Celebrating our cultural & agricultural roots

JUNE 19 4:30-7:30 PM AT HERITAGE OF THE AMERICAS MUSEUM, EL CAJON

    Enjoy:

• International foods from Dolci Cafe Italiano, J's Greek Cuisine, Tiramisu Trattoria, Rubio's  & more
• Wine tasting with Campo Creek Vineyards, Maness Vineyards, and other wineries
• Meet authors of books on local history and culture from Sunbelt Publications
• Native American dancing with Eric RunningPath; Native American flute music by Jim Hannibal
• Live music by Krista Timm and Vicky Archibold from San Diego Performance Academy
• Learn from farmers, wine makers, a beekeeper, a chicken expert, A.R.C.H.E.S. and  San Diego Farm Bureau
• Get tips on solar power from Sullivan Solar
• Take a free museum tour
• Play the East County Trivia Quiz game and be on the radio!
• Win great prizes including  a resort vacation getaway, golf, restaurant gift certificates, garden basket, hand-made soaps, martial arts lessons, music lessons, pet owners' basket, Wild West Fest tickets, wine lovers' gifts, and more.

Don't miss this fun and festive event! Click "read more" and scroll down for details.

June 10, 2013 (La Mesa) – Crime didn’t pay for a pair of burglars caught fleeing the scene of a break-in at Vista La Mesa Academy.  On June 6 at 2:28 a.m., La Mesa Police responded to an alarm activation at the elementary school, located at 3900 Violet Street.  As officers arrived, they heard glass breaking inside.  More officers, including a canine team, responded.

Two suspects were seen carrying computer equipment out of the school and fleeing south through the playground area. Both were taken into custody as they jumped a fence at the south end of the school grounds. The property taken was recovered.

June 10, 2013 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant in the 12000 block of Old Barona Road in Lakeside on June 5 and found a large marijuana cultivation, Sgt. Craig Johnson reports.

During the search, two women, ages 83 and 61, were detained but not arrested. The house on the property had been burned down during the Cedar fires and had not been rebuilt. The women were living in tents on the property.

By Lori Abbott, California News Service

June 10, 2013 (Sacramento)--A bill that aims to get the lead out of ammunition is being considered by lawmakers in Sacramento. AB711 would phase out the use of lead bullets and shot for all hunting in the Golden State.

 

June 8, 2013 (Julian) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its proposal this week to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across most of the country. Only the Mexican gray wolf, a subspecies of which only about 75 exist in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico, would retain federal protections. Without federal protections, states can decide whether to protect wolves or remove or reduce populations that begin to establish.

“This proposal is bad news for wolves still on the path to recovery, including in California,” says Patrick Valentino, director of California wolf recovery efforts for the California Wolf Center in Julian, a nonprofit wildlife conservation, education and research center that has been working to reestablish gray wolves to their native habitat. “Wolves have a long way to go before they are fully restored to their crucial role on the landscape.”

By Nadin Abbott

June 7, 2013 (San Onofre) – Southern California Edison (SCE) announced today that it will permanently decommission both reactors at its troubled Onofre nuclear generation plant.  (SCE has made this decision due to the uncertainty brought by the increased requirements for safety from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 

“Looking ahead,” said Ron Litzinger, SCE’s President, “we think that our decision to retire the units will eliminate uncertainty and facilitate orderly planning for California’s energy future.” 

The nuclear waste on-site will remain there in dry cask storage—encased in stainless steel and concrete—until national leaders come up with a permanent storage solution, Patch.com reported.

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2013 (Campo) – On Sunday,  June 9, the Campo Band of Mission Indians’ general council ( tribal members age 18 and over) will be asked to vote on whether to approve or reject  Invenergy’s Shu’luuk Wind Energy project proposed to be built on the reservation, according to a meeting notice and agenda obtained by ECM.   

ECM has also obtained a letter sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Robert Eben, Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Riverside. The EPA letter raises serious concerns over the project’s Draft Enviornmental Impact Statement (DEIR), concluding that there is “Insufficient information” on impacts of three project versions and that health impacts of noise and low-frequency sound on nearby residents have been ignored.

June 6, 2013 (Crest)--U.S. Retired Marine and author, Joe C Noriega will discuss his new book “The Arizona Rangers” and will be available for book signing at the Crest Library at 6 p.m. on June 11.

This is Joe Noriega’s second book. His first book is titled “03 Why Me?” He is a freelance writer who is currently residing in El Cajon where he is a sharecrop farmer who plants red grape vines and makes red wine.

June 6, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Report: Secret court order requires Verizon to turn over phone records of millions (CNN)
• A new civil rights movement frees communities from corporate control (Positive News)
• Chinese cyberattacks hit key US weapons systems. Are they still reliable? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Mothers are breadwinners in record 40% of U.S. households: Study (Marketplace.org)
• Bike-Sharing Programs Roll Into Cities Across The U.S. (NPR)

WORLD

• U.S. genetically modified wheat strain stokes fears, Japan cancels tender to purchase U.S. wheat (Reuters)
• Israel warns Russia it's prepared to strike weapon shipments to Syria (Christian Science Monitor)
• Russians proving that small-scale organic farming can feed the world (Reclaim, ,Grow, Sustain)
• Report: Iranian and Russian arms giving Assad edge in Syria (Jerusalem Post)
• Ethiopia diverts Blue Nile for dam (BBC)
• Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes Taiwan, some damage (Reuters)
• Court says Egypt legislature illegally elected (U-T San Diego)
• Thousands take to streets in Turkey, clash with police (Reuters)
• Thousands march for rights in rare Ethiopia protest (Reuters)  
• Czech PM declares emergency as floods threaten Prague (Reuters)  

UPBEAT STORY OF THE WEEK:

• A guerilla farmer in South Central Los Angeles (You Tube)

For excerpts and links to full stories, scroll down or click “read more.”

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2013 (San Diego)--In August 2012, as part of its Red Tape Reduction Task Force efforts,  San Diego’s Supervisors established a Land Development Performance Review Committee  to “improve the land-use processes for the County's unincorporated areas.”

On April 24 the Board unanimously appointed seven new members. They are to work with county staff on developing ways to measure land-use performance “to show that permitting-process improvements are occurring — making the system faster and less expensive without compromising quality,” according to a county newsletter.

The first meeting will be June 20 at 10 a.m.

June 1, 2013 (San Diego) –Access to information from truthful, unbiased media are cornerstones to democracy.  As KNSJ prepares to launch its public, nonprofit radio station transmitting from Descanso in East County, you’re invited to a forum on media justice hosted by Activist San Diego.

East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery will be among the panelists at the forum on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m.  at the Joyce Beers Community Center on Vermont Street (one block north of University Avenue across from Trader Joe's). 

Joseph Pulitzer  observed  back in 1883 that the media “should always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privilege classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”

But today, the major broadcast media and many print publications are owned by the very same corporations over which media should serve as watchdogs--and they have are far from impartial . Six corporations control the vast majority of our airways and more.  Consider this:

June 5, 2013 (Lemon Grove)--Two hundred goats are munching away in Lemon Grove, clearing about an acre of dry brush a day. 

The City of Lemon Grove, along with its fire department, Heartland Fire & Rescue, has brought in the four footed brush-clearing team to create defensible space that helps firefighters protect homes from wildfire.

The goats are at work near Central Ave and Liberty Charter High School, and may be visible to motorists along State Route 125.

By Sholeh Sisson

June 5, 2013 (Ocotillo Wells) -- Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Desert Protective Council (DPC) filed a legal action May 21, 2013 to stop open riding in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). If successful this action would end ORV "open riding" beyond designated trails and require the state park to implement strategies to protect the park's habitats and archaeological resources.

The park, located in east San Diego county, allows off-road driving on all 85,000 acres except for a few fenced and protected areas.

June 4, 2013 (Alpine) – Viejas Casino & Resort has been awarded the prestigious Four Diamond status from the American Automobile Association (AAA), officially designating the property as one of the nation’s premier resort destinations.

Fewer than 5% of the nearly 31,000 properties approved by AAA achieve the highly-coveted Four Diamond distinction.

“We are extremely proud to be acknowledged as one of the finest resort destinations in the country,” said Viejas Casino & Resort General Manager Chris Kelley. “This honor is a testament to the dedication, hard work and professionalism of our Team Members and reflects our absolute dedication to the highest standards of guest service, accommodations and amenities.”

“SB 33 is being used by wealthy absentee landowners, foreign corporations, and investor-owned San Diego Gas & Electric to industrialize over 10,000 acres of our predominantly low-income and highly fire-prone rural community of Boulevard.” -- Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – SB 33, a bill that could force voters to pay for big energy projects through bond measures even if the majority of voters don't approve such projects,  is moving forward in the state legislature. The bill has passed the State Senate and is set for hearing June 12 in the Assembly Local Government Committee. It could have a big impact in East County communities such as  Boulevard, where big energy companies have engaged in a stealth campaign to stick voters with the bill for projects they don't want.