August 30, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's 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.

• State Department warns U.S. travelers about crime in Mexico (10 News)
• Blackwater founder Erik Prince implicated in murder (The Nation)
• Hurricane Harvey: 50 counties flooded, 30,000 people in shelters, 56,000 911 calls in just 15 hours (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Flood insurance premiums plunged before Harvey (AP)
• For Scott Pruitt’s EPA, climate science denial is mission critical: EPA chief is dead wrong about Hurricane Harvey (The Nation)
• Hurricane Harvey and the National Flood Insurance Fiasco (Reason)
• Donald Trump’s cybersecurity advisors resign, warning of ‘insufficient attention to growing threats’ (UK Independent)
• Trump impeachment most popular solution among Americans, poll  (Newsweek)
• Exxon accused by Harvard researchers of misleading the public on climate change (ABC News)
• At least 16 Americans affected by 'incidents' in Cuba: State Dept  (Reuters)
• Trump signs memo directing Pentagon to implement transgender ban (Reuters)

WORLD

• How Acapulco became Mexico’s murder capital (Washington Post)
• North Korea steps up work on parts for new reactor, IAEA says (Reuters)
• ‘A weapon against its neighbors’: former Al Jazeera bureau chief speaks out against network (JPost)
• Haitians Are Crossing from the U.S. to Canada (NPR)
• North Korea's 'reckless' missile launch over Japan sharply escalates tensions  (Reuters)
• Man with knife assaults two police officers outside Buckingham Palace (Reuters)
• 71 die in militant attacks on police, border posts in Myanmar (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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

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Story by Liz Alper

Photo:  donors who support Feeding San Diego.  @Padres on Twitter

August 30, 2017 (San Diego) - We probably won’t see a night like last night again, for it’s rarer than the solar eclipse. The Padres were spectacular both offensively and defensively in their series-evening win against the Giants.  Tonight they could take the series with Ty Blach on the mound for the Giants against Travis Wood.

Source:  Ramona Valley Vineyard Association

August 30, 2017 (Ramona) - The 5th annual Ramona Art and Wine Festival will be held at Begent Ranch, 18528 Highland Valley Road, Ramona, Calif., on Saturday, November 4, 2017, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Early-bird discounted tickets are available now at http://ramonaartandwinefest.net.

Documentary on education apartheid in Iran against Baha’I minority to premiere at Harlem International Film Festival

East County News Service

August 30, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Changing the World, One Wall at a Time, is a documentary feature film on Education Is Not a Crime – the world’s largest street art and human rights campaign, which raises awareness about education apartheid by Iran’s government against tens of thousands of Baha’is in the country. 

By Paul Kruze

August 29, 2017 (El Cajon) -- The El Cajon police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last year will still have to face a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Richard Olango Abuka, the father of the shooting victim, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune article published on August 25. At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Bashant dismissed the City of El Cajon from the case, saying that there was not enough evidence to argue that the department’s policies or decisions may have in some way contributed to Alfred Olango’s death.

WESTliving, a bronze sponsor at this year’s walk, partners with La Mesa community to help the fight against the disease

East County News Service

September 1, 2017 (La Mesa) - WESTliving, a senior living provider dedicated to inspired aging, is partnering up with their La Mesa community, The Montera to raise awareness and help in the fight against Alzheimer’s at the Alzheimer’s Association’s, Walk to End Alzheimer’s San Diego 5K on Saturday, Sept. 9.

By Miriam Raftery

August 29, 2017 (San Diego) –Citizens Oversight announced today that it has reached a deal with Southern California Edison that aims to ultimately relocate 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste away from the San Onofre beach. The spent fuel is from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations shuttered in 2013 following a radioactive leak and various safety concerns.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

August 29, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Sheriff’s department has released the identity of a 19-year-old shot dead in Lemon Grove on August 24^th by law enforcement officers after a pursuit that began in La Mesa and ended on Rebecca Lane in Lemon Grove.

By Miriam Raftery

August 29, 2017 (La Mesa) – Facing a threat of legal action, on September 12^th, La Mesa’s City Council will reconsider its vote on a proposed apartment complex at the former Little Flower Haven convent site on University Avenue.

August 29, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Thyroid cancer rates triple, and scientists look for cause (Live Science)
• Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (Atlantic)
• FDA Seizes Risky Smallpox Vaccine from San Diego Stem Cell Co. (KPBS)
• Health officials advise older people to walk faster (BBC)
• The Battle Over Oil and Gas Development in Colorado (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Crowdfunding disaster: Silicon Valley start-up takes customers’ money, shuts down (San Jose Mercury News)
• AI threatens humanity (Washington Times)
• Unlikely Allies Join Fight to Protect Free Speech on the Internet (NPR)
• Los Angeles Tests Whether Lighter Color Streets Will Lower Temperature (NPR)
• Cars with advanced safety systems yielding lower crash rates (CS Monitor)

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

Like our sports coverage?  Donate to help support ECM’s sports section!

Follow @ECMagSports on Twitter for live sports coverage and stories!

For video of men's soccer portion of press conference, click Read More and scroll to the bottom.

By Liz Alper

Quotes and video courtesy goaztecs.com

August 29, 2017 (San Diego) - There's just four more days left until the San Diego State Aztecs football team takes the field again and men's soccer is back in town for their home opener.  Men's soccer head coach Lev Kirshner and two seniors, forward Jeroen Meefout and midfielder Thom Van Den Berg, football head coach Rocky Long, senior safety Trey Lomax and junior quarterback Christian Chapman discussed all that and more at this week's press conference.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Texas National Guard,  U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Zachary West

August 29, 2017 (San Diego) – Rescue personnel from the San Diego region including East County are heading to Texas, where  Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 hurricane since reclassified as a tropical storm,  has dumped the heaviest rainfall ever recorded on the U.S. mainland—50 inches or more in places.

Much of Houston, Texas is submerged beneath a swath of floodwaters 50 miles wide.  so much rain fell that the National Weather Service had to add new color coding to its maps.

At least eight people have died.  An estimated 1.7 million  have evacuated  in Texas and Louisana as the storm continues its destructive path, according to the White House website, with many people still awaiting rescue, trapped amid rising waters. Now, a levee south of Houston in Brazoria County has broken and residents in its path are ordered to get out immediately. 

By Valerie Watts

August 28, 2017 (Julian) - As the days start to shorten and the mountain air (finally) starts to get a little nippy, our thoughts drift to warm drinks and apples and then to Julian.  What better way to indulge during the season than with an apple-themed tea at the lovely Julian Tea & Cottage Arts?  From September 21 through Monday, September 25, they are offering an apple-themed menu highlighting that Julian specialty.  Tucked away a block from the busy Main Street in a historical home at 2124 Third Street, their "special-tea" features Hungarian apple soup, apple themed finger sandwiches, scones with apple butter and an apple dessert, and, of course, fine teas.  Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available with advance notice. 

By Miriam Raftery

Sources: National Weather Service and San Diego County News Center

August 28, 2017 (San Diego) -- A dangerous heat wave will continue the rest of this week across all of San Diego County, with isolated thunderstorms through Labor Day weekend also forecast, the National Weather Service advised today.  The County of San Diego also issued an alert urging residents to take precautions during the extreme heat.

By Jonathan Goetz

August 28, 2017 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Lions Club is hosting a Salsa y Salsa Fiesta to raise money to buy new bleachers for Lemon Grove Little League.

Lemon Grove Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer Mendoza cited safety concerns with the current bleachers . “Lemon Grove is one of the poorest communities in San Diego,” she said. “Our Little League has been here for some fifty years and is showing its age, so our Lions Club adopted it as our project.”