cajon and Lemon Grove have done.

East County News Service

East County News Service

July 13, 2016 (Spring Valley) – The proposed Sweetwater Place  residential project in Spring Valley will be considered  Friday by the County Planning Commission. This project has twice been rejected by the Spring Valley Community Planning Group.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the County’s conference center hearing room at 5520 Overland Ave. in San Diego. Public testimony and participation are encouraged.

The applicant seeks a General Plan Amendment , rezoning and a tentative map and site plan to build 122 condominiums and a two-acre public park on an 18-acre property. The project includes a trail along Jamacha Boulevard that connects to new park and a new bus stop on Jamacha Boulevard.

East County News Service

July 13, 2016 (Ramona) - Watermelon Days at the Oasis Camel Dairy is back and better than ever with more shows, a new children's area (featuring a new sheep-feeding farm), games and more!

East County News Service

July 13, 2016 (Spring Valley) - You're invited to bring a picnic, your family and your furry, four-legged friend to Spring Valley County Park (8735 Jamacha Blvd.) for a free movie this Friday night, July 15, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Source:  Heartland Fire

July 12, 2016 (El Cajon) - At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to reports of a vehicle accident at the intersection of Greenfield Drive and the I-8 underpass in El Cajon.

Update: The Sheriff's office has responded to concerns raised at the Campo-Lake Morena meeting. View the response from Captain Hank Turner here:  http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/rural-fire-sheriff%E2%80%99s-office-re...

By Miriam Raftery

July 10,2016 (Campo) –At a packed meeting of the Campo-Lake Morena Community Planning Group this week, attendees spoke out to voice anger over officials’ treatment of residents during the  Border Fire, particularly issues involving law enforcement officers and County Animal Control. Chair Billie Jo Jannen stated, “We need to channel this outrage”  and circulated a draft letter to be sent to Supervisor Dianne Jacob following any changes after the public’s statements.

The first portion of the meeting focused on issues of not enough water in Lake Morena to fight the fires. (See our article on the Lake Morena issues here.)  The next agenda item focused on other Border Fire issues.

At a table in the back sat several  women who found the bodies of Jim and Kyrie Keefe during a search conducted by volunteers 10 days after the fire at the site where they lived in Dogpatch, just  east of Potrero. They voiced outrage over the fact that despite complaints to officials who did too little, too late, it fell to women volunteers to find the bodies.  The couple died of smoke inhalation in between boulders behind their home, where they apparently tried to take shelter during the wildfire.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Source:  County News Service

July 12, 2016 (San Diego) -- San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health is scheduled to drop mosquito-fighting larvicide for the fourth time this year on 48 local waterways Wednesday.

"Father Noel is amazing in the halls of Congress. We were able to get 20,000 more visas for Chaldeans to come here. For his success, he is being punished.  The church is saying that no Iraqi Christians should leave Iraq..Wewlil not allow himto be sent like a cow to slaughter.”--Mark Arabo

By Miriam Raftery

July 12, 2016 (El Cajon)-- Friday is the deadline for Father Noel Gorgis to leave the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic diocese, under an order signed by interim Bishop  ShlemunWarduni and Patriarch Mar Louis Sako. Pope Francis previously intervened to overturn an order for Father Noel to be transferred to Iraq, after local Chaldeans made clear he is needed here, and that his life would be in jeopardy in Iraq.  The new order seeks to punish Father Noel for disobeying the Patriarch despite the Pope's wishes that he remain serving his parish here.

Now Mark Arabo, founder of the Minority Humanitarian Foundation and a prominent spokesman for Chaldean-Americans, is joning with other parishioners here to defend Father Noel.

By Miriam Raftery

East County Magazine was granted an exclusive interview yesterday with Bishop Mar Schlemon Warduni, who has been serving as interim Bishop  and apostolic administrator of St.Peter Chaldean Catholic Diocese since May, following the retirement of Bishop Sarhad Jammo.  Bishop Warduni leaves the U.S. today to head for Rome and then Iraq, awaiting appointment of a permanent Bishop for the San Diego region.

 Bishop Warduni has long served in Baghdad, Iraq under Patriarch Mar Louis Sako, and as Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Council. He has worked to build over20 projects serving Christians in Iraq, including a church, senior citizens home, student/youth complex, homes for priests and a Bishop’s house. (Read his full biography here.)

In our interview, Bishop Warduni discussed the plight of Christians in Iraq and in refugee camps,  the challenges of keeping Chaldean culture alive,  the controversy over Father Noel Gorgis being asked to leave the diocese, and Bishop Warduni’s hopes for the future.

Click here for a list of La Mesa smoke-free restaurants.

By Dani Womack

Pastor Dani Womack is the Community Life Pastor at Crosspointe Life Church and Chairperson of the La Mesa Collaborative.

July 11, 2016 (La Mesa)--Summer is finally here and what better place to enjoy being outdoors than San Diego County! La Mesa has invested millions to renovate their Downtown Village, putting a priority on outdoor seating in public spaces and local restaurants have joined in by growing their outdoor dining patios. Many cities throughout San Diego County and the state have passed local laws restricting smoking in outdoor areas such as parks, beaches, farmer’s markets, and outdoor dining patios.

By Miriam Raftery

July 10, 2016 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police are warning residents about an intruder who pried a screen off an open downstairs window at a condo in the1300 block of Hawk Lane at 4:00 this morning. He climbed into a bedroom where an 8-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother were sleeping. 

The girl's mother told Fox News that the suspect grabbed her daughter and was dragging her downstairs, when the girl struck him in the neck using moves she learned in a martial arts class.

The action caused the suspect to flee the home, said Lieutenant Rob Ransweiler. The suspect is described as a man with tanned skin, dark “fluffy” hair and a thin build.  He had a strong “dirty” odor and wore dark clothing and a backpack.

By Mike Allen

July 7, 2016 (Spring Valley) -- Some four years after contracting out its fire protection to Cal Fire, the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District’s board voted July 6 to begin the process of terminating that relationship.

By Liz Alper

Photo courtesy @Padres on Twitter

July 9, 2016 (Los Angeles) - Last night’s game was too chaotic and the Padres lost.  Hopefully, they’d win tonight with Luis Perdomo on the mound against Brandon McCarthy.

Fundraising site set up to help pay mounting vet bills

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: "Sweet", the youngest foal at Fantasy Donkeys, died of a mysterious ailment shortly after the Border Fire

July 9, 2016 (Campo) – In one of the most dramatic rescues during the Border Fire, the Humane Society helped evacuate 55 miniature donkeys from Fantasy Donkeys’ ranch in Campo to three different temporary shelters.  But after the fire passed and the herd returned home, Nearly two dozen donkeys fell ill and one young foal, Sweet Child of Mine, or “Sweet” for short, died. 

Thus began a desperate effort to save the remaining donkey.  Seven have required round-the-clock care on site and four had to be rushed to the San Luis Rey Equine Hospital in Bonsall, where after intensive treatment for two weeks, they are now recovering. The ordeal has been a drain emotionally and financially, since owner Kim Fuson has had to take time off her job as a nurse to care for the ailing donkeys, while veterinary bills have climbed to nearly $20,000.