September 17, 2010 (El Cajon) -- Construction crews from the California Department of Transportation will be removing bridge falsework on the State Route 52 (SR-52) Sunny Side Gateway Project. Crews will close Prospect Avenue between Graves and Magnolia avenues Sunday through Wednesday evenings from 9 until 5 the next morning.

September 15, 2010 (Pine Valley) – An under-age teen driver took his grandmother’s Chevy Tahoe without permission, then picked up several friends at Mountain Empire in Pine Valley, ECM news partner 10 News reports. The joy ride ended tragically. Traveling at a high rate of speed, the driver missed a curve and the vehicle rolled over three times, according to the California Highway Patrol.

By Miriam Raftery
“I hope this will spread across America.” - Congressman Bob Filner at a pre-dawn rally, where he announced that Union Bank called off plans to have the Sheriff issue a foreclosure notice today to evict a woman and her child with cancer

September 14, 2010 (Kensington) – A motorcyclist rear-ended a truck on Fairmont Avenue in Kensington yesterday afternoon, then slid 100 yards. The 40-year-old driver of the motorcycled suffered serious injuries including a brain bleed. According to San Diego Police, the man was intoxicated and is expected to face drunk driving charges.
 

East County News Service

September 13, 2010 (City Heights) –Robert Michael Clampitt, 48, of City Heights was found submerged and unresponsive after failing to return from a diving excursion. Clampitt was among 14 patrons aboard a Waterhouse Charter when he made a solo dive at the site of the Yukon wreckage, the San Diego Medical Examiner’s office reports.

By Miriam Raftery

September 13, 2010 (San Diego) – San Diego’s City Council will consider an ordinance today that would crack down on 125 medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits.

The proposed ordinance is modeled after a measure approved by the San Diego Board of Supervisors in June for the County’s unincorporated areas. That ordinance limits dispensaries to industrial areas and requires that they be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, playgrounds, religious institutions and homes.

September 12, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) - A 63-year-old man was found by a fisherman on Friday, September 10 floating face down about 200-300 yards offshore near Point Loma Nazarene University. The County Medical Examiner’s report states that the man was a resident of El Cajon, but also states that he was “unemployed and lived with a roommate in Santee.”

September 11, 2010 (Lakeside) 4:50 p.m.– California Highway Patrol has issued a SIGALERT for Willows Road at mile marker 2 in Lakeside, where traffic is backed up to the Willow Road intersection. The alert is due to a head-on collision reported around 4 p.m. At least one victim is trapped, CHP reports.

September 11, 2010 (San Pasqual) – Highway 78 is closed in both directions on the east side of the San Diego Wild Animal Park and is expected to remain closed until at last 12:30 p.m. , according to the California Highway Patrol. Traffic is being diverted to Bandy Canyon and Haverford while emergency crews search for the driver of a vehicle involved in a serious accident who left a trail of blood leading into a nearby canyon, the Union-Tribune reports.

By Miriam Raftery
Former ECM intern Joseph Rocha gave key testimony at trial

September 10, 2010 (San Diego) – U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled yesterday that the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay soldiers from serving is unconstitutional, violating the First and Fifth Amendments. The judge found that the policy has a “direct and deleterious effect” on military readiness by hindering recruitment in wartime and requiring discharge of service members who have critical skills or training.

"I am overjoyed that so many veterans and active duty members have been honored with justice. The decision upholds the constitution proving that no patriots blood is any less valuable in the defense of our nation." Joseph Rocha, an award-winning ECM journalism intern who testified at the trial, told ECM in an e-mail this evening. A former Navy dog handler, Rocha underwent 93 counts of abuse at the hands of an officer while serving in Bahrain.

Read our prior coverage and interview with Rocha on his ordeal. View his testimony (pagse 27-34) here.
 

Whitman’s support for more deep education spending cuts at issue in race for Governor
 

September 9, 2010 (San Diego) -- At a ceremony today in Balboa Park, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 1844 into law. The bill, named for slain Poway high school student Chelsea King, provides life-without-parole sentences for California’s most dangerous sex offenders, including first-time offenders. It also lengthens parole terms for those who commit crimes against children under age 14, restricts sex offenders from entering public parks, and provides other  protections.

September 8, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Authorities battling the Monte Fire found a human skull on a trail in the Cleveland National Forest, East County Magazine has learned. The grisly find occurred on August 22 at 4 p.m., the San Diego Medical Examiner’s office has confirmed.

East County News Service

September 6, 2010 (City Heights) – San Diego Police report an attempted kidnapping of an 11-year-old boy Friday at 6:41 p.m.. The boy was walking westbound on Orange Avenue in the City Heights neighborhood when a white van pulled up next to him. The side door opened, revealing a man and woman, both black, who offered the boy a ride. The juvenile ran away and was pursued on foot by the man. There is no description available of the driver.