February 21, 2012 (Jacumba) – Three-year-old Destiny Pierce is a survivor. Born with no trachea and with organs on the wrong side of her body, she defied doctors’ predictions that she would not live 24 hours and survived heart surgery.
"Mr. Pierce left his job and stopped his education of becoming a nurse so that he could stay at home and take care of his little angel, Destiny,"
said Lorrie Ostrander, a Jacumba resident who started a fundraiser to help the family in this small high-desert town in East County. Anthony Pierce needs a car to transport his "miracle" daughter to her medical appointments.
February 20, 2012 (La Mesa)—Two suspects, one armed with a silver handgun, forced three employees at the Lake Murray Café into the kitchen and stole their personal cash after they were unable to open the restaurant’s safe on February 17 at approximately 9:45 p.m. The suspects were last seen running westbound away from the business, located at 5465 Lake Murray Blvd. in La Mesa.
February 20, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--As a real estate agent, I’ve seen firsthand frustrations with factors that are needlessly driving down housing prices. Below are some of those factors, along with potential solutions.
Federal Government Asks for Additional Time to Process Proposal that Will Launch the Community-Based Adult Services Program
February 20, 2012 (Sacramento) -- The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) today announced that the elimination of the optional Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) benefit will be delayed until March 31. The one-month delay is in response to a request by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for more time to process California’s amendment to the existing 1115 “Bridge to Reform” waiver to implement the new Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS) program.
February 20, 2012 (La Mesa) – at 5:45 a.m. on February 18, La Mesa Police officers responded to a radio call of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of 7484 University Avenue. As officers arrived, the suspect vehicle fled and failed to yield to officers. A short vehicle pursuit ensued, ending when the suspect vehicle collided with a utility pole at Lowell Street and Normal Avenue. As the primary officer exited his vehicle, the suspect put his vehicle in reverse, driving at the officer and striking the officer’s patrol car.
February 20, 2012 (La Mesa) Former Grossmont High School head football coach Ron Murphy passed away on Tuesday after a battle with skin cancer. Murphy was 48 years old.
Grossmont High School dedicated its basketball game against Helix High School in honor of Murphy. Grossmont High School also held a celebration of Murphy’s life on Saturday morning at the football field on campus.
February 20, 2012 (Alpine) – The Alpine Community Planning Group’s agenda for February 23 includes addressing SDG&E’s request for a noise variance to fly helicopters on Sundays through May. Also on the agenda is a subcommittee recommendation for Albertson’s Park, a presentation by the County on streetscape improvements (phase 2) for Alpine Boulevard, and an update from SDG&E on Powerlink, streetscapes and underground utilities.
February 20, 2012 (San Diego)--Last weekend at the Democratic State Convention, Senator Dianne Feinstein discussed her agenda for Congress as well as her aspirations for the United States. The Senator, who has served for 20 years, seeks reelction in November.
February 19, 2012 (El Cajon) -- A residential fire in the 500 block of Millar Avenue in El Cajon early Saturday morning threatening neighboring homes briefly. Heartland Fire & Rescue crews arrived five minutes after receiving a call and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the front windows of the single story residence.
Fire crews stretched hose lines to the interior of the house and aggressively fought the fire while a truck crew simultaneously cut a hole in the roof to ventilate the structure. The coordinated quick attack by firefighters confined the fire to the residence, saving nearby homes.
February 18, 2012 (Sacramento)--Senator Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon)- has sent letters to Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris raising concerns over Cal-Trans regarding what he terms the “Bay Bridge phony inspection” scandal at Caltrans.
The Sacramento Bee and the Mercury News ran front page stories (“Caltrans worker 'unfired,' allowed to resign”, “Caltrans wants prosecution for forged tests”) about Caltrans re-hiring Duane Wiles, the safety inspector found to be falsifying bridge safety tests, as well as the Caltrans cover-up and efforts to avoid public scrutiny,” Anderson wrote in a newsletter to constituents.
February 17, 2012 (San Diego) – State Senator Juan Vargas will join with California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to co-host a town hall meeting Thursday, February 23 from 6-8 p.m. Topics will include how to file complaints with the Dept. of Insurance, disaster preparedness and recovery, and senior issues such as annuities, Medicare advantage and supplements, scams, and long-term care insurance.
Update June 24, 2012: The new location fo the East County Produce Exchange is the parking lot between the Jamul Hardware Store and the new Jamjul Cafe. The exchange has also changed its hours, from 4-5:30 p.m. on the last Saturday each month.
By Ariele Johannson
February 18, 2012 (East County) -- We have all seen oranges or lemons abandoned under trees in someone’s yard or even our own. Some of us have olives or pomegranates but no time to process them. Now there is a local solution. It is called the East County Produce Exchange, created by two Steele Canyon High School students in Jamul, John Chapman and Blake Powers. ECPE teamed up with Alpine Ranch Creative & Ecological Solutions, Inc. or A.R.C.H.E.S to organize and sponsor the Exchange. The venture has been wildly successful. You can visit their website at http://www.archesinc.org/east-county-produce-exchange.html .
February 17, 2012 (San Diego) – The California Democratic Party has posted videos on its website of speeches by comedian-turned-Senator Al Franken as well as by Governor Jerry Brown and all statewide office holders at this website: http://www.youtube.com/user/cademorg?ob=0&feature=results_main .
February 17, 2012 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon has two great museums to visit during February - museum month. The Knox House has a wealth of information about the 100-year history of the City of El Cajon, displaying photos and artifacts. The Knox House was the first commercial building in El Cajon, built in 1876 as a hotel for travelers on their way to the Julian gold mines. The Knox House Museum will be open each Saturday in February, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at 280 N. Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon. Admission is free. You can also schedule private tours for your class or organization. For more information, please call (619) 444-3800, or visit www.elcajonhistory.org.
Freshman catcher Brian Lockey hits game-winning 3-run double in eighth inning
February 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)— On February 10, the count was three balls and two strikes. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the bases were loaded with two outs. With Grossmont College trailing Pasadena City College 8-6, freshman catcher Brian Lockey (Bonita Vista HS) dug into the batter’s box as he got ready for the pitch.
February 17, 2012 (San Diego)-- San Diego Police Department Robbery Unit detectives confirmed the arrest of Harvey Henry Duson, 45, in connection with the violent home invasion robbery that occurred last month at the Sandburg Avenue residence of former City Councilmember Harry Mathis.
February 17, 2012 (Kitchen Creek) -- The name Kitchen Creek brings up many thoughts of times gone by. One can only imagine gold miners giving this creek its name.
By Joel A. Harrison, PhD, MPH “If we had free market competition, SDG&E would have to absorb the costs of the fire. Quite simply, if
they raised their rates, consumers would switch to other providers.”
February 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) -- Sempra-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric wants “San Diego-area utility customers to pay for nearly all of an estimated $463 million in cost not covered by insurance from the catastrophic 2007 wildfires that were triggered in large part by its power lines,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. “At stake is who ultimately pays for the fire’s destruction — ratepayers or shareholders.” SDG&E wants the ratepayers to cover 95 to 100 percent of excess wildfire and related litigation costs.
February 17, 2012 (Lakeside) – Firefighters from El Cajon and Lakeside Fire Departments utilized the jaws of life to free an injured motorist in a rollover accident on Aurora Drive. The crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. yesterday. The female driver was traveling west on Aurora when she failed to slow down at a sharp corner and hit a curb, causing her vehicle to flip over, according to the CHP.
February 17, 2012 (Lakeside) – Toby, a Shiba Inu dog belonging to Lakeside resident Tim Ellis and his wife is free, thanks to the efforts of Lakeside firefighters. While chasing a squirrel, the dog got its head caught between rocks in an artificial waterfall.
February 17, 2012 (Washington D.C.) – Congressional members are wrangling over extension of the production tax credit (PTC) , which is due to expire December 31. According to Wind Power Monthly, “uncertainly over it future is already causing companies to suspend development activities and hold off on turbine orders for 2013.”
February 17, 2012 (San Carlos) – Water color and collage artist Jean Waters will be the featured artist at the San Carlos Library from now through March 1. A reception will be held Saturday, February 18 from 12-2 p.m.
February 17, 2012 (Lakeside) – A lineman for a PAR Electric subcontractor working on SDG&E’s Sunrise Powerlink suffered serious injuries yesterday in a fall in Lakeside’s El Monte Valley.
February 17, 2012 (La Mesa)--Gold and blue balloons spotted the La Mesa Village Plaza this past Tuesday for the kick-off of the yearlong La Mesa Centennial celebration.
The crowd waited expectantly, cameras in hand, for a special blue Centennial trolley wrapped in historical photos.A band played old-time tunes as the trolley rolled into the station and the Centennial committee, along with Mayor Art Madrid and the City Council, disembarked.
February 18, 2012 (San Diego) -- The 41st annual American Indian Pow-Wow will be held on March 17 at San Diego State University.
This free event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the San Diego State Alumni Association, Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and the SDSU President's Leadership Fund.
Gourd dancing begins at 11 a.m. with a grand procession at 12 noon at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.
How many massive energy projects are too many for one rural community to absorb?
“They want to put these all out here, because we’re throwaway country people.” – Howard Cook
By Mia Myklebust and Miriam Raftery
February 16, 2012 (Jacumba) – Walking along the shores of Lake Jacumba, it’s clear that Howard Cook has big dreams for his community. Chairman of the Lake Restoration Committee, he has wrested a pledge from the Audubon Society to restore the once-dry lake.
“We want to have fishing, boating, and recreation,” he says. Cook is working with others who dream of “making this another Taos—art, wildlife, hiking, Indians and birds.”
But there’s trouble on the horizon. Multiple industrial-scale wind and solar farms soon stand to surround this tiny town, jeopardizing its most cherished natural treasures. Sites include publicly owned recreation lands, notably a spectacular scenic gorge known to locals as “our Grand Canyon,” Cook points out.
Jacumba is a proverbial canary in the coal mine—a warning of what other publicly-owned preserves and rural communities across America may soon face.
February 16, 2012 (San Diego) – State Senator Juan Vargas came to the California Democratic Convention hoping to find support for his campaign to fill Bob Filner’s seat in Congress.He won the party endorsement—but has lost support from many here. A group of activists surprised Vargas in the hall and presented him with a “Spineless Rubber Chicken” award for twice ducking a vote on SB 810, a landmark healthcare reform bill opposed by the insurance industry.
Insurers reportedly spent $1.46 million to elect Vargas to the Legislature. His Congressional campaign has taken another $140,000 in insurance and pharmaceutical contributions, as ECM previously reported http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/8577
Proposed Pay Raises Defy all Logic During These Economic Times, Kostrinsky says
February 17, 2012 (San Diego) – When the seven members of the City of San Diego’s Salary Setting Commission unanimously proposed to increase the salaries of Councilmembers from $75,000 annually to $175,000 annually while increasing the Mayor’s salary from about $100,000 to $235,000. City Council candidate for District 7, Mat Kostrinsky has come out against the proposal.
February 21, 2012 (Jacumba) – Three-year-old Destiny Pierce is a survivor. Born with no trachea and with organs on the wrong side of her body, she defied doctors’ predictions that she would not live 24 hours and survived heart surgery. 
By Brian Lafferty
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
Recent comments