Update December 20, 2018:  The State has sent a letter to La Mesa's city manager advising that it has dropped plans for a parole office at this location, at this time, but will seek an alternative site elsewhere in East County.

By Susan Nichols, President, Grossmont-Mt. Helix Improvement Association (GMIA)

December 19, 2018 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont-Mt. Helix Improvement Association (GMIA), along with the greater community, continues to gather information to oppose the leasing of a building by the Department of Corrections for a Parole Operations Center amidst of their residential community. GMIA and the greater community have sought help from elected state officials, who are aware of the community plea to stop the parole office but have yet to provide substantive action.

By Mary Harris

December 11, 2018 (Alpine) -- Running for a seat on the Alpine Community Planning Group taught me a lot. It was like a crash course on local politics. I’ve been attending the group for over three years and I can tell you this: if you have views that are nota carbon copy of the group majority, don’t expect to be warmly welcomed. When I was campaigning, lies sprouted up like weeds from long term group members, and their friends, on Alpine’s social media sites. Some made little sense. One individual said that I had called Cal Trans and asked them to remove a church banner. This had nothing to do with the election. It was coming from a person grasping at straws, looking to put me in a bad light.

By Tom H. Hastings

October 29, 2018 (San Diego) - We are now moving past “mere” voter suppression and voter intimidation. We have arrived at voter assassination. 

By Patrick Osio, Jr., San Diego

By Miriam Raftery

October 13, 2018 (San Diego) – Why doesn’t Gavin Newsom, the Democratic nominee for Governor, have a ballot statement?  Why do some candidates for local offices have them, and others don’t?

By Dave Patterson, Ramona

September 19, 2018 (Ramona) -- The US war spending, now approaching $1 Trillion annually, (1) directly impacts how we pay for schools, Medicare, Medicaid, social services and our poor and elderly (7).  We at the San Diego Veterans For Peace take the position that the resultant $22 Trillion national debt (2) created by lavish spending on war making is pitched as a good thing at the Miramar Air Show.  War made palatable with glorious pageantry and emotional thrills that can’t be topped.  This is why we ask the public to just stay home.

By Ellen Holzman, Julian, California

August 27, 2018 (San Diego) - With the November election on the near horizon, it’s vital that we all understand why we must vote for Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress: Ammar believes “women are capable of making their own choices regarding their bodies and reproduction.”

The Trump administration is taking action, but in precisely the wrong direction.

By Mel Gurtov, published by Common Dreams

The sky above Soda Bay, Calif. is seen on July 30, 2018 as the River Fire burns. (Photo:  Bob Schoenherr/flickr/cc)

August 5, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- By now we’re accustomed to learning that every year brings record high temperatures around the world. Extreme weather, says Prof. Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University, “is the face of climate change. We literally would not have seen these extremes in the absence of climate change. The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle. We are seeing them play out in real time and what is happening this summer is a perfect example of that. We are seeing our predictions come true. As a scientist that is reassuring, but as a citizen of planet Earth, it is very distressing to see that as it means we have not taken the necessary action.”

By Susan Conrad

May 31, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) — I had one of those great moments as a parent watching my child earn a milestone achievement as he made Life rank in Boy Scouts the other night. I reflected on what I appreciate most about this fine organization.  While I’m sure the best parts for him are the hiking and camping trips, I value most the ethics and values he has learned through the years. Sadly, though, I feel like we live in such a dishonest time right now, and I feel like the adults really need to do something about it so our kids aren’t left thinking that honesty and doing the right thing when no one is looking doesn’t really matter. So as parents and role models to our youth, what can we do?

Reprinted with permission from the Valley Roadrunner

By David Ross

May 10, 2018 (Valley Center) -- Anyone who knows me knows I generally turn up my nose at conspiracy theories. But there is something going on at the County’s planning department that is worthy of the word “conspiracy,” one that involves the ultimate disrespecting of the voters.

Unless I’m missing something, it also has the unspoken complicity of the lame duck members of the Board of Supervisors who will exit the board at the end of 2018.    Something this big could not be carried forward by the staff of County Planning and Development Services without their knowledge and tacit approval.

By Kilian Colin

“Mr. Miller is nothing but a bully, mocking people who want to oppose his political views.” –Kilian Colin, who has launched a Recall Jim Miller page on Facebook.

May 5, 2018 (El Cajon) -- I was just starting my breakfast before heading to school. I like to check news and social media while eating breakfast, and I noticed an article about a counseling intern at Hillsdale Middle School who had her contract revoked because she spoke to the press about the fact that the students who participated in the March 14 school walk out for Parkland were given detention. I was upset to learn that the intern’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech was violated. I decided to attend the next board meeting to speak to the board about this unfair action against the intern, who lost her job and was banned from applying to any future position in the district.

By Jaxie Russell

April 16, 2018 (Eastlake) -- When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with Selective Mutism. It is an anxiety disorder that made me very shy, nervous and not want to speak in front of other people.  It prevented me from enjoying my life and one of the most important things to me; dance!

By Mary England, Councilmember 2000-2012 retired

March 25, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- It seems that several of the current Lemon Grove Council members and the City Manager do not believe in “leading by example.”  The recent lawsuits, one that was settled for thousands and thousands of dollars, as well as the recent one just filed against a Councilmember and the City, with the Mayor being a person of interest, will undoubtedly cost more money.

An example from the San Diego Union-Tribune

By Joel A. Harrison, PhD, MPH

March 19, 2018 (San Diego) -- As a retired epidemiologist, especially interested in public health, I have been following the so-called “vaccine controversy” for many years. Recently I wrote a rather long paper that was published on a popular blog, Science-Based Medicine. I wrote this Reader’s OpEd for East County Magazine because the False Balance in this case was in our own local newspaper, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and the opinion piece by Terry Roark that my paper refutes point by point concerns California Senate Bill 277 which limits exemptions for vaccinations, clearly a topic that many East County Magazine readers will be interested in. My hope is that this short Reader’s OpEd will interest East County Magazine readers to go to the longer article, which can be accessed by clicking here. Note that the longer article allows one to link to a downloadable pdf version