By Pennell Paugh

May 4, 2022 (La Mesa) – On Wednesday, April 27, the City of La Mesa (the City) provided a virtual meeting between the public and San Diego Community Power (SDCP) and San Diego Electric and Gas (SDG&E) to discuss the new SDCP program.

By Melinda Myers

Photo: Garden of hostas beneath Burr Oak tree, courtesy of Melinda Myers

April 27, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) -- Celebrate National Arbor Day, the last Friday in April, by planting new trees and caring for established ones in your landscape and community. This special holiday was first celebrated in 1872. Arbor Day celebrations continue to recognize the important role trees play in our environment and more recently their impact on our mental and emotional well-being.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

April 23, 2022 (La Mesa) - The U.S. Department of Education announced today that St. Martin of Tours Academy in La Mesa, CA is among the 2022 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award honorees.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Bald Eagle in East County by Scott Lagace

April 16, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Opponents of wind farms in San Diego’s East County have long voiced concerns over potentially deadly impacts on eagles. Now a major wind energy company, NextEra Energy, a subsidiary of ESI Energy, has pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and killing 150 eagles at multiple wind energy facilities.

International Scientists Warn: Time to Fight Climate Change is Now

By Suzanne Potter

Story and photo from California News Service, originally published April 5, 2022

April 11, 2022 (Sacramento) --State and international reports on the effects of climate change are out this week, urging government efforts fighting climate change to speed up significantly if the world is to avoid the worst effects, from megafires and drought, to sea level rise and floods.

In a report released April 4, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said countries need to cut carbon emissions by 43% in the next eight years.

Lauren Sanchez, senior climate adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, said California is taking a "whole-of-government approach."

"The world's leading climate scientists have made it clear," Sanchez asserted. "Our window to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis is narrowing faster than expected, and success requires unprecedented collective effort and transformational change."

By Matthew Maichen, San Marcos

Photo: CC by NC via Bing

April 10, 2022 (San Diego) -- As an English teacher, I find it so immensely frustrating that the kids that I teach are going to bearing the brunt of this climate emergency and its long-term effects even more than I am. It's so frustrating that we have the technology, but not the will, to make the change. And I worry that by the time we decide to do anything, it'll be too late.

East County News Service

April 8, 2022 (San Diego) -- Starting this week, California State Parks will be distributing the California State Library Parks Pass to public libraries across the state for checkout by library patrons. The new pass will allow free vehicle day use entry at more than 200 participating state parks.

California Climate Credit to offset natural gas bills by as much as $171.40, hopes to encourage residents to invest in clean energy options

Source:  SDG&E

March 27, 2022 (San Diego) - In the coming months, San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) residential customers will receive a break on their utility bills – up to $171.40 in bill credits, thanks to the California Climate Credit program. Administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the program is part of the state’s efforts to fight climate change.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

March 16, 2022 (San Diego) - County supervisors received an update Wednesday on their draft Regional Decarbonization Framework and its newest addition, a draft study of opportunities and challenges facing the local workforce resulting from climate action.

East County News Service

File photo: Cottonwood Golf Course, site of the proposed sand mine along the Sweetwater River

March 7, 2022 (Rancho San Diego) – Several community groups have sent letters to the county sharply criticizing the draft EIR on the proposal for a controversial 10-year open pit sand mining operation proposed on the site of the Cottonwood Golf Course.  Groups providing detailed comments on the inadequacy of the report include the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the Sierra Club, the Valle de Oro Community Planning Group and Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine, a coalition of concerned residents.

By Miriam Raftery

February 15, 2022 (Lakeside) – Imagine swimming beneath waterfalls alongside fish in a freshwater lake. That dream is all part of the ambitious plans that Lakeside River Park Conservancy has announced for a new park at Channel Road in Lakeside.

By Henri Migala 

Update: The public comment period has been extended to Monday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Comments can be sent to Robert.Hingtgen@SDcounty.ca.gov. 

January 31, 2022 (Rancho San Diego) -- The County of San Diego held an online meeting January 19 in response to a request for a Major Use Permit for sandmining at the Cottonwood Golf Course along the Sweetwater River. The property owner’s proposal requires an environmental review and public input. Hundreds weighed in, despite major technical issues.

The in-person public meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday, January 12, 2022 was cancelled due to health concerns related to COVID19. However the public can still weight in via the comment link or at a February 1 meeting of the Valle de Oro Planning Group.

East County News Service

January 15, 2022 (Spring Valley) – County planners invite Spring Valley residents to a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, January 26 at 6 p.m.  The County is preparing a Climate Action Plan Update to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from activities within the unincorporated county areas under State laws.

By Miriam Raftery

Updates:  The deadline for public comments has been extended to Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Send comments to Robert  Hingtgen at Robert.Hingtgen@sdcounty.ca.gov.

The Jan. 12 meeting referenced in the video has been cancelled due to COVID-19.  The Jan. 19 virtual meeting will still be held.

January 11, 2022 (Rancho San Diego) – The Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Cottonwood Sand Mining project fails to address serious impacts to the community, say organizers of the Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine effort-- and they are urging the public to speak out.

“We believe the Project DEIR is a flawed document that does not adequately analyze the significant impacts of the Project to the people, wildlife, water, air, and roads of the community,” Elizabeth Urquhart stated in an email to ECM.  “The DEIR does not propose adequate mitigation or alternatives to address those impacts.”

Barry Jantz contends the project is also incompatible with the county’s general plan as well as the Valle de Oro Community Plan, thus also violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

In an exclusive interview with ECM aired on KNSJ, Urquhart and Jantz, organizers of efforts to oppose the massive project, shared their concerns and urged the public to speak out at virtual public meetings or via email before the February 14 deadline for public comment.