By Janis Russell

May 5, 2016 (Lakeside) - The California Fire Safe Council held a Wildfire Community Preparedness event, in partnership with the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County and Farmers Insurance, at Barona Creek Golf Club on April 23.   The speakers discussed the severity of the fire situation statewide, emphasized that wildfire risk is now year-round, and gave updates on resources available to help before, during and after a major fire in our region.

By Miriam Raftery

May 5, 2016 (Washington D.C.) –Today the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that it will regulate electronic cigarettes and hookahs and ingredients for such devices like tobacco products.  Pipe tobacco and cigars are also included in the regulations, which will require pre-approval of all such products in the future.

The FDA announcement calls the action a “milestone in consumer protection.”

East County News Service

May 5, 2016 (San Diego) -- Sergeyi Bazar, a 37-year-old Ukrainian national living in San Diego, was sentenced in federal court May 3rd to 17 years in custody for sex trafficking two adult women in late 2014. Bazar was found guilty after jury trial in November 2015 for two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of coercion and enticement.

Listen to Destination East County, also aired on KNSJ, by clicking the audio link.

We thank the County of San Diego for a Community Enhancement Grant supporting Destination East County.

By Miriam Raftery

May 4, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes the opening of Dinner and a Concert season in El Cajon, the Campo Roundup, the Coyote Music Festival, a Taste of Julian, Rihanna in concert, and a Jacumba community yard sale complete with Chinese Castle tour and rides in a flying saucer!

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including the Ramona Rodeo and Parade, Wild in the Country at Lions, Tigers and Bears,  a Laurel and Hardy Wacky Western night in Spring Valley,  a one-man musical show at Mission Trails Regional Park, and El Cajon’s America on Main Street  celebration.

So stay tuned for all of these events and more!

May 4, 2016, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• Two Home Invasions, Two Families Who Waited on Hold With 911 (Voice of San Diego)
• Growing water crisis in Borrego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• What’s behind San Diego County’s alarmingly high C-section rates? (KPBS)
• Annual count finds nearly 9,000 homeless in San Diego County (KPBS)
• Senate Demands Department Of Energy Remove San Onofre Nuclear Waste (KPBS)
• Mom: brain-eating amoeba killed my daughter (10  News)
• San Diego Needs Transit More Than Ever — and SANDAG’s Plan Doesn’t Have Enough (Voice of San Diego)
• San Diego Home Prices Jump 6.4% From 2015 (KPBS)
• After 47 years, La Mesa volunteer says bye to kindergartners(San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Five Apollo astronauts to visit San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hispanic entrepreneurs do best in Texas (San Diego Reader)

STATE

• Deadline passes in Probe of San Onofre nuclear deal (KPBS)
• Jerry Brown raises California smoking age to 21, tightens vaping rules (Sacramento Bee)
• CPUC meets with Wall Street types, too (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Three-day drama led to UC Davis Chancellor Katehi’s suspension (Sacramento Bee)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

May 4, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- Top health officials now warn that Zika Virus is even worse than you thought. The World Health Organization recently confirmed that an alarming number of cases of microcephaly in Brazil are caused by the Zika Virus.

East County News Service

May 3, 2016 (Warner Springs) – Extensive vandalism forced closure today of the entire Warner Unified School District complex, which includes elementary through high school classrooms as well as district offices.  The district's website states it hopes to reopen soon and will notify parents when children can return to school.

A maintenance worker arriving at work Wednesday morning discovered the damage, which included graffiti, broken windows, classrooms ransacked, furniture overturned and fire extinguishers discharged.  The worker called  Sheriff’s deputies at 5:15 a.m.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Troy Page, Truthout

May 3, 2016 (San Diego) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has scored a win in the Indiana presidential primary, taking 52.4% of the vote.  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took 47.6%  with 95% of all precincts reporting.  Sanders picked up  43 delegates and Clinton 37.

Clinton now has 1,682 delegates won through voting while Sanders has 1,361, a gap of 321 delegates. However when super delegates are added in, Clinton has a more commanding lead of 2202 vs. 1400 for Sanders.  A total of 2,382 delegates are needed  to win.

Sanders is pinning his hopes on big wins in liberal bastions such as California and Oregon, which have yet to vote, then coaxing a substantial number of super delegates to change their support for the good of the party in November.   That’s clearly an uphill battlle, but  a new Rasmussen poll adds ammunition to Sanders' argument, showing Clinton losing to Trump by 2% if the general election were held today.  Various older polls  showed Clinton beating Trump by a narrow margin, but found Sanders beating Trump by much larger margins--in some cases, double digits.

100 Things Padres Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, by Kirk Kenney (Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2016, 269 pages).

By Dennis Moore

May 3, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - Baseball has been called “America’s Pastime,” and for those who have played or enjoyed watching the game as I have, they will absolutely fall in love with the book by Kirk Kenney; 100 Things Padres Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. With a foreword by former San Diego Padres’ pitcher Randy Jones, this book resurrected many of my childhood memories and dreams about actually playing in the Major Leagues.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

May 3, 2016 (San Diego) — Muslim student groups at San Diego State University are calling for action after posters appeared on campus claiming certain Muslim students are allied with Palestinian terrorists and anti-Semitism.

East County News Service

May 2, 2016 (San Diego) -- With temperatures rising early this week and the West Nile virus season ahead, the County of San Diego is starting its annual aerial drops of mosquito-fighting larvicide on local waterways.

By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

May 2, 2016 (Sacramento) -- Tenants' rights advocates are criticizing a bill getting its first hearing today in the California Legislature.

Source:  La Mesa Police Department Press Release

May 2, 2016 (La Mesa) - On May 5, officers from the La Mesa Police Department and community members will come together in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink coffee. All community members are invited to attend. The event begins at 8:00 AM at Starbucks, 5020 Baltimore Drive La Mesa.

East County News Service

May 2, 2016 (San Diego) -- “Build a box. Fill it with Mel’s Mix. Add a grid…and start planting.” Mel Bartholomew, creator of Square Foot Gardening, has passed away at the age of 84 in La Jolla, California. His easy, innovative method of growing vegetables revolutionized the way millions grow their own food. 

East County News Service

May 2, 2016 (Santee) - The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation welcomes acclaimed musician Gregory Page performing his One Man Show  in a free concert on Sunday, May 29, 2016: 3 to 4 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Park (1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego).