East County News Service

May 26, 2015 (Jamul) – Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) announced today that Richard St. Jean has been named General Manager of Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego. Mr. St. Jean, who currently serves as General Manager of Hollywood Casino Toledo, will also assume an oversight role at Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, New Mexico.

Mr. St. Jean will have full responsibility for the opening and management of the planned $360 million Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego, which will be owned by the Jamul Indian Village of California and managed by Penn National Gaming.

East County News Service

May 17, 2015 (Spring Valley) – Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a stabbing near the IHOP restaurant on Broadway in Spring Valley around 11 p.m. on Thursday, May 14^th.  According to Sergeant Jeremy Sheppard, two males were fighting in the parking lot when one began stabbing the other.

Cliff LaPlant is honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.



May 14, 2015 (Alpine) – A photograph created by Cliff LaPlant, www.sierralara.com ) of Alpine, California has recently been accepted into the Motif Collective Galleries of Artists Showcase for the 2015 Landscape Photographic Competition. LaPlant’s work is now on display in the Online Gallery at www.motifcollective.com.  This International Photographic Competition is held monthly supporting Fine Art Photographers from around the world.

May 13, 2015 (Alpine) – Yesterday at 1:55 p.m., detectives from the Alpine Sheriff’s station responded to a radio call reporting a structure fire in the 1400 block of Marshall Road in Alpine.  Finding a home fully engulfed in flames, deputies evacuated nearby neighbors and check surroundings for any victims.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has released a $200 billion, 35-year regional growth plan for the county titled "San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan."   The plan lays out visions for transportation, sustainability and growth through 2050 including higher density land use along transportation corridors.

Several public hearings will be held including a May 13^th hearing at 6 p.m. in La Mesa’s community center.  But thus far, no hearings have been schedule in East County’s mountain, desert or rural areas.

East County Magazine asked the County why no hearings are scheduled in those areas. We pointed out that rural, mountain and desert areas lack public transit, making it difficult for residents to travel long distances to attend hearings in San Diego or even La Mesa.  In response, the County indicated it could hold additional workshops potentially if a community group to partner with could be found.

April 24, 2015 (Alpine) – The 3^rd annual Mardy/Tardy Gras Ball will be presented by the Alpine Education Foundation on Saturday, May 2^nd from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Alpine Community Center, 1830 Alpine Blvd, in Alpine.

April 19, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The 9^th annual Campo-Lake Morena Roundup is set to be held on Saturday, May 2^nd at the Camp Lockett Event and Equesterian Facility (799 Forrest Gate Rd.) in Campo. Gates open at 7 a.m. with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. and presentation of this year’s grand marshall at 10 a.m. Period costumes are welcome.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos:  East County residents celebrated Blackwater halting plans to build a training camp in Potrero in 2008.

April 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Many in East County recall the successful battle wagered by rural residents here to halt a Blackwater paramilitary training camp from being built in Potrero.   Just months before Blackwater announced plans to cancel the Potrero project in 2008, news broke that Blackwater guards had been accused of massacring innocent civilians in Iraq’s Nisour Square on September 16, 2007.

April 12, 2015 (San Diego's East County) The Sage and Songbirds 18^th annual graden tour will be held May 1-3, 2015. This year’s self-guided tour includes five private homes plus a hummingbird haven and raptor rehabilitation facility.

April 10, 2015 (Alpine) – The 25^th annual Vintage Alpine on Sunday May 3^rd from 1 to 4 p.m. at Summers Past Farms in Flinn Springs will feature tastings of 40 wines plus foods from fine restaurants across our region.  This event attracts over 500 people annually, with all proceeds used to benefit services and programs for the children of San Diego.

East County News Service

Photo: Once brimming with water, the eastern portion of Lake Morena is bone dry.

April 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The drought is shrinking ponds and lakes across East County—and Cal-Fire is concerned about the loss of water for fighting fires.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Cleveland National Forest, courtesy National Forest Service

April 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—The Republican-controlled House and Senate have passed measures that would allow the sale or outright giveaway of most public lands –including national forests, federal wildernesses and  wildlife preserves and Bureau of Land Management properties.  Only Republicans voted for the language slipped into a non-binding budget resolution—which passed without a single Democratic vote. 

The shocking news is revealed in a New York Times editorial by Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Lands, titled “Our Land, Up for Grabs.”  

While it’s unlikely that President Barack Obama would support such an extreme measure, if a Republican president is elected in 2016 and Republicans maintains control of both houses of Congress, losing our cherished public lands such could be a very real possibility.

Here in San Diego County alone, that could mean the demise of:  Cleveland National Forest,  Otay Mountain Wildnerness, Hauser Wilderness, Pine Creek , Carrizo Gorge, Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness , Agua Tibia Wilderness, San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge , Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, McCain Valley National Recreation Area and more.

Ambulance responses in our region raise alarms:  Part III in a series

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – AS we reported, effective April 1^st the County has shifted to Mercy as its new ambulance provider for rural East County.  After residents raised concerns over coverage, response times and mutual aid, we asked Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s office for a response.

April 3, 2015 (Potrero) – Steve Kowit, well-known poet, author, teacher and Potrero resident, passed away this morning following heart surgery  Kowit taught at Southwestern College and San Diego State University, mentored many, and inspired a generation of local writers through his teaching, readings and writings.

He was distinguished by his many awards for poetry, which include the National Endowment Fellowship in Poetry, two Pushcart Prizes, the Atlanta Review Poetry Prize, the Ouroboros Book Award, the 2006 Tampa Review Poetry Prize, and most recently the San Diego Theodore Geisel Award.