By Miriam Raftery

October 31, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Nine East County Magazine team members combined to win 11 awards in the 40th annual “Excellence in Journalism Awards” presented by San Diego Press Club on October 29.  ECM has won a total of 58 journalism awards since our launch in September 2008.

Our winning news entries dealt primarily with compelling public health and safety issues(wildfires and industrial-scale energy projects), though we also picked up awards for photography, feature-writing and commentary.

Congratulations to our winners!  In alphabetical order, they are:  Nadin Abbott, Parke Ewing, Paul Kruze, Brian Lafferty, Ron Logan, Jim Pelley, Miriam Raftery, Sierra Robinson, and Darin Sefcik.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Supervisor Dave Roberts with military widows Beverly Wood, Mildred Joyce Stuart and Kathy Prout

October 31, 2013 (San Diego)—San Diego Supervisors unanimously voted to support federal legislation to eliminate the “widow’s tax” on spouses of military members who died serving our country.

“At issue is the practice of federal agencies that place deductions upon military spouses' compensation while not placing those deductions upon that of civilian employees. That's just not fair,” said Supervisor Dave Roberts, who introduced the resolution locally along with Supervisor Bill Horn.

By Nadin Abbott

October 31, 2013 (San Diego) With the mayoral race moving to high gear and early voting starting, ECM has compiled information on the leading candidates in the special election San Diego Mayor, filling the vacancy left by Bob Filner’s resignation. We include highlights of their announced agendas and endorsements.

October 31, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – On October 30 at 1:30 a.m.,  Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home invasion at 8047 Blossom Lane in Lemon Grove.

October 31, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)—Cal Fire is preparing for several days of extreme fire weather across many parts of the state, since the National Weather Service has issued five separate “Red Flag Warnings” and “Fire Weather Watches” due to gusty winds and low humidity.  Cal Fire has placed additional firefighters on duty to staff extra equipment in the areas affected.  ECM has left a message for Cal Fire's media relations department inquiring whether recently closed stations in East County will receive extra staffing and whether any rural fire stations will be closed during these high fire danger days. 

Photos by Vernon Fry:  Highway 94 and Lyons Valley Road

October 31, 2013 (Jamul) – On October 28, ECM published a story citing numerous complaints from residents of near-miss crashes on Highway 94 that drivers believed were caused by lack of roadway striping during a months-long CalTrans roadway repaving project.  The story also noted a fatality accident on Highway 94, though CHP has said alcohol may have been a factor in that crash. http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/fatality-crash-raises-concerns-over-ro...

On October 20, Marcia Spurgeon with the Jamul Action Committee wrote to ECM and our news partner, 10 News, with an update:

I cannot thank you both enough for writing (East County Magazine) and airing (Channel 10 News) the serious and dangerous situation on Highway 94 in Jamul. Today at approximately noon, a large truck parked in our office driveway. Within a 1/2 hour we had not one or two but three large white arrows in the west bound turn lane. The east bound turn lane has two. The intersection at Proctor Valley and 94 also has painted arrows in the turn lanes….Bravo to both of you. I honestly believe you have saved lives by bringing this to the public's attention and obviously Granite Construction and Caltrans.

October 31, 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:

LOCAL

• Some local inmates to work in fire camps (U-T San Diego)
• Five San Diego School Sites Where Toxic Waste Was Found (Voice of San Diego)
• Sharp fined for removing wrong kidney (U-T San Diego)
• San Diego Should Have Enough Water For 2014 (KPBS)
• Water war lawsuit goes to trial (Mission Times Courier)
• HealthCare.gov Contractor’s Other Client: The City of San Diego (Voice of SD)
• Tribute - A Hole in the Heart of La Mesa (La Mesa Courier)
• FEMA To Evaluate San Onofre Safety Procedures At Public Hearing (KPBS)
• San Diego mayoral debate abruptly canceled...due to pension truth? (Reader)

STATE

• Cattle rustling up in Calif. as beef prices rise (Sacramento Bee)
• Calif., PACs reach $1M campaign-finance settlement (UT San Diego)
• 'Pepper spray' cop gets bigger payout than sprayed students. Wrong message? (CS Monitor)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

October 31, 2013 (Dehesa) -- The Dehesa Valley Community Council, Inc., on behalf of the residents of Dehesa, has completed construction of a County approved School Bus Stop at Dehesa Road and Dehesa Ranch Road.

Dedication of the bus stop will take place at the site, on Friday, November 1, 2013 at 3:30 pm.

Superintendent-Principal Janet Wilson, as well as School Board Member Derek Voth, will join the students and “ride the bus” on that day.  Jacki Finch, school bus driver and advisor for the project, will deliver them safely to the destination.

Dehesa residents are invited to  join your neighbors for this celebration of community commitment, caring and success.

Could Vestas' fire-prone turbines be installed in East County?

By Miriam Raftery

October 31, 2013 (Netherlands) – Two young mechanics, ages 19 and 21, died when a fire broke out in a wind turbine where they were performing  routine maintenance.  The tragedy occurred at Deltawind’s Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands, but highlights the hazards associated with fires caused by wind turbines.

According to the Netherlands Times, “because of the height, the fire department initially had trouble extinguishing the fire in the engine room.”  The fire started in the afternoon, but it took until evening for a special team of firefighters to arrive and ascend with a large crane.

October 28, 2013 (Jamul) - Could road paving work have caused last night's  fatality crash on State Route 94 at Otay Lakes Road?

"Without striping on the road, very few delineation markers, and no lights during this resurfacing, it becomes virtually impossible to see where you are going or know where the road is," the Jamul Action Committee wrote in an email after the deadly crash. Moreover, two more motorists have come forward to warn of near-miss crashes including at least three near-head on collisions that they blame on missing or confusing pavement markings from the resurfacing project.

Jamul residents have been warning that the repaving work, being done both day and night with multiple stops and congestion, could endanger motorists, as ECM previously reported: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/14217 . The paving is expected to continue for months.

October 28, 2013 (San Diego) -- Photographer Debbie Ekhaml sent this haunting image -- along with a description--and a follow-up shot.

"The fog (and flash) made for a spooky Halloween photo of a coyote out in the SD Wildlife Refuge," she wrote. "The flash did not seem to bother her, as I took more after the initial one."

Click "read more" and scroll down to see a second image of the coyote in brighter lighting.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos of anniversary event by Pam Wilmers and Miriam Raftery

October 27, 2013 (Lakeside) – “It started as a single flame in rugged, remote backcountry…The perfect alignment of extreme weather, fire weather and circumstances quickly transformed that flame into an enormously powerful and unstoppable force known as the Cedar Fire,” Lakeside firefighter Chuck Palmore said at yesterday’s 10-year anniversary of the Cedar Fire commemoration at the Lakeside Fire Station.  The Cedar Fire touched the lives of thousands of people, he noted. “A decade later, we gather together here today to reflect and reconnect, to share with each other our journey that has taken us from victim to survivor to thriver.”

The Cedar Fire remains the worst wildfire in California's history in size (280,278 acres, or 438 square miles), buildings destroyed (2,820, including over 2,200 homes), and people killed(15). Of those who lost homes, most have rebuilt or moved on.  But for the families of those who perished, the scars will forever remain. 

Molly Sloan lost her daughter, a granddaughter, and her daughter-in-law.  She and other family members came to this memorial service to display a photo montage in tribute to their loved ones’ memories.

October 27, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A Sig-Alert has been issued for a head-on crash at Highway 94 and Otay Lakes Road.  Incident Page Network reports a fatality.  CHP’s website indicates the head-on collision involved a white truck and a black sedan, with a third vehicle also involved.

A serious accident is also reported on Sunrise Highway at State Route 79.  According to the CHP website, one vehicle swerved to avoid another and rolled over. The vehicle is on its roof against support lines for a power pole.  At least one serious injury is reported and emergency responders are en route.

October 26, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – The Sheriff’s Department is looking for witnesses with information on an accident that occurred around 9:48 this morning involving two vehicles that collided, causing a bicyclist to also be struck and severely injured.

Deputies reported that the two vehicles were involved in a dispute over right-of-way where State Route 67 merges from two lanes to a single lane at Poway Road. As the two vehicles merged, the passenger side of a Volvo S 60 collided with the driver’s side of a Dodge Ram 3500.  After the collision, the Dodge Ram veered right, striking a bicyclist traveling northbound in a marked bicycle lane.