By Miriam Raftery
 

July 31, 2010 (San Diego) – “Countywide, there are approximately 240 firefighters from San Diego at fires in the north,” Cal-Fire battalion chief Nick Schuler told East County Magazine today. That includes the Crown Fire southwest of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, which has scorched 13,918 acres and is 62% contained. In Kern County, another large blaze has charred 1,658 acres and is 85% contained.
 

About 220 of the 240 local firefighters deployed in northern regions are Cal Fire personnel, including 128 inmate firefighters. Cal-Fire employees a total of 500 people in San Diego County, Schuler said.

July 30, 2010 (Washington D.C.) – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-El Cajon), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, today highlighted a report by the bipartisan Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel, which calls for increasing the Navy to a 346-ship fleet and expanding America’s focus to prepare for threats in the Western Pacific.

Bill enables tribal police to enforce federal laws, protects Native American rape victims

4 San Diego legislators support law; Rep. Hunter votes “no”
 

By Miriam Raftery
July 30, 2010 (Washington D.C.) - “If the Tribal Law and Order Act had existed 16 years ago, my story would be very different,” Lisa Marie Lyotte said, choking back tears in a White House press conference today. In 1994, Lyotte was raped and beaten on the Sioux Indian reservation where she lived; her children witnessed the attack.  Tribal police had a suspect, but federal authorities refused to prosecute.

Native American women suffer violent crime at a rate more than triple the national average; one in three Indian women is raped during her lifetime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Calling the situation “an assault on our national conscience,” President Barack Obama today fulfilled a campaign promise made to tribal leaders by signing the Tribal Law and Order Act into law.

Leaders propose options to address serious public safety crisis in City and County

By Miriam Raftery

July 28, 2010 (San Diego) – San Diego has the fewest firefighters per capita of any major city in the nation, a shocking new report by Center for Policy Initiatives revealed yesterday.

“Service quality has dropped below acceptable standards, most tragically in the fire-rescue department,” a CPI press release warned. “Without increased revenue, the city could face the closure of almost half of our fire stations and the firing of several hundred police officers, as the chief operating officer described to the Council yesterday.”

By Brian Lafferty

July 30, 2010 (San Diego)--Intelligently dumb may sound like an oxymoron but it is the best phrase I could use to accurately describe Dinner for Schmucks. It is at times goofy and stupid but there is always a certain astuteness that permeates throughout the material without coming off as pretentious. The “dinner” doesn’t arrive until the second to last reel and it is a little bit of a letdown but that doesn’t mean the lead-up isn’t hilarious at times.

East County Roundup highlights stories of interest to East County residents, published in other media

July 29, 2010 (San Diego's East County) -- This week’s Roundup stories include:

•Fetal position: County Supervisor Bill Horn uses your money to promote pro-life education
• Schwarzenegger orders furloughs for state workers
• Judge blocks part of Arizona immigration law
• Q&A with Ralf Swenson, new superintendent of Grossmont Union High School District
• Fallbrook: Mountain lion believed shot
• San Diego’s refugee brain drain
• Governor orders National Guard to border
• Powerlink booster may have powered up too soon
• Economy threatens parks
 

By Alan Ball, Chair
Sustainability Alliance of Southern California

July 28, 2010 (San Diego) -- I urge a NO vote on PROPOSITION 23.

As Chair of the Sustainability Alliance of Southern California, a community based non-profit committed to a sustainable future, I am convinced that we must not abandon the course that has been agreed to protect our health as well as those who will be following us.

County Urges Health Care Providers to Vaccinate Parents and Children; Cases of Whopping Cough Nearly Double over 2009

By Brian Lafferty

July 30, 2010 (San Diego)--Charlie St. Cloud is one of those movies that made me wonder if it should have even been made. The two major themes in this picture are death and letting go. These by no means rank the highest on the controversy meter when it comes to sensitive subjects. Charlie St. Cloud doesn’t handle these themes in a competent manner but that’s only one symptom of an even larger problem: the plot, the characters, and their actions are built on such a shaky foundation that the movie is doomed to begin with.

West Nile Virus Detected In Lemon Grove

East County News Service

July 28, 2010 (Lemon Grove)--A batch of mosquitoes collected in Lemon Grove has tested positive for West Nile virus, the first positive test this year for the potentially-deadly disease, County Vector Control officials announced today.

Tips to keep your clothes--and your home--from going up in smoke
 

East County News Service

July 28, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 15,500 fires associated with clothes dryers occur annually, causing an average of 10 deaths, 310 injuries and more than $84.4 million in property damage. A lack of maintenance, buildup of lint, placing inappropriate items in the dryer and inadequate venting are frequently cited as contributing factors.

Police seek additional victims of scamster who answered ads and stole victims' IPads

July 28, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Jesus Sanchez of Santee was arrested yesterday by La Mesa Police for grand theft and robbery after a month long investigation into a Craig’s List scam involving I-Pads. Sanchez turned himself in after police detectives served a search warrant on his house in the 9300 block of Nalini Court, Santee.

East County News Service

July 28, 2010 (Julian) – A fire during the night destroyed a triple-wide mobile home on the property of Whispering Winds Catholic Camp and Conference Center at 17606 Harrison Park Road in Julian. Firefighters from Cal Fire and the Julian Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fully-involved blaze at 2:53 a.m.