November 6, 2015 (Mission Trails) –Join San Diego City Councilmember Scott Sherman, County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, and La Mesa Councilmember Kristine Alessio on Saturday, November 7th at 10:00 a.m. at the East Kwaay Paay Trailhead, just west of Bushy Hill Drive and the Kumeyaay Lake Campground, on Father Junipero Serra Trail to officially launch Mission Trails Regional Park’s new 5-Peak Challenge program.
The 5-Peak Challenge involves hiking to the summit of the five highest peaks in the park: Cowles Mountain (1,592’), Pyles Peak (1,579’), North Fortuna (1,291’), Kwaay Paay (1,194’) and South Fortuna (1,094’). Complete the challenge by hiking to the summit of all five peaks in any order and within your own timeframe. This will provide you the opportunity to discover all the less-visited areas of the park. After completing the 5-Peak Challenge, not only will you have seen San Diego from different perspectives, but you may also adopt your new favorite hiking trail along the way.
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November 6, 2015 (Anza-Borrego) – Discover the Old West of Western novelist/artist Marshal South with historian and travel writer Diana Lindsay along the Butterfield Overland Stage Route on Saturday, November 21st. This one-of-a-kind journey aboard a California Overland Adventures vehicle begins at 9 a.m. at the Carrizo station and ends with an optional hike to the relics of South’s homestead atop Ghost Mountain.
South promoted Anza-Borrego’s history in the 1930s and ‘40s , as well as Native American culture and desert lore through his cliffhanger western novels reminiscent of Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. On this excursion back in time, you’ll travel the old stage route and explore the places that inspired South and still echo with the past.
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November 6, 2015 (San Diego)--Veterans, Active Duty and Reserve Military Personnel have free access to state parks on Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11.
In San Diego, state parks offering free admission include Border Field State Park, Cardiff State Beach, Carlsbad State Beach, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Palomar Mountain State Park, San Elijo State Beach, San Onofre State Beach, Silver Strand State Beach, South Carlsbad State Beach, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and Torrey Pines State Beach.
Participating state parks include 134 parks that are accessible with the “California Explorer” Annual Pass, plus the California State Railroad Museum and eight State Vehicular Recreation Areas. Veterans, active duty and reserve military personnel must show a valid military ID at the park in order to receive free admission.
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November 5, 2015 (El Cajon)--About 30 military veterans, now students at Cuyamaca College, enjoyed a barbecue and received school supplies at a Veterans Week commemoration hosted on campus Wednesday by the El Cajon Elks Lodge. The event, which also included a raffle for prizes including T-shirts, gift certificates from merchants and a pair of tickets to a Chargers’ football game, marked the second year that Elks Lodge 1812 joined the college in honoring student veterans.
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Robert Gehr captured an image of this double rainbow arcing over the El Cajon Police Station.
Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops, and are the colors appear as mirror images. In Chinese mythology, a double rainbow, due to its reversal of colors, represents the movement from earth to heaven and is considered to be a sign of future success.
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November 6, 2015 (Washington D.C.) -- Today, President Barack Obama announced that after six years of review, the U.S. State Department has decided that the Keystone XL Pipeline “would not serve the national interest of the United States. I agree with that decision,” the President said.
Obama indicated that the pipeline would be “neither a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others.” He then laid out key reasons why his administration has rejected the pipeline.
First, he indicated, “The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy…What we should be doing is passing a bipartisan infrastructure plan that, in the short term, would create more than 30 times as many jobs per year as the pipeline would, and in the long run, would benefit our economy and our workers for decades to come.”
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November 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine has twice named Donna Tisdale our “Newsmaker of the Year” for her tireless efforts to battle massive energy projects and stand up for rural residents. She also received the People’s Mic Award from KNSJ Radio for her advocacy as a backcountry warrior.
But now the warrior is under attack by a series of articles (1) (2)(3) published by Voice of San Diego. The articles criticize Tisdale and her nonprofit, Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD) for suits filed in Imperial County over desert solar projects. In essence, the series faults cash settlements paid to farmers and claims eight suits yielded no environmental benefits.
But now Tisdale is firing back in a detailed response that contends VOSD’s stories contain false statements in a “misinformation campaign” she likens to Big Tobacco and Big Oil’s efforts to mislead the public. “It is no coincidence that San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E’s) Mitch Mitchell is on the VOSD Board of Directors,” she observes, noting that BAD has challenged numerous SDG&E projects. She denies personal financial gain alleged by VOSD (which presented zero evidence of such). While the VOSD article addresses issues in 8 lawsuits not in San Diego County, BAD has filed three times that many (24), many of which did result in big wins for the environment in our region-- or developers backing off projects completely, facts that VOSD failed to report.
Below is Tisdale’s rebuttal in full:
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November 3, 2015 (San Diego) - The Chargers' injury woes continue as Keenan Allen is bitten by the injury bug.
Allen will miss the rest of the season with a lacerated kidney. He suffered the injury on Sunday against Baltimore, taking him out of the game. Twelve Chargers were injured and taken out of that game.
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Next events: The town library – Nov. 18, holiday mixer Dec. 3
By Miriam Raftery
November 5, 2015 (La Mesa) – A packed crowd turned out at Johnny B’s restaurant in La Mesa last month for a mixer hosted by La Mesa Conversations.
Mayor Mark Arapostathis spoke on Oktoberfest, which this year was scaled back to two days with fewer vendors but more emphasis on the festival’s German roots. This Oktoberfest was run by the La Mesa Village Merchants Association, without the Chamber of Commerce. The Mayor addressed how Oktoberfest has changed through the years, reminiscing about past festivals and how the changes have impacted the community and local merchants.
A representantative from the merchants' group also have a preview of upcoming events including Christmas in the Village, a grand reopening of the downtown streets and the centennial legacy project unveiling.
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November 5, 2015 (Alpine) - The next Alpine Woman’s Club monthly meeting will be held on November 17, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. The Club is open to all East County Women. Its mission is two-fold: to provide opportunities for Alpine women to meet and socialize and to maintain its clubhouse which is the Historic Alpine Town Hall at 2156 Alpine Blvd.
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For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org
This column is also published in the http://EastCountyMagazine.org. If you are from East County, I highly recommend that you check out the ECM for articles and the latest in what is happening in the East County.
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November 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- One of a bird’s most necessary tools is their beak. A bird’s beak, or bill, is what hands are to us humans. Birds use their beaks for many different reasons. The most logical and useful need for their bill is for gathering or eating food. However, there are so many different uses between the different species of birds. Some uses we may be familiar with are nest building, feeding their young and grooming. Another use that is so important in the bird world but of which we may just take for granted is communicating. Just as we use our mouths, birds use their beaks to communicate. While some species of parrots can mimic human voices, most birds communicate using different noises and gestures such as chirping, clicking, and singing. Beaks are also used for climbing as well as being used as a weapon.
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November 5, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—Shots fired from a dark SUV that pulled alongside a Lexus traveling east on I-8 at Los Coches Road in unincorporated El Cajon at 12:57 a.m., injuring the driver and passenger.
The driver of the Lexus, a 43-year-old woman from Alpine, and her passenger, a 31-year-old man, were transported by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
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November 3, 2015 (San Diego)—It’s official: San Diego Congressman Darrell Issa is the richest man in Congress—worth over a quarter of a billion dollars ($254.7 million), according to data from Roll Call published by the Los Angeles Times.
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November 3, 2015 (Dulzura) – Justin Dorson, a 26-year-old father of two, died Sunday morning after a motorcycle accident on State Route 94 near Dulzura.
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November 3, 2015 (Lakeside)- Nearly $5,000 was raised at an October 23rd benefit event to help fund search efforts to find Elijah ‘Bear’ Diaz, who has been missing since August 29th. The event, which drew 218 guests, was held at the Loretta Quitae LaChappa Clubhouse near Barona Resort and Casino in Lakeside. The funds will help the family hire a private investigator.
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November 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - This is East County Magazine with a public service announcement from the County of San Diego.
The County’s Department of Environmental Health is warning that this week’s rainfall has brought urban runoff to beaches countywide.
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November 4, 2015 (La Mesa) – Connect La Mesa invites you to bring you family and friends to a fun and interactive Block Party on Saturday, November 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Farmer’s Market parking lot on Allison Avenue.
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November 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - A draft list of demands from Republican candidates to media seeking to limit tough debate questions and other debate criteria has met with ridicule from late-night comics and the media. Now some campaigns are backing off the demands, with several candidates refusing to sign a letter with demands slated to be sent to media outlets. If media refused to comply, the GOP slate threatened to yank debates or move them to a conservative forum.
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November 4, 2015 (Alpine)—Superior Court Joel Pressman today announced he will vacate his dismissal of a case filed by the Alpine Union School District and Alpine Taxpayers for Bond Accountability and set a status conference with counsel November 6th.
The move comes on the heels of an appellate court ruling yesterday which found the Grossmont Union High School District violated its promise to build an Alpine High School and affirmed Pressman’s earlier order for the Grossmont district to set aside $42 million bond money sufficient to build the school, pending full adjudication of the claim’s merits at trial, as ECM reported.
Judge Pressman issued the following statement today, though his court reporter:
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Listen to Destination East County, also aired on KNSJ, by clicking the audio link.
East County News Service
November 5, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes guitar concerts, a Plantstravaganza, the Toast of East County featuring local wineries, the Ramona Art and Wine Festival, and a Punkin Chunkin contest!
Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including a harmonica concert, Wrangler at Red Mountain Ranch dinner theatre, a storytelling celebration, and the Mother Goose Parade. Scroll down for details on these events and many more.
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November 3, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon has had 13 pedestrian fatalities in the past 20 months. In the prior 36 months, there were 10 fatalities. So in half the time, there have been double the number of pedestrian deaths.
“That concerns us a great deal,” Police Chief Jim Redman told community members at a public safety forum held last month at the Ronald Reagan Community Center, where the department reached out to share safety tips, hear community suggestions, and advise about a new enforcement campaign aimed at saving lives. A “Check before you step” campaign aims to educate the public on how to prevent pedestrian injuries and deaths.
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November 3, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
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November 3, 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:
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
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Updated November 4, 2015 with reactions and Judge Pressman's final ruling.
November 3, 2015 (Alpine) –California’s 4th district court of Appeal has handed down a ruling in favor of the Alpine Union School District and Alpine Taxpayers for Responsibility against the Grossmont Union High School District– a ruling in apparent conflict with Superior Court Joel Pressman’s most recent action.
The ruling comes just hours after Pressman announced a decision to throw out the lawsuit entirely (dismissing it with prejudice) – reversing his earlier decision to set a December trial date and upholding his tentative ruling from last week. In so doing, he contradicted his own earlier findings and instead, determined that Propositions H and U did not obligate the GUHSD to build a high school for Alpine.
But the appellate court found just the opposite.The appellate court found the district violated its promise to build the Alpine High School and affirmed Pressman’s earlier order for the GUHSD to set aside bond moneys sufficient to build the school, pending full adjudication of the claim’s merits at trial.--a trial that may never occur, based on Pressman's latest action.
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November 1, 2015 (La Mesa) - The La Mesa Chamber is beginning to gather items for the 22 seniors that the Chamber adopts each year during the holidays. It is the goal of the Chamber to collect, purchase and assemble items and place them in large gift baskets. These gift baskets are delivered along with a hot turkey dinner, with all of the trimmings to the selected seniors by the La Mesa Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol.
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November 1, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - There are two different perspectives in the case of Ben Fields: one applauding his heroic efforts or two, condemning his deeds of violence.
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November 4, 2015 - "In God We Trust" is printed on every piece of paper money that the U.S. Mint produces. But fewer Americans may be trusting God than in the past, according a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center.
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A Word from Dan McAllister, San Diego County Treasurer/Tax Collector
November 2, 2015 (San Diego)--The season of giving has begun! Annual secured property tax bills from our office were sent out in September. So by now, all of you who are property owners should have received your annual secured bill. This year, 2,269 additional bills were sent out – bringing the total to 986,858. These secured bills will generate more than $5 billion for county operations to help our schools, our community colleges, our libraries, and so much more in our community.
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November 1, 2015 (Lakeside) --San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation are asking for the public's assistance to help identify and locate a man and a woman wanted in connection with a car burglary and the use of stolen credit cards at several businesses in the East County. The suspects may be driving a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo or similar style car.
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View pedestrian safety video from El Cajon Police: 
November 3, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
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