FBI San Diego investigation leads to seizure of fake cryptocurrency investment domain used by Tai Chang scam compound in Burma: 400 San Diegans victimized
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.
January 11, 2012 (San Diego)—An East County comedian finds the latest rounds of arrests at the Occupy San Diego protest site to be no laughing matter. “I’m afraid to go down there. We have become a police state,” said comic Diane Jean.
January 11, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Gloria Maria Moler, 81, who was reported missing last night has been located.
“Police received a call about a wrong-way driver at 5:00 a.m.,” said Melissa Aquino with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. “An officer detained Miss Moler and later discovered a missing person’s report about her.”
January 11, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Lemon Grove Councilwoman Mary England announced today that she will seek a seat in the state Legislature. She is running in the newly redistricted 79th Assembly District, which has no incumbent. England is also president of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce.England said her priorities will be to encourage private sector job growth, balance the state budget without raising taxes, and reform of the state’s public pension system.
January 11, 2012 (San Diego County) -- You can still take the Winter Reading Challenge that runs until January 15 with more prizes being given away every week. For more details, visit your local branch or http://www.sdcl.org/
ByLori Holt Pfeiler, Associate Vice President of Our Greater San Diego Vision
January 11, 2012 (San Diego)--Right now San Diegans have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to plan for this region’s future. We can weigh in on our priorities, hopes and concerns for this wonderful place, and become part of a collective vision and action plan for the future at www.ShowYourLoveSD.org.
Ribbon Cutting is Scheduled for Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 11, 2012, Rancho San Diego) -- The highly anticipated new County of San Diego Aquatics Center at the McGrath Family YMCA in Rancho San Diego will celebrate its ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. The state of the art facility, located at 12006 Campo Road, is in a position to provide a variety of programs that help kids and adults learn water safety skills, develop confidence in and around the water and enjoy the benefits of water exercise.
January 11, 2012 (San Diego) -- SDG&E invites you to visit the Energy Innovation Center on Wednesday, January 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for a Community Open House which will include guided tours of the center and smart home, demos in the food service demonstration kitchen, and interactive kiosks and exhibits.
January 11, 2012 (Spring Valley) – Jay Newman, 53, has been identified by the San Diego Medical Examiner’s office as the victim in last night’s deadly fight in the 3600 block of S. Cordoba Avenue in Spring Valley.
Sheriff’s deputies have arrested John Guy Durham, 55, who will be charged with murder, according to a press release from the Sheriff, which also revealed new details on the crime.
January 10, 2012 (Casa de Oro) – The San Diego Sheriff’s Department is investigating an “apparent homicide” in Spring Valley. Deputies responded to a call at 5:30 p.m. of a fight at a residence in the 3600 block of Cordoba Avenue. A fatally injured victim found inside died a short time later.
Authorities have not yet released details on the victim or the cause of death.
March Members Month, The Backyard Flock: Raising Urban Chickens, Village Aquaponics Workshops, Fall in Love with Bees!, Designing a Small Space Garden and The Spring Garden Festival.
January 10, 2012 (Rancho San Diego)—The Water Conservation Garden invites the public to enjoy its 2012 winter and spring events. Gardening classes help residents save water and money by focusing on water-smart landscaping techniques and plants. Classes are taught by experts and topics include lawn removal, water-smart landscape design, backyard composting, irrigation design and gardening for children. Pre-registration is required for all classes. To enroll call 619-660-0614 x 10.
January 10, 2012 (San Diego) -- One in 16 children in the U.S. is suffering from food insecurity, the state of not being able to provide nutritious foods to you, oneself or family. This is a major problem all around the country, even in our own backyard. How can a country so advanced still be living in the 1950s in terms of food insecurity?
January 10, 2011 (McCain Valley)-- If you see smoke this week, don't panic. Cal-Fire will be conducting a prescribed burn in the area of McCain Valley in San Diego's East County during daylight hours January 11 and January 12. Approximately 90 acres of brush will be burned over the next few days as part of a vegetation managegement burn plan.
Lakeside Winner Achieves Nearly 50 Percent Energy Savings
January 5, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)– An energy efficiency program piloted by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) succeeded in more than doubling energy savings among participating residential customers during a three-month period. Erica Faunce of Lakeside, Calif., was declared the Biggest Energy SaverSM contest winner in San Diego after achieving a 46.5 percent energy savings, equal to 1,356 kilowatt hours for her family of three, and won a new laptop computer.
January10, 2012 (Lakeside) - ECM photographer Dennis Richardson snapped this photo of the unusually bright full moon this weekend at his home in Lakeside.
“I took it from my back yard using a 100 X 400 mm Canon lens set on 400 mm,” he said.
January 10, 2012 (San Diego) – For the first time, all four of the leading contenders running for San Diego Mayor will debate this Friday, January 13 at 4 p.m. Bob Filner, Bonnie Dumanis, Nathan Fletcher, and Carl DeMaio have all agreed to participate.
The event will be held at the U.S. Grant Hotel.In the public interest will jointly sponsor this debate by The City Club, Lincoln Club, Independent Voter Network (IVN.US), and the U-T San Diego.
January 8, 2012 (San Diego) – The Salvation Army Kroc Center invites guests to visit the facility at 6845 University Ave La Mesa, CA 92115 on Saturday January 14, 2012 from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring the family and enjoy child care, tours, fitness assessments and drop in on exercise classes in the gym and pool. All activities are free during the open house.
Buy a bottle of “Sequoia” wine and help save animals at a no-kill shelter
By Millicent Arko
January10, 2012 (Warner Springs) -- During January, the owners of Hawk Watch Winery in Warner Springs will be accepting donated items for Living Free, a nonprofit no-kill animal sanctuary. Dog and cat collars, beds, food, scratching posts, treats, biscuits, and items the staff needs to maintain the animals’ living spaces and grounds are all needed. In fact, Living Free has an animal “wish list” posted on its website www.living-free.org/about/our_wishlist.html
January 9, 2012 (San Diego) -- In a ceremonial changing of the gavel, Ron Roberts assumed Chairmanship of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today, Monday, January 9 at 9 a.m. at the County Administration Center at 1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego.
January 9, 2012 (San Diego) -- On Sunday, January 15, 2012, the San Diego Clarinet Quintet will perform at Mission Trails Regional Park at 3:00 p.m. in the Visitor & Interpretive Center theater or amphitheater.
The quintet is part of the San Diego Clarinet Society, and is composed of professional musicians who have performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Ballet Orchestra, San Diego Opera Orchestra, and Starlight Opera.
January 9, 2012 (Sacramento) -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that the 2012 Heritage School Registration System is open. Heritage schools—which give students a chance to focus on the language, culture, and traditions of a foreign country—must register online annually with the California Department of Education (CDE) by the end of January.
Update: The male suspect and a woman have been taken into custody early this afternoon. No injuries were reported.
January 9, 2012 (Del Cerro) – Shots have been fired at law enforcement officers by a suspect who has barricaded himself inside a Days Inn Motel at 5343 Adobe Falls Road near Waring Road in Del Cerro, visible from I-8 in the east end of Mission Valley, ECM has learned.
January 9, 2012 (San Diego) -- San Diegans should be alarmed at the amount of money coming out of their pocketbooks as a result of underage drinking, the head of San Diego County’s Alcohol Policy Panel Beth Sise said today. Underage drinking cost Californians nearly $6.8 billion in 2010, according to a report released recently by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, a nationally recognized nonprofit specializing in research related to the use of alcohol and other drugs.
Corporate Exec-Turned-Novelist Says It’s Never Too Late
January 9, 2011 (Los Angeles)--With 7 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits, and many counting the years – instead of months – since their layoff, author Darlene Quinn says now is a good time to reinvent yourself. She cites James Sherk, a senior policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, who says the jobs people held two or three years ago often simply aren’t there anymore.
January 7, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A petition has been launched by residents of the Grossmont Union High School District asking the Board to rescind boundary changes that impact approximately 3,675 current students as well as many more future students. Gregory Kerrebrock, who launched the online petition, says many homeowners and parents were never notified. “Our voices were not heard in the original decision making process,” the petition reads. “Do you know how this may affect you or your school children or property value?”
By Brian Lafferty
By Miriam Raftery
January 8, 2012 (San Diego) – The Salvation Army Kroc Center invites guests to visit the facility at 6845 University Ave La Mesa, CA 92115 on Saturday January 14, 2012 from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring the family and enjoy child care, tours, fitness assessments and drop in on exercise classes in the gym and pool. All activities are free during the open house. 
Update: The male suspect and a woman have been taken into custody early this afternoon. No injuries were reported.
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