By Chris Jennewein

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Kamala Harris answers questions from the media on Harbor Island. Photo by Chris Jennewein

January 21, 2019 (Oakland) - Senator Kamala Harris made her candidacy for President in 2020 official on Monday, symbolically choosing the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday for the announcement.

East County News Service

East County News Service

Election for East County’s Assembly District 79 delegates is January 26

January 18, 2019 (San Diego) -- Every two years, Democratic voters in California elect Assembly delegates to the state Democratic Party.  In the past, these elections have not been widely attended or promoted, but local progressive activists and organizers have been working to change that.

By Miriam Raftery

January 18, 2019 (Lakeside) – Kathryn Anne Kennedy, 70, was found in Ocotillo Wells shortly after 11 a.m. this morning, Lt. David Perkins with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department has confirmed to ECM.

“A concerned citizen saw her sitting on the steps of the market at a campground in Ocotillo Wells and called for a welfare check because she seemed disoriented,” Lt. Perkins told ECM. Law enforcement officers identified her as the missing woman and transported her back to Lakeside to be reunited with friends, after making sure she did not appear to have any physical injuries.

“She was shaken, hungry and tired,” says Jill Barto, who helped organize a search for the missing woman and received word via a phone call with the good news.

January 18, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) --- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a  variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Trump kept details of meetings with Putin from senior officials in administration (Washington Post)
• Mueller Draft Report Says Trump 'Helped Putin Destabilize the United States', Watergate Journalist Says (Newsweek)
• Trump says he’s canceling Pelosi’s foreign trip a day after she asked him to delay his State of the Union speech (Washington Post)
• In first, Native American tribe displaced by sea gets land to relocate (Reuters)
• Dems eye lawsuit if Trump declares border emergency (The Hil)
• GoFundMe intervenes to give refunds to Trump's border wall donors  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia (New York Times)

WORLD

• Ethnic violence in Congo killed nearly 900 over a few days in December (Reuters)
• Honduran migrant gunned down shortly after U.S. deportation (Voice of America)
• ‘Smiling face’: Saudi teen fleeing family is granted asylum in Canada  (Washington Post)
• Russia, U.S. fail to save missile treaty, Washington to pull out  (Reuters)

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

East County News Service

January 17, 2019 (Ramona) -- The Wildlife Research Center in Ramona will present “Hawk Watch” each Saturday in January and February.  This year the event will be held at the Begent Ranch in Ramona (18528 Highland Valley Road.)

Arrive at 9:30 a.m. for coffee and doughnuts before the program begins at 10 a.m. You will  meet birds of prey up close in the Ramona grasslands such as hawks, owls and eagles. Charles Gailband of Wild Wings, his apprentice, Spencer, and fellow falconer Cisco who bring their amazing raptors to share with the public.

January 17, 2019 (Jamul) – EnviroMine, the developer of a proposed sand mine at the Cottonwood Golf Course site in Rancho San Diego, is slated to make a presentation to the Jamul-Dulzura Community Plannning Group. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12^th at 7:30 p.m. at Jamul Primary School's Auditorium at 14567 Lyons Valley Road (at the corner of Lyons Valley Road and Skyline Truck Trail).

Note: This location has changed from the usual venue to accommodate a large anticipated crowd.

By Miriam Raftery

January 16, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump today signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act into law, which passed Congress with bipartisan support.  It provides that furloughed and exempted federal employees will receive back pay whenever this shutdown ends.

But it does not grant any back pay to federal contractors, many of who are struggling without pay.

• UC San Diego researchers use stem cells, 3D-printing to treat spinal cord injuries (10 News)
• What happens when a lifesaving drug becomes intolerably expensive? (Washington Post)
• Government Shutdown Curtails F.D.A. Food Inspections (New York Times)
• China could lift life expectancy by nearly three years if it meets WHO smog standards: study (Reuters)

• There's a simple reason why your new smart TV was so affordable: It's collecting and selling your data (Business Insider)
• Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds (New York Times)
• Broadcasting from Deep Space, a Mysterious Series of Radio Signals (New York Times) 
• Shifting north magnetic pole forces unprecedented navigation fix (Reuters)
• China’s Moon Plants That Sprouted Are Already Dead (Newsweek)

Source:  Cal Coast Credit Union

January 16, 2019 (San Diego) - California Coast Credit Union, the longest-serving financial institution in San Diego County, announced today that it will offer special relief programs to Cal Coast members who are federal employees impacted by the current government shutdown. Impacted federal employees who are not yet members of Cal Coast may also be eligible for assistance.

East County News Service

January 16, 2019 (El Cajon) -- The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Citizen of the Year luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 12-2:30 p.m. at the El LCajon Elks Lodge (1400 E. Washington Ave., El Cajon).

Cost per person is $20.  For more information, please contact the Chamber office at (619) 440-6161.

East County News Service

January 16, 2019 (El Cajon) — The public is invited to join El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, January 30^th at 6 p.m. at El Cajon Valley High School Theater, 1035 East Madison Avenue in El Cajon.

East County News Service

January 16, 2019 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Keeping Your Brain Fit,” an informational program about how to improve your brain health with brain exercises and lifestyle changes, from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served. Advance RSVP is not necessary. Handouts will be available.