Update March 30, 2014:  All four of these individuals made Saturday's cut and are now in the top 30 finalists. 

By David Dickens

 March 29, 2014 (San Diego)--The San Diego Padres have been holding announcer try-outs for the last several weeks. Almost 800 candidates were given a shot.  It looked as if American Idol was in town. All contestants received a script as judges listened in an undisclosed location in Petco Park. Deamers, professional broadcasters, and writers were in the mix to try and become the new voice of the San Diego Padres.

The top 50 contestants have been notified and this will be cut down to 30 later today. The final announcement of the winner and new voice of the San Diego Padres will be announced on April 18, 2014 when the Friars take on the San Francisco Giants.

Many  success stories have come through  East County, including professional ball players, actors-- and now four lucky contestants who made the top 50 from our own East County: Allen Wilde, Doug Herman, and Patrick Connor. of El Cajon and Randy Mann of La Mesa.

I’ll Take Care of You, by Caitlin Rother

Book Review by Dennis Moore

March 29, 2014 (San Diego)--I always look forward to the next Caitlin Rother novel, as she seems to never disappoint. Rother’s I’ll Take Care of You may very well be her best and most incisive to date. This New York Times bestselling author has followed up on her riveting and controversial true crime novel, at least locally; Lost Girls, with another true crime novel that will not let you put the book down; I’ll Take Care of You. I found myself being more engrossed in being an avid reader, than actually a book reviewer.

March 28, 2014 (Santee)--Hundreds of students in the City of Santee will be lacing up their sneakers and securing their bicycle helmets on Tuesday, April 22^nd in celebration of the first ever citywide Walk to School Day.

March 28, 2014 (San Diego)--Attention, shutterbugs!

Mission Trails Regional Park invites you to enter its 22^nd annual Amateur Photo Contest.

March 28, 2014 (San Dieg) -- The Sheriff's Department, San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force (FTF) and Crime Stoppers advise the public to be on the lookout for Robert Ranqul Nowlin. He is wanted on child endangerment, domestic violence and burglary charges. He has a tattoo on his right wrist with the letters "GD."

Bringing Backup Well Online May Be First Step in Solving the Problem

By Sharon Penny

March 24, 2014 (Descanso)-- Like all backcountry communities, the town of Descanso depends on groundwater for its water needs. A high level of uranium in the town’s main well has become a concern for many residents.  

For the last three quarters of a year, the water district’s Well No. 5 has exceeded what is considered a safe level of uranium, which the California Code of Regulations lists as 20 pCi/L. Fourth quarter readings are planned for April.

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2014 (Crest) – From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m . Saturday, March 29 you can savor live music under the oaks at the Acoustic Crestridge concert.  The event is held at the Crestridge Ecological Reserve, 1171 Horsemill Road in the La Cresta area of Crest in unincorporated El Cajon.  The event benefits the Earth Discovery Institute, which supports youth science learning and environmental stewardship.

Enjoy music by San Diego’s Jeffrey Joe, Sierra West, Chris Avetta, Chad Taggart and the Harpers, as well a children’s drum circle, neighbors’ song circle and surprises.  Tickets cost $10 (kids under 12 are free) and can be purchased at http://www.earthdiscovery.org.

Photos above:   Sign amid charred terrain reads, "As these habitats recover from fire, a colorful variety of bird liife will return."

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – One month after a controlled burn at Cuyamaca sparked controversy, as ECM reported , the State Park Service has failed to answer any of our questions.  Two elected officials have issued statements supportive of burn policies despite mature pines and cedars being torched in a park  an estimated 99% of its mature pines to the 2003 Cedar Fire, which charred 95% of the entire park.

But new photos taken after the burn reveal that the fire also burned d15-foot-tall saplings planted after the Cedar Fire, foot bridges, and a “habitat restoration” area for wildlife replanted as part of reforestation efforts after the Cedar Fire.

Cal Fire has insisted that the burn did not jump out of control, though local cabin owner Craig Maxwell says a state park ranger told him it did.  But if firefighters did not lose control of the burn, this raises an even more troubling question:  Why would State Park officials charged with protecting our public parks order the destruction of some of the last remaining mature pines and cedars, as well as plantings established to replaced what burned in 2003?

Moreover, this region has also been decimated by oak-boring beetles that have killed thousands of trees locally, making protection of what remains even more critical.

Police release photos of items believed stolen from other homes including coins, shoes, phones, camera accessories,  and Nano copter

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2014 (Otay Mesa) –An Otay resident,  tired of having his delivered mail items stolen from his front yard, decided to take action and detained four juvenile males ages 15 and 16 as they attempted to steal a package from his front yard yesterday.  He armed himself with a baseball bat, a pet Rottweiler, and a cell phone.

A surge in solar growth is expected after today's announcement

March 27, 2014 (San Diego)-- The California Public Utilities Commission made a final decision today that has solar homeowners celebrating. The Commission unanimously voted to protect California’s solar customers’ net energy metering contracts for 20 years. Net energy metering allows the meter to spin backwards, giving customers full credit for electricity produced by solar panels that is not used in the building. The highly anticipated decision is a part of Assembly Bill 327 (AB327).

By Miriam Raftery

March 27, 2014 (Julian) – Last night shortly after 8 p.m., a lost hiker called the Sheriff’s communication center to report that he and a companion were lost in the rugged Three Sisters Falls area near Julian.  Their cell phone was dying and they could not find their way back to their vehicle, said Sergeant Carlos Medina at the Julian Sheriff’s Substation.

March 26, 2014 (El Cajon) – Back on the morning of September 1, 2007, Sheriff’s deputies responded to a  call at a home in the 1800 block of Hillsdale Drive in unincorporated El Cajon.  There they found Jerrad Fletcher lying face down in the living room with a gunshot wound in his back. He died at the scene.

March 26, 2014 (San Diego)--The Pacific Crest Trail is one of America’s greatest long-distance hiking routes. Stretching from Mexico to Canada, its 2,650 miles are traversed annually by several hundred thru-hikers as well as thousands of day hikers. They come to the PCT to experience something rugged and memorable, to challenge themselves, and sometimes to find themselves. Cheryl Strayed’s bestseller Wild introduced many readers to the PCT. Now Day Hikes & Overnights on the Pacific Crest Trail gives hikers the tools they need to get out and explore sections of this fabled route.

March 30, 2014 (Alpine) – On March 31, the Alpine Union School District will hold a special meeting.  A closed session at 5:15 to conference with labor negotiators will be followed by an open session at 5:30.

The open session ncludes discussion of changes to upcoming board meeting scheduling, as well as a board workshop at which lead petitioners of the unification process and high school committee members will present their understanding of the unification process. The board will also ask questions.

By Miriam Raftery

March 26, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) –Last week, we reported  on the latest in a string of fires at Iberdrola wind facilities, last time at a Pennsylvania site. Some involved turbines made by Gamesa, in which Iberdrola owns a controlling interest.  Fires have occurred with other Gamesa turbines at additional sites.

Meanwhile in  New Hampshire, ECM has learned that State Fire Marshal Rob Anstey has accused Iberdrola of violating fire safety codes and lying to an oversight committee about the Fire Marshal’s requirements at its Groton Wind facility. The Fire Marshall has announced that he may issue a stop work order to shut down the facility.

That should spark concern here in San Diego, where Supervisors and the federal government recently approved Tule Wind, an Iberdrola wind project slated to go into a region prone to cstastrophic wildfires including the 2007 Harris Fire, which was fueled by 100 mph hurricane-force winds. Campgrounds are located in McCain Valley, where Iberdrola aims to line the only road in and out with wind turbines, each filled with hundreds of gallons of flammable lubricating oil.  Former Cal Fire Batallion Chief Mark Ostrander has warned that firefighters can't fight fires under a flaming turbine whirling off debris, and aerial drops won't work at heights above 300 feet. The turbines are 500 feet, so firefighters would have to wait for the fire to burn outside of the wind facility, which could result in a firestorm that could burn into urban San Diego areas, he has warned.