The water use numbers are in - and they are not pretty, or healthy for East County.

"I will support this in honor of my sister, and my mother and my father-in-law," -- Councilman Bob McClellan (photo, left), who lost all three family members to smoking-related illnesess.

"The American Revolution was about individual liberty...doesn't freedom to make a decision include freedom to make a poor one?" --Eric Anderson (photo, right), Rock Church and Caucus Chair for the San Diego Republican Party Executive Committee

By Juwan Armstrong and Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council voted 3-1 on Wednesday to send a letter asking Assemblyman Brian Jones and Governor Jerry Brown to support Senate Bill 151, which would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Jones has taken over $25,000 in campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.  East County’s State Senator, Joel Anderson, took nearly $40,000 and voted against the bill when it passed the Senate.

Area rep also sought to help place foreign exchange students

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our radio  interview  on KNSJ with Karen Toledo  from the ISE (Click audio link, top left)

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Families are wanted to host international exchange students in East County and across our region, says Karen Toledo, assistant manager for the International Student Exchange (ISE) locally.  An area rep is also sought to help place the many students eager for local homes for the next semester—and those who place 7 students or more will be rewarded with a trip to Ireland.

Toledo, a Lemon Grove resident knows first-hand the joys of the program, having hosted over 100 foreign exchange students at her own home.  She’s also traveled the world – visiting students she formerly hosted to experience their cultures, too. 

“It’s an amazing experience…I’m a single mom and I was hosting two at a time…I’ve traveled to many of their homes and stayed with them,” says Toledo, who cites Spain and Brazil as recent places she has visited. “They treat you so well when you come, because they are so thankful that you treated their kids so well and they had an amazing year.”

County News Service

June 10, 2015 (San Diego) -San Diego County supervisors voted Wednesday to buy 175 acres of environmentally valuable land that will link the east and west portions of the Santa Ysabel Preserve and could potentially allow expansion of the “Coast to Crest” trail that is envisioned to stretch from Del Mar to Volcan Mountain near Julian.

June 4, 2015 (El Cajon)--The spirit of the Olympic Movement will roll into El Cajon as LionHeart Academy hosts a celebration of Olympic Day for the community. This event is one of over 1,100 in the country being held in June. LionHeart Academy’s celebration will take place from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 13, 2015. The location is 1331 N. Cuyamaca Street, El Cajon, CA 92020.

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --How do you run a successful KDP Select giveaway? You seem to always rock them. – Jennifer Gilbert

Anyone who visits my SJ Publicity Facebook page regularly can see I'm an advocate of KDP Select giveaways. There are some authors who balk at the idea of giving away free books, but I look at a free ebook as a free sample. Don't you love free samples and the people who give them out?

June 10, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's 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:

U.S.

• Exclusive: Takata, U.S. regulator can't say how many cars may have faulty air bags (Reuters)
• New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding Spying (Pro Publica)
• Back from the dead: US officials to ask secret court to revive NSA surveillance (Guardian)
• In Search Of The Red Cross' $500 Million In Haiti Relief (NPR)
• U.S. flights face bomb threats, no explosives found: media reports (Reuters)
• Homeland security chief reassigns top TSA official (Reuters)
• Daniel Arenas started over in his native land, a new Dream in Mexico (CS Monitor)
• Is the U.S. Abandoning Afghan Interpreters to Certain Death? (Reason)
• U.S. border patrol helicopter hit by gunfire near Mexican border (Reuters)
• After terror shooting, Boston police choose transparency over tradition (CS Monitor)
• Crime spike could throw police reform efforts into doubt (CS Monitor)
• US Supreme Court: No 'Israel' allowed on passports of Americans born in Jerusalem (JPost)

INTERNATIONAL

• 'El Bronco' bucks old order, rides hopeful wave in Mexican elections (CS Monitor)
• Yemeni families sue U.S., allege 'wrongful deaths' from drone strike (Reuters)
• Canadian Commission Releases 'Damning' Report On Treatment Of Aboriginal Children (NPR)
• Russian Trolls Spread False Information On The Internet (NPR)
• Colombia's Congress eliminates presidential re-election (UT San Diego)
• Exclusive: Vietnam eyes Western warplanes, patrol aircraft to counter China (Reuters)
• Survey: Saudis consider Iran their top enemy, not Israel (AP)
• Report: Israel built, exploded 'dirty bombs' in nuclear test (JPost)
• U.S. reports 21 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
• History becomes a weapon in Russia-West rift over Ukraine (Reuters)
• Migrants crossing Mediterranean exceed 100,000 this year (CS Monitor)
• Belgium detains 16 over suspected Islamist attack plot (Reuters)

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

By Miriam Raftery

June 10, 2015 (Sacramento)—Since 1978, Proposition 13 has frozen property taxes  for California owners until a property sells.  But now a proposed constitutional amendment would change Prop 13 to require annual assessments of large commercial and industrial properties.

The measure, Senate Constitutional Amendment 5,  exempts homeowners,  owners of rental residential properties and agricultural properties, which would not be impacted.   The measure also includes a tax break for small businesses, instead targeting larger commercial and industrial property owners for the tax hike.

The bill would exempt from taxation up to a half million dollars of personal property used exclusively for business purposes.  It also gives businesses an exemption of up to a half million for equipment and fixtures—an action that would eliminate the tax on equipment and fixtures entirely for 90% of businesses, whether they own or rent their place of business.

June 10, 2015 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host a free program on  “Dispelling the Myths of Hospice,” from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

By Miriam Raftery

June 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – If you’ve got a traffic ticket in California, here’s some good news:  courts can no longer make you pay bail in order to challenge the ticket. There is a catch though – you have to show up at the arraignment to ask for a trial. The change, an emergency rule adopted by the Judicial Council, which oversees the state’s courts, is effective immediately.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Heartland Fire & Rescue Chief Rick Sitta delivers good news at El Cajon Council meeting

June 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – If you live in the cities of El Cajon, La Mesa or Lemon Grove, your fire insurance rates will soon be going down. That’s because Heartland Fire & Rescue, which provides firefighting services for all three cities, has received a class 1 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).   

The  ISO rates 47,000 fire departments across the United States and of those, only 98 have attained a class 1 rating, including only 8 fire districts in the entire state of California.  “Class 1 communities are very rare, and some of these scores are the highest we’ve ever seen,” says Stephanie Ruscansky from the ISO, who notes that only a small fraction of 1% of all agencies rated attain a Class 1 rating.

East County News Service

Photo: American Pharoah at Preakness, Creative Commons image from Maryland Gov Pics

June 9, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The winner of horse racing’s Triple Crown won his first race at Del Mar, right here in San Diego County--and may soon be coming back.  Track officials at Del Mar have told the Union-Tribune that they may increase the prize money for the upcoming Pacific Classic in hopes of enticing the owners of American Pharoah to compete.

By Mary Bradford

June 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--It was right after buying a new “fixer-upper” home that I realized a few things; I had an immense project on my hands, one that would include a great deal of buying, reusing, and inevitably discarding, because there were a number of details that prevented the new place from feeling like home. The other thing I realized was that trends were changing in the home-design industry, and that a bigger focus than ever was being put onto products that were energy efficient, environmentally conscious, and made with an intent focused on more than just aesthetics.

By Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2015 (San Diego) – Last week, we reported that Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a proposal to restrict protesters to “free speech zones” outside the County administration, ban amplified sound, require permits for events bigger than 200 people and impose fines for those who violate these rules. Supervisors will also consider rule changes to impact all county parks.

But the proposal is drawing strong reactions – and so far, all the comments we’ve received have been negative toward the county’s plans.  Here are some of the comments we’ve received from people who don’t want their free speech rights limited:

By Joan Raphael

Climate Action Campaign's Executive Directore Nicole Capretz addresses legal problems of  La Mesa's CAP; Senior Planner Chris Jacobs takes notes.

June 8, 2015 (La Mesa)--On Wednesday, June 3, concerned citizens came together at a hearing of the La Mesa Planning Commission to press for a stronger Climate Action Plan (CAP). The hearing proved a reminder of what ordinary citizens working together can achieve.