November 5, 2013 (San Diego) – Nearly 270,000 San Diegans, including 136,000 children and 15,000 senior citizens, had their food stamp benefits cut effective November 1st. Nationwide, around 48 million people rely on food stamps, or nearly 14% of all Americans.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego) – After winning the last five games and 10 of their last 11 Mountain West matches, the Aztecs football team will face the San Jose Spartans at Qualcomm in a crucial match.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Among East County’s best-kept secrets are the dramatic tours offered by Overland Adventures.
Autumn nights are ideal for several special upcoming experiences ranging from a classical guitar concert by moonlight in the redrock Hawk Canyon area to two overnight camp-outs for stargazers –including a chance to view an upcoming meteor shower and the spectacular comet ISON.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego) – By a unanimous vote, San Diego Supervisors this week approved an increase in general relief assistance for low-income county residents.
November 6, 2013 (El Cajon)-- El Cajon City Councilmembers Bob McClellan and Tony Ambrose have released an official response to the resignation of former Mayor Mark Lewis on October 24, 2013. Both voiced pride in the community’s diversity , acknowledged that the Mayor’s remarks on minorities were “inappropriate and wrong,” then called for unity in El Cajon. For the full text of their letter, click here.
In addition, Councilmember Gary Kendrick issued his own letter praising Mayor Lewis on his accomplishments including balanced budgets, economic stability and economic development. While he joined with Ambrose and McClellan in making clear that he did not agree with or support Lewis’ controversial comments, he stated, “Mark will always be my friend...” To read Kendrick’s letter, click here.
Kendrick told ECM,” The Mayor Lewis that I knew would never have made those statements before his stroke.”
November 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Meteor showers were reported across San Diego, Orange and Riverside County last night. The bright lights streaking across the skies were all part of the Taurid Meteor Shower, known for producing spectacular fireballs.
If you missed it, watch for the Leoinids meteor shower due up next, on November 16.
Meteor showers are caused by earth entering a zone where a comet (such as the image at left, photographed by Jim Morrison, San Diego Astronomy Association) passed through the earth-s orbit in the past. As the sun heats a comet up, it leaves a trail of dust and rocky debris ejected off.
November 7, 2013 (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 reflect 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:
November 7, 2013 (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:
November 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news each week that could impact your health and our future.
November 7, 2013 (San Diego) – Members of the Delta Upsilon fraternity at San Diego State University want to combat the stereotype of fraternity men. The “Building a Better Man” program launched over a year ago, aimed at developing leadership, character development and professional training, along with mentoring and networking opportunities.
Meetings set in Julian on November 11 and December 4
By Miriam Raftery
November 1, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Should unmanned drone aircraft testing be allowed over San Diego and East County?
San Diego’s entire Congressional delegation thinks so. All five members have signed a letter supporting efforts by Inyokern to have the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declare our region an unmanned aircraft systems test site,The Drone News reported on October 26. San Diego Supervisors have also voiced support for the proposal, directing staff to write a letter in support. Supervisor Dianne Jacob has said she supports the concept to provide jobs and fire monitoring.
But now a citizens action group called Back Country Voices has formed to oppose drone testing here. The The group plans two meetings, one at the Julian Library on November 11 at 6 p.m. and the second on December 4 at 6 p.m. Objections include safety and privacy concerns over drone surveillance, impacts of drones on the environment, bird migrations, and the deaths of innocent civilians including thousands of children worldwide inadvertently killed by drones.
Update 6:30 p.m. -- The kidnapped baby has been found safe and the father has been taken into custody near the border by Mexican authorities working in cooperation with U.S. law enforcement.
Novmeber 6, 2013 (San Diego)--A statewide Amber alert has been issued for a man suspected of abducting his infant son from Sunnyvale California. His vehicle has been sighted in San Diego and his cell phone has also been traced to here. The suspect, 22-year-old Mesut Guler, was last seen driving a tan 2004 GMC Envoy with license place 6HL892. It has a large American eagle on the rear window.
The suspect is a Turkish man, six feet tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. The two-week old infant, Henry Guler-Romero, is described as Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes.
The suspect reportedly told the mother he was leaving the state with the child and has previously threatened to harm both himself and the baby.
November 6, 2013 (San Diego)--The popularity of electronic smoking devices is increasing and on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors directed staff to review the County’s smoking and tobacco use policy to determine how “e-cigarettes” fit into it.
County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) staff were asked to come back to the Board in 90 days with recommendations to address electronic vapor devices. The battery-operated devices vaporize liquid nicotine into an aerosol mist that can be inhaled or “vaped.”
November 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A first-time visitor to Viejas Casino & Resort hit a whopping $58,221.78 jackpot after playing for just six minutes on a penny slot machine.
The lucky winner, from Whittier, California, was visiting a friend from El Cajon, who is a frequent guest at Viejas Casino & Resort. After enjoying the Buffet at Viejas on October 26, the El Cajon friend hit the casino floor for some table games play, and the visitor decided to try her luck on the Cash Multi-Spin penny slot machine. And after just six minutes of play, she hit the jackpot, according to Viejas.
November 6, 2013 (El Cajon) – Exceeding expectations, the second Annual HauntFest on Main celebration, held on Friday, October 25, was deemed as an overwhelming success by City officials. The Halloween themed event drew an estimated 20,000 people to downtown El Cajon.
Festivities were from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. with free admission. Partygoers enjoyed live bands on multiple stages, such as: Paul Cannon, Fuzzy Rankins, Rockola, Jason Weber and Back to the Garden. Families enjoyed the Terror Truck, the classic cars, the trick or treating booths, the movies on the giant movie screen, rides and games, pumpkin patch, craft booths, costumes, art show, and more.
November 6, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society will present a special edition of "History Alive" on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive Street, Lemon Grove when theater pros Anne Charlotte and Michael Harvey will recall in words, music, and images their production of the four-act melodrama "The Drunkard," presented during the glory days of the Lemon Grove Players.
In Lemon Grove in the late 1970s, along with a brand new city (1977), a revamped school district (1978), and a fledgling historical society (1978), there was a new theatrical troupe with big dreams. The Lemon Grove Players, spearheaded by such talents as Dorothy Dubois, Dr. Robert Burns, Robert and Donna Adams, Victoria and Michael Dietrich, Estelle Lauer, pianist Anona Bolieu, and a platoon of volunteers, presented everything from melodrama to Molière in local school auditoriums for the next five years.
November 6, 2013 (El Cajon) — Actor Saginaw Grant, a Sac and Fox Indian who has played numerous Native American roles in the movies and on television, said at a Student Veteran Organization event at Grossmont College on Monday, Nov. 4. that every combat veteran comes home with hidden wounds caused by the things they saw or did. However, he said, it’s important that they banish negative thoughts from their minds: “You can’t change those things by thinking about them.”
Grant, who had served in the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict, said even after separating from the military service, veterans should continue to honor the proud military traditions that have been passed down for generations. Likewise, Grant, who appeared in the 2013 movie The Lone Ranger as the Comanche Chief Big Bear, said that his Indian people should carefully listen and then honor the lessons that have been transmitted for eons in their oral traditions.
November 5, 2013 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Term Limits Committee filed the paperwork today to get voter approval for an ordinance that will limit city officials to twelve consecutive years in office. The group needs to collect 3,306 valid signatures in 180 days to place the measure on the November 2014 ballot.
Vice Mayor Kristine Alessio recently tried to get the City Council to put the ordinance on the ballot, but only Councilmember Ruth Sterling supported her motion. Alessio said, "If the Council won't do its job, the people will get it done. That's the essence of our democracy."
November 6, 2013 (San Diego) – The Center for Tomography Research Laboratory (CTECH Labs) will introduce the latest technology in brain scanning at the 6th International IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference on Neural Engineering at the Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, on November 7th at 3:00 PM PST.
The Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (or the ECVT) was first developed by CTECH Labs to enable 4D brain activity scanning. The technology offers low-cost, radiation-free, instantaneous detection of abnormalities in the brain caused by tumors, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other brain dysfunctions.
Closure of popular recreation facility among options
By Miriam Raftery
November 3, 2013 (La Mesa) – At its meeting on Wednesday, November 6, Helix Water District will vote on whether to have staff prepared detailed reports on four options for the future of Lake Jennings. Those options include:
close the lake to the public and decommission campgrounds and fishing facilities,
limit public access to only hiking, picnicking and fishing- -but the lake would no longer be stocked with fish and campgrounds would be decommissioned,
Maintain camping and fishing and invest $1,600,000 to $3,600,000 in renovations, or
Create a master plan for renovation and expansion based on the 2007 Lake Jennings Campground Master Plan at a cost of $8 million to $15 million, with additional expenses for permitting, environmental impact and mitigation.
November 3, 2013 (La Mesa) – Last year, Helix Water Board member Chuck Muse sought to prohibit board members from speaking to the media in a clear effort to silence an outspoken member critical of a rate hike. The board stopped short of that likely-unconstitutional action, instead requiring board members to make clear that they are speaking as individuals, not representing the board’s position to media and the public. http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/10180
On its agenda for Wednesday, November 6, however, the Board is proposing new policies that would go much farther. While some policy changes aim to curb abuses by officials, others have a potential chilling effect on board members’ free speech. In addition, the new policy could allow limits on testimony from the public. (View board report on proposed guidelines and agenda.)
By Cindy Buxton, Chair Forest Committee, San Diego Sierra Club
November 2, 2013 (Cleveland National Forest) – It’s been ten years since the Cedar Fire. Now it’s the beginning of Deer Season. I put this video together years ago from a Power Point on the Cedar Fire from Cedar Gorge, in the first hours and the weeks and months to follow. For the milestone remembered this week, here's another moment, remembering that last night from a world we left behind.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego) – If you speak Chinese or Vietnamese, the Registrar of Voters needs your help at local poll sites on Nov. 19 for the San Diego City mayor’s race on November 19.
Registrar Michael Vu says there is an urgent need for more bilingual volunteers to help citizens who are not yet proficient in English to vote at the polls.
Chinese and Vietnamese new poll worker orientation training classes are offered. Bilingual poll worker volunteers can earn a stipend of $90 to $110. All poll worker volunteers must be U.S. citizens, registered to vote in California, and able to read and write the English language.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego State University campus police have issued an alert regarding a suspicious incident yesterday at 1 p.m. A man approached a female near tbe Aztec Center/Cuicacalli pedestrian bridge and asked to use her cell phone. She twice refused and he ran away on foot. Although a crime did not occur, this situation is consistent with the recent iPhone thefts reported to SDSU Police.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – Helix Water District will officially celebrate its 100th anniversary as a public district at the Administration Office Boardroom, 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, California on Wednesday, November 6 at 5:00 p.m.
Helix Water District, which began as a private company called the San Diego Flume Company, went public as a result of a vote taken in the East County on November 1, 1913. The La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley Irrigation District was duly formed as a public special district under California's irrigation law.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Five new cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have been reported at area schools this week according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency. The new cases include a student at Maryland Avenue Elementary School in La Mesa here in East County.
There have been 216 cases of pertussis reported in the county so far this year, compared to last year’s total of 165 cases for the entire year, so the rate of whooping cough is on the rise.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Here’s a heads up for some key items coming up soon on the agendas in Lemon Grove, El Cajon, and at the San Diego Supervisors.
Lemon Grove’s City Council meets on Tuesday, November 5. This week, the agenda includes proposed locations for a dog park, an expert panel on community gardens, and a report on economic development challenges and opportunities in Lemon Grove.
November 2, 2013 (San Diego) Colorado has seen successful efforts to recall legislators who voted to regulate guns. Now an organizer of the Colorado effort has announced intent to launch recall efforts against eight California Democrats.
Free California founder Jennifer Kerns announced this recall effort in the Capitol on October 24. Among the legislators targeted are Senator Ben Hueso, who represents sections of the East County, and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales from San Diego.
The group says it is targeting California legislators who actively supported 12 gun-control bills, including SB374, which would have added all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines to the state's list of banned assault weapons, and AB711, which will ban lead ammunition in hunting by 2019.
November 1, 2013 (San Diego) -- If there are any contemporary filmmakers more daring than Steve McQueen, I'm hard pressed to name one. His first film, Hunger (2008), starred Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican Army Volunteer who led a hunger strike in a British prison and died in 1981. He followed it up with Shame (2011), which also starred Fassbender, this time as a yuppie with a grossly unhealthy sex addiction. The MPAA gave it an NC-17 rating for its frank and explicit depiction of sexual acts, and rightfully so, but Fox Searchlight left it as is.
November 1, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Hear dramatic eyewitness accounts, some never before told, from survivors of the Cedar Fire, firefighters who battled the blaze and saved lives, and elected officials sharing their memories of the worst wildfire in California's history. We've spent weeks compiling these special interviews, reflecting on the past as well as how far we've come -- and what is still needed to keep us safe before the next firestorm strikes.
Our one-hour special report will air today at 5 p.m. on KNSJ 89.1 FM, and again tomorrow at 9 a.m. Please tune in and sharet his information with your friends.
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
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