By Miriam Raftery

Updated March 31 with new info from the County Office of Education.

March 15, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The County Committee on School District Organization will hold six hearings to get public input on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed shift to electing governing board trustees by districts.  The GUHSD board voted 4-1 to adopt a controversial map and seek a waiver of a public vote despite opposition from members of the public who spoke, some alleging gerrymandering to oust a dissenting board member and break up a vocal minority voting block, as ECM reported.

The six hearings are set for March 17 in La Mesa, March 28 in El Cajon,  April 4 in Alpine,  April 5 in Jamul, April 6 in Lemon Grove, and April 11 in Lakeside.  The public can testify at the meetings and also submit written comments up until April 7.  The County’s committee will vote to approve or disapprove the district’s request at its April 13 meeting. The Alpine hearing was added after ECM and community members asked that Alpine be added as a location due to the many controversies involving the Alpine area.

For the full schedule of meetings, rules and details, click "read more" and scroll down.

To view the San Diego County Office of Education hearings announcement in English, Spanish and Arabic, click here.

To view data on the GUHSD redistricting plan including demographic details and maps, click here.

Hear our interview with Rev. Kenneth Anderson, originally aired on KNSJ Radio:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

March 19, 2016 (San Diego) – East County Magazine intern Tasha Matthews interviewed Rev. Kenneth Anderson, director of three prominent gospel choirs at the University of California San Diego, Grossmont College and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir. He’s led choral tours and performances across Europe including at the Vatican. His gospel choir class at UCSD is consistently the most popular course on campus.  He’s also the fifth highest rated university professor in the nation, according to Rate My Professor.

Hear our interview with Rebecca Grant, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

(Note: Audio files can take a few moments to load)

March 18, 2016 (San Diego) -- Rebecca Grant, author of A Sticky Web of Vengeance: The Coach's Wife sat down for an exclusive interview with East County Magazine Radio Show's Bookshelf host Reina Menasche.

Grant endured shocking revelations about her well-known husband's past, forgave him and stood by him in his final challenge: a battle with brain cancer.  She survived these hardships only to endure betrayal by his family members. Yet she weathered the storms in her life, finding inner strength.

She has since dedicated her life to activism, hoping to help others. 

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

By Ken Stone

Photo: Leo Hamel watches family assemble a puzzle in TV commercial. Photo via YouTube.com

March 18, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- San Diego jeweler Leo Hamel, a Republican candidate for state Assembly, says he joined the controversial Church of Scientology at age 18 or 19 but hasn’t taken part in church functions since the early 2000s.

Officials to test tsunami warning system in central and southern Calif. on March 23 during Tsunami Preparedness Week 

Source:  NOAA press release

Photo: Youtube screenshot

March 18, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - NOAA and the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) plan to conduct a test of the tsunami warning communications system on Wednesday, March 23 at approximately 10:15 a.m. PDT in coastal areas of central and southern California.   

East County News Service

March 18, 2016 (La Mesa) -- The Boys & Girls Clubs of East County (BGCEC) has announced more than $5.6 million has been raised towards a goal of $9.4 million for its fundraising effort called the “La Mesa Capital Campaign” that includes construction of a new 25,000-square-foot clubhouse on the campus of La Mesa Arts Academy, previously known as La Mesa Middle School.

East County News Service

March 18, 2016 (La Mesa) -- In July of 2015, the La Mesa Police Department was awarded a $34,363 grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol related crime.  This week, the department issued an update on decoy operations, inspections and arrests as a result of the grant funding.

Protesters denounce SDG&E appeal over net metering; SDG&E defends its actions

Originally Published on the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

March 18, 2016 (San Diego) -- There were about 150 protesters on Wednesday, chanting “We will fight corporate greed,” “how do you spell corporate greed? SDG&E” and “solar power is what we need.”

Source: La Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Photo: Sliders at The Hills by Leon Thompson

March 18, 2016 (La Mesa) - On Tuesday, April 5, the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the 2-year anniversary of The Hills Local Pub in La Mesa. This celebration and business mixer will be held between the hours of 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The owners of The Hills Local Pub, located at 8758 La Mesa Boulevard in La Mesa, have created various fund raisers and activities that make this a special and fun-filled location in La Mesa.

The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. and will end at 7:00 p.m. Enjoy great hors d’ oeuvres, including one of their house specialties and (1) complimentary glass of house wine, handcrafted beer and soft drinks.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Angel and Fred Kleinbub

March 17, 2016 (El Cajon) -- St. Madeleine Sophie's Center in El Cajon, which serves developmentally disabled adults, announces a $1 million gift pledged over five years Angel and Fred Kleinbub.  The gift will be used for a new Aquatics Complex at St. Madeleine’s as part of a $3.5 mlilion capital campaign for campus-wide facility improvements.

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2016 (Washington D.C.)—The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed legislation with rare bipartisan support that would make it easier for the public and media to obtain government records under the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill was authored by Senator John Cornyn of Texas with San Diego Congressman Darrell Issa as the lead sponsor of the bill.

Listen to Destination East County, also aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link.

We thank the County of San Diego for a Community Enhancement Grant supporting Destination East County.

East County News Service

March 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) --This week’s Destination East County includes unplugged at Parkway Plaza, open house at Oasis Camel Dairy, the Borrego Garden Tour, Snoopy the musical and an a cappella quartet at the Joan Kroc Theater.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including the Spring Harpfest, Santee Lakes Eggstravaganza and a Water-wise Garden tour.  So scroll down for all of these events and more!

By Miriam Raftery

March 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The field has narrowed further after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman/reality TV celebrity Donald Trump scored sweeping wins in the “Super Tuesday” primaries held yesterday in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina.

Hear our interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

March 16, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Ben Kalasho, president of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, sat down with the East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM to discuss concerns of the Chaldean community in the presidential primary election. In our interview, which originally aired on KNSJ last week, Kalasho speaks about the issues that matter most to the Iraqi Chaldean and Middle Eastern communities from an international and domestic standpoint.

He also discussed the new Mega TV news network that he helped launch, which debuted earlier this month. In addition, he shared his thoughts on the Grossmot Union High School District's redistricting proposal that divides the Chaldean voting block--and what steps he thinks should be done at the state level to assure fairness in elections for Chaldean Americans.

East County News Service

March 16, 2016 (San Diego) – Elected officials, environmental groups and solar advocates plan to hold a rally from 2. p.m. to 2 :30 today in front of SDG&E’s corporate campus at 8326 Century Park Court, San Diego to oppose SDG&E use of ratepayers’ funds to attempt to influence the CPUC over solar net metering.

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a decision on solar net metering that solar advocates say was a compromise for both the solar industry and utilities. Rally organizers say they aim to take a stand against “greed” and in support of the Commission’s decision.