By Miriam Raftery, East County News Service

May 16, 2016 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – A Honda Civic belonging to a missing Buena Park man, Jonathan Barmaki, has been found by Border Patrol agents on Old Highway 80 near a welcome sign to Jacumba Hot Springs on May 9th. Agents found Barmaki's cherished 15-year-old dog, Andy,  dead inside the vehicle.

The vehicle was not out of gas and Barmaki’s wallet and keys were missing, though his cell phone, along with dog food and a dog bowl, were left in the car. The car windows were rolled up and footsteps from the vehicle led 70 feet to a border fence 25 feet high. Authorities are investigating the disappearance as"suspicious,"10 News reports. 

By Miriam Raftery

May 2, 2016 (Boulevard) – Jacumba Solar, Tule Wind, a county presentation on groundwater monitoring, updates on lawsuits over big energy projects and discussion of Live Oak Springs water rate hikes are among the many important items on the Boulevard Planning Group’s agenda for its meeting Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the Boulevard Fire Training Room (39923 Ribbonwood Road in Boulevard). For the full agenda, click here. For highlights, scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2016 (Sacramento) – Tomorrow, April 13^th at 1 p.m.,  the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce will hear AB 2395, a measure that aims to eliminate hard-wired land line phones in California communities where cabled fiber optic connections are not available or are too expensive to install, such as rural, mountain and desert regions.  Customers would have no choice but to switch to wireless cell phone service, if the measure being pushed by AT&T is enacted.

In emergencies, 911 callers’ locations cannot easily be verified, unlike calls from land line which can be pinpointed instantly. In case of fire, medical emergency, or a serious crime in progress, prompt 911 responses are critical.  Moreover, during power outages, cell phones run out once batteries are dead and there is no way to recharge batteries in an outage, whereas old-fashioned land lines (though not cable phones) continue to work even when the electricity is off.

"In addition, some of us living near the U.S./Mexico border do not have cell service due to rugged terrain and agreements with Mexico not to have cell towers too close to the border,” says Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Community Planning Group.  So eliminating land lines would leave border residents in the most remote areas of  San Diego County with no phone service at all.

East County News Service

March 20, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – We all want to know how much rain or snow has fallen in local communities – and get accurate forecasts on future weather. Now you can help make that happen. The National Weather Service is looking for volunteers to gather information that will help them better predict the weather, particularly in mountain and desert areas where valuable data on precipitation is lacking.

March 4, 2016 (Ocotillo) – The Jacumba Hikers and Walkers will lead a Desert Wild Flowers hike this Saturday, March 5^th. Meet at 8 am at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum  (11 W. Frontage Road, Ocotillo).  The hike begins at the trailhead to   

Mountain Palm Spring off S2, then traveling to a Palm Oases and along the you may encounter wild flowers: Ocotillo, Blooming Creosote Bush, Salton Milk-Vetch, Poppies, Mariposa Lilly, Pink Phlox, Primrose, Desert Paint Brush, Verbena, Dasies and Yellow Cups just to name a few.

Hear our interview with Richard Walker, which originally aired on the East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ radio February 1st: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

By Miriam Raftery

February 27, 2016 (Borrego Springs)—Borrego Springs is running out of water. The community’s sole-source aquifer could dry out within 30 years. But while residents in the community’s water district have been asked to conserve, big agricultural users and golf resorts have virtually no mandate to cut back, since they utilize private wells.

Recently we interviewed Richard Walker, a resident of Borrego Springs who supports adjudication to have the courts resolve Borrego’s vanishing water supply.  But Walker can't afford legal action --and hopes someone in the community will step forward.

East County News Service

February 4, 2016 (Borrego Springs)--From a romance-filled Valentine's Day special dinner to an exceptionally beautiful wildflower season just around the corner, there are plenty of reasons to fall in love with La Casa del Zorro Resort in Borrego Springs this month.

East County News Service

February 2, 2016 (Jacumba) – The Sheriff and Crime Stoppers are asking the public’s help to identify suspects who stole a construction backhoe loader and tools from the front yard of a home undergoing construction in Jacumba Hot Springs back on December 14^th.  A $1,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.

By Miriam Raftery

January 28, 2016 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – Jacumba Solar LLC has cancelled its contract with the Jacumba Community Services District to purchase water for a large-scale solar project..  The project would include over 81,000 solar panels on 304 acres near the SDG&E substation.

“I I think it’s for the best,” Eric Kallen, vice chair of the Jacumba Community Services District, told East County Magazine.

The contract called for Jacumba Solar to pay a $100,000 “gift” on signing with an additional $250,000 lump sum payment due January 15^th.   The District was to provide 40 acre feet of water with an option for Jacumba Solar to purchase 28 additional acre feet if needed for construction, plus three or four acre feet a year long-term for maintenance after the project was built.  The solar projecrt was proposed by Nextera, a Florida-based company.

East County News Service

January 22, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) — Residents in San Diego’s East County have raised fears of spreading Valley Fever spores in their arguments against projects ranging from a sand mine in Lakeside to solar projects in Boulevard and Jacumba.  Now a jury in Northern California has shown just how expensive a verdict might be for a government entity or company that ignores such risks.

By Miriam Raftery

January 12, 2016 (Borrego Springs) - The 27^th annual Circle of Art Show & Sale will take place March 12^th & 13^th in beautiful Borrego Springs.  This free outdoor art show is staged at Christmas Circle, in the heart of the village.

East County News Service

January 2, 2016 (Borrego) -On Wednesday January 6^th,  San Diego Supervisors’ agenda  includes a public hearing on authorizing the County to become a groundwater sustainability agency, giving it jurisdiction over the Borrego Valley groundwater basin—the sole source of water for the Borrego region, jointly with the Borrego Water District.

The Borrego Valley area uses four times more groundwater than is replenished annually, on average.  As a result, groundwater levels have declined over 100 feet in some parts of the Borrego Valley, due to heavy water use for irrigated agriculture, residential, and commercial users including golf courses and resorts that draw tourists to the region, as well as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, according to a  U.S. Geological Survey study on the Borrego Valley groundwater basin from 1945-2010, done in cooperation with the Borrego Water District. View study  here.

East County News Service

December 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning in effect from Christmas Eve through Christmas morning in San Diego’s mountain and desert regions.  Winds of 35-40 miles per hour with gusts up to 80 mph are forecast. 

A cold front is also moving across the region, bringing rain and snow down as low as 3,000 feet.

East County News Service

November 26, 2015 (San Diego's East County)--A lingering cold air mass, light winds and mostly clear skies will bring frost and freeze conditions for portions of local valleys and deserts from Friday night through Monday morning. The National Weather Service advises bringing pets in overnight to avoid harm and covering or bringing sensitive plants indoors.

Temperatures could dip into the 20s in desert areas and down to 31 degrees in inland valleys.  Below are forecast details:

East County News Service

November 7, 2015 (Jacumba Hot Springa) – The town of Jacumba will host a community-wide yard sale on Saturday, November 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring hand-made crafts, art work, household items and other yard sale treasures.  Parking and admittance are free.

In addition, tours will be offered of the Chinese Castle, a historic icon in Jacumba. There is a $5 charge for the castle tour and proceeds benefit the Jacumba-Boulevard Revitalization Alliance, a 501c3.