April 19, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Romaine lettuce caused an ongoing e-coli outbreak, CDC says (Time Magazine)
• UC San Diego Bio-Engineers Develop Wearable Device To Monitor Stomach Activity (KPBS)
• Medicare Advisers Recommend Payment Cuts To Many Free-Standing ERs (NPR)

 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Officials warn Russian hackers targeting U.S. routers (CBS)
• Pentagon announces 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Friday (Axios)
• Those stickers warning that repairs will void your warranty are nonsense, FTC says (Washington Post)
• The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)
• Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children, study finds (Washington Post )
• More than 100 parts for NASA's Orion capsule to be 3D printed  (Reuters)

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

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2018 (San Diego) – San Diego County ranks an “F” on the American Lung Association’s Report Card on the state of the air you breathe.   Nationwide, the city of San Diego, along with Carlsbad, also ranked the 6^th worst cities in the nation for ozone pollution, out of 227 metropolitan areas studied.

Backcountry hidden pleasures:   Our guide to unique lodging adventures in San Diego’s beautiful backcountry

By Bobbi Zane

Photo, left, and interior photos courtesy Julian Gold Rush Hotel

April 17, 2018 (Julian) -- Julian Gold Rush Hotel is a lovely Victorian bed and breakfast that dates back to the 1890s. Known as the “Queen of the Back Country,” the hotel is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: ECM News partner 10 News

April 17, 2018 (San Diego) – A driver who exited his vehicle after striking and killing a deer on northbound State Route 125 south of State Route 54 before dawn died after falling off an overpass into a canyon.

California Highway Patrol’s dispatch was notified of the collision at 4:39 a.m.   Upon arrival, CHP units found a black 2007 Audi A3 that had crashed into the deer in the right-hand lane.

By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Standing room only crowd included dozens of gun control supporters as well as gun rights advocates

April 17, 2018 (El Cajon) – Actions of the Cajon Valley Union School District have become targets for both sides in the gun violence debate. At the April 10^th board meeting, members came under fire over:

• Hillsdale Middle School students put on lunch detention for participating in an on-campus walk out during the nationwide March for Our Lives, an event aiming to to prevent gun violence on campuses;
•  Termination of a contract for counseling intern Margaret Katchur Morghen, who sat with students during detention as a “learning exercise on the First Amendment” and also spoke with media about the walk-out;
• School board member Jim Miller firing off a derisive letter to a retired teacher who had written to the Superintendent asking for actions to reduce gun violence at schools. Miller responded on behalf of the San Diego Gun Owners Political Action Committee, and wore a National Rifle Association (NRA) hat during the school board’s April 10, 2018 public meeting.

Those actions got the public up in arms, figuratively speaking. Gun rights advocates and people concerned about gun violence packed the hearing room at the April 10^th school board meeting.  Eight people testified during public comments, split evenly with four rounds on each side.

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Story and photos by Liz Alper

Cover photo:  Valhalla junior Max Hageman drove in the game-winning walkoff single in the eighth inning.

April 17, 2018 (El Cajon) - Valhalla baseball, usually one of the best high school baseball teams in San Diego County, is off to a rare bad start to 2018.  The Norsemen were 6-11 overall coming into today’s game, but were so far, so good in league with a 2-1 record.  The Cougars of Steele Canyon are quite the opposite.  They’re undefeated in league (3-0) and a solid .500 (8-8) overall.  Both teams met on Norsemen turf today.  In football, this would be the battle for the Jamacha Trophy.  We’ll call it that in baseball too for fun.  Senior Trevor Back started for the Cougars against senior Tanner Smith for Valhalla.

By Jaxie Russell

April 16, 2018 (Eastlake) -- When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with Selective Mutism. It is an anxiety disorder that made me very shy, nervous and not want to speak in front of other people.  It prevented me from enjoying my life and one of the most important things to me; dance!

Updated April 17th with identiy of the victim.

By Miriam Raftery

April 16, 2018 (Ramona) – Sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call reporting gunshots and screams Sunday night shortly after 8:30 p.m. found a mortally wounded man on the ground in front of a home at 15921 Wood Rock Lane in Ramona, according to Lieutenant Michael Blevins. 

The victim has been identified as 21-year old Ivan Nivinskus.  The county Medical Examiner has ruled the death has been ruled a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Photo: Clouds layered “like pancakes” over East County’s mountains; National Weather Service San DIego

April 15, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a high wind advisory in effect starting at midnight tonight through 5 a.m. Tuesday in our mountains and deserts.

Gusts could reach 65 to 75 miles per hour, with sustained southwest to west winds of 35 to 45 mph. The strongest winds are forecast for Monday afternoon and evening.

By Mike Allen

 View full-size map B adopted by Council here.

 April 14, 2018 (Santee) -- Santee’s ongoing process of shifting from voting for their representatives by all city voters to a system of district elections took another step to reality last week when the council adopted a map made by Mayor John Minto and held the first reading instituting the change.

 Minto offered a map he drew that divides the city into four areas and with a close balance of some 13,000 people in each district. His motion also called for a change in the cycle of elections that results in two council seats being elected every four years starting in 2020. The mayor’s position will remain at large, or selected by all city voters.

 His motion, which was seconded by Councilman Ronn Hall, passed 3-2 with Council members Brian Jones and Rob McNelis opposed. The second reading and adoption of the law and the map is scheduled for April 25.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Navy photo: A Tomahawk cruise missile blasts off from a vertical launch tube on the USS

April 14, 2018 (San Diego) -- A San Diego-based destroyer was among four Navy vessels that fired dozens of cruise missiles early Saturday morning local time in the attack on Syrian chemical weapons sites.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, which departed San Diego in November, was joined in the action by the Norfolk-based cruiser USS Monterey, destroyer USS Laboon and submarine USS John Warner.

East County News Service

April 14, 2018 (Pala) - Leaders of Native American tribal governments convened at the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association last Friday at the Pala Casino, Spa and Resort, where they were joined by representatives from the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG.

Update April 20: The Design Review Committee hearing slated for April 23 has been postponed. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Jeff Phair, right, shares information with area resident Anthony McIvor, left, at site of planned La Mesa Summit Estates.

April 12, 2018 (La Mesa) – On a hilltop above the Serramar development in La Mesa’s Eastridge area, local builder Jeff Phair hopes to build La Mesa Summit Estates.  The proposal calls for 30 new homes—each with multi-generational suites complete with separate entrances, stacked washer/dryers, and media centers.  They’re designed for families that want space for parents, grandparents or grown children---and the concept came out of extensive meetings with neighbors.

 “All developers don’t wear black hats,” an article in The Phair Company’s newsletter is titled. The company has a policy of “cooperative community based planning” that calls for meeting with neighbors and incorporating their input into designs, where possible, before ever approaching city staff of elected officials.

By County News Center, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 12, 2018 (San Diego) - Don’t fall for it if someone claiming to work at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department calls you on the phone and tells you to pay up or you’ll go to jail.

The Sheriff’s Department advises you to hang up because it’s a scam. No Sheriff’s employee would ever contact a member of the public by phone to demand payment. The way the con works is criminals tell people they have an outstanding warrant for their arrest — or that they have a summons for them to appear in court for missing jury duty service. The criminal might even use the name of a real Sheriff’s deputy which they can easily find by doing an internet search. Another trick is they might use Caller ID spoofing, which makes it appear that the call is coming from a Sheriff’s facility. Don’t let those details convince you its real.