East County News Service

November 24, 2021 (San Diego) -- Felony arrest rates decreased 14%, and misdemeanor arrest rates decreased 38% in the San Diego region in 2020, compared to 2019, according to a new report released by SANDAG, Arrests 2019 and 2020: Law Enforcement Response to Crime in the San Diego Region.  Overall, arrests dropped 31% countywide.

Source: Moms United

November 24, 2021 (San Diego) -- The holidays can be a particularly painful time for families who are missing a loved one at their holiday gathering. Each holiday season mothers across the globe are joining  Moms United to End the War on Drugs “Empty Chair at the Holiday Table” Campaign by sharing photos of the empty chair with a picture of a lost or missing loved one due to the War on Drugs. These photos represent the tens of millions of families that have been ravaged by drug prohibition policies, whether it is separation due to a loved one’s incarceration; an accidental overdose; death or injury from drug war violence; or a loved one lost on the streets due to drug problems.

 During the isolation of the pandemic, this holiday season can be particularly troubling for families who have a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder, and a dangerous time for vulnerable at-risk communities.

Story and photos by Henri Migala

November 23, 2021 (El Cajon) -- November is National Homeless Youth Month. Nearly 100 people participated in a rally and march in downtown El Cajon on November 17 to bring attention and awareness to this national crisis, including El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmember Steve Goble, and representatives from various non-profit organizations and agencies dedicated to serving homeless youth.

According to the National Child Trauma Stress Network, “as many as 2.5 million youth per year experience homelessness. Along with losing their home, community, friends, and routines as well as their sense of stability and safety, many homeless youths are also victims of trauma. While trying to survive on the streets, youth are exposed to countless dangers, with an increased likelihood of substance abuse, early parenthood, impulsivity, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a vulnerability to being trafficked.”

It is estimated that there are at least 1,500 homeless youth in San Diego, although some believe that the number is much higher since homeless youth are difficult to find and count.

November 24, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Biden releasing oil from strategic petroleum reserve to help lower gas prices (CBS)
• Biden hopes fines on lingering cargo containers ease congestion at major U.S. ports (CNBC)
• January 6 committee flexes its power as Bannon indictment serves as a warning to other reluctant witnesses (CNN)
• US announces big hike in Medicare premiums (CNN)
• Jury finds all 3 defendants guilty of murder in Ahmaud Arbery's death  (USA Today)
• Rittenhouse acquittal magnifies divisions in a polarized America (Washington Post)
• This Colorado 'solar garden' is literally a farm under solar panels(NPR)

WORLD

• Indigenous voices stir debates at COP26 climate meeting (Indian Country Today
• French couple who said windfarm affected health win legal fight (The Guardian)
• Austria brings back COVID-19 lockdown, this time for the unvaccinated (Reuters)
• Singapore’s Unvaccinated Will Have to Foot $18,000 Covid Bills Now (Bloomberg)

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

By Miriam Raftery

November 24, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) - This week’s Destination East County features many events to be thankful for – from Thanksgiving weekend events at a local camel dairy and exotic animal sanctuary to holiday tree lightings, live hawk demonstrations, Christmas festivals and more.

Scroll down for all of these events and many more!

By Kathy Carpenter

East County News Service

November 23, 2021 (Alpine) – Did you know that not all turkeys are brown? Richard Edwords of Alpine sent this shot of his white “royal palm” and gray “blue slate” turkeys, both heritage breeds.

Fortunately for these birds, they won’t wind up on the Thanksgiving table.  Edwords says,  “They are therapy turkeys. We take them to the senior care facilities.  I own them and I sell the babies in the spring.”

By Alecia Carroll

Photo: Creative Commons by ND via Bing

November 23, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- A balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are the wishes of every parent for their children. The problem is that busy schedules can make making healthy diets at home challenging. Furthermore, children's fussy eating and advertisements promoting high-fat and high-sugar foods add to these challenges.

There are many things to consider when choosing what to feed your kids/preschooler. Their eating habits and preferences are always changing, making it difficult to serve a balanced and nourishing diet to them. In the beginning stages of your child's development, they will form eating habits that will follow them throughout their lives. Developing healthy eating habits in childhood is a wonderful way to prepare them for adulthood. Remember that developing healthy eating habits often takes time and patience.

Update November 24, 2021:  SDG&E has widened its list of possible outage areas to include more than 53,000 customers. See the updated list of impacted communities here:  https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Before you stock up on turkey and other groceries for a feast, be aware that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is asking customers in 38 local communities to prepare for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

PAMELA BOUTE’ – KILLER D.A. by Darryl Littleton (Independently Published, Inglewood, CA., 2021, 89 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

November 21, 2021 (San Diego) - Pamela Boute’ – Killer D.A.is the story of a Department of Justice employee who issues out her own justice when the system fails to put away the guilty. Her latest list of victims – the insurrectionists of January 6, 2021.

This fictional story by renowned comedian Darryl Littleton resonates with me, for I know full well of the challenges faced in federal government employment. If there was a movie to be made about this book, and I could see it happening, Pam Grier comes immediately to mind.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via C-Span:  House Democrats cheer passage of Build Back Better Act

November 20, 2021 (San Diego) – On the heels of a major infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden, on Friday, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act on a party-line 220-213 vote, which now advances to the Senate.  The landmark measure would expand the nation’s social safety net for the middle class and poor including increased childcare, Medicare benefits, college aid, housing support, invest in shifting the nation to renewable energy and more.

By Miriam Raftery

November 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Santa Ana winds are forecast starting tonight, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour in canyons and mountain passes.  With warm temperatures and humidity dropping as low as 7 percent, fire danger will be high on Sunday and Monday.

Despite a chance of showers Tuesday, a new round of Santa Ana winds is predicted late Wednesday and Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Weather Service.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and colleagues with President Joe Biden at infrastructure bill signing

November 19, 2021(San Diego’s East County) –  Could funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act just signed into law by President Joe Biden be used to fund sorely needed projects to benefit East County, from wildfire prevention to reducing freeway gridlock, taking communities off-grid, and improving dam safety?  East County Magazine reached out to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who attended the bill signing at the White House. She issued a statement on some local priorities and had her staff respond on other potential projects including:

• Reducing gridlock on State Route 52 in Santee
• Repairing dams at El Capitan and Lake Hodges reservoirs
• Increasing mass transit for our region
• Cleaning up a toxic underground plume near Gillespie Field and an elementary school in El Cajon
• Taking communities such as  Descanso, that have suffered through many power outages, off-grid to produce their own clean energy for reliable electricity;
• Replacing lead water pipes

“We have big infrastructure needs in San Diego, from broadband to transportation to wildfire prevention, but the good news is that this bill provides new funding to meet these needs. Now it’s time to make sure that San Diego gets our share of the funding and I look forward to working with our state and local partners to get that done,” Jacob says.

By Henri Migala

November 18, 2021 (Wikieup, Ariz.) -- Few, if any, narratives in America are older, or more repeated, than the story of Native peoples struggling to protect their lands, resources, lifeways and even their culture, from exploitation, abuse and destruction. That very story is yet again unfolding with the Hualapai Nation in northern Arizona, where people are in a struggle to protect their ancestral lands from lithium mining. It’s a struggle that pits the long-term energy interests and demands of the United States against the cultural values of the Hualapai people, the health of the land and its inhabitants, and has nothing less at stake than the very survival of the entire Hualapai nation.