NASA debunks the “Mayan apocalypse” doomsday predictions

Photo credit:  NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kurin

December 20, 2012 (Washington D.C.)—December 21, 2012 won’t be the end of the world as some have claimed, just another winter solstice. That’s the word from NASA, which further states, “Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the claims behind the end of the world quickly unravel when pinned down to the 2012 timeline.”

Below, NASA scientists answer related questions:

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Why did the California Public Utilities Commission fail to notify parties that it plans to hear a drastically revised alternate decision at tomorrow’s meeting on SDG&E’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA)? 

The new version, written by Commissioner Timothy Simon,  would allow SDG&E to charge ratepayers not only for certain uninsured costs of future wildfires caused by its lines, but also appears to now include the 2007 wildfires as well—a shift that has outraged fire survivors. (See pages 23 and 28 at link above.) The draft contains numerous other changes from an earlier alternate decision penned by Simon, as well as a separate alternate decision penned previously by Commissioner Maribeth Bushey, as ECM reported earlier.    

Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, representing fire victim Ruth Henricks,  sent an e-mail tonight to the CPUC objecting to any discussion or consideration of the new alternative decision on grounds that it violates the Brown Act due to failure to give proper notice, as well as collective concurrence outside a properly noticed meeting.  He also alleges violation of due process.

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (El Cajon ) –The Mother Goose Parade wasn’t the only beneficiary of funds stolen by former El Cajon Councilwoman Jillian Hanson-Cox, who pled guilty to embezzling more than $3.6 million from Century Design, Inc (CDI), her former employer.  

Court documents reveal that she also spent purloined money to hire celebrity impersonators to appear at her campaign fundraiser in 2004. She treated the city’s former Chief of Police to a vacation at a Hawaiian resort hotel. Plus she hosted city public information officer Monica Zech at a Beverly Hills hotel, including manicures and other spa treatments.

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –Yes, there is a free lunch!

Each election, SD Rostra/Flash Report’s Barry Jantz holds a contest to see who can predict the most local election outcomes based on questions he dream up.  The winner (me!) successfully nailed eight of ten questions, plus three tie-breakers. 

The prize?  Free entry to the next “Albondigas” luncheon for political movers and shakers in East County.  I look forward to savoring my winnings. Hmm...maybe I should try my luck at predicting horseracing next....

Education News and Notes

By Anat Tour, math teacher and children’s author/illustrator

December 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--December is a busy time for the holidays, but if you are a high school senior this is the season to get your college checklist in order.

In addition, here are my picks for this month’s top stories of interest to local students, teachers, and parents:

Education professionals and a Granite Hills shooting survivor offer advice for parents and students

By Miriam Raftery (Photo from Facebook memorial page)

December 14, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – News of today’s shooting at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people including 20 children before taking his own life, has triggered strong reactions here in San Diego County, a region that has suffered through numerous school shootings.

“Personally I am very shocked and saddened…I have shed tears,” Fran Zumwalt, a teacher wounded in the 2001 Granite Hills High School shootings, told ECM.  “Words cannot express the sorrow I feel for those who lost loved ones today. No parents should ever lose a child.  I hope all of the citizens of Connecticut can feel the prayers of all of us—for their children, their families and their communities.”

December 18, 2012 (San Diego)--For the 10th consecutive year, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, owners of the Sycuan Resort & Casino in El Cajon, sponsored the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s free annual family holiday party for people with MS, as well as their family members and caregivers. The National MS Society in San Diego said more than 600 people attended the 2012 event held on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the San Diego Community Concourse Golden Hall in Downtown San Diego. The holiday party featured a brunch, entertainment and gifts for children delivered by one of Santa’s helpers. Sycuan has sponsored the annual event since 2003.

Toys expand 400 times in size, causing blockage in intestine if swallowed

December 18, 2012 (Washington D.C.) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada today announced a voluntary recall of Water Balz, Growing Skulls, H20 Orbs "Despicable Me" and Fabulous Flowers toys imported by Dunecraft, Inc.

About 94,700 of the toys have been sold in the U.S. at major retail stores, internet sites and other locations, as well as 600 sold in Canada.

December 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Flooded with complaints from ratepayers, the California Public Utilities Commission will hold a public meeting tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in San Clemente on whether to allow SDG&E to impose a hefty fee hike for customers who want to opt out of having smart meters on their homes.

Susan Brinchman of La Mesa, director and founder of the Center for Electrosmog Prevention, has led efforts to stop the fee hikes.  “Come join us to protest and speak out about smart meter opt-out fees in front of the CPUC judge making decisions on fees and whether to DOUBLE the opt-out fees,” she wrote in an e-mail to ECM. “We need speakers.”

December 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Tomorrow night’s Poinsettia Bowl game between the San Diego State University Aztecs and the Brigham Young University Cougars will be the 36th meeting between the two teams—and the first since BYU’s final season in the Mountain West in 2010.

Kick-off sis at 5 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium for this year’s Poinsettia Bowl, sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union.

By guest columnist Jennifer Douglas, Save KLSD film writer/co-producer

December 17, 2012 (San Diego)--As we celebrate the holidays and ring out 2012, it’s also time to pay attention what is happening right now with ownership of the mass media. Sad to say, the mood is more Scrooge-like than reflecting the spirit of Santa or Jesus. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is about to deregulate the media--and San Diego’s very own media mogul, U-T owner/developer Doug Manchester, may buy-up even more media outlets.

By Nick Pellegrino, East County Sports

December 17, 2012 (El Cajon) —Just like all of her classmates, Brittany Wnek grew up going to school, participating in a variety of school activities and sports -- just being an everyday kid.

Then one day she found her life consumed with hospital appointments, CT scans and MRI's, chemo, radiation and many surgeries.

Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons – a Dialogue with America’s Young Leaders, by Gregory J. Reed, Esq., (Amber Books, Phoenix, Arizona, 2012, 294 pages).

Update: Obama Talks Back has received an NAACP Image Award nomination for literature. The winner will be announced live on TV from Hollywood February 1, 2013.

Book Review by Dennis Moore

December 17, 2012 (San Diego)--Gregory J. Reed, Esq., CEO and Founder of Keeper of the Word Foundation, has written a poignant and heartfelt book that resonates with me for a number of reasons: Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons – A Dialogue with America’s Young Leaders.

December 17, 2012 (El Cajon) – HAZMAT is on the scene at a gas depot at Main and North Second streets in El Cajon, where a minor explosion has occurred with underground vault off-gassing, Incident Protection Network reported late this morning.  SDG&E confirms a power outage in the area with cause under investigation; estimated power restoration time is 2:29 p.m.

The Quantum Love Gene, by Raymond J. Pilon (Choice MaKer Productions, Victoria, BC, Canada, 2009, 136 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

December 15, 2012 (San Diego)--The Quantum Love Gene by Raymond J. Pilon has been described as possibly a hotter product than Avatar, and after reading this spellbinding fantasy science fiction novel, I am inclined to agree. The book is based on dreams, which the author’s wife describes as “automatic handwriting.” It incorporates many of the aspects of Avatar, as well as some of those in Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles.

The premise of Pilon’s book is that we are all “Spirit Beings” and that we evolved from an ancient alien civilization called the Pleiadians that actually traveled to earth and inhabited our planet some 26,000 years ago. Pilon is a master story-teller in how he weaves together the mysteries of Stonehenge, the pyramids, the most intriguing crop circles, and many other unexplainable structures.