A little April Fool's Day fun.

By Betty Burns

April 1, 2015 (San Diego)—Seeking to prevent fire stations from closing again this season due to budget cuts, the County of San Diego announced today that it has sold corporate naming rights to fire trucks.

Hooters Restaurant was the first to sign up for this opportunity, also agreeing to provide Hooters waitresses to serve firefighters at their base camp during wildfires.

Ambulance responses in our region raise alarms:  Part I in a series

By Miriam Raftery

March 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – What if you had a medical emergency and the nearest ambulance had to come from Imperial County or other distant places up to an hour away?  That’s the very real prospect facing rural East County residents under a stealth change in ambulance service approved by a county bureaucrat with no public notice, no hearing, and no vote by the Supervisors.

While some aspects of coverage stand to improve under the contract, adding more in-district ambulances and newer equipment, there are some major concerns raised by local safety advocates with regard to mutual aid and staffing.

By Miriam Raftery

March 20, 2015 (Alpine) – Lou Russo, an outspoken former member of the Alpine Community Planning Group, may soon be back on the board, the Registrar of Voters office has confirmed.

James Roe defeated Russo on the November ballot, but moved out of the area for a job prior to the election and is thus ineligible to take the seat.

March 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Our January radio shows are now online!  You can listen online now (note sound files may take a minute to load). For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics and interviews in January, click here and scroll down.

Our top newsmaker interviews included representatives from Cleveland National Forest, the County’s Farm to School produce program, a War Victims group seeking reparations for Iraq War refugees, the postal workers’ union on cuts in postal services, a leading solar company on changes in solar incentives for consumers, an environmental advocate battling Soitec Solar’s projects in Boulevard, and La Mesa’s Chamber of Commerce president on honoring local heroes. Plus we interviewed two law-enforcement officers-turned-authors, La Mesa Police Chief Dan Willis and former ICE special agent Timothy Daniels.

You can hear the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

East County News Service

February 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – A winter storm is due to hit our region tonight through Monday, bringing strong gusty winds to mountains and deserts.  Possible thunderstorms are possible starting Sunday night, bringing rain and potentially heavy snowfall down to levels that may include Julian, Descanso and Pine Valley.

The Sheriff offered this reminder to motorists traveling in the mountains: Have a full tank of gas, water and food supplies in case you are stranded in traffic for several hours. Have snow chains for areas where they will be required. Public restroom facilities are limited...Be mindful of areas that are private property which are marked by signs and fences. Private property is off limits to the public for recreational snow activities.

Parking violations will be enforced and citations will be issued. Vehicles blocking roadways and private property will be towed. Be aware of increased law enforcement activity to handle the large crowds.

 

View a presentation on the Gillespie Field Sports Village concept by clicking here.

Tune in Friday to our radio show at 5 p.m. on KNSJ 89.1 FM to hear our interview with Robert Germann, proponent of the Gillespie Field Sports Village.

By Miriam Raftery

February 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Imagine a new Chargers stadium and sports entertainment complex next to Gillespie Field on vacant land formerly occupied by the El Cajon Speedway.  Sounds far-fetched? The 250-acre  site is surrounded by four major freeways and a trolley stop close by.  Approximately 180 acres are currently vacant—and none of this land has been used for aviation.

Chargers fans’ future is in limbo, with the team threatening to move to Los Angeles County and share a stadium with the Raiders.  The team wants a new stadium, but thus far San Diego county and city leaders have not come up with a solid plan for an alternative location and environmental contamination prevents rebuilding on the existing Qualcomm stadium site.

February 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• Mayor Faulconer meets with Chargers, fast tracks plans for new stadium (10 News)
• Stadium task force chairman had role in "Ticketgate" (SD Reader)
• Utility agency taps $882-an-hour lawyer (UT Sam Diego)
• In Jacob's race, solar also rises (UT San Diego)
• San Diego County Water Use Drops By 28 Percent In January (KPBS)
• Workers call for San Onofre probe (UT San Diego)
• San Onofre Operator Asks To Expand Used Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility(KPBS)
• Lemon Grove considers crime prevention program (U-T San Diego)
• San Diego State Names College After Stephen Weber (KPBS)

STATE

• California's school suspensions show racial disparity (USA Today)
•  Dan Walters: Brown wants only local school bonds (UT San Diego)
• Undo gas tax swap — then fix roads (UT San Diego)
• CA bill to require defibrillators in new buildings (UT San Diego)
•  Dozens exposed to superbug in LA (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

View video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fTobU9pt0ds

East County News Service

February 19, 2015 (San Diego)—Supervisor Bill Horn, Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, declared 2015 the “year of the veteran” in his state of the county speech last week.

Horn said, “These men and women have made sacrifices that often take terrible tolls on their personal lives. As a county and as a community, we have a responsibility to take care of our veterans.”

An ex-Marine Corps officer and veteran, Horn said programs will be ramped up and new programs rolled out in the coming year.  One is the Vet Connect program being rolled out East County libraries, prompted by an East County Magazine special report that found a lack of veterans’ services in rural areas.

By Patsy Fritz

February 16, 2015 (San Diego)--The County General Plan, adopted August 3, 2011, took 12 years and cost $18,600,000. It’s based on smart growth/smart location. But if you think it will effectively control sprawl in the backcountry, you may have to think again.

On Saturday, February 21 at 9:00 a.m. the County will hold its second public workshop on a controversial clause in the General Plan that limits “leapfrog development.” The County Planning & Development staff is seeking to abandon the current limitation and are seeking an “equivalent” standard. Location of the workshop will be 5500 Overland Avenue, Room 120 at the County Operations Center (on Kearney Mesa in San Diego). 

Lasting two hours, the agenda is identical to one held Wednesday, February 11, where opposition was raised to any change, by many of the rural Community and Sponsor Group members who attended.

Hear our interviews with representatives of San Diego County’s “Farm to School” program aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

February 7, 2015 (San Diego) – The second annual State of Farm to School in San Diego County Report reveals growth in farm to school programs bringing healthy produce to area school children – also generating returns for our region’s health and economy. See our earlier article on the program’s success here.   Recently we held a radio show on the County's Farm to School task force. We interviewed JuliAnna Arnett Director of Operations & Food Systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Community Health Improvement Partners, along with Eric Larson, Executive Director at the San Diego County Farm Bureau,Johnna Jenkins, Director of Child Nutrition at Valley Center-Pauma school district, and Jill Wittenberg, Child Nutrition Director, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.

They shared success stories on how this innovative program is helping farmers and students reap healthy rewards.  More participants are sought to meet rising demand for fresh produce in our public schools.

By Miriam Raftery

View video of full hearing: http://sdcounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=1660

Note: Tune in Friday to our radio show on 89.1 FM from 5 to 6 p.m. to hear interviews with Boulevard residents and a hydrologist sharing their views on this outcome.  Jim Whelan, a representative of Soitec project property owners Hamann and Gibson was invited and refused to participate.

February 4, 2015 (San Diego) – Boulevard residents fought down tears in stunned disbelief today (photo, left) as San Diego Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to approve Soitec’s Tierra Del Sol and Rugged Solar projects, overriding a unanimous vote by Boulevard’s elected planning group that opposed the projects. Collectively the two massive projects will cover 1,185 acres (the equivalent of 185 city blocks) of rural terrain with thousands of concentrated solar tracking panels, each 48 feet wide by 30 feet tall.

Only Supervisor Dianne Jacob voted against the project, following an extensive speech in opposition. She called county staff’s finding that the project was compatible with rural community character “absolutely incomprehensible to me.”  Jacob pointed out that the General Plan is supposed to assure environmental stewardship, preservation of agricultural lands, open space and community character, among other qualities – all of which will be destroyed if the Soitec projects are built.

By Miriam Raftery

January 29, 2015 (San Diego) – It’s rare for both parties in Congress to agree on anything these days.  But the House of Representatives has just approved 10 bills to help combat human trafficking.  All five of San Diego’s Congressional representatives voted in favor of two of the bills and the rest passed by voice vote without a roll call of members.

By Miriam Raftery

January 23, 2015 (San Diego)—Soitec Solar may exit the solar business, Greentech Media reports.  A quarterly report indicates the company plans to “refocus” efforts on its electronics business .

Greentech’s article indicates that the language may be vague, but the publication predicts, “…the message is clear: Soitec is exiting this business as quickly as possible.” 

The news comes as San Diego Supervisors are poised to vote Feb. 7 on whether to approve massive  industrial solar projects proposed by Soitec in Boulevard.

County planners approved despite serious environmental and financial issues; rural group vows to sue if approved

By Miriam Raftery

January 19, 2015 (Boulevard) – Rural  planning group chairs and environmentalists are blasting county planners for approving Soitec Solar’s controversial industrial scale solar projects.  Planners largely ignored evidence that the projects could deplete groundwater supplies, threaten wildlife and create fire hazards—as well as Soitec’s precarious financial position.

Next up, San Diego Supervisors will hold a hearing on the project February 4^th.  At least one citizens’ group, Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD) has promised to file a lawsuit against the County if Supervisors approve the projects, which would cover 1500 acres with approximately 8,000 massive solar trackers, each 30 feet high.