Story and photos by Gayle Early

November 1, 2008 (La Mesa/Spring Valley) - It’s 7:00 a.m., third Saturday of the month. The line behind Crosspointe Life Church in La Mesa snakes through the parking lot and all the way down the alley. Feeding America, a nonprofit agency formerly known as Second Harvest, has dropped off its monthly food distribution here in La Mesa, where demand from hungry people seeking food has leaped 103% this quarter. Volunteers also picked up fresh produce and staples from Albertson’s and are setting up tables. Distribution starts at 9:00 a.m. It’s chilly. Many are camped out in chairs, huddled with blankets, surrounded by retractable shopping carts, canvas and plastic bags, bins, cardboard boxes, even laundry baskets with which to carry food home. If they have a home. It’s a long wait.

Resale Clothes & Toys for Children of All Ages

By Miriam Raftery

November
1, 2008 - In today’s cost-conscious times, parents are rediscovering
the jobs of resale shopping.  By popular demand, after reporting on my
favorite women’s resale shop, I scoured East County to find a great place
for parents to save money on stylish kids’ clothes, play equipment and
more.

By Miriam Raftery

October
22, 2008 (San Diego) -

Q: Who are those grinning people posing with San Diego State University icon
Monty Montezuma at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park?

A:  East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery and consulting
editor Jamie Reno, who collectively received 14 awards in San Diego Press Club’s
2008 Excellence in Journalism competition.   ECM reporter E.A. Barrera
also picked up a trio of awards to add to his growing collection. 

By Joseph Rocha

Duncan Hunter

Mike Lumpkin

October 28, 2008 (San Diego's East County) - For better or for worse, come November 4th, the 27-year stronghold on the 52nd Congressional seat will be released.  Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter is retiring.  Now, East County finds itself under siege in one of the hottest Congressional races of the season as two local military heroes step up to the podium,  each confident in their integrity and ability to lead--and battle for every vote.  As a veteran myself, I looked forward to interviewing, researching and attending a debate to learn more about two candidates with military experience vying to represent our region, as well as a third-party challenger.

View a video of the debate here:   http://www.copswiki.org/Common/M796

Scroll down for ECM's analysis of the debate...

For
a frightfully good time this week (not to mention satisfying your sweet tooth
cravings), you’ll find plenty of Halloween haunts in East County.

Start with Wednesday night’s “Trunk or Treat” in El Cajon,
where classic car club members will be doling out goodies.  On Thursday,
dig into a pumpkin pie-eating contest and costume party in Valley Center, or
chill out at the Otay Haunted House.

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2008 (San Diego) - San Diego Republican Party Chair Tony Krvaric is alleged to have rigged endorsements including a mayoral race, violated state election law and party rules.  A complaint filed by a Central Committee member calls for Krvaric’s ouster.  Will the GOP Central Committee make its chairman, who has previously been implicated in piracy, walk the plank?

A
new column by award-winning rural journalist Billie Jo Jannen makes its exclusive
debut this week in East County Magazine.

Hundreds of East County residents and YMCA members attended event,
which raised $176,000

Halle Aiken serves food to Branding guest, Phil Conard. Picture taken by Brian Blue.

November 1, 2008 (Rancho San Diego) - East County
residents shined their belt buckles and donned their best pairs of jeans
for East County Family YMCA’s annual fundraiser, The Urban BRANDING
on September 27. More than 450 attended the event, which raised $176,000
for the East County Family YMCA to make more resources available for programs
that continue to build strong kids, families and communities throughout East
County. This includes the East County YMCA’s 10 childcare sites, more
than 30 specialty day camps, swim lessons, a variety of teen leadership programs,
youth sports, family events and the capital campaign for the new McGrath
Family YMCA, which will begin construction in a few months.

Contenders clash on budget solutions, jobs, housing, and religion in politics  

By Miriam Raftery

How should El Cajon address its budget shortfall?  Should public jobs be privatized, or services cut?  Or can new revenues and employment be created with an industrial park, green jobs, a new hospital, a university, or other innovative solutions?  Candidates differ sharply on these and other issues.  They also disagree on whether to assist struggling renters and homebuyers, how to fill vacant buildings downtown, and whether voters should approve Proposition J to raise sales tax by half a cent per dollar.

A FULL PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIAN COUNTRY

By Barack Obama

October 24, 2008 (Indian Country Today) Washington D.C. --
For 20 months now, I’ve traveled this country, often talking about how
the needs of the American people are going unmet by Washington. And the truth
is, few have been ignored by Washington for as long as American Indians. Too
often, Washington pays lip service to working with tribes while taking a one-size-fits-all
approach with tribal communities across the nation.

That will change if I
am honored to serve as president of the United States.

My
American Indian policy begins with creating a bond between an Obama administration
and the tribal nations all across this country. We need more than just a government-to-government
relationship; we need a nation-to-nation relationship, and I will make sure
that tribal nations have a voice in the White House…

TRIBAL EQUITY IN THE WIND

October 17, 2008 (Kumeyaay.com) -- Last week, The New York Times covered two
stories outlining the need of two American governments to acquire equity in
contemporary economic development enterprises: One was about the federal government’s
response to the need for equity in $700 billion national bank bailout and the
other was about a tribal government’s response to the lack of equity
in $58.6 million wind project on an Indian reservation.

Congress changed the
terms of the so-called “bailout bill” to include
provisions for the federal government (i.e., taxpayers) to obtain equity positions
in failing banks as investments rather than bailouts. The amended bill happened
to also extend federal incentives for just about everyone in the renewable
energy economy, except for Indian tribes. The federal wind production tax credit,
or PTC, incentive was extended for one year, but again, with no language to
provide for tribal equity in Indian reservation projects. That failure is a
primary basis for the difficulties in renewable energy development on impoverished
Indian reservations.

BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS RESPONDS TO SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS

Despite a Tumultuous Economy, Barona Awards Over $600,000 to
Schools
Oct 24, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) San Diego — After historically
high statewide budget cuts in education this year have left programs underfunded
and resources sparse, the Barona Band of Mission Indians continues to lessen
the blow with its innovative Barona Education Grant Program. Barona has awarded
a total of $610,000 to 122 schools statewide since the program’s 2006
inception.

NIGA ACKNOWLEDGES PASSAGE OF NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY BILL

Friday after Thanksgiving designated day of tribute

Oct 24, 2008 (Kumeyaay.com, reprinted from Indian Country Today) WASHINGTON
-- The National Indian Gaming Association acknowledges the passing into law
of House Joint Resolution 62, which designates the Friday after Thanksgiving
as Native American Heritage Day 2008.

The Native American Heritage Day 2008
Bill encourages the people of the United States, as well as federal, state
and local governments and interested groups and organizations, to observe Native
American Heritage Day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities.
The bill is supported by the National Indian Gaming Association, the National
Congress of American Indians and Indian tribes across the country. The resolution
was introduced by Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., and Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii,
who helped move the resolution through the Senate.

“School Boards have become a dangerous institution,” warns
Doug Dean, Chair of the East County Chamber of Commerce Business Education
Committee. “One of the poster children in San Diego County for problematic
school boards is the Grossmont Union High School District Governing Board.
Many years ago, one of our political parties made school boards the target
for social change, and the GUHSD was one of the victims. Although it has improved
lately, that board has been contentious and non-collaborative for decades,
resulting in a district that is rotting from the inside out. Current new candidates
threaten to throw it back into the past.”

Your guide to profitable and socially responsible investing

By Judith L. Seid, CFP ®

This
financial crisis has its own unique characteristics unlike any in our history.
For twenty-five years individual Americans, and their government, have been
on a binge of borrowing and excess spending.  That could not continue
forever. 

The first down-payment on a retrenchment was the crash of the tech boom in
2000.  The next down-payments are the current crashes in the value of
our stock investments and our homes, occurring right now.  As the financial
markets restructure, we’re seeing some positive shifts toward a more
sustainable economy.

By Miriam Raftery

Editor's Note:  Military authorities declined to speak with East County Magazine regarding this story. We also requested permission to interview veterans at Balboa Naval Hospital to obtain a diverse range of views on conditions in mlitary service.  Our request was denied.

October 18, 2008 (San Diego)--Army intelligence officer Selena Coppa has risked her freedom to speak out.  “One of my soldiers died. He had PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome),” she said.  “It was ignored.”  

After she revealed the truth about the soldier’s death, Coppa told East County Magazine, her commanding officer threatened her.  “He said if he’d known what I was going to do,  he would have put me in Walter Reed in the mental ward and made sure I never got out.  Then what would happen to my little girl?”

Coppa and Hess accuse the U.S. government and military officers of neglecting soldiers with serious mental health problems and of fostering a climate of intimidation against those who speak out.

By Janelle Eckardt         

November 1, 2008 (Alpine) - I
firmly believe that we make our own luck. We each control how we react to different
situations, therefore we play a hand in the ultimate outcome of any given scenario.
If we’re
lucky, we come out on top as clear victors--though sometimes we hit when we
should have stayed and lose our entire pot. The majority of the time, however,
we simply enjoy the fact we’re still in the game. I also believe in reading
signs and rewarding yourself when you deserve it. Now, it has been my experience
that these two philosophies work really well in building a happy life. But
I had to wonder how they’d pan out as actual gambling tactics. When looking
the dealer in the eye, do we really control the fate of our hand, or are we
at the mercy of the deck?