• 7 U.S. soldiers wounded after Afghan naval base attacked (Reuters)
• Cruiseline: 22 passengers robbed in Mexico resort (CNN)
• National gas prices up 18 cents in last two weeks (San Francisco Chronicle)
• House GOP leaders announce vote on jobs creation package as early as next week (The Hill)

• Romney wins Michigan, Arizona, in big night (CNN)
• Presidential race highlights California GOP convention (KPBS)
• Obama mocks GOP on gas price issue (USA Today)
• Poll: Romney overtaking Santorum nationally (The Hill)
• UAW to protest Romney at Daytona 500 (Detroit News)
• Maher donates $1 million to Obama super pac  (USA Today)
• Santorum says he “almost threw up” after reading JFK speech on separation of church, state (Washington Post)

• Karzai urges Afghans to avoid violent retaliations over Koran burnings  (Washington Post)
• Children left behind in world’s city boom: UNICEF (RawStory)
• Nigeria unrest: Suicide bomb targets church in Jos (BBC)
• Iran poised for big nuke jump (UT San Diego)

• FDA adds new safety warnings to statin drugs (USA Today)
• Why doctors die differently (Wall Street Journal)

“The only reason to consider gutting planning groups is to give free rein to every developer who wants to overwhelm a rural town—and keep the locals in the dark.”  -- Patsy Fritz

By Miriam Raftery

March 1, 2012 (San Diego) – It wasn’t quite a public flogging, but it came close.  Rural residents and their community planning representatives showed up at a County Board of Supervisors’ meeting yesterday to verbally excoriate those considering recommendations made by a developer-stacked “Red Tape Reduction Task Force. The Task Force wants to eliminate community planning groups(CPGs) or discourage participation through measures such as eliminating indemnification of planners against lawsuits, imposing term limits, and eliminating the County’s Resource Protection Ordinance.  

“None of the Red Tape Reduction Task Force members were required to submit conflict of interest statements,” observed Boulevard Planning Group Chair Donna Tisdale.  “They failed to disclose huge vested interests and profits to be made. That is illegal.”

March 1, 2012 (East San Diego County) -- The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians has announced that they are donating $2,500 for the recovery of “Chance,” the dog that was found shot on the Viejas Reservation earlier this month.

Update 9:30 p.m. Lanes are reopened.  ECM news partner 10 News reports the woman was struck while walking on the center median. She was taken to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. 

February 29, 2012 (Bonita) – All lanes of State Route 54 westbound are closed after multiple vehicles struck a pedestrian, according to the CHP website at 7:53 p.m. Incident Page Network reports the collision is now a fatality.

"We will never put our heads down, we will play our hearts out, and we will play for Coach because he will be on the turf with us.” – Clay Meyer, Valhalla Saga

February 29, 2012 (Santee) – Frank Yancey was “an inspiration for all those who served under him,”  Clay Meyer  wrote in the Valhalla Saga.  The school’s varsity football coach passed away February 13 at his home in Santee of an undisclosed cause.

Yancey coached 18 season at West Hills High, five at El Cajon Valley High and his last five at Valhalla.  His East County roots included playing as an offensive lineman at Santana High School and Grossmont College, as well as later at San Francisco State.

February 28, 2012 (San Diego)—A coalition of students and faculty at San Diego State University plan to walk out of class Thursday, March 1 at 12 noon. A rally will follow at the Scripps Cottage Patio, 5500 Campanile Drive, as part of a National Day of Action for Education at universities across America.