September 2, 2015 (Campo) -- An oak tree with a six-foot diameter and large canopy of branches crashed down onto State Route 94 in Campo yesterday, closing eastbound lanes temporarily until crews could clear away the debris.

East County Magazine's emergency alert service sent alerts via e-mail and Twitter about the lane closures.

Reader Susan Reilly senst this photo of the downed tree.

By Marty Jorgensen

August 29, 2015 (Spring Valley)—Cali Comfort and the Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce invite you to savor the 6^th annual Tailgate and BBQ Festival on October 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Amateur barbecue enthusiasts will compete for over$1,000 in prizes at this event, which benefits youth sports in Spring Valley and includes free live entertainment for NFL fans and families, a kids’ zone and street vendors.

Decision could impact Tule Wind in San Diego’s East County

By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it extended eagle take permits from 5 years to 30 years  for wind energy developers.  The rule had allowed the incidental killing of bald and golden eagles for up to three decades with no accountability, even though killing federally protected and endangered eagles is a felony subject to criminal prosecution under other circumstances.

August 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The Corners Fire burning near Lake Morena is holding at five acres with no structure threat, Kendal Bortissier with Cal Fire told East County Magazine at 3:40 p.m. today.  Air and ground resources are fighting the fire.

Bortissier confirmed that a second fire is burning in Cleveland National Forest near Cameron station. USFS has not yet responded to our call requesting details.

By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2015 (Alpine) –Two men in a white minivan tried to lure a 10-year-old girl into the vehicle on Monday, August 24^th at noon, Sergeant L. Whalen with the Alpine Sheriff’s station reports.  The girl was playing in an apartment complex in the 2000 block of Arnold Way in Alpine when one of the suspects approached and  offered her a ride, saying had candy in the van. The girl ran away and hid in some bushes.

The  white van has had tinted side windows, a pink breast cancer sticker on the back door and two lumber boards on top. One suspect are described as a white man with a freckled face, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with drawstring pulled tight around his face and black sweatpants. Ther is no description of the second suspect.

By Janis Russell

August 22, 2015 (Campo)- Mountain Health hosted its second back to school night for this year in Campo earlier this month. (Others were held in Escondido and Sherman Heights.). The goal of these back to school nights is to provide backpacks and school supplies to K-12 students served by its Mountain Empire family medicine location.

Update, August 21, 2015:  Donna Tisdale notified us that the backcountry "celebration over the death of Soitec's Boulevard projects was a bit premature. Today, County staff informed me that Soitec is going to remove the 160 cargo containers full of potentially toxic batteries from their Rugged Solar project and will resubmit the revised EIR for certification by the Board of Supervisors. (Back in February, Soitec self-terminated their Tierra Del Sol Solar project just 1 month after receiving Board approval due to a lack of buyers.) Staff is trying to docket the revised EIR for the Board agenda by October so they can meet the Court's order to report back by November 2nd on how they plan to comply," adds Tisdale, who concludes, "The battle to save the backcountry continues."

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: A Soitec solar panel in Newbury Springs, California

August 20, 2015 (Boulevard) – The last of four massive solar projects proposed by Soitec Solar in Boulevard may now be officially dead.

On August 7^th, Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil  overturned County Supervisors’ approvals of Soitec’s Rugged Acres and Tierra del Sol projects,  because the approvals violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)  Soitec and the County failed to file an appeal by the August 14^th deadline, says Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group and founder of Backcountry Against Dumps, which filed the lawsuit aiming to halt the project. View the court's judgment.

“Soitec’s Boulevard projects, approved for 1,200 acres, are now dead and buried!” Tisdale wrote in an email to project opponents. Any new projects proposed for those sites would need to start all over at step one,” requiring a new environmental impacts review, a lengthy and costly process. “I have asked the County for details on when they will set aside their voided approvals, as mandated by the court,” Tisdale added.

Hear our exclusive interviews with Jamul Indian Village Tribal Chair Erica Pinto and Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego’s General Manager Richard St. Jean, originally aired on KNSJ Radio: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

By Leon Thompson

Photo, left: Chairwoman Erica Pinto

August 17, 2015 (Jamul Indian Village) – As the long-planned Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego  nears completion following a recent topping-off ceremony, the Jamul Indian Village has elected a new Chairwoman, Erica Pinto and brought in Richard St. Jean as General Manager for the casino.  

Chairwoman Pinto is the first woman elected Chair of the tribe and was the youngest person ever elected to the tribal council in 1996, at the age of 21.  Her family traces its roots back as far as Jamul’s history itself—and now she has big dreams for her people and the community.

East County Magazine spoke with Chairwoman Pinto, along with the new General Manager of the casino, Richard St. Jean on plans for the new casino, in exclusive interviews on KNSJ radio.  See highlights below, and hear the full radio interviews  by listening here.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Joseph Zatarain, Potrero Town on Facebook

August 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --Friday, August 14th was a rough day for motorists in East County. A motorhome sparked a dozen spot fires along 67, forcing closure of the highway and long delays for motorists while firefighters worked to douse the blazes.

Even longer delays were experienced by motorists along Highway 94, which was shut down for roughly 10 hours along the key border-region artery after a semi-truck collided head on with a vehicle carrying several passengers and rolled over.  Inadequate notifications from official channels left motorists stuck in traffic for hours during extreme heat of over 100 degrees and an ambulance was forced to take a lengthy detour.

“Something is wrong here,” says Kim Hamilton, Editor of the Deerhorn Valley Antler. The publication's Antler Alerts  provided the most reliable source of information for the public during most of the extended shutdown.  “Not only was the primary artery and evacuation route closed, but there was little media coverage of it while it was taking place.”

East County News Service

August 6, 2015 (Alpine) – For Childhood Cancer Awareness month, the Kylie Rowland Foundation is hosting “Wine and Bunco Under the Stars” on  Sept. 9 at 6 pm.. to raise funds for promising less-toxic cancer treatments for children. The foundation was started in memory of Kylie Rowland, who lost her battle to neuroblastoma at age two in February 2015.

July 30, 2015 (Alpne) In an effort to increase the safety of children at Joan McQueen Middle School, the County will be installing new traffic signs on Tavern near the school.   This effort was spearheaded by Mr. Murali Pasumarthi at the prompting of Kristen Gauss, JMMS Principal Jon McEvoy and Planning Group Members Tom Myers and Lou Russo.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: McCain Valley, site of planned 14,000 acre wind project

Photo, right: Blades being hoisted onto wind turbine in Ocotillo

Updated July 31, 2015 10 p.m. to include comments from SDG&E and from Howard Cook, former Jacumba Sponsor Group Chair.

July 30, 2015 (McCain Valley)—Southern California Edison has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Iberdrola Renewables to buy electricity from the Tule Wind project planned in McCain Valley near Boulevard.

“We are still actively opposing Tule Wind and hope it never gets built,” Donna Tisdale told East County Magazine. Tisdale and the citizens’ group Backcountry Against Dumps have two legal challenges pending. Tisdale also chairs the Boulevard Community Planning Group, which voted against the project but was overruled by the San Diego County Supervisors, with Supervisor Dianne Jacob voting no and four other Supervisors voting for the project.

The agreement covers the first phase of the 14,000-acre project, which includes 67 turbines on federal Bureau of Land Management property at the gateway to the McCain Valley federal recreation area, as well as on privately-owned Rough Acres Ranch.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Claudia Millerbragg

Update: This fire is contained. Cal-Fire's Kendal Bortisser also confirms that firefighting planes were able to draw water from Lake Morena despite draining of the lake by the City of San Diego to about 3% capacity prior to the recent rains.

July 24, 2015 (Lake Morena) - A 30-acre brush fire is burning near Lake Morena County Park at Lake Morena and Lakeview.  Cal Fire Captain Kendal Bortisser informed ECM at 1:40 p.m. that there are no structure threats but voluntary evacuations are occurring at Lake Morena Village.

The fire is burning in medium to heavy vegetation with a moderate rate of spread.  Brush Fire Partyline on Facebook reports scanner traffic indicates power lines are down.

If you have  photos or eyewitness reports on this fire please send to editor@eastcountymagazine.org