East County News Service

July 21, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – Last week, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced  finalization of a new rule, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, that requires communities to remove zoning laws and other barriers to integration in neighborhoods at all income levels, or lose federal HUD funds.

Participants include Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Helix Water District, the San Diego County Water Authority, Building Industry Association of San Diego, and the Water Reliability Coalition

July 21, 2015 (El Cajon) -- On Thursday, August 13^th, 2015 Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee) will be hosting a Drought Town Hall to educate constituents about the ongoing California drought, legislative solutions, and efforts to provide relief to the community.

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—Over 300 million people worldwide are color-blind. But now, scientific advances have made it possible for the vast majority of those to see vibrant colors using special glasses—and a cure is also in the works for even the most severe forms or color blindness.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, San Bernardino Fire Dept.: North Fire in its early stage

July 20, 2015 (Sacramento) -- After a series of  serious incidents involving drones interfering with firefighting aircraft,  state legislators have introduced bills that would allow firefighters and rescue personnel to damage or disable drones, also increasing penalties for drone operators who impede firefighting.

The latest and most devastating incident occurred Friday, when five drones forced firefighting planes to delay air drops in order to avoid mid-air collisions. The North Fire quickly spread out of control, crossing Interstate 15 in San Bernadino County and destroyed 20 vehicles on the freeway.  The blaze swelled to thousands of acres, also destroying homes and other property.

July 20, 2015 (La Mesa) -- Crystal Bowman of La Mesa planted milkweed to attract Monarch butterflies, then moved the larvae into a home-made butterfly house that she built using old screen doors and mesh. Behold the miraculous result, as a Monarch caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis in this video. 

County News Service

Photo: NIFC.gov

Update July 21: Supervisors voted unanimously to ask the Obama administration to take action and allow USFS air tankers to land in Ramona.

July 20, 2015 (Ramona)—The U.S. Forest Service is refusing to fly its newest air tankers in and out of Ramona Air Attack Base – and the Board of Supervisors may turn to the White House for help.  

On Tuesday, July 21 at 9 a.m. Supervisors will consider a proposal from Chairman Bill Horn and Supervisor Dianne Jacob to appeal the decision to the Obama Administration. With the high-risk fall fire season approaching, they say flying the next-gen tankers in and out of Ramona could help save lives and protect property.

County News Service

Photo: County crews work to clean up mud flow on Rutherford Road in Ramona, where over 3 inches of rain fell on Sunday.

July 20, 2015 (San Diego) -- The remnants of Hurricane Dolores created record rainfall in San Diego County, taking residents by surprise over the weekend. If your property or small business sustained damage from the weekend’s heavy rains and flooding, the County would like your help to estimate rain damages in our region.

The County Office of Emergency Services is asking storm-affected residents to complete a short damage survey form that will assist the County in collecting damage information and associated costs from the weekend’s heavy rains and flooding.

The information gathered from the surveys will be used to estimate total damages countywide and will determine if enough damages occurred to qualify the region for federal disaster assistance, such as low interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration for those who are uninsured or underinsured.

Photo: Film makers Miguel Angel Soria and Peter Alkatib

Film review by Mimi Pollack

July 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--As an ESL teacher at Grossmont College, the majority of students in my classes are Iraqi and Iraqi Chaldean. Thus, I had a particular interest in the documentary, “Chaldean Voices”, which I saw Friday evening at “Documentaries on the Prado” at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Chaldeans are Christian Iraqis. Most have fled their war-torn home and with the exception of Detroit, Michigan, the largest number of Chaldeans now live in El Cajon, California, and surrounding neighborhoods.

East County News Service

July 19, 2015 (Scripps Ranch)—In 2003, the Cedar Fire destroyed over 200 homes in Scripps Ranch. To make sure residents are better prepared, the Scripps Ranch FireSafe Council will host a Scripps Ranch Wildfire Preparedness Forum on Saturday, September 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Marshall Middle School, 9700 Avenue of Nations in the Scripps Ranch community of San Diego.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos and video courtesy of Cal Fire

July 19, 2015 (Palm Springs)—Heavy rains washed out a bridge east of Palm Springs at Adair (four miles west of Desert Center) late today and caused it to collapse. The dramatic failure forced closure of I-10 in both directions and injured a motorist who plunged into the abyss.  CHP reports that 30 feet of the I-10 freeway washed away—the major route from Riverside and Los Angeles counties into Arizona.

Motorists have been stuck in traffic for hours and motels quickly filled up, local TV stations report.  There is no quick alternative; drivers have been diverted several hours out of their way to I-8 in the southern part of the state, or to another major highway farther north.

East County Alert

July 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning due to imminent threat of flooding in certain mountain areas, where residents are urged to move to high ground.

There is also a flash flood watch in effect for all San Diego County valleys, deserts and mountain areas, including places where debris flows are possible.  Below are full texts of both alerts:

East County News Service

July 19, 2015 (La Mesa)—Hospitals must release their rates of readmission and serioscomplications, due to a new Medicare requirement in the Affordable Care Act—and pay penalties for poor results.  That’s producing positive results, pushing hospitals  to work to improve those numbers and patient wellbeing.

For example, a study by BetterDoctors.com found that from mid-2010 to mid-2013, Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa ranked fourth worst in the nation for readmissions and complications. The good news is that since then, Grossmont's numbers have improved dramatically, according to Better Doctors and Grossmont, and penalty fees have dropped sharply as a result. Th hospital has also won several awards and honors for its patient care.

East County News Service

July 19, 2015 (San Diego) – The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)  will host its annual convention on Wednesday, July 22 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego. The organization is funded by corporations and pushes state legislators to introduce “model” legislation that it calls “pro-business.”  Speakers include Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Scott Walker and Mike Huckabee. The conference also will include other state and national legislators from across the nation.

But progressive organizations are mobilizing thousands of people for a march, rallies and protests against ALEC, which critics say pushes forward anti-worker, anti-environmental measures drafted behind closed doors.  Local State Senator Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) chairs ALEC’s California chapter.

East County News Service

July 19, 2015 (Alpine)—Libraries offer much more than books!  The County Library in Alpine’s  July calendar, for instance, offers story times for infants, toddlers and pre-school kids, as well as a bilingual story time every week this month.  There are also FUN-tastic Fridays with crafts, games and activities for kids.  For tweens and teens, summer programs include musical programs and meeting the author of two teen novel series.

County of San Diego

July 19, 2015 (San Diego)--The County Department of Environmental Health has issued a General Advisory for the coastal waters of San Diego County due to recent rainfall. Swimmers, surfers, and other ocean users are warned that the levels of bacteria can rise significantly in ocean and bay waters, especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers, and lagoon outlets that discharge urban runoff.