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. 

By Miriam Raftery
February 3, 2012 (San Diego) – On Tuesday, San Diego’s City Council voted unanimously to approve an “urban agriculture plan” that encourages city residents to grow their own food--and sell some items.

SIGN A PETITION! Key vote Feb. 29 could take away your right to be informed and speak out

By Miriam Raftery, Editor, East County Magazine

“People will never hear about projects until after they’re done if this [elimination of planning groups] goes through.” – Mark Ostrander, chair, Jacumba sponsor group

February 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – I've rarely published an editorial commentary, reserving my opinion for only those matters with the gravest of consequences for East County. One such matter will come before San Diego's Supervisors on February 29, when supervisors will vote on whether or not to eliminate all community planning groups countywide.  They will also weigh other “reforms” aimed at making it easier to pave over paradise--or put a goliath-scale project next door to you--with nobody the wiser until it's too late.

This ill-conceived idea is the brainchild of a “Red Tape Reduction Task Force” stacked with developers. If adopted, it will stifle voices of concerned residents in the early planning phases of major development projects from condo complexes to wind farms. 

Danielle Cook, a concerned citizen in Jacumba, has launched an online petition calling on Supervisors to save community planning groups. I have signed it, and urge all County residents to do the same if you value a democratic process that allows people’s voices to be heard, not just special interests. You can sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/petitions/san-diego-county-supervisor-save-our-planning-and-sponsor-groups.

 Several workshops scheduled in 2012 to help thousands of American families avert foreclosure

January 21, 2012 (San Diego)--San Diego City Council will be discussing a proposed “Urban Agriculture Ordinance” on Tuesday, January 31 at 2 p.m. in council chambers, 202 C Street, 12th floor, downtown San Diego. The proposal aims to make it easier to grow food in city limits.

 
Update February 4, 2012 -- The Department of Defense still has not listed the death of Jay Polk, nor has any notice of his death been published in New Iberia, Louisiana, where he claimed to live.  A source informs ECM further that his name has not been provided for addition to a memorial for special forces soldiers. Thus it now appears he was not killed in service to his country and likely fabricated the "report" of his death and possibly his military service as well. Now a blog site claims to have obtained military records showing a Jamond Polk was thrown out of the military at Fort Jackson. We do not know if this is the same Jay Polk referenced below, but include this information for anyone who may be able to confirm or disprove the connection: 

We are leaving this story posted, with this disclaimer, because the research on special forces operations includes numerous well documented links on that issue  even if Polk's tale is a hoax.  

By Nadin B. Abbott

January 17, 2012 (San Diego)— On January 2, a soldier in San Diego claiming links to Special Forces posted on his Facebook page that he was deploying to Syria. This tantalizing piece of information startled readers, leading many to ask: does our country have troops in Syria and if so, why?

By Nadin Abbott

 
December 20, 2011 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Police Department is holding its annual Mid-City Division Christmas toy delivery on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 beginning at 6:00 a.m. The toy delivery will be held at the Multicultural Storefront at 5348 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105.

By Sierra Severson