By Miriam Raftery; photo by Donnie Durfee

Rural residents are demanding answers and improved communications after a truck with an oversized load  broke down and blocked traffic on State Route 94 for over 50 hours.  Even after the road was cleared, the big rig remained on the shoulder at Marron Valley Road in Dulzura for two weeks before it was finally removed. 

Media was not warned and no Sig Alert was issued to alert residents prior to the oversized load taking to the highway, even though the slow-moving, extra-wide load obstructed traffic in both directions along the main evacuation route for residents in areas including Jamul, Deerhorn Valley, Potrero,  Barrett Junction and Tecate.

During the blockage, residents were forced to detour up to 90 miles, causing delays of many hours.  Yet a SigAlert was not issued until seven hours after the road was completely blocked by the mechanical breakdown.  Even before the breakdown, the oversized, slow-moving load obstructed traffic in both directions.  The load was about 231 feet long – yet posted signs indicate the maximum truck length allowed is 75 feet.  So why was this rig allowed to take this narrow route with many hairpin curves when straighter, wider routes to its destination were available?

August 18, 2013 (El Cajon) – At 11:51 p.m. Saturday night, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in El Cajon, with assistance from Cal Fire, responded to reports of a fire in the 3-hundred block of Wisconsin Avenue. As fire crews arrived on scene, smoke was seen coming from apartment #3, at 314 Wisconsin Avenue. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 17, 2013 (Santee) – An environmental group has lodged a formal complaint over a proposed electronic billboard in Santee, contending that the sign violates city laws and further, should require an environmental review.

The LEC-powered video billboard proposed by a Toyota dealership would stand 70 feet tall and be 321 square feet in size.  It would tower above the junction of highways 125 and 52.

August 15, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Husqvarna this week announced a recall of its closed-course/competition off-road motorcycles due to crash hazard. The motorcycle's throttle cable can malfunction so the rider loses speed control, posing a crash hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Prosecutor contends Bittner more concerned with economic gain than well-being of raptors;

Bittner data used to justify wind and other energy projects in San Diego/Imperial Counties, Mexico & elsewhere

By Nadin Abbott and Miriam Raftery

August 13, 2013 (San Diego)—U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Bartick sentenced John David Bittner of Julian, president of the Wildlife Research Institute in Ramona,  to three years probation and a $7500 fine.  Bittner pled guilty  to unlawful taking of a Golden Eagle without a permit and failing to file any data reports for a four-year period on birds that he had banded.   The government could have imposed up to a $100,000 fine and a one-year prison sentence, but instead hope to induce Bittner to turn over years of missing data as a condition of probation.

"We support the Justice Dept’s vigilance in prosecuting Bittner for his serious transgressions and unlawful behavior,” said Donna Tisdale with the Protect Our Communities organization. ““When unethical and basically corrupt experts like Bittner side with industry over avian protection—our beautiful birds literally get clobbered with the blunt end of the turbine blade.”

But she suggested that the fine amounted to a slap on the wrist in light of the more than $600,000 that Bittner’s Wildlife Research Institute raked in through consulting fees for corporations. Iberdrola and Pattern Energy hired him to write reports justifying their wind projects, Tule Wind in McCain Valley and the Ocotillo Express Wind Facility. Sempra Energy also hired Bittner as its eagle consultant for its massive Energia Sierra Juarez Wind in Baja California.

Update August 14, 2013 -- This truck remains stuck at the side of the road a week later, with still no answers from authorities on who if anyone authorized this severely oversized load to travel this highway.  Reportedly it was bound for Tecate and residents wantt o know why it didn't take the Otay crossing and avoid these mountainous roads.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Donnie Durfee

August 8, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)—A truck carrying an over-sized load has repeatedly become stuck on curves along Highway 94 between Dulzura and Tecata, causing a SIG ALERT that extended more than 20 hours.  Residents reported seeing the slow-moving rig  the past two nights,  however, and Deerhorn Valley Antler Kim Hamilton reports the ordeal has been ongoing for 54 hours as of late tonight, forcing residents to take a detour of 70 to 80 minutes.  As of 9:30 p.m. the highway remained shut down in both directions.

“Closure of our major evacuation route without notice would create a very dangerous situation in the event of evacuation. Fires happen at all hours and we ARE in the middle of a very dicey season,” Deerhorn Valley antler editor Kim Hamilton wrote.  ECM shares her concern and has sent a request for information to the California Highway Patrol.

Equally disturbing, the CHP website quit updating its log at noon and dropped the incident off its incident page entirely this evening. 

"We are hoping. We're keeping the faith; our little girl is coming home." -- Sara Britt, grandmother

By Nadin Abbott

August 6, 2013 (Lakeside) A very emotional gathering of friends, classmates and residents of Hannah and Ethan Anderson met at El Capitan High School tonight in Lakeside  to hold a vigil for the missing children. Those present lit candles and at the end of the ceremony let balloons lose to signify hope.

The children were declared missing and a statewide Amber Alert was issued by the authorities for Hannah, 16, and her 8-year-old brother, Ethan, Monday. On Sunday night, the body of their mother, Christina Anderson, and an unidentified child’s body were found in a burned home in Boulevard. 

Authorities have stated that Christina Anderson was murdered. They have not identified the child’s body found. Police believe that one or both children have been abducted by James Lee DiMaggio, a friend of their mother.

August 5, 2013 (El Cajon) – Tyler J. Farmer, 34, of El Cajon has been identified by theMedical Examiner’s office as the driver killed in a motorcycle accident that occurred July 29.   Farmer was traveling westbound on West Main Street when he struck a curb and lost control.

Responding paramedics transported him to a hospital, where despite medical intervention he died. Cause of death was cardiac arrest during an exploratory laparotomy surgical procedure for treatment of lung and liver lacerations due to blunt force injury of his torso.

By Miriam Raftery

August 4, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – By a bare majority, the Republican-controlled House of representatives passed the Farm Bill after stripping out all funding for food stamps to feed the poor, but approved lavish subsidies for agribusiness.  After the Senate passed a less extreme version, a conference committee is now seeking a compromise. But thus far, the Republican leadership has shown no concern for the potential to leave millions of Americans facing starvation.

Among San Diego’s five Congressional representatives, only Republican Darrell Issa voted for  the measure.  Republican Duncan Hunter did not vote, but previously  voted for earlier deep cuts in Food Stamps and against restoring benefits. Democrats Susan Davis, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas voted against stripping Food Stamps from the Farm Bill.

  Issa’s 49^th district includes 7,691 households receiving food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). Of those, 44.2% have incomes below the poverty level and 79.5% have children; 20.2% have at least one senior citizen.

August 3, 2013 (San Diego) – KNSJ 89.1 FM , the Network for Social Justice, will present its first-ever People’s Microphone Awards at the new public radio station’s launch party on Saturday, August 3 from 6-9 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Parks. Tickets are available at www.knsj.org.

The awards are presented to individuals and organizations who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to social justice causes on behalf of people in their communities or our environment. The winners, a majority of whom will be present to accept their honors, are: Bonnie La Chappa, Elizabeth Lou, Dave Patterson, Estela de los Rios, Lori Saldana, Lisa Kove, Martha Sullivan and Ray Lutz with Decommission San Onofre,Donna Tisdale with Protect Our Communities Foundation, Cleveland National Forest Foundation, San Diego Dream Team, and Save Mission Trails.

July 31, 2013 (Grantville) – A Grantville resident was struck by a car while crossing the street at the corner of Mission Gorge Road and Twain Avenue on Monday, July 8. Witness testimony is contradictory and eye-witnesses are being sought to help clarify the incident.

The pedestrian, a 42-year old woman and girlfriend of ECM reporter/photographer Ron Logan, was struck shortly before noon.

July 29, 2013 (El Cajon) – El Cajon City Manager Douglas Williford announced today that he has appointed Majed Al-Ghafry as the new Assistant City Manager.  Al-Ghafry currently serves as the Director of Public Works for the City of San Antonio, Texas, the nation’s 7th largest city.  Prior to that, Al-Ghafry served as the Director of Public Works for the City of North Las Vegas, Nevada.

July 28, 2013 (El Cajon) – Today, El Cajon Police announced the arrest of Israel Soto and Jessica Quezada for the death of their four-month-old baby. The couple’s other three children, ages 3, 2, and 1, have been taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services.

July 26, 2013 (Ramona) – Two months after the County Department of Animal Services (DAS) impounded ten horses in Ramona, another 22 were seized from the same owner Monday.

DAS had been monitoring the herd belonging to Lori Patton since the original seizure May 23 to make sure the animals were getting the proper level of care. 

“We aren’t trying to avoid anything,” said Chairman Jack Phillips (photo, left). “We haven’t had anything to put on the agenda.”

By Jake Christie

For possibly the first time ever in its 30- year history, the Valle de Oro Community Planning Group has cancelled two and a half months of meetings, from May 21 to July 16. The planning group members are elected, unpaid volunteers serving on the advisory group overseeing land use issues in a 19 square mile unincorporated area which covers Casa de Oro, Mt. Helix, Rancho San Diego, and Vista Grande Hills.

The group normally meets twice a month in the training room of the Otay Water District Headquarters on Sweetwater Springs Boulevard at 7 p.m.