April 14, 2012 (San Diego) – The College Area Business District is holding its 2nd Annual College Area Taste on April 15 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The Old Town Trolley will be available to drop patrons off in front of every participating restaurant’s door.  The tour starts at the BID Office at 4704 College Ave., San Diego.

By Kate Yapjoco

April 14, 2012 (Spring Valley) -- The annual free Spring Valley Community Health and Wellness Festival is being held April 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at Spring Valley County Park, 8735 Jamacha Blvd., Spring Valley.

April 14, 2012 (Julian) -- Join the park staff at William Heise County Park, 4945 Heise Park Rd. Julian, each Sunday in April and May at 10:30 a.m. for an easy to moderate hike through the trails of the park. The hikes will take place weather permitting. These hikes may be cold, so bring a sweater, jacket, gloves, water, and snacks.

April 13, 2012 (Lakeside) -- Join the Ranger April 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., for a moderate hike to explore the world’s second most endangered habitat, the Coastal Sage Scrub at the Lakeside Linkage Preserve, NE corner of Los Coches Rd. and Ha-Hana Rd. You will learn how the Native Americans used the plants, and will be looking for wildlife that calls this habitat home.

By Brian Lafferty

April 13, 2012 (San Diego) – The plot synopsis is the easiest part of writing film criticism. It’s also my least favorite. It puts a crimp on word counts; far too often I’ve had to jettison entire paragraphs of criticism to begrudgingly accommodate it.

April 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Forget April showers.  An April snowstorm bearing heavy snows and wind gusts up to 70 mph will be blustering across our region Friday and Saturday, the National Weather Service forecasts.

“We are requesting a moratorium on industrial wind turbine projects and initiation of unbiased, science-based peer-reviewed studies on health…They are subjecting rural residents to be guinea pigs or lab rats on a mass scale that has never been seen anywhere.” –Donna Tisdale, Boulevard Planning Group Chair

“Tapping into sources of renewable energy is critical for a number of reasons…We applaud the County’s commitment to achieving these goals by updating and streamling requirements for small and large wind energy systems.” – Jennifer Purczynski Enel Green Power/Padoma Wind Power LLC

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Tomorrow (Friday) morning at 9 a.m., the San Diego County Planning Commission will consider a proposed wind ordinance that would make it easier for industrial-scale wind facilities as well as smaller turbines to be built in unincorporated areas—primarily in East County communities. 

• Perfect recipe for wildfires as season starts early (NBC)
• With Santorum’s exit, Romney shifts focus (Washington Post)
• FDA details clot risk on birth control pills (USA Today)
• Romney blames Obama for women job losses actually caused by GOP (Rawstory)
• Obama: We could call the Buffet rule the Reagan rule (CBS news)
• Hill insider trading bill signed
• Where is George Zimmerman? Treyvon Martin shooting (CBS News)
• Apple, publishers accused of fixing e-book prices (Reuters)

• Defiant North Korea begins injecting fuel into rocket (Reuters)
• Syria pledges truce, if rebels hold fire (Reuters)
• Warnings over medical implant hacks (BBC)
• No sign of tsunami after powerful Indonesia quake (KPBS)
• Haitian orphans long wait is over (Fox)
• China braces for next act in leadership drama (Reuters)
• Norway’s mass killer Breivik found sane (BBC)