• Grossmont High School teachers vote to explore becoming charter (La Mesa Patch)
• Fire Chief Augie Ghio chats about state of San Miguel Fire District following release of RFPs (La Mesa Patch)
• City Council okays livestock for city residents (10 News)
• A Guide to Understanding the Sweetwater Scandal (Voice of San Diego)
• San Onofre shutdown costing up to $1 million a day (KPBS)
• Secrets of the Centennial: How suffrage put progressive town on path to self determination (La Mesa Patch)
• Light on cockroaches (Valley Roadrunner editorial on Supervisors’ recent actions)
• Bob Filner to La Mesa: You have a stake in who is mayor of San Diego(La Mesa Patch)
• Nuke inspections focus on unusual wear on tubes (Sacramento Bee) 

• Federal appeals court: CA gay marriage ban is unconstitutional (AP)
• Governor signs bill that allows internal borrowing (Sacramento Bee) 

By Charlotte Reed, Realtor

• Installation of local Realtor officers and directors
• Title information outsourcing
• Another lawsuit for B of A and other big banks 

 
It Doesn’t Take a Fire to Burn a Child

February 7, 2012 (Lakeside) -- No, it's not an insect or an invader from outer space. It's an up-close view of the Erickson air crane "Sunbird" erecting the Sunrise Powerlink in Lakeside's Wildcat Canyon/El Monte Valley area.

Billy Ortiz snapped this head-on closeup image of the massive helicopter, which is capable of hoisting heavy loads including transmission towers.

February 7, 2012 (Alpine)—Planning group members will hear public testimony and a presentation by the County Department of Planning and Land Use on a draft land use plan for former Forest Conservation Initiative lands in Alpine.

The changes could make it easier for some landowners to build on certain properties in the Alpine area.

A local elected official says SDG&E installations of smart meters are occurring at homes on opt-out list

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2012 (San Diego)—The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week voted to allow Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)  customers to have smart meters replaced with older  analog meters, for a $75 installation fee plus a monthly fee of $5 to $10, depending on income.  Ratepayers must inform PG&E by May 1 if they wish to opt-out.

Commissioners have not yet ruled on whether to allow San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or other utilities’ customers to opt out, but are expected to make a similar ruling later this month. SDG&E has proposed even higher opt-out fees of including an initial $175-$200, an exit fee of $50 and a monthly fee of $15 to cover meter readings, the North County Times reports. 

By Jack Bailey

February 6, 2012  (Washington D. C.) -- The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), today announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase “significant portion of its range” (SPR) in the ESA’s definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.”

Griffin Center marks end of major Prop. R-funded construction projects

February 8, 2012 (San Diego) -- Yesterday, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) kicked off the 2^nd annual Excellence in Civic Leadership initiative, a $1 million charitable giving campaign to support non-profit organizations that focus on character development and fair and ethical leadership in youth.

 
By Emma Cajthaml

 
February 4, 2012  (Rancho San Diego, Jamul) -- Local Cub Scouts and their fathers volunteered on Saturday, January 28th to help maintain a nesting site for endangered California Least Terns at Mariner's Point in Mission Bay. They spent three hours clearing the nesting site of invasive plants so the terns can use the site for nesting and rearing their young during the next breeding season (from mid-April to August).