April 28, 2009 (El Cajon)--On Friday, May 1, the Grossmont College Foundation will induct El Cajon Police Chief Pat Sprecco into their Walk of Fame for 2009. The public is cordially invited to attend the ceremonies honoring Chief Sprecco that will start at 9:00 a.m. at Grossmont College's Main Quad area; this is following the conclusion of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce First Friday Breakfast, which will begin at 7:15 a.m. at Grossmont College's Student Center. The Walk of Fame is located on campus in the Main Quad area, a short distance from the Student Center.

April 26, 2009 (El Cajon)--– Talk about a baptism by fire.

Dr.
Cindy L. Miles has started a new job as chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca
Community College District at a time of fiscal uncertainty amid what some economists
still expect to be the deepest recession in the modern era. Limited funding
by the state at a time of escalating enrollment and expanding costs presents
the college district with major fiscal challenges.

April 23, 2009 (El Cajon, CA) – The bands are ready to play. The stage is set up and the equipment is in place. Thousands of flyers and postcards have been distributed, and hundreds of posters have been put up San Diego City and in East County. For the students in Cuyamaca College's Music Industry Studies program, the efforts of a whole semester will reach their fruition on May 1, when the first Coyote Music Festival unfolds on the college's Grand Lawn at 3pm.

April 18, 2009 (El Cajon)--– Talk about a baptism by fire.
Dr.
Cindy L. Miles has started a new job as chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca
Community College District at a time of fiscal uncertainty amid what some economists
still expect to be the deepest recession in the modern era. Limited funding
by the state at a time of escalating enrollment and expanding costs presents
the college district with major fiscal challenges.

April 13, 2009 (El Cajon)--The Grossmont College Art Council presents “Traditon and Concept Bridged”, a ceramic exhibition by two very accomplished artists, Joanne Hayakawa and Kouta Shimazaki.

“To term this exhibition a ceramics exhibition is to pare this collection of artwork down to it’s most minimal definition,” the gallery’s announcement states. “Even to use the title “Tradition and Concept Bridged” constitutes a very broad brush painting a very complex selection of work.  The body of work by these two artists transcends the archaic thinking and production of art (especially in the ceramics world) which divided tradition from concept. 

Grossmont High School, Helix Charter High School and Grossmont Middle College High School Receive Prestigious Honor April 2, 2009 (El Cajon)—On April 1, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that 125 California high schools were awarded the prestigious 2009 California Distinguished Schools Award. This marks the first year that a record three GUHSD schools have been recognized by the state for outstanding academic achievement.

Campus Supervisor Tim Wargo (left), Resource Officer Steve Paz, and Officer Joe Crawford spot student Brandon Lawtum-Grindle

Annual bench-press competition fosters trust between El Cajon Police Officers and at-risk teens.

By Gayle Early

March 25, 2009 (El Cajon)—Twenty-three Chaparral Continuation High School students flexed their muscles last week during a weight-lifting competition with members of the El Cajon Police Department in a show of strength and good will. Local TV stations trained cameras on the bench press, center stage, while a Channel 933 music van piped the jams, ratcheting up the already hyperkinetic energy of teens and classmates. The El Cajon Police Officers Association and Wal-Mart sponsored the event. Classmates, family, and friends poured onto the high school lawn at lunchtime to whoop, holler, and pump up the competitors.

Vittorio Arata, Gabriella Quiroga (1), Katya Quiroga, Mariella Quiroga (Mark Raftery)

April 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) — On his first day of work at the Capitol,  Assemblyman Marty Block introduced AB 24, a bill which would require that the California State University trustees conduct a feasibility study for locating the 24th Campus of the CSU System in Chula Vista.

March 26, 2009 (El Cajon) – – A nonprofit group with a goal to increase college attendance in California has honored two local educational programs as among the best in the state.

Grossmont College’s Project Success Learning Communities and the district’s Cal-PASS Freshman Composition Alignment Project are among 15 “working solutions” chosen by the statewide Campaign for College Opportunity for its annual Practices with Promise award recognizing top-notch efforts to improve college access and success.

March 26, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) — With the economy in the tank, many college students are staying in San Diego over spring break. So after you get sunburned at the beach, what’s there to do for the rest of the week? Check out our guide to the coolest spots to have fun in San Diego’s eastern region.

IT’S 5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE PARTY: On April 3rd, a warehouse at 131 Main St. in El Cajon transforms into a tropical resort complete with tiki bar, food, and live music by Shipwrecked, a Jimmy Buffet-style band. El Cajon Community Development Corporation is organizing the event, with the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego East Visitors Bureau. Food and Beverage Supporters: El Cajon Grand, Main Tap Tavern, Viejas, Rita’s Catering, New York Bakery, L&L Hawaiian Barbeque, Quiznos, Angus Smokehouse Barbecue, and Panda Express.Cost: $20 per person. Festivities run from 4:47 to 8 p.m. and the site is accessible via trolley with a few blocks walk. Aloha!

March 1, 2009 (El Cajon) — The public is invited to experience hands-on scientific demonstrations and view exhibits that celebrate science in our everyday lives at the 2009 Grossmont College Science Festival on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, to be held on the college campus. Admission and parking are free. Families with students of all ages are encouraged to attend.

By Matt Schauer

March 8, 2009 (San Diego) — An Art Relief Auction on March 14th will raise funds to benefit College Students for New Orleans, a non-profit organization intent on rebuilding homes in New Orleans and restoring lives of people affected by Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Katrina. We travel to Louisiana four times a year with groups as small as four and as large as 37. Our upcoming spring break trip from March 28 to April 4 will be the largest yet, with 50 people. We will spend our spring break rebuilding homes in an impoverished community plagued by a variety of problems. These range from severe economic woes and skyrocketing crime rates to the reason we are there: a lack of homes to live in.

By Miriam Raftery

Evelyn Ponce, 9, receives Peace Award from La Mesa-Sunrise Rotary Club President David Roberts (Miriam Raftery)

March 8, 2009 (La Mesa) — The La Mesa Sunrise Rotary chapter has presented its Peacemaker of the Year Award to Evelyn (Evy) Ponce, a nine-year-old student at Lexington Elementary School in El Cajon to honor her "outstanding work" with Peace Patrol and Bullies Beware. "She is a gifted and dedicated student with an incredible ability for peace," said Rotary president Dave Roberts. A trainer of peace patrollers who came to America just two years ago, Ponce is now translating Primary Peacemakers lessons into Spanish and has personally intervened to prevent bullying in her neighborhood. Ponce is the first child to be honored with the annual award.

March 4, 2009 (El Cajon)—The Grossmont College Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises funds for educational programs benefiting students at Grossmont College in El Cajon, is seeking nominations for its 2009 Walk of Fame Alumni Award. The Walk of Fame, located on campus in the Main Quad area, is a display of several bronze plaques embedded in concrete that feature names of previous distinguished alumni.

Dr. Omero Suarez: 11-year legacy transformed district

March 2, 2009 (EL CAJON)--After more than a decade at the helm of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, Dr. Omero Suarez turned off the lights in his office a final time Friday, ready to embark on a new chapter in his life. He will be replaced by Dr. Cindy Miles, who begins her job today.