By Robert Gehr © 2015

September 28, 2015 (El Cajon)--You’re invited to reserve Friday night, Oct. 23 from 5 to 10 p.m. to attend the 4^th annual HauntFest on Main event that has become very popular with folks in East County celebrating Halloween.

This is a fun-filled family affair with plenty to do including a pumpkin patch for ‘picking’ that perfect orange decoration, two candy trails this year, an expanded carnival ride area, an LED rock climbing wall, face painting, food and drink, the famous TNT dancers, a KIDZ zone, outdoor movies on a 26- foot screen, arts and crafts booths, game booths, costume contests, live music on 2 stages, inflatables and more.

By Miriam Raftery

September 28, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has announced he will resign from Congress at the end of October.  With a September 30^th deadline looming to pass a spending bill or force a government shutdown, Boehner has stated on Face the Nation that he expects a continuing resolution to pass for funding at least through the end of the year, averting a shutdown.  But after that, all bets are off, since the likely successor to Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California, is backed by conservative Tea Party forces.

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego)—The San Diego Sierra Club plans a rally on October 7^th at 12 noon outside Sempra Energy headquarters (488 8^th Ave., San Diego) to protest the utility’s actions that environmentalists say are aimed at “crippling solar.”

64-year-old Casa de Oro woman undergoes aortic endograft procedure for complex abdominal aortic aneurysms

Story provided by Sharp Healthcare

September 26, 2015 (Casa de Oro)--You could say Lura Kienzle is a bit of a Disney fanatic.The 64-year-old gleefully boasts that she and her “Mousekapals,” a tight-knit group of six friends from San Diego, visit the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim about once a month.

But that monthly trek had to be put on the back burner last September when Kienzle started to not feel well.

East County News Service

September 27, 2015 (El Cajon) – A man suspected of breaking into a car in the Chase/Avocado area of El Cajon has been arrested, according to a  post left by the vehicle owner on the Mt. Helix Next Door neighborhood forum. 

According to the car owner, it didn’t take too much sleuthing to track down the alleged perpetrator.  “Good thing he had the bad luck of leaving his wallet in our vehicle,” she wrote, adding that the suspect had prior arrests and had just been released from jail two days before his arrest on September 14.

East County News Service

September 25, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Magazine Editor Miriam Raftery was injured Wednesday when an F-150 pickup truck driver pulled out in front of her Toyota Camry on Avocado in El Cajon.  Raftery's vehicle was totaled and she was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. 

"I am grateful to be alive and appreciate the kind wishes sent by many in our community," said Raftery, who asked for patience as our staff works to catch up on a backload of articles, story ideas and e-mails recently submitted. "I also thank the El Cajon Police and Heartland Fire & Rescue for their prompt response to the accident scene," she added.

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce announces three upcoming events including a Sept. 28 lunch with former Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, a Sept. 29  after hours business mixer at Steele Canyon Golf Club, and an Oct. 2 breakfast at the La Mesa Community Center with Oktoberfest speakers.

Congressional leadership’s refusal to take a vote to continue a critical parks fund means 50 year conservation program could disintegrate, despite support to pass in both chambers

East County News Service

Photo: Saguaro National Park, courtesy of the National Park Service

September 26, 2015 (Washington D.C.)--The Land and Waer Conservation Act Fund is set to expire on September 30th if Congress fails to act.  The Republican leadership is blocking a floor vote, despite enough support in both houses to renew the landmark measure.

“Leadership is dithering and deliberately stalling, because if put to a vote, the House would  have the 218 votes needed for  reauthorization of this core conservation program,” said Alan Rowsome with The Wilderness Society, which co-chairs the national Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition. “On top of that, the Senate secured 60 votes for reauthorization back in January. So House  and Senate leadership are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by holding America’s parks, trails, soccer fields and historic sites hostage —when  more than 75% of America disagrees with them.”

By East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego) – An investigation by KNSD-TV Channel 7 , the NBC affiliate in San Diego, has dropped a bombshell regarding efforts to cover-up lax handling of nuclear waste and radiation leaks at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations.   Get the full report and the confidential documents here.  

NBC’s investigation found high radiation levels endangered Southern California employees in trailers, including radiation levels so alarming that  Nuclear Regulatory inspectors at times refused to perform routine radiation surveys. A contaminated steam generator taken from a reactor exposed workers for 10 days, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report form 1981 revealed.

Hundreds of pieces of contaminated radioactive equipment were stored on both sides of Interstate 5, which bisects the San Onofre nuclear waste dump now under construction following shut-down of the facilities.  Some were openly exposed to weather.

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (Palomar) – Palomar Mountain State Park invites the public to its 2015 Palomar Apple Festival on Sunday, October 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

This free festival includes delicious apple goodies, spinning and weaving demonstration, arts and crafts,  games and activities, a pie eating contest,plus  live folk music and square dancers  (join in – all are welcome!).

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Eagle statue in front of former Santa Ysabel casino

September 25, 2016 (Santa Ysabel)—The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel has contracted with a county-licensed medical marijuana dispensary to use the Tribe’s former casino facility to cultivate marijuana for San Diego medical marijuana patients.

The tribe announced the deal in an e-mail sent to tribal members on September 20th, adding that subsequent meetings have been held between Tribal government officials (including representatives from the Santa Ysabel Tribal Development Corporation and Santa Ysabel Tribal Cannabis Regulatory Agency) and representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s office, San Diego Sheriff’s office, and a site walk-through with a representative of the District Attorney’s office.

September 25, 2015 (Spring Valley)—A San Diego Laurel and Hardy Group, Saps at Sea, will present a Howl-o-Ween Spooky Spectacular event on October 31 starting at 7 p.m. at Williams Hall at Trinity Church, 3902 Kenwood Drive in Spring Valley. 

The event features Laurel and Hardy comedy films, a creepy cartoon, and guest comedians. The evening will also include a 3-D treat as well as a tribute to the late John Locke of Lyric Pines Theatre and more.

County News Service

Photos: Sally Estabrook

September 25, 2015 (San Diego)--Bob Estabrook walked into the back of his RV to clean up one afternoon last fall. He and his wife, Sally, were staying at a campground near Julian. Within 15 minutes, Sally, who was 75 years old and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, had disappeared.

By Mimi Pollack

Photo: Maggie Espinosa in the Oxnard Strawberry Fields

September 25, 2015 (La Mesa)--In Spain, there is a famous pilgrimage/walk, called El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a 450 mile walk. Many people have that walk on their bucket list. La Mesa resident Maggie Espinosa has completed her own version of that peregrination by walking the 800 mile El Camino Real, up the California coast.

September 24, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• British Scientists Seek Permission To Edit DNA In Human Embryos (NPR)
• CTE prevalent in deceased players, study shows ESPN
• VIDEO: Paraplegic man walks after spine 'bypass' (BBC)
• UCSD Researchers Discover Protein That Can Help Damaged Hearts (KPBS)
• Panel Says Aspirin Lowers Heart Attack Risk For Some (NPR)
• The amazing significance of what a mother-to-be eats (BBC)
• Cognitive Decline May Move Faster In People With Low Vitamin D (NPR)

SCIENCE

• California drought: Why a fire might be good for giant sequoias (CS Monitor)
• Why climate change is good news to Arctic mosquitoes (CS Monitor)
• Lungs found in mysterious deep-sea fish (CS Monitor)
• What do fish scales have to do with tooth enamel? More than you would think. (CS Monitor)
• How tiny, underwater creatures are slowing climate change (CS Monitor)
• Bees' tongues are shrinking, and now scientists know why (CS Monitor)

TECH

• Solar network 'in a box' brings phone service to disaster zones (CS Monitor)
• How A Little Lab In West Virginia Caught Volkswagen's Big Cheat (NPR)
• 5.6 million fingerprints stolen in OPM hack: What can thieves do with data? (+video) (CS Monitor)
• EU launches inquiry into web companies' online behavior (Reuters)

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