April 9, 2012 (El Cajon) -- The East County Democratic Club will have two speakers focused on El Cajon at its meeting at 7 p.m. on April 19 at Coco’s Restaurant, 1025 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon. 

Simon Mayeski, board member of Common Cause, a citizen's watchdog organization committed to holding government officials accountable, will discuss his perspective on El Cajon's city government and its lack of representation of the many resident ethnic groups and women.  Ray Lutz, National Director and founder of Citizens Oversight Project Committee (COPS), which acts as a governmental watchdog and helps empower local citizens to make changes in their community, will report his observations of significant events at recent City Council meetings.

April 9, 2012 (Anz-Borrego Desert) -- Daren Sefcik snapped these beautiful blooms this week in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, where the desert is ablaze in color.

Nothing but the truth!

By Will Power

April 8, 2012 (San Diego)--Long before the time of man, all animals used to talk.  And they talked with each other, not just squirrels to squirrels and lions to lions. In fact, the animals did a lot of bitching and moaning behind each other’s back, which started all the trouble, as it usually does.

Outraged? Scroll down to learn how to take action.

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2012 (San Diego) Updated April 10, 2012-- At the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) public meeting this week in San Diego, Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey and CPUC Comissioner Timothy Simon heard from hundreds of area residents, including tearful testimony by numerous victims of the 2007 firestorms.  Some held twisted burned remnants of their lost homes. Others recalled friends who perished in the flames. 

But the most explosive testimony came from former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who declared, “This decision is already made.”  He then leveled accusations that the two CPUC represenstatives present, Commissioner Timothy Simon and Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey, are beholden to SDG&E and subverted the legal interests of fire victims and ratepayers.  

April 7, 2012 (El Cajon) – “Bye Bye Birdie” will be performed by Christian High School’s award winning Drama Department on April 18, 19 and 21 at 389 N. Magnolia, El Cajon. The musical will take its audience on an entertaining trip back to the days of “Rock n Roll”.  The story centers on superstar Conrad Birdie prior to being drafted into the Army. Humorous complications ensue when his agent stages a good-bye kiss to the lucky Kim MacAfee on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. Kim’s steady, Hugo Peabody and her overbearing, but lovable father complicate the tale. Musical scores abound with “How Lovely To Be a Woman,” “The Telephone Hour,” “Put On A Happy Face,” “A Lot of Livin’ To Do,” “One Last Kiss,” and “Kids!”

April 6, 2012 (El Cajon) – A bipartisan group seeking to save the East County Performing Arts Center (ECPAC) held its first meeting late last month.  Others concerned with joining the effort are invited to attend a larger meeting set for Monday, April 9 at 5 p.m.  The meeting will be held at the East County Chamber of Commerce office at 201 South Magnolia Street in El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery, Editor

April 5, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--When ENRON schemed to manipulate markets and defraud ratepayers, its executives went to jail. BP faces billions of dolalrs in fines for causing the Gulf Oil spill.  When automobile manufacturers sold cars with dangerous defects that killed people, it was their shareholders who paid the price. A lost hunter convicted of accidentally starting the Cedar Fire with a flare gun also spent time in jail. 

Why, then, should SDG&E and its publicly traded parent company, Sempra Energy, expect local ratepayers to pay for its uninsured liability costs for the wildfires that it caused, while its executives get off scott free?