East County competitors win silver and bronze plus a Safety Award at 2017 National Craft Championships

By Gayle Falkenthal

Photo, left:  ABC San Diego apprentices win medals: ABC San Diego Craft Champions (L to R) Scott Vorarach (Silver and Safety), Eli Anderson, and Rolf Wachter (Bronze) extended the San Diego win streak at the 2017 ABC National Craft Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

March 5, 2017  (San Diego) – Scott Vorarach of Spring Valley representing Certified Air Conditioning in San Diego, and Rolf Wachter of Jamul representing Interpipe Contracting in San Diego will bring medals home to San Diego from the 2017 ABC National Craft Championships.

By Sam Warren, copyright 2017

March 4, 2017 (San Diego) – From readings of Irish poetry and prose to Society of Professional Journalists’ Report Card on the Media, you’ll find many events of interest for both readers and writers in this week’s calendar of local literary events.

East County News Service

March 4, 2017 (Borrego Springs) - The Colorado Desert Archaeology Society (CDAS), in conjunction with the Anza-Borrego Foundation, will be holding its 14th annual Archaeology Weekend event at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park ’s Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, California on March 25-26, 2017. 

East County News Service

March 4, 2017 (Borrego Springs) – You never know what you’re going to find in the Anza Borrego Desert!  Our editor, Miriam Raftery, headed out in search of wildflowers this weekend.  It’s still 1-2 weeks too early to see fields of flowers in bloom, but she did get some close-ups of early blossoms, scenic shots and an up-close look at some of the many whimsical sculptures dotting the desert terrain.

Source: La Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Photo:  Left to right: RSVP Mike Sparks, Detective Tim Cook, Liz Robinson, Mary England, Fire Captain Billy Doig, Detective Colt Wisler and RSVP Bill Walton.

Photo courtesy of Sandra Small Photographer.

March 4, 2017 (La Mesa) - La Mesa Chamber of Commerce held it's 9th annual Salute to Local Heroes Feb. 22 at the Town & Country Hotel to celebrate La Mesa’s 2017 local heroes.

“This year's six heroes are as important to our community as any "Best Picture" or "Best Actor" award,” says Chamber President Mary England. “They have made a tremendous impact on the lives of others.“ These heroes were recognized for some of the following feats: A baby was delivered under unusual circumstances, a young man's life was saved following a severe traffic accident, 117 stolen vehicles with an estimated value of over $1.3 million were recovered, a cold case homicide from 2014 that occurred in La Mesa was solved, firearms and illegal drugs were seized. 86 suspects were arrested, 70 search and arrest warrants were written and two Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol were honored for assisting the La Mesa Police Department in the daily tasks needed to run the organization, as well as for their thousands of volunteer hours.

Update! Hear our interview with author Diana Lindsay, originally aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link.  She discusses her book, the Anza Borrego Foundation and its anniversary,  as well as the colorful lore of the Anza Borrego Desert.

Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors, by Diana Lindsay (Sunbelt Publications, Inc., San Diego, California, 2016, 595 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

In the end, we will conserve only what we love

We will love only what we understand,

We will understand only what we are taught.

• Baba Dioum, Senegalese Conservationist

March 3, 2017 (San Diego) - The beauty and splendor of outdoor life in San Diego County is exemplified in this book by Diana Lindsay, managing editor of Sunbelt Publications; Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors. Along with Paula Knoll and Terri Varnell, of the editing team of this groundbreaking book, it is an indispensable guide for hikers and all others interested in the outdoors of this beautiful area called San Diego County.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

March 2, 2017 (Alpine) -- If a first responder does not already have Bobbi Brink, co-founder of Lions Tigers & Bears Exotic Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Alpine on speed dial they should consider it.  Why? Brink is accustomed to dealing with exotic animals and if a catastrophic event happens (flooding, wild fires plus).  Brink can show up and help handle the movement of that exotic animal. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced today that he will recuse himself from a federal investigation into the Russians’ interference in the 2016 presidential election, following bipartisan pressure for him to step aside. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2017 (San Diego) – State or local officials who discuss public business on their private email accounts or phone text messages must turn those communications over when asked under a Public Records Act request, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously today.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Emissions from a crematorium shut down in 2011 in unincorporated El Cajon for what a county inspector called “horrific” violations

March 2, 2017 (El Cajon) – On March 14 at 7 p.m., the El Cajon City Council will hear an appeal filed by Robert Zakar of East County Mortuary, whose proposed crematorium and funeral parlor at 1150-1168 North Marshall Street was rejected by the city’s planning commission. The hearing will be held in City Council Chambers at 200 Civic Center Way in El Cajon.

East County News Service

March 2, 2017 (El Cajon) - Are you raising a grandchild or young relative?  Join the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency for the annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Symposium at Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon on March 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

East County News Service

March 1, 2017 (San Diego) -- The California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee has voted 9-3 to pass SB 2,  the Building Homes and Jobs Act,  legislation authored by Senator Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) to create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing.

By Chris Jennewein

Originally published in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Network

March 1, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- In his first address to Congress, President Trump spoke extensively about three issues important to California, promising to stop gang violence, secure the border with Mexico and reform immigration policy.

By Mary Kuhlman, Public News Service

Photo:  Millions of Americans struggling with mental health concerns gained access to services because of provisions in the Affordable Care Act. (Pixabay)

March 1. 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Plans to revamp the Affordable Care Act were among President Trump's talking points during last night's address before a joint session of Congress. And one sector of the population stands to be significantly impacted by changes to the healthcare law.

By Veronica Carter/Eric Galatas, Public News Service

March 1. 2017 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump's call to increase military spending by $54 billion likely means cuts will be made to some politically-sensitive programs, from education and the environment, to science and fighting poverty. Trump first announced his plans Monday to the National Governors Association and shared more details in a speech to Congress last night.