April Fools 2012

NEWS FLASH! MAJOR BREAKING STORIES: SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR ALL READERS

April 1, 2012—East County Magazine has the exclusive scoop on some astounding major stories breaking today.

Is truth stranger than fiction? You decide. Be sure to click this hot link to view these stories in our extra-special April 1st edition. (Trust us, you won't want to miss this!)  -- Miriam Raftery, Editor

  • Cheers! El Cajon announces Vice Revival for Centennial
  • Mega-Millions Lotto winner in Lakeside reveals hot plans
  • Rare species discoveries may halt wind farms
  • Animal rights activists protest plan to eradicate wild pigs
  • Rural residents' "Ultimate Red Tape Reduction" initiative qualifies for ballot
  • La Mesa finds missing time capsule
  • Poway okays controversial superstore
  • Shocking cause of the big blackout revealed

CLICK HERE FOR THIS VERY SPECIAL EDITION. (Then click "read more" below each story)


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CHEERS! EL CAJON ANNOUNCES VICE REVIVAL FOR CENTENNIAL

By  Major Betts

April 1, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Before El Cajon became an incorporated city back in 1912, horse racing down Main Street was a popular pastime.  The town’s saloons also attracted visitors including gold miners and cowboys from the backcountry.  But Temperance Society members and women, who had just won the right to vote, lobbied the new city council to ban both practices.

Now, however, El Cajon announces a bold new plan to revive the city’s ailing economy and boost tourism in its centennial year by bringing back a long-lost feature from the past: vice. 


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MEGA-MILLIONS LOTTO WINNER IN LAKESIDE REVEALS HOT PLANS

 

By Sonny Power

April 1, 2012 (Lakeside) – “It’s a miracle!” Milt Cyphert, co-founder of the East County Community Action Coalition and winner of the Mega-Millions Lotto told East County Magazine. Cyphert purchased the winning ticket while on vacation in the Midwest to escape the Sunrise Powerlink construction by his home in El Monte Valley.  

Asked what he plans to do with his new-found wealth, Cyphert grinned, then shared an exclusive news scoop. 

“We bought stock,” he revealed. “Now my wife, Laura, and I are the majority owners of Sempra Energy-- and SDG&E.”


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RARE SPECIES DISCOVERIES MAY HALT WIND FARMS

Black wildcat sightings confirmed in East County

By Kit Kat

A pril 1, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – For months, residents in rural East County areas have been reporting sightings of a large wildcat described as a “black panther” by witnesses. So Boulevard Planning Group Chair Donna Tisdale resolved to prove the presence of this extremely rare species in our region. 

“If it’s the only one in California, surely that will be enough to convince U.S. Interior Department authorities to halt construction of the Tule Wind Farm,” Tisdale told East County Magazine.


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ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST PLAN TO ERADICATE WILD PIGS LOCALLY

 

April 1, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Activists have voiced outrage over the U.S. Forest Service’s announced  plans to use helicopters to shoot  the growing feral pig population running wild across rural East County. Now, a grassroots organization known as Save Our Wild Pigs Action Committee (SOWPAC) has announced plans to rescue the imperiled swine.

“This is a ham-handed and heartless scheme to eradicate these animals,” said Wanda Hogg, SOWPAC spokesperson, who asked her her face not be shown.  “SOWPAC’s mission is to rescue these wild pigs instead.”


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LA MESA FINDS MISSING TIME CAPSULE—AND A WELCOME SURPRISE

By Justin Time

April  1, 2012 (La Mesa) –Back in 1957 when City Hall was dedicated, La Mesa buried a time capsule that was intended to be opened for the city’s centennial in 2012.  But nobody remembered where the time capsule was hidden and the keys were also lost, as ECM has previously reported.


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POWAY OKAYS MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUPERSTORE

By Jay Blunt

April 1, 2012 (Poway)--In an unexpected move, Poway’s city council has approved licensing of the city’s first medical marijuana dispensary.  The unanimous decision comes as a surprise to many observers, given both public opposition to allowing such facilities in the city and the Council’s own vote last year to ban them.


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SHOCKING CAUSE OF THE BIG BLACKOUT REVEALED

 

By Meg A. Watts

April 1, 2012 (Jacumba) – Officially, the power outage that left 1.4 million customers in San Diego and across the southwest in the dark last September has been blamed on a worker in Yuma, according to SDG&E.  But an ECM investigation reveals an electrifying new theory, backed up by photos and an eyewitness account from an  off-duty Border Patrol Agent. 


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.