By Nadin Abbott, Reporting San Diego

Reporting San Diego sat down on August 22 in Santee with Ben Kalasho, a leader in the Chaldean community, to discuss genocide in Iraq. Excerpts below are reprinted with permission.

Aug. 24, 2014 (Santee)--“All those people who you see on the mountain side on Sinjar, sleeping on what seems to be the front of churches, those people were homeowners, they owned vehicles, they had jobs or owned businesses and are now homeless,” said Ben Kalasho, a leader in the Chaldean community and President of the East County Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce.

According to Kalasho,600,000 people are internally displaced in Iraq. This is an almost incomprehensible number, but we cannot turn away from it.

Our leaders, starting with the President, have mentioned the Yazidis, who are an ancient people that precede Islam and Christianity in Iraq. But the plight of other minorities, including Christian Chaldeans, Siriacs and others has not drawn the same level of national media attention.

August 23, 2014 (Ocotillo)--Photographer Jim Pelley’s home is now surrounded on three sides by the Ocotillo wind facility built on public lands, despite promises when he purchased his home that the views would be protected forever.  He sent in these images to vent his frustration over the despoiled views of nature that drew him to this desert community.

At least 87 injured; wineries and historic district hit hard in Napa

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2014 (Napa Valley) – Governor Brown has declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and  Solano counties after a 6.0 earthquake hit just south of Napa in Northern California at 3:20 a.m., causing major damage in California’s famed winemaking region and other communities.

At least 87 people have been hospitalized, including a young girl critically injured in a fireplace collapse, CNN reports. 

By Sharon Ann Hamilton

August 23, 2014 (San Diego)--Dear Retirement Concierge,

My 16-year-old just took his solo voyage as a driver. Since I saw him learning to drive I am nervous at best when he is out there alone without a parent to guide him. At the same time my parents-in-law AND my parents are creeping into their late eighties and I notice a few dents in their cars; they all drive! That brings the tally to five people now on the road with questionable driving skills. I think I’ll be using public transportation for the next few years! What practical ideas do you have for these situations?

Signed: Scared Spitless On the Roads

August 23, 2014 (Alpine) – The Back Country Land Trust will  hold its third annual Wine and Cheese Friend-Raiser on Saturday, September 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Wright’s Field in Alpine.

Organization to host "Catoberfest" benefit on Sept. 27



By David L. Coddon



August 22, 2014 (San Diego's East County)--A cat is man’s and woman’s best friend at an adoption center in El Cajon, that for half a century has been finding homes for needy felines.

Pins pop up to show solidarity with people displaced by ISIS

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – After finding that the Islamic extremist group ISIS had an Instagram page for recruiting potential terrorists and next finding an ISIS Facebook page boasting of atrocities, Ben Kalasho of El Cajon set out to shut down ISIS online.

By Miriam Raftery

August  22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Surveillance video of two Metropolitan Transit Service (MTS) security officers brutally beating a passenger in La Mesa has prompted suspension of the officers and a police investigation, as ECM reported.  But now an ECM investigation reveals that it may be only the tip of an iceberg.

A Facebook page titled “Stop MTS Harassment and Brutality!” with the logo shown at left was launched back on March 3, 2014 by Bertha Guttierez of Chula Vista.  Posts and links at the site reveal at least three additional excessive use of force cases involving MTS security officers, two of them also involving victims who alleged racial profiling , racial slurs and taunts by the officers.

View video of beating (warning, disturbing content):  http://www.10news.com/news/investigations/video-security-officers-beat-man-on-trolley

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2014 (La Mesa) – Two security officers for Metropolitan Transit System have been suspended after security video revealed the officers knocking a man across the aisle and then beating him for nearly seven minutes, 10 News reports.  10 News obtained the video through a public records request after receiving a complaint from Lynn Riggs, a passenger who witnessed the beating aboard the trolley in La Mesa on August 18. 

“He was not trying to get away, he was just trying to avoid getting further injured,” she said.  “I just watched them beat him and beat him and beat him with the baton.”  At one point, officers paused, then began violently beating the man again, seemingly without provocation.  The witness called the behavior “out of control.”

East County News Service

August 22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat whose district includes large portions of East County, was arrested at 3:30 a.m. in Sacramento for driving under the influence.

The California Highway Patrol said Hueso was driving the wrong way on 15^th Street in his Ford Excursion when he was stopped, Fox40 TV reported.  He faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more.

East County News

August 21, 2014 (San Diego)—Gunn Yang, a sophomore at San Diego State University, became the second Aztec ever to win the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in Georgia. Only Gene Littler back in 1953 has matched the feat, Go Aztecs reports.

Yang joins an elite list of professional golfers whose names are engraved on the Havemeyer Cup, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, and Tiger Woods.

August 21, 2014 (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/REGIONAL

• Inside the asylum process that could bring more Iraqis to San Diego County (Voice of San Diego)
• No charges pending in deadly boat crash (Channel 8)
• With Operation Secure San Diego, SDPD Is Doing More Watching and Less Talking  (Voice of San Diego)
• Facebook page launched to oppose Park Station in La Mesa (Facebook)

STATE

• Your silence may be admission of guilt (UT San Diego)
• Brown Sends $7.5 Billion Water Plan To Ballot (KPBS)
• CalPERS set to allow 100 types of income to count toward pensions (Reuters)
• Edison penalized $24.5 million over 2011 windstorm (Sacramento Bee)
  
   

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

Update 2:45 p.m.: Viejas Grade in Alpine is closed at Willows due to an ATV accident with injuries.

Photo by Brett Staubaum: Smoke from Borrego tree farm fire and thunderheads overhead

August 21, 2014 (San Diego's East County)--The National Weather Service has issued two separate flash flood alerts due to thunderstorms in the East County.  This is the second day in a row of stormy weather; yesterday over 200 lightning strikes occurred countywide, including 95 on land and 129 over coastal waters.

The first storm cell today was reported about 23 miles south of Borrrego Springs, and the cell is nearly stations. It is producing flooding on sections of the S-1, (Sunrise Highway), as well as Pine Valley. Some of these areas were burned during the Chariot Fire, so there is a danger of mudslides as well. 

There is a second cell that is affecting I-8 and it is slowly moving towards the Mexican border. Both alerts are to remain in place until three this afternoon.

In addition, CHP reports a lightning fire in Borrego at the Borrego tree farm; a road closure in the area has been lifted now.

201 East Main St. - El Cajon, California, www.ci.el-cajon.ca.us

Article & photographs by: Robert Gehr - Copyright Ó 2014 by Robert Gehr

August 21, 2014 (El Cajon)--Renovated from the ground up, this wonderful park is located in downtown El Cajon at Main St. & Sulzfeld and features plenty of seating - from benches to grassy areas - for a break from the hustle of life. Shade trees, such as the blue flowering Jacaranda, give relief from the hot sun while street noise fades into the background. Sit quietly long enough, and you may see a variety of birds, including ducks from the waterscape across the street, ravens, hummingbirds and an occasional hawk.

August 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—A 20-acre wildland fire on the border caused by target shooting last weekend has prompted CAL-Fire to issue a stern warning: shooting on state lands during these extreme drought conditions is prohibited—and if you start a fire, you can be held liable for firefighting costs.