January 14, 2012 (Santee) – On Monday, January 23, 2012 Sportsplex USA president Bill Berghoff will make a donation to the Santee School District Foundation in the amount of $1440. Sportsplex USA and the Santee School District Foundation (SSDF) have partnered with the goal of offering affordable youth indoor soccer programs to all parents and children in Santee.
Update: All but two Americans have been accounted for and are safe.
By Miriam Raftery
January 14, 2012 (San Diego) –The United States embassy in Rome has announced that 126 Americans were on board the Costa Concordia cruise ship which struck rocks and sunk off the coast of Tuscany, Italy this morning. All were passengers, not crew.
January 14, 2012 (Alpine) – The Alpine Community Network reports that a reader has alerted the publication to a possible attempt to read ATM users' personal identification number (PIN) codes with binoculars outside a local market.
The suspicious individual was reported in Alpine and drove a red Cadillac, however if the activity was a scam operation it could possibly target people in other communities.
Update: The Sig Alert has been cancelled and the bridge is now reopened.
January 14, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A Sig Alert has been issued for the Eastbound 8 transition to State Route 67 northbound due to a traffic accident involving two cars on the bridge. One lane remains open but others are blocked, so caution is advised.
Amid firefighting cuts, County Fire Chiefs voice concerns
By Megan McGlamery
January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--On January 5, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center released the United States Seasonal Drought Outlook for January 5- March 31. The forecast map reveals that drought is likely in southern California and the southwest. View map.
Restricted water usage and rate hikes were among the impacts the last drought had on local residents. But in East County, drought also brings heightened risk of wildfire-- a potentially alarming prospect at a time when firefighting resources are spread thin.
January 13, 2012 (Santee) – The San Diego Sheriff seeks public help to locate Joseph Todd Hall, also known as “Happy.” He is wanted for an attempted murder in Santee this morning and is considered armed and dangerous.
January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – In today’s column, we cover the latest hot topics in real estate locally and nationwide.This week’s topics are:
MLS consumer website now available
Three realtor associations in merger talks
Agents search for the perfect office
Fair-lending charges against Bank of America settlement
January 13, 2012 (Santee) – The Sheriff’s Homicide detail has been called to the scene of a shooting in the 10000 block of Prospect Avenue in Santee. At 5:09 a.m., deputies responded to a call of a shooting and found the victim inside the home.
January 13, 2012 (San Diego) – Contraband is a goofy mess. It inspires laughter at the wrong moments and reticent admiration for its actors, who display a work ethic not unlike the horse in Animal Farm, but are deserving of a better film. Part of me wants to tell you to see it for its awfulness, but I can’t. Time and money are precious. Maybe it when it comes out on home video.
FalconRidge Equine Rescue and the San Diego Horse Coalition to Rehabilitate Two Horses
Animal Control Officers with San Diego County Department of Animal Services (DAS) rescued two severely neglected horses from the community of Boulevard, and now those horses need a new home.
Chula Vista Police becomes first local law enforcement agency to use high-tech system—and offers tracking devices free
January 13, 2012 (Chula Vista) -- This week, the Chula Vista Police Department announced a new partnership with a national emergency location system known as EmFinders, a program created to enhance police response capability by greatly expediting the safe return of adults who become lost.
January 13, 2012 -- Grossmont College is looking for former students, faculty and staff members who met their spouses at Grossmont College. The couples who respond to college officials will be invited to attend a free pre-Valentine’s Day reception to be held on Friday, Feb. 10 at the El Cajon campus. The event is one of several the college is planning as part of its year-long 50th anniversary celebration through June 2012. The reception will feature refreshments and live music, including love songs from the past five decades.
January 13, 2012 (El Cajon )—The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has moved a step closer to its goal of tripling the size of its one-square-mile reservation along the Sweetwater River in Dehesa.
January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for this morning, remaining in effect until 2 p.m. for mountain areas in San Diego’s East County.
Winds of 20-30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph are forecast through and below passes and canyons. Cal-Fire has issued a no-burn proclamation banning campfires and other open fires effective immediately.
January 13, 2012 (El Cajon) – Ring in the year of the dragon at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon on January 21, where a Lunar New Year Concert will be held at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The two shows will include performances by Thien Kim, Manh Quynh, Nguyen Hong Nhung, Tien Dung, Tam Doan, Hoai Tam, Viet Huong, Trina Bao Tran, and Pham Thai Tha.
January 13, 2012 (Lakeside) -- Lakeside's River Park Conservancy, along with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, is planning a San Diego Riverbed Clean-Up in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service.
This event will take on Monday, January 16 from 9am to noon. The meeting place is at a lot on the corner of Lakeside Avenue and Channel Road in Lakeside.
January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Due to guardrail repairs, the connector ramp from northbound State Route 67 to westbound Interstate 8 will be closed Saturday morning. The closure will be in effect from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m., according to the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).
January 12, 2012 (Jamul) – Looking for some tasty ways to cook up winter vegetables from your garden? Alpine Ranch Creative Health and Ecological Solutions, Inc., a nonprofit organization, is sponsoring a garden-to-kitchen winter harvest cooking class on Saturday, January 21 in Jamul.
January 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Clarinet Quintet will perform a free concert this Sunday, January 15 at 3 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Park. These talented musicians have performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Ballet, San Diego Opera, and Starlight Opera.
January 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – View the planet Jupiter, star constellations, and the Andromeda Galaxy at a stargazing party this Saturday, January 14 at Mission Trails Regional Park from 5-8 p.m. Join trail guide and resident stargazer George Varga for this star-studded free event.
Update February 3, 2012: Sgt. Polk's death has still not been reported by the Dept. of Defense, nor has any notice of his death appeared in his family's hometown newspaper. A source has further informed ECM that his name has not been provided for addition to a memorial that honors fallen special services soldiers. Thus at this point, it appears likely that Polk did not die in service overseas. Perhaps he faked his death, or possibly someone else posted misleading information on his Facebook account.
January 12, 2012 -- (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
U.S.
U.S. economy creates 200,000 jobs in December: 6th month of gains in a row as unemployed drops to 8.5% (BBC)
South Carolina in spotlight after Romney win in New Hampshire (CNN)
Richard Cordray appointment turns “lights on” at consumer bureau (Los Angeles Times)
Obama recess appointments anger GOP (CNN)
President Obama has made far fewer recess appointments than any recent president (ThinkProgress)
Tweak in rules to ease a path to green card (New York Times)
Families of dead Blackwater contractors settle suits (San Diego Union-Tribune)
WORLD
Assad promises victory, Syria accused of war crimes (Reuters)
Iran Court sentences American to death (Washington Post)
Japan to issue new limits on atomic reactor use (NPR)
Wholesale approval of genetically engineered foods: Obama administration disappoints, angers public (Cornucopia)
Egypt Islamists win nearly two-thirds of seats (Jerusalem Post)
SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Experimental magnetic pulses may help heal a brain after stroke (NPR)
New ‘seek and destroy’ method to fight cancer (Jerusalem post)
Study: parasitic fly could explain bee die-off (NPR)
Scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.
January 12, 2012 (San Diego)—Platinum Equity, which recently sold the San Diego Union-Tribune (now U-T San Diego), has donated $300,000 to San Diego State University’s School of Journalism & Media Studies. The donation will create the Platinum Project in Digital News Literacy and support instruction in digital and social media for undergraduate SDSU students and professionals in the community.
January 12, 2012 (San Diego) – The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has been alerted to a new telephone scam that thus far is targeting Bhutanese refugees. A man identifying himself as a representative of the “Federal Grants Department” calls from a Washington, DC-based telephone number, (202) 436-9601, informing recently resettled refugees that they are eligible to receive $10,000 because they are refugees from Bhutan. To claim the money, they are instructed to produce a money order for $650, and call the telephone number for further instructions on where to send the money. Be advised that this is NOT a legitimate solicitation.
January 12, 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:
STATE
Referendum drive to overturn California Dream Act fails (Sacramento Bee)
California Supreme Court tackles redistricting (Sacramento Bee)
Gov. Jerry Brown proposes axing traditional kindergarten (Sacramento Bee)
LOCAL
Algae biofuels inject money in San Diego’s economy (LPBS)
County Supervisors back Sycuan pact (San Diego Union-Tribune)
5 charged in Sweetwater school corruption (KPBS)
Susan Davis meets her new constituents (Mount Helix Patch)
SOHO buys historic Santa Ysabel store (Ramona Journal)
Merchant alleges city, PBID violations of Brown Act (La Mesa Patch)
Scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.
January 12, 2011 (San Diego) – Want to cook up a dish savored by your favorite Hollywood celebrity from a bygone era? Frank DeCaro, author of The Dead Celebrity Cookbook—A Resurrection of Recipes from More than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen, will sign copies of his book January 14 at Babette Schwartz gift store, 421 University Avenue in Hillcrest.
ulent Activity Reported in Other Service Territories
By Brian Lafferty
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
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