January 21, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued an urgent high wind warning for San Diego County mountains and deserts. The warning is in effect from now through 10 p.m. tonight as a strong storm moves through the region.

January 20, 2012 (January 20, 2012 ) Lakeside –A memorial service will be held January 27 for Ryan Carter, the 12-year-old Lakeside boy stabbed to death by a playmate, age 10.  

January 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – If you’re seeing smoke over our local mountains, don’t panic.  Cal-Fire confirms that it is assisting the Rancho Cuyamaca State Park with a controlled burn today.

IPN indicates the burn is at the Middle Peaks area of the Park.

 January 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Tonight, the Coalition for Reproductive Choice will commemorate the 39th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Speakers will give international and local perspectives on the battle over reproductive rights. The event will be held at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Avenue in San Diego.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated January 20, 2012 to include SDG&E's response to the CPUC decision.

By Nadin Abbott

“SOPA and PIPA go too far, allowing the government to take down any website for even a single unintentional post with copyrighted material. Even a comment posted by a reader could be enough to get a site shut down.” –ECM Editor Miriam Raftery

January 18, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--On Wednesday Wikipedia and many other major sites will go dark to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA,).  Other sites such as Google will remain on line, but post protest messages opposing the bills on their homepages.  

 
Update February 4, 2012 -- The Department of Defense still has not listed the death of Jay Polk, nor has any notice of his death been published in New Iberia, Louisiana, where he claimed to live.  A source informs ECM further that his name has not been provided for addition to a memorial for special forces soldiers. Thus it now appears he was not killed in service to his country and likely fabricated the "report" of his death and possibly his military service as well. Now a blog site claims to have obtained military records showing a Jamond Polk was thrown out of the military at Fort Jackson. We do not know if this is the same Jay Polk referenced below, but include this information for anyone who may be able to confirm or disprove the connection: 

We are leaving this story posted, with this disclaimer, because the research on special forces operations includes numerous well documented links on that issue  even if Polk's tale is a hoax.  

By Nadin B. Abbott

January 17, 2012 (San Diego)— On January 2, a soldier in San Diego claiming links to Special Forces posted on his Facebook page that he was deploying to Syria. This tantalizing piece of information startled readers, leading many to ask: does our country have troops in Syria and if so, why?

January 16, 2012 (Rancho San Diego)  A fundraiser to benefit the two young sons of Debra Meltzer will be held tonight at Hooley’s Irish Pub and Grill, 2955 Jamacha Road in the Rancho San Diego area of El Cajon.  Meltzer’s estranged husband is accused of killing her on December 23. 

 Hooley’s will donate 20 percent of all proceeds between 5 and 9 p.m.  at tonight’s event, which also includes live entertainment, silent auction and raffle. 

Update: The Sig Alert has been cancelled and the bridge is now reopened.

January 14, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A Sig Alert has been issued for the Eastbound 8 transition to State Route 67 northbound due to a traffic accident involving two cars on the bridge. One lane remains open but others are blocked, so caution is advised.

January 13, 2012 (Santee) – The Sheriff’s Homicide detail has been called to the scene of a shooting in the 10000 block of Prospect Avenue in Santee.  At 5:09 a.m., deputies responded to a call of a shooting and found the victim inside the home. 

 
Chula Vista Police becomes first local law enforcement agency to use high-tech system—and offers tracking devices free

January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Due to guardrail repairs, the connector ramp from northbound State Route 67 to westbound Interstate 8 will be closed Saturday morning. The closure will be in effect from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m., according to the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).

 Update February 3, 2012:  Sgt. Polk's death has still not been reported by the Dept. of Defense, nor has any notice of his death appeared in his family's hometown newspaper. A source has further informed ECM that his name has not been provided for addition to a memorial that honors fallen special services soldiers. Thus at this point, it appears likely that Polk did not die in service overseas. Perhaps he faked his death, or possibly someone else posted misleading information on his Facebook account.

January 11, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Gloria Maria Moler, 81, who was reported missing last night has been located.

“Police received a call about a wrong-way driver at 5:00 a.m.,” said Melissa Aquino with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. “An officer detained Miss Moler and later discovered a missing person’s report about her.”

La Mesa woman who wrote tell-all book about film industry was third-oldest Californian

January 8, 2012 (La Mesa) – Silent movie screenwriter Frederica Sagor Maas gained fame and notoriety in an era when few women attained such acclaim.  But on Thursday, December 29, 2011, Maas made her final exit, passing away at Country Villas, a La Mesa nursing home.

Scripts written by Maas starred some of Hollywood’s leading talents on the silver screen, including Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer and Clare Bow. The Hollywood Reporter called her a “pioneering” female screenwriter, while the Los Angeles Times memorialized her as “one of the last links to the silent film industry.”