July 1, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Two quakes measuring 4.6 and 4.7 on the Richter scale struck Baja, California during the night.

The first jolt earthquake struck at 8:25 p.m.; the second at 11:36 p.m. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 9, 2012 (San Diego) – By a unanimous vote, San Diego's Planning Commission voted Friday to deny Iberdrola Renewables’ application for five 492-foot-tall wind turbines on private land under county jurisdiction.

June 4, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for mountain and desert areas in San Diego and Riverside Counties beginning this afternoon and extended to late Tuseday night.  A low pressure trough is moving inland, bringing southwest to westerly 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph locally.

By Mia Myklebust

“Stop the drones.” – Mossaret Qadeem, Amn-o-nisa implores

May 30, 2012 (San Diego) -- Dressed in brightly colored robes and hijabs, the women of Amn-o-nisa make a powerful statement with their presence alone. These 11 Pakistani women have come to the United States for the second time to spread their message of peace and international cooperation.

The name Amn-o-nisa translates to “women for peace,” which is the message the group hoped to spread on their visit to the U.S. The group visited Washington D.C., San Diego and Los Angeles and met with political figures including Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.

Ducheny Chastises Vargas for "Special Interest" Favors

May 5, 2012 (San Diego) -- Congressional Candidate Denise Moreno Ducheny took issue with Senator Juan Vargas's recent voting record and called on the Senator to back a strong set of foreclosure protection bills being discussed in the Senate this week. "The recent voting record of my opponent is a disservice to the residents of San Diego and Imperial Counties," Ducheny said in a statement. "He should be spending more time focusing on the needs of his constituents, not just those special interest groups who write his campaign checks."

April 20, 2012 (San Diego) -- San Diego’s original fine art festival, Mission Federal ArtWalk is back for its 28th year. Featuring artists who live in the East County area as well as San Diego, the event will be held on Saturday and Sunday , April 28 and 29, when 17 blocks of Little Italy will be transformed for this free festival. ArtWalk offers a unique opportunity for members of the public to engage directly with over 350 artists who will be there to display their original works for exhibit and sale. The art on display will include a wide range of paintings, sculpture, mosaics, glasswork and photography.

“We are requesting a moratorium on industrial wind turbine projects and initiation of unbiased, science-based peer-reviewed studies on health…They are subjecting rural residents to be guinea pigs or lab rats on a mass scale that has never been seen anywhere.” –Donna Tisdale, Boulevard Planning Group Chair

“Tapping into sources of renewable energy is critical for a number of reasons…We applaud the County’s commitment to achieving these goals by updating and streamling requirements for small and large wind energy systems.” – Jennifer Purczynski Enel Green Power/Padoma Wind Power LLC

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Tomorrow (Friday) morning at 9 a.m., the San Diego County Planning Commission will consider a proposed wind ordinance that would make it easier for industrial-scale wind facilities as well as smaller turbines to be built in unincorporated areas—primarily in East County communities. 

Santee Council to weigh resolution opposing power plant March 28;  San Diego Council to consider zoning change to allow facility on April 26

By Miriam Raftery

March 25, 2012 (San Diego/Santee) – Seventeen staffers from the California Energy Commission heard from concerned residents at a standing-room-only workshop on a proposed gas-fired power plant this week at Mission Trails Regional Park.  Over 60 residents filled out speaker cards to oppose the controversial project and dozens more packed the room.  

In emotionally charged testimony, residents pleaded for the project to be withdrawn or approval denied.  They voiced concerns over the dangers pose by wildfire and explosions as well as worries over noise, traffic, air pollution, visual blight, and impacts on wildlife, homes, schools, and Mission Trails Regional Park.

By Miriam Raftery

March 14, 2012 (El Cajon)--Students at Grossmont College may be surprised to see who's hanging out just off campus.  ECM editor Miriam Raftery spotted these deer grazing on a sunny slope adjacent to the community college.

March 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Despite recent cold weather, rattlesnakes are active—and a bite proved deadly this week on a local trail, the Blossom Valley network reports.

Next president will appoint Supreme Court justice who will be swing vote;  at stake are women’s access to birth control and abortion, attorney tells local law students  

By Nadin Abbott

How many massive energy projects are too many for one rural community to absorb?

“They want to put these all out here, because we’re throwaway country people.” – Howard Cook

By Mia Myklebust and Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2012 (Jacumba) – Walking along the shores of Lake Jacumba, it’s clear that Howard Cook has big dreams for his community.  Chairman of the Lake Restoration Committee, he has wrested a pledge from the Audubon Society to restore the once-dry lake.

“We want to have fishing, boating, and recreation,” he says.  Cook is working with others who dream of “making this another Taos—art, wildlife, hiking, Indians and birds.”

But there’s trouble on the horizon.  Multiple industrial-scale wind and solar farms soon stand to surround this tiny town, jeopardizing its most cherished natural treasures. Sites include publicly owned recreation lands, notably a spectacular scenic gorge known to locals as “our Grand Canyon,” Cook points out.

Jacumba is a proverbial canary in the coal mine—a warning of what other publicly-owned preserves and rural communities across America may soon face. 

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – Democratic delegates and party activists from East County are among the participants at the three-day California Democratic Party Convention taking place Friday through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center.