By Miriam Raftery

July 18, 2019 (Alpine) – East County Magazine’s reporting on the West Fire in Alpine has received an award from the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego chapter.  The series, written by editor Miriam Raftery, won third place prize in the daily reporting and writing series category, announced at last night’s awards ceremony at the Kona Kai Resort.

East County News Service

July 18, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – A high pressure system moving into our region will bring monsoonal moisture capable of producing thunderstorms, heavy downpours, high winds and flash flooding starting Sunday through at least Wednesday. The storms are mainly expected to impact the mountain and desert regions.

July 18, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• As lawyers zero in on drug firms, a reckoning may be coming (Washington Post)
• Joe Biden unveils  his alternative to “Medicare for All” (Los Angeles Times)
• Ebola outbreak in Congo is a public health emergency of international concern, WHO says (CNN)
• Good gut bacteria helps starving children (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• FaceApp went viral with age-defying photos. Now Democratic leaders are warning campaigns to delete the Russian-created app ‘immediately’ (Washington Post)
• You downloaded FaceApp. Here’s what you’ve just done to your privacy. (Washington Post) 
• AT&T will soon block annoying robocalls (NBC 7)
• Facebook Hit With $5 Billion Privacy Settlement (Time)

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

HEALTH

UPDATE AS OF 6:49 PM:  ALL EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED

UPDATE AS OF 5:19 PM:  forward rate of spread stopped.  Fire at 10% containment.  Evacuation orders still in effect.

UPDATE AS OF 5:05 PM:  fire is 25 acres and 5% contained

UPDATE:  EVACUATION ORDERS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE STREETS OF TRAFALGAR RD., VISTA DE LA MONTAN AND CALLE DE NICOLE

East County News Service

July 17, 2019 (Dehesa) - Cal Fire is battling a vegetation fire off Vista De La Montana in the Dehesa area. The fire is eight acres with a moderate rate of spread. There is a report of structures threatened.

Sign up at the top right side of our homepage to receive free East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts via email. You can also follow EastCountyAlert on Twitter for brief text alerts on your mobile phone.

By Miriam Raftery

July 17, 2019 (Santee) - The July 27 Concert at the Lakes in Santee will feature a “whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll and a little bit of country,” according to organizers. This year’s lineup of the event at Santee Lakes will feature Shannon Rae & 100 Proof, Tom Petty and the Heartshakers and DSB.

The concert is open to those age 14 and up.  Lawn and table tickets are available at https://www.concertatthelakes.com/.

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – For the first time in over 100 years, the House of Representatives today voted to condemn the actions of a President. Congressional members voted 240 to 187 to formally condemn President Donald Trump’s Twitter posts attacking four minority Congresswomen as “racist,” in the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her floor speech.

New Julian fire station No. 56 sits on disputed land

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

July 13, 2019 (Julian) – Following a firestorm of controversy over San Diego County’s takeover of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, the County may lose access to a new fire station. Theodore J. Griswold, attorney for the Kumeyaay Native American Land Conservancy, has filed an eviction notice with the San Diego County Fire Authority (SDCFA) that would force the SDCFA to abandon Julian Fire Station No. 56 within two weeks.

The future of Station No. 56,  located at 3407 State Route 79 just south of downtown Julian, has been a dicey subject from the onset of the county’s efforts to shut down of the Julian Cuyamaca Fire protection District (JCFPD), the county’s last volunteer fire department. Though the transfer of authority was approved by a majority of voters and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), many area residents have fought strenuously to reverse the action, with litigation pending. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: San Onofre beach and shuttered nuclear reactors

July 15, 2019 (San Onofre, CA) – Southern California Edison today announced that it will restart the transfer of spent nuclear fuel cannisters at the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant, after “rigorous regulatory, internal and third party readiness and operational reviews.”  

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Photo, from left to right:  Mike Aquawi, Humbert Cabrera, Nathan Cornett, Robert Pennoyer, Amanda McGimpsey, Jaqueline Sona

July 15, 2019 (El Cajon) --The final chapter of the drama-filled Ben Kalasho novel was written on Tuesday when local businessman Humbert Cabrera was appointed to the El Cajon Planning Commission. The seat was recently vacated by the recent appointment of Phil Ortiz to the El Cajon City Council in May to replace Kalasho, who resigned in March after two stormy years on the Council.

By Paul Kruze

July 15, 2019 (El Cajon) -- In a unanimous vote, the El Cajon City Council voted to approve a climate change policy developed in conjunction with community outreach sessions earlier this year. But some critics contend the plan does not go far enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

By Miriam Raftery

July 13, 2019 (Julian) – A visit to artist and architectural designer James Hubbell’s property atop a hill overlooking the Volcan Mountain Preserve in Julian, California is an entry into a whimsical world, where buildings appear to have sprouted from the landscape, complementing curves and rugged forms in nature, punctuated by colorful stained glass, murals and more.

Every year on Father’s Day, the Ilan Lael Foundation opens up the property to the public for a tour of the property, where James and his wife, Anne, still reside.  I had the pleasure of taking the tour this year.

Source: FBI

July 15, 2019 (San Diego) -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seeking victims who may have traveled to Indonesia under the promise of a potential job offer from individuals purporting falsely to be well-known entertainment industry professionals. This ongoing transnational fraud scheme targeting U.S. citizens began in approximately 2013. Today, the FBI launched a victim page and form, available at www.fbi.gov/IndonesiaShowbizScam, to identify additional victims of the scam.  Below is information provided by Special Agent Davene Butler, Public Affairs Coordinator for the San Diego FBI.

By Daniel Smiechowski

Spa exterior, restaurant and running pictures courtesy Daniel Smeichowski.  Spa water photo courtesy Miriam Raftery

July 14, 2019 (Jacumba Hot Springs) -- As I drove east on Old Highway 80 about five miles to the I-8 east junction, I came upon a God-forsaken outpost of ramshackle homes, a trailer park, County library, elementary school, a few churches and a grocery store. What brought me here, however, was the iconic spa named after the town itself, the Jacumba Hot Springs Resort & Spa.