Election creates rift among Republicans

By Miriam Raftery

Five candidates are vying for two seats on the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Board of Trustees. The stakes are high. The outcome of this election may determine if  a popular superintendent will be retained, if a new high school will be built in Alpine, and if divisive forces will regain a majority on the board—forces that prominent Republicans and Democrats have accused of opposing public education.

By Miriam Raftery

The
race:  Four candidates are running for two seats on the Grossmont-Cuyamaca
College Board of Trustees.  Challengers Mary Kay Rosinski and Moe Bakeer
face off against incumbents Tim Caruthers and Bill Garrett, board president.  ECM
interviewed Rosinski, Caruthers and Garrett; Bakeer did not respond to interview
requests.

By Miriam Raftery

Editor's Note:  Military authorities declined to speak with East County Magazine regarding this story. We also requested permission to interview veterans at Balboa Naval Hospital to obtain a diverse range of views on conditions in mlitary service.  Our request was denied.

October 18, 2008 (San Diego)--Army intelligence officer Selena Coppa has risked her freedom to speak out.  “One of my soldiers died. He had PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome),” she said.  “It was ignored.”  

After she revealed the truth about the soldier’s death, Coppa told East County Magazine, her commanding officer threatened her.  “He said if he’d known what I was going to do,  he would have put me in Walter Reed in the mental ward and made sure I never got out.  Then what would happen to my little girl?”

Coppa and Hess accuse the U.S. government and military officers of neglecting soldiers with serious mental health problems and of fostering a climate of intimidation against those who speak out.

Accountant April Boling refuses to comment on allegations of “illegal and unethical bookkeeping”; opponent Marti Emerald shares vision for San Diego’s future

By Joseph Rocha

October 15, 2009 (San Diego)--Touted  as “The Troubleshooter vs. the Accountant” by local media,  San Diego’s 7th District Council race sounds more like a build-up to a Saturday night cage fight than a hotly contested political contest..  But the issues at stake will impact many residents in San Diego’s eastern region, since the district includes Allied Gardens, City Heights, Del Cerro, Grantville, Redwood Village/Oak Park, Rolando, San Carlos, the SDSU college area, and Tierrasanta.  At stake:  fire protection for our region, energy and water issues, outsourcing of public jobs, responsibility to taxpayers, integrity and openness of our City government. 

By Miriam Raftery

Lake Morena

October
6, 2008 (Campo) - Concerns over the impacts of new and proposed
major developments on water supplies and community character have divided community
members in this rural region.  

Tensions ran high at a forum for Campo/Lake Morena Planning Group candidates
held on September 29th,  where community members posed tough questions
for candidates on two opposing slates, plus independents with sharply different
visions for future growth.

Candidates for the La Mesa City Council answered questions from the public
in a September forum hosted by the East County League of Women Voters and the
American Association of University Women. View the complete video, provided
courtesy of Citizens Oversight Projects:

www.copswiki.org/twiki/bin/view/Common/M646

By Miriam Raftery

Mayor Madrid (R) with Shane Shaw of E-Village Beneath solar panel display at “Sustain La Mesa” festival

Crowds flocked to view cooking demonstrations on solar ovens,
visit with solar energy experts, get tips on water-saving landscaping and more
at Sustain La Mesa, the City’s first annual Environmental Awareness Festival
on September 13th in Harry Griffith Park.

“It took me almost a year to get this event,” Mayor Art Madrid
told East County Magazine, then shared  his vision for a greener
La Mesa in the future. 

Voter
registration drives are being held at several East County locations listed
below.   You must be registered by October 20th to vote
in the November 4th presidential election.

La Mesa Council candidates address budget gap, public safety and future
growth

By Miriam Raftery

State budget cuts have left La Mesa facing a potential budget shortfall
of several million dollars.  In exclusive interviews with East
County Magazine, challenger Shannon O’Dunn as well
as incumbents David Allan and Ruth Sterling shared their views on  bridging
the budget gap as well as their visions for the long-term future of La Mesa.

Wildebeest hunt bags a Congressman
By Sylvia Hampton

Our congressman Duncan Hunter (R-52nd district) is leaving his congressional
seat to his son. Sort of an inheritance or royalty passed on to the next generation
like in England. Since Duncan D. Hunter, the son, has the same name his election
should be like shooting fish in a barrel. But before Hunter senior leaves that
throne he hoped to squeeze in a great overseas exotic hunting trip paid for
by the taxpayers. To do that the trip needs to be official government business.
Like feeding the starving! That should do it! Oh, darn. Looks like that won’t
work out, thanks to those big blabber mouths at the Embassy in Chad. As they
say in the comic books, “Foiled again!”

For more information on these and other bills, visit www.vote-smart.org or www.govtrack.us