District Attorney and Mayoral Candidate Bonnie Dumanis Unlikely to Prosecute Due to Political Ties to Sanders, Complaint says
February 26, 2012 (San Diego) - Today, Ray Lutz, national coordinator of Citizens Oversight Projects (COPS - Citizens Oversight, Inc.), submitted a complaint to the San Diego County Grand Jury regarding the claim that Mayor Jerry Sanders committed felony embezzlement by selling promotional signage to Qualcomm, allowing them to change their sign to "Snapdragon" during one NFL football game and two college bowl games for only $1000.
February 26, 2012 (San Diego) -- Two male inmates housed at George Bailey Detention Facility have been diagnosed with chickenpox and are isolated from the general population and are not to receive visitors or to attend activities until they are no longer considered infectious. One was diagnosed in late January and the other in early February.
February 25, 2012 (La Mesa) - Gourmet meals prepared by award-winning chefs in Grossmont College's Culinary Arts program can now be yours on Thursday evenings this spring for the bargain price of $20 per person. They're a tasty way to support students aspiring to become culinary professionals.
February 25, 2012 (La Mesa) -- One of the nation's leading performers in the storytelling revival, David Novak, will be hosting a free family performance at the La Mesa Library, 8074 Allison Ave. The event will take place on Saturday, March 3 at 10:30 a.m. and is sponsored by Young Audiences and is offered in celebration of Read Across America, the National Education Association's annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading.
February 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Has your dog ever been in the snow? Most active dogs love it! They are like kids, romping and running in the fresh powder. There are, however, a few things that you need to know if you plan on taking Fido on a snow vacation, especially if they are not used to the cold.
February 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – 'Tis the season for developing marketing plans. Well, really that season was about four months ago, at the latest. That fact notwithstanding, I am still working with some of my procrastinating clients to put together their marketing plans for 2012. Because of this, I've been looking at a lot of SWOT analyses for the last few months.
Refugee Women Find Healing and Unity Through Drumming in El Cajon
By Nikki Lyn Pugh, MFA
In a large room in El Cajon, 43 women sit in a circle. Many smile and nod as they listen to the petite woman who is speaking in the center. The speaker is Christine Stevens, founder of Upbeat Drum Circles, one of the facilitators of the event that day. Christine holds a large drum in her hands as she addresses the women around her. On the skin of the drum is an image of a woman. Her delicately- painted face is framed in a thin, light blue scarf.
February 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) -- Chance, the retriever-mix who was found with a bullet wound on the Viejas reservation earlier this week, was released from the animal hospital and arrived at the County Animal Services shelter in San Diego yesterday. X-rays show tremendous improvement in the dog’s lungs and his prognosis is very good.
February 25, 2012 (Alpine) – A series of vehicle break-ins has occurred recently in the Alpine area. “In the past two weeks, we caught two of the bad guys, linking them to Alpine area vehicle burglaries,” reports Paula H. Dickenson, USN retired, crime prevention specialist at the Alpine Sheriff Substation. But she said public help is needed, since vehicle burglaries continue to take place.
Ron Roberts, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors calls for letter grades, mobile phone aps for consumers to check ratings
February 25, 2012 (San Diego) – Supervisor Ron Roberts has announced plans to introduce county legislation to create agrading system for the expanding fleet of local food trucks, which have increased dramatically in popularity across the county.
The measure follows investigations by the UT San Diego and ECM news partner 10 News, which found that about half of all food trucks received at least one violation notice from county health officials. However,unlike restaurant records, food truck health safety records are not available online.http://www.10news.com/news/30393605/detail.html.
February 25, 2012 (Valley Center)—Marc Thompson of Valley Center has been arrested for igniting a trailer with his fiancé inside following a domestic violence dispute last night. The woman, Christina English, was able to escape without injury.
SDG&E Shares Tips on how to Properly Identify Utility Employees
February 24, 2012 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is alerting customers to be aware of a person or persons who have recently posed as a SDG&E employee and asked to enter a customer’s home. It has been reported that the imposter will distract unsuspecting customers while performing “routine inspections,” while another imposter burglarizes the home.
February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- This Saturday, the San Diego Naturalization Collaborative will host a free Citizenship Application Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at San Diego City College Learning Resource Center, 1313 Park Blvd. in San Diego.
This newly formed coalition has launched the You Are America campaign to raise awareness about the importance of becoming a U.S. citizen and to help residents navigate the citizenship process locally.
February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) continues to receive complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. As previously reported in December 2010, the typical payday loan scam involves a caller who claims the victim is delinquent on a payday loan and must make payment to avoid legal consequences.
Richard Darvas, a freelance investigative journalist who has won awards for his reporting in East County Magazine, has painstakingly dissected the case of William Richards, a prisoner whom the San Diego-based California Innocence Project believes was falsely convicted of murder.
By Miriam Raftery
February 24, 2012 (San Diego)--In August 1993, William Richards lost his wife of 22 years to a grim murder in Hesperia, Calif. Richard Darvas, an investigative reporter convinced of Richards’ innocence, observes, “State accusers wrested away the last vestiges of his dignity during four murder trials over as many years. At sentencing in San Bernardino Superior Court, the remainder of this man’s life was bartered for a hollow expedient.”
February 24, 2012 (La Mesa)—A special meeting of the La Mesa Youth Advsory Commission will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 25 at Nan Couts Cottage, 5045 Memorial Drive, La Mesa.The agenda will consider a Teen Summit with La Mesa teens to discuss issues of concern, plus desires for community programs and services for teens.
February 24,2012 (La Mesa) -- Youngsters from throughout Southern California and Arizona will compete for trophies and points during two days of Soap Box Derby Rally Races on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday March 5 in La Mesa. The Drew Ford/Kiwanis Club of La Mesa Derby Races provide valuable experience for the 7-17-year old race car drivers as two-by-two they roll down the sloping race course on Junior High Drive next to La Mesa Middle School, achieving speeds up to 24 mph.
February 24, 2012 (El Cajon)-- The Pacific Western Bank at 368 Broadway was robbed on February 21at 12:49 p.m. The FBI and local law enforcement believe he is the “Insistent Bandit” believed responsible for five bank robberies dating back to January 17, 2012. Public help is sought to identity the suspect.
The robber approached a teller and stated, “This is a robbery.” He then lifted his shirt and showed the teller a handgun tucked under his waistband. The teller placed an unspecified amount of cash inside of the plastic grocery bag that he handed to her.
February 24, 2012 (San Diego)—San Diego County residents will finally have a chance to tell the California Public Utilities Commission what they think about San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposal to charge ratepayers $463.9 million for the utility’s uninsured losses due to the 2007 wildfires caused by its poorly maintained power lines.
Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon will hold a public participation hearing on April 5 from 4-9 p.m. at the Al Bar Shriner Auditorium , 4330 Kearny Mesa Road in San Diego.
The announcement follows a February 21, 2012 “Turko Files” KUSI TV investigative report which revealed over a dozen private meetings in which SDG&E executives wined and dined CPUC Commissioner Simon,who is acting as a judge on this matter:http://www.kusi.com/story/16988213/almost-anything-goes.
February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- What if San Diego produced its own electricity with solar on rooftops and parking garage covers?Imagine if San Diego became its own utility provider—instead of SDG&E.
That’s exactly what Congressman and mayoral candidate Bob Filner proposed in a brainstorming session with top regional experts at part I of “Forging a Sustainable Future.”(Part II takes place March 3-4 at San Diego State University. Filner will be among those speaking.)
Editor's note: Pam is a friend of mine who is confined to a wheelchair with a degenerative medical condition. She has long been an inspiration to me--a talented writer who uses a pen held in her mouth to compose her works, including this impassioned plea below for the public to sign a petition asking the Legislature to let disabled people like Pam keep their in-home caregivers.
February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- This petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Keep-IHSS-out-of-Managed-Care/ is calling for an IHSS "carve-out", to keep the present IHSS program (which enables me to hire my own caregivers/assistants) as an option apart from total inclusion within a new managed care mandate.
February 23, 2012 -- (San Diego’s East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:
LOCAL
Community meeting discussing Quail Brush Power Plant Feb. 28 (Santee Patch)
Grossmont expands school enrollment choices for some (San Diego Union-Tribune)
San Diego Gas & Electric wants you to pay for its negligence (San Diego Reader)
Nature reclaims local cold war relic (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Hunter introduces bill to name Ramona Post Office after Mac McWilliams (Ramona Patch)
Helix claims Hills League title with tiebreaking victory over Grossmont (La Mesa Patch)
Veterans recover from war wounds on the farm (MSNBC)
SDPD Oversight Board Faces Favoritism Accusations
STATE
Prop 8 backers seek review of gay marriage case (Sacramento Bee)
Jerry Brown: California to reopen trade offices in China (Sacramento Bee)
Scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.
February 23, 2012 (Lemon Grove) – Six bullet casings have been recovered following reports of gunshots heard around 6:13 p.m. in the 800 block of Grand Avenue in Lemon Grove tonight.
February 23, 2012 (El Cajon)--More than 150 parents, students and members of East County communities attended last week’s special board meeting at West Hills High School to stand for or against the Board’s decision last November to change the district’s boundaries.
Despite numerous pleas to the Board to rescind the boundary changes, the Board voted four to one to keep the new boundaries in place, with trustee Priscilla Schreiber casting the only "no" vote.
Grossmont, Borrego and Ramona districts may fail to meet financial obligations
February 23, 2012 (Sacramento)—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson warned today that the latest review of school district budgets shows that one-third of public school students in California attend a district in financial jeopardy. That includes seven districts in San Diego County—three of them in East County.
February 23, 2012 (San Diego)--Friday, February 17, 2012 served as a very important day for the San Diego State women’s lacrosse program. Not only did the Aztecs host their first home game in program history, but they also scored their first win ever. This is their first season at the Division I level.
February 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) -- Chance, the retriever-mix who was found with a bullet wound on the Viejas reservation earlier this week, was released from the animal hospital and arrived at the County Animal Services shelter in San Diego yesterday. X-rays show tremendous improvement in the dog’s lungs and his prognosis is very good.
February 25, 2012 (San Diego) – Supervisor Ron Roberts has announced plans to introduce county legislation to create a
February 24,2012 (La Mesa) -- Youngsters from throughout Southern California and Arizona will compete for trophies and points during two days of Soap Box Derby Rally Races on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday March 5 in La Mesa. The Drew Ford/Kiwanis Club of La Mesa Derby Races provide valuable experience for the 7-17-year old race car drivers as two-by-two they roll down the sloping race course on Junior High Drive next to La Mesa Middle School, achieving speeds up to 24 mph. 
By Brian Lafferty
February 23, 2012 (Sacramento)—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson warned today that the latest review of school district budgets shows that one-third of public school students in California attend a district in financial jeopardy. 
By Nancy Clement
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