March 11, 2014 (Lakeside)—A Lakeside man who scaled a security gate and prompted a SWAT team standoff for several hours on Sunday at the FBI headquarters in San Diego has been charged with destruction property, said San Diego Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn.

By Miriam Raftery

March 10, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--The U.S. Justice Department has created a national task force to study impacts of violence on Native American children.  Task force members have said they are shocked to find epidemic rates of suicide among young people on reservations.

By Miriam Raftery

March 9, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s proposal to bring veterans’ services to several County libraries in rural areas. Will be on the agenda for San Diego Supervisors on Tuesday. Jacob introduced the measure following an East County Magazine investigation which found there are no County veterans services in rural areas of East County, or anywhere east of La Mesa.

File photo: SWAT team

March 9, 2014 (San Diego) – FBI hostage negotiators are accustomed to tense situations –but normally not at their own home base.  But after a man climbed a steel corrugated security gate and made his way onto the top of a building in the FBI headquarters at 10385 Vista Sorrento Parkway in San Diego, a stand-off ensued that ended this evening with the arrest of Lakeside resident William Durant, 36.

By Miriam Raftery

March 10, 2014 (Santee)—“The musicianship is top notch and the music is infectious. I’m loving every minute of it!” says bass player Danny Perez of Santee, the newest member of the popular Bayou Brothers band.  The Bayou Brothers will bring their rollicking, foot-stomping, musical gumbo style to Santee’s Pinnacle Peak restaurant on Wednesday, March 12 for East County Magazine’s own Mardi Gars party from 6-10 p.m. 

It’s a sound straight out of New Orleans’ dance clubs, Louisiana blues festivals and backyard crawfish boils complete with drums, accordion, keyboard, guitar, rub-board and three-part harmony.  The styles range from blues to R&B to zydeco.

 Rick Lee, a drummer who founded the Bayou Brothers back in 1996 with friends who had toured through the South and picked up the flavor of zyedco music, calls it “Louisiana party music.”

By Nadin Abbott

Photo, left taken March 8, 2014 by Greg Bowerman, creekcrossingphotography.com

Additional photos by Tom and Nadin Abbott

Update March 10: This fire is now contained.

Update March 9, 2014 -- The fire has burned 125 acres and is 30% contained according to the Incident page set up for the Gun Fire: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3783/  .  The wind advisory has been upgraded to a wind warning with gusts up to 70 mph on ridges possible.

March 8, 2014 (Mt Laguna) A fire that started around 1 p.m. in the afternoon in the Kitchen Creek area in Cleveland National Forest spread to 75-100 acres. The blaze was 5 percent containment by 4:40 p.m. with no estimate yet for full containment. 

A wind advisory has been issued for tomorrow and ECM news partner 10 News reports that crews could be battling this fire for days. Sustained winds of 15-30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph are forecast.

Power is out to more than 500 residences in Japatul Valley, Buckman Springs, Morena Village, Guatay, Pine Valley and Mount Laguna due to a power shut off to protect firefightings working closer to powerlines. SDG&E estimates power will be restored at 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Photo: View from Lyons Peak, looking east; WREN camera courtesy USCD

Update 3:35 p.m.:  The fire is north of 8 and is now estimated between 75-100 acres and is 5% containued; evacuations have been lifted.  The  I-8 freeway is open; a hard closure is still in effect on Sunrise and Old 80 and Kitchen Creek area. SDG&E has shut  power lines down due to fire burning close to the lines, so Mt. Laguna has no power right now. Powerlink is no longer considered threatened, per Wende Cornelius, USFS.

Update 2:55 p.m.:  "We are evacuating Kitchen Creek and Cibbetts Flat in Cleveland National Forest," Wende Cornelius with CNF has informed ECM. Hikers and campers in the area are urged to leave. The fire is now 100 acres and due to high winds, some fixed wing aircraft have been temporarily grounded though helicopters continue doing water drops.

Sunrise Powerlink could be threatened, Cornelius stated, so be prepaerd for possible power outages.  SDG&E is en route. 

March 8,2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A brush fire on Sunrise Highway and Old Highway 80 has charred over 75 acres, IPN reports and aerial resources are on the scene, with a strike team positioningi in Pine Valley. Interstate is shut down from the Sunrise Highway exit to Buckman Springs, CHP reports. There is also a closure at Highway 79 just south of Lodge.

The fire is in the Cleveland National Forest and has been named the Gun Fire, due to its proximity to a shooting range.  As of 2 p.m. there is a large header of smoke visible across East County.

IPN reported an earlier fire at State Routes 944 and 188 (Tecate Road). Multiple resources were dispatched to the fire which was estimated to have a potential of ten acres per the incident commander.

March 8, 2014 (Santee) – Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board Member Doug Wilson has been appointed by the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors to serve on the Colorado River Board.

March 7, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's help in finding 14-year-old Venicia Ortiz from Alpine.  Venicia was last seen on Wed. February 26. She is known to hang out along Imperial Avenue and 24th Street in the Grant Hill area of San Diego as well as National City and Chula Vista. She may be in the company of 28-year-old Edgar Morales.

By Miriam Raftery

March 6, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Are wind turbines safe for wildlife, livestock and humans living nearby?  A new study published in the Journal of Veterinary Sciences has found that geese living near wind turbines suffered loss of appetite, weight loss, and measurable physical changes.

Judge announces tentative ruling – before hearing arguments

By Sharon Penny

March 6, 2014 (San Diego)--On March 3, U.S. District Court Judge Janis L. Sammartino heard testimony from legal representatives for both sides in a lawsuit brought by the Protect Our Communities Foundation (POC – www.protectourcommunities.org) against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over controversial approvals for Iberdrola's controversial Tule Wind project planned in Boulevard’s McCain Valley Recreation and Conservation Area in East County.

The POC originally filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in August 2013. This week marked the first hearing under the U.S. District Court. According to Plaintiff Donna Tisdale, POC’s attorney Stephan C. Volker had prepared for a one hour argument and was surprised by the Judge’s announcement that she had a tentative ruling in hand. The judge read that ruling aloud, took a 15 minute break for attorneys to prepare a response.  Each side was then allowed a half hour to argue their points and one minute for rebuttal.

March 6, 2014 (Crest)-- Kurt Koontz, author of A Million Steps, will be speaking and signing books at the Crest Library on Tuesday March 11^th at 6pm.

A Million Steps recounts Koontz's journey across the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago, a Spanish pilgrimage route dating to medieval times. Those million steps inspired Koontz to write about his life-changing adventure when he arrived home.

After his remarks, Koontz will answer questions from the audience. Books will be available for purchase.

By Ariele Johannson

March 6, 2014 (Crest)--Mimi Kirk has written her second book on raw food cuisine entitled Live Raw Around the World, and it abounds with multicultural recipes from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, India and Thailand. Mimi Kirk, a local author from Ramona, presents techniques and information on how to create surprisingly delicious raw food recipes at home. Her presentation included a live demonstration, creating almond milk in her food processor and using a spiral slicer to make “pasta” out of vegetables. After her demonstration, Mimi served the small gathering a sampling of stuffed mushrooms; vegetable pasta with tomatoes, olives, and cashews that resemble parmesan cheese for the topping; and small delectable cookies adorned with small carob chocolate chips.

Urgent Call—Get the Call When it Counts

March 4, 2014 (LOS ANGELES) - The founder and creator of Urgent Call™ missed the most important call of his life when his father had a heart attack. He was sleeping and his phone was on silent. This crisis inspired the creation of Urgent Call™, a service created to make sure you are available to your loved ones when they need you most. UrgentCall™ is a mobile app and service designed to notify call recipients of an emergency situation, regardless of their phone’s setting. The easy-to-use mobile app allows users to receive emergency calls from anywhere in the world, regardless of a “do not disturb” or “silent” setting, from any type of phone: mobile, landline, and VOIP telephones.