By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Angel and Fred Kleinbub

March 17, 2016 (El Cajon) -- St. Madeleine Sophie's Center in El Cajon, which serves developmentally disabled adults, announces a $1 million gift pledged over five years Angel and Fred Kleinbub.  The gift will be used for a new Aquatics Complex at St. Madeleine’s as part of a $3.5 mlilion capital campaign for campus-wide facility improvements.

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2016 (Washington D.C.)—The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed legislation with rare bipartisan support that would make it easier for the public and media to obtain government records under the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill was authored by Senator John Cornyn of Texas with San Diego Congressman Darrell Issa as the lead sponsor of the bill.

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

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

East County News Service

March 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) --This week’s Destination East County includes unplugged at Parkway Plaza, open house at Oasis Camel Dairy, the Borrego Garden Tour, Snoopy the musical and an a cappella quartet at the Joan Kroc Theater.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including the Spring Harpfest, Santee Lakes Eggstravaganza and a Water-wise Garden tour.  So scroll down for all of these events and more!

By Miriam Raftery

March 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The field has narrowed further after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman/reality TV celebrity Donald Trump scored sweeping wins in the “Super Tuesday” primaries held yesterday in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina.

Hear our interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

March 16, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Ben Kalasho, president of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, sat down with the East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM to discuss concerns of the Chaldean community in the presidential primary election. In our interview, which originally aired on KNSJ last week, Kalasho speaks about the issues that matter most to the Iraqi Chaldean and Middle Eastern communities from an international and domestic standpoint.

He also discussed the new Mega TV news network that he helped launch, which debuted earlier this month. In addition, he shared his thoughts on the Grossmot Union High School District's redistricting proposal that divides the Chaldean voting block--and what steps he thinks should be done at the state level to assure fairness in elections for Chaldean Americans.

East County News Service

March 16, 2016 (San Diego) – Elected officials, environmental groups and solar advocates plan to hold a rally from 2. p.m. to 2 :30 today in front of SDG&E’s corporate campus at 8326 Century Park Court, San Diego to oppose SDG&E use of ratepayers’ funds to attempt to influence the CPUC over solar net metering.

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a decision on solar net metering that solar advocates say was a compromise for both the solar industry and utilities. Rally organizers say they aim to take a stand against “greed” and in support of the Commission’s decision.

March 15,  2016 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• Plan would allow Cleveland forest development (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Anza-Borrego Desert wildflower watch (DesertUSA)
• San Diego Doctors Win Long Campaign For Higher Medicare Pay (KPBS)
• Rideshare bills stall in Hueso's committee (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Region Gets A Break On Water Conservation Goals (KPBS)
• Documents Raise Questions About San Diego Aquaculture Project (KPBS)
• Huge housing projects continue slow march forward (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lawsuits cloud bid to build Rosarito desalination plant (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• California Lawmakers Approve Raising Smoking Age To 21 (KPBS)
• California To Permit Medically Assisted Suicide As Of June 9 (NPR)
• Report: Criminal Justice System Errors Cost Taxpayers Millions In California (KPBS)
• At Calif. Campuses, A Test For Free Speech, Privacy And Cybersecurity (NPR)
• Judge Keeps High-Speed Rail On Track In California (KPBS)
• How Southern California Gas Could Make Up For Aliso Canyon Disaster
• Storms replenish key reservoirs amid California drought
• California's biggest reservoir, Shasta, rises to key milestone

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

East County News Service

March 15, 2016 (Washington D.C.) -- Many domestic violence victims report staying in abusive and dangerous relationships out of fear of leaving their beloved pets behind. Their abusers often threaten to harm or even kill their pets if they attempt to leave. Studies have shown this is the case for one out of every four women trying to escape domestic violence, Change.org reports.

By Miriam Raftery

March 15, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – In response to an East County Magazine inquiry asking why Alpine was excluded from a list of upcoming hearings on the proposed Grossmont Union High School District's controversial redistricting plans, The County Committee on School District Organization has announced it will hold an additional hearing in Alpine on April 4 at 6 p.m. at Joan McQueen Middle School.

The County had previously scheduled four hearings in other locations,  to get public input on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed shift to electing governing board trustees by districts. 

For Alpine, the stakes are high. Alpine stands to lose its only advocate for an Alpine High School, Priscilla Schreiber, who would lose her seat under the plan approved by the GUHSD.  Alpine would be represented by Jim Kelly, a vocal opponent of the Alpine High School, an issue currently in litigation that has also led to unification efforts in which Alpine parents are seeking to break away from the GUHSD.

For the full schedule of meetings slated across East County set by the County Office of Education, rules and details, click "read more" and scroll down.

East County News Service

March 14, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department aims to make sure your luck runs out if you get caught drinking and driving on St. Patrick's Day. Watch for increased DUI patrols by deputies across the county on Thursday, March 17th starting at 7:00 p.m. and lasting through 3:00 a.m. the following day.

East County News Service

March 14, 2016 (San Diego) — The County Medical Examiner and regional law enforcement will host the first annual “Identify the Missing” Day on March 19.

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a San Diego Online News Association (SDONA) member.

March 14, 2016 (San Diego) - Longtime San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle signed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday morning, the team reported.

April 1 in Spring Valley, April 10 in Point Loma

March 13, 2016 (Spring Valley) - The 2015-2016 performance season of the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale continues with a special choral/orchestral project in honor of the 260th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  The concert opens with his operatic overture to Don Giovanni and ends with a performance of his Requiem—a bookending of works that share a common theme: the first recognizing a man’s judgement by God for his many sins, and the last asking God for entrance ofone’s soul to Heaven.

The program is contrasted with a piece of chamber music that the composer wrote for flute and string trio: Mozart’s Flute Quartet in A Major, K. 298 as performed by GSO principal flautist, Kay Van Tassell, and members of the Grossmont Symphony String Quartet.

Grossmont Healthcare District

Photo (from left to right): Barry Jantz, CEO, Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD); Scott Evans, senior VP and CEO, Sharp Grossmont Hospital (SGH); Michael Emerson and Bob Ayres, GHD board members; Chris Crawford, SGH laboratory director; Kenneth Schell, SGH pharmacy director.

March 13, 2016 (La Mesa) -- An important milestone was recently celebrated in the progress of the taxpayer-funded construction of a new Heart and Vascular (H&V) Center at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.

Source: Chargers Press Release



Photo: Kyle Engman on Flickr



March 13, 2016 (San Diego) - The San Diego Chargers agreed to a three-year contract with former Green Bay Packers cornerbackCasey Hayward, the team announced Sunday.