By Miriam Raftery

The Boethin family with State Senator Brian Jones

February 3, 2019 (Mt. Helix) –  When Daniel and Stephanie Boethin learned that the state planned to open a parole office near their Mt. Helix home in La Mesa, they took action  As government contractors, they knew how to get the attention of bureaucrats and public officials. In just a few short weeks, they organized their community to successfully halt the parole office near homes, schools and businesses in their neighborhood.

We interviewed the Boethins on our East County Magazine Radio Show, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM Radio. The Boethins offered advice for people in other communities on how to successfully organize to stand up against projects with negative impacts on neighborhoods.

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!”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Zack Gianino, Laura Koval, and Lynda Marrokal

November 4, 2018 (Santee) – There will be at least one new face on Santee’s City Council soon, since District 3 is an open seat with no incumbent.

Three candidates are running in a race where development issues, traffic, and the city’s looming deficit are key issues.  They are Zack Gianino, a community college district liaison, Laura Koval, parks and recreation director at Santee Lakes, and Lynda Marrokal, a retired manager. 

Hear our in-depth interviews with all three candidates by clicking the audio links (Gianino, Koval, Marrokal) and scroll down for highlights.

East County News Service

November 1, 2018 (Santee) – This is the first election in which Santee residents cast votes by district. In District 1, Councilman Rob NcNelis, a market leader with a mortgage banking company and former Chamber of Commerce president, is running against Evlyn Andrade-Heymsfield, a software engineer and business owner who worked at U.C. Berkeley’s school of public health as a program manager and chair of the staff advisory council.

Key issues are development vs. quality of life, as well as how to address the city’s budget deficit. Andrade-Heymsfield claims her opponent puts developers’ interests over those of residents; she pledges to oppose Fanita Ranch. McNelis says he’s voted against some developer donors’ projects and votes for what's best for Santee. He pledges to keep government small and out of people’s pockets; Andrade-Heymsfield says she has ideas for new revenue sources to address the city’s deficit without raising taxes. 

We interviewed both candidates on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio. Hear the full interviews by clicking the audio links (Evlyn Andrade Heymsfield audio and Rob McNelis audio) plus read highlights below.

Reform candidates’ slate reveals opponents used deceptive tactics, including fake photo, misleading claim on backing by teachers, and scare tactic over theater program

Listen to our interview aired on KNSJ

East County News Service

October 26, 2018 (La Mesa) – Chardá Fontenot is representing a slate of three candidates running to bring changes to the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District board. She says  she wants to increase transparency, bridge the achievement gap between minority and white students, bring back sixth grade camp, increase revenue sources and restore respect by board members to students, teachers and parents. 

She’s also criticized an opposing slate for deceptive tactics used in their campaign, including running a fake candidate photo and misleading voters on which slate has backing from the LMSV Teacher's Association.

Fontenot has served as a district advisory council representative, parent volunteer, and currently chairs the school site council. A mother who once attended schools in the district herself, she’s also  a certified lactation counselor who owns a lactation business.

Hear her full interview on KNSJ 89.1 FM at the audio link and scroll down for highlights.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos, top row--Challengers Kamaal Martin and Teresa Rosiak, bottom row--incumbent Councilmembers Jennifer Mendoza and Jerry Jones.

October 14, 2018 (Lemon Grove) – With Lemon Grove facing a budget deficit and 78% of its general fund spent on public safety, the City Council faces tough choices. Should the city consider the drastic step of disincorporating and reverting back to county control? Or can the city be saved through revitalization by bringing in new businesses, or by raising taxes? Proposals for the latter failed to win passage with the current Council majority, leaving the city faced with dipping into its reserves in the next fiscal year if the finances don’t improve.  

Those are among the issues addressed in our interviews with all four candidates, as well as concerns over crime, marijuana dispensaries, street repairs and more.The candidates are  incumbent Councilmembers Jennifer Mendoza and Jerry Jones, as well as challengers Teresa Rosiak, a medical credentialing specialist and former Chamber of Commerce president, and Kamaal  Martin, an educator with state and county governmental experience.

Hear our interviews aired on KNSJ radio by clicking the audio links below this story, and scroll down to read highlights from each interview.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Simple Construct

Hear our interview on KNSJ radio with homeowners Brian and Susan Fallgren, Simple Construct builder Rebeca Tasker, and SDG&E communications manager Helen Gao.

 View video on the home’s construction and view tour of the finished residence. 

July 14, 2018 (Campo) – Inspired by historical California adobe homes,  Brian and Susan Fallgren in Campo teamed up with Simple Construct to create a straw bale and adobe home that is beautiful, comfortable even in extreme heat, fire resistant and energy efficient—producing more power than it uses. 

The home has also won numerous honors.  It’s the first residence in Southern California to receive net zero certification through the Living Building Challenge, one of only 27 homes in the world to win this recognition.  A participant in the California Advanced Homes Program, it was also a winner in  the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) 13^th annual  Energy Showcase Awards and will be featured on the San Diego Green Building Council’s Green Homes Tour on Sunday, October 21.

“It’s an incredibly functional, comfortable home to live in, not only from an environmental standpoint, but from an every day livability standpoint,” Susan Fallgren says.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview with Councilman Bill Baber on marijuana measures, originally aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link

September 13, 2018 (La Mesa) --The La Mesa City Council has approved by a 5-0 vote a ballot measure, Proposition V, which would allow the city to put a business excise tax on cannabis businesses in  La Mesa.  The tax, if approved, would be paid by the businesses, not consumers. The city’s finance departments estimate that the measure could raise $1.5 to $2 million per year.

“As a separate matter, we’re working on an adult use ordinance that would bring the opportunity for adult use businesses to come alongside medicinal,”  reveals Councilman Bill Baber in an interview with ECM on KNSJ Radio.  He envisions allowing dispensaries already complying with medical marijuana sales requirements to be the first to carry recreational cannabis.

Our March, April and May 2018 radio shows are now online. For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews, click here, or click "read more" and scroll down. (Sound files may take a few moments to load).

Our interviews included wildlife biologists Tommy Hough and Renee Owens on their adventures in the field and conservation efforts, Sheriff Bill Gore, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, legal thriller novelist Teresa Burrell, judicial candidate Matt Brower, Assembly candidate  Larry Wilske, County School Board candidate Eric Lund, Victor Crosswaithe Contreras on a historical script-writing contest, and investigative journalist Greg Palast. (Note: candidate interviews were previously posted separately before the election and are now also available in complete show files.)

We also covered hot local, state and national issues including school gun violence, a lawsuit over powerline easements in East County, a lawsuit against  Lemon Grove Councilman Arambula , El Cajon Councilman Kalasho accused of false real estate filings, homelessness, the Trump-Russia investigation, family separations, La Mesa’s new farmer’s market, an initiative to limit growth in Santee, Earth Day activities and more.

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) –  Last week, we interviewed Eric Lund, candidate for San Diego County Board of Education in district 3, on our radio show. Lund is president of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and also teaches business classes Grossmont and Southwestern Community Colleges. In addition he heads up the East County Homeless Task force and is a member of the East County Adult Education Alliance. The district encompasses most of East County as well as parts of San Diego.

Hear the full interview, originally aired on KNSJ Radio, by clicking the audio link, or scroll down for highlights.

“I’m so much an advocate of great education. I love teaching,” says Lund, who has taught for 17 years and was inspired by his grandfather, who headed up SDSU’s English Department for many years. “I really feel that our education system that is ranked one of the lowest in the United States can and should do better.”

May 18, 2018 (San Diego's East County)-- Larry Wilske is a retired Navy Seal, running as a Republican challenger to incumbent Randy Voepel in the 71st Assembly district. Voepel, also a Republican, is facing allegations of "stolen valor" or inflating his military record.

Wilske belives integrity is the core issue in his race against Voepel. In our interview aired originally on KNSJ Radio, Wilske talks about the ethics concerns, as well as his stances on issues impacting California statewide such as education, sanctuary state laws, and healthcare.

A resident of Descanso in San Diego's East County, he also shared his views on rural issues including fire preparedness, water, power shut offs and jobs.  Hear our full interview with Larry Wilske by clicking here.

By Miriam Raftery

Deadly is May 31 to submit scripts for Twainfest August 18 in Old Town

May 6, 2018 (San Diego) – Victor Crosthwaite Contreras, an actor, educator and descendant of two Spanish soldiers who served at the San Diego Presidio, sat down with East County Magazine on KNSJ Radio for an interview about a script-writing competition that seeks to depict historical characters from the 1800s in our region.

Hear his interview, along with his dramatic historical interpretive reading of infamous bandito Joaquin Murrieta on whom the legend of Zorro was based, by clicking the audio link. Fior more information, scroll down.

Our interview with Greg Palast originally aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM You can  listen now by clicking the audio link .

By Miriam Raftery

April 27, 2018 (San Diego) –  Acclaimed investigative journalist Greg Palast will be appearing and speaking at a showing of his award-winning documentary film, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: Case of the Stolen Election” on Tuesday, May 1^st at the Joan B. Kroc Peace & Justice Center theatre at the University of San Diego (5998 Alcala Park, San Diego).

Our January and February 2018 radio shows are now online. For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics an interviews,click here  or click "read more" and scroll down. (Sound files may take a few moments to load).

Our interviews included Congressional candidate Shamus Sayed, Mandi Matti on efforts to help an El Cajon family after a fire, Brad Weber, publisher of La Mesa Magazine, former Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and Mark Jackson on the Save Our San Diego Countryside initiative, and Ramona mystery novelist Joyce Strand. Plus we covered hot issues including homelessness, power outages, immigration, marijuana legalization, actions of local councils, Congressional controversies, new parks in our region, and much more.

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 January-February shows:

Our November  2017 radio shows are now online. For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics an interviews, click here or click "read more" and scroll down. (Sound files may take a few moments to load).

Our interviews included Don Harrison, author of 77 Miles of Jewish Stories,  Bob Hartsfield on Rotary Club’s music competition, and Dash McTavish of Food Not Bombs on protests against El Cajon’s ban on feeding the homeless in parks. Plus we covered top issues from wildfires and power outages to a major deal to save the East County Performing Arts Center.

 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 November shows: