East County News Service

September 1, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – There’s something for everyone coming up at County Parks in San Diego’s inland region.  Upcoming September special events include a star party, picnic with goats, a park after dark hike, guided day hikes, kayaking, birdwatching, Monarch butterfly metamorphosis,  wilderness trek, junior ranger activities, snake interpretive program, history of wolves, and a fiddling performance.  Scroll down for all of these hot happenings and more.

By Mike Allen

August 30, 2019 (Santee) -- The Santee City Council agreed to adopt a community choice model for purchasing its future electricity but isn’t sure yet what the model will look like.

East County News Service

August 27, 2019 (San Diego) -- On September 15th at 3:00 p.m., people from all over San Diego will be taking a SilentHike — a musical journey into mindfulness at Cowles Mountain. SilentHikes are a new concept from MindTravel — an immersive music and meditation experience company created by composer and concert pianist Murray Hidary (see his TedX talk here).

During the SilentHike session, MindTravelers will wear wireless headphones and embark on a hike with music, guidance and thoughtful commentary from Hidary. All the components – music, words, silence, visual cues – work synergistically to help participants connect with themselves and the world around them.

By Miriam Raftery

August 26, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – A radical proposal by the Trump administration’s U.S. Forest Service would allow logging and road building on up to 75% of our nation’s public forest lands without environmental review or public input.  

Today is the deadline for public comments, which you can submit at this link: : https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=FS-2019-0010-0001

The proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act established in 1970 would allow the agency to also ignore impacts on climate change, habitat, and recreational use of federal forests such as Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County and federal forests surrounding national parks such as near Yellowstone and Sequoia.

East County News Service

August 22, 2019 (San Diego) – On Friday, September 20^th, events in multiple San Diego locations are planned as part of the Global Climate Walkout from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. including San Diego State University.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Bald eagles have been saved from the brink of extinction by the Endangered Species Act; polar bears are among species now considered vulnerable. 

August 17, 2019  (Washington D.C.) – Just two weeks ago, the United Nations and International Union for Conservation of Nature published two reports warning that climate change is pushing a million species closer to extinction.  Yet last week, the Trump administration announced plans to take effect in September that dramatically weaken protections for endangered and threatened species.  

Source:  City of El Cajon

August 16, 2019 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon is accepting applications for one (1) vacancy on the Mission Trails Regional Park Citizen Advisory Committee. Requirements to serve on the Committee:

Source:  Center for Biological Diversity

August 8, 2019 (Point Reyes, Calif.) -- The National Park Service released a draft plan today that calls for shooting native elk to allow for expanded cattle ranching and commercial agriculture at Point Reyes National Seashore. The plan would allow the killing of tule elk, damage to wildlife habitat, harm of endangered species, degradation of water quality and create new conflicts with other native wildlife species.

By Katie White, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by Jose Eli Villanueva

August 7, 2019 (San Diego) - The County of San Diego is inviting businesses, nonprofits and government organizations that currently use high-polluting heavy-duty equipment to apply for a share of $28.5 million in grant funding for greener vehicles, machinery and equipment.

East County News Service 

August 4, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Mission Trails Regional Park has several events coming up for bird lovers.  Hawk watch demonstrations are held on the first Sunday of each month.  In addition, the park offers its next monthly bird walk on Saturday, August 10th, plus a “birding basics” class for aspiring birdwatchers on August 31st.

Scroll down for details.

Learn about key details to legally claim your tax credit next year

East County News Service

Image via Pixabay

August 2, 2019 (San Diego) - The solar investment tax credit has proven to be one of the most important federal policy mechanisms to incentivize clean energy in the United States and it is scheduled to sunset in the coming months. Those who have yet to go solar are now rushing to take advantage of this federal incentive before it reduces in 2020, then disappears shortly after.

By Mike Allen

Photo: A community choice energy option would give residents an option to buy electrical power from the county instead of from SDG&E. Many Lakeside residents objected to SDG&E’s construction of  Sunrise Powerlink high-voltage lines through scenic areas such as the El Capitan reservoir (photo, left)  and El Monte Valley in Lakeside.  CCA plans also enable local governments to provide power from clean, renewable resources such as solar The electricity would still flow through powerlines and infrastructure maintained by SDG&E, but profits off energy production would flow to the county to benefit taxpayers, not SDG&E shareholders.

August 1, 2019 (Lakeside) - That the county is on the verge of declaring a community choice aggregate (CCA) appears evident, given the tenor of a recent forum held at the Lakeside Community Center July 30. Under the CCA, the county would buy and sell electrical power to residents and businesses, providing an alternative for consumers to SDG&E. The board is scheduled to receive a final report on the issue Sept. 10, and take a vote either then or soon after. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 30, 2019 (Julian) – In a precedent-setting case over preservation of agricultural land protected under California’s Williamson Act, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal has published a decision that reverses a Superior Court ruling in Cleveland National Forest Foundation et al. v. County of San Diego. 

The July 25th decision held that San Diego County officials acted wrongly when they approved a map for a housing subdivision  on the 1,400-acre Hoskings Ranch near Julian. The court found the Genesee Properties project would have set the stage to replace ranching with residential development--all while allowing the property owner to enjoy tax breaks intended to keep the land in agriculture.