Update 5 p.m. A new fire is reported in the Carlton Hills area of Santee.  For timely updates visit www.Twitter.com and follow ViejasAlerts.  As of 5:30 p.m., 5 acres have burned in Santee from a blaze that started in the San Diego River bed.  Forward spread was stopped at the Carlton Hills golf course with help from four helicopters droping water before the fire reached 125.  Fences were burned but no structures were damaged. There were no injuries.

The Ramona fire has been extinguished.

April 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A full wildland response by Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service has been ordered for a vegetation fire that reportedly began in a compost pile in Ramona.  Heartland Fire is also on the scene.

The fire is burning near Dye Road and Ramona Street, between Highway 67 and San Vicente.   View map:https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dye+Rd+%26+Ramona+St/@33.0083989,-116.8796472,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80dbe6729949d82d:0xfecc04e91f9678d1

By Jessica Richmond

“A majority of cities (53%) – 149 of the 282 cities – have committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as the result of a mayoral pledge and/or formal city council action.”

Solar and conservation measures ranked highly by mayors, wind turbines ranked least promising

April 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently  have focused efforts on creating a plan to increase energy efficiency, while reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) and carbon emissions. The nonpartisan organization consists of mayors from 1,398 cit­ies with populations of 30,000 or more.

Under the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, signers have pledged to try and limit their cities carbon emissions, reduce GHG emissions, along with pushing local state and federal actors to “do their part” in order to help reduce environmental air pollution.  Now a new report reveals data on actions pursued in cities across America to reach these goals.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

April 28, 2014 (San Diego)--Cinco de Mayo is upon us and it has become a celebration of food, friends and alcohol.  Unfortunately, too often the party ends with alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities when people don’t use good judgment and drive after drinking reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.  Make sure you look after yourself and your compadres and have a designated driver or take a cab.

By Miriam Raftery

April 27, 2014 (San Diego)--The California Energy Commission has granted a request from Cogentrix for a second one-year suspension of an application for the controversial Quail Brush gas-fired power plant proposed near Mission Trails Regional Park. That means the proposal remains alive, despite overwhelming community opposition.

Opponents of the project had urged the Commission to let the proposal die by denying Cogentrix’s request to extend the original suspension that expired in April.  Despite a barrage of protest comments, the Commission decided to extend the suspension until April 15, 2015. 

Originally published at http://www.theecoreport.com/green-blogs/sustainability/conservation/wildlife/how-much-wildlife-can-usa-afford-to-kill/  

April 26, 2014 (San Diego)--The Obama administration is issuing 30-year permits for “taking” (killing) bald and golden eagles. The great birds will be legally slaughtered “unintentionally” by lethal wind turbines installed in their breeding territories, and in "dispersion areas" where their young congregate (e.g. Altamont Pass).

April 26, 2015 (Spring Valley)--In honor of International Rotarians at Work Day, members of the La Mesa Sunrise Rotary broke ground Saturday, April 26^th, on a new fruit orchard for the residents of Noah Homes, a nonprofit in Spring Valley celebrating 30 years of residential care, community advocacy and collaborative services for adults with developmental disabilities.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2014 (San Diego) – Judge Ronald Prager has been a Superior Court Judge for 26 years, with an unblemished record.

 “I’ve handled more important cases and complex litigation than any other judge,” said Prager, who has presided over many of our region’s most high profile cases.  He told ECM that he has been endorsed by all 125 Superior Court judges as well as Sheriff Bill Gore, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, the Public Defender, Deputy District Attorneys Association, the Lawyer’s Club, and San Diegans Against Crime, a crime victims’ rights group.

His opponent for Superior Court seat 9,  Douglas James Crawford,   faces suspension of his law license for advising opposing counsel of threats made by his client to instigate an IRS audit if settlement talks in a lawsuit were not commenced.  He denies wrongdoing and has filed an appeal.  He has also drawn criticism for racial remarks regarding an African-American judge and for offering free legal advice to white supremacist groups. In addition, an East County Magazine investigation reveals that Crawford has previously been sanctioned by the California 4th District Court of Appeal for “intentionally misleading” a court and bank regarding his mother’s death.  Moreover, the court found that Crawford  claimed to represent his mother’s  estate after allowing his license to practice law to become inactive.

Injured and Ill Athletes Go Head-to Head in the Annual Horseman Competition

April 26, 2014 (Escondido)--For the fifth year in a row, the injured athletes of Team Semper Fi and Team America’s Fund are saddling up for an incredible challenge.  Ten veteran and active duty service members, some of them amputees, will learn the skills to become cowboys, then go head-to-head in the ring–and they have just three days to do it.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Nadin Abbott

April 26, 2014 (Mount Laguna) – Cal Fire and the federal government have not released reports on the official cause of the Chariot Fire, which scorched over 7,000 acres and destroyed more than 100 buildings including  a historic lodge and the century-old Al Bahr Shrine Camp.  Now attorney John Fiske, who represents  fire victims, says he has filed a claim against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

April 25, 2014 (San Carlos) – Police believe that 52-year-old Jackie Clinton Jackson, Jr. may be a victim of a hit-and-run accident.  Jackson was found by a passerby unresponsive in the street between parked vehicles in the 8000 block of Beaver Lake Drive in San Diego’s San Carlos neighborhood on April 24.

April 25, 2014 (Potrero)--A horse found injured and bleeding after a fall down a deep ravine Thursday evening in Potrero is now recovering from its injuries at the County Animal Services shelter in Bonita.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2014 (Lakeside) – San Diego residents Carlos Kristopher Vargas and Monica Yvette Lupercio, each 20 years old , died of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident April 19 on westbound Interstate 8  near the Lake Jennings exit in Lakeside.  Vargas and Lupercio  were passengers in the backseat, both wearing seatbelts when the vehicle drifted into the median. 

The driver , Mario Alberto Carranza, had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. Because of a prior DUI on his record, Carranza has been charged with murder. He pled not guilty and his hearing is set for May 1st.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for mountains and deserts in San Diego County  and other inland areas in Southern California.  Dangerous gusts of 70 miles per hour or more are possible. The warning is in effect today through Saturday evening.

Rain is also forecast, along with snow at elevations over 4,500 feet.

Charges include execution-style murders, racketeering, gun-running and drug smuggling involving El Cajon High School students

East County News Service

April 25, 2014 (San Diego)—U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy today unsealed a complaint revealing charges filed against 35 people, including many alleged members and associates of the West Coast Crips criminal street gang.  The defendants, include many from East County.  They face charges of participating in three drug- and gun-related conspiracies, including one that alleges a racketeering enterprise with execution-style murders, a takeover-style robbery, high-speed chases, witness intimidation and other acts of violence.

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2014 (San Diego)—San Diego Unified School District should require all schools to use its website content system, a San Diego Grand Jury report titled “Can we please get on the same page?”  issued today advised.

The report concluded that many San Diego city schools have set up independent websites outside of the school district's management structure, leaving the San Diego Unified School District little or no say on the websites' content or how they are used. In fact, private foundations control many of the sites, acting as school website administrators who do all of the on-line updating of the content. Foundations operate autonomously outside of the District's established policies and procedures, even accepting commercial paid advertising on the school sites. In some cases advertisers have solicited the students’ for personal information, the Grand Jury report revealed.