By Greg Dunne

July 24, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Bird nests can be hard to observe. We usually just stumble across them out in nature. One place you can always see a large variety of Egret and Heron nests is in the Eucalyptus trees at Lindo Lake.

“Large” fledgling Egrets and Herons are leaving the nest at this time of the year. I say large because the Snowy and Great Egret babies getting ready to leave the nest are as big as their parents. It always looks a little odd to see Mother Egret feeding a bird nearly her own size in a very crowded nest.

Photo by Tom Lemon

On Friday, August 9, the Rising from the Ashes fundraiser will be held to cover cleanup costs of the Shrine Camp on Mount Laguna, which was devastated by the Chariot Fire.

The Al Bahr Shrine Center in San Diego will host the event from 5 to 11 p.m. in the Red Fez Room at the Al Bahr Shrine Center, 5440 Kearny Mesa Road in San Diego.  The event, which costs $20 will include dinner and entertainment.

The camp lost 23 buildings to the fire, including the Shriners’ 99-year-old lodge.

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Tom Abbott

July 23, 2013 (San Diego)—Two press conferences were held yesterday regarding the scandal in San Diego City Hall involving Mayor Bob Filner.

Prominent attorney Gloria Allred announced that she has filed a civil lawsuit against Mayor Filner on behalf of Irene McCormack-Jackson in Superior Court. McCormack-Jackson read a statement and her lawyer answered some questions from the media.

Over the weekend, over 1,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers conducted Operation Allied Shield, resulting in nearly 400 arrests, including 34 gang members.

The operation included parole and probation checks, traffic stops, and serving search and arrest warrants to locate and arrest gang offenders.   Command posts were established in Spring Valley, San Diego and Vista.

July 22, 2013 (San Diego) – Summertime is the busiest marriage season. To help with increased demand the County Clerk’s Office has added “Walk in Wednesdays” to their services. For the past three Wednesdays, the County Clerk’s Office has been issuing marriage licenses and performing marriage services at the County Administration Center (CAC) without requiring a prior appointment. 468 marriage licenses and 270 ceremonies were performed at the CAC during that span. The “Walk in Wednesdays” will continue until September 25th.

July 22, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Bird Talk columnist Greg Dunne shared these images. He writes, “Out at my six-mile walk around Lake Murray Thursday towards the dam, I was treated to five fledgling Cooper's Hawks. I was able to observe them for quite a while.” The darker-backed Cooper's Hawks are the adults, he noted. “I could also tell the fledglings by their behavior, hopping around from branch to branch, making noise with their screeching, and just seeming unsure what to do next, while there was one that seemed a bit annoyed at all this commotion, and was a bit darker on the back side, and was a bit more poised than the young ones. A bit far away for good photos, but I really had a good time watching them.”

Photo: Debris in roadway at Ocotillo; photo by Jim Pelley

July 21, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- A flash flood watch has been issued for San Diego County’s mountains and deserts through Monday evening. Thunderstorms and heavy showers are forecast over  mountain and desert areas.  Flash flooding threat will remain high through early Monday night, especially in  areas recently burned by fires. 

This evening, flash flooding caused a rocky ride for motorists on roadways in East County’s mountains and deserts.  Mudslides caused major delays along Highway 78 at Yaqui Pass in the Anza-Borrego area.  Boulders in the roadway are blocking Montezuma Valley Road, forcing closure. Portions of S-2 and Borrego Valley Road are also shut down due to flooding and debris.

Representatives John Lewis and Susan Davis talk with ECM on civil rights and voting rights

“Comics can change history.” – Andrew Aidyn, coauthor

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Tom Abbott

July 21, 2013 (San Diego)—Congressman John Lewis (D-GA-5) came to San Diego Comicon International to launch his story from the Civil Rights movement. This graphic novel is the first in a trilogy put out by Top-Shelf called March. It will be released to the general public next month.http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/march/760

“This is another way, another method of reaching people, telling the story, making it come alive,” the Congressman said, “especially for young people.”

By Ariele Johannson

July 21, 2013 (Descanso) Efforts of the Mountain Empire Men’s Club culminated in a demonstration of the maxim “It takes a village to raise a child.”

An outpouring of volunteer effort, donations, and pitching-in from the mountain community of Descanso made this year’s scholarship fundraiser on June 28 event another success. Tammy Cooker and her crew from Descanso Junction and Catering served up a fabulous barbecue dinner of Jack Daniels tri-tip and chicken, while the Blue Mountain Band performed live music onstage at the historic Descanso Town Hall.

July 20, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)—The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch effective now through Sunday evening in burned areas of San Diego County’s mountains and deserts. Showers and isolated thunderstorms are also forecast.

Monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action if the flash flood watch is elevated to a flash flood warning.

By Mark Gabrish Conlan

July 19, 2013 (San Diego) – Just when you thought the current sex scandal involving San Diego Mayor Bob Filner couldn’t get any weirder, it did. On July 17 KGTV Channel 10 broke the news that Filner had been booked to be the keynote speaker at the National Military Women Veterans’ Association of America’s gala event in San Diego August 30-31. They had originally planned to give him a “Lifetime of Leadership” award honoring his work on behalf of veterans in general and military veterans in particular. But with allegations that Filner routinely harassed women, including his staff members, in the workplace and at community events, the group decided to rescind the award but keep him on as a speaker. “He is now the keynote speaker for these injustices,” said the group’s official statement.

July 19, 2013 (San Diego) – Yesterday, during opening day at Comic-Con, Mayor Bob Filner announced support for expanding the San Diego Convention Center.

“I am dedicated to keeping Comic-Con here in San Diego.  That dedication includes my support for expanding the San Diego Convention Center.   I am pleased to announce that I have been working closely with the Center’s Board of Directors and San Diego business leaders to develop a solid plan for the expansion effort,” he said. “I support what the Board has in mind and will be working with City staff at all levels to ensure we do everything necessary to get the project underway and completed in a timely fashion.”

By Miriam Raftery

San Diegans are speaking out on the anonymous sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Bob Filner--and their opinions are as diverse as the city's population. While some have called for the mayor's resignation or a recall election, others are urging him to stand his ground pending outcome of any investigaiton--and object to anonyous allegations being leveraged to try and force the mayor from office.

A rift has also occurred within the Democratic Party, with some prominent former supporters and multiple members of the City Council now calling for his resignation. But others say the Mayor is entitled to due process and that demands for his resignation are inappropriate absent proof of  illegal actions. In addition, the party is divided over who should replace Mayor Filner should he step down or be forced from office.

Photo courtesy San Miguel Fire District/Cal Fire

July 18, 2013 (Rancho San Diego )–Firefighters from Cal Fire/San Miguel Fire District responded to a six vehicle incident at Jamacha Road and Cuyamaca College Drive in the Rancho San Diego Area shortly after 11 a.m. today.

According to witnesses, the driver of a silver van was traveling eastbound on Jamacha Road when her vehicle sped up and hit five other vehicles, plunging over an embankment.  The vehicle also knocked over  a tree and continued through a Mobile gas station parking lot, then up a slight embankment, crashing into a light pole at  Rancho San Diego Town Centre before bursting into flames.

July 18, 2013 (Mission Valley) – San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU), San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution with three local East County branches in El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee, is inviting the public to its SDCCU Super Shred Event featuring free document shredding services from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, July 20 at the Qualcomm Stadium northwest parking lot located at 9449 Friars Road, San Diego. SDCCU is hoping to shred the Guinness World Record for most shred paper collected in 24 hours. The current world record of 111,920 pounds of paper is held by Comerica Bank, Iron Mountain and KDFW FOX 4 in Dallas.