June 15, 2011 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host a free seniors discussion group on “Whole Raw Food,” featuring a presentation from Cindy Douglas, a certified raw foods educator from Whole Raw Food Now (www.wholerawfoodnow.com),  from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, June 22. The public is invited to attend. RSVP is not required.

June 15, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A suspect shot by a U.S. Marshal at the Albertson’s at 790 Broadway in Lemon Grove has led deputies on a high-speed chase. Incident Page Network reports multiple shots were fired and the suspect has been shot in the arm. The Highway 94 on-ramp westbound ramp westbound from College Grove was shut down temporarily, however the suspect has now been taken into custody.

 Supervisors to consider proposed plans June 28
 

June 15, 2011 (San Diego County) -- After a series of public meetings that began in February, the County’s Redistricting Advisory Committee voted Monday to forward three proposed redistricting plans to the Board of Supervisors. The citizen’s committee was tasked with gathering public input and forwarding no more than three plans for the Board’s consideration. The Redistricting Advisory Committee finished that work and held its final meeting Monday. 

The Board of Supervisors is expected to hear the committee’s proposed plans at its regular Board meeting at 9 a.m. on June 28.The Redistricting Advisory Committee’s three proposals can be viewed at the County’s redistricting website at www.sdcounty.ca.gov/redistricting. Once at the site, please choose “view/submit plan” from the left menu; then choose “view the latest proposed plans.” This will take you to the online viewer, where you can “Choose (a) Plan.” 

June 15, 2011 (Santee) -- Assemblyman Brian Jones, Republican representing the 77th district, announces opening of a new district office location at 10152 Mission Gorge Road in Santee.

June 15, 2011 (El Cajon) -- Art lovers are invited to stroll through "6 Galleries-1 Evening" in a "Downtown Gallery Walk" on June 17 from 5-8 p.m.  All six galleries are now located within a half-block in the heart of downtown El Cajon.  In addition to savoring art by local artists, visitors can also sip champagne and wine, enjoy hors d'oeuvre's and a passport full of prizes--followed by a free concert in the park.

Participating galleries include:

By Hugh Moore, RN, El Cajon

An Open Letter to the California Democratic Party:

June 13, 2011 (El Cajon)--I’m a registered nurse who works in a hospital that serves the disenfranchised and sees every day the damage that the lack of a healthcare system causes. So when I heard that the California Democratic Party had added the principle of healthcare as a right rather than an option of all people I was ecstatic. However, today I learned that the California Assembly managed to block SB 810 from moving forward to being passed this year. I don’t understand. Doesn’t the Democratic Party control the Assembly? Did I not understand the Platform?

June 14, 2011 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa Police Department responded to a call of a robbery at the Zales Jewelry Store in Grossmont Center shopping mall at 8:17 p.m.  The store’s manager advised that he had just closed the business and was locking the doors, with one customer still in the store. The customer pulled out a black semi-auto handgun and pointed it at the manager, ordering the manager and another employee to get on the ground.

June 15, 2011 (Sacramento)-- Senate Concurrent Resolution 37, authored by State Senator Joel Anderson (R - El Cajon) has been approved by the California State Senate. The measure would dedicate a portion of Interstate 8 in honor of f Border Patrol Agent Roberrt Rosas Jr., who was murdered while on duty in the Campo area of San Diego’s East County on July 23, 2009.

Local elementary school names wild owlets and wins their own owl nesting box with spycam!

June 14, 2011 (Lakeside) –The four owlets of Hoot and Holla, a mated pair of wild barn owls at The Water Conservation Garden, have fledged the nest (or taken their final flight into the wild) as of June 7, 2011.   Unbeknownst to them, the owlets have been observed by a loyal group of fans 24-hours a day via a live infrared Owlcam at www.thegarden.org, since they were eggs laid by Holla in mid-February of this year. 

June 14, 2011 (Sacramento)  –With the rise in gasoline prices, San Diego area and California motorists left the highways, and are riding the rails in record numbers over the past 12 months to ride two of California’s highly successful intercity passenger rail corridors, Caltrans has announced.

Led by the San Joaquin corridor, which serves the Central Valley, linking Los Angeles and Bakersfield with Sacramento and the Bay Area, California’s state supported intercity passenger rail corridors had banner years.  Compared to May 2010, ridership on the San Joaquin, the nation’s fifth busiest rail corridor, shot up over 12 percent with a 19 percent increase in revenue.

June 14, 2011 (San Diego) -- On Saturday, June 18 the Nile Sisters will be holding an open house from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in recognition of World Refugee Month. The Nile Sisters help refugee women in the San Diego area with the needs they have to get settled. 

The cost is free, but donations are appreciated. The event will include cultural music, and Hors d'oeuvre from different ethnicities. African artifacts will also be available for purchase. Please RSVP to Sistersinitiative@sbcglobal.net.

June 14, 2011,  The Keys Creek Lavender Farm will be holding high tea parties on three days in June on the 23rd, 24th, and the 25th. This very popular event sells out very quickly. The three June dates above have been added to accomodate requests already made.

 See the menu by clicking read more.

June 13, 2011 (La Mesa) -- Take your family to dinner and at the same time support the fourth annual "Sustain La Mesa" Enviromental Festival and the "Our Planet, Our Home" K-12 Environmental Literacy and Art Contest, organized by the City of La Mesa's Environmental Sustainability Commission.

Print and bring the flyer to Souplantation, (9158 Fletcher Parkway, La Mesa 91942) between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Souplantation will donate 20% of sales. (A printiable flyer can be downloaded from the Souplantation link here.)

June 13, 2011 (Cuyamaca)-- Cal-Fire and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park will be conducting prescribed burns on Park lands opposite the Paso Picacho campground on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 14 and 15.

June 13, 2011 (San Diego)--June 17 will mark forty years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as “public enemy No. 1”, officially declared a "war on drugs."Caroline Stewart, president of the board of directors at A New PATH, an organization founded by an East County mother, added, “We must treat drug use as a health issue. We need to use our resources to increase access to addiction treatment, rather than to warehouse people who use drugs or become addicted to drugs behind bars.” 

June 13, 2011 (San Diego)--San Diego County Libraries announce a series of free special events at libraries throughout our region.  Scroll down for a list of activities for adults, teens, tweens, kids and families -- ranging from cooking demonstrations to a bike rodeo.

Supervisor Jacob seeks records on “investigation” by CPUC

By Miriam Raftery

Video by Jim Pelley

June 12, 2011 (Imperial Valley) – Jim Pelley, an Ocotillo resident, was taking his son to school on June 7th when he passed by a Sunrise Powerlink construction project where a tower was on the ground in preparation to be lifted into place. “There was nobody directing traffic,” he told ECM in an exclusive interview, adding that his wife took photos on her cell phone.

About half an hour later, while driving back on the same road, he and his wife came upon the scene of a crash where SDG&E’s sky crane helicopter had inexplicably dropped a 15,000 pound tower. Pelley started shooting photos. “One of the guys said `Hey, we’d appreciate if you wouldn’t take pictures until we clean this mess up,” he recalled.  When he refused to comply, Pelley said the employee held a hand up in front of his camera lens. “So I started shooting video,” he told ECM.

June 13, 2011 (Sacramento) – Starting July 1, 2011 new legislation will go into effect requiring homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in every California home; a move CAL FIRE officials say will save lives. “Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, each year claiming the lives of an average of 480 people,” said Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. “And sending more than 20,000 people to emergency rooms across the nation.” Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices.

By Walter Davis

June 13, 2011 (San Diego)--There is little talk by either party in Washington about ethical concerns. What politicians have failed to realize is that the American people need politicians who can work out compromise between differing coalitions. Instead we get politicians who remain inflexible and who are willing to see the government collapse if THEIR wishes are not satisfied. We are fortunate that the armed forces do not work that way. Imagine, an African American soldier refusing to fight because she would be protecting Klan members.

Recently, the city of San Diego “found” $2 billion dollars to keep the fire departments and libraries open (7). The federal government spends $10 billion dollars a month to keep the wars going in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is no wonder that our education system and infrastructure are collapsing. Our government spends our treasure on war, not improvement of our lives. The American people deserve a Department of Peace as opposed to a Department of Defense.

June 15, 2011 (San Diego) – A workshop on proposed redistricting will be this Thursday, June 16 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the City Heights Wellness Center, 4440 Wightman Street, #200 in City Heights. 

Redistricting will determine California’s political boundaries for the next 10 years. California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission will draw district lines for the first time in California history for state Congressional, Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization Districts. Latinos comprise nearly 40% of California’s population—and representatives from the Latino community want to make sure that redistricting will assure representation that reflects those numbers.

June 15, 2011 (El Cajon) – Laura Cyphert, a Cedar Fire survivor who co-founded the East County Community Action Coalition along with her husband, Milt, will provide an update on the legal battle against Sunrise Powerlink on Thursday, June 16 from 7-8:45 p.m.

After learning that the high voltage powerline project was slated to go in near their home in Lakeside and significantly increase risk of future catastrophic fires (according to the Environmental Impact Report), the Cypherts formed the Coalition, which now represents 79,000 people. The line is slated to connect San Diego and Imperial Counties, going through many of the most scenic and fire-prone areas in East County. The ECCAC is one of several local groups that has filed lawsuits seeking to halt the project.

By Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2011 (Alpine, Arizona) -- Four firefighters from the Viejas Tribal Fire Department in Alpine, California, are now in Alpine, Arizona, where they are helping to battle the Wallow Fire. The second largest wildfire in Arizona’s history, the Wallow Fire has charred over 443,989 acres, injured seven people, destroyed 29 homes and threatened thousands more.

“The Viejas fire crew is driving a Brush Engine, designed for fighting wildfires in rugged, remote areas,” said Robert Scheid, Viejas public relations director. “It has 4-wheel drive, holds 280 gallons of water and carries 1,200 feet of hose.”The Viejas fire crew includes two firefighters, one engineer and one Captain.  They arrived June 7 in eastern Arizona, joining over 4,311 firefighters and other personnel now fighting the Wallow Fire, which has spread into New Mexico.

 Viejas Fire Chief Don Butz has provided ECM with photos of his dedicated crew on the fire lines.

 June 12, 2011 (La Mesa) James Hartwell's big wish when he started physical therapy at the Challenge Center in La Mesa was to walk across the stage to be handed his diploma at his high school graduation at Mt. Carmel High School. For most seniors, this would be a done deal.  But for Hartwell, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a motocross accident, and had to spen most of the last two years in a wheelchair, it seemed it might take a miracle.

 Luckily, he found that miracle in a little white building in La Mesa that holds the Challenege Center.

June 12, 2011 (Spring Valley)-- The official groundbreaking of the Heartland Regional Fire and Public Safety Training Center was celebrated on June 8th. The goal of the new center is to develop a new phase of first responder training across the East County and beyond.

 Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Last week, as ECM reported, FEMA retracted its demand for Harris Fire survivor Veronica Lytle of Potrero to pay back disaster funds that FEMA had claimed were paid in error. Now FEMA informs ECM that 40 survivors of the 2007 California firestorms have been sent recoupment letters.

“FEMA received four appeals from applicants who were affected by disasters which occurred in San Diego County,” said a FEMA spokesperson who asked not to be named. “FEMA either rescinded or adjusted the amount identified for recoupment on three of the four appeals.”

June 12, 2011 (Ramona) – Yesterday morning, a warrant sweep in East County was conducted by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department Court Services Field Unit to apprehend suspects with outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants. A total of 12 adults and one juvenile were arrested and 14 warrants were cleared.

Photos by Sami Roy Photography

June 11, 2011 (El Cajon) – Paipa’s Buffet restaurant has reopened in a new location within the Syucan Casino. The restaurant, which is entirely smoke-free, has been renovated with a new kitchen, seating for 320 people, more specialty food stations and new design elements.

Executive Chef Paul Schwab is complementing visual upgrades by incorporated new menu items including brick oven pizza, a fresh pasta station, grilled steaks, freshly made tortillas,and an expansive new dessert bar.
 

June 11, 2011 (San Diego) – The average car emits 12,000 pounds of C02 pollution each year – the weight of an adult elephant! Metropolitan Transit Service and the San Diego Zoo have teamed up to urge San Diego County residents to leave their cars at home and ride public transit on national “Dump the Pump” Day this Wednesday, June 15.