By Miriam Raftery

 “This is a recipe for disaster, potentially putting us in harm’s way AND increasing our already high fire insurance policies…This is a project that could generate dangerous chemical fires that when spread, could cause property damage as well as loss of life.”—Danielle Cook , member, Jacumba-Boulevard Revitalization Committee

June 13, 2015 (Jacumba Hot Springs)—A proposed industrial-scale solar facility near Jacumba is sparking heated controversy, with some residents raising concerns over fire danger and impacts on  local water supplies, wildlife, traffic and public safety.

NextEra Energy, a division of Florida Power and Light, wants to cover 108 acres of a 304 acre site in the Jacumba area with 81,109 solar photovoltaic modules on 2,253 tilting rack panels—along with a collector substation, transmission lines, and lithium battery energy story systems in containers the size of cargo cars.  Ultimately, the project would produce up to 20 megawatts of power, according to a draft environmental impact report prepared by the consulting firm DUDEK.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture

June 12, 2015 (Sacramento) – Ever since California established its water rights system back in 1914, senior water rights holders with claims before 1914 have been able to freely use as much water as they could pump.  But for the first time ever, the State Water Resources Control Board has ordered curtailment of water use by 114 of the state’s oldest water rights holders, including farmers, rural and urban water districts in the Sacramento delta as well as the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds.

By Robert Gehr

Photo: U.S. Health & Human Services

June 13, 2015 (El Cajon)  In response to your article, Smoking hot debate: El Cajon Council votes to support raising age for tobacco use, I ask: 

• Why are tobacco companies seemingly allowed by our government to produce a highly adulterated, toxic product which is very addictive that can maim and kill people?

• Why do they contribute heavily to political campaigns?

• Why are they allowed to be in business at all?
  

The water use numbers are in - and they are not pretty, or healthy for East County.

"I will support this in honor of my sister, and my mother and my father-in-law," -- Councilman Bob McClellan (photo, left), who lost all three family members to smoking-related illnesess.

"The American Revolution was about individual liberty...doesn't freedom to make a decision include freedom to make a poor one?" --Eric Anderson (photo, right), Rock Church and Caucus Chair for the San Diego Republican Party Executive Committee

By Juwan Armstrong and Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council voted 3-1 on Wednesday to send a letter asking Assemblyman Brian Jones and Governor Jerry Brown to support Senate Bill 151, which would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Jones has taken over $25,000 in campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.  East County’s State Senator, Joel Anderson, took nearly $40,000 and voted against the bill when it passed the Senate.

Area rep also sought to help place foreign exchange students

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our radio  interview  on KNSJ with Karen Toledo  from the ISE (Click audio link, top left)

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Families are wanted to host international exchange students in East County and across our region, says Karen Toledo, assistant manager for the International Student Exchange (ISE) locally.  An area rep is also sought to help place the many students eager for local homes for the next semester—and those who place 7 students or more will be rewarded with a trip to Ireland.

Toledo, a Lemon Grove resident knows first-hand the joys of the program, having hosted over 100 foreign exchange students at her own home.  She’s also traveled the world – visiting students she formerly hosted to experience their cultures, too. 

“It’s an amazing experience…I’m a single mom and I was hosting two at a time…I’ve traveled to many of their homes and stayed with them,” says Toledo, who cites Spain and Brazil as recent places she has visited. “They treat you so well when you come, because they are so thankful that you treated their kids so well and they had an amazing year.”

East County News Service

June 12, 2015 (Borrego Springs)--Dazzling sights can be viewed each night in the clear dark skies over Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert―including colorful stars, stellar clusters, planets, star-forming nebulae, Earth-orbiting satellites, distant galaxies and more. 

Famed astronomer and night sky photographer Dennis Mammana invites you to treat yourself or your family to an inspiring and personalized tour of the cosmos above Borrego Springs—California’s first and only International Dark Sky community – with the power of a large telescope and one of America’s favorite celestial tour guides. The summer 2015 night sky tour schedule is now available at http://www.borregonightskytours.com/.

By Miriam Raftery

June 11, 2015 (Alpine) – Alpine residents seeking to force the Grossmont Union High School District to turn over $70 million in bond funds and land acquired for construction of an Alpine High School will finally have their day in court.  Judge Joel Pressman ruled against Grossmont on Friday, refusing to dismiss the case and requiring that the money be set aside pending outcome of the trial.

The proceeding will be an administrative trial before Judge Pressman set for December 4^th with the Alpine Union School District and the Alpine Taxpayers for Bond Accountability squaring off against the GUHSD. A 3-judge appellate court panel previously denied Grossmont’s request for a stay to stop the proceedings, a move affirmed Friday by Pressman. The County Grand Jury also found that the district did not live up to its obligation to Alpine taxpayers and recommended that the district build the high school or turn over the money to the Alpine Union High School District to build the school.  The district's board majority defied the Grand Jury and did neither.

The plaintiffs contend that Grossmont misallocated millions of dollars from Propositions U and H,  spending much of the $700 million measures approved by voters for projects not listed in the bond while refusing to build the Alpine High School that was a priority project in the bond measures.

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Baby from ovary frozen in childhood (BBC)
• Wet wipes 'spread superbugs' (BBC)
• Abortions declining in nearly all states, survey finds (Fox)
• Amazon, Google race to get your DNA into the cloud (Reuters)
• 'Lab on a card' can spot poor quality drugs (BBC)
• Viral Superspreader? How One Man Triggered A Deadly MERS Outbreak (NPR)
• This blood test can tell you every virus you’ve ever had (Washington Post)
• Lung cancer therapy is 'milestone' (BBC)
• In Virtual Reality, San Diego Scientist Sees Tool To Help The Visually Impaired (KPBS)
• Sleeping cancer cells can 'wake up' (BBC)
• Who's Addicted To What? The First Worldwide Guide (NPR)
• With new US law, more funding to protect women who have children after rape
• Study finds new path to HIV vaccines (U-T)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Could this new technology put a stop to drunk driving? (CS Monitor)
• Online Health Searches Aren't Always Confidential (NPR)
•  Solar Sail Unfurls In Space
• VIDEO: The drone that can climb walls
• EPA Finds No Widespread Drinking Water Pollution From Fracking (NPR)
• PayPal users face robot cold calls (BBC)
• How Google seeks to 'take the mystery out of privacy'
• Facebook introduces new encryption features (APM Marketplace)
• The Promises and Perils of Synthetic Biology (Newsweek)

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

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes an Olympic Day, dancing, live music, film showings,  fishing, classic cruising and more. Plus we’ll also have a preview of coming attractions including Boars and Brew, Blues & Jazz, a vintage train ride, a Father’s Day brunch with Cowboy Jack, and a desert sky photo shoot starring the Milky Way.  So stay tuned for all of these events and much, much more!

June 10 ,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

• Bottled water sources flow amid drought (U-T)
• Lemon Grove council gets pay hike (Lemon Grove)
• What Will San Onofre's New Emergency Plan Look Like? (KPBS)
• Grantville upzone approved (U-T)
• City of Poway on list of safest in state (U-T)
• Stunning images of the shrinking Salton Sea (NBC Los Angeles)
• Third claim filed against Dave Roberts (UT San Diego)

STATE

• Bill Would Let California Pregnant Women Buy Health Insurance (KPBS)
• Key CPUC reform gets unplugged (U-T)
• No one fired in review of CPUC (U-T)
• The Truth Behind Your State's High School Grad Rate (NPR)

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

June 17, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Air Show San Diego will take to the skies over Gillespie Field in San Diego June 20 and 21. This year’s “AirShow San Diego” (formerly known as “Wings Over Gillespie”) will feature a representative collection of aircraft and acts to support the commemoration of the 70^th anniversary of the end of WWII.

June 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—The San Diego County Board of Supervisors today accepted a donation of $276,000 from the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation for the purchase of  80 AVL (automatic vehicle locator) equipment for rural San Diego fire departments.

By Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – A new study by the Veterans’ Administration reveals that women veterans are killing themselves nearly six times more often than women who never served in the military.  The carnage is even higher among young veterans: women ages 18-29 have a suicide rate 12 times higher than nonveterans.

By Juwan Armstrong

June 9, 2015 (Sacramento)--The California Senate approved a bill last Tuesday that would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 as part of an effort to reduce smoking by young people.