March 16, 2013 (San Diego)--Mayor Bob Filner has launched the City’s first ever Open Government web pages. The newly created web pages are another step by Mayor Filner to provide easier access to documents the public has a right to and need to know.

“The public has a right to know what their government is doing, and why,” said Mayor Filner. “This information will help make it easier for the public to participate and find documents.”

March 16, 2013 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: I’d like to have a garden that encourages bees and butterflies. What’s the best approach?                                                              

-- Robert Miller, Bakersfield, CA

Attracting bees and butterflies to a garden is a noble pursuit indeed, given that we all depend on these species and others (beetles, wasps, flies, hummingbirds, etc.) to pollinate the plants that provide us with so much of our food, shelter and other necessities of life. In fact, increased awareness of the essential role pollinators play in ecosystem maintenance—along with news about rapid declines in bee populations—have led to a proliferation of backyard “pollinator gardens” across the U.S. and beyond.

By Janis Mork

“I’m very close to the homeless. They’re people. Not all are troublemakers….. I know several who need help. We need to get tools together for a community committee, so we can get people off the streets and into homes.” – Clifva Budke, Medical Billing Enterprise

“I’ve stated many times that Santee is not a social services business. We’re in potholes, we’re in law enforcement, and we’re in fire fighters. .. I have a problem with the homeless industry.” – Mayor Randy Voepel

March 15, 2013 (Santee)- At Wednesday’s Santee City Council meeting, City Manager Keith Till brought up a report on strategies to reduce  problems related to the transient [homeless] population, sparking a robust discussion on how best to address homelessness in Santee—and whether the solutions should be purely punitive, or include services to help those in need. 

By Janis Mork

March 15, 2013 (Santee) - At Wednesday’s city council meeting, the council was informed of a Santee Public Art Sub-Committee under the Santee Park and Recreation Committee. Community services director Bill Maertz explained that the new sub-committee hopes to have public art projects and paintings among other things to promote works of art, such as depictions of nature. “We’re looking at proceeds from the Bluegrass Festival, volunteer painters, and donations from public” along with anyone else who may offer their skills and expertise, he said.

March 15, 2013 (Alpine) -- An 11--year-old boy has been struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Alpine Boulevard and Tavern Road, Incident Page Network (IPN) reports. Mercy Air is on standby.

According to the CHP website, the vehicle that struck the child is a Honda Odyssey.

Watch for updates on this story soon.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of Heartland Fire

March 14, 2013 (El Cajon) – Mollison Avenue is closed between Washington and East Main Streets due to eight power poles that toppled over.

“It might be a good 24 hours,” Monica Zech, spokesperson for the City of El Cajon, told ECM late tonight. Earlier an estimated 1500 residences were without power, though all but about 300 have now been restored. 

“Some residents are trapped in parking lots and can’t get out of their homes. Others parked on side streets and went in,” she said, adding that there were no evacuations and El Cajon Police have been escorting pedestrians back into the area.

HooleyFest moves to March 16, race takes off on March 17

March 14, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Sure ‘n’ what could be finer on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, than to take a run to benefit several East County charities – and have a chance to win a bit of green for your efforts?

The5K Hooleys to Hooleys half-marathon  race will benefit the East County Chamber of Commerce, St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center,  Home of Guiding Hands, Stoney’s Kids, Partnership with Industry, and the East County Transitional Living Center.  Get a T-shirt for entering and a medal for finishing—plus you can s cash prizes of $500 for the lad and lassie who place first and additional prize money for second and third places. 

Also enjoy Hooleys beer and plenty of St. Patrick’s Day cheer—and don’t forget to wear some green.

By Miriam Raftery

March 13, 2013 (Boulevard) – Iberdrola’s Tule Wind project has been slapped with a federal complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The lawsuit was filed by two nonprofits in San Diego’s Rural East County, the Protect Our Communities Foundation and Backcountry Against Dumps.

If built, Tule Wind’s phase I would include 67 turbines on federal land, each nearly 500 feet tall in rugged McCain Valley, a federal wildlife management and popular  recreation area. Additional turbines are planned on adjoining state, tribal and private property. Turbines would be close to campgrounds and homes in rural Boulevard, a predominantly low income community in East County where numerous other massive-scale energy projects have already been proposed. (See map showing cumulative impacts.)

 “Eastern San Diego County is targeted as a rural sacrifice industrial energy and transmission zone without benefit of equal protection under the law,” said Donna Tisdale, also a plaintiff in the suit.

March 14, 2013 (San Diego's East County)--Give the Dream, a fundraising extravaganza to benefit Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students facing financial emergencies, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at three East County locations: Grossmont Center, Parkway Plaza and Santee Trolley Square Center. 

The event is being held to raise money for Dreamkeepers, a program that awards scholarships of up to $500 to students who face a financial hardship that threatens their ability to stay in college.

March 14, 2013 (San Diego)--Three additional deaths were reported for this flu season, including the first child’s death, the County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) announced yesterday.

A 10-month old child who had underlying health conditions died in February and was referred to the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. In past flu seasons, San Diego has reported zero or one pediatric death each year due to influenza. Last year there was one pediatric death.  The total number of overall deaths for this flu season is 51.

Certain CalFresh Recipients Eligible to Participate

March 14, 2013 (San Diego)--The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency has launched a new program to help seniors, disabled individuals and homeless gain more opportunities to buy hot, prepared meals with their CalFresh benefits.

The Restaurant Meals Program allows certain CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) recipients who have difficulty preparing meals for themselves or do not have a place to store and cook food, to use their benefits at participating restaurants.

By Jim Lissner

March 9, 2013 (El Cajon)--Anyone who watches the crash videos circulated by the red light camera Industry will notice that most of the crashes occur many seconds into the red.  The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), with sponsorship by the Texas DOT, studied 41 crash videos obtained from red light cameras and confirmed what the public has been noticing: "With one exception, all of the right-angle crashes occurred after 5 seconds or more of red."  They also reported that the average was 8.9 seconds into the red.  (Link to the study:  http://thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/04-alternatives.pdf. See pages 5-15 and 5-16.) 

March 13, 2013 (Jamul) -- Debbie Ekhaml caught the action as twin fawns leaped across a meadow in an ecological preserve in Jamul.  Who knew that Bambi could jump so high--nearly resembling a kangaroo at times?

"I have many pictures of them with the doe, but like them jumping the best," wrote Ekhaml, who declined to disclose the precise location in order to protect the deer from hunters.