By Miriam Raftery

Photos:  Norm Case examines Civil War drum played at the Battle of Shiloh  (photo, left) by his ancestor, Philo L. Case (photo, right)

May 28, 2017 (Ramona)--Philo Case, a drummer in the Union Army, played the long roll that called troops to arms during the battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the Civil War.  This Memorial Day weekend, his drum is on display at Hatfield Creek Winery in Ramona at 2 p.m. each day. 

Norm Case, Philo's descendent, shared the amazing history handed down through his family -- a tale that includes not only Civil War stories, but also a mystery involving another branch of his family tree that includes the niece of John Wilkes Booth.  Case says she's told him her family has kept a secret for generations--claiming her uncle came to Yakima, Washington and asked that his presence be kept secret -- after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Jacques Sapier serves up a glass of peach and cherry sangria

May 28, 2017 (Ramona) – What better way to start off summertime than sipping sangrias on a stone patio in the noontime sun?  At Vineyard Grant James, a sangria contest  began Friday and continues through Monday for Memorial Day reason. 

Savor three tasty options – peach cherry, lemonade or a red wine and jalapeño based sangria—and then vote for your favorite.  Glimpsing the jarful of ballots, the votes appeared split between all three of these creative choices, which went well with a delightful  locally made cheese that we savored as well.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo of Gate Fire, courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

May 28, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Aiming to prevent more wildfires, the federal Bureau of Land Management yesterday announced a ban on target shooting, campfires and other high-fire risk activities by issuing State III fire restrictions for all BLM-managed public lands in San Diego County and other Southern California areas.

By Councilman Steve Goble

May 27, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Renewal (noun). The act of making new again or state of being renewed.  It’s what is happening in El Cajon right now.

For the past few years, the City has been diligently working on creating a new atmosphere, a new vibe, a welcoming spirit for businesses, visitors, and our residents.

New report from Princeton shows failure of Nuclear Regulatory Commission to accurately assess risk

Source:  Public Watchdogs

May 27. 2017 (San Diego) - A new study, which uses an advanced weather modeling program called HYSPLIT, developed by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows that a radiation plume from a spent fuel disaster would affect as many as 18.1 million people who could be harmed and displaced by a nuclear disaster involving spent nuclear fuel. According to the article the NRC uses an inferior predictive model called MACCS2 that fails to  accurately account for changing wind and weather patterns. 

By Miriam Raftery

May 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Deputies are seeking a black pickup truck and its occupants involved in an altercation that ended with another motorist stabbed in the neck in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant at 13574 Camino Canada in unincorporated El Cajon around 6 a.m. this morning.

Source:  Toni Atkins' office

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed nine bills authored by Sen. Toni Atkins, including SB 2 – the Building Homes and Jobs Act – which would create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing.

Source:  City of La Mesa

May 26, 2017 (La Mesa) - May is Drowning Prevention Month in the City of La Mesa, and as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, the community is reminded to be safe in and around water.  

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide. Children, males, and individuals with increased access to water are most at risk of drowning.  In addition, the Center for Disease Control and Injury Prevention states that children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rate, with most of those drownings occurring in home swimming pools and during the months of May to August.  

ID camp set for July 1-2, youth camp scheduled for July 10-13

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo:  Mike Friesen courtesy goaztecs.com

May 26, 2017 (San Diego) - The San Diego State women’s soccer program is set to conduct an ID and a youth camp this summer on the SDSU campus. The summer ID camp is set for July 1-2, while the youth camp is scheduled for July 10-13.

By Jonathan Goetz; Miriam Raftery also contributed to this article

May 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Following a lively public hearing on drawing up city council district lines to comply with Voting Rights Act requirements aimed at increasing minority representation,  El Cajon’s City council voted 3-2 to adopt  Paul Circo’s map PCirco1 for council district elections. 

Councilman Ben Kalasho,  a Chaldean-American and the only minority on the Council,  earlier sent a letter threatening to sue his city if that map was approved and request public records to determine if gerrymandering laws or the Brown Act were violated. 

Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmen Gary Kendrick and Bob McClellan voted to approve the map drawn by Circo, a Republican who ran for Council in 2016.  Councilmembers Steve Goble and Kalasho voted against it.  The district election map  chosen squares Kalasho off against fellow Councilman Kendrick, who also lives in Fletcher Hills, on the opposite side of Parkway Plaza. It also pairs Councilmembers Steve Goble and Bob McClellan, leaving two other districts that will be open seats. The Mayor will continue to be elected at-large by all voters in the city.

The plan chosen creates three majority minority districts.  Two have 70% minorities and a third has 51% . The minority definition used is broad, including language minorities such as Arabic speakers as well as all classes protected under state and federal  Voting Rights Acts.