Lawsuit alleges tribal development corporation breached contract in cannabis operation

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

May 16, 2018 (Santa Ysabel) – The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel has had a troubled history achieving its goal of gaining financial stability and independence for its 300-member tribe near Julian, some 40 miles east of Escondido.  Now, the Santa Ysabel Tribal Development Corporation is in hot water.

Source: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

May 15, 2018 (El Cajon) -- Two guided bike rides are being held at Grossmont College May 20 to honor the memory of Grossmont College political science professor Brian Jennings, an avid bicyclist who was killed April 17 while riding his bike in Flinn Springs.

East County News Service

May 15, 2018 (Sacramento) -- Hours after a judge ruled that California’s assisted suicide law is illegal, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra indicated he will appeal the decision.

Judge Daniel Ottolia with the Riverside Superior Court ruled that the Legislature violated the law by passing the End of Life Option Act during a special session devoted to healthcare issues, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Backcountry hidden pleasures:   Our guide to unique adventures in San Diego’s beautiful backcountry

By Liz Orient

May 16, 2018 (Anza-Borrego) -- Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a unique destination for anyone looking for a fun day trip from San Diego. There are two classes of people: those who love the desert and those who hate the desert. I happen to be one who enjoys the bizarre plants, resourceful animals, and how the mountains change colors at sunset. I hadn't been to Anza-Borrego in several years and it was time to revisit one of my favorite places in California!

East County News Service

May 15, 2018 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Joint Replacement,” a program on hip and knee total joint replacement surgeries and hip resurfacing procedures, from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 23. 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 Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

May 14, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) - We know all about those snakes at work that slither around trying to work their way into promotions, office social circles and politics, or even belly up to the boss. They’ll do anything (even bite you in the back) as long as it benefits them.

By Miriam Raftery

May 13, 2018 (San Diego) – California law restricts counties from approving more than four General Plan amendments a year, a law meant to prevent developers from pushing through excessive waivers.  But now a video reveals County Planning and Development Services Director Mark Wardlow proposing “bundling” together multiple projects far larger than current zoning laws allow.

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Story and photos by Liz Alper

May 13, 2018 (San Diego) - Aztecs baseball picked the perfect day to have Senior Day on:  Mother’s Day and it turned out to be their last home game of the season as well.  The Aztecs looked to take the series against San Jose State with junior Tevin Cadola on the mound for the Spartans against senior Jorge Fernandez for the Aztecs.  Fun fact:  all of the Aztec baseball seniors are either criminal justice or social science majors.  No in-betweens with them, is there?

Aztecs score two in the seventh to finish sweep of the Aggies

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

May 12, 2018 (San Diego) - Senior Zaria Meshack hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give San Diego State the series sweep over Utah State Saturday afternoon at SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs finished their season with a 20-31 overall record, including an 11-13 mark in Mountain West play.

Families as Partners: The Essential Link in Children’s Education, by Andrea M. Nelson-Royes (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2018, 170 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

May 5, 2018 (San Diego) - Andrea M. Nelson-Royes, EdD, an educational researcher and writer, and author of Transforming Early Learners into Superb Readers: Promoting Literacy at School, at Home, and within the Community and Success in School and Career: Common Core Standards in Language Arts K-5, continues this trend in advocating for excellence in education, in her new book; Families as Partners: The Essential Link in Children’s Education.

By Miriam Raftery

May 11, 2018 (San Diego) – The California Republican Party ejected Patrick Little from its state convention in San Diego last weekend, denouncing the candidate’s neo-Nazi views.   Ballots mailed this week list Little as a Republican “civil rights” advocate, but in fact he advocates anti-Semitic views and posted a video of himself spitting on and stomping the Israeli flag. Many of his videos have been removed off Facebook as offensive hate speech.

“There's no room for that kind of hate speech that that man uses," Cynthia Bryant, executive director of the Calif. Republican Party, told the Los Angeles Times.

Little alarmed many after a recent poll showed him in second place after Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the incumbent. 

The state GOP made no endorsement in the Senate race, nor in the Governor’s race. The top two candidates in each statewide race will advance to the November election.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Update May 11, 2018 12:45 p.m.: Crews have found wreckage of an airplane but have not been able to identify the plane, nor whoever was aboard.  Anyone with information is asked to notify the Sheriff.

Update May 11, 2018 10 a.m.:  Morning firefighting crews are nearing the site; the fire is now 10 acres, Cal Fire reports.

Update: 9:55 p.m. from Cal Fire: Incident commander reports the fire is 3 to 4 acres, burning at a slow rate of spread on the north side of Volcan Mountain. There are no homes in the area of the  #VolcanFire .

May 10, 2018 (Ranchita/Julian) -- Cal Fire confirms that a brush fire is burning near Volcan Mountain in steep, inaccessible terrain tonight.  The Sheriff's Department has confirmed to ECM news partner 10 News that deputies can see flames near Ranchita, near Volcan Mountain, between Warner Springs adn Borrego.  A plane has been reported down, according to HAM radio reports and calls to authorities though the crash is not yet confirmed.

Brett Staulbaum, a ham radio operator in Shelter Valley, relayed this message to ECM warning of a possible risk to the nearby Shelter Valley area:

Source: U.S. Forest Service

May 10, 2017 (Ramona) -- As temperatures begin to rise, so have the number of heat-related injuries and air rescues at the popular Three Sisters and Cedar Creek trails in Cleveland National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service reports.

Source: Steele Canyon High School Drama Department

Photos: Leanna Neely, Jackson Shaffer (cover photo), Mary Rose Vadeboncoeur

May 10, 2018 (Spring Valley) -- The Steele Canyon High School Drama Department is proud to announce that three of their students have received nominations for the 2018 Broadway San Diego Awards for their roles in the SCHS spring production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. 

By Miriam Raftery

May 10, 2018 (Santee) – Who was our youngest president?  Who was our oldest? Who was our tallest, shortest and fattest?  Find out on Wednesday, May 16^th,^, when San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Richard Lederer will offer a treasury of fascinating facts about the feats, families, foibles and firsts of our American presidents.  

The self-proclaimed “Wizard of Idiom, Attila the Pun and Conan the Grammarian” will be sharing his wit and wisdom on our nation’s presidents at the Santee City Hall, building 7, at 10671 Magnolia Avenue in Santee from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The even is sponsored by Santee Seniors 55 Plus and San Diego Oasis. It’s free and worth every penny!

Dr. Lederer has sold over a million books, also hosting “A Way With Words” on KPBS and authoring “the “Lederer on Language” column in the San Diego Union-Tribune. He will be signing copies of his books at the event.