Fundraiser to provide Japan relief set for March 25
By Jeremy Los
March 16, 2011 (San Diego) -- Following the destruction of the 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami that hit Japan last Thursday, many on the San Diego State campus feared for those studying abroad and for the families of the over 100 Japanese students at SDSU. Shortly after the tsunami, SDSU confirmed on its website that at least 12 of the 16 students studying in Japan were safe and unharmed. The other 4 students were also believed safe because they were studying hundreds of miles away from the areas hardest hit.
“As it stands now all sixteen students traveling abroad in Japan are safe and we’ve communicated to each directly,” SDSU Media Relations Manager Gina Jacobs advised ECM in a subsequent update.
March 16, 2011 (San Diego) – CNN reports that the U.S. military has temporarily blocked access to 13 major sites including YouTube, eBay, Amazon. Sites are blocked across the Department of Defense’s .mil computer system at the request of the Pacific Fleet, which is off the Japan coast aiding in rescue and relief efforts.
The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, based in San Diego, has been posting photos and updates on Facebook about crews' efforts to assist following the 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and now, nuclear crisis.
Update 11 a.m. - The SWAT situation has been resolved and one suspect has been taken into custody, Lt. Walker has confirmed. No further information on the possible explosive device is yet available.
Update 3:15 p.m. The suspect has been identified as Sean Arevalo, 31.
March 16, 2011 (Santee) A SWAT team is at the scene of a home on Chantilly Court a few blocks east of Woodside, where a caller said a man threatened violence. He has since barricaded himself in a back bedroom with his girlfriend, the Union-Tribune reports.
March 16, 2011 (San Diego) - The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team continues its storied season as the second seeded team in the Western Regional of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament. Winning the Mountain West Conference (MWC) tournament and having a record of 32-2 gave the Aztecs a favorable seed from the NCAA selection committee, which announced on Sunday (3/13) the 68 teams that qualified for the championship tournament.
March 17, 2011 (San Diego's East County) --The 2011 Grossmont High School District Cheer Competition will be held on Wednesday, March 23, at 6 p.m. in the El Cajon Valley High School Football Stadium.
The competition will feature teams competing at the Junior Varsity, Varsity, Varsity Advanced and Varsity Co-ed levels. There will also be a Best Jumper and Best Tumbler award.
March 16, 2011 (San Diego) -- Radiation levels on the the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii are not elevated overall above normal expectations as of early this morning, according to data on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency RadNet site. Some West Coast cities showed levels below many locations in points farther east.
Update January 22, 2012: Here is a link to locations that are providing free tax services this year for seniors, low income individuals and others in need, from the American Association of Retired Persons: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/8479.
March 15, 2011 (San Diego) –Twelve search dog teams, including six from California and six from Virginia, are now on the ground in Japan searching for survivors. “It’s a very warm story. These were all shelter dogs,” Janet Reineck of the National Search Dog Foundation in Ojai, California, told East County Magazine.
Now the rescued dogs help rescue humans following some of the most devastating disasters in history.
March 16, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- Last month, the Little Hoover Commission issued a report about California's pension system: Public Pensions for Retirement Security. The Report is filled with information about where our pension finances stand, explanations about how we got here, and dire warnings about where we will be without an immediate change of course.
The Little Hoover Commission is an independent government oversight commission created in 1962. By statute, it is a bipartisan board consisting of five members appointed by the Governor and four named by the Legislature, as well four legislators. Here are a couple of examples of the Little Hoover Commission findings:
March 15, 2011 (San Diego) -- San Diego will be the scene for one of many national rallies being held Tuesday night in reaction to deep budget cuts in California, Wisconsin, Washington and across the nation. Inspired by protests in Wisconsin, America's heartland, over gutting collective bargaining rights for workers, organizers say such cuts are destroying the American dream.
Entitled “Defending the Dream,” the rally will take place at County Administration Building,1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego at 6 p.m.
Radiation levels around the crippled reactors now high enough to cause “immediate harm to human health” Japanese authorities say, adding core containment may be breached.
“I wouldn’t be within 50 km right now. If I was not a Japanese national, I would be making plans to leave.” – Murray Jennex, nuclear expert at San Diego State University, tells ECM in exclusive interview
Updated March 15, 2011 1:40 a.m. - Russia, S. Korea on "high alert" for possible radiation poisoning
By Miriam Raftery
March 14, 2011 (San Diego) – NHK TV in Japan this evening has broadcast the latest grim twists in the nuclear crisis at plants in Fukushima. Radiation levels over 400 milisieverts--that's 1,000 times higher than the microsievert measurements earlier reported (the equivalent of 400,000 microsieverts)-- are now present following a third explosion-- this one at reactor #2 and considered more serious than two prior explosions at reactors #1 and #3.
According to a radiation expert interviewed on NHK, exposure at these levels can cause infertility. “Just in an instance you mean?” a reporter asked. “Yes,” the expert confirmed, adding that at 500 ML, lymphocytes (white cells) in blood will decrease. Anyone without protective clothing is at risk, he emphasized, adding that radiation at these levels “can affect your genes….It is very dangerous.”
March 14, 2011 (San Diego) --I applaud Supervisor Diane Jacob's endeavors to keep the Powerlink out of her district because of concerns for the environment.
However, I can't for the life of me understand why she would support the Gregory Canyon dump in the North County, where the canyon is also home to eagles and various endangered species, where it will desecrate Native American sacred sites, and where money seems to rule.
Update 6:30 p.m. - The suspect has been arrested after homicide investigators learned that he checked into Grossmont Hospital under an assumed name, Lorenzo Marcario. He has been charged with murder.
March 14, 2011 (Jamul) – The San Diego Sheriff’s office has issued a special bulletin seeking public help to locate Miguel Medina Sanchez, 32, also known as Macario Lopez Merino.
He is wanted for the murder of Maria “Irma” Palos De Rubio, 44 at 15677 Lyons Valley Road on Saturday, March 12th.
March 14, 2011 (Blossom Valley) – Looking for a great companion, therapy dog, or family dog? Check out these graduates of our “Shelter Dogs to Dream Dogs” training. All dogs and pups have learned manners, respect, and basic obedience and are ready for their new, forever homes.
March 14, 2011 (San Diego) – The U.S. S. Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier based out of San Diego, has repositioned after detecting radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant in Japan that has undergone a partial meltdown. According to Captain Thom Burke, commanding officer, all personnel aboard are “safe and healthy.”
The ship has been deployed to assist in relief efforts following the devastating earthquake and tsunami, which has left an estimated 10,000 dead and many more missing in Japan.
Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) recently introduced several bills, including measures to improve oversight of local government, allow all-mail elections in San Diego County, permit renters to display political signs, boost installation of solar power, expand demographic data, and emphasize transit before freeway expansion of I-5.
March 13, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A string of catastrophies in Japan, starting with one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, which triggered a tsunami and multiple nuclear plant failures, is epic in scale.
March 14, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Don’t want to fight crowds to head to downtown San Diego for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, or drive home after a night of partying? Sure ‘n’ we’ve got the answer!
Irish pubs in La Mesa, Rancho San Diego and Poway are hosting their own celebrations—complete with free cab rides home. For families, an Escondido park is offering a St. Patrick’s Day hike and crafts. Plus a Scripps Ranch church is holding a special St. Patrick’s Day mass--in Gaelic.
March 17, 2011 (Lakeside) – Roundup the kids and head on out to Lakeside on Sunday, March 20th, where carnival activities, an astro jump, barbecue and auction are all part of a fundraising event to benefit the East San Diego County Junior Fair.
March 13, 2011 (La Mesa) –A vehicle stolen in a violent carjacking in the Skyline area of San Diego last was recovered in La Mesa, San Diego Police report. The victim was invited to a party at a home on Shorewood Drive, but arrived to find no party. Instead, three black men in their early 20s approached the victim and one struck him in the back of the head with a handgun.
March 12, 2011 (San Diego) -- The massive 9.1 earthquake-fourth worst in recorded history--and subsequent tsunami in Japan Friday has left the world reeling. More than 1,300 are dead, Modern Tokyo Times reports, and 88,000 missing according to Business News. Today, 150,000 have been evacuated due to emergencies at nuclear reactors.
March 16, 2011 (Santee) A SWAT team is at the scene of a home on Chantilly Court a few blocks east of Woodside, where a caller said a man threatened violence. He has since barricaded himself in a back bedroom with his girlfriend, the Union-Tribune reports.
By Christopher Mohr
Update January 22, 2012: Here is a link to locations that are providing free tax services this year for seniors, low income individuals and others in need, from the American Association of Retired Persons: 
Rescued dogs now trained to rescue people
March 14, 2011 (San Diego) --I applaud Supervisor Diane Jacob's endeavors to keep the Powerlink out of her district because of concerns for the environment.
March 14, 2011 (Jamul) – The San Diego Sheriff’s office has issued a special bulletin seeking public help to locate Miguel Medina Sanchez, 32, also known as Macario Lopez Merino.
March 14, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Don’t want to fight crowds to head to downtown San Diego for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, or drive home after a night of partying? Sure ‘n’ we’ve got the answer!
March 13, 2011 (La Mesa) –A vehicle stolen in a violent carjacking in the Skyline area of San Diego last was recovered in La Mesa, San Diego Police report. The victim was invited to a party at a home on Shorewood Drive, but arrived to find no party. Instead, three black men in their early 20s approached the victim and one struck him in the back of the head with a handgun.
By Jeremy Los
By Miriam Raftery
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