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

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

East County News Service

January 27, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes hawk watching in Ramona,‘California Dreamin’ in Anza Borrego and “Visions” at Mission Trail Regional Park.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions, including  a Valentine’s food and wine pairing at Vineyard Grant James in Ramona, breakfast with Supervisor Dianne Jacob, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performing live at  Sycuan.

So scroll down for all of these events and more.

Indication of Growing Winemaking in San Diego County

By Miriam Raftery

January 27, 2016 (Ramona)  – Three award-winning Ramona Valley winemakers were presented recognition certificates from Representative Duncan Hunter at the monthly meeting of the Ramona Valley Vineyards Association (RVVA) on Tuesday, January 26th as an indication of the quality and growth of the  winemaking industry in San Diego County. Duncan Hunter has represented San Diego County in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven years and is co-chair of the Congressional Wine Caucus.

East County News Service

January 27, 2016 (San Diego) –  E-cigarettes have been touted by manufacturers as less dangerous than cigarettes known to cause serious long-term health risks. But now a new study by San Diego researchers reveals that among other hazardous effects of vaping, exposure to e-cigarette vapor dramatically raises the risk of death from “superbugs.”

East County News Service

Photo: Scientific Visualization Studio/Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

“Climate change is the challenge of our generation, and NASA’s vital work on this important issue affects every person on Earth. Today’s announcement not only underscores how critical NASA’s Earth observation program is, it is a key data point that should make policy makers stand up and take notice - now is the time to act on climate.” – NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

January 26, 2016 (San Diego)--2015 was the warmest year worldwide since modern record-keeping began in 1880, according to a new analysis by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a separate analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

East County News Service

January 26, 2016 (San Diego) — San Diego County will spend an additional $6.3 million this fiscal year to expand existing contracts for County Behavioral Health Services programs.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

January 26, 2016 (El Cajon) -- A fifth-wheeler trailer erupted into flames on Terrace Hill Road around 10:30 this morning, sending a plume of black smoke visible across much of the community on the boundary of El Cajon and Lakeside.  The fire briefly threatened a home before firefighters subdued the blaze.

Heartland's El Cajon Fire, Lakeside Fire, San Miguel Fire and Cal Fire responded to the incident.

East County News Service

January 26, 2016 (La Mesa) -- You’re invited to come hear from city staff, real estate professionals and business leaders about the future of La Mesa’s downtown. The discussion will cover market trends, recent policy changes and public investments to encourage investment and walkability downtown.  

By Miriam Raftery

January 26, 2016 (San Diego)—Former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña announced on her Facebook page that she has filed papers to challenge San Diego’s Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer. A long-time progressive, environmental leader and former Assembly Speaker Pro Tem, Saldaña was a Democrat for years but will be running as an independent.

Saldaña has said that her main issue will be inequality in income and city services, including lack of high-speed internet in low-income communities, crumbling city infrastructure, and lack of affordable housing, Voice of San Diego reported.

“I’m running to give voters of San Diego a choice,” Saldaña said, adding that she will be “there for people who otherwise feel disenfranchised by the process…I want to encourage more people to turn out to vote and I want to have a very spirited debate on the future of this city.”

By Miriam Raftery

January 25, 2016 (El Cajon) -- The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’s string of spotless audits remains unbroken, with the Governing Board this week receiving unblemished audit reports for the 12th year in a row. 

January 25, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

·         ‘Miraculous’ results from new MS therapy (Telegraph)

·         More Hospitals Are Ditching Antibiotics In The Meat They Serve (NPR)

·         CDC issues guidelines for pregnant women during Zika outbreak (Reuters)

·         Has The World Learned The Wrong Lessons From The Ebola Outbreak? (NPR)

·         U.S. government suspends enrollment in Cigna Medicare Advantage, drug plans

·         Young People Surprised By Risky Synthetic Drugs They Considered Safe (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

·         A 'Scorcher': 2015 Shatters Record As Warmest Year, NASA And NOAA Say (NPR)

·         Batteries With A Less Fiery Future (NPR)

·         Scientists Find Hints Of A Giant, Hidden Planet In Our Solar System (NPR)

·         Hawking: Threats to human survival likely from new science (AP)

·         Fighting Global Censorship, ProPublica Joins the Dark Web (Reason)

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

By Liz Alper

Photo credit to Keith Allison on Flickr

January 24, 2016 (San Diego) - The Padres continue to add veterans to their roster. On Friday, they signed veteran closer Fernando Rodney to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1.6 million, with $5 million for incentives and an option for 2017 worth $2 million and with a $400,000 buyout.

Photo: Greg Palast with ECM editor Miriam Raftery

By Miriam Raftery

January 24, 2016 (San Diego) - “I want to report on the theft of the 2016 election before it happens,” famed investigative reporter Greg Palast said at a benefit event for KNSJ radio in La Jolla on January 10^th.  He then proceeded to detail the shocking findings of his latest investigation, which will be the subject of an upcoming film, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy:  A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits.”

The heist involves a conspiracy in red states to toss out millions of minority voters by falsely claiming they voted twice. How?  By eliminating  voters with the same or similar names in different states – even if they have different middle names or different Social Security numbers, or tossing out their votes if cast.  Voters are never informed that they’ve been disqualified, or given any chance to correct errors.  The effort, according to Palast’s investigation, is funded by billionaire backers of the Republican party.

The scam targets African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and other likely Democratic voters with common names such as “Jose Rodriguez” and “Mohammed Mohammed” said Palast, who brought copies of purged voter lists he obtained.  Despite accusations against millions Americans of alleged double voting, not a single one has been arrested or prosecuted, Palast says.

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

“I've got a Bookbub promo on Dec 5. I want to maximize this opportunity. Any advice? The promo is 99 cents for High Strung, the first book in my series. My main goal is to build readership for the next book in the series (which is already setup as pre-order on Amazon) and beyond. One thing I'm struggling with is the number of days to run the promo.” – Janice Peacock

January 23, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- BookBub is far and away the most effective and most well-known book advertising service. The company sends email blasts to hundreds of thousands of subscribers who enjoy a particular genre, from chick lit to mystery and everything in-between – even non-fiction. Therefore, let me start off by saying congratulations on getting a promo with them at all, especially during the competitive holiday season. Other authors are turning Christmas tree green with envy.

East County News Service

January 23, 2016 (El Cajon) – The San Diego Early Music Society will present Lina Tur Bonet on violin and Kenneth Weiss on harpsichord in “La Petite Merveille and the Red Priest: Music of Jacquet de la Guerre and Vivaldi” on Sunday, February 21 at 3 p.m. in the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theatre (900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon).