June 7, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- Summertime is almost here--time to dive in and cool off. But maintaining a pool and air conditionoing can be costly. SDG&E has provided some tips for saving energy and money on your swimming pool and air conditioning systems.
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June 6, 2015 (El Cajon)--An El Cajon mother is mourning the loss of her 20-year-old daughter, Victoria Zubkis, whose body was found in the ocean near the Ocean Beach Pier on May 28th. Zubkis’ mother had reported her daughter missing two days earlier, when she went to visit a friend in Ocean Beach.
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Photos: Rural residents rallied for protection from wind turbines after explosions; faith-based community leaders sought justice for immigrants outside County Administration Building at site that may soon be restricted for free speech rallies.
June 6, 2015 (San Diego)—For years, community groups and activists have rallied outside the County administration building where Supervisors meet to protest or urge support for various causes, from immigrant rights to stopping environmentally damaging projects, with rally organizers ranging from civil liberties advocates to conservative Tea Party groups.
But under a new ordinanceproposed for consideration onTuesday’s agenda, people wishing to exercise First Amendment rights may be restricted to designated “free speech zones” at the new Waterfront Park around the building, where you won’t be able to bring a megaphone, microphone, or even a chair on which to sit. There will be noise limits and gatherings of 200 or more must obtain permits—meaning you’ll have to predict how many will show up for your event, or risk paying fines.
That’s not all. The proposed ordinance would go farther, changing codes regarding selling and advertising for all county parks and recreation facilities to regulate “other issues such as commercial photography, noise levels, and the prohibition on posting or affixing materials on park property.”
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Photo, left: "Would you want these kids breathing that, every day for 15 years?" -- Jessica Webb
June 5, 2015 (Lakeside) – Imagine up to 250 trucks a day – one every minute and a half—hauling sand along a rural road right in front of your house--five days a week for the next 15 years or more in El Monte Valley, if a sand mining developer has his way. It gets worse: noise and dust from sand mining operations clogging the area, kicking up potentially deadly Valley Fever spores lurking in soil here, where several El Monte Valley residents have already contracted the disease.
The sand loads would be transported for use on highways, roadways and other aggregate projects across San Diego County—potentially bringing sand laden with Valley Fever spores to construction projects near you. All thanks to a deal cut by Helix Water District to settle litigation over a golf course and water reclamation deal gone sour on land that Helix owned in El Monte Valley, a county-designated scenic view corridor.
This project has the Orwellian-like name “El Monte Nature Preserve” though all parties including the developer concede it is first and foremost a mining operation that will strip bare the valley for decades, lowering the valley floor 30 feet with dredging far deeper in places, in a project three times wider than Lake Jennings.
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UPDATE: Hear our interview on KNSJ radio with Lisa Wood, Lakeside resident and chair of Supervisor Dianne Jacob's youth activites on the river committee. Wood discusses impacts of the sand mining project, which she believes would be severe, irreversible, and worse than Sunrise Powerlink.
May 29, 2015 (Lakeside) – A controversial proposal for sand mining in scenic El Monte Valley along the San Diego River bed is on the agenda for the Lakeside Planning Group on Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lakeside Community Center (, 9841 Vine St, Lakeside). The applicant is the “El Monte Nature Preserve LLC,” though residents voice concerns the project will be destructive to nature, not preserve it. View application.
Lakeside resident Billy Ortiz, a videographer who chronicles Lakeside’s beauty for media outlets and the Lakeside Historical Society, opposes the project. He voiced outrage over the plan.
. “If we don’t stop them, our beautiful valley will be destroyed,” Ortiz told ECM. “We will be there to protest and discourage the project.”
Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
June 1, 2015 (El Cajon)—Last week, we reported that parents in El Cajon have filed a lawsuit Ametek Aerospace & Defense, alleging that the company’s underground toxic waste dumping is causing illness among children at Magnolia Elementary School next door.
Now the Cajon Valley School District Board has voted unanimously to close down the school for the current school year. All students and staff will be relocated to Bostonia Elementary School.
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Photo: Councilmember Ruth Sterling states, "I feel for the Merchants, I feel for the situation, believe me I do, but when you have the money and you know you owe the money, you’ve got to get your priorities straight. I would say the same thing to my children, if they got the rent to pay and they’ve got other things to pay. You get your priorities straight and pay the rent, or you’re going to be out on the street."
By Kristin Kjaero
May 30, 2015 (La Mesa) – The operation of this year’s Oktoberfest is up in the air, with the door open for a new organizer to potentially take over. Last week, the city of La Mesa received an application from the La Mesa Village Merchants Association for the 2015 Oktoberfest, but the Merchants’ group still owes the city $37,229 for past events including last year’s Oktoberfest. Without ruling on the application directly, the city added a phrase to its special event application policy that empowers the City Manager with discretion to pre-qualify and negotiate with applicants.
The Merchants Association proposed to pay both its past debts and future costs by taking over the entire event without the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce’s participation, combined with a request asking the Council to roll back cost recovery to 50%. The Merchants group also promised to place future proceeds from 2015 into an escrow account so the City would be the first paid from future event revenues. 2015 Car Show series, funded annually by Oktoberfest profits, was also cancelled last week by the Merchants.
This isn’t the first time that the Merchants Association’s finances have led to a change in the way the City processes applications for special events.
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May 31, 2015 (Borrego Springs)--If you felt the earth move under your feet Sunday morning at 6:02 a.m., that’s because a 4.1 earthquake centered 7 miles northeast of Borrego Springs rattled our region. Our news partner, 10 News, reports the quake was felt as far away as Escondido, but the Sheriff’s Department did not receive any reports of damage.
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May 30, 2015 (Alpine)--The Alpine Library Friends Association (ALFA) announces an anonymous challenge grant pledge of $10,000. The Donor will match any contribution of $250 or more from an individual or group, up to a total of $10,000. The Challenge period runs from June 1st to July 15th The money raised by this challenge will be used to outfit the Library. San Diego County provided $10.7 million for the construction of the Library; but the Alpine Community must raise the money needed for furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E ) the cost of which is estimated at $675,000. ALFA has, so far, raised about $350,000.
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May 29, 2015 (San Diego)--The Society of Professional Journalists San Diego Pro Chapter has issued a statement criticizing local and federal law enforcement for going “too far” when an FBI agent and a San Diego Police Department detective on the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force visited a San Diego City College student journalist’s home. The investigators inquired about a news crew filming outside the FBI San Diego office for a story about sex trafficking.
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Fraud issue heightened by 2nd year of weak wind energy output. So why isn't the federal government taking action?
By Miriam Raftery
May 29, 2015 (Ocotillo) – Last year, our award-winning investigative story, Was It Fraud? raised serious questions over why Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility produced only 15% capacity factor in 2013—far less than the 34 percent capacity factor that Pattern promised the federal government in order to obtain lucrative federal subsidies. Even after accounting for time when a fallen blade shut down the project, capacity factor for the remaining months still averaged less than 19 percent.
Now, the figures are in for 2014—and the Ocotillo wind project again under-performed, this time reaching 24 percent capacity factor:
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May 2015 (Washington DC.) -Organized crime rings are being blamed for the theft of over 100,000 tax returns and theft of tax refunds.
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May 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Ford Motor Company has announced two recalls of its vehicles.
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May 27, 2015 (Jamul) – The Jamul Action Committee and Jamulians Against the Casino (JAC/JCC) today announced that they have appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, after a federal judge denied their request for a prelimininary injunction to halt construction of a casino at the Jamul Indian Village.
The plaintiff’s request for a permanent injunction remains pending while the tribe moves forward on construction.
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May 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Accidents have claimed the lives of several local residents including Xochil Calvario or Ramona, Darrell Thomas King of Alpine, and Michael Young of El Cajon. In addition, a fatal Pine Valley accident killed Casey Phillip Ellis of Yuma, Arizona.
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May 26, 2015 (San Diego) – More than a dozen young great white sharks have been spotted recently off the Southern California coast, mostly off Huntington Beach. But this week, a six-foot-shark that lifeguards indicate could be a great white was seen off the shore in Oceanside.
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May 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - May is national Foster Care month. The Children’s Defense Fund is voicing concerns over the high number of children in foster care who are being given mind-altering drugs—in many cases to control behavior, not address real medical problems.
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May 26, 2015 (Warner Springs) – A Fullerton couple missing for two weeks after leaving Valley View Casino has been found. An off-road vehicle rider spotted their vehicle on the Los Coyotes reservation in a remote are near Warner Springs. That’s far off the route searched by authorities, since the couple was believed traveling north to a Mother’s Day celebration at a family member’s home in La Quinta.
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May 26, 2015 (San Diego)—A new documentary called ‘The Hunting Ground’ is shining a light on the increasing rate of campus rapes nationwide—and the failure of campuses to take action, particularly when the accused perpetrator is a college sports star.
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May 26, 2015 (La Mesa) -- The annual pancake breakfast is stacked up to be a fun time for the whole family, Sunday June 7 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the La Mesa Fire Station #11 in the city's civic campus (8034 Allison Ave, La Mesa).
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May 25, 2015 (Borrego Springs)--An emergency order issued by Governor Jerry Brown is having a harsher impact on some communities than others, since the slash-water-use requirements make no distinction between northern forested communities and places like Borrego Springs, which is located in the Anza-Borrego desert.
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May 24, 2015 (Mount Laguna)--The County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has lifted the Boil Water Order for the Mount Laguna Recreation Area Water System, operated by the U.S. Forest Service.
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May 24, 2015 (El Cajon)-- Tomorrow is the annual day of remembrance for those that have gone before us and given “all” for our freedom and the liberties that we enjoy. You are all welcome to join us for a short ceremony at the El Cajon Veteran’s Memorial.
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May 21, 2015 (La Mesa)- At the board meeting yesterday, the Helix Water District board voted 4-1 for the drought action plan for increased public education and outreach, increased restrictions with two days/week for outdoor water use in tier 3, and a 10% penalty for using 31 units or more of water, effective starting with July 29th water bills. The plan also limits watering to two days a week and cuts warning for water waste fines to just one courtesy letter. View the resolution here.
Tier-3 users will be charged 10% on water over 30 units each two-month billing period, but will not be charged 10% on the first 30 units, Mike Uhrhammer, senior public affairs representative at Helix, told ECM. A person who exceeds the limit by 1 unit would pay 55 cents; while 50 units would be $11.02, for instance. See chart above left for details. Average water use is 26 units over two months for the district.
“There is a variance procedure,” Uhrhammer said, citing a need to irrigate for defensible space or erosion control and undue hardships as examples. The penalties will not apply to tier 1, which is considered essential indoor water use level, or tier 2. Tier 3 is targeted because these residents use water mostly outdoors and the state is pushing districts to encourage homeowners to limit ornamental landscaping.
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May 21, 2015 (La Mesa)- At yesterday’s meeting, the La Mesa Planning Commission voted to deny approval of a revised Park Station plan because of its inconsistency with the general plan and community objectives. The vote was 4-2 with Commissioner Dexter Levy absent. Next up, the City Council will be asked to decide Park Station’s fate.
This was the developer’s third attempt to win approval. The plan had been dramatically scaled down from 190 feet in height originally proposed to a maximum of 75 feet in the latest proposal, though still far over the 46 feet height limit citywide and double the allowable density. The latest plan increased density and added a hotel, but reduced parking. A controversial aspect has been the developer’s effort to get approval of a specific plan solely for Park Station so that zoning requirements of the historic downtown district and other areas in La Mesa would not apply. It would have included a “by right” ability to make future changes without city approval, or what critics referred to as a “blank check.”
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Photo: "Refugio Oil Spill in Santa Barbara" by Zackmann08
Updated to include expanded size of spill, now five times earlier estimates
May 20, 2015 (Santa Barbara) – A ruptured pipeline has caused a nine-mile-wide oil spill in the ocean off the Santa Barbara coast. The environmental disaster occurred 46 years after the catastrophic 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.
While emergency crews work to try and clean up the estimated 110,000 gallon spill, campgrounds and beaches at Refugio State Beach have been evacuated due to severe air quality, water pollution and oil oozing onto the sand as Memorial Day weekend draws near. Warnings have been issued for nearby El Capitan State Beach as the oil slick moves southward with the currents.
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May 20, 2015 (San Diego)--The ACLU of California has launched Mobile Justice CA, a free smart phone app allowing Californians to automatically record and submit cell phone videos to their ACLU affiliate when they feel law enforcement officers are violating civil rights.
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May 20, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
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May 18, 2015 (San Diego) – Back in 2012, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore sought to stop drugs and weapons from being smuggled into county jails in envelopes. So the Sheriff imposed a ban on mail to inmates, allowing only postcards or emails—no hand-written letters from loved ones. An exception was allowed for inmates to receive letters from their attorneys, however.
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May 17, 2015 (Santee) – The pilot of a single-engine Cherokee plane made an emergency landing Saturday morning on Prospect Avenue near Cuyamaca Street in Santee.
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Fraud issue heightened by 2nd year of weak wind energy output. So why isn't the federal government taking action?
May 26, 2015 (La Mesa) -- The annual pancake breakfast is stacked up to be a fun time for the whole family, Sunday June 7 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the La Mesa Fire Station #11 in the city's civic campus (8034 Allison Ave, La Mesa).
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