East County News Service

December 1, 2015 (Alpine) -- San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the Alpine Sheriff's Station are asking for assistance from the public to help identify and locate a man wanted for annoying a child.  Authorities have released a sketch of the suspect.

On November 4 and November 18, 2015, a 16 year-old girl was reportedly followed by a black man driving an older model tan Toyota Camry or similar vehicle while walking near Alpine Boulevard and West Victoria Drive in Alpine.  On November 4th, the suspect drove up to the girl and asked if she needed a ride to her car. When she ran away, the suspect circled the block several times to try and find her. On November 18th, the girl told deputies she saw the man again as she was walking to school and he followed her to the bus stop.

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 22, 2015 (Jamul) –A car that ran a Border Patrol Checkpoint struck a bus on Highway 94 at Otay Lakes Road Saturday afternoon, sending four people to the hospital.

Board also votes to incur debt to fight Alpine lawsuit—and gets legal warning of CA Voting Rights Act violations

By Miriam Raftery

“You should be proud that a school like this is helping students out. Are you thinking of the students and our futures, or just yourselves and your money?”—Jackie Ramirez, 16, young mother and student at Diego Valley Charter

November 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –Wearing green shirts reading “Defend School Choice”,  over 100 parents, students and teachers turned out to protest the Grossmont Union High School District’s litigation that seeks to shut down multiple charter schools.  Speaker after speaker gave emotional testimony tonight, pleading with the GUHSD board to save their schools.

A lawsuit filed by the district seeks to shut down Diego Valley Public Charter, which serves at-risk  students including many Chaldeans and other minorities, drop-outs , pregnant students, and students who have aged out of the public high school system, as well as Julian Charter School-Alpine Academy. A hearing on the case is scheduled for June 10, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Joan M. Lewis in San Diego Superior Court.

Board to vote Nov. 19 on whether to incur $550,000 in new debt to fund continuing legal battle

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2015 (Alpine)— Superior Court Judge Joel Pressman  has set a December 17^th hearing date for a trial filed against the Grossmont Union High School District by supporters of an Alpine High School. The suit seeks to assure that a fair share of bond money approved by voters will be used to build the long-promised school.  

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Judge Pressman urged both sides to settle and even offered to help—after an appeals court ruled that Grossmont violated an obligation to voters by failing to build the Alpine high school and upheld Pressman’s decision to order funds set aside.

But far from seeking to settle, the GUHSD this week will be considering approval of $550,000 in additional legal fees to continue the battle. The GUHSD already has authorization to spend $1.8 million and had spent $1.4 million as of June on the case, board documents reveal.

By Miriam Raftery

November 11, 2015 (Alpine)—An appeal by neighbors and two additional requests for permission to file appeals to the County’s stipulated administrative enforcement order authorizing Covert Canyon to conduct firearms training for military, government and law enforcement at its Alpine property.  The requests for appeals will be heard as item 5 on the Planning Commission agenda Friday, November 13.

The formal appeal was filed on behalf of Clark F. and Robin Williams, neighbors with property adjacent to Covert Canyon.  View the Williams appeal (parts 1, 2, 3)  The requests for permission to file appeals came from Danielle Belliveau on behalf of 15 Alpine residents and from attorney Marco Gonzalez representing Cleveland National Forest Foundation, Save Our Forests and Ranchlands, and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation.

East County News Service

November 9, 2016 (Alpine) – In the latest turn-around involving a suit filed against the Grossmont Union High School District over construction of an Alpine High School, Superior Court Judge Joel Pressman has set a new hearing date for December 17^th at 9:30 a.m.

East County News Service

November 7, 2015 (Spring Valley)- The Catholic Daughters of the Americas Santa Sophia #2520 will be performing “Cafe Murder,. a dinner theatre murder mystery, by Nathan Hartswick.

The performance is at  6 p.m. on November 14 in Prendergast Hall, 9800 San Juan Street, Spring Valley. Join family and friends, enjoy dinner and solve a crime.

East County News Service

November 7, 2015 (Spring Valley) – A proposed assisted care facility on South Barcelona Street will be on the agenda at the Spring Valley Community Planning Group and Design Review Board, which meets Tuesday, November 10 at 7 p.m. in the San Miguel Consolidated Fire District headquarters at 2850 Via Orange Way, Spring Valley.

For the full agenda, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

November 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine has twice named Donna Tisdale our “Newsmaker of the Year” for her tireless efforts to battle massive energy projects and stand up for rural residents.  She also received the People’s Mic Award from KNSJ  Radio for her advocacy as a backcountry warrior.

But now the warrior is under attack by a series of articles (1) (2) (3) published by Voice of San Diego.  The articles criticize Tisdale and her nonprofit, Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD) for suits filed in Imperial County over desert solar projects. In essence, the series faults cash settlements paid to farmers and claims eight suits yielded no environmental benefits.

But now Tisdale is firing back in a detailed response that contends VOSD’s stories contain false statements  in a “misinformation campaign” she likens to Big Tobacco and Big Oil’s efforts to mislead the public.  “It is no coincidence that San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E’s) Mitch Mitchell is on the VOSD Board of Directors,” she observes, noting that BAD has challenged numerous SDG&E projects.  She denies personal financial gain alleged by VOSD (which presented zero evidence of such).  While the VOSD article addresses issues in 8 lawsuits not in San Diego County, BAD has filed three times that many (24), many of which did result in big wins for the environment in our region-- or developers backing off projects completely, facts that VOSD failed to report. 

Below is Tisdale’s rebuttal in full:

East County News Service

November 5, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—Shots fired from a dark SUV that pulled alongside a Lexus traveling east on I-8 at Los Coches Road in unincorporated El Cajon at 12:57 a.m., injuring the driver and passenger.   

The driver of the Lexus, a 43-year-old woman from Alpine, and her passenger, a 31-year-old man, were transported by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

East County News Service

November 4, 2015 (Alpine)—Superior Court Joel Pressman today announced he will vacate his dismissal of a case filed by the Alpine  Union School District and Alpine Taxpayers for Bond Accountability and set a status conference with counsel November 6th. 

The move comes on the heels of an appellate court ruling yesterday which found the Grossmont Union High School District violated its promise to build an Alpine High School and affirmed Pressman’s earlier order for the Grossmont district to set aside $42 million bond money sufficient to build the school, pending full adjudication of the claim’s merits at trial, as ECM reported.

Judge Pressman issued the following statement today, though his court reporter:

Photo: Surveillance photo of suspects

East County News Service

November 1, 2015 (Lakeside) --San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation are asking for the public's assistance to help identify and locate a man and a woman wanted in connection with a car burglary and the use of stolen credit cards at several businesses in the East County. The suspects may be driving a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo or similar style car.