CEA gains more than 23,000 policies in July

East County News Service

Photo:  Ridgecrest earthquake 

August 28, 2019 (Sacramento) — The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) gained 23,861 earthquake insurance policies in July, the second-largest monthly net increase in CEA’s 23-year history. This growth was driven by the magnitude 6.4 and 7.1 earthquakes, and a number of aftershocks, that struck on unnamed faults near the Mojave Desert town of Ridgecrest starting on the Fourth of July holiday.

East County News Service

August 27, 2019 (San Diego) -- On September 15th at 3:00 p.m., people from all over San Diego will be taking a SilentHike — a musical journey into mindfulness at Cowles Mountain. SilentHikes are a new concept from MindTravel — an immersive music and meditation experience company created by composer and concert pianist Murray Hidary (see his TedX talk here).

During the SilentHike session, MindTravelers will wear wireless headphones and embark on a hike with music, guidance and thoughtful commentary from Hidary. All the components – music, words, silence, visual cues – work synergistically to help participants connect with themselves and the world around them.

By Liz Alper

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

August 27, 2019 (San Diego) - With their first home game this Saturday, SDSU football head coach Rocky Long, senior tight end Parker Houston, and senior defensive lineman Myles Cheatum sat down with the media at this week’s press conference, along with SDSU men’s soccer head coach Lev Kirshner, redshirt senior Pablo Pelaez and redshirt senior Mac Clarke.

August 27, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• A New Alzheimer's Blood Test Proved 94% Accurate in Finding Brain Changes Related to the Disease (Time)
•  Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay Oklahoma $572 million in opioid trial (Health News) 
• What drinking from plastic water bottles does to your body (Business Insider)
• Chemical or Mineral Sunscreen? What to Know About Current Sunscreen Research (NPR)
• The U.S. is throwing away at least 3,500 donated kidneys every year, study finds (CNN)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Can we survive extreme heat? (Rolling Stone)
• Nuclear weapons and hurricanes don’t mix, NOAA advises (BBC News)
• Sharks and rays to be given new international protection (BBC News)
• Staten Island sea wall: designing for climate change (CNN)
• New plastic pollution formed by fire looks like rocks (National Geographic)

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

By Ken Stone

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

Photo:  Chabad of Poway Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein speaks at gravesite of slain Lori Gilbert Kaye. In a White House visit, he praised President Trump as a “mensch par excellence.” Photo by Chris Stone

August 26, 2019 (San Diego) - A week before the November 2018 election, 17 San Diego-area rabbis signed a letter denouncing Rep. Duncan Hunter‘s “fear mongering” attacks on the Palestinian ancestry of Christian opponent Ammar Campa-Najjar.

By Miriam Raftery

August 26, 2019 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – As fall and cooler weather approaches, the Jacumba Hikers have released a schedule of upcoming hikes from Sept. 21 through Oct. 26. The hikes range from easy to hard to destinations that include peaks in Anza Borrego, Kitchen Creek Falls, Jacumba’s fall festival, Valley of the Moon, Devil’s Canyon and Carrizo Creek. Below is the full schedule with details, and be sure to read the group’s safety tips. 

Source: City of Santee

August 26, 2019 (Santee) -- The City of Santee Parks & Recreation Committee’s annual Bluegrass Festival, a fundraiser for people, parks, and programs, is scheduled for Sept. 14 at Town Center Community Park. This year’s event marks a decade in existence for the festival.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

August 26, 2019 (San Diego) - Make Labor Day Work For You – Safely!

On the first Monday of September, many workers take the day off and enjoy time relaxing with friends and family for Labor Day. Many Americans will turn the time off into an extended weekend by hosting barbecues, going on a mini vacation or spending time outdoors, reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.

By Miriam Raftery

August 26, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – A radical proposal by the Trump administration’s U.S. Forest Service would allow logging and road building on up to 75% of our nation’s public forest lands without environmental review or public input.  

Today is the deadline for public comments, which you can submit at this link: : https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=FS-2019-0010-0001

The proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act established in 1970 would allow the agency to also ignore impacts on climate change, habitat, and recreational use of federal forests such as Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County and federal forests surrounding national parks such as near Yellowstone and Sequoia.

2 cases of measles in San Diego County are unrelated to the Anaheim exposure

Creative Commons photo by CrispyCreme via Wikimedia

By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2019 (Anaheim) – For the second time in four years, a visitor to Disneyland has exposed countless others to measles.  The patient, a girl from New Zealand, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on August 11 and visited Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park on August 12, followed by Universal Studios, the Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds wax museum August 14-15.  She and her family stayed at the Desert Palms Hotel in Anaheim.

August 25, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our radio shows from  May and June 2019 are now online.  For links to listen plus an index with full list of topics and interviews in each show, click here or click the "read more" link and scroll down for audio links below the index. (Audio files may take a few moments to load.)  Our recent interviews include Sierra Club leader Peter Anderson on risks posed by developments in fire-prone rural areas, La Mesa Councilmembers Kristine Alessio and Colin Parent on regional transportation issues, and actor Victor Contreras on BonitaFest and San Diego’s 250^th birthday celebration.

We also covered hot issues including affordable housing, the Poway synagogue shooting, a local mountain lion attack, the future of La Mesa’s farmer’s market, a vacancy on the El Cajon Council, and the corruption charges facing Congressman Duncan Hunter as well as top events.

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