By Miriam Raftery and Richard Darvas

June 9, 2010 (San Diego's East County) - Col. Rick Powell, a retired military officer and Green Beret with an extensive career in law enforcement as well as military service, has defeated Emma Turner, president of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School Board, to win the Republican primary in the 78th Assembly District.

Powell will face off in November against Assemblyman Marty Block, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Whitman, Fiorina win by large margins in Gubernatorial and Senate primaries

June 8, 2010 (San Diego) -- Former E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman trounced Steve Steve Poizner by a 64.4%-26.5% margin with 47% of precincts reporting as of midnight. Whitman,who spent more than $71 million on her campaign, will square off in November against former Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown.

June 8, 2010 (Poway) – The “Geezer Bandit” has struck for the tenth time, robbing the U.S. Bank at 14837 Pomerado Road in Poway (inside Albertsons grocery store) yesterday at 2:54 p.m.

The FBI, San Diego Police Department and San Diego Sheriff’s Department are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the unknown male bank robber believed responsible for holding up 10 banks in San Diego County since August 2009.

Author Steve Tarde, who has taught sports visualization to top sports stars, will read from his book, Gift to My Dad, and sign copies of his book at a special Father’s Day event at Cali Comfort Restaurant, 8910 Troy Street, Spring Valley on July 20th at 3 p.m.  Note: savor a free entree (with purchase of another) at Cali Comfort with coupon at bottom of the article.  



Review by: Dennis Moore

"This is a beautifully written story about fathers and sons." - Dennis Moore

June 8, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- Steve Tarde, a legendary teacher of visualization, has written a homage for all fathers: Gift to My Dad. Although this 84 page book is written in regard to his dad, it could just as well apply to my dad, and every other dad out there. It comes at a very poignant time, just before Father’s Day. Tarde’s book certainly resonates with me as it has a baseball theme, our national pastime that I played as a little boy. To many young boys, it was their fathers who gave them their first glove, and played catch with them. This is a beautifully written story about fathers and sons.

June 7, 2010 (El Cajon)--At 39 weeks along in her pregnancy, Nicole waited in line to walk at Grossmont College’s 49th annual commencement on June 3, when her water broke signaling the delivery of her fourth child. The 28-year-old didn’t want to leave the college and go to the hospital, while 4,000 people waited to celebrate the 1,398 students in the Class of 2010 receiving an associate degree or a certificate of achievement.

By Richard Darvas

Nothing but the Truth!

By Will Power

June 7, 2010 (San Diego’s East County)--If California were a woman, she'd be arrested for illicit propositions. But the propositions are of the political not romantic kind. Ever since the Initiative, Referendum and Recall were put into the California Constitution to counter the power of the railroads, the Initiative has been abused.

Now corporations are using the Initiative process to bypass the legislature, Two of the Propositions Proposition 16 and 17, are wholly financed by Corporate Power. These are written in doublespeak legalese and purport to be pro-consumer, but are really pro-monopoly gifts to corporate wealth.

Update:  Watch full video of the debate now posted here in 8 parts: http://www.youtube.com/user/EastCountyMagazine (on right, or click direct link to this debate:  

http://www.youtube.com/user/EastCountyMagazine#p/c/982657ADB2A569C8  ; also see:

By Miriam Raftery

June 5, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – After 43 years in public service, Grossmont Union High School Superintendent Robert “Bob” Collins is leaving the public sector to accept a position with a private company. Yesterday, community leaders in business, education and government held a surprise send-off event at Monte Vista Village in Lemon Grove to honor Collins.
 

The City and County both declared Friday, June 4th as “Robert Collins Day.” Charlene Zettel presented a proclamation from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Supervisor Dianne Jacob praised Collins as “best in class” and joked, “Our strategy is to weight you down with so many awards and proclamations that you will decide not to leave.”

HUNDREDS OF JOBS FOR LOCAL WORKERS: 

LMI teams up with Urban League, Heartland Coalition,  Progressive Environmental Services and Job Corps to address nation's worst environmental disaster

Update June 14:  LMI's team of 50 trained local workers have been delayed departing for the Gulf because BP has failed to provide payment for their transportation.  Hanson has called for President Obama to set up an escrow fund with BP money to be used to expedite cleanup of the spill. 

By Miriam Raftery
 

June 5, 2010 (San Diego) – “This is an unprecedented oil    spill,” Lakeside resident Mark Hanson, chief executive officer of Leadership Management International in San Diego, told a crowd of eager job applicants assembled at Urban League in San Diego yesterday. “Oil is now landing on one of the most pristine coasts in Florida and satellite images show a reddish glob of goop in the ocean that’s the size of several states.” 

Hanson, who also heads up Heartland Coalition, publisher of East County Magazine, led the successful effort for LMI to obtain a contract from Progressive Environmental Services (PES) of Virginia to provide hazardous materials training locally and ultimately send hundred of San Diego-area workers to Gulf coast states to assist in cleaning up oil from beaches, coastal wetlands, waterways and wildlife.

“Do what’s in your heart, and you will succeed.” – Valedictorian Bushra Rezoqi, an Iraqi immigrant and mother of three young children

June 4, 2010 (El Cajon) – Under a bright summer evening sky, students looking forward to a bright future were urged to have hope and to persevere no matter the odds at the 32nd annual Cuyamaca College commencement ceremony on Wednesday, June 2nd.

Class of 2010 Valedictorian Bushra Rezoqi shared her own story of hope, optimism and persistence in her address. A Chaldean immigrant who fled her native Iraq in 2001, Rezoqi first lived in Colombia and Ecuador, learning Spanish as her third language before she came to San Diego.  At the podium, Rezoqi said, “How is it possible I stand here today, speaking to you in my fourth language?”

June 3, 2010 (Sacramento) By a unanimous 65-0 vote, the state Assembly today passed Chelsea’s Law, AB 1844.  Named for murdered Poway High School student Chelsea King, the measure toughens penalties on child predators and creates a one-strike law for the most serious offenders.