Author to appear in Memoir Writers’ Showcase June 30^th  in San Diego;

Update: Hear our radio interview with Cherie Kephart , originally aired on KNSJ: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

June 25, 2015 (San Diego) – Cherie Kephart, the girl next door who longed for adventure, traveled the world from the remote villages of Central Africa to the majestic coastlines of New Zealand until a mysterious illness thrust her to the precipice of death. She spent seven frantic and comical years seeking support from both medical specialists and eccentric New Age healers to find her life saving answers.

A Few Minor Adjustments will move you with its fiercely inspirational and humorous account of one woman's incredible journey to answer the age old question—is life worth living?

Kephart will among the authors featured at San Diego’s First Annual Memoir Writers’ Showcase at the Horton Grand Theater in downtown San Diego on Tuesday, June 30th at 7 pm.. Tickets are $10;all proceeds benefit the theater and funding the event.  You can purchase tickets at http://www.ewriterscoach.com/in-person-workshops/

May 31, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - - -Our March 2015 radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in March, click here and scroll down.

Our newsmaker interviews included environmental designer Jim Bell on how to achieve sustainability for our region, local authors and musicians. Plus we covered hot topics locally and nationally, on issues ranging from sexual misconduct allegations in the El Cajon Police force to a new trail planned at Three Sisters Falls and fundraising efforts for the new library in Alpine, plus much more. 

Click here to hear our exclusive radio interview with Roy Toft during our show on KNSJ 89.1 FM:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... .  Scroll down to view his fabulous photos and read more.

By Mimi Pollack

May 28, 2015 (Ramona)--Many of us lead mundane lives, but not Roy Toft. This amiable Ramona wildlife photographer has had enough adventures for many lifetimes. His pictures have appeared in National Geographic, Audubon Magazines and Zoonooz, gaining him international acclaim.

Hear our interview with Ashley Mazanec, membership  manager, San Diego Energy District. 

Listen now:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

May 17, 2015 (San Diego) – If you’re looking for an alternative to SDG&E for buying your electric power, you can now become a member in the San Diego Energy District.  In an interview on KNSJ in April, Ashley Mazanec told us a dozen businesses have signed up so far.  Ratepayers can enjoy lower rates and know their energy is coming from clean energy sources, according to Mazanec.  Locally produced energy can also reduce the need for new power lines, improving wildfire safety.

San Diego has a feasibility study underway and Solana Beach has moved forward to become a community  choice city.  The San Diego Energy District is reaching out to additional communities and hopes to build support in other local cities such as La Mesa, El Cajon , Santee and Lemon Grove as well as with County Supervisors. Individual property owners can sell surplus power back into the grid. Entities such as nonprofit orgnaizations, school districts, Native American tribes and businesses can also join the grid.

East County News Service

April 23, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Deborah M. Pratt, noted author, writer, director, producer and actress was in East County for a signing of her latest book, The Tempting: Seducing the Nephilim. East County Magazine Show’s Bookshelf host Reina Menasche sat down with Pratt for an exclusive interview  aired on KNSJ radio, which you can now hear online here:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Pratt has been executive producer of “The Net” for the USA network as well as head writer and co-executive producer of the NBC TV series “Quantum Leap.”

Plus Part I in a series of essays Bell is writing on attaining sustainability for our region

April 4, 2015 (San Diego) – Last month, we sat down for an in-depth interview on our radio show with ecological designer Jim Bell, an internationally recognized expert on sustainable development. You can hear the interview, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM, here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... 

Bell has a plan to make the San Diego and Tijuana region sustainable in terms of energy, water, food, and more.  Currently he is working to distribute 20,000 free copies of his newest publication, Consciousness and Knowledge, throughout our region including 10,000 in Spanish.  You can download a copy here.

Director of the Ecological Life Systems Institute and the San Diego Center for Appropriate Technology,  Bell is also the Sierra Club’s representative on the City of San Diego’s Regional Advisory Energy Committee.  He has lectured at the World Conference of the Society of International Development in Mexico City, the American Institute of Architects’ California conference, and many other prominent events.  A past mayoral candidate, he is the author of “Achieving Eco-nomic Security on Spaceship Earth” as well as many other articles and papers on creating sustainable economies.

Below is the first in a series of essays by Bell on how we can achieve sustainability in our region.

March 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Our January radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (note sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in January, click here and scroll down.

Our top newsmaker interviews included representatives from Cleveland National Forest, the County’s Farm to School produce program, a War Victims group seeking reparations for Iraq War refugees, the postal workers’ union on cuts in postal services, a leading solar company on changes in solar incentives for consumers, an environmental advocate battling Soitec Solar’s projects in Boulevard, and La Mesa’s Chamber of Commerce president on honoring local heroes. Plus we interviewed two law-enforcement officers-turned-authors, La Mesa Police Chief Dan Willis and former ICE special agent Timothy Daniels.

You can hear the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Hear our interviews with representatives of San Diego County’s “Farm to School” program aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

February 7, 2015 (San Diego) – The second annual State of Farm to School in San Diego County Report reveals growth in farm to school programs bringing healthy produce to area school children – also generating returns for our region’s health and economy. See our earlier article on the program’s success here.   Recently we held a radio show on the County's Farm to School task force. We interviewed JuliAnna Arnett Director of Operations & Food Systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Community Health Improvement Partners, along with Eric Larson, Executive Director at the San Diego County Farm Bureau,Johnna Jenkins, Director of Child Nutrition at Valley Center-Pauma school district, and Jill Wittenberg, Child Nutrition Director, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.

They shared success stories on how this innovative program is helping farmers and students reap healthy rewards.  More participants are sought to meet rising demand for fresh produce in our public schools.

“This is the people’s postal service, it doesn’t belong to big corporations or politicians.” - Vice President Eddie B. Cooper Jr.

Update: Listen online now to our interview with the APWU representatives:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

January 16, 2015 (San Diego)--Hear our interview with Tom Wood and Eddie B. Cooper jr. of the San Diego American Postal Workers Union. Learn about major cuts to the postal service and how they may affect you, your business and your community.  We’ll also have information about a boycott of Staples organized by Postal workers and supported by teachers’ organizations over the out-sourcing of postal work to Staples and efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service established by Benjamin Franklin.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview with Jack Shu, Cleveland National Forest Foundation president: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... 

December 31, 2014 (San Diego)—Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation (CNFF), sat down for an in-depth interview with East County Magazine on KNSJ radio.  CNFF and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the regional transportation plan proposed by the San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG) .  California Attorney General Kamala Harris joined the suit in support of environmentalist.

CNFF contends that instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as state law requires, SANDAG’s plan will increase them by 700 percent (see chart). 

San Diegans rely 95% on automobiles for transportation and only 3% on transit, yet SANDAG’s plan calls for more freeways instead of expanding transit in the near future.  San Diego also has the seventh worth ozone pollution in the nation as well as serious asthma issues, CNFF argues, yet SANDAG failed to provide a health impact analysis in its plan.

An appellate court and trial court agreed with plaintiffs that SANDAG failed to adequately address air pollution and climate change concerns, yet SANDAG voted 20 to 1 to appeal to the California Supreme Court.

Hear our interview with Noori Barka, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

December 18,2014 (El Cajon) –Imagine a place where people who want to start new businesses in East County can have free space, resources and investors—if they pledge to provide jobs here in East County. That’s the concept that Noori Barka, president of Calbiotech and a leader in the Iraqi-Chaldean community in El Cajon, aspires to attain by starting up an incubator business concept here.   He’s helped to launch a new 501c3 nonprofit, the San Diego East County Business Incubator with a goal of opening its doors next year.

 “If you have an idea, you want to start a business…we will incubate you for up to three years and during this time we will give you the full support,”  Barka told East County Magazine. Start-up businesses will be given space, tools, expertise, and investors.  After graduating in three years, people can receive continuing support – provided that they launch new businesses in East County. 

Barka hopes to create good-paying jobs in the biotech industry and other fields, helping to solve the high unemployment in East County, particularly among the new immigrant community, where unemployment is nearly 50 percent.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview (originally aired on KNSJ):  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

December 11, 2014 (La Mesa)—It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in La Mesa’s downtown village, where holiday lights are twinkling and festivities are set to begin for the 25^th annual Christmas in the Village celebration on Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13.  

East County Magazine sat down for an interview with John Vigil, self-proclaimed “Chief Elf” from the La Mesa Village Merchants Association and Shannon O’Dunn, owner of O’Dunn Fine Art, for a sneak preview of this year’s event—and why it’s especially important this year for local merchants to have a strong community turn-out.

Our interview is now online! Listen to the full interview, with excerpts of 3 of Dannie Marie's songs, here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/audio/2019/August/DannieMarie-FINAL-interview%2B3excerpts.mp3

December 8, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Hear our interview with Dannie Marie, a talented local singer, songwriter and actress who is taking Nashville, Memphis and Los Angeles by storm.  Those of you in East County may know her as Danielle Marie Pupa, a graduate of Steele Canyon High School. 

Watch the sneak preview excerpt here http://youtu.be/nIEdflaq_MI and full interview at the link above, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM. .The program also features excerpts from three songs that will be featured on Dannie Marie's soon-to-be-released CD, along with our interview with this rising local star.

Dannie Marie’s hit music video, “Flavor of the Week” has been winning awards and recognition at music festivals; it was also featured in the movie “Music High.” She’s been in movies and commercials, and on TV.  She’s also been performing at major venues across our region, including a performance coming up in February at House of Blues in San Diego. Her songs serve up country music with a pop flair—and her musical style has been likened to Taylor Swift.

Photo, left: Anne Hoiberg and Marie Johnson

December 2, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – The United Nations is hosting 16 days of events aimed at stopping violence against women, culminating in international Human Rights Day on December 16^th.  East County Magazine interviewed Anne Hoiberg, past president of the United Nations Association of San Diego, who is also president of the International Museum of Human Rights in San Diego.  We also interviewed Marie Johnson, president of Activist San Diego, which recently hosted a forum on violence against women; she is also a survivor of domestic violence in her family.

You can listen online now to our interviews, which originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM, by clicking here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...  (sound file may take a few moments to load)