November 2013 Articles

BABY FOUND SAFE, FATHER IN CUSTODY AFTER AMBER ALERT

 

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.


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FIRST-TIME VISITOR TO VIEJAS CASINO HITS THE JACKPOT

 

November 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A first-time visitor to Viejas Casino & Resort hit a whopping $58,221.78 jackpot after playing for just six minutes on a penny slot machine.

The lucky winner, from Whittier, California, was visiting a friend from El Cajon, who is a frequent guest at Viejas Casino & Resort. After enjoying the Buffet at Viejas on October 26, the El Cajon friend hit the casino floor for some table games play, and the visitor decided to try her luck on the Cash Multi-Spin penny slot machine. And after just six minutes of play, she hit the jackpot, according to Viejas.


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EL CAJON'S HAUNTFEST ON MAIN A HUGE SUCCESS

 

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.


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CURTAIN UP ON "HISTORY ALIVE" NOV. 7

 

November 6, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society will present a special edition of "History Alive" on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive Street, Lemon Grove when theater pros Anne Charlotte and Michael Harvey will recall in words, music, and images their production of the four-act melodrama "The Drunkard," presented during the glory days of the Lemon Grove Players.

In Lemon Grove in the late 1970s, along with a brand new city (1977), a revamped school district (1978), and a fledgling historical society (1978), there was a new theatrical troupe with big dreams.  The Lemon Grove Players, spearheaded by such talents as Dorothy Dubois, Dr. Robert Burns, Robert and Donna Adams, Victoria and Michael Dietrich, Estelle Lauer, pianist Anona Bolieu, and a platoon of volunteers, presented everything from melodrama to Molière in local school auditoriums for the next five years.


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NATIVE AMERICAN ACTOR URGES RETENTION OF TRADITIONS

 

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.


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TERM LIMITS INITIATIVE FILED

 

November 5, 2013 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Term Limits Committee filed the paperwork today to get voter approval for an ordinance that will limit city officials to twelve consecutive years in office. The group needs to collect 3,306 valid signatures in 180 days to place the measure on the November 2014 ballot.

Vice Mayor Kristine Alessio recently tried to get the City Council to put the ordinance on the ballot, but only Councilmember Ruth Sterling supported her motion. Alessio said, "If the Council won't do its job, the people will get it done. That's the essence of our democracy."


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REVOLUTIONARY BRAIN SCANNING TECHNOLOGY UNVEILED IN SAN DIEGO

 

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.


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HELIX WATER TO WEIGH OPTIONS WEDNESDAY FOR FUTURE OF LAKE JENNINGS

 

Closure of popular recreation facility among options

By Miriam Raftery

 

November 3, 2013 (La Mesa) – At its meeting on Wednesday, November 6, Helix Water District will vote on whether to have staff prepared detailed reports on four options for the future of Lake Jennings. Those options include:

  • close the lake to the public and decommission campgrounds and fishing facilities,
  • limit public access to only hiking, picnicking and fishing- -but the lake would no longer be stocked with fish and campgrounds would be decommissioned,
  • Maintain camping and fishing and invest $1,600,000 to $3,600,000 in renovations, or
  • Create a master plan for renovation and expansion based on the 2007 Lake Jennings Campground Master Plan at a cost of $8 million to $15 million, with additional expenses for permitting, environmental impact and mitigation.

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HELIX WATER PROPOSES NEW RULES TO CHANGE POWERS OF DIRECTOR, RESTRICT BOARD DISSENT, AND ALTER RULES FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY

 

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.)


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READER'S EDITORIAL: REMEMBERING A WORLD LOST IN THE CEDAR FIRE

 

By Cindy Buxton, Chair Forest Committee, San Diego Sierra Club

November 2, 2013 (Cleveland National Forest) – It’s been ten years since the Cedar Fire. Now it’s the beginning of Deer Season.  I put this video together years ago from a Power Point on the Cedar Fire from Cedar Gorge, in the first hours and the weeks and months to follow. For the milestone remembered this week, here's another moment, remembering that last night from a world we left behind.


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BILINGUAL POLL WORKERS NEEDED

 

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.


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SDSU CRIME ALERT

 

November 2, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego State University campus police have issued an alert regarding a suspicious incident yesterday at 1 p.m.  A man approached a female near tbe Aztec Center/Cuicacalli pedestrian bridge and asked to use her cell phone.  She twice refused and he ran away on foot.  Although a crime did not occur, this situation is consistent with the recent iPhone thefts reported to SDSU Police.


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HELIX WATER DISTRICT CELEBRATES 100 YEARS AS A PUBLIC DISTRICT NOV. 6

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.


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WHOOPING COUGH ON THE RISE

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Five new cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have been reported at area schools this week according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.  The new cases include a student at Maryland Avenue Elementary School in La Mesa here in East County.

There have been 216 cases of pertussis reported in the county so far this year, compared to last year’s total of 165 cases for the entire year, so the rate of whooping cough is on the rise.


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LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPORT

 

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.


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HUESO, GONZALEZ AMONG 8 RECALL TARGETS BY GUN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

Updated November 5, 2013

By Nadin Abbott

November 2, 2013 (San Diego) Colorado has seen successful efforts to recall legislators who voted to regulate guns. Now an organizer of the Colorado effort has announced intent to launch recall efforts against eight California Democrats.

Free California founder Jennifer Kerns announced this recall effort in the Capitol on October 24. Among the legislators targeted are Senator Ben Hueso, who represents sections of the East County, and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales from San Diego. 

The group says it is targeting California legislators who actively supported 12 gun-control bills, including SB374, which would have added all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines to the state's list of banned assault weapons, and AB711, which will ban lead ammunition in hunting by 2019.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: SOUTHERN INHOSPITALITY (12 YEARS A SLAVE)

 

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.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: AFTER COMMAND SCHOOL SPECIAL (ENDER'S GAME)

 

By Brian Lafferty

November 1, 2013 (San Diego) – Ender’s Game views warfare, military training, and combat from a unique perspective: a child’s.  The air is filled with an aura of childhood innocence.  The very real threat of humanity’s annihilation is hard for these young recruits to completely comprehend because they haven’t experienced life and the world as much as grown-ups have.


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HISTORIC HOMES TOUR SATURDAY IN LA MESA

The La Mesa Historical Society hosts its 8th Annual Home Tour November 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Look out Ranch and Morningside tracts features up to seven beautiful, and historic, homes of La Mesa, including the Society's recently restored McKinney House. Some of the homes are older than the city of La Mesa.



The Society will provide trolleys for transport among the houses or ticketed guests may travel to the homes on their own. (This tour is not ADA accessible).

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SUSPECTS STILL AT LARGE AFTER LEMON GROVE HOME INVASION AND SHOOTING

October 31, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – On October 30 at 1:30 a.m.,  Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home invasion at 8047 Blossom Lane in Lemon Grove.


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USDA HEALTH ALERT: SALMONELLA LINKED TO CHICKENS IN CALIFORNIA

 

 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.


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