By Miriam Raftery

December 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The power of social media has given rise to a new phenomenon seen across our region and around the world:  residents are taking to the streets, sending tweets, and discovering the power of the people.  They’re organizing online, launching petitions, posting viral videos on Youtube, promoting causes on Facebook.  A year aqo, in 2011, the world witnessed the power of citizen activism when the Egyptian government was overthrown.  Here at home, the rise in citizen activism in the past year has led to some remarkable achievements and some noteworthy upsets.

Here are some of the results of citizen activism in our region over the past year.

December 27, 2012 (La Mesa)—A fire that began in or near a wall heater yesterday morning swiftly engulfed a granny flat in the 8400 block of Sunrise Avenue.  After a neighbor reported the blaze, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews arrived within five minutes.  

Firefighters stretched hose lines inside the building to aggressively fight the fire, while other crews vented the structure to allow smoke and hot gases to escape.  The blaze was doused within 10 minutes and firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings. 

By Miriam Raftery

December 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—East County lost some prominent residents in 2012, from celebrities and pioneers to lesser known individuals who achieved extraordinary accomplishments in their lives or touched our hearts in their passing. 

Scroll down to read about those lost in 2012; click on their names to read more about these remarkable individuals.

December 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A wind advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service for mountains and deserts in East County from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 26.  Gusts up to 50 mph may occur near ridge tops.  Winds may make driving difficult, also producing blowing sand in desert areas. 

A hazardous weather outlook has also been issued for southwestern California.  Wednesday through Monday, a cold low-pressure system will bring light to moderate rain, with snow down to 4500 feet in mountain areas, along with strong winds.  Frost is possible in valleys and upper deserts Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Along coastal areas, a winds may create hazardous conditions for small crafts.

By Nadin Abbot

December 22, 2012 (Ramona)--The temperature was quickly dropping and the car thermometer read in the upper thirties as I talked to Janine outside her mobile home late last night She is a resident of the Ramona Terrace Estates, which lost propane yesterday due to a major leak.

Janine, who did not provide her last name, is worried since they will not get gas power restored until Christmas Eve. It will be cold for the next few days, and among the residents is her father, who lives in one of the units that are "propane only," so right now he is using a space heater to keep warm.

December 21, 2012 (Ramona) – It’s going to be a chilly holiday season for 220 residents of the Ramona Terrace Estates mobilehome park, 1212 H Street in Ramona, where a large leak in a 30,000 gallon propane tank  has forced shut-off of gas and heating.   According to Cal Fire Captain Mike Mohler,  the leak will impact residents for the next three to four days.

An emergency shelter/assistance center  has been set up at Olive Pierce Middle School, 1521 Hanson Lane in Ramona.

December 21, 2012 (San Diego)--County supervisors broke ground this afternoon for the new Registrar of Voters (ROV) building, the final piece of the puzzle in a years-long project to redevelop the County’s 47-acre operations center in Kearny Mesa.

“By this time next year, we expect to announce the grand opening of yet another high-quality, energy-efficient, public building in keeping with the rest of this award-winning campus,” said Board Chairman Ron Roberts. “This multi-purpose structure will provide a flexible election processing workspace and provide a light, bright and comfortable environment for voters, the general public and employees.”  

From left to right: Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Supervisor Bill Horn, Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer, Board Chairman Ron Roberts, Registrar Deborah Seiler, Supervisor Greg Cox, Incoming Registrar Michael Vu

By Miriam Raftery

December 18, 2012 (El Cajon) – Parents of Joseph Meram, a 16-year-old El Cajon teen who died July 6, 2011 after falling 80 feet from the top of Cedar Creek Falls in Cleveland National Forest near Ramona, has filed a lawsuit alleging “willful, wanton, or grossly negligent” actions on the part of the U.S. Forest Service. 

The suit cites many prior deaths, serious injuries and rescues at the site plus warnings of dangerous conditions just days before Meram's fatal fall. Unlike other fatalities due mostly to daredevil diving (now banned), Meram reportedly lost his footing and accidentally plunged to his death, striking his head on boulders. he lawsuit reveals, “He fell fully clothed with his running shoes and basketball shorts on, and his wallet and cell phone in his pockets.”

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Why did the California Public Utilities Commission fail to notify parties that it plans to hear a drastically revised alternate decision at tomorrow’s meeting on SDG&E’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA)? 

The new version, written by Commissioner Timothy Simon,  would allow SDG&E to charge ratepayers not only for certain uninsured costs of future wildfires caused by its lines, but also appears to now include the 2007 wildfires as well—a shift that has outraged fire survivors. (See pages 23 and 28 at link above.) The draft contains numerous other changes from an earlier alternate decision penned by Simon, as well as a separate alternate decision penned previously by Commissioner Maribeth Bushey, as ECM reported earlier.    

Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, representing fire victim Ruth Henricks,  sent an e-mail tonight to the CPUC objecting to any discussion or consideration of the new alternative decision on grounds that it violates the Brown Act due to failure to give proper notice, as well as collective concurrence outside a properly noticed meeting.  He also alleges violation of due process.

December 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Flooded with complaints from ratepayers, the California Public Utilities Commission will hold a public meeting tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in San Clemente on whether to allow SDG&E to impose a hefty fee hike for customers who want to opt out of having smart meters on their homes.

Susan Brinchman of La Mesa, director and founder of the Center for Electrosmog Prevention, has led efforts to stop the fee hikes.  “Come join us to protest and speak out about smart meter opt-out fees in front of the CPUC judge making decisions on fees and whether to DOUBLE the opt-out fees,” she wrote in an e-mail to ECM. “We need speakers.”

December 17, 2012 (El Cajon) – HAZMAT is on the scene at a gas depot at Main and North Second streets in El Cajon, where a minor explosion has occurred with underground vault off-gassing, Incident Protection Network reported late this morning.  SDG&E confirms a power outage in the area with cause under investigation; estimated power restoration time is 2:29 p.m.

Water Authority already is diversifying supplies, encouraging conservation

December 15, 2012 (San Diego County)--A new study of the Colorado River Basin’s water future released Wednesday offers the most thorough assessment ever done on the topic and serves as an important framework for meeting water demands in coming decades, officials with the San Diego County Water Authority said.

The study was issued by the seven Colorado River Basin states and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It outlines several strategies to reduce the potential for water shortages on the river system through 2060.

December 15, 2012 (Lakeside) – The San Diego Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team performed a hoist rescue last night to save two hikers off El Cajon (El Capitan) Mountain in Lakeside’s El Monte Valley area.

“The hikers reported that they were lost, cold, wet and unprepared for the cold weather,” Sgt. Mike Forbes with the Santee Sheriff Patrol Station reports.

December 14, 2012 (San Diego)—Residents across San Diego County were awakened at 2:36 a.m. by a 6.3 earthquake centered 172 miles to the southwest, off the coast of Mexico.

The quake struck at a depth of seven miles.  Aftershocks have occurred, the strongest measuring 4.7.  No tsunami warnings have been issued.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the temblor occurred due to “shallow normal faulting within the oceanic lithosphere of the Pacific plate.” 

Do you qualify for compensation due to wrongful foreclosure in 2009 or 2010? Find out and get help--free

December 13, 2012 (San Diego) -- San Diego’s newly-elected Mayor Bob Filner and the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) are co-sponsoring what could be the largest Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) event and resource fair in California this year. 

Under the IFR review, the 14 largest banks/servicers are required to pay homeowners who were improperly foreclosed upon up to $125,000 each in compensation. But since only 5% of homeowners have been properly contacted by the banks and none have received any relief, federal banking regulatory agencies have committed to holding this pre-Christmas event.