“She had an attitude of gratitude,” La Mesa resident Ethel Rudolph says of her mother, Titanic survivor Anna Sofia Turja

By Ellinoa Blake

July 1, 2012 (La Mesa)--In the heart of La Mesa lives a hidden historical gem: Ethel Rudolph, whose mother, Anna Sofia Turja survived the Titanic tragedy. In her cozy home, Ethel sat down with East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery and I to share her mother’s moving tale.

In honor of this year’s 100^th anniversary of the Titanic sinking after striking an iceberg, Rudolph recently visited Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum, which runs through September 9.  

She reflected, “It brought back a lot of nostalgia, things Mother had said.”

Scroll down to read her dramatic story, including a video interview describing an eyewitness account of one of history's greatest tragedies.

July 1, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Two quakes measuring 4.6 and 4.7 on the Richter scale struck Baja, California during the night.

The first jolt earthquake struck at 8:25 p.m.; the second at 11:36 p.m. 

The jolts were felt throughout San Diego, according to the U.S. Geological Service which received reports from residents in Lakeside, Ramona, Solana Beach and Chula Vista. The quake also rattled Imperial County.

June 28, 2012 (Sacramento)—At least 65 of the 70 state parks slated for permanent closure on July 1 will remain open—even though Governor Jerry Brown made a line-item veto to cut $31 million of the $41 million in funds earmarked to keep parks open.

Fortunately, the Department of Parks and Recreation made deals with private donors, foundations and nonprofits to keep operating 40 parks and has since found outside partners interested in saving 25 more.  That includes both Palomar Mountain State Park and the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park in San Diego County. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 15, 2012 (San Diego) –Who will be squaring off in the November run-off  to represent East County and San Diego in Congress and the State Legislature?

With all but 7,000 votes counted locally, according to the Registrar, here’s a rundown on these important race--including our assessment of the odds for those vying in the November run-off election:

By Miriam Raftery

June 9, 2012 (San Diego) – By a unanimous vote, San Diego's Planning Commission voted Friday to deny Iberdrola Renewables’ application for five 492-foot-tall wind turbines on private land under county jurisdiction.

The proposed turbines were part of the Tule Wind project, which also includes 62 turbines on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property in McCain Valley, seven turbines on state property, and 18 on Ewiiaapaayp tribal lands. To date, only the federal portion of the project has been approved.

“The Tule Wind decision was precedent setting in that turbines were denied on private land in the Boulevard area and the plan amendment was denied,” said Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group. “Today’s decision also bodes badly for Enel Green Power's Jewel Valley wind that is proposed for about 7,000 acres both north and south of I-8."

San Diego Jewish Academy eight grader Jonah Kohn's project uses tactile sound to enhance music for people with hearing loss through vibrations

June 11, 2012 (San Diego)--San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) eighth grade student Jonah Kohn was recently notified that he is one of five finalists in his age group out of a total 15 finalists in the 2012 Google Science Fair, which received thousands of entries from over 100 countries worldwide.

His project, Good Vibrations: Improving the Music Experience for People with Hearing Loss Using Multi-Frequency Tactile Sound, has the potential to affect millions of people with hearing loss by enhancing their ability to enjoy music.

June 4, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for mountain and desert areas in San Diego and Riverside Counties beginning this afternoon and extended to late Tuseday night.  A low pressure trough is moving inland, bringing southwest to westerly 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph locally.

June 4, 2012 (San Diego) The U.S. Health & Human Services Department has awarded $9,398,738 for healthcare in the communities of San Diego, Campo and Brawley.

“The Affordable Care Act invests in our community health centers and helps make healthcare accessible and affordable. Close to $10 million for healthcare locally means new jobs and the ability to serve more patients,” Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego) said, noting that since 2009, employment at community health centers nationwide has increased by 15 percent.

By Mia Myklebust

“Stop the drones.” – Mossaret Qadeem, Amn-o-nisa implores

May 30, 2012 (San Diego) -- Dressed in brightly colored robes and hijabs, the women of Amn-o-nisa make a powerful statement with their presence alone. These 11 Pakistani women have come to the United States for the second time to spread their message of peace and international cooperation.

The name Amn-o-nisa translates to “women for peace,” which is the message the group hoped to spread on their visit to the U.S. The group visited Washington D.C., San Diego and Los Angeles and met with political figures including Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.

Ducheny Chastises Vargas for "Special Interest" Favors

May 5, 2012 (San Diego) -- Congressional Candidate Denise Moreno Ducheny took issue with Senator Juan Vargas's recent voting record and called on the Senator to back a strong set of foreclosure protection bills being discussed in the Senate this week. "The recent voting record of my opponent is a disservice to the residents of San Diego and Imperial Counties," Ducheny said in a statement. "He should be spending more time focusing on the needs of his constituents, not just those special interest groups who write his campaign checks."

By Miriam Raftery

April 27, 2012 (Santee)—The San Diego Planning Commission voted 4-2 to grant a 60-day continuance to Quail Brush Genco (Cogentrix), delaying a decision on whether to rezone property near Mission Trails Regional Park as industrial space in order to allow construction of a gas-fired power plant. 

Congressman and Mayoral candidate Bob Filner called the continuance request “a chance to propagandize" as the project developer seeks to allay widespread community opposition. Filner has said the power plant would “harm the surrounding air quality and degrade Mission Trails Park – plus, installing a gas-powered plant in an area ravaged by the 2003 wildfires makes little sense.”

April 20, 2012 (San Diego) -- San Diego’s original fine art festival, Mission Federal ArtWalk is back for its 28th year. Featuring artists who live in the East County area as well as San Diego, the event will be held on Saturday and Sunday , April 28 and 29, when 17 blocks of Little Italy will be transformed for this free festival. ArtWalk offers a unique opportunity for members of the public to engage directly with over 350 artists who will be there to display their original works for exhibit and sale. The art on display will include a wide range of paintings, sculpture, mosaics, glasswork and photography.

April 20, 2012 (San Diego) –Prominent women leaders in San Diego will be speaking out to support Bob Filner’s mayoral candidacy this Saturday.

“Bob Filner is the only candidate for mayor who has spent his career fighting for women's rights,” a press release from the Filner campaign states. In Congress, Filner co-sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He is endorsed by the National Organization for Women (NOW) San Diego chapter and has earned an “A+” from Planned Parenthood for his voting record to support women’s rights.

“We are requesting a moratorium on industrial wind turbine projects and initiation of unbiased, science-based peer-reviewed studies on health…They are subjecting rural residents to be guinea pigs or lab rats on a mass scale that has never been seen anywhere.” –Donna Tisdale, Boulevard Planning Group Chair

“Tapping into sources of renewable energy is critical for a number of reasons…We applaud the County’s commitment to achieving these goals by updating and streamling requirements for small and large wind energy systems.” – Jennifer Purczynski Enel Green Power/Padoma Wind Power LLC

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Tomorrow (Friday) morning at 9 a.m., the San Diego County Planning Commission will consider a proposed wind ordinance that would make it easier for industrial-scale wind facilities as well as smaller turbines to be built in unincorporated areas—primarily in East County communities. 

By Miriam Raftery

April 2, 2012 (Cedar Creek) – When Ed Hale read that the National Forest Service (NFS) was reopening one of two entrances to Cedar Creek Falls starting yesterday, he and a friend headed east to hit the trail--and brought back a firsthand account of their experiences as well as some changes at the popular hiking site.

Santee Council to weigh resolution opposing power plant March 28;  San Diego Council to consider zoning change to allow facility on April 26

By Miriam Raftery

March 25, 2012 (San Diego/Santee) – Seventeen staffers from the California Energy Commission heard from concerned residents at a standing-room-only workshop on a proposed gas-fired power plant this week at Mission Trails Regional Park.  Over 60 residents filled out speaker cards to oppose the controversial project and dozens more packed the room.  

In emotionally charged testimony, residents pleaded for the project to be withdrawn or approval denied.  They voiced concerns over the dangers pose by wildfire and explosions as well as worries over noise, traffic, air pollution, visual blight, and impacts on wildlife, homes, schools, and Mission Trails Regional Park.

By Miriam Raftery

Update:  All charges against Kobulnicky have been dropped.  For full story, see

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/9176

Update March 27, 2012 (San Diego)--At a bail review yesterday, the victim told the judge that she is certain Kobulnicky was not the person who reportedly raped her.  "This man is not the man at all, and I'll stick with that for as long as I live," she stated, 10 News reports. http://www.10news.com/news/30763732/detail.html.  The San Diego Tea Party has posted an interview with the woman on their website at http://www.sandiegopatriots.com . Kobulnicky remains in jail, however.

By Miriam Raftery

March 14, 2012 (El Cajon)--Students at Grossmont College may be surprised to see who's hanging out just off campus.  ECM editor Miriam Raftery spotted these deer grazing on a sunny slope adjacent to the community college.

March 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Despite recent cold weather, rattlesnakes are active—and a bite proved deadly this week on a local trail, the Blossom Valley network reports.

Next president will appoint Supreme Court justice who will be swing vote;  at stake are women’s access to birth control and abortion, attorney tells local law students  

By Nadin Abbott

“We’re at a critical point,” Dr. Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued  Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, informed San Diego students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law last week. She warned that rights of women protected under the landmark decision are not secure.   

Wedddington spoke on leadership as well as women’s rights--and how dramatically times have changed. Recalling the start of her career, she told the audience, “The world I grew up in, was very different.”

February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- What if San Diego produced its own electricity with solar on rooftops and parking garage covers?  Imagine if San Diego became its own utility provider—instead of SDG&E.  

That’s exactly what Congressman and mayoral candidate Bob Filner proposed in a brainstorming session with top regional experts at part I of “Forging a Sustainable Future.”  (Part II takes place March 3-4 at San Diego State University. Filner will be among those speaking.)

The implications of his proposals are staggering.

How many massive energy projects are too many for one rural community to absorb?

“They want to put these all out here, because we’re throwaway country people.” – Howard Cook

By Mia Myklebust and Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2012 (Jacumba) – Walking along the shores of Lake Jacumba, it’s clear that Howard Cook has big dreams for his community.  Chairman of the Lake Restoration Committee, he has wrested a pledge from the Audubon Society to restore the once-dry lake.

“We want to have fishing, boating, and recreation,” he says.  Cook is working with others who dream of “making this another Taos—art, wildlife, hiking, Indians and birds.”

But there’s trouble on the horizon.  Multiple industrial-scale wind and solar farms soon stand to surround this tiny town, jeopardizing its most cherished natural treasures. Sites include publicly owned recreation lands, notably a spectacular scenic gorge known to locals as “our Grand Canyon,” Cook points out.

Jacumba is a proverbial canary in the coal mine—a warning of what other publicly-owned preserves and rural communities across America may soon face. 

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – Democratic delegates and party activists from East County are among the participants at the three-day California Democratic Party Convention taking place Friday through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center.