By Caleb Trainer

July 25, 2012 (Escondido) – Palomar Health is hosting a “community celebration” on Saturday afternoon at the new, 11-story Palomar Medical Center (PMC) here. The district serves north San Diego County, including inland mountain areas.

County's sole legal medical marijuana dispensary to challenge U.S. Attorney for straight legal test of state law; 

El Cajon business to announce plans for defense of "legitimate medical marijuana operations"

July 20, 2012 (El Cajon) – Advocates, patients, and concerned citizens in support of the only state and county approved legal medical marijuana dispensary in California’s four-county southern border region announced plans to unveil strategy to defend one of the model medical marijuana dispensaries in the nation.

Representatives of Mother Earth’s Alternative Healing Cooperative said they would announce the plans and a specific challenge to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy at the press conference on the steps of the U.S. federal court house in San Diego on Monday, July 23 at 11:00 a.m.

By Miriam Raftery

July 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Tomorrow at 9 a.m.,  San Diego County's Planning Commission will decide whether to approve a wind ordinance that would enable construction of numerous wind energy projects in our region's mountains, rural and desert communities.

Why, then, did San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency just issue a public health position statement that amounts to a whitewash of serious health problems linked to wind turbines around the world?

 By Miriam Raftery

July 5, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –Among the least understood aspects of the Affordable Care Act are the benefits that it offers to nonprofit organizations.  Smaller nonprofits have potential to reap benefits, along with their employees—without the potential penalties facing some for-profit employers.

East County Magazine contacted the new Health Law Guide for businesses site to ask how the law will impact nonprofit organizations.  Here is the response that we received:

By Nadin Abbott

By Sierra Robinson

June 11, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Last month, a tragic incident in Florida, now nationally known as the ‘Florida Zombie Attack’, has been attributed to a dangerous drug most commonly known as ‘bath salts’. But just how dangerous is this new drug? Are we all in danger of such a horrific attack like that in Florida? 

Use of ‘bath salts’ has been dramatically increasing.  The American Association for Poison Control Centers took 303 calls about the drug in 2010; while in the first eight months of 2011, 4,720 calls were received regarding use of such synthetic drugs. Local and national authorities now warn the public about an alarming rise in serious health reactions and violent incidents linked to these drugs.  But what are they, exactly, and what makes them so dangerous?