June 20, 2011 (San Diego) – A 47-year-old motorcyclist with a female passenger, 30, struck a parked vehicle while driving northbound on 54th street yesterday afternoon in east San Diego. He landed under the vehicle and sustained major head trauma, according to Officer J. Jacobsen with the San Diego Police.

June 18, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Nesting birds have accomplished what thus far, citizens opposed to the Sunrise Powerlink have not been able to manage: slowing down construction of the project. According to a newsletter sent by the Community Alliance for Sunrise Powerlink, some birds have sought to nest in construction equipment and in other works area, “significantly hampering construction.”

“That SDG&E would break rules and rush to put a faulty helicopter in the air again is just unconscionable...I continue to question the CPUC's monitoring of the project and again call on CPUC commissioners and the governor's office to closely evaluate these troubling events.” - Supervisor Dianne Jacob

SDG&E to replace helicopter and submit plan for operations in congested areas

FAA and CPUC approval required before resuming operations after utility found in violation of notification procedures

By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – The FAA has suspended operations of the Erickson S-64F Sky Crane helicopter that twice dropped towers each weighing 16,400 pounds during hoist operations for SDG&E’s Sunrise Powerlink. A preliminary incident report released yesterday by California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) suggests a digital hook control system may be at fault. The agency also chastised SDG&E for violating requirements to keep regulators informed before returning the sky crane to service after the first accident.

June 16, 2011 (San Diego) The FAA has sent a written statement in response to an ECM inquiry for information on the two SDG&E Sunrise Powerlink towers dropped by a sky crane helicopter June 7 and June 10. The statement indicates a replacement helicopter has arrived in San Diego and will undergo tests Monday in Imperial County.

The FAA also indicates sky cranes are not certified to fly over occupied populated areas when carrying heavy loads.  The spokesman, Ian Gregor, later clarified in an e-mail that "a lift could occur over a populated area if that were absolutely necessary. However, nobody unessential to the operation could be on the ground below while the lift took place, and the lift could not take place directly over homes."

Below is the statement in full received this afternoon from Gregor, public information manager at the FAA Pacific Division:

June 15, 2011 (Ramona) – A female hiker was air lifted out of the Cedar Creek Falls area June 12 around 4 p.m. “She jumped from a rock and impacted the water, injuring her back,”said Deputy Tim Johnson with the Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter unit.

The number of visitors to the waterfall has soared since the U.S. Forest Service completed a new trail earlier this month. “All these improvements just make it that much more attractive out there,” said Johnson, who offered this safety advice for visitors to this local Shangri-La. “Don’t jump off rocks that are elevated above the water, not knowing what’s under there. It’s common sense.”

Local elementary school names wild owlets and wins their own owl nesting box with spycam!

June 14, 2011 (Lakeside) –The four owlets of Hoot and Holla, a mated pair of wild barn owls at The Water Conservation Garden, have fledged the nest (or taken their final flight into the wild) as of June 7, 2011.   Unbeknownst to them, the owlets have been observed by a loyal group of fans 24-hours a day via a live infrared Owlcam at www.thegarden.org, since they were eggs laid by Holla in mid-February of this year. 

June 13, 2011 (San Diego)--June 17 will mark forty years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as “public enemy No. 1”, officially declared a "war on drugs."Caroline Stewart, president of the board of directors at A New PATH, an organization founded by an East County mother, added, “We must treat drug use as a health issue. We need to use our resources to increase access to addiction treatment, rather than to warehouse people who use drugs or become addicted to drugs behind bars.” 

June 13, 2011 (Sacramento) – Starting July 1, 2011 new legislation will go into effect requiring homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in every California home; a move CAL FIRE officials say will save lives. “Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, each year claiming the lives of an average of 480 people,” said Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. “And sending more than 20,000 people to emergency rooms across the nation.” Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices.  

 Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Last week, as ECM reported, FEMA retracted its demand for Harris Fire survivor Veronica Lytle of Potrero to pay back disaster funds that FEMA had claimed were paid in error. Now FEMA informs ECM that 40 survivors of the 2007 California firestorms have been sent recoupment letters.

“FEMA received four appeals from applicants who were affected by disasters which occurred in San Diego County,” said a FEMA spokesperson who asked not to be named. “FEMA either rescinded or adjusted the amount identified for recoupment on three of the four appeals.”

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une 11, 2011 (Julian) -- Disaster Service Volunteers from across San Diego County will converge on the town of Julian Saturday morning to sharpen their skills during a “very realistic” 12-hour emergency response exercise. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 10, 2011 (San Diego) – A coalition of organizations serving people in need hosted a forum on June 2 at the City Heights Center to voice sharp criticism of San Diego County Supervisors. The criticism stemmed from two new reports by the Center on Policy Initiatives titled San Diego County Revenues and Reserves and County Employees: Overworked and Undermined.

The first report compared California’s 12 largest counties and found that San Diego takes in less revenue and has amassed reserves of $2.2 billion while restricting safety net services amid a recession. The County has left millions of dollars in state and federal aid funds unclaimed even though there are many eligible local residents for programs such as food stamps, CalWorks and Medi-Cal.

June 9, 2011 (Alpine) - Alpine Community Network reports that an Alpine resident has informed ACN of a mountain lion siting in broad daylight.  According to ACN director Angela Brookshire, ""I received an email this morning from an Alpine Resident who told me that on their way to work at Sycuan Casino at approximately 6:50 a.m. they spotted a Mountain Lion at the corner of Tavern Rd. and Dehesa Rd. in Alpine."

Photos by Monica Zech

June 8, 2011 (El Cajon)--A driver traveling eastbound on Rea Avenue shortly before 3 p.m. today hit the gas instead of the brake. Her vehicle plowed through a round center median, launched through a temporary ramp and fence, then over a deep trench before landing in a construction site near El Cajon’s City Hall.

June 7, 2011 (San Diego) -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has announced that its air crane helicopter was involved in an accident today during construction activities for Sunrise Powerlink in the Imperial Valley.  The Powerlink high-voltage transmission line is also under construction through several communities in East County.  

“This morning a section of a transmission tower carried by the helicopter fell approximately 200- feet to the ground outside SDG&E’s Plaster City Construction Yard near the shoulder of the Evan Hewes Highway,” a media statement released by the company indicated.  View a photo of the crash.