By Jake Christie

November 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Over the weekend of November 15^th, the Haggen supermarket at 3681 Avocado Boulevard finally ran out of food and other salable items and closed for good. The store, located in the Rancho San Diego Village strip mall, was originally a Vons before Haggen bought the chain out in Southern California and then subsequently declared bankruptcy. Over the month of October the store slowly began winding down operations by not taking in new stock, selling off the food and sundries, and gradually barricading the empty aisles off as the food ran out.

Thanks to a grant from Wells Fargo, Grid Alternatives announced it is expanding the troops to solar initiative

Originally Published on PVSolar Report

By Amy Forman

November 20, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - GRID Alternatives announced the expansion of their services to veterans with the Troops to Solar initiative.

Artist’s works will be auctioned to benefit East County Magazine and Grossmont Hospital Foundation

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2015 (San Diego) – The paintings of Countess Jadwiga “Inka” Zamoyska of Zamość are stunning depictions of nature and portraits  with a masterful application of light and shadows to create mystery, dramatic effects and beauty.  Her works evoke the style of Rembrandt, the 17^th century Old Master famed for his illuminating imagery.   

That similarity is no accident. Like Rembrandt, Countess Zamoyska comes from a European family and has endured her share of life challenges, finding therapy in her first love, art. “My passion to paint is fueled by the ever-changing beauty that, if we let it, confronts us at every turn,” she states. “When I see it, I crave to raise it to canvas.”

Astonishingly, her current portfolio of exquisite portraits, still life, landscapes, seascapes and snow scenes have all been created in the past few years—and next up, this remarkably talented artist has agreed to create a painting of East County wilderness which will be auctioned on November 20th with proceeds benefitting both Grossmont Hospital Foundation and launch of a new special section on East County Magazine covering animal rescue groups and wildlife/animal news in our region. She will also paint a custom animal painting to be auctioned at a December 5^th party for the animals, also benefitting our new “Animal Action” section..

Update Nov. 20, 2015:  Here is how San Diego's Congressional members voted:  Representatives Duncan Hunter, Scott Peters and Darrell Issa voted for banning refugees from Iraq and Syria, while Representatives Juan Vargas and Susan Davis voted against the broad-based ban.

East County News Service

Photo: Iraqi Christians in El Cajon at a 2014 rally pleaded for help to save persecuted Christians in Iraq

November 19,2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The House of Representatives has passed a bill to suspend admission of refugees from both Syria and Iraq into the U.S., until national security agencies certify that they pose no security risk.

The measure passed by 289 to 137, a wide enough majority to override President Barack Obama’s threatened veto, with 47 Democrats joining Republicans to push the bill through.  But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to block the bill in the Senate.

East County News Service

Lions, Tigers and Bears invites you to a Christmas Festival on  Saturday, December 5^th from 1 to 4 p.m.  You can watch the animals open their Christmas presents –and get holiday shopping all in one day at the exotic animal rescue facility east of Alpine.

There will be also be many local vendors, food, entertainment and a special appearance by the man in red--Santa Claus.

November 18, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Antibiotic resistance: world on cusp of post-antibiotic era (BBC)
• Possible Alzheimer’s drug cut  mice aging symptoms (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• More Babies Are Dying Because Of Congenital Syphilis (NPR)
• Smart dressing 'cuts antibiotic use' (BBC)
• U.S. firefighter gets world's most extensive face transplant  (Reuters)
• US obesity rates 'rising again' (BBC)
• Justice Department Announces Criminal Charges Against Dietary Supplement Firms (NPR)
• Doctors vote to stop drugs ads to consumers (APM Marketplace)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Mexico hopes to see 3-4 times more monarch butterflies (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Dubai outfits firefighters with jetpacks: How firefighting has changed (CS Monitor)
• Microgrids light up the night in Kenya villages (CS Monitor)
• New 'About Me' pages show exactly what Google knows about you (CS Monitor)
• Governments around the world demand more user data from Facebook (CS Monitor)
• Congress says it's time to start mining the solar system (CS Monitor)

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

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

By Miriam Raftery and Leon Thompson

November 18, 2015 (El Cajon)--This week’s Destination East County includes the Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon, cowboy and Indian tales along the Butterfield stage coach route, Pomegranate Days at the Oasis Camel Dairy, and the start of Parkway Plaza’s holiday music festival.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including Santa Claus and snow at Santee Lakes, a joyous holiday music concert by the San Diego Festival Chorus, the Christmas in Alpine homes tour, a production of Kracked Nutz, and a Christmas  festival at Lions, Tigers and Bears.

November 17, 2015 (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

• Access To Care Challenging In San Diego County's Backcountry (KPBS)
• Legal costs of Alpine high school fight top $1.7 million (Times of San Diego)
•  MWD’s troubling move to buy islands in Sacramento Delta (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Disney exec moves Chargers closer to L.A. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•  Man accused of tampering with beer bought at stores (10 News)
• SDSU professor, family inducted into hall of fame (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Scripps Gets $700K For Earthquake Detection System (KPBS)
• All the times Local Governments Missed Red Flags About San Diego’s Towing King (Voice of San Diego)
• San Diego Nonprofits Go to Work for the Government (Voice of SD)
• Regional plan fails to prioritize transit (San Diego Union-Tribune—Cleveland National Forest Foundation editorial)
• San Diego Ambulance Service Says They’re Now Meeting Response Times (KPBS)
• Aguirre pushing for Brown’s emails (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Stand-down order at San Onofre questioned (U-T)
• The Purple Pipe Price War, Explained (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• Sex offenders sue state, claim Megan’s law site put them in danger (Sacramento Bee)
• Appeals Court Rejects Challenge To California Death Penalty (KPBS)
• Gov. Brown Appoints New San Diego Superior Court Judges (KPBS)

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

November 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Residents in the Mt. Helix area and elsewhere in the County have reported receiving phone calls from scammers posing as Internal Revenue Service or IRS representatives. East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery’s household has received several such calls.

By Dennis Moore

November 17, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The Audacious Woman, an inspirational and empowering book by Pamela Toussaint, which this writer had the honor and privilege of reviewing for the East County Magazine in San Diego, has been nominated for the 47^th NAACP Image Award in Literature. Toussaint is following in the footsteps of Gregory Reed’s Obama Talks Back and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, who actually won the award, and this writer also had the distinct pleasure of writing the review of those books for the East County Magazine just prior to their winning. Hopefully, we will be able to say the same for Toussaint.

November 17, 2015 (La Mesa) - Marking your calendar for the holiday season?  Mt. Helix Park has some winter events for the whole family...from Christmas caroling to a hike to start off the New Year.

East County Magazine

Photo: Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility at Otay Mesa

November 16, 2015 (Sacramento) -- A proposed ballot initiative submitted to the California Secretary of State takes aim at sanctuary cities that shelter undocumented immigrants from deportation under certain circumstances.