Richard Darvas, a freelance investigative journalist who has won awards for his reporting in East County Magazine, has painstakingly dissected the case of William Richards, a prisoner whom the San Diego-based California Innocence Project believes was falsely convicted of murder. 

February 24,2012 (La Mesa) -- Youngsters from throughout Southern California and Arizona will compete for trophies and points during two days of Soap Box Derby Rally Races on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday March 5 in La Mesa. The Drew Ford/Kiwanis Club of La Mesa Derby Races provide valuable experience for the 7-17-year old race car drivers as two-by-two they roll down the sloping race course on Junior High Drive next to La Mesa Middle School, achieving speeds up to 24 mph. 

February 24, 2012 (San Diego)—San Diego County residents will finally have a chance to tell the California Public Utilities Commission what they think about San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposal to charge ratepayers $463.9 million for the utility’s uninsured losses due to the 2007 wildfires caused by its poorly maintained power lines.

Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon will hold a public participation hearing on April 5 from 4-9 p.m. at the Al Bar Shriner Auditorium , 4330 Kearny Mesa Road in San Diego.

The announcement follows a February 21, 2012 “Turko Files” KUSI TV investigative report which revealed over a dozen private meetings in which SDG&E executives wined and dined CPUC Commissioner Simon,  who is acting as a judge on this matter:  http://www.kusi.com/story/16988213/almost-anything-goes.

February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- This petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Keep-IHSS-out-of-Managed-Care/ is calling for an IHSS "carve-out", to keep the present IHSS program (which enables me to hire my own caregivers/assistants) as an option apart from total inclusion within  a new managed care mandate.

• Community meeting discussing Quail Brush Power Plant Feb. 28 (Santee Patch)
• Grossmont expands school enrollment choices for some (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Gas & Electric wants you to pay for its negligence (San Diego Reader)
• Nature reclaims local cold war relic (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hunter introduces bill to name Ramona Post Office after Mac McWilliams (Ramona Patch)
• Helix claims Hills League title with tiebreaking victory over Grossmont (La Mesa Patch)
• Veterans recover from war wounds on the farm (MSNBC)
• SDPD Oversight Board Faces Favoritism Accusations
   

• Prop 8 backers seek review of gay marriage case (Sacramento Bee)
• Jerry Brown:  California to reopen trade offices in China (Sacramento Bee)

 By Serena Scaglione

February 23, 2012 (El Cajon)--More than 150 parents, students and members of East County communities attended last week’s special board meeting at West Hills High School to stand for or against the Board’s decision last November to change the district’s boundaries.

Despite numerous pleas to the Board to rescind the boundary changes, the Board voted four to one to keep the new boundaries in place, with trustee Priscilla Schreiber casting the only "no" vote.

 Aztecs beat Cincinnati, but lose to UC Davis

February 23, 2012 (San Diego) –Stargazer and trail guide George Varga will lead a stargazing party at Mission Trails Regional Park on February 25 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Participants at the event, four days after the New Moon, can expect to view deep sky objects such as the Orion Nebula, the Crab Nebula in Taurus and much more. The Crab Nebula (photo, left) is the result of a supernova that occurred in 1054 AD and was recorded by Chinese observers.

By Bonnie Burns Price; research assistance by Olive Ball

“Are Republicans engaged in a war on women, with women’s rights, needs, and hopes just the collateral damage of their war?” -- Bonnie Burns Price

February 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--The 2012 Republican presidential contest is one of the most intriguing events on the national political stage.  Many debates have allowed the nation to consider candidate positions on subjects as diverse as the Great Recession, the war in Afghanistan, a nuclear Iran, sustainability of Social Security and Medicare, tax fairness, contraception and abortion.

February 23, 2012 (La Mesa)--La Mesa Police warn that scam artists posing as an SDG&E utility worker and as city inspector have lured residents out of their homes while an accomplice burglarized at least two residences.

$3,000 reward offered for information leading to arrest of shooter

February 23, 2012 (Alpine) – A dog found shot and abandoned in Alpine is improving after surgery, ECM news partner 10 News reports. Named “Chance” by veterinary staff, the golden retriever mix is no longer on oxygen or an IV; Chance is eating and drinking on his own and may soon be available for adoption.