Daughters of the Appalachians debuts April 25-27

By Miriam Raftery

April 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – A 76-year tradition returns to La Mesa with the revival of the Lamplighters Community Theatre.  On April 25-27, the group will present “Daughters of the Appalachians”  in the Lamplighters’ first performance since 2006, when the old theater was torn down to make way for the new La  Mesa police station.

The theatrical group was founded back in 1937, originally known as the La Mesa Little Theatre. In 1976, the organization became Lamplighters Community Theatre, performing in the Ben Polak Fine Arts Center until its demolition force the limelight to go dark.  But now , like a phoenix, the group has found new life—and a new theater is rising in La Mesa, a city which just celebrated its centennial. The new Lamplighters theatrical performances will take place at the La Mesa Village Center, 5915 Severin Drive in La Mesa, at the corner of Severin and Amaya drives.

April 20, 2013 (La Mesa) – On April 19 at 2:37 a.m., a masked subject approached the front doors of the Circle-K convenience store, located at 8899 La Mesa Boulevard, and attempted to force his way inside the store.  The suspect’s attempts to enter the store were foiled as the clerk inside had previously locked the doors while stocking shelves.

The suspect fled the scene of the robbery attempt on foot.  He was last seen running east in the area of 8900 Grossmont Boulevard towards the area of SR-125.  The suspect was described as an unknown race male, stocky build, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall.  The suspect was wearing a red and black wrestler’s mask with silver accents.  He was also wearing a gray sweatshirt with “San Diego” embroidered on the chest and blue jeans.  It is unclear if the suspect was armed in this incident.

By Miriam Raftery

April 19, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –  David Bittner, eagle expert with Wildlife Research Institute, pled guilty to federal charges of unlawful taking of a Golden Eagle without a permit and failing to file any data reports for a four-year period on birds that he had banded. 

Bittner conducted studies on Golden Eagles for Iberdrola’s Tule Wind project in East County, which was approved by the federal government on public lands as well as by the county on private properties. Portions of the project on state and tribal lands, where several Golden Eagle nests were reported, are pending approvals by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and State Lands Commission.

“Can those agencies rely on Bittner’s Golden Eagle work for Tule wind that was apparently unpermitted and unlawful?” asks Donna Tisdale, chair of Boulevard Planning Group and a founder of two citizens groups, Protect Our Communities Foundation and Backcountry Against Dumps, that has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the project.  “What other breaches of law or professional ethics might be involved?”

April 19, 2013 (Alpine) – Bird singers, resources, food, activities, crafts for kids, entertain and more are all part of the Southern Indian Health Clinic’s annual Spring Gathering set for April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alpine Clinic, 4058 Williows Road in Alpine.

By Caprice Harrison

April 19, 2013 (La Mesa) – Water Awareness in Residential Neighborhoods (“W.A.R.N.”) and The City of La Mesa are holding a  FREE, “April Pool’s Day” at the La Mesa Municipal Pool, located at 5100 Memorial Drive, La Mesa, on Saturday, April 20, from 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 3:00 p.m.

This special event highlights the importance of safety in recognition of “Drowning Prevention Month” in May. The public is invited have fun while learning how to keep children and others safe near and in water.

April 19, 2013 (Boston)-- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released photos from video surveillance of suspects believed to have left bags or backpacks containing the bombs that killed three and injured 176 at Monday's Boston Marathon. One supsect has been named: Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19. View more photos here.

Nearly 200 runners from San Diego were registered for the race, including 18 from East County.

April 19, 2013 (Santee) – A vehicle driving east on Mast Boulevard at 11:20 this morning ran a red light at Carlton Hills Blvd., according to witnesses, colliding with a vehicle traveling southbound on Carlton Hills.  The driver who caused the collision sustained major injuries.

Santee Fire Department Paramedics performed CPR on her at the scene. She was transported to Sharp Memorial hospital, where she is in the ICU in critical condition.

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) yesterday announced it has signed five new renewable power purchase agreements including two in San Diego County.  But oddly, a local planner and a news editor in these rural communities have told ECM they were unaware of these projects.

SDG&E’s release did not state where in San Diego County the projects would be located. Jennifer Ramp with SDG&E has informed ECM that the two local projects are Silverado Power, LLC’s Zodiac Solar (20 Megawatts) in Potrero and Northlight Power’s C908 Solar project (7 MW) in Valley Center.  Both projects are newly executed and have not yet been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, Ramp said.

No link seen to Boston bombings; suspect had history of arrests

 

By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2013 (Washington D.C.)  Today at 5:15 p.m., FBI special agents arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, the suspect believed to be responsible for mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S. Postal Service to top officialswhich contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for the toxin ricin., the FBI announced. The letters were addressed to President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator Wicker, and a Mississippi justice official.