Update 6:30 p.m. -- The kidnapped baby has been found safe and the father has been taken into custody near the border by Mexican authorities working in cooperation with U.S. law enforcement.

Novmeber 6, 2013 (San Diego)--A statewide Amber alert has been issued for a man suspected of abducting his infant son from Sunnyvale California.   His vehicle has been sighted in San Diego and his cell phone has also been traced to here.  The suspect, 22-year-old Mesut Guler, was last seen driving a tan 2004 GMC Envoy with license place 6HL892. It has a large American eagle on the rear window.

The suspect is a Turkish man, six feet tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. The two-week old infant, Henry Guler-Romero, is described as Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes.

The suspect reportedly told the mother he was leaving the state with the child and has previously threatened to harm both himself and the baby.

November 6, 2013 (El Cajon) – Exceeding expectations, the second Annual HauntFest on Main celebration, held on Friday, October 25, was deemed as an overwhelming success by City officials. The Halloween themed event drew an estimated 20,000 people to downtown El Cajon. 

Festivities were from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. with free admission.  Partygoers enjoyed live bands on multiple stages, such as: Paul Cannon, Fuzzy Rankins, Rockola, Jason Weber and Back to the Garden.  Families enjoyed the Terror Truck, the classic cars, the trick or treating booths, the movies on the giant movie screen, rides and games, pumpkin patch, craft booths, costumes, art show, and more.

November 6, 2013 (El Cajon) — Actor Saginaw Grant, a Sac and Fox Indian who has played numerous Native American roles in the movies and on television, said at a Student Veteran Organization event at Grossmont College on Monday, Nov. 4. that every combat veteran comes home with hidden wounds caused by the things they saw or did.  However, he said, it’s important that they banish negative thoughts from their minds: “You can’t change those things by thinking about them.”

Grant, who had served in the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict, said even after separating from the military service, veterans should continue to honor the proud military traditions that have been passed down for generations.  Likewise, Grant, who appeared in the 2013 movie The Lone Ranger as the Comanche Chief Big Bear, said that his Indian people should carefully listen and then honor the lessons that have been transmitted for eons in their oral traditions.

November 6, 2013 (San Diego) – The Center for Tomography Research Laboratory (CTECH Labs) will introduce the latest technology in brain scanning at the 6th International IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference on Neural Engineering at the Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, on November 7th at 3:00 PM PST.

The Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (or the ECVT) was first developed by CTECH Labs to enable 4D brain activity scanning. The technology offers low-cost, radiation-free, instantaneous detection of abnormalities in the brain caused by tumors, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other brain dysfunctions.

By Miriam Raftery

November 3, 2013 (La Mesa) – Last year, Helix Water Board member Chuck Muse sought to prohibit board members from speaking to the media in a clear effort to silence an outspoken member  critical of a rate hike.  The board stopped short of that likely-unconstitutional action, instead requiring board members to make clear that they are speaking as individuals, not representing the board’s position to media and the public. http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/10180

On its agenda for Wednesday, November 6, however, the Board is proposing new policies that would go much farther. While some policy changes aim to curb abuses by officials, others have a potential chilling effect on board members’ free speech. In addition, the new policy could allow limits on testimony from the public. (View board report on proposed guidelines and agenda.)

November 2, 2013 (San Diego) – If you speak Chinese or Vietnamese, the Registrar of Voters needs your help at local poll sites on Nov. 19 for the San Diego City mayor’s race on November 19.

Registrar Michael Vu says there is an urgent need for more bilingual volunteers to help citizens who are not yet proficient in English to vote at the polls.

Chinese and Vietnamese new poll worker orientation training classes are offered. Bilingual poll worker volunteers can earn a stipend of  $90 to $110. All poll worker volunteers must be U.S. citizens, registered to vote in California, and able to read and write the English language.

November 2, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – Helix Water District will officially celebrate its 100th anniversary as a public district at the Administration Office Boardroom, 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, California on Wednesday, November 6 at 5:00 p.m.

Helix Water District, which began as a private company called the San Diego Flume Company, went public as a result of a vote taken in the East County on November 1, 1913.   The La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley Irrigation District was duly formed as a public special district under California's irrigation law.

By Miriam Raftery

November 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Here’s a heads up for some key items coming up soon on the agendas in Lemon Grove, El Cajon, and at the San Diego Supervisors.

Lemon Grove’s City Council meets on Tuesday, November 5.  This week, the agenda includes proposed locations for a dog park, an expert panel on community gardens, and a report on economic development challenges and opportunities in Lemon Grove.

By Brian Lafferty

November 1, 2013 (San Diego) -- If there are any contemporary filmmakers more daring than Steve McQueen, I'm hard pressed to name one.  His first film, Hunger (2008), starred Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican Army Volunteer who led a hunger strike in a British prison and died in 1981.  He followed it up with Shame (2011), which also starred Fassbender, this time as a yuppie with a grossly unhealthy sex addiction.  The MPAA gave it an NC-17 rating for its frank and explicit depiction of sexual acts, and rightfully so, but Fox Searchlight left it as is.

 October 7, 2013 (Washington D.C.) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)  has issued a broad public health alert due to 278 illnesses in 18 states caused by strains of Salmonella Heidelberg.  The illnesses, which are mainly in California, are believed to be associated with raw chicken products produced by Foster Farms at three facilities in California.