January 1, 2015 (Boulevard) – Boulevard resident Pam Lawless has launched a drive seeking donations of doghouses or igloo-style shelters for backcountry dogs in her community.

Bobbi Brink, founder of the rescue facility in Alpine (photo, left) works to save bears and other exotic animals from canned hunts and cub petting operations in U.S.

By Miriam Raftery

December 5, 2014 (Alpine) – East County Magazine stopped by  Lions, Tigers and Bears this week for a sneak-preview of the brand new bear enclosure that opens this Saturday, December 6^th, at the rescue facility’s annual holiday party and fundraiser from 1 to 4 p.m.. 

We also got some up-close-and-personal looks at some of the big cats and bears who will be celebrating too—with Christmas trees, holiday packages to rip open and special foods for these special rescued animals—including Cherry Bomb, Teddy, Albert and Baloo —grizzly and Himalayan black bears who will be turned loose into their new two-acre home (albeit a temporary home while an even bigger two-acre preserve is built.)

By Miriam Raftery

October 2, 2014 (Lemon Grove)—An elaborate five-panel mural depicting the history of Lemon Grove has been awarded the Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for 2014.  A letter from the Governor’s office sent to the Lemon Grove Historical Society, which commissioned the project, called it “an exceptional example of historic preservation efforts on behalf of California’s cultural heritage.”

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Could big energy projects proposed in East County lead to the decimation of federally endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep? 

From 1972 to the present, the Carrizo Gorge band of these bighorns has plummeted from about 120 sheep to less than 40.  “Off-road vehicles, trespassing cattle, poaching in the 1960s and ‘70s, drought, disease and Mountain Lion predation have worked together to push this population o the edge. We hope we can save this group before it is too late,” Mark Jorgensen, advisor to the Bighorn Institute and former Superintendent of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park wrote in the Desert News.

In his comments submitted on  four solar projects proposed by Soitec in Boulevard, Jorgensen writes that “Construction of yet another group of solar projects will further impede the free movement of wildlife by reducing habitat connectivity and ruining wildlife corridors.”  He further notes that Soitec’s sites are very near lands purchased and set aside specifically to protect species  the endangered bighorn, golden eagles and other species in peril.

December 19, 2012 (Jamul) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents intercepted a smuggling attempt on State Route (SR) 94 in Jamul yesterday, resulting in seizure of nearly 26 pounds of methamphetamine.

Agents encountered a U.S. citizen, 49, driving a 2000 BMW at the SR 94 checkpoint near Jamul at 2:45 p.m..  Agents became suspicious of the man’s nervous demeanor and referred him for secondary inspection.  A Border Patrol K-9 performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle resulting in an alert.