By Jake Christie

March 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)--I could’ve called it a “bomb” or a “fiasco”, but I prefer to call the mess that is the American private and public student loan system a “freight train” because the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming high-speed double diesel pulling 25 cars full of heavy loads.  The numbers surrounding the student loan mess are horrifying; the total student loan debt out is one trillion dollars, which is the entire US government budget in a year. Of that amount, $76 billion is in default, though Allan College of StudentLoanJustice.org put out a press release* doubting that figure because even defaulted loans have interest piled on top of them.

“…Killing rare protected species was a crime at both the state and federal level. So with the help of government agencies, the industry went to work stripping and changing environmental laws…”—Jim Wiegand

By Jim Wiegand, wildlife biologist

February 25, 2013 (San Diego's East County)-- In 1984 the California Energy Commission made the following statement in their Wind Energy Program Progress Report., "The development of wind energy in California has been very rapid, and the foundations for a significant new domestic energy industry are in place. As should be expected however, with any fast growing industry using a new technology, there are many institutional, engineering, environmental, and economic issues which must be resolved before the industry is secure and it growth assured."  

By Roy L Hales  sandiegolovesgreen.com

February 8, 2013 (San Diego's East County)--As problems with the large wind and solar projects in East County continue to surface, I suspect there will be a tendency to say Big = Bad. I’ve been doing that myself the last few weeks. I think we need to isolate the problems and deal with them one at a time.

The wind farm at Ocotillo appears to lack the necessary wind, but am also aware that one of the problems with wind farms in East Germany has been too much wind. The Czech and Polish governments are said to have flipped the switches, to cut off the flow of surplus energy into their countries.  The alleged lack of wind at Ocotillo could be an insurmountable problem, which raises serious questions about how the facility came to be built in the first place. The alleged surplus in East Germany will cease to be a problem once we develop a method of storing the excess energy for months rather than minutes.

A summary of the latest news on bird/bat mortality at wind farms

By Mark Duchamp, Chairman, World Council for Nature

"New studies reveal ... that in the United States alone ... wind turbines kill an estimated 13 million to 39 million birds and bats every year” (there are about 39,000 wind turbines in the US)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/22/big-wind-tax-credit-exterminates-endangered-specie/?page=all#pagebreak

January 31, 2013--The worldwide slaughter of birds and bats by wind farms has been confirmed by biologist Clive Hambler, who teaches at Oxford University:

By Alfred Waddell

January 17, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)--The second amendment needs to be re-defined for the modern times.

It is my notion that the right to bear arms is very similar to the right to smoke; they both have a cancerous effect that contributes to the decay in modern society. We as a society can continue to ignore and look the other way with temporary fixes that give the appearance of seriousness; however, the reality is: there are too many guns in the US; and our too-many-guns are being turned on us.

By Adrienne Niver, Lakeside

January 11, 2012--(San Diego’s East County)-- I keep reading about the industrial solar projects and keep thinking about how much better (greener) it would be if our state would put "a very tall roof" over many miles of our highways and freeways and then cover them with solar panels (tall enough for the absolute tallest vehicle that would ever go on the freeway.)

Most people think of freeways as utilitarian structures, and nothing more. But for Swedish architect and urban strategist Mans Tham, freeways are majestic structures that could serve another important purpose. (from http://www.autointhenews.com)

GUHSD Board Member Jim Kelly led the last 8 years by controlling the Board’s majority; now with a new member, Jim Stieringer, elected, let's review progress of a 12th high school

By Bill Weaver

December 2, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--There is an endless trail of disingenuous acts on behalf the majority on the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Governing Board; this editorial touches on a few. Let’s reflect on years past. Prop H passed in 2004, authorizing $274 million; the Superintendent and the Board put a 12th new high school in the main summarizing Ballot statement headlining the bond explanation. There was a GUHSD Long Range Facilities Master Plan (LRFMP) dated 2003 that stipulated a 12th high school for "Safety and Overcrowding" reasons.

By Nadin Abbott

December 18, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--It's not easy to speak of what happened last week at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman opened fire. It is harder because this is not the first mass shooting, and probably will not be the last. But with the slaughter of 20 innocent children and 6 adults, we might finally hit a tipping point in how we look at guns and our culture.

I come at this not just as a gun owner, but also as a former first responder who saw firsthand what a NATO round or a Warsaw round can do to the human body. Mexico, where I worked with the Red Cross, is a place where these weapons are used regularly by the cartels.

By Tom Myers

December 17, 2012 (Alpine)--Are you opposed to 7-Eleven selling beer, wine and spirits in the heart of Alpine? Do you think three liquor stores within walking distance of each other are too many? You can do something about it!

On December 3 the applicant, 7-Eleven, Inc., posted the required ABC notice on the fence at the corner of West Victoria and Alpine Blvd. This started the 30-day public comment period for transferring the liquor license from the Ranch Market to the proposed 7-Eleven at this new location. We believe moving this license will cause an undue concentration of licenses in the center of Alpine by clustering three off-sale license establishments within 600 feet of each other.

Moonshot for Green Job Creation Within Reach of New San Diego Leaders, Community

By Kathleen Connell

December 8, 2012 (San Diego)--As the post-election celebrations end and 2013 approaches, new leaders have been elected in San Diego in what many consider a historic moment in the region. At the same time, San Diegans, the nation, and the globe are struggling to come out of a recession so deep, it is often referred to as the second Great Depression. Meanwhile profound challenges - climate change and Hurricane Sandy - have swept through the East Coast and the consciousness of Americans as Sandy pushed the detritus of climate denial aside in its terrible force, damage and cost. 

By Daniel J. Smiechowski

December 3, 2012 (San Diego)--Locally in San Diego, as well as nationally, the Republican Party is on its way to the Land of Oz. We're not in Kansas anymore, says Dorothy to Toto. Federalists and Whigs and Republicans, oh my! Yes Wizard, demographics do count and America's GOP better not hide behind the curtain.

By Miriam Raftery, Editor

December 1, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--I looked forward to a debut last night of the Far East Project, which promised to showcase photos, art, poetry and essays telling the stories of East County. Sadly, the resulting book, The Far East Project: Everything Just as it is,  fails to live up to its promises to show the "soul" of East County. While some of the writers clearly have talent, the book's slanted approach overall is offensive.

Our assistant editor, Mayan Avitable, a retired educator, was equally aghast when she first saw the book and photos displayed at last night's event. “I’ve lived in East County for over 50 years and this is not the East County that I know,” she stated.

The project was funded by San Diego Foundation, an organization that in the past has done great good, including helping firestorm victims in East County. The project claims to capture the “uneasy beauty” of East County.  But instead, the book published under direction of Justin Hudnall, Editor Mindy Solis and So Say We All fails to live up to its expectations. It highlights overwhelmingly the seamiest elements of our region, reinforcing seemingly every negative stereotype that East County residents have long strived to overcome.

By Lynne Jennings, Board President, San Diego Guild of Puppetry

November 5, 2012 (San Diego)--To our dismay, we discovered last week that our small, hard working, non-profit has been unjustly portrayed for months in Steve Danon's campaign for SD County Board of Supervisors Seat  #3. Although it is clear that he does not feel the arts are worthy of funding(as is his right), he has for some reason made our small arts organization a prime target on his website and in the media. A refrain he has repeated over and over again has been: "No more  $10,000 taxpayer paid funds to the San Diego Guild of Puppetry”. Since we were mentioned specifically in E.A.Barrera's May 23, 2012 article, “Danon Seeks to Shake Up a Stagnant Board of Supervisors” We hope you will help us set the record straight  and let your readers know who we really are, what we actually do, why we were worthy of the one time $10,000 grant we received from the Board of Supervisors in 2004, and why we are worthy of continued funding.

By Sylvia Hampton

November 1, 2012 (San Diego)--This election is a battle between two very different philosophies of government, especially as it relates to domestic affairs. One that embraces “united we stand” and a role of federal government that is being played out at this moment in the Northeast in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. The Governors of thirteen states are desperate for the coordination skills of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the support of President Obama as they face this horrendous disaster.

This is the Democratic Party philosophy that government is necessary for the enforcement of laws, civil order and preserving equal access to basic human needs and civil rights.

A Rebuttal to Jim Kelly's guest editorial in ECM

By Bill Weaver, candidate, Grossmont Union High School Board

November 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Jim Kelly is a blue ribbon fibber. Jim Kelly says, "It is time to answer these misleading, politically-motivated attacks."

I'll say it is--there is only one politically motivated attack agent. It is Jim Kelly who for years has been officially the recruiter for the out of touch extremist right local party that is in charge of ruining the conservative name with its radical right agenda. There is zero validity to Jim Kelly's rebuttal.