August 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Local firefighters will be participating in the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual “Fill the Boot” campaign, raising money to help find a cure for the crippling disease. On September 2, watch for local firefighters stationed around the County to coincide with the annual Labor Day telethon hosted by actor Jerry Lewis for muscular dystrophy.

Mayor, Council candidates to participate on panel Thursday, September 16
 

August 25, 2010 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce has invited all candidates running for mayor and city council to share their views in a free public forum on Thursday, September 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa. Thus far, both of the  mayoral candidates and five of the six Council candidates have accepted the Chamber's invitation. They are:
 

By Senator Denise Ducheny
Chair, Senate Budget Committee

“Thoughtless slashing would eliminate a whole series of State investments that are necessary to our recovery and to providing a sound base for our future prosperity.”

August 24, 2010 (Sacramento) -- In the wake of the global economic turmoil of the past few years, there are signs California’s economy has hit bottom and is beginning to recover. While our recovery is fragile, and it will take time to make up ground lost to the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, California is still the 8th largest economy in the world. California’s future is still bright--if we can sustain ourselves in the short term.

County Officials Urge People to Follow Three Rules to Protect Themselves, Others

By Mitchell Dubick

August 24, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- There is suffering among the people in Gaza. How that suffering compares to the misery of other groups around the world, who is causing this suffering, and what should be done to alleviate it are all subjects of much debate. However, it is the duty of caring and responsible people on all sides to address these issues.

August 23, 2010 (El Cajon) – Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) has announced plans during the Congressional recess to tour over a dozen San Diego area businesses representing a wide variety of industries, in order to hear directly from local job creators about the challenges of today’s economy.
 

East County News Service

Update 7 p.m. - The fire is now fully contained.

August 23, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) –The Monte Fire, which started Saturday at 1 p.m. in the El Monte Park area of Lakeside, is now 75% contained. Full containment is expected by 6 p.m. today, according to the Southern California Interagency incident management team.
 

El Monte Road at Lake Jennings Road remains closed today, along with El Capitan Reservoir and El Monte Park. Cause remains under investigation.

August 23, 2010 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Better Business Bureau (BBB), San Diego’s largest county-wide business membership organization, will host a BBB business-to-business (B2B) networking mixer from 4 to 6 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 2, at Toyota of El Cajon, 965 Arnele Ave., in El Cajon. The public is invited to attend.  Admission cost is $25 per person.

East County News Service

August 23, 2010 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD, a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County, has selected nine recipients for its 2010 Health Tech Careers scholarships. The students, who are currently pursuing medical field jobs in positions often defined as technicians, applied for the scholarships by submitting an essay on “Where I will be in my career five years from now.”

Congresswoman Susan Davis offers support

By Ray M. Wong

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2010 (El Cajon ) – Two Congressmen and four local lawmakers fielded questions from the audience Friday night, trading quips and barbs on topics ranging from healthcare to gay marriage. The occasion was the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Politics in Paradise” event in the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, where the weather was sultry and the politics even hotter.

East County News Service

Update 6:05 p.m. This fire is now 50% contained at 30 acres; aerial support has been released, Cal-Fire reports.

August 22, 2010 (Santa Ysabel) – Cal-Fire is on the scene of a 25-acre brush fire off Highway 79 near the Santa Ysabel Casino, assisted by U.S. Forest Service, volunteer fire agencies, and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. One firefighter has suffered minor injury, Cal-Fire spokesperson Roxanne Provaznik reports.

By Brian Lafferty

August 22, 2010 (San Diego)--Cairo Time is a film best appreciated as art. Forget the simplistic, nearly nonexistent plot involving a budding affair between an American woman and her husband’s Egyptian friend. I admired this film for it’s cinematography and it’s visual style which included such lyrical imagery as the Pyramids, the mosques, the streets, the desert, and the Nile. The script, not unlike the characters, wanders almost aimlessly but I liked where it took the characters and I enjoyed where it took me.

By Miriam Raftery

August 21, 2010 (Lakeside) -- As East County Magazine reported earlier, a San Diego Sheriff's helicopter rescued two people trapped on the face of El Capitan (El Cajon Mountain) when the fast-moving Monte fire encroached below them.

Now the Sheriff and Cal-Fire have released details of the harrowing ordeal, revealing how two deputies risked their own lives to save others.  They narrowly escaped, as flames burned so close that one rescuer leaped onto a landing skid and hung on as the chopper descended 3,675 feet to the valley floor.