By Jordan Damond

May 31, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- Ever since President Donald Trump released his budget plan for 2018, it’s caused an uproar among concerned citizens and some members of Congress. Many have deemed the plan illogical or harmful, while others defend and even praise it.

May 31, 2017 (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

• San Diego kids plead to get their parents back after immigration raid (10 News)
• Ice raid near National City schools:  parents arrested, children left unattended (San Diego Free Press)
• How Trump’s proposed budget could affect San Diego County (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sempra VP surprises, say 100 percent renewable grid is possible now (iNewsource)
• Solana Beach Becomes First in County to Opt for Alternative Energy Program (KPBS)
• San Diego DROP pensioners return for more city pay (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Among Cities with Largest Population Growth (KPBS)
• San Diegans Pay Some of the Highest Water Rates in the State and Country (Voice of San Diego)
• Religious Liberty Group Suing San Diego Schools Over CAIR-backed 'Islamophobia’ Program (Jewish World Review)

STATE

• The price tag on universal health care is in, and it’s bigger than California’s budget (Sacramento Bee)
• Can I get fired for using legal recreational marijuana?  An FAQ for California workers (Sacramento Bee)
• Amendment proposed to give control of UCOP budget to state legislature (Daily Bruin)
• Edison violated San Onofre testing rules, NRC says (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• More government transparency needed in California (San Jose Mercury News)
• California desert town Adelanto plans its future around pot (Marketplace.org)
• Brown's top aide gets $300 ethics fine, critics say that's low (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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

May 31, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Study finds 73% of sunscreens don’t even work – how to find one that does (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Autism symptoms of five boys increase improve in early trial of century-old drug (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Parents discuss how autistic children improved after receiving experimental drug (SDUT)
• Zika detected in India for first time (Associated Press)
• Fitness trackers poor at measuring calories burned (BBC)
• Thousands of known bugs found in pacemaker codes (BBC)
• Trump's Medicaid 'Cuts' Actually Increase Federal Spending (Reason)
• Zika struck Florida up to 40 times before detection (San Diego Union-Tribune)

SCIENCE & TECH

• Mark Zuckerberg’s great American road trip (New York Times)
• Google plans to track credit card spending (BBC)
• NASA’s Jupiter mission reveals the ‘brand new and unexpected’ (New York Times)

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

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2017 (San Diego) – Your Internet provider can now legally sell your browsing history and your email address, without your consent—thanks to legislation signed into law by President Trump.   The measure passed the Senate by just 2 votes and the House by 10 votes. San Diego Republican Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa both voted for the measure – after taking $19,000 and $66,275 from the telecommunications industry respectively. 

Source: Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Murals

Photo:  artist, Bob Teague (left) with Kenneth Tinsley, a member of the committee who helped with the installation.

May 30, 2017 (Ramona) – A dedication ceremony for the “Country Lifestyle Mural,” sponsored by the San Diego Country Estates Association, will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2017, beginning at 10 a.m. at the site of the mural at 325 10^th Street, Ramona CA 92065.  The public is invited to attend. In addition to refreshments, attendees will receive a picture of the mural, autographed by the artist.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

May 30, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – An Uber driver and passenger had an unexpectedly rough ride when a broken water main shortly before dawn caused a sinkhole to open up on Pecan  Park Lane at Olde Highway 80 in unincorporated El Cajon, just east of Lake Jennings Park Road. 

According to 10 News, crews responding to a report of the broken water main found  the vehicle in a huge sink hole that had formed.

 “This campaign is about solving economic injustice, regardless of your views or hues. Regardless of whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, pain is pain.”—Ammar Campa-Najjar

By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

May  29, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Earlier this month, we sat down for an in-depth interview with Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat running for the 50^th Congressional  district seat held by Republican Duncan Hunter.  (Hear the full interview, which aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link and scroll down for highlights.)

 He has a rare combination of qualifications, with  background in helping promote job creation both as public affairs officer for the Labor Department under President Obama and as director of communications for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

A native San Diegan of Hispanic and Arab descent, he’s also  the son of immigrants and a Christian who’s worked with his church to help working people and  deported veterans.   Now he says he’s running to listen to the problems faced by all people in the district,  use his experience in Washington to bring good-paying jobs to East County including rural areas, and bring “national pride, not national shame” as our region’s representative in Congress.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos:  Norm Case examines Civil War drum played at the Battle of Shiloh  (photo, left) by his ancestor, Philo L. Case (photo, right)

May 28, 2017 (Ramona)--Philo Case, a drummer in the Union Army, played the long roll that called troops to arms during the battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the Civil War.  This Memorial Day weekend, his drum is on display at Hatfield Creek Winery in Ramona at 2 p.m. each day. 

Norm Case, Philo's descendent, shared the amazing history handed down through his family -- a tale that includes not only Civil War stories, but also a mystery involving another branch of his family tree that includes the niece of John Wilkes Booth.  Case says she's told him her family has kept a secret for generations--claiming her uncle came to Yakima, Washington and asked that his presence be kept secret -- after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Jacques Sapier serves up a glass of peach and cherry sangria

May 28, 2017 (Ramona) – What better way to start off summertime than sipping sangrias on a stone patio in the noontime sun?  At Vineyard Grant James, a sangria contest  began Friday and continues through Monday for Memorial Day reason. 

Savor three tasty options – peach cherry, lemonade or a red wine and jalapeño based sangria—and then vote for your favorite.  Glimpsing the jarful of ballots, the votes appeared split between all three of these creative choices, which went well with a delightful  locally made cheese that we savored as well.

East County News Service

May 27, 2017 (Sycuan) – Superstars On Stage will be performing at Sycuan’s Live & Up Close theatre on July 7 and 8.”Incredible costumes, choreography and the best  tribute artists in the world recreate the magical, on-stage performances of some of the biggest stars to ever grace the stage,” a press release from Sycuan states.  Tribute artists appearing as Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston and Elvis perform their greatest hits in this high-energy Las Vegas style production show.

May 27, 2017 (San Diego) --Dr. Tom Deméré, curator of paleontology and director of PaleoServices at the San Diego Natural History Museum, was our guest recently on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ.   Deméré vigorously defended his team’s conclusions that  bones from an ancient mastodon skeleton found locally were broken and sharpened with stones onsite by early humans 130,000 years ago.  

Click the audio link to hear our full interview, and scroll down for highlights.

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

Photo:  Viriginia Hall

May 27, 2017 (El Cajon) - Graduates of Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges have done it again. The two East County colleges will award 4,833 degrees and certificates this year, a 13 percent increase from last year and another record high for the college district.

By Miriam Raftery

May 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Deputies are seeking a black pickup truck and its occupants involved in an altercation that ended with another motorist stabbed in the neck in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant at 13574 Camino Canada in unincorporated El Cajon around 6 a.m. this morning.

Source:  Toni Atkins' office

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed nine bills authored by Sen. Toni Atkins, including SB 2 – the Building Homes and Jobs Act – which would create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing.

Source:  City of La Mesa

May 26, 2017 (La Mesa) - May is Drowning Prevention Month in the City of La Mesa, and as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, the community is reminded to be safe in and around water.  

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide. Children, males, and individuals with increased access to water are most at risk of drowning.  In addition, the Center for Disease Control and Injury Prevention states that children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rate, with most of those drownings occurring in home swimming pools and during the months of May to August.