By Leon Thompson

October 12, 2015 (Mission Valley) – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) will hold its national conference in San Diego October 18-23.  The NCAI  is composed of Tribes and individual Native Americans to protect and enhance treaty and sovereign rights.  The Organization was started in 1944 in response to the termination and assimilation policies of the United States government toward American Indians.

County News Service

October 12, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --San Diego County has added a third helicopter to its firefighting fleet, beefing up regional air support in time for the high-risk wildfire season.

By Devoreo Bell

October 10, 2015 (El Cajon)--If you are hungry and looking for a great place to eat with a Middle Eastern flavor, Ali Baba is the place for you.

New law allows patients to be reimbursed for out-of-network care due to a mistake in an insurance company’s directory

East County News Service

October 11, 2015 (Sacramento) – Many consumers complained that after signing up for health insurance through Covered California, they learned that the healthcare plans they enrolled in had mistakes such as doctors listed who were no longer in the network.  Covered California discontinued its directory in February.  But a state audit also found many errors in directories by major health insurers including Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net and Partnership Health Plan, such as wrong phone numbers and addresses, plus inaccurate information on which doctors were accepting new patients.

East County News Service

October 10, 2015 (San Diego) – Governor Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Bill 953 into law. The measure authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a San Diego Democrat, aims to reduce racial profiling.

By Kathleen Coates-Hedberg, Helix Water District board member

October 10, 2015 (La Mesa)--I got to the Board Room at 4:30p.m. and the parking lot was filling up and I parked on the street. When the meeting started at 5 p.m. it was a full house, every seat was filled and the people were lined outside the door and people were standing in rows near on the sides. At least 150 members of the public were in attendance, several TV crews (KFMB, KUSI & FOX that I saw) and we all echoed the pledge of the allegiance to the flag together. I was hopeful and optimistic that the meeting was going to go well...oh how wrong I was.

October 11, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - - -Our July 2015 radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in July, click here and scroll down.

Our newsmaker interviews included Bruce Wilcox on a plan to save the Salton Sea, John Bolthouse with the Water Conservation Garden and some water-saving tips, author Paula Marguelies, representatives from the San Diego Concert Band, Mark Stevenson from the McAllister Institute, winery industry leaders on drastic new changes proposed to the county’s tiered winery ordinance, and our own interns with analysis on top presidential contenders, plus much more.

The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM.  The shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

East County Alerts

October 11, 2015 (San Diego)--The National Weather Service in San Diego has issued a heat advisory for San Diego County inland coastal and western valley areas from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (today).

Temperatures are expected to range from 90 to 95 degrees for inland coastal areas and 95 to 99 in western valley areas.

The County issued an alert at 10:45 a.m. today. The County continues to operate the Cool Zones program and has designated buildings as cooling centers.

Lamplighters Community Theatre, La Mesa, Oct. 9-Nov. 8

By Miriam Raftery

October 11, 2015 (La Mesa)--When a caustic critic is lured to an old theatre under the pretext of a documentary about Lincoln assassin/actor John Wilkes Booth,  he swiftly finds himself drugged,  trussed up and tormented by an actress he’s savaged in reviews. The stage is set for mayhem and potentially, murder.

Devi Noel  portrays first the prim and proper Miss Leamington, who soon sheds her disguise to be revealed as the wickedly scheming actress, Mitzi Crenshaw.  Donning multiple costumes to portray notable roles in between extracting tortuous confessions from her captive critic,  F.F. Charnick, Noel clearly relishes the role and keeps the audience on edge throughout Lamplighters’ production of Stage Fright, a play by Charles Marowitz of Ventura.

By Miriam Raftery

October 10, 2015 (El Cajon ) – The family of Elijah “Bear” Diaz, 20,  who vanished on August 29^th, will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and raffle at Barona Clubhouse on October 23, 2015 at 6 p.m. 

“Since we believe Bear is not missing on his own terms, the family has hired a private investigator which these funds will go toward,” Katey Hoffman told East County Magazine. She is working with Lelanie Thompson,  Bear’s mother.

The cost is $10 and includes spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, drinks and desert.  Raffle tickets are $5 and prizes include jewelry, art, cooking wares, and gift cards.  Donations of additional raffle prizes are welcome.

October 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Militants with ISIS, the Islamic State, have released a video that appears to show executions of three Assyrian Christian hostages captured  in Syria in February, the Guardian reports. The terrorists are threatening to kill 200 more hostages, including women and children, unless hefty ransoms are paid for each prisoner, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Assyrian and Chaldean Christians have faced genocide at the hands of ISIS for refusing to convert to Islam. International leaders are urging President Barack Obama and Congress to take action, but thus far those please seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Locally, Mark Arabo, a leader in the Chaldean community, issued this statement. “"It breaks my heart to see the continuous bloodshed, and the constant persecution of Christians by ISIS. Scholars, journalists, and the American public are in consensus that more must be done to end this genocide. Yet, our government continues to remain inactive. Every video is yet another reminder of the victims our government has left to rot in Iraq and Syria.”

By Miriam Raftery

October 10, 2015 (Descanso) – Weavers spun yarn, kids petted alpacas with names like Cinnamon and Swirl, while guests of all ages learned about the care and feeding of these Andean  denizens during National Alpaca Farm Days.

The event was held locally at Atlas Alpacas in Descanso, a ranch owned by Amay Alyeshmerni and her partner, David Kabbai.  The venture recently merged with Hazard Alpacas of Jamul to form Alpacas of San Diego.

 “This isn’t about selling alpacas. It’s about teaching people,” says Kabbai, adding that he loves the experience.  “Kids come up here and have no idea where their sweaters are coming from.”