By Liz Alper

March 9, 2016 (Alpine) - The Alpine Woman's Club cordially invites you to their 23^rd annual Victorian Tea.

Community group brings change to Casa de Oro

By Miriam Raftery

March 7, 2016 (Jamul)—60 guests hoisted glasses last month to toast the grand opening of East County’s newest wine tasting room: Casi Cielo Winery, located at their historical adobe ranch house at Maness Vineyards atop a sunny hilltop in Jamul just off highway 94.  It’s a dream that has been a long-time coming to fruition –a dream that began with two Italian immigrants back in the last century. As the afternoon sun bathes the adobe bricks and vineyards beyond in golden rays, it's not hard to see how Casi Cielo (Almost Heaven) got its name.

The winery offers a selection of  hand-crafted wines made with 25% grapes grown at the estate and 75% grapes grown in San Diego County.  With a motto “from juice to jelly,” Casi Cielo Farm & Vineyard also has a charming gift shop licensed under GregoArt.com featuring  a new line of delicious vineyard jellies (served up over chocolate cheesecake—pure bliss) as well as colorful hand-crafted quilts by Kathy, vineyard lifestyle attire and more.

March 5, 2016 (Anza Borrego Desert) - Calling all artists to take part in a plein air art contest in the high desert community of Shelter Valley outside of Julian, CA. This is an opportunity for artists and their friends and families to get outside and enjoy the Anza Borrego desert in the springtime. Two plein air contest categories will be featured, including desert landscapes and local Native American and stagecoach trails history. All visual art formats allowed.

East County News Service

March 4, 2016 (Alpine) – California Public Utilities Chairman Michael Picker has sent a response to Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s letter, in which Jacob asked for an independent state review of electromagnetic field levels in the Alpine area near the underground Sunrise Powerlink.  But Jacob contends, “The agency’s initial response falls far short of what must be done.” 

East County News Service

March 4, 2016 (Alpine) – The Alpine Union School District is seeking input from stakeholders on developing the profile for the future Superintendent of the Alpine Union School District.

Expert Panel to Discuss Oak Borer Beetle Tuesday March 8, 6 p.m. at Julian Library.  Public invited free.

Photo, left:  Gold Spotted Oak Borer

By Jim Madaffer

March 4, 2016 (Julian) -- Suspecting we had dead or dying oak trees on our property in Wynola Estates, my wife and I hired an arborist to inspect and inventory our trees.  The verdict: out of 80 trees, 10 oak trees are dead and must come down – all thanks to the Golden Spotted Oak Borer Beetle, or GSOB.

March 4, 2016 (Ocotillo) – The Jacumba Hikers and Walkers will lead a Desert Wild Flowers hike this Saturday, March 5^th. Meet at 8 am at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum  (11 W. Frontage Road, Ocotillo).  The hike begins at the trailhead to   

Mountain Palm Spring off S2, then traveling to a Palm Oases and along the you may encounter wild flowers: Ocotillo, Blooming Creosote Bush, Salton Milk-Vetch, Poppies, Mariposa Lilly, Pink Phlox, Primrose, Desert Paint Brush, Verbena, Dasies and Yellow Cups just to name a few.

By Miriam Raftery

March 3, 2016 (El Cajon) — The Medical Examiner’s office has identified Drake Lou Pappas, 61, as the victim found dead after a fire at the Villa Embasadora motel in El Cajon early yesterday morning.

East County News Service

March 3, 2016 (La Mesa) - You’re invited to the 16^th annual Spring Harp Fest, a musical celebration on March 26^th  from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa.  The festival features top harmonica performers playing blues music and more, as well as an unknown artists’ jam session.  The mission is to inspire appreciation for the harmonica in the next generation. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2016 (Rancho San Diego)—Construction on a sewer replacement project along Campo Road through Rancho San Diego is slated to begin this summer and continue until spring 2018.  The project extends from Avocado to the Rancho San Diego Town Center near Cuyamaca College along the State Route 94 right-of-way.

Most work on the two-year project will be done at night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. to lessen impacts on traffic, staff from Otay Water District have indicated.  Construction will also be restricted from March through August to protect birds from disruption during nesting season.

By Leon Thompson

March 23, 2016 (Alpine) -- Charlotte Figi developed severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy as a baby.  She was severely disabled and at 5 years old was having 300 grand mal seizures a week--each one potentially deadly.  She was given a liquid concentrate of Cannabidiol or CBD oil extracted from industrial hemp. Her parents and physicians said that she improved immediately and significantly. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2016 (Ocotillo) – The numbers are in –and for the third straight year, the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility has fallen far short of the 34% capacity factor that Pattern Energy predicted the project would generate in its applications for lucrative federal subsidies.   In 2015, the Ocotillo project generated just 23.06%.  In 2014, it hit 26.4% and in 2013, when it was offline two months for hurling off a multi-ton blade, it produced a scant 15.7%.

We’re not surprised, since our award-winning 2014 investigative article, Was It Fraud? included forecasts by an international wind expert,Nicolas Boccard, who accurately predicted the project’s failure before it was built. He suggested the federal government had grounds for a False Claims Act suit against Pattern Energy.  We again raised questions about the project’s viability last year, in  a second story.

Viejas announces funding for EMF measurements at school

By Miriam Raftery

February 29, 2016 (Alpine) -- The San Diego County Office of Education on Friday released a draft Survey and Exposure Assessment  or electrmagnetic fields (EMF) for Alpine Elementary School.  The study concludes that  the Sunrise Powerlink transmisison line buried on Alpine Blvd.does not pose a significant safety or health risk to the school site." The study further finds that readings in and around buildings at Alpine Elementary "while not representative of a pristine EMF environment, were within a normal range of exposures one could expect in a society with electric power."

The County study examines 94 measurements taken inside and outside the school and  cites several reasons for concluding the site is safe.

By Leon Thompson

February 29. 2016 (La Mesa) – Aaron Dean, owner of the Depot Springs Beer Company, in an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, spoke exuberantly about the brewery/restaurant/music/event venue now under construction in a neighborhood shopping center on Fletcher Parkway at Dallas Street—and his vision for the facility’s contribution to revitalizing the community.