Two of the transfers come from 2018 NCAA tournament teams

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

July 12, 2018 (San Diego) - The San Diego State softball team has added three collegiate transfer pitchers to the program, head coach Kathy Van Wyk announced today. Two of the three - MJ James (Patrick Henry HS/Ohio State) and Hannah Johnson (La Habra HS/Cal State Fullerton) - were on teams that made the 2018 NCAA tournament, while Alicia Garcia (Mira Mesa HS) starred at nearby Palomar College.

By Chris Whipple

July 12, 2018 (San Diego's East County) - Living in the back country provides many people a little bit of paradise that could never be found in a city.   Unfortunately, the worry about wildfires have caused lifetime residents to view their homes in the new light of "defensible space,” "insurance" and "preparedness.”  This is first of two articles to allow families to have "peace-of-mind" if disaster should strike. 

When Thunder Roars Head Indoors!

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

July 12, 2018 (San Diego's East County) - We’ve seen them this week and we will continue to notice large cumulous clouds forming around southern California. This ‘monsoonal pattern’ is produced by an area of high pressure over the four corners. The clockwise flow draws moisture into southern California from the south. These clouds can produce lightning, thunder, hail and heavy rain reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.

UPDATE: WALK-INS ARE WELCOME! BUT PLEASE RSVP.

July 4, 2018 (El Cajon) -- You're invited to our next East County Dining Club event, which benefits our nonprofit East County Magazine and our East County Wildfire and Emergency Alerts.  

Please join us in a Mediterranean Feast on Sunday, July 15 at 1 p.m. at Eat a Pita! (1255 Avocado Road in the Vons shopping center at Chase and Avocado in  El Cajon).

$28 INCLUDES: Mediterranean feast!  Beef kebab, chicken kebab/souvlaki, falafel, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), rice, Greek salad, pita bread and hummus, tax, tip, beer or wine, soft drink & refill, & 1 opportunity drawing ticket. Prizes include restaurant gift certifictes, a night's stay at Triple H Ranch Bed and Breakfast in Lakeside, jewelry, cookbooks, novels, Kamp's Propane gift certificate, ladybug planter, Prete-a-Porter Salon haircut, Club Pilates class and more!

RSVP BY JULY 10 for earlybird prize drawing: editor@eastcountymagazine.org   or 619-698-7617.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Biogas pipes, creative commons image via Vortexrealm

July 11, 2018 (Lakeside) – The project team for a proposed project to convert food scraps to energy will host a drop-in session for community member on Thursday, July 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Community Center. The team will be on hand to answer questions, hear input and provide information – along with pie and coffee.

East County News Service

July 11, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes open house at the Oasis Camel Dairy in Ramona, Lemon Grove’s concerts in the parks, class cruises in downtown El Cajon, Decades Flashback onstage in Santee, pus live music at Wine Works and Centifonti’s in la Mesa.

Plus, we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including Pine Valley Days, a Sip of Julian, Gregory Page in concert at the Water Conservation Garden and a local Laurel and Hardy fan club’s 40^th anniversary film celebration in Spring Valley.

So scroll down for all of these events and many more!

East County News Service

July 11, 2018 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Healthy Bones and Fall Prevention,” a program about bone health and steps to prevent a fall, from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, July 25. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served. Advance RSVP is not necessary. Handouts will be available.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  ASTREA helicopter, file photo

July 10, 2018 (Alpine) – A truck driver trapped in a ravine for over 24 hours was rescued by the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team shortly before 5:30 a.m. The search began after Alpine Sheriff’s station deputies checked on an overdue big rig; the driver’s GPS led them to his truck parked near the I-8 viewpoint parking lot with engine running and headlights on.

Saturday, July 28, 6-8:30 p.m.

East County News Service

July 10, 2018 (El Cajon) - The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College welcomes back the Gregory Page Trio for a summer concert on Saturday, July 28 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Gregory will capture your heart with his engaging lyrics and soothing melodies reminiscent of the 1920’s sweet jazz era.

Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Bob Scheid, shortly after the West Fire began, helped us provide critical early warning to our readers

July 9, 2018 (Alpine) – In the critical first few hours of the West Fire in Alpine, our East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts provided the earliest news that a fire had begun and was threatening homes in Alpine. In the first 12 hours, we posted 38 updates including Twitter, email, articles and social media.

During the fire’s first day, our first alert was sent at 11:44 a.m (simultaneous to the Forest Service's first Tweet five minutes after the fire was reported at 11:39 a.m., per Cal Fire's incident report). That was nearly an hour and a half before the first Cal Fire and County Fire Authority Tweet at 1:04 p.m.  and a full four hours before the first Cal-Fire e-mail alert went out at 3:43 p.m. announcing “numerous structures destroyed.”

Cal Fire/County Fire Chief Tony Mecham has said homes were burning within eight minutes after the fire started, Patch.com reports.

Alpine Fire Department, battling the inferno amid power outages and grappling with a seriously injured fire captain, didn’t get their first Twitter alert out until the next day.  Cleveland National Forest did send timely alerts via Twitter only, but stopped after the fire burned outside of federal lands and into neighborhoods with homes.

During the first 12 hours of the fire, we sent frequent updates via Twitter and email, as well as posting numerous updates on our webpage plus photos and video link. We even went the extra mile to post some information on our Facebook page and on some community forum Facebook pages in or near the Alpine area, where many were without power but could access those sites on cell phones.

July 9, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Trump administration halts billions in insurance payments under Obamacare (Reuters)
• Trump administration names new U.S. drug enforcement chief (Reuters)
• HPV test more effective than Pap smear in cancer screening, study suggests (CNN)
• Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore evacuated due to possible TB exposure (Reuters)
• Sperm quality improved by adding nuts to diet, study says (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• The California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Bad Yelp Reviews (Reason)
• Scientists create 'test-tube rhino' in hopes of saving dying species (CNN)
• A new study shows that students learn way more effectively from print textbooks than screens (Business Insider)
• Dear Cable TV, You're Fired! Says Consumer Reports (MediaPost)
• EU's controversial copyright law rejected by parliament (BBC)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Ready San Diego

July 8, 2018 (Alpine)—The grim toll wrought by the 505-acre West Fire in Alpine has risen. With the wildfire now 92 percent contained and all evacuations lifted, reentry brought relief for some who found homes still standing, but heartache for others facing total devastation.

The fire destroyed at least 56 structures, including 34 homes, a business, and 21 other buildings including barns and sheds.  Another 15 homes were damaged, along with 5 outbuildings.

Merlyn Cochran, assistant manager at Baron’s Market, was at work  when the fire started. Neighbors Al and Sharon Haven told Cochran and her husband to “go get my mother-in-law, who is 96 years old and lives at our ranch, because the winds were shifting and blowing towards our ranch,” Cochran recalls.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Child migrant detention facility in El Cajon

July 8, 2018 (El Cajon) – Activists are organizing a protest rally Tuesday, July 10th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in front of El Cajon’s City Hall (200 Civic Center Way) to call for a public hearing on a federal internment facility holding immigrant boys, including some who were separated from their parents at the border and others who arrived as unaccompanied minors.

The activity is part of the national #familiesbelongtogether movement following disclosure that thousands of children have been separated from their undocumented immigrant parents at the border.  Following exposure in media, children as young as one year of age have been ordered by the government to represent themselves at immigration hearings and some parents deported without their children.

“Our mission will be to apply extreme and persistent pressure upon the El Cajon City Council to hold one or more Public Hearings providing full discloser as to population welfare, and operational practices, of El Cajon's Migrant Youth Internment Facility," organizers state on a Meetup page for the event.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left, courtesy San Diego Sheriff Office, Alpine

July 6, 2018 (Alpine) – At the Secret Hills Ranch in Alpine, owner Missy Bender posted this  panicked message on Facebook today as the #WestFire approached: “Fire is here desperately need help…”   With 41 horses in need of evacuation, she pleaded for  help “even on foot” adding that the Sheriff wasn’t letting trailers in. “We have to lead horses out on foot,” she said, adding, “We are fighting the fire off our back fence…”

By Miriam Raftery

July 7, 2018 (Alpine) – Firefighters made progress on the #WestFire overnight, holding the wildfire to 400 acres with containment now 30%.  At least 18 homes are reported destroyed and 8 more damaged.  Evacuation orders remain in place.  A shelter at Los Coches Middle School remains open and pets are welcome at the shelter.

If you need help after the #West Fire in Alpine, you can call 211 or click here for a list of resources:  https://www.sdcountyrecovery.com/events/july-2018-fire-recovery-resources/.

State and county emergency declarations have been issued.