By Miriam Raftery

September 30, 2015 (Sacramento) – If you’re a California driver with an overdue traffic ticket fine, you may be eligible for a limited amnesty program starting this week under Senate Bill 85, which was signed into law by Governor Brown.

Under the program, all fines due on or before January 1, 2013 will be reduced by 50 to 80 percent. In addition, all penalties added for late fees will be cancelled. You can also make payments to pay off the balance, based on your income. In addition, if you lost your license for failing to pay a fine or appear in court, you can apply to get your license restored.

East County News Service

September 28, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Western Blend horse feed, manufactured by Western Milling, has been linked to deaths of three horses and illness of dozens more.  The feed contains monensin, an ionophore that is used to put weight on cattle but that is toxic to horses. There is no antidote for the poisoning.

On Sunday, the company announced a recall of Western Blend sold in 50 pound bags in California and Arizona, with the lot number 5251. ABC news reports the deaths occurred in Fresno.

East County News Service

September 27, 2017 (Alpine)—Phevos, a  17-year-old tiger rescued from Greece and given refuge at Lions, Tigers and Bears in Alpine has died.

In an e-mail from LTB, founder Bobbie Brink states, “Phevos' health had been on a slow decline over the last two months.

By East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego) – An investigation by KNSD-TV Channel 7 , the NBC affiliate in San Diego, has dropped a bombshell regarding efforts to cover-up lax handling of nuclear waste and radiation leaks at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations.   Get the full report and the confidential documents here.  

NBC’s investigation found high radiation levels endangered Southern California employees in trailers, including radiation levels so alarming that  Nuclear Regulatory inspectors at times refused to perform routine radiation surveys. A contaminated steam generator taken from a reactor exposed workers for 10 days, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report form 1981 revealed.

Hundreds of pieces of contaminated radioactive equipment were stored on both sides of Interstate 5, which bisects the San Onofre nuclear waste dump now under construction following shut-down of the facilities.  Some were openly exposed to weather.

County News Service

Photos: Sally Estabrook

September 25, 2015 (San Diego)--Bob Estabrook walked into the back of his RV to clean up one afternoon last fall. He and his wife, Sally, were staying at a campground near Julian. Within 15 minutes, Sally, who was 75 years old and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, had disappeared.

September 23, 2015 (La Mesa)--The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce will present “Health Fair Saturday,” the East County region’s largest annual free community-wide health fair, from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26, at Grossmont Center, 5500 Grossmont Center Dr., La Mesa, near the movie theaters at the mall.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of the White House

Pope Francis met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday, then delivered an address on the White House lawn to a crowd of over 11,000 people, CNN reports.

The Pope called on Christians to be responsible stewards of the earth.  "Climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation," he said. "When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change."

“What if the next touch and go crash takes out a school in session?" – a resident’s letter to Supervisor Dianne Jacob

East County News Service

September 21, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --After a plane crashed into a Santee home on September 3rd, killing the pilot and a flight student near Gillespie Field, Advocates for Safe Airport Policies or “ASAP” is calling for action to protect community members. ASAP has made many complaints to officials before this crash, which is the latest in a string of crashes and serious mishaps involving planes at Gillespie. But recently residents have warned of frequent and low flights over homes due to an increase in flight school training of students at Gillespie Field.  

Now ASAP is holding a meeting for concerned airport neighbors. The event will be held September 30^th at a private home in Fletcher Hills.  To RSVP and get the addresss contact suestrom1@cox.net.

East County News Service

September 21, 2015 (San Diego) – An estimated 90,000 San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) customers lost power for several hours on Sunday afternoon.  SDG&E tweeted at 2:02 p.m. Sunday that the California Independent Systems Organization known as CAISO ordered it to “drop 150 MW of load in our service territory at around 1:15 p.m.”  CAISO, a nonprofit, is responsible for maintaining the statewide power grid- in other words, keeping the lights on.

By Miriam Raftery

September 12, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Today, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. will raise its cap on refugees from the current level of 70,000 to accept 85,000 next year and 100,000 in 2017. The news comes in response to a growing refugee crisis of people fleeing ISIS in Syria and Iraq, including Christians and other minorities as well as Muslims.

That came as welcome news in El Cajon, where Iraqi-American Christians are celebrating at the Chaldean Festival.

East County News Service

File photo: Flooded road in Pine Valley, by Alex Tardy, National Weather Service

September 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch, cautioning that heavy rainfall and flash flooding is possible from Monday afternoon through Tuesday in San Diego’s eastern mountains and deserts.

Rainfall could exceed two inches in mountains and could top an inch in the deserts.  Recent wildfire burned areas will be particularly susceptible to flash flooding and debris flows.

Originally Published on the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

On October 14th, or possibly the 28th, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will decide if they should rip up the dreams of a rural community so a developer can get a lot of money. As County Planning commissioners Peder Norby and Michael Beck recently pointed out, if the Lilac Hills project goes forward it will destroy 13 years of work, and close to $20 million, that went into San Diego County’s General Plan.

The project spreads across 608 acres in the Valley Center area. There are currently 16 “dwelling units” and a total of  just 110 are allowed under current zoning. Accretive Investments wants to build 1,786 units over the course of a decade. This would support a larger population that the city of Del Mar. Why plunk a city in the middle of nowhere?

East County Alert Service

September 16, 2015 (Orange County, California) -- An 8.3  magnitude earthquake has occurred off the coast of Chile has led to issuance of a Tsunami Advisory for the California coast from Orange County north to San Luis Obispo. San Diego County is  not included in the advisory. 

A Tsunami Advisory is issued for Tsunamis (or tidal waves) expected to be 1 to 3 feet higher than normal--capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or near the water.  Greatest threats will be the strong underwater currents early Thursday which will be hazardous to boaters and swimmers; coastal structures may also be damaged.  The tsunami arrival time ranges from 4:46 a.m. to 5:10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) morning along the southern California coast.

The tsunami in Orange County is expected to be a foot high, with 4 to 8 inches expected in San Diego County. 

Hawaii is also on alert for a tsunami.

East County News Service

September 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – It’s been a rough day for motorists across San Diego County, with rain-slicked highways contributing to multiple crashes and long delays for commuters.

California Highway Patrol reports 385 collisions midnight to 9 p.m.—nearly triple the 140 accidents that occur on an average “good weather” day.  Those stats includes freeways and streets in unincorporated areas only and do not include accidents on any city streets.

By late morning, multiple crashes had clogged traffic on I-8 west in La Mesa and El Cajon.  Later in the day, all lanes on I-15 were blocked due to a major traffic collision.  A crash involving a big-rig and another vehicle on I-8 in Pine Valley sent both vehicles over the side, necessitating a rescue.

East County News Service

September 13, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The County seeks volunteers for the San Miguel Local Park District Citizen Advisory Board (County Service Area 128).