By Janis Russell

“We have the appearance of political gerrymandering.” – George Barnett, Alpine Education Foundation director, speaking against the redistricting plan.

Assigning Jim Kelly as Alpine’s trustee through redistricting “is like putting a hungry, vengeful fox in charge of an unprotected henhouse.” – Mark Price, past president of the Alpine Union School District..

“We have exercised zero influence…please look past the irrelevant rhetoric on building a high school...” -- Trustee Robert Shield,  who voted for the plan.

“Funds spent on litigation would be better spent on children in our classrooms.” – Mike Fowler, Granite Hills principal, speaking in support over fear of a Voting Rights Act violations  lawsuit.

April 7, 2016 (Alpine) - In the third of six meetings on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed new election system for trustees, dozens of Alpine residents attended the meeting and voiced strong criticisms of the plan to the County Board of Education’s Committee on School District Organization. 

East County News Service

April 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – We wanted to share with you that Edna Swink Kouns, Class of 1932, received the Congress of History Ben Dixon Award in February 2016 for her preservation efforts in her hometown of Lakeside.  Edna’s acceptance speech emphasized and encouraged the importance of volunteering in your community,” the Grossmont High School Museum reports. “Edna has a lifetime passion for history, shown by her founding role in 1972 in the Lakeside Historical Society and is a driving force in its efforts to preserve, display, and celebrate the community’s history.  Edna at the age of 101 continues to volunteer weekly!”

Story and photos by Robert Gehr

April 7, 2016 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon has something new on the horizon. It’s a Courtyard by Marriott luxury style hotel, which is scheduled to be opening soon and will accommodate visitors choosing East County for  our region’s many attractions. The location is 141 N. Magnolia Ave. on the corner of Rea Ave. near the El Cajon Police station.

By Miriam Raftery

April 7, 2016 (San Diego) – Southern California, including San Diego County, could experience up to 14 days of unscheduled blackouts this summer and up to 18 days of additional outages later in the year, state officials warn.  The outages could occur due to the massive gas leak at Aliso Canyon, which depleted gas reserves before the four-month leak was finally plugged.

Source: El Cajon Police

April 7, 2016 (El Cajon) – Distracted driving is such an important safety issue that April is recognized as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  In California, Police, Sheriff and CHP officials are joining the Office of Traffic Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as well as law enforcement throughout the country, working together to focus on education as well as enforcement.

April 6, 2016 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

General news

• Same-sex couples can now adopt children in all 50 states (Huffington Post)
• Supreme Court reins in practice of seizing defendants' assets (CS Monitor)
• As PayPal cancels expansion, consequences of NC’s anti-LGTB law get real (Los Angeles Times)
• Native Americans unite to ride against proposed North Dakota pipeline (Guardian, reposted on RawStory)
• Whether It Works Or Not, U.S. Anti-Radicalization Plan Can Benefit Communities (NPR)
• Cities can learn from crises like Flint. Atlanta is proof. (CS Monitor)
• Plutonium from Japan to be disposed of underground in New Mexico (Japan Times)
• Women Farmers Band Together To Vent, Seek Support And Exchange Ideas  (NPR)
• Merrick Garland, Extremist  (Reason)
• Security vulnerabilities found in U.S. visa database: ABC News (Reuters)
• Maryland Court to Baltimore Police: Want to Track Phones? Get a Warrant. (Reason)
• Taxing Predicament (Reason)

Presidential primary

• DC Madam’s attorney vows to release info that could rock 2016 presidential election (NBC)
• Conservative women stand up to Trump (Washington Post)
• Donald Trump taps Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins to lead campaign outreach to Congress (Washington Times)
• John Kasich to seniors who want to keep their Social Security: “Get over it.” (Daily News Bin)
• Delegates ready to flee Trump at contested convention (Politico)
• Trump sued in Kentucky by three who say he incited crowd to violence (Reuters)
• Coca Cola dumps Trump and declines to sponsor Republican National Convention (Politics USA)
• The Clinton Investigation Enters a Dangerous Phase (Reason)

WORLD

• With Leak Of 'Panama Papers,' A Glimpse Of World's Fiscal Underbelly (NPR)
• To End Cycle Of Crime, Italian Judge Breaks Up Big-Time Mafia Families (NPR)
• Moody's puts Mexico on 'negative' outlook, keeps A3 rating (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Mass grave found in Palmyra after recapture from Islamic State: military (Reuters)
• Hundreds of thousands protest at French labor reforms (Reuters)
• Islamic State urges attacks on German chancellery, Bonn airport: SITE group (Reuters)
• Two killed, 15 injured in central Somalia mosque blast (Reuters)
• Exclusive: U.N. audit identifies serious lapses linked to alleged bribery (Reuters)

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

Barracuda lose; Gulls are second Pacific Division team to clinch berth in Calder Cup playoff race

By Liz Alper

April 6, 2016 (San Diego) - With the San Jose Barracuda’s overtime loss to the San Antonio Rampage tonight, the San Diego Gulls are the second team in the AHL’s Pacific Division to clinch a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Kris Jenkins hits buzzer beater three pointer to beat the Tarheels 77-74

Photo:  @NovaMBB on Twitter

By Liz Alper

April 5, 2016 (Houston) - If no one knew where Villanova is before last night, they do now.

By Miriam Raftery

April 5, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that will raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.  The increase will be gradual, with the minimum wage going up from $10 an hour to $10.50 next January, $11 the next year, then rising by $1 a year, after which raises would be tied to the cost of living.  Small business will have an extra year to comply and the Governor could waive increases in bad economic times.

By students at Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley and East County Youth Coalition members trained as advocates to educate the community about risks of underage drinking and how they can be prevented.

April 5, 2016 (Spring Valley) -- What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Cinco de Mayo?

Reprinted with permission from The Moderate Voice, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

By Joe Gandelman, Editor-in-Chief, The Moderate Voice

March 30, 2016 (San Diego) -- It’s common in the United States to call talk show hosts or DJs who try to be outrageous “shock jocks.” It’s abundantly clear now that Republican businessman and showman Donald Trump — who at this point seems to be the GOP’s likely nominee — is a shock politician. In yet another match thrown on the GOP’s post 2012 Presidential election “autopsy” that outlined things the party should do to win national elections, Trump now suggests there should be some form of punishment for women who abort.

By Liz Alper

Photo: Jabari Blash takes in his first Opening Day.  From San Diego Padres on Twitter.

April 4, 2016 (San Diego) - The grass was mowed.  Fans filled the seats.  Opening Day had arrived in San Diego.  And it was a big one; the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers came to town and they brought their ace, Clayton Kershaw, to face off against the Padres’ Tyson Ross.

By Miriam Raftery

April 4, 2016 (Spring Valley) - A Spring Valley company, Calbiotech Inc., just announced that it has come out with the United State’s first immunoassay kits to detect antibodies against Zika virus in human blood. 

Part of expanded efforts to increase conservation, reclamation, reuse and education

East County News Service

April 3, 2016 (Sycuan Reservation) –The Sycuan Tribe completed a major reduction in overall water usage through an aggressive conservation program that includes retrofitting irrigation equipment, removing and replacing water-dependent landscaping and increasing awareness around the importance of water conservation. 

East County News Service

April 2, 2016 (Alpine) -- Lions Tigers & Bears (LTB), San Diego's only non-profit accredited big cat, bear and exotic animal rescue sanctuary, invites guests to its annual Wild in the Country Fundraiser on Saturday, May 14th, from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. with a VIP reception from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. The family friendly event will feature a silent and live auction, live entertainment, a catered dinner and of course, visits with the big cats and bears.