State orders habitat restoration; college urges bikers to organize and seek new site

November 18, 2013 (Rancho San Diego) -- Cuyamaca College has begun to enforce restrictions on use of a nature preserve at the Rancho San Diego campus that has been a popular – but illegal – spot for young bike riders.

The area off Fury Road in Rancho San Diego has long been used by bikers who created dirt mounds that enabled them to perform their daredevil tricks. The college is closing the area, part of a sensitive wildlife habitat, while it removes the bumps and replants vegetation to restore the area to its natural state.

November 20, 2013 (San Diego) – For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

FOR ALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIBRARY EVENTS, Go to: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/index.shtml

Update November 20, 2013:  With 100% of precincts counted but over 34,000 mail-in ballots remaining to be counted, the tally stands at Faulconer 43.58%, Alvarez 25.59%, Fletcher 24.3%, Aguirre 4.44%. Of seven lesser known candidates in the race, none attained more than a half percent. A run-off election will be held early next year between the top two.

By Miriam Raftery

November 19, 2013 (San Diego) – The San Diego Mayoral race appears destined for a run-off election, since no candidate has captured more than 50% of the votes needed to win outright. 

With 86.9% of precincts counted, Kevin Faulconer, the only Republican in the race, leads with 43.84%. 

Of three prominent Democrats in the race, former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher had the early lead, up by 2% for most of the evening thanks to absentee ballots. But late tonight, as working class districts polling results came in, Councilman David Alvarez, the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate, has movedahead slightly of Fletcher slightly with 25.19% of the vote to Fletcher's 24.39%.

By Claudia Millerbragg

I am asking you to put human life before money. If you continue with your plans to drain Lake Morena it puts the residents of rural East County at a higher fire risk.

If a fire sweeps through here and property and lives are lost because of the low water levels at Lake Morena are you prepared to live with the fact that your decision to drain the lake contributed towards the destruction?

By Miriam Raftery

November 19, 2013 (San Diego) – As San Diegans head to the polls today to vote in a special election to fill the mayoral vacancy, Registrar of Voters Michael Vu says an expected turnout of 40 to 45 percent is anticipated, or roughly equivalent to the last citywide mayoral election in July 2005, which had a 44.33% turnout rate.

If one candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote today, that candidate will be the new mayor.  If no candidate achieves a majority, then there will be a run-off election among the top two vote-getters.  To view our nonpartisan guide for voters in the San Diego mayoral election, click here. For more interesting facts about today's election, click "read more" and scroll down.

November 18, 2013 (San Diego) -- For approximately four nights, beginning Nov. 18, construction activity in southbound main lanes of Interstate 15 (I-15) between Mira Mesa Boulevard and Carroll Canyon Road will require nighttime closures of the southbound I-15 main lanes from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. These closures will allow crews to continue construction of the Mira Mesa direct access ramp for mass transit.

During the closures, the southbound Express Lanes will be open and free of charge to all motorists. Signs will be posted on the freeway in advance of the closures to direct drivers to the Express Lanes and to other detours (see map below).

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2013 (San Diego ) – East County Magazine photographer Tom Abbott has informed ECM that he received an automated phone call this morning urging him to exercise his right to vote – on November 20, one day AFTER the San Diego mayoral election.

Abbott said he tried to dial *69 to redial the number and learn where it came from, but before he could do so, another call came in. 

There is no evidence--yet--to reveal which candidate or independent expenditure group is behind the deceptive (and illegal) call.  Both Abbott and his wife are registered independents, so the motive apparently isn't partisan. But one is a union member and other is a naturalized citizen of Latino descent, raising the possibility that union members or minorities could be targets of an organized effort to suppress the vote.

Public Interest News Service

November 18, 2013 (Los Angeles) – Country-of-Origin-Labeling, or COOL, requires labels on meat sold in the U.S. to clearly state where that meat comes from.

And it isn’t sitting well with some foreign countries, along with groups in the U.S. that are working to get the rule quashed.

Joe Maxwell is a livestock farmer and the vice president of outreach and engagement for the Humane Society of the United States. His organization has helped form a coalition to try to keep the law in place.

As a livestock farmer, Maxwell says this should be a major concern for consumers and farmers alike, as some countries do not have health and safety rules for raising animals, and meat processing standards are lower.

November 18, 2013 (El Cajon) – Senator Joel Anderson cordially invites the public to a “Holiday Open House” at Toyota of El Cajon, 965 Arnele Avenue, on Thursday, November 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  The holiday season is a time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year. This open house will provide you with the opportunity to receive a 2013 legislative update and to submit your ideas to improve the state government.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.senate.ca.gov/anderson or email senator.anderson@senate.ca.gov. You may also call the El Cajon District Office at (619) 596-3136.

By Dave Patterson

November 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – On September 24, the County Board of Supervisors threw their support behind a Southern California drone testing zone.  This rash decision puts San Diego County at risk for $2.7 billion in liability for the property alone if a Drone goes down and starts a fire in the back country.  The County Board of Supervisors need to rethink this position quickly, before the FAA opens our skies to drones for testing purposes, and put us all at risk.

Originally posted on San Diego Loves Green

By Roy L. Hales

November 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The #1 source of Greenhouse Gases is not buildings or transportation, but electricity. That’s because 42% of it is still generated from coal. There are other questions regarding natural gas, which now supplies a quarter of the nation’s power, and aging nuclear plants. Renewable energy sources – hydroelectricity, biomass, wind, and solar – supply 13%. These are supposedly all “clean,” but some have actually caused great damage to the environment.

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2013 (Washington D.C.) -- A battle is brewing in the U.S. Senate over a proposal aimed at protecting women in the military from sexual assault.

According to the Defense Department, REPORTS of sexual assaults shot up 46 percent in the last budget year, with 3,353 complaints filed from October through June.

But Senator Kirsten Gillebrand points out that an anonymous survey of military personnel conducted by the Pentagon found that the 26,000  said they were sexually assaulted last year. Senator Gillebrand says most sexual assaults were not reported because victims didn’t trust the chain of command or feared retaliation. So she is proposing to strip commanders of authority to prosecute cases of sexual assault, instead handing off these cases to experienced military lawyers outside the chain of command.

“Your source for Trusts, Wills, Probate, Family Law & more”

By Stephen C. Ross, Esq.

November 17, 2013 (San Diego County) – The California Probate Code provides three summary procedures that may be used to avoid formal probate when transferring property in small estates. Summary procedures are most beneficial when the estate value is small, the number of successors to decedent’s assets is minimal, there will not be any adverse tax consequences, the decedent had few or no debts or liabilities and entitlement to the property is not disputed. Compared to formal probate administration, summary administration usually reduces the time and expense required to transfer property to the persons entitled to it. However, certain requirements must be met in order to use the summary procedures.

November 17, 2013 (San Diego) -- Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D-San Diego) will convene the first hearing of the Assembly Select Committee on Higher Education in San Diego County on Thursday, November 21 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.  The hearing will be held at the State Building, 1350 Front Street, Room B-109 in San Diego.

This informational hearing will examine the state of education within the San Diego region. Specifically, the hearing will focus on assessing student access, and exploring what educational opportunities exist within the region. One issue the Committee will explore is why residents have so few public higher education options although the County is the third most populated in the state.

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2013 (San Diego) – A malfunctioning drone has struck the U.S.S. Chancellorsville on Saturday night off the Southern California coast near Point Magu, the Navy announced.

Two sailors sustained minor burns. The guided missile cruiser ship will return to San Diego for an assessment of damages. The Navy did not reveal what type of drone went awry. However the Los Angeles Times reports it was a 13-foot-long drone with a six foot wingspan that slammed into the port side of the ship.

The accident heightens concerns among East County residents who have voiced alarm over a proposal to test drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over San Diego’s backcountry.