By Brian Lafferty

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – Has Daniel Espinosa seen every single Tony Scott film? Based on what I saw in Safe House, I don’t doubt it. Safe House is so influenced by his films that it could very well have been directed by Scott.

By Brian Lafferty

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – After watching Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, I wondered what Six Year Old Me would have thought. Six Year Old Me would have loved it. He would have laughed, he would have been thrilled, and he would have had fun.

 
February 10, (Ramona) -- A public tour of Oasis Camel Dairy is being offered February 19 at 1:00 p.m. This is a rare opportunity to see, touch and even ride a camel! 

Visit the store front for Camel Milk Soap and Camel Milk Chocolate available for purchase after the tour.

February 9, 2012 (Oceanside) – A major brush fire, now 25 acres, is burning on Camp Pendleton at Las Flores Road and Range 21, Incident Page Network reported at 10:21 p.m. Fire officials have requested strike teams immediately with mutual aid from Escondido and Vista Fire Departments.

Season home openers bring added excitement for a team, but also added pressure

By Ryan Schuler

February 9, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Coming off an emotional 13-12 win over No. 15 Long Beach State last Saturday, the No. 9 San Diego State women’s water polo team looked to prove to the home crowd at Aztec Aquaplex on the SDSU campus that they are better than their performance at Long Beach showed.

And that is exactly what the Aztecs did, as they defeated No. 15 Hartwick, 16-6.

By Serena Scaglione

February 9, 2012 (San Diego)--Tuesday’s decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule the Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional may withstand a challenge to the nation’s highest court, due to the tight legal grounds surrounding the issue that are specific to California. 

February 9, 2012 (Alpine) –At 8:15 p.m. tonight, Sheriff’s dispatch confirmed that a suspicious device has been found at the Viejas Outlet Center, 5000 Willows Road in Alpine.  The Sheriff’s Bomb and Arson squad was dispatched and found the device to be harmless.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated the outlet center," Robert Scheid, Viejas spokesman told ECM.  

February 9, 2012 (Santee) – The Randy Jones “5K For Independence” walk and fun run will be held on February 18 at Santee Lakes.  The event benefits Home of the Guiding Hands, which assists developmentally disabled adults and which has been hard-hit by state budget cuts.

Participants are invited to stay at Santee Lakes for a day of family fun, picnic lunch, beer garden, and awards ceremony.

 
February 6, 2012 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa Centennial kicks off on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 from 3:00–3:30 p.m. at the La Mesa Blvd. Trolley Station, where the City Council and Centennial donors will ride a specially wrapped La Mesa Centennial trolley to the Trolley Station.  You will be able to remember the event with a free Centennial keepsake that will be given away at the unveiling.

February 9, 2012 --  (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:  

General news  

• Group urges FTC action on Google privacy (USA Today)
• Dems fight back against GOP in contraception battle (CBS)
• Forgetting a key lesson of Watergate? (CNN)
• Child labor for Victoria’s Secret cotton examined by U.S. (Bloomberg Business)
• U.S. Brigadier General dies in Afghanistan (CNN) 

• Santorum sweeps Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado (CNN)
• Mitt Romney wins overwhelming victory in Nevada caucuses (Washington Post) 

• NATO vs. Syria (American Conservative)
• Syrians storm embassies after uprising's worst violence (Reuters)
• Activists: Syrian assault leaves 250 dead (NPR)
• U.N. vote on Syria fails (NPR)
•  ‘Hezbollah will hit Israel if Syria attacked’ (Jerusaleum Post)
• Iran vows to hit any country that stages attack (San Diego UT)
• Thousands stranded by rising floodwaters in Australia (CNN) 

• Blind doctor can see again (Jerusalem Post)

Part II of the Forging a Sustainable Future Conference will be held March 3 and 4 at San Diego State University.  For tickets and details click here. If you missed Part I of this important event, ECM is publishing a series of articles highlighting presentations by key speakers last November, starting with these colorful opening statements.

February 9, 2012 (San Diego) – Councilwoman Marti Emerald, a former TV consumer affairs journalist called on San Diegans to join with her in calling for sustainable practices here in our community, and around the world during Part I of United Green's Forging a Sustainable Future conference in November 2011 . “This is survival, folks,” she said. 

She brought a surprise guest: Cassis, a green-winged macaw who joined her onstage during opening remarks to drive homeher message. "You won't find these in the wild," Emerald said. "Their habitat has been destroyed." 

• Grossmont High School teachers vote to explore becoming charter (La Mesa Patch)
• Fire Chief Augie Ghio chats about state of San Miguel Fire District following release of RFPs (La Mesa Patch)
• City Council okays livestock for city residents (10 News)
• A Guide to Understanding the Sweetwater Scandal (Voice of San Diego)
• San Onofre shutdown costing up to $1 million a day (KPBS)
• Secrets of the Centennial: How suffrage put progressive town on path to self determination (La Mesa Patch)
• Light on cockroaches (Valley Roadrunner editorial on Supervisors’ recent actions)
• Bob Filner to La Mesa: You have a stake in who is mayor of San Diego(La Mesa Patch)
• Nuke inspections focus on unusual wear on tubes (Sacramento Bee) 

• Federal appeals court: CA gay marriage ban is unconstitutional (AP)
• Governor signs bill that allows internal borrowing (Sacramento Bee) 

Plus how the County creates its own poster children for “red tape reduction”

By Billie Jo Jannen

February 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is due to vote later this month on a series of initiatives entitled “Red Tape Reduction Task Force Recommendations.” The idea behind it is to make it simpler and cheaper to get projects through the permitting process. The document includes giving staff members rewards for moving projects through faster and shifting more projects to entitlement or ministerial approval.

Also among the suggestions is the elimination of community planning and sponsor groups, or alternatively, imposing term limits and terminating indemnification for members.

By Charlotte Reed, Realtor

• Installation of local Realtor officers and directors
• Title information outsourcing
• Another lawsuit for B of A and other big banks 

 
It Doesn’t Take a Fire to Burn a Child

 
February 8, 2012 (Santee) -- Pathways Community Church will be offering gently-used clothing in infant through adult sizes Saturday, February 18 from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Even people who don’t have clothing to donate, can come in and stock up. Everyone welcome!

February 7, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has asked the County to authorize Sunday work on the Sunrise Powerlink project between February 19 and May 28 from  7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in or near the following locations: Lakeside’s San Vicente and el Capitan Reservoir, Jacumba, and Cleveland National Forest.   Those operations will include planned power outages in the impacted areas. 

February 7, 2012 (Lakeside) -- No, it's not an insect or an invader from outer space. It's an up-close view of the Erickson air crane "Sunbird" erecting the Sunrise Powerlink in Lakeside's Wildcat Canyon/El Monte Valley area.

Billy Ortiz snapped this head-on closeup image of the massive helicopter, which is capable of hoisting heavy loads including transmission towers.

By Nancy Clement

February 10, 2012 (La Mesa) - Valentine’s Day is almost here--and there is still some time to plan a special celebration for you and your sweetheart.  What if you have more love than money? Here are some ideas that do not require a lot of expense, just some planning on your part.

February 7, 2012 (Alpine)—Planning group members will hear public testimony and a presentation by the County Department of Planning and Land Use on a draft land use plan for former Forest Conservation Initiative lands in Alpine.

The changes could make it easier for some landowners to build on certain properties in the Alpine area.

A local elected official says SDG&E installations of smart meters are occurring at homes on opt-out list

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2012 (San Diego)—The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week voted to allow Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)  customers to have smart meters replaced with older  analog meters, for a $75 installation fee plus a monthly fee of $5 to $10, depending on income.  Ratepayers must inform PG&E by May 1 if they wish to opt-out.

Commissioners have not yet ruled on whether to allow San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or other utilities’ customers to opt out, but are expected to make a similar ruling later this month. SDG&E has proposed even higher opt-out fees of including an initial $175-$200, an exit fee of $50 and a monthly fee of $15 to cover meter readings, the North County Times reports. 

 
February 6, 2012 (El Cajon) -- Hillside Recreation Center invites children ages 5-12 years old to a Valentine’s celebration with a variety of fun and exciting Valentine-themed games, arts & crafts, creating edible goodies and much more. The party will be held on Monday, February 13, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. and costs $10.00 per child. Sign-ups have already started and the deadline to enroll is Friday, February 10. 

By Jack Bailey

February 6, 2012  (Washington D. C.) -- The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), today announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase “significant portion of its range” (SPR) in the ESA’s definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.”