By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Photo, left to right: Linda Charry, Jimmie Parker, Donald Wolf, Jessica Kalasho, and Ben Kalasho  

Source:  City of El Cajon

December 13, 2018 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon City Council is accepting applications for several Commissions and Committees.  The filing period is open through January 14, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.

East County News Service

December 13, 2018 (El Cajon) – The Olaf Wieghorst Museum at the Wieghorst Western Heritage Center, 131 Rea Ave., El Cajon, is presenting an exhibit of 25 quilts created by East County residents, including Cheryl Minshew, Daniela Stout and Sylvia Thomas. “Visitors to the Wieghorst will be impressed by the variety and creativity of patterns designed by East County residents,” said Minshew, the show’s curator. The exhibit runs through Saturday, Dec. 29.  Admission to the museum is free. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. For more information, phone (619) 590-3431, or visit www.wieghorstmuseum.org.

Update December 26, 2018 -- Patient data was not on the missing hard drive, long-time Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District Chief Mike Van Bibber has informed EMC. Patients' information was on a county server instead.

By Ken Stone

Reprinted with permission by Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  photo taken Tuesday after backup hard drive was discovered missing. Photo via Brian Kramer

December 12, 2018 (Julian) - Julian fire district officials and local authorities are looking into the possible theft of private medical information and employee records from a backup hard drive.

According to Julian-Cuyamaca fire board member Brian Kramer, the external hard drive with possibly years of data went missing Dec. 1 from a locked room at the Julian fire station on state Route 79.

By Ana Nita

December 11, 2018 (Santee) -- The battle over the Fanita Ranch urban development proposal in Santee entered a new phase once the City of Santee scheduled the scooping meeting at the end of November to gather public input on a revamped proposal. 

East County News Service

December 10, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- This holiday season, Lemon Grove’s cozy neighborhood eatery, Giardino, is giving diners multiple reasons to gather around its tables. A menu only available through the new year features chef’s specials highlighting flavors that bring on nostalgia. Start with a bowl of Lobster Bisque, or Portobello Ripieni stuffed with artichokes, gorgonzola, spinach and bell peppers. Pasta includes Oxtail Cannelloni and Turkey and Pumpkin Lasagna, while the entrees feature dishes like Roasted Duck Airline Breast, Veal Saltimbocca and Salmon San Remo. Save room for dessert – Chef Marco has a special Nutella Pistachio Tiramisu and housemade Limoncello to end the meal on a good note.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by James Kecskes

December 9, 2018 (Borrego Springs) - It’s official, the new County Library, park and Sheriff’s office are open for business in Borrego Springs. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony took place this afternoon, kicking off a community celebration with music, artists, animals and tours of the new library and Sheriff’s office. The two buildings and park all share a 19-acre property.

The library branch is the larger of the two buildings and sits on 2.6 acres. The facility measures three times the size of the previous one and includes 2,215 square feet of community meeting space, a 330 square foot conference room, separate areas for children and teens, a technology center with a 3D printer, and a Friends of the Library Book Nook and Conversation Café.

By Miriam Raftery

December 6, 2018 (Ramona) – Savor the season along the Holiday Wine Trail in Ramona, which this year features 18 different wineries.

The event continues the next two Saturdays and Sundays, December 8-9 and 15-16.   Some wineries are offering “extras” including live music, arts and crafts for sale, spiced mulled wine and even an appearance by Santa –in a wine cave!

I hit the trail last weekend, stopping by several locations along the tour, each offering a unique and special experience.

County denies request for health impacts of turbines, even as more are proposed

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: New proposed turbines would be much taller and produce more energy than these older Kumeyaay Wind turbines, also broadening the areas that could be impacted by noise, vibrations, and electromagnetic interefence with devices such as cell phones

December 6, 2018 (Campo) –Tonight, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a scoping meeting on a notice to prepare n environmental impact statement for a proposal to build 60 wind turbines up to 586 feet tall (taller than the highest skyscraper in San Diego) on the Campo Indian reservation. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Campo Tribal Hall, 36190 Church Road (BIA 10) at highway 94 in Campo.  Written comments can also be submitted by December 21^st. Find details at www.CampoWind.com.

The new Campo Wind project is proposed for most Campo reservation ridgelines from north of I-8 to the U.S./Mexico border, each 4 megawatts.  Neighbors and the Boulevard Planning Group have raised concerns over the large turbines including noise, sleep disruption, health impacts and lost property values.   View flyer.

Minutes of the Boulevard Planning Group meeting from November 1, 2018 reveal numerous residents’ complaints about problems reportedly associated with similarly large-scale wind turbines recently installed at the Tule Wind project in McCain  Valley as well as turbines at the Kumeyaay Wind facility in Campo. Those complaints range from noise and vibrations to interference with cell phone service, a vital concern in an area prone to wildfires where communication is critical.

By Miriam Raftery

December 6, 2018 (Lemon Grove) — A man jumped over the county of a Jack-in-the-Box at 7979 Broadway Avenue in Lemon Grove shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday, thenpointed a black pistol at customers and employees, demanding cash.

The suspect is described as black, about 6 ft. 2 in heightwith medium to heavy build, wearing a baseball cap, red flannel shirt, grey hooded sweatshirt with hood pulled up, black gloves, white pants, and a white bandana covering his face.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Miriam Raftery, Editor, also contributed to this report

Initial public comments deadline is Dec. 19

Hear audio of meeting

December 5, 2018 (Rancho San Diego) -- If a large contingent of residents in Rancho San Diego and Jamul have their say, a proposed sand mine in their community won’t get built. Over 200 residents opposed to a sand mining project that would replace Cottonwood Golf Course on Willow Glen Road engulfed the meeting room at the Rancho San Diego Library last week, overflowing into the lobby and onto a patio. 

Public comments and a petition

Initial public comments are being accepted until December 19^th by the County’s Land Use Environmental Planner, Bronwyn Brown, at Bronwyn.Brown@sdcounty.ca.gov as part of the official scoping process.

Barry Jantz, spokesperson for the opposition, told the crowd that a petition to gather signatures against the project is available for printing and circulating at the website www.StopCottonwoodSandMine.com. The group circulated a flyer and asked that petitions be submitted to the Stop Cottonwood Group by December 15th.

By Kathy Carpenter

By Ana Nita

December 4, 2018 (Blossom Valley) -- “When I came down to feed in the morning, I heard this horse, Gretchen, banging on the door and she never does that,” said Marilyn Gramse of El Cajon. She found Gretchen, one of three horses she is boarding at her ranch, tied up inside her stall. “I walked over there and went, oh, my God, she had this rope tied around her right rear leg pulling up and the rope coming around her neck and coming back around by her foot and her tail was up, tied, and attached to one of the bars.” 

East County News Service 

December 4, 2018 (Santee) -- C.W. Driver Companies, a prominent builder serving California since 1919, recently broke ground on County of San Diego’s new Assessor, Recorder, County Clerk (ARCC) office in Santee. The building will be the nation’s first zero net energy archive facility and will maintain strict temperature and humidity conditions to preserve delicate archive materials properly. The single-story, 25,000-square-foot structure will be home to the East County Branch Office and Archives.

East County News Service

December 3, 2018 (El Cajon) -- Kaiser Permanente Southern California announced a $6 million, five-year Community Mental Health and Wellness Initiative with an immediate Local Partnership Grant (LPG) grant allocation of $1.28 million to combat and improve access to mental health services. The initial grant allocation is funding a group of two-year grants to support 16 nonprofit community partners working to improve mental health and wellness in under-resourced Southern California communities.