By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2012 (San Diego) – Last week, San Diegans for Open Government sued San Diego’s Supervisors for apparent Brown Act violations at a June 26 meeting. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2012 (San Diego)—Democrat Scott Peters’ Congressional campaign has issued a press release blasting his opponent, Republican Brian Bilbray, for a record on women’s rights and choice that “closely mirrors Mr. Akin’s,” Peters’ communications director MaryAnn Pintar said.

August 27, 2012 (El Cajon) -- Grossmont Union High School District and Grossmont High School celebrated the topping out of the new humanities building on Tuesday, Aug. 21. The ceremony marked the completion of the steel framing as the construction team set the final beam into place. The humanities building is scheduled for completion in spring of 2013.

August 28, 2012 (Santee) -- There is a Hazmat incident in Santee at 9457 Carlton Oaks Drive. A wide area is secured. E5 and chief are there with the Sheriff's Department. SDFD and County Hazmat are required responding to unit A.

August 26, 2012 (Julian) – Jeremy’s on the Hill California Style Bistro presents Live Music with Harry Joe Reynolds on August 31 beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Reynolds, a local favorite since 1979, has been making music in Julian for 3 decades.  He will bring a touch of jazz to Jeremy’s on the Hill with easy listening songs on the jazzier side of blues with classic ballads and blue standards.

By Brian Lafferty

August 29, 2012 (San Diego) – A harrowing sequence of events transpire during the first thirty minutes of In Darkness, atrocities that I could describe but I won’t. That’s because as shocking as they are, there is only one shot, seen later, that remains entrenched in my mind.

August 24, 2012 (Sacramento)—A bill by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) would have made California the first state in the nation to require that public agencies provide records in searchable online formats such as Word or Excel. 

Governor , who wants to “crush” opponents of big energy projects, called CEQA reform  “Lord’s work”

“Governor Brown is dangerous to the financial and environmental health of California, and I am extremely disappointed in his short-sightedness.”--Laura Cyphert, Cedar Fire Survivor and cofounder of the East County Community Action Coalition

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2012 (Sacramento)—In a stealth effort that shocked enviornmentalists, business groups succeeded in gutting a bill in the State Assembly and inserted language to essentially repeal the California Enviornmental Quality Act (CEQA) .  The measure passed the Assembly yesterday and advanced to the State Senate. But today, State Senate President Darrell Steinberg and the bill’s author, Michael Rubio, held a press conference to announce that the measure will not be taken up before the end of the legislative session next week.  

Sierra Club California director Kathryn Phillips voiced relief, calling SB 317 “one of the worst attacks on environmental protections that we’ve seen in the 40-year life of the law.”

County Democrats gut fire protection resolution, while Republican supervisors also fail to protect County residents from wind turbine fires

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--The San Diego Democratic Central Committee this week passed a measure calling on County Supervisors to increase firefighting resources-- but removed a key provision that would have urged lawmakers to ban wind turbines in fire-prone East County.  

Wind turbines have been responsible for starting hundreds of fires around the world, including wildfires, but firefighters cannot fight a fire burning in a 500-foot-tall wind turbine whirling off burning debris. With Supervisors poised to approve a wind ordinance opening the door to numerous turbines in the backcountry, the vote was a major disappointment to residents concerned about the clear threat to public safety posed by wind turbines in our fire-prone region.