By Brian Lafferty

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – After watching Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, I wondered what Six Year Old Me would have thought. Six Year Old Me would have loved it. He would have laughed, he would have been thrilled, and he would have had fun.

February 9, 2012 (Oceanside) – A major brush fire, now 25 acres, is burning on Camp Pendleton at Las Flores Road and Range 21, Incident Page Network reported at 10:21 p.m. Fire officials have requested strike teams immediately with mutual aid from Escondido and Vista Fire Departments.

By Serena Scaglione

February 9, 2012 (San Diego)--Tuesday’s decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule the Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional may withstand a challenge to the nation’s highest court, due to the tight legal grounds surrounding the issue that are specific to California. 

February 9, 2012 (Santee) – The Randy Jones “5K For Independence” walk and fun run will be held on February 18 at Santee Lakes.  The event benefits Home of the Guiding Hands, which assists developmentally disabled adults and which has been hard-hit by state budget cuts.

Participants are invited to stay at Santee Lakes for a day of family fun, picnic lunch, beer garden, and awards ceremony.

February 9, 2012 --  (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:  

General news  

• Group urges FTC action on Google privacy (USA Today)
• Dems fight back against GOP in contraception battle (CBS)
• Forgetting a key lesson of Watergate? (CNN)
• Child labor for Victoria’s Secret cotton examined by U.S. (Bloomberg Business)
• U.S. Brigadier General dies in Afghanistan (CNN) 

• Santorum sweeps Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado (CNN)
• Mitt Romney wins overwhelming victory in Nevada caucuses (Washington Post) 

• NATO vs. Syria (American Conservative)
• Syrians storm embassies after uprising's worst violence (Reuters)
• Activists: Syrian assault leaves 250 dead (NPR)
• U.N. vote on Syria fails (NPR)
•  ‘Hezbollah will hit Israel if Syria attacked’ (Jerusaleum Post)
• Iran vows to hit any country that stages attack (San Diego UT)
• Thousands stranded by rising floodwaters in Australia (CNN) 

• Blind doctor can see again (Jerusalem Post)

• Grossmont High School teachers vote to explore becoming charter (La Mesa Patch)
• Fire Chief Augie Ghio chats about state of San Miguel Fire District following release of RFPs (La Mesa Patch)
• City Council okays livestock for city residents (10 News)
• A Guide to Understanding the Sweetwater Scandal (Voice of San Diego)
• San Onofre shutdown costing up to $1 million a day (KPBS)
• Secrets of the Centennial: How suffrage put progressive town on path to self determination (La Mesa Patch)
• Light on cockroaches (Valley Roadrunner editorial on Supervisors’ recent actions)
• Bob Filner to La Mesa: You have a stake in who is mayor of San Diego(La Mesa Patch)
• Nuke inspections focus on unusual wear on tubes (Sacramento Bee) 

• Federal appeals court: CA gay marriage ban is unconstitutional (AP)
• Governor signs bill that allows internal borrowing (Sacramento Bee) 

By Charlotte Reed, Realtor

• Installation of local Realtor officers and directors
• Title information outsourcing
• Another lawsuit for B of A and other big banks 

 
It Doesn’t Take a Fire to Burn a Child

February 7, 2012 (Lakeside) -- No, it's not an insect or an invader from outer space. It's an up-close view of the Erickson air crane "Sunbird" erecting the Sunrise Powerlink in Lakeside's Wildcat Canyon/El Monte Valley area.

Billy Ortiz snapped this head-on closeup image of the massive helicopter, which is capable of hoisting heavy loads including transmission towers.

February 7, 2012 (Alpine)—Planning group members will hear public testimony and a presentation by the County Department of Planning and Land Use on a draft land use plan for former Forest Conservation Initiative lands in Alpine.

The changes could make it easier for some landowners to build on certain properties in the Alpine area.

A local elected official says SDG&E installations of smart meters are occurring at homes on opt-out list

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2012 (San Diego)—The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week voted to allow Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)  customers to have smart meters replaced with older  analog meters, for a $75 installation fee plus a monthly fee of $5 to $10, depending on income.  Ratepayers must inform PG&E by May 1 if they wish to opt-out.

Commissioners have not yet ruled on whether to allow San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or other utilities’ customers to opt out, but are expected to make a similar ruling later this month. SDG&E has proposed even higher opt-out fees of including an initial $175-$200, an exit fee of $50 and a monthly fee of $15 to cover meter readings, the North County Times reports. 

By Jack Bailey

February 6, 2012  (Washington D. C.) -- The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), today announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase “significant portion of its range” (SPR) in the ESA’s definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.”