By Miriam Raftery

May 2, 2014 (San Diego) - Did San Diego State University dump a successful coach for political reasons?   Doug Perez is accusing the university of getting rid of him because he refused a request from the Associated Students executive director, Christina Brown, who asked him to help her raise money for Kevin Faulconer’s mayoral campaign.

Elected officials suppressed key report, failed to halt project or recover taxpayer dollars

“It was heartbreaking to see this project desecrate such a historically and culturally significant landscape, and it’s even worse when you find out that it was built on false claims by the developer, and with the assistance of the BLM. "-- Anthony Pico, Chairman, Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians

An East County Magazine special investigation

By Miriam Raftery

April 30, 2014 (Ocotillo) – An international wind energy expert has concluded that Pattern Energy appears to have defrauded the federal government in order to obtain lucrative tax subsidies for a wind energy development in southern California that has failed to live up to the developer’s claims.

“I believe we have a clear case for the False Claims Act,” Nicolas Boccard told East County Magazine, after reviewing full first-year wind production data for the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility on U..S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public land.  The project produced only about half of the energy that Pattern claimed it would produce—far below levels deemed viable for a wind project, a second expert confirms. 

These dismal results are no surprise to Boccard, who predicted in a report written before construction of the project was  completed that Ocotillo lacks sufficient wind speeds to sustain a viable wind energy project.

So were Pattern's lofty wind speed claims nothing more than spin?

May 1, 2014 (San Diego)--U.S. Reps. Susan Davis (CA-53) and Tim Ryan (OH-13) introduced legislation in the House to help schools include social and emotional learning (SEL).  The Supporting Emotional Learning (SEL) Act (H.R. 4509) would support teacher training in SEL to help young people better handle societal issues thus boosting their academic potential.  Students receiving social and emotional education do better on tests, show greater pro-social behaviors, and less emotional stress.

April 30, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future

SCIENCE

• You Love The Cloud, But It May Not Be As Secure As You Think (NPR)
• How a lab accident could revolutionize energy storage  (CS Monitor)
• Tech Giants Pony Up Cash To Help Prevent Another Heartbleed (NPR)

HEALTH

• Scientists reverse memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s (France 24)
• A Measles Outbreak In The Philippines Travels To The U.S. (NPR)
• Mom's Diet Right Before Pregnancy Can Alter Baby's Genes  (NPR)
• Saudi Mers death toll passes 100
• Obamacare deals blow to one-doctor medicine  (U-T)

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

By Miriam Raftery

May 1, 2014 (San Diego) – Yesterday, two children playing barefoot at Bonita Cove Park on Mission Bay stepped on razor blades and injured their feet.  Police officers used metal detectors to find 19 razor blades buried sharp-side-up near playground equipment in the park on Mariners Way near West mission Bay Drive, UT San Diego reports.