November 23, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• Nearly 300 Syrian refugees expected in San Diego next year (NBC)
• Study finds more Mexicans leaving the U.S. than coming (KPBS)
• SDG&E Takes Legal Step To Lobby On 'Community Choice’ (KPBS)
• Middle-Easterners from the south: Border Patrol confirms apprehension of Pakistanis and Afghans in October (San Diego Reader)
• San Diego’s small wineries could die on the vine (San Diego Union-Tribune commentary)
• The month it rained, rained, and rained in San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• College trustees vote for union-friendly pact (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Desal plant launches amid ample water (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• ‘The most amazing dad’ – Walter McCoy (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum)
• San Ysidro to protect homeless students (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Jerry Brown asks White House for more information on Syrian refugees (SacBee)
• Accept Syrian refugees? State politicians chart a moderate course (Los Angeles Times)
• AM Alert: Deadly fire brings more scrutiny to California utilities (SacBee)

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

November 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - - -Our August 2015 radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in August, click here and scroll down.

Our newsmaker interviews included the new Jamul Indian tribal chair, Erica Pinto  and casino manager Richard St. Jean, Ku’uipo Lawler, owner of the new Pacific Islander Beer Company in Santee (photo, right), Mark Arabo and Aamir Moshe speaking out on Iraqis detained by ICE at Otay(photo, left), Dr. Richard O. Butcher, National Medical Asosciation’s practitioner of the year, Barona tribal council member Beth Glasco on the Barona pow-wow, "Boltman" Dan Jareqgui and NFL anti-trust lawyer James Quinn on keeping the Chargers in town, along with representatives from Diego Valley Charter school, Hawley Vets Center, and Visionary Dance Theatre.

The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM.  The shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

By Miriam Raftery

November 20, 2015 (El Cajon ) – Santa Claus joined with East County Chamber of Commerce leaders, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells and Parkway Plaza officials at the mall for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch the “Shop East County” program.

“We’re excited today to celebrate the idea of Shop East County,” said Eric Lund, Chamber president.  The average person spends $805 each sopping season on gifts, decorations and food, according to the National Retail Association – money that when spent locally creates sales tax revenues that can be used to fund police, firefighting and other things that benefit the people of East County.

County News Service

November 21, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Do you really want to go shopping on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving? What with the congested parking mall lots, the crowds and the lines; you might want to consider Green Friday instead.

County Parks and Recreation has declared Friday, Nov. 27 Green Friday to prompt families to spend more quality time together by discovering the “Upside of Outside.”

County Parks has 124 parks and preserves spread throughout the County with locations ranging from the beach to the valleys, the mountains to the desert. Altogether you’ll find more than 350 miles of trails, scenic vistas, numerous playgrounds, picnic tables galore, fountains, historic sites, lakes, creeks, ponds and more.

By Robert Gehr © 2015

November 21, 2015 (El Cajon )—El Cajon’s first-ever Holiday Lights on Main celebration will be held November 28^th from 12 noon to 7 p.m.  Festivities take place at Prescott Promenade Park and in downtown El Cajon.

This special event features a Santa’s village complete with Santa Claus and an elf making an appearance just in time for Christmas! There will also be an ice skating rink, craft and food vendors, a train ride, community acts, plus live music featuring Danielle Tucker from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

A special Christmas tree lighting at 6:00 p.m. in front of Starbucks and Urbn St. Brewing Co. at Main St. and Magnolia Ave. will coincide with all the lights throughout downtown and Prescott Promenade Park being turned on to brighten the holidays for everyone.

East County News Service

November 21, 2015 (San Diego)—San Diego State University police are seeking a man who reportedly pushed a woman and pulled her scarf, making racist and menacing statements.

By Jake Christie

November 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Over the weekend of November 15^th, the Haggen supermarket at 3681 Avocado Boulevard finally ran out of food and other salable items and closed for good. The store, located in the Rancho San Diego Village strip mall, was originally a Vons before Haggen bought the chain out in Southern California and then subsequently declared bankruptcy. Over the month of October the store slowly began winding down operations by not taking in new stock, selling off the food and sundries, and gradually barricading the empty aisles off as the food ran out.

Thanks to a grant from Wells Fargo, Grid Alternatives announced it is expanding the troops to solar initiative

Originally Published on PVSolar Report

By Amy Forman

November 20, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - GRID Alternatives announced the expansion of their services to veterans with the Troops to Solar initiative.

Artist’s works will be auctioned to benefit East County Magazine and Grossmont Hospital Foundation

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2015 (San Diego) – The paintings of Countess Jadwiga “Inka” Zamoyska of Zamość are stunning depictions of nature and portraits  with a masterful application of light and shadows to create mystery, dramatic effects and beauty.  Her works evoke the style of Rembrandt, the 17^th century Old Master famed for his illuminating imagery.   

That similarity is no accident. Like Rembrandt, Countess Zamoyska comes from a European family and has endured her share of life challenges, finding therapy in her first love, art. “My passion to paint is fueled by the ever-changing beauty that, if we let it, confronts us at every turn,” she states. “When I see it, I crave to raise it to canvas.”

Astonishingly, her current portfolio of exquisite portraits, still life, landscapes, seascapes and snow scenes have all been created in the past few years—and next up, this remarkably talented artist has agreed to create a painting of East County wilderness which will be auctioned on November 20th with proceeds benefitting both Grossmont Hospital Foundation and launch of a new special section on East County Magazine covering animal rescue groups and wildlife/animal news in our region. She will also paint a custom animal painting to be auctioned at a December 5^th party for the animals, also benefitting our new “Animal Action” section..

Update Nov. 20, 2015:  Here is how San Diego's Congressional members voted:  Representatives Duncan Hunter, Scott Peters and Darrell Issa voted for banning refugees from Iraq and Syria, while Representatives Juan Vargas and Susan Davis voted against the broad-based ban.

East County News Service

Photo: Iraqi Christians in El Cajon at a 2014 rally pleaded for help to save persecuted Christians in Iraq

November 19,2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The House of Representatives has passed a bill to suspend admission of refugees from both Syria and Iraq into the U.S., until national security agencies certify that they pose no security risk.

The measure passed by 289 to 137, a wide enough majority to override President Barack Obama’s threatened veto, with 47 Democrats joining Republicans to push the bill through.  But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to block the bill in the Senate.

East County News Service

Lions, Tigers and Bears invites you to a Christmas Festival on  Saturday, December 5^th from 1 to 4 p.m.  You can watch the animals open their Christmas presents –and get holiday shopping all in one day at the exotic animal rescue facility east of Alpine.

There will be also be many local vendors, food, entertainment and a special appearance by the man in red--Santa Claus.

November 18, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Antibiotic resistance: world on cusp of post-antibiotic era (BBC)
• Possible Alzheimer’s drug cut  mice aging symptoms (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• More Babies Are Dying Because Of Congenital Syphilis (NPR)
• Smart dressing 'cuts antibiotic use' (BBC)
• U.S. firefighter gets world's most extensive face transplant  (Reuters)
• US obesity rates 'rising again' (BBC)
• Justice Department Announces Criminal Charges Against Dietary Supplement Firms (NPR)
• Doctors vote to stop drugs ads to consumers (APM Marketplace)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Mexico hopes to see 3-4 times more monarch butterflies (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Dubai outfits firefighters with jetpacks: How firefighting has changed (CS Monitor)
• Microgrids light up the night in Kenya villages (CS Monitor)
• New 'About Me' pages show exactly what Google knows about you (CS Monitor)
• Governments around the world demand more user data from Facebook (CS Monitor)
• Congress says it's time to start mining the solar system (CS Monitor)

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