November 14, 2012 (Cuyamaca)  -- Due to a change in weather, this week’s controlled burn planned for McCain Valley was cancelled. Instead, Cal-Fire will hold a prescribed burn on Wednesday, November 15 in the Middle Peak area off Highway 79 and Mild Ranch Road in the Cuyamaca area.  Smoke will be visible from the Julian and surrounding areas, Mike Mohler at Cal-Fire advises.

By Bill Weaver

November 10, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Leaders in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College are speaking out to thank voters for passing Prop V, a $398 million bond measure that passed by about 56.5 percent. 

“We’re pleased that voters understand the critical facilities and technology upgrades needed to better educate and train our students in today’s ultra-competitive world,” said Governing Board President Bill Garrett. 

Prop V will fund upgrades, repairs and renovations  to classrooms, roads, labs and infrastructure, including helping to meet the needs of our region's many veterans.

November 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  In startling contrast to numerous national polls that had predicted a near-tie in the presidential race, President Barack Obama won a sweeping victory.  Obama captured 303 electoral votes, Romney 206, winning not only Democratic strongholds, but also nearly all swing states.  According to CNN, the President also trounced Romney in the popular vote by more than a million vote margin.

Similarly, Democrats gained power in Sacramento and San Diego, taking control of the Council and Mayor’s office with wins looking increasingly likely to oust Congressman Bilbray and seat a Democrat on the all-Republican Board of Supervisors. 

What lessons can be learned from the outcomes?

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2012 (San Diego) – By a slim margin, Democrat Dave Roberts is ahead of Republican Steve Danon with 100% of precincts counted, though provisional ballots remain.  Roberts would replace Republican Supervisor Pam-Slater Price, who is retiring and made a cross-party endorsement of Roberts.

“Tuesday's election is historic in two ways,” a press release from Roberts’ campaign said this morning.”It is the first time in 17 years there has been a new person elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and Dave Roberts will be the first Democrat elected as County Supervisor in 19 years. The last Democrat to serve on the Board of Supervisors was Leon Williams who served until 1994.”

October 22, 2012 (Lemon Grove)--Sheriff’s deputies responded to a radio call of a possible carjacking in Lemon Grove at 3:30 a.m. A taxi driver had been flagged down earlier by two men at 12th Street and Imperial Avenue in San Diego, then drove them to Lemon Grove on Highway 94 and stopped at North Avenue and Olive Street.

“One of the subjects allegedly hit the driver on the head with the butt of a black semi-automatic handgun,” said Sergeant Luis Chavezz with the Sheriff’s office. “The driver and the subject wrestled over the gun as the other subject allegedly began hitting the driver with his fist. The driver was able to exit the taxi and fell on the street. One of the subjects alledgedly kicked the driver on the head and then got back inside the taxi.”

October 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Nearly 50 industrial-scale renewable energy projects are planned in San Diego’s East County and neighboring Imperial County.  San Diego Supervisors will vote Dec. 5 on a wind ordinance that could open vast tracts of scenic areas and rural communities to skyscraper-sized wind turbines to harness renewable power. There are costs, however, to ther environment and risks to health and safety of residents, including heightened fire danger.

On Thursday, Oct. 18, ECM editor Miriam Raftery will be the guest speaker at the East County Democratic Club, making a presentation on impacts these big energy projects pose for on our region.  The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Coco’s Restaurant, 1025 Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon. Program starts at 7 p.m., if you wish to purchase dinner, arrive at 6 p.m. 

If you would like a presentation on wind energy issues to your organization, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org to arrange for a speaker or a Powerpoint presentation that you may use.

By Janis Mork

October 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)- In the November election, community planning association (CPA)/community planning group races countywide give voters few choices.  Most are not competitive – with either the exact number of candidates as seats vacant or in several cases, fewer candidates than openings. That means many vacancies will be filled by appointments approved by Supervisor Dianne Jacob.  

The moral of the story? If you  want to have a say-so in development projects planned for your area, run for office! Your odds of getting elected are high, based on this year’s low number of candidates. Plus if your planning group has fewer candidates than seats open, you can ask to be considered for appointment to fill a vacancy.

Property owners, campers urged to take precautions to stem spread of infestation

By Miriam Raftery

September 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –A voracious new pest is gnawing its way through East County.  The gold-spotted oak borer has already killed over 21,500 trees in San Diego’s inland regions.  Infestations have been found on federal, state, private and Native American lands across 1,893 square miles.

“Has anyone driven through Japatul into Julian lately?  We did last weekend and it was a very SAD sight!  Almost all of the Oaks are BARE SKELETONS or half brown and going fast,” Jerry Williams of Deerhorn Valley wrote in an e-mail to ECM. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2012 (San Diego)—Some people just don’t learn.  Back in January, San Diego Supervisors  got sued for hiding information from the public about a developer-backed scheme to eliminate community planning groups. The Board backed down to avoid a trial, vacated votes and held a hearing with proper public notice and open—though heated--public testimony. 

Now history has repeated itself. San Diegans for Open Government has filed a lawsuit alleging that Supervisors once more violated the Ralph M. Brown Act. According to the suit, this time the County failed to post an agenda for Supevisors' June 26, 2012 agenda on  the County website for the 72-hours required by state law. Supevisors further failed to postpone the meeting, took action on agenda items and refused to allow members of the public to address Supervisors on a key agenda item.

“Long overdue”l tactic to contain California’s dangerous wildfires, Senator Feinstein says

August 19, 2012 (Washington D.C.)— The U.S. Forest Service will update its nighttime firefighting program to battle out-of-control wildfires in Southern California.

By Miriam Raftery

July 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Tomorrow at 9 a.m.,  San Diego County's Planning Commission will decide whether to approve a wind ordinance that would enable construction of numerous wind energy projects in our region's mountains, rural and desert communities.

Why, then, did San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency just issue a public health position statement that amounts to a whitewash of serious health problems linked to wind turbines around the world?

Bill would also ban public from accessing environmental impacts of tribal projects

By Miriam Raftery

July 5, 2012 (Washington D.C.) –The Native American Energy Act, HR 3973, has been approved by the House Natural Resources Committee. The bill, which seeks to remove “bureaucratic obstacles” to energy production on tribal lands, would also severely impede residents, environmentalists or even neighboring tribes who file lawsuits to stop tribal energy projects.

“She had an attitude of gratitude,” La Mesa resident Ethel Rudolph says of her mother, Titanic survivor Anna Sofia Turja

By Ellinoa Blake

July 1, 2012 (La Mesa)--In the heart of La Mesa lives a hidden historical gem: Ethel Rudolph, whose mother, Anna Sofia Turja survived the Titanic tragedy. In her cozy home, Ethel sat down with East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery and I to share her mother’s moving tale.

In honor of this year’s 100^th anniversary of the Titanic sinking after striking an iceberg, Rudolph recently visited Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum, which runs through September 9.  

She reflected, “It brought back a lot of nostalgia, things Mother had said.”

Scroll down to read her dramatic story, including a video interview describing an eyewitness account of one of history's greatest tragedies.