Big cats' habitat fragmentation highlights need for wildife crossings

Source:  Center for Biological Diversity

March 22, 2019 (Los Angeles) - Mountain lions in California’s Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains are heading rapidly toward extinction, a new study in Ecological Applications finds. Researchers with UCLA, UC Davis and the National Park Service found that habitat loss and fragmentation have driven the populations to dangerously low levels of genetic diversity.

By Maryanne Jackson Real Estate Broker CNE. CPRES

March 21, 2019 (La Mesa) -

Dear Maryanne,

I own a property on Fuerte Drive in Mount Helix. With all the rain we have been getting recently, there’s an area in my front yard that has become a stream when it rains. Can I divert this water away from my house? What are some of the most common ways to deal with this?

--Ms. S. T.

March 21,  2019 (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

• Tijuana ranked most dangerous city in the world as spring break approaches (10 News)
• Stingrays out in 'full force' as people flock to the beach, lifeguards warn (10 News)
• San Diego installs more than 3,000 cameras and sensors on street lights (Fox News)
• San Diego County to boost wildfire protection plan (10 News)
• Humpback whale feeding frenzy off San Diego’s Coast (10 News)
• Four Men Accuse San Diego Unified Trustee Kevin Beiser of Sexual Misconduct, Abuse (Voice of San Diego)
• Driver crashes through El Cajon restaurant and flees, leaving massive mess (10 News)
• City Water Department Resisted Oversight, Downplayed Smart Meter Problems (Voice of San Diego)
• La Mesa mulls raising sewer rates (San Diego Union Tribune)
• Restaurant Owners, Styrofoam Cup Maker Sue San Diego Over Styrofoam Ban (Vice UK)
• U-Haul Truck Slams Into County Health Building (NBC 7 San Diego)
• A Look at San Diego’s Financial Battles Over the Public Records Act (NBC 7)

STATE

• ‘The Budget Just Changed’: Governor Gavin Newsom Responds To Big City Mayors’ Call For More Homelessness Funding (Capitol Public Radio)
• Medieval diseases are resurging in California — and hitting the homeless especially hard (Kaiser Health News)
• California is now drought-free, monitor says. Wait, didn’t that happen 2 years ago? (Sacramento Bee)
• Schwarzenegger Pulls No Punches in a Rare Rebuke of Trump (The Atlantic)
• Advocacy group pushes for inclusion of Laos history in California's curriculum (NBC News)

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

March 20, 2019 (Viejas Reservation) -- Tom Hyde, revered tribal elder, passed from this earth and his beloved Viejas community, March 14, 2019, at 92 years of age.  He is survived by a large family of 200, both blood and chosen.  Born Thomas James Hyde to Prudencia and Valentine Hyde, of El Capitan Village, he’s the last of the original Viejas Reservation members, and last to have personally witnessed destruction of El Capitan Village, at age five. Thus, he began life as a bridge between the past and future of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.

March 20, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Massive study finds eating organic slashes cancer risk (EWG)
• Daily Marijuana Use And Highly Potent Weed Linked To Psychosis (NPR)
• Drinking very hot tea almost doubles risk of cancer, new study says (CNN )
• One Doctor Is Responsible for a Third of All Medical Vaccine Exemptions in San Diego (Voice of San Diego)

 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Boeing had too much sway in vetting own jets, FAA was told  (Bloomberg )
• A meteor exploded with 10 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb (BBC News US)
• Solar storms can be even worse if you live near certain rocks (National Geographic)
• The spring equinox is Wednesday: 7 things to know about the first day of spring (VOX)

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

East County News Service

March 20, 2019 (La Mesa) - The City of La Mesa is seeking volunteers for an ad hoc citizen committee on homelessness.  If you're passionate about homeless issues and want to make a positive difference in the community, you are encouraged to sign up.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Creative commons by S.A.

March 20, 2019 (San Diego) -- Instead of putting up razor wire at the border, California’s National Guard troops will soon be wielding shovels, rakes and chainsaws to clear brush, thin trees and help prevent the spread of wildfires.

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo: Chief County Medical Examiner Dr. Glenn Wagner in an examining room for death investigations.

March 20, 2019 (San Diego) - In a model of government transparency, the San Diego County Medical Examiner is releasing 220 years' worth of data--from 1997 to the third quarter of 2018, in a free searchable online portal.  The site makes over 59,000 records available.

Valuable comparisons and conclusions can be drawn from the types and circumstances of sudden unexpected deaths that occur in San Diego County, and in changes over time.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Miriam Raftery, Editor, contributed to this report

Update March 27, 2019: The margin has narrowed slightly but Measure A still leads by 114 votes and a 7.96% margin: yes 53.98%, no 46.02%

March 19, 2019 (Julian) – The County’s last all-volunteer fire department may soon be history. With 1,294 ballots counted tonight, Measure A is passing with 55.56%, the Registrar of Voters reports.

The measure would affirm a decision made last September by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to abolish the 35-year-old Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District. Fire and ambulance services would be shifted entirely to the County Fire Authority, under the direction of Cal-Fire.

The Registrar’s office will continue to accept ballots until Friday, if postmarked by today. It is unclear how many ballots mailed out have not yet been returned, or whether there could be enough to make up the 145-vote gap (719 to 575).

Cal-Fire firefighters’ union local #2881 posted on Facebook tonight, “Thank you to the Citizens of Julian and Cuyamaca for the opportunity to serve them.” (photo, left)

For backers of the JCFPD who have fought hard to keep their volunteer firefighters, however, the outcome sparked strong emotions.

“If Supervisors approve it, there will be a lawsuit by citizens and environmental groups to stop it … Perhaps Bill Adams will engage in good faith negotiations with anyone interested in buying this 400+ acre property. It might be better to get out now while there is some profit to be made.” – Catherine Tancredi Clothey

By Catherine Trancredi Clothey

Photo by Billy Ortiz

March 19, 2019 (Lakeside) -- What is the status of the sand mine project proposed by Bill Adams and his El Monte Nature Preserve partners and money lenders?

I write this as a Lakeside resident (as Catherine Clothey) and as an attorney (as Catherine Tancredi). In the mid 1990s, I represented a local group who sued to stop the Fashion Valley trolley extension due to CEQA violations. We lost and the appeal was denied. I also set up the 501(c)3 Iron Mountain Conservancy in Ramona. 

Public comments on the EIR were due October 29, 2018. It is now March, 2019. The City, County, environmental organizations and citizens wrote very detailed comments regarding the effects the sand mine would have on the community and its people. Hundreds of people showed up for the County’s public hearing and the Lakeside Planning Commission meeting last year to voice concerns.