By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Bob Scheid, shortly after the West Fire began, helped us provide critical early warning to our readers

July 9, 2018 (Alpine) – In the critical first few hours of the West Fire in Alpine, our East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts provided the earliest news that a fire had begun and was threatening homes in Alpine. In the first 12 hours, we posted 38 updates including Twitter, email, articles and social media.

During the fire’s first day, our first alert was sent at 11:44 a.m (simultaneous to the Forest Service's first Tweet five minutes after the fire was reported at 11:39 a.m., per Cal Fire's incident report). That was nearly an hour and a half before the first Cal Fire and County Fire Authority Tweet at 1:04 p.m.  and a full four hours before the first Cal-Fire e-mail alert went out at 3:43 p.m. announcing “numerous structures destroyed.”

Cal Fire/County Fire Chief Tony Mecham has said homes were burning within eight minutes after the fire started, Patch.com reports.

Alpine Fire Department, battling the inferno amid power outages and grappling with a seriously injured fire captain, didn’t get their first Twitter alert out until the next day.  Cleveland National Forest did send timely alerts via Twitter only, but stopped after the fire burned outside of federal lands and into neighborhoods with homes.

During the first 12 hours of the fire, we sent frequent updates via Twitter and email, as well as posting numerous updates on our webpage plus photos and video link. We even went the extra mile to post some information on our Facebook page and on some community forum Facebook pages in or near the Alpine area, where many were without power but could access those sites on cell phones.

July 9, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Trump administration halts billions in insurance payments under Obamacare (Reuters)
• Trump administration names new U.S. drug enforcement chief (Reuters)
• HPV test more effective than Pap smear in cancer screening, study suggests (CNN)
• Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore evacuated due to possible TB exposure (Reuters)
• Sperm quality improved by adding nuts to diet, study says (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• The California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Bad Yelp Reviews (Reason)
• Scientists create 'test-tube rhino' in hopes of saving dying species (CNN)
• A new study shows that students learn way more effectively from print textbooks than screens (Business Insider)
• Dear Cable TV, You're Fired! Says Consumer Reports (MediaPost)
• EU's controversial copyright law rejected by parliament (BBC)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Ready San Diego

July 8, 2018 (Alpine)—The grim toll wrought by the 505-acre West Fire in Alpine has risen. With the wildfire now 92 percent contained and all evacuations lifted, reentry brought relief for some who found homes still standing, but heartache for others facing total devastation.

The fire destroyed at least 56 structures, including 34 homes, a business, and 21 other buildings including barns and sheds.  Another 15 homes were damaged, along with 5 outbuildings.

Merlyn Cochran, assistant manager at Baron’s Market, was at work  when the fire started. Neighbors Al and Sharon Haven told Cochran and her husband to “go get my mother-in-law, who is 96 years old and lives at our ranch, because the winds were shifting and blowing towards our ranch,” Cochran recalls.

Food for Life, by Laila Ali (St. Martin’s Press, New York, N.Y., 2017, 312 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

July 8, 2018 (San Diego) - Passionate health advocate, cook, television personality, and four-time undefeated boxing world champion Laila Ali’s first cookbook is an idea-rich guide for happy dinners (and breakfasts and lunches) at home.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Facebook

July 8, 2018 (Alpine) — An Alpine Fire Department crew, the first to arrive at the West Fire in Alpine on Friday, swiftly found themselves surrounded by flames and narrowly managed to escape.  The scorching flames were so hot that they melted tires on the fire engine, 10 news reports.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left, courtesy San Diego Sheriff Office, Alpine

July 6, 2018 (Alpine) – At the Secret Hills Ranch in Alpine, owner Missy Bender posted this  panicked message on Facebook today as the #WestFire approached: “Fire is here desperately need help…”   With 41 horses in need of evacuation, she pleaded for  help “even on foot” adding that the Sheriff wasn’t letting trailers in. “We have to lead horses out on foot,” she said, adding, “We are fighting the fire off our back fence…”

The Arts District at Liberty Station’s Ingram Plaza will transform into a sea of colors as local artists display artwork of all mediums

East County News Service

July 7, 2018 (San Diego) – ArtWalk @ Liberty Station will return to Ingram Plaza for its 13th year on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12 in the Arts District at Liberty Station. The free event’s 2018 theme “Connecting Creative Communities” embodies ArtWalk’s mission to bring San Diego together to enjoy art and cultural expression all weekend long. In addition to thousands of works of art, attendees can also expect food, wine and beer, live entertainment and interactive art projects. East County artists include clay artist Cindy Teyro, photographer Amir Barlev, jewelry artist Bette Barnett and abstract artist Theresa Vandenberg Donche.

Judicial finding that Kalashos engaged in cyber-harassment, defamation and other intimidating actions comes within days of ECM reporter Paul Kruze filing a police complaint alleging that Councilman Kalasho threatened him with an attack dog and defamed him on social media.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Ben and Jessica Kalasho at  a Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce event, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark office forced them to change the name of the organization due to trademark infringement.

July 6, 2018 (El Cajon) – Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor has issued a judgment granting a motion  filed by beauty pageant contestants and a taco shop owner against El Cajon Councilman Ben Kalasho and his wife, Jessica. The ruling allows documents and a supporting declaration  submitted by plaintiffs’ lawyers to be admitted as facts at trial and  most damning, orders evidence of the following admissions to be submitted  at trial as true facts--meaning the Kalashos cannot dispute the accuracy of these findings in court:

• Kalasho, his wife and their entities created fake nude photos of Miss Middle East pageant Queen Zhala Tawfiq and published them online “intending to cause and causing Ms. Tawfiq severe emotional distress.”
• Kalasho propositioned pageant contestant Paris Kargar, offering sex in exchange for assuring she won the 2016 Miss Middle East pageant. He made statements indicating her declining this proposition cost her a fair shot at the title.
• Kalasho whispered in Kargar’s ear, “You are so f*cking hot, I cannot take my eyes off you.” He also made comments about her breasts jiggling as she walked down the runway.
• Kalasho conducted one-on-one recorded interviews with 2016 contestants including Tawfiq and Karger, but destroyed these videos after the lawsuit in which Kargar contends she was harassed during her interview.
• Kalasho,his wife and his entities created multiple alias Facebook profiles used to make defamatory posts against Tres Taqueria, including fabricated poll results and false claims of food poisoning after the restaurant owner refused to post Kalasho campaign signs.
  

Update 5 p.m. The County has declared an emergency due to the fires: County proclaims a local emergency due to the fires:  http://www.sdcountyemergency.com/updates/county-proclaims-local-emergenc...   The Governor has also declared a state emergency in San DIego County moments ago: @JerryBrownGov declares state of emergency in San Diego County due to #WestFire https://bit.ly/2MPRlNi

Update 3:10 p.m.:  10 News, ECM's news partner, has provided a map of the #WestFire in Alpine.

Update 2:30 p.m. Fire is now 350 acres in Alpine and 0% contained.

Update 2:10 p.m. Lakeside Rodeo Grounds is open for large animal evacuations.

Update 1:50 p.m.  CHP has shut down I-8 east at Tavern Rd. The Tavern and Willows Rd. exits are also closed. Over 1,400 homes are without power in the Alpine area due to lines damaged by the fire; estimated restoration time is 4 p.m. per SDG&E.

Update 1:30 p.m.:  The #WestFire in Alpine is now 150 acres. Mandatory evacuations are underway. Homes are burning on Honey Hill Road.

Photos:  #WestFire in Alpine, by Robert Scheid

View video:https://www.facebook.com/robert.scheid.35/videos/1024052857719513/

July 6, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Two brush fires have burned at least one structure each in Dulzura and Apine.  The #StructureFire at State Route 94 and Community Rd. in Dulzura has charred over 10 acres per Cal Fire and prompted 144 evacuation notices to be issued per County Emergency Services.  NBC 7 has film of a structure in flames.

In Alpine, the #WestFire started south of I-8, west of Willows, and is burning toawrd mobile homes, an eyewitness at the scene advises ECM. It is now estimated at 10-15 acres per Cleveland National Forest which confirms structures are threatened. A Fox TV video shows at least one structure already burning.  A DC 10 has been requested.

Robert Scheid, an eyewitness at the scene, says the fire in Alpine is burning toward mobile homes and that some flames are as tall as power poles.

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2018 (El Cajon) -- Food donations are urgently needed at the Salvation Army in El Cajon, where supplies are at a “critical low point” after an annual holiday food drive fell far short.

Donations of canned, boxed or other nonperishable food items can be dropped off at the Salvation Army facility at 1011 East Main Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, the organization states on Facebook. For details, call (619) 440-4683. Financial donations are also welcome.

If the supplies are not promptly replenished within 30 days, the nonprofit will be forced to use funds to buy food items to feed the hungry, reducing money available for other important needs, an agency spokesperson has stated, NBC 7 reported.

Our March, April and May 2018 radio shows are now online. For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews, click here, or click "read more" and scroll down. (Sound files may take a few moments to load).

Our interviews included wildlife biologists Tommy Hough and Renee Owens on their adventures in the field and conservation efforts, Sheriff Bill Gore, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, legal thriller novelist Teresa Burrell, judicial candidate Matt Brower, Assembly candidate  Larry Wilske, County School Board candidate Eric Lund, Victor Crosswaithe Contreras on a historical script-writing contest, and investigative journalist Greg Palast. (Note: candidate interviews were previously posted separately before the election and are now also available in complete show files.)

We also covered hot local, state and national issues including school gun violence, a lawsuit over powerline easements in East County, a lawsuit against  Lemon Grove Councilman Arambula , El Cajon Councilman Kalasho accused of false real estate filings, homelessness, the Trump-Russia investigation, family separations, La Mesa’s new farmer’s market, an initiative to limit growth in Santee, Earth Day activities and more.

East County News Service

July 5, 2018 (San Diego) -- California Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) has announced the appointment of Senators who will serve on the Conference Committee on Wildfire Preparedness and Response. They include Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), whose district includes the southern portion of East County.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photos by Spencer John Powell

July 4, 2018 (San Diego) – Happy Independence Day! I would like to take this time to share pictures from Constitution, the Dance, by Visionary Dance Theatre.  Constitution was an exemplary inclusive contemporary dance by Kidz Danz Kompany with artful, graceful and proficient moves, showcasing prominent African Americans and non slave-holding founding fathers, and giving voice to their struggle and American aspirations.

By Miriam Raftery

July 5, 2018 (Jamul) – The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and Alpine-Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce held a joint mixer beneath shady oaks at a new outdoor event venue at D&S Farms, home to Granite Lions Cellars in Jamul.

East County News Service

July 5, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Have you “herd?” It’s time to break out your cowbells and get your spots on.