February 10, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• What’s the best way to keep mosquitoes from biting? (NPR)
• State Of Emergency On Hawaii's Big Island Over Dengue Fever Outbreak (NPR)
• Can fish help stop spread of Zika virus? (BBC)
• Colombia: 3,177 pregnant women with Zika; no microcephaly (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Just what the doctor ordered: connectivity (U-T)
• Mosquito Blight (Snopes)
• No Comment From Grinning Martin Shkreli At House Hearing On Drug Prices (NPR)
• Scientists Discover A Second Bacterium That Causes Lyme Disease (NPR)
• Liver tissue bioprinted from stem cells (U-T)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• France is paving more than 600 miles of road with solar (Smithsonian)
• Twitter Says It Has Shut Down 125,000 Terrorism-Related Accounts (NPR)
• Bayer rejects EPA request to pull insecticide from U.S. market (Reuters)
• Humans have a hand in spreading bee virus, scientists say. Is it too late? (CS Monitor)
• One statistic shows just how dramatically our electricity system is changing (Washington Post)
• Ship noise linked to orca whale decline: Are some boats safer than others? (CS Monitor)
• Earthquakes May Have More Reach Than Previously Thought (KPBS)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Bernie Sanders, by Troy Page; Photo, right: Donald Trump, by Gage Skidmore

February 10, 2016 (San Diego) – Last night’s presidential primary in New Hampshire proved historic on several fronts.  By huge landslides, voters in both Democratic and Republican parties cast their ballots for candidates running outside the mainstream political framework: mavericks Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.  Sanders is also the first Jewish candidate ever to win a presidential primary. 

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders pulled in 60% of the vote to win the Democratic primary, trouncing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who got 38%. Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is running on a platform of closing the wealth gap by reining in Wall Street, taxing the rich and providing free healthcare for all. 

On the Republican side, billionaire businessman and former reality TV show host Donald Trump won with 35% of the vote. Ohio Governor John Kasich took second at 16% in an upset over the Iowa caucus winner, Senator Ted Cruz, who got 12%, narrowly edging out Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had 11% and 10% respectively. Other candidates placed in single digits, with 100% of precincts now reported.

By Lynn Neff

February 9, 2016 (Campo) - Come on out and join the fun at the Community Fundraiser in Campo on Saturday, March 19, 2016 from 2-6 pm at 976 Sheridan Rd.  The reason for this event, however, is no laughing matter.

By Miriam Raftery

February 9, 2016 (La Mesa) — The Mesa Village Merchants Association failed to pay back nearly $48,000 it owes to the city of La Mesa for the 2015 Oktoberfest, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Now the city has referred the debt to its collection agency. Arlene Moore, president of the nonprofit merchants’ group, told the Union-Tribune that the organization plans to repay the debt and hopes to continue hosting the Oktoberfest in future years.

The situation has sparked controversy in the community, with some criticizing the merchants for financial mismanagement, while others find fault with the city for requiring full cost recovery for Oktoberfest and other public events.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2016 (Washington D.C.) - Congressman Duncan Hunter has introduced the Draft America’s Daughters Act, a bill that would require young women to register for the Draft with the Selective Service. 

East County News Service

Photo: 2007 Harris Fire

February 9, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Last year, 65 percent of the U.S. Forest Service’s $5 billion budget was spent on fighting wildfires, leaving only 35 percent for everything else.

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2016 (Santee) – Carol Wahl died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease on March 1^st, 2010. To honor her memory and raise money to help other ALS patients have better lives, her son, Mark Solz, will embark from Petco Park in San Diego on March 1^st for a 3,200 mile walk across America. 

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2016 (San Diego) — The California Faculty Association’s union has voted to go on strike at California State University campuses starting in mid-April unless a 5 percent raise is approved.  In San Diego County, that would include professors, lecturers  coaches, counselors and librarians at San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos.

East County News Service

February 8, 2016 (Lakeside) – Plans are moving forward for a 14-acre Lakeside Equestrian center at Willow Road and Morena Avenue in Lakeside, but additional funds are needed to make the dream become a reality.

By Liz Alper

Photo: Youtube screenshot

February 8, 2016 (Santa Clara, Ca.) - It was Peyton Manning's last game and he made sure everyone knew it.  Conversely, the Carolina Panthers made sure to let everyone know that they can't hold on to the football.

East County News Service

February 8, 2016 (Lakeside) — Two passengers suffered life-threatening injuries yesterday morning in a rollover accident on State Route 67 north of Foster Truck Trail yesterday at 5:35 a.m. The Nissan Titan that overturned was driven by 21-year-old Lakeside resident Keith Edward Ruis Jr.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

February 7, 2016 (Los Angeles) -- Teams are hitting the streets gathering signatures for a ballot measure this fall that would extend part of Proposition 30, which raised income taxes on the wealthy and raised the sales tax by a quarter of a percent, then funneled the money to public education. 

East County News Service

February 7, 2016 (New Hampshire) - In preparation for this week’s New Hampshire primary and others to follow, Democrats and Republicans each held debates among their presidential candidates.

View Republican debate on ABC ;  Read  Republican debate transcript

 View full Democratic debate on MSNBC; Read Democratic debate transcript

For highlights, scroll down.

By Brigitte Garcia and Miriam Raftery

February 6, 2016 (Harbison Canyon) – Here’s a sweet fact from East County’s history: pioneer beekeeper John S. Harbison was once the largest producer of honey in the world.

 After settling with his family along the Sweetwater River in what later became known as Harbison Canyon, he led the way for San Diego County to become a major honey-making region during California’s “Golden Age of Beekeeping.”

But it wasn’t all sweet success. Obstacles along the way included severe weather, bees lost at sea, vindictive farmers and arson.