By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

April 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--We’ve all encountered them at one time or another, and never a pleasant experience “snakes!” (and I’m not referring to some of those ‘special’ people in your life).  “Though snake season usually doesn’t start until mid-March and really picks up steam between April and May, there have been an alarmingly high increase in snake sightings says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.”

“Articles Concerning Trusts, Wills, Probate, Family Law & more”

By: Stephen C. Ross, Esq.

March 9, 2015 (San Diego County) – The California Probate Code invalidates gifts to certain categories of people unless one of the exceptions applies. The Code mentions categories of people, considered “disqualified persons,” who are presumed to be disqualified from receiving donative transfers (written gifts).

April 1, 2015, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes egg-stravaganzas, an Easter bunny train and a harmonica festival.

We’ll also have a preview of coming attractions including a baroque music concert at Cuyamaca College, the Taste of Julian country culinary tour, the world famous Romeros brothers performing classical guitar music, and a Flash Jam featuring hundreds of musicians playing old-time fiddle music across the town of Julian.

By Susan A Mahalick

Photos by Robin MacKenzie

March 30, 2015 (Baja, California)--A not too hot day with lots of sunshine was the setting for a spring event in the wine valley.

By Miriam Raftery

March 25, 2015 (Sacramento)--What if every California citizen could be eligible to vote? 

California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla, wants to register citizens automatically, using Department of Motor Vehicle records and potentially info from other state agencies.

For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

Recipe: Tangerine and feta salad

By Greg Dunne

March 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Get your Tangerine on! Here’s a beauty of a Tangerine: the Golden Nugget Tangerine. If you are not familiar with these tangerines you must give them a try, you will have found a “Golden Nugget” in the produce department. This variety is not found everywhere, but plenty of locally grown Golden Nugget Tangerines from Valley Center are on sale at Barons Market in Alpine.

March 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes Tomatomania, a healthy living fair, a desert art show, and St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including the Ramona Music Festival, the HarpFest Harmonica extragavanza, and Vallecito Day bringing frontier times to life. Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.

Recipe: Orange Romaine Salad

By Greg Dunne                                       

March 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) The winter months are the peak of the season for California grown Navel Oranges.  With the cold and flu season here, it’s a good time to pick up some navel oranges loaded with vitamin C.

Picking out navel oranges is an easy task.  Look for navels that are heavy in size relative to the other navels on the stand.  Usually a thin skin will indicate a juicy orange inside.  Lighter skin or slightly blemished on the outside does not necessarily mean a bad orange.  Most conventional oranges at the supermarket go through a color wash to make them a more vibrant orange.  Try to find organic oranges whenever possible.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

March 2, 2015 (San Diego)--It’s nice to finally write about rain! We have a few more storms in the forecast and we certainly need it. We all like singing in the rain but driving in it? It’s rather stressful even when it’s not raining says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.  Most people just don’t pay attention or exercise common sense much anymore. We have far too many distractions at our disposal. There are around 707,000 automobile crashes each year due to rain, resulting in approximately 3,300 deaths and 330,200 injuries.

New report finds over 500 important stories went unreported in last five years because of a squeeze on investigative reporters, and that freelance investigative journalists are an endangered species. 

Source: Project Word. The report can be downloaded here.

February 28, 2015 (San Diego's East County)--The report, which was conducted by Project Word, under the auspices of Investigative Reporters and Editors, shares the results of a 2014 survey that collected feedback from over 200 freelance investigative journalists. Based in 36 states and 26 countries the respondents represented all ages, media beats, and experience levels.

February 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes rock climbing, live jazz and R&B concerts here in East County.  Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including St. Patrick’s Day festivities, the Ramona Music Fest a Shakespearean play with a contemporary twist, and Vallecito Day--celebrating our frontier heritage. Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.

By Sam DiGiovanna

February 16, 2015 (San Diego)--If your husband has chest pain you’d call 911. However, many women may not recognize signs of heart attacks themselves. Did you know that heart attack symptoms in women can be quite different from men's. Heart disease is often thought about as a man’s disease, but recent studies show that heart disease is actually the number one killer of women in America.  Yet acting quickly is vitally important.

“Articles Concerning Trusts, Wills, Probate, Family Law & more”

By: Stephen C. Ross, Esq.

February 13, 2015 (San Diego County) – The federal estate tax exemption for 2015 is increased to $5,430,000.00 per person from $5,340,000.00 per person in 2014. A husband and wife each have an exemption. Therefore, a couple can pass on up to $10,860,000.00 without paying estate tax. This assumes they have not made prior lifetime gifts. This is important to people with a large estate as they can pass on $90,000.00 more tax free this year than in 2014. The top federal estate tax rate is 40% and is applied to amounts exceeding the exemption amount.