By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

December 31, 2018 (San Diego) - It’s that time of year again. No, not the holiday season—tick season.

That’s right. You may not know it, but in San Diego County, winter is tick season, and San Diego County’s Vector Control Program is reminding people to remember to wear insect repellent and take simple precautions like wearing long sleeves and long pants when hiking or heading out into nature.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

December 31, 2018 (San Diego) -- Fire Danger is not the only hazard we have to concern ourselves with during high winds and red flag warnings.

Hear our interview with Bernard Mauricia, Vice President of Marketing at The Seany Foundation: click here to listen or download

Get Well Soon Retreat January 26 is latest program to help families of pediatric cancer patients

By Miriam Raftery

December 30, 2018 (San Diego) – “We have to be able to go out and advocate for kids with cancer to just be kids, and for families to be able to breathe…to have tools and resources to support them through their cancer journey,” says La Mesa resident Bernard Mauricia, vice president of marketing at The Seany Foundation.

The foundation runs Camp Reach for the Sky, funds cancer research and support programs for families of children with cancer. The organization also has several events coming up including a Get Well Soon Retreat in January.

The San Diego-based foundation has a mission to fund meaningful projects that enhance the lives of children and young adults affected by cancer.  The Seany Foundation is named for Sean Lewis Robins (1983-2006), who was diagnosed at age 16 with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He spent seven years battling the disease, becoming an inspiration to others with his mantra, “When nothing is certain, everything is possible!”

Source: El Cajon Police

December 29, 2018 (El Cajon) -- The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are ways to spend time with family and friends ringing in another year, but also a time when people can make poor choices that put themselves and others at risk on the road.

By Miriam Raftery

December 28, 2018 (San Diego) – As a government shutdown over a budget impasse enters its second week, President Donald Trump today threatened to shut down the entire U.S.-Mexico border indefinitely unless Congress passes a budget with billions of dollars in funding to build a border wall.

“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” Trump said in a morning tweet. 

But in fact, Republicans still control both the House and Senate until January 3, when Democrats will become the majority party in the House of Representatives—and Congress adjourned for the holidays without passing the President’s budget.

The San Diego and Imperial County Chambers of Commerce estimated that a one-day border shutdown at San Ysidro, one of the world's busiest border crossings, over Thanksgiving weekend cost an estimated $5 million in lost revenues to the San Diego County economy. 

CAL FIRE/County Fire Authority moves out of JCFPD fire station, returns to former office in Julian.

New JCFPD board puts Chief Van Bibber back in charge; radio service also restored for volunteer firefighters.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

VIDEO of December 13 JCFPD Board Meeting

December 28, 2018 (Julian)--The knockdown, drag-out fight between CAL FIRE and the San Diego County Fire Authority versus the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District (JCFPD) went another round last week when County Supervisors voted to hold a special election in Julian this spring.

Julian citizens gathered enough signatures to put the fate of the JCFPD to a direct special election vote on Mar. 19, 2019. But Supervisors’ decision to confirm the people’s right to vote on saving the county’s last volunteer fire district from a county takeover has done little to heal the smarting.

Cal OSHA was called out on Nov. 30 to Julian Fire Station 56 to enforce an order by County Fire Authority Chief Jeremi Roesler requiring that all JCFPD firefighter Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) be inspected and inventoried. He unilaterally directed that all firefighter “turnouts” or PPE gloves, jackets, helmets – be inspected and inventoried for official reasons unknown to him. Each set of PPE or “turnouts” is worth about $4,000 dollars.

Instead of notifying the JCFPD or volunteer firefighters beforehand of the inspection, the search was conducted unannounced and numerous pieces of gear were removed from service. The Sheriff was notified when firefighters’ personal property was allegedly taken.

December 27, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Audit divides blame for San Diego's Hep A crisis (San Diego Reader)
• Hospital Prices: Full Cost Lists Must Be Published From January 1, New Federal Rule Says (Newsweek)
• Is chemotherapy on the way out?  (Healthline)
• Health benefits of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Medical News Today)
• Certain antibiotics may cause aortic aneurysm, FDA warns (CNN)

SCIENCE & TECH

• The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing (NY Times)
• Climate change: Huge costs of warming impacts in 2018 (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

December 26, 2018 (San Diego) -- Today, Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor found that the County of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP)  fails to achieve state goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  In his decision, Judge Taylor ruled on behalf of the Sierra Club, finding that the County’s policy of allowing developers to offset emissions in locations outside of our region do not provide the required enforceable, verifiable and long-term emission reductions mandated.

The ruling could halt consideration of major housing projects in the pipeline, such as Newland Sierra,  unless the developers offer mitigation locally.

Our October and November 2018 radio shows are now online. For links to listen plus an index with full list of topics and interviews in each show, click "read more" and scroll down.  (Audio files may take a few moments to load).

Our interviews included author Richard Carrico, Claudio Erickson of Unplugged Village, all four candidates for La Mesa City Council (previously published in our politics section) and discussion of the top issues across our region and our nation.

The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM.  Our shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.  Read more and listen to our October and November shows below, or click here for the index:

Update: The driver of the Toyota has also died. He has been identified as Gonzalo Rodriguez.

The child who perished has been identified as Christian Diaz, per the San DIego County Medical Examiner.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

December 24, 2018 (Ramona) – A small boy was killed in a two vehicle collision in Ramona late this morning on State Route 78 east of Haverford Rd. near Ramona. Four other people were injured in the Christmas Eve crash, including a second child who has been life-flighted to a hospital.

According to Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol, a 44-year-old Ramona man was driving a 2002 Toyota Camry westbound, with three passengers, when his vehicle veered off the road onto the shoulder. According to witnesses, he over-corrected and crossed the center lines into the path of an eastbound 2014 Dodge Ram SUV driven by a 77-year-old man from Falls City, Oregon. The vehicles collided head-on.

  Each year, NORAD tracks Santa's journey around the world on Christmas Eve. You can follow along at https://www.noradsanta.org/.  The site includes videos of Santa's flight around the world, as well as games for children, holiday music and more.

By Mike Allen

December 23, 2018 (Santee) -- Based on future cost projections that involve multiple agencies and variable prices such as power and labor, the Advanced Water Purification Program still makes sense and is worth pursuing, staffers from Padre Dam Municipal Water District told its board this week.

50 New Bikes and Helmets for Military & First Responders’ Children donated by Cartright Pest Control, ASAP Towing and iWash Car Wash

East County News Service

December 23, 2018( El Cajon) –Three El Cajon businesses are joining to give away 50 new bikes and helmets on Christmas Eve to deserving East County children.

The public is invited to the open-house style event which will feature a brisket and pulled pork BBQ cookout provided by Golden Corral of El Cajon, also from 10am-1pm, at Cartwright Pest Control, 1376 Broadway in El Cajon.

By Wim Laven

December 22, 2018 (San Diego) - On Dec. 18^th, it was agreed that Donald Trump’s charitable foundation would be dissolved. The decision was reached as a result of findings that Donald Trump and his family abused the tax exempt status and abused campaign finance laws. 

East County News Service

Photo: Cottonwood Golf, site of proposed sand mine

December 21, 2018 (Rancho San Diego) - In a significant show of early community strength, the Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine Committee this week submitted over 2,100 petition signatures to the County of San Diego from area residents opposed to the plan for a 10-12 year sand mining operation on the current site of the Cottonwood Golf Course in Rancho San Diego.