December 10, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego State University Police are investigating an incident that took place in a parking structure at 5:00 AM on December 5.  A man was parking his motorcycle when two male suspects allegedly ran toward him, one of them displaying a handgun. The victim saw the suspects coming toward him and drove away.  The victim was not injured.

The first suspect is described as an African American male, unknown age, about 6 feet tall, dark curly neck length hair, clean shaven, wearing a grey short sleeved shirt, shorts, and armed with a dark colored handgun. 

December 10, 2013 (Otay) – Elected officials and business leaders from the U.S. and Mexico will hold a groundbreaking ceremony today on a new state highway project aimed at reducing border wait times and improving cross-border commerce.  State Route 11  will be a four-lane highway connecting a planned port of entry, Otay Mesa East, to the state highway system.

The 2.5-mile project will be built in three segments. The $112 million Segment 1, starting construction now, will include connectors to SR 905, plus a stretch of new highway from SR 905 east to Enrico Fermi Drive. Segments planned for the future will extend the highway to the border and create a new border crossing.

By Ariele Johannson

December 9, 2013 (Crest) -- The hilltop town of Crest east of El Cajon was destroyed by the Laguna Fire in 1970, and again in the 2003 Cedar Fire, when over 300 homes were burned to the ground.  There are 2,593 souls living in Crest in 967 households.  Residents met in the Crest Community Center on November 20 to discuss fire prevention, evacuation concerns, and the state fire fee assessed again this year.

By Miriam Raftery

December 7, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- A winter storm sweeping across East County has brought snow down to 4700 feet as of Saturday afternoon, with forecasts for two inches of snow down to 3500 tonight and flurries at lower elevations.  Sunrise Highway at Old Highway 80 is currently blocked by boulders/large rocks and other crashes are reported on I-8 near Dunbar Lane in Alpine and on Highway 94 near Dulzura.

Icy rain is occurring as of 4:30 p.m. in Alpine and fog is reported from Alpine to Buckman Springs. High winds are also hitting East County, with gusts up to 72 mph reported at Julian's Volcan Mountain. If driving in the mountains, carry chains, extra clothing and food.  Icy roads are likely tonight in mountains and even on  Interstate 8, so motorists are advised to use caution.

By Nadin Abbott

December 5, 2013 (San Diego and Bonita)—Fast food workers in more than 100 cities went out on strike today, calling on employers to pay living wages. Locally, strikes were held in Bonita and in downtown San Diego.

Raquel Neri told ECM that she has been working for Wendy’s for 10 years. After a decade, she is paid $9.55 an hour. “I work 24 hours a week,” she said. She also has to pay all her costs, including rent, food and transportation costs--while she raises seven children.

December 6, 2013 (Alpine) – Viejas Outlets officially kicks off the holiday season this weekend with the lighting of one of Southern California’s largest trees and a free ice skating performance by regional, national and international ice skating competitors.

A massive 60-foot holiday tree will be illuminated at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 7 at the Viejas Outlets ice rink followed by free ice skating performances by some of the world’s best ice skaters. The ice rink will be open to the public immediately before and after the event, with special pricing for kids, seniors and military.

An Amber Alert has been activated statewide at the request of the Washington state police. On December 4, 2013, at 02:30 pm, Elizabeth Romero was abducted from Kennewick, Washington. She is a 14 year old Hispanic, female, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, brown hair, and brown eyes, last seen wearing a white tank top, dark pants, backpack, and a pink purse.



The suspect is Eduardo Flores-Rosalas, a 19 year old Hispanic, male, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, unknown clothing. The suspect was last seen driving a early 2000s green Ford Escape, with Washington temporary registration. The suspect may be en-route to Mexico.

Preview by David Dickens

December 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County teams will be vying in the San Diego California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) football championships this weekend.   Monte Vista Monarchs will take the field Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Sweetwater High’s Red Devils, followed by a 7 p.m. matchup between Christian High Patriots and the San Marcos Knights.  Below are previews of the games.

December 4, 2013 (San Diego) — By a 5-0 vote, San Diego Supervisors Tuesday approved efforts to add the PulsePoint smartphone app to regional 9-1-1 emergency systems. The system enables notification of trained citizen volunteers to respond quickly to cases of sudden cardiac arrest and initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while awaiting medical responders. The measure was introduced by Supervisors Ron Roberts and Bill Horn.

Nearly 1,000 lives are lost daily in the U.S. due to sudden cardiac arrest, which can occur even in active, seemingly healthy people with no history of heart disease. Cardiac arrest is among the leading causes of death among adults over age 40 in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, of 383,000 people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, 90% die.

December 4, 2013 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: Can you discuss pollutants in car interior materials, and also pollution inside cars originating from gasoline and diesel exhausts outside the car?

-- Mervyn Kline, Philadelphia, PA

Alpine celebrates the season with the 17th Annual Alpine Village Christmas Parade of Lights & Festival on December 6 at 6:30.

This family-friendly event, sponsored by the Alpine Chamber of Commerce, also features a visit from Santa and his helpers, Christmas caroling and a snow mountain for sledding at the Alpine Community Center on Alpine Boulevard.

By Miriam Raftery

December 4, 2013 (Campo) – Despite protests from Campo residents, the state has proposed a new location in this rural community to house a sexually violent predator, Douglas Badger, 70. The home is located at 1138 Custer Rd. It is about 200 yards from the nearest neighbor and 2.2 miles from the nearest elementary school.

Public comment regarding the proposed location can be submitted until Dec. 20. Email submissions should be sent to sdsafe@sdsheriff.org. Comments can be submitted by phone by calling (858) 495-3619. State officials have scheduled a Jan. 3 hearing on the matter.

December 4, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• License plate readers creating countywide database (CBS)
• Rural fire fee to increase  (UT San Diego)
• Mexican truck with radioactive load stolen (UT San Diego)
• A reader’s guide to San Diego hospital districts (Voice of San Diego)
• City helps sell sewer warranty without facts (UT San Diego)
• East African refguees find empathy, education in San Diego (Sacramento Bee)
• Arson under-reported in U.S. cities including San Diego (10 News)
• Borrego’s ‘dinosaur sculptor’ moving his base to Borrego (UT San Diego)
• Why the County Will Lose Half Its Health Funds (And Why It Might Not Matter) (Voice of San Diego)
• Taking names for term limits (La Mesa Courier)
• Former Filner aide seeks $1.5 million (UT San Diego)
• Neighbors sue city over huge ‘luxury’ housing project (La Mesa Courier)
• San Diego Council Approves 15 Percent Water Rate Hike (KPBS)
• Long-Term Water Facilities and Climate Action Plans released for public review  (SDCWA)\
• San Diego Transfers Low-Level Prisoners To Help Fight Wildfires (KPBS)
• Jail violence rises with shift from prison (UT San Diego)

STATE

• How an Egg-Centric Amendment Could Hurt San Diego Farmers (Voice of San Diego)
• Judge stops bullet train in its tracks (UT San Diego)

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

December 4, 2013 (Rancho San Diego)--Cuyamaca College’s Annual “Winter Wonder Jam” takes stage this Friday, December 6  at 7 p.m. This event is to promote students' efforts in showcasing new local talent; the public is invited to come out and enjoy the music. These home-grown singer-songwriters will present a variety of acoustic, rock, jazz and hip hop genres

This concert takes place at the Performing Arts Theatre at Cuyamaca College, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.  The festival features four local artists performing their all-original music compositions. This event is FREE with a donation to the San Diego Food Bank and there is  plenty of free parking.

"It's outrageous that our elected officials in California are using taxpayer dollars to intentionally mislead their constituents and divert them from CoveredCA.com ... Republicans in California should be ashamed… the GOP’s newest tactics is to lie to voters and prevent sick people from getting the care they need.”—Dr. Paul Song, oncologist and Courage Campaign executive director

By Nadin Abbott and Miriam Raftery

December 3, 2013 (San Diego)—The California Assembly Republican Caucus, chaired by East County representative Brian Jones (R-Santee), is taking heat for creating a phony website (http://www.coveringhealthcareca.com/) designed to divert consumers from the state’s official Covered California site (https://www.coveredca.com/). 

Covered California is the website for consumers to get information on new healthcare exchanges and sign up for healthcare coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. 

Republican members including Jones are promoting the sham healthcare site, labeled a “California Resource Guide” directly to constituents on their official Assembly websites paid for by taxpayers.