Story and photos by Jolene Crowley

Courtesy of Main Tap Tavern. Main Tap Tavern in El Cajon boasts 24 hand-blown glass tap handles created by local artist Dan McStocker.

The
rehabilitation and beautification of Main Street in El Cajon continues with
the July opening of Main Tap Tavern.  Currently owned and operated by
the East County father and son team, T. L. and Zack Summers, this prime location
had been a dive bar since the ‘60s.

The Loss of Freedom and the Slide towards Tyranny

By Michael Benoit

What is tyranny?

October 1, 2008 (San Diego's East County) - It is the taking control of your body, mind or property without your consent. Freedom
comes to us naturally and tyranny is a stripping away of that freedom. Our
freedom can be classified into two categories -- the first being personal,
and the second being economic.

These freedoms, of course, are joined, so a loss of one equates to a loss
of the other. I don't believe that there can ever be a consistent
level of freedom from one person to the next. For example, if the politicians
make it mandatory to wear a seatbelt, this is an infringement on our personal
liberty; if we are punished by the state for not wearing the belt, which usually
comes in the form of a fine which diminishes our economic freedom. To the wealthy
the loss of freedom is likely not to be perceived at all.

ROC For Fire Relief Concert and Fire Expo Helps Neighbors, Celebrates
Heroes

Saturday, October 4th, 2008
12:00pm to 10:00pm
Lakeside Rodeo Grounds, Lakeside
www.rocsd.net
Listen to music from
the bands.

October 1, 2008 (Lakeside) - “Relief is still needed in a serious way,” said Randy Seol of
the band Strawberry Alarm Clock, a longtime San Diego resident who watched
in horror with the rest of us as our county was ravaged by the 2003 and 2007
wildfires. Some fire survivors are now losing their FEMA trailers; many
are struggling in severe financial and emotional need to rebuild their lives,
he added. 

By Miriam Raftery

September
21, 2008 (JULIAN) - “We’ve
had at least 500 people here so far,” Dick Thilken, president of the Julian
Lions Club said
of the 38th annual Julian Bluegrass Festival on Sunday afternoon, September
21st.  “Each day we’ve had six musical groups playing.” 

Besides
officially scheduled acts, players from various areas joined in for some impromptu
musical performances at California’s oldest bluegrass
festival.

September
30, 2008 (ALPINE) - More than 50 business owners gathered at
the Liar’s
Club restaurant in Alpine Aug. 21 to celebrate the launch of the Alpine Business
Networking Association ABNA).

By Janelle Eckardt
October 1, 2008 (La Mesa) --  When considering a place and/or attraction in the East County to highlight from my perspective as a 20-something woman in a wheelchair, La Mesa’s long row of antique shops didn’t immediately rank high on my list. This is not to say that I don’t appreciate the fine crafts of generations past–I was raised in a household of jukeboxes, ice boxes, and radios the size of large robots–But after years of watching “The Antique Road Show” with my mother, I’m ashamed to say it is still beyond me to tell the difference between a hand-carved wooden horse from the nineteenth century and one carved in a middle school class by a kid with an acne problem.  So I decided to roll outside my comfort zone and head off on a modern day treasure hunt.

By Miriam Raftery

October 1, 2008 (San Diego's East County) Legislators
who voted to ban cell phone usage while driving obviously never tried communicating
via a a hands-free device while traversing East County's back roads and
byways, where even normal cell phone service is spotty at best and often non-existent. I'm
certain that if these do-gooders in Sacramento had to conduct their business
in the boonies, they'd repeal the law in a nanosecond.

GOOD MONEY:

Your guide to profitable and socially responsible investing

By Judith L. Seid,
CFP ®

October 1, 2008 (La Mesa) -- The
crisis on Wall Street caused by the bursting of the real-estate bubble has
now lasted 13 months and has caused far more damage than analysts initially
forecast.