By Miriam Raftery

Listen to audios of CVUSD meetings from Dec.-March (scroll down)

Photos: unobtrusive recording device on tripod used by ECM reporter at two recent meetings does not obstruct views or traffic.

June 6, 2019 (El Cajon) – It took cease and desist letters sent by two attorneys to the Cajon Valley Union School District for ECM to obtain recordings of public meetings previously denied, along with assurances that our reporters will not be threatened for recording school board meetings ourselves. But other important records requests remain pending beyond the time frames mandated by state law.  

More than five months after our initial Public Records Act request for tapes of public meetings, the Cajon Valley Union School District has turned over all but one recording from December 2018 through March 2019.  Miraculously, those include a Dec. 11, 2018 recording that the district previously informed ECM had been destroyed. The one missing audio file, for March 12, 2019, was not available to a technical difficulty, the district claims in a letter sent to Californians Aware attorney Terry Francke.  

The records were provided to Francke after the attorney notified the district that its refusal to provide copies of recordings violated the Ralph M. Brown Act (California’s public records act) to ECM reporter Paul Kruze and to board member Jill Barto.  The district’s purported destruction of the December recording after 30 days despite a records request made just one day after the meeting, as claimed by executive assistant Naomie Rodriguez, was also illegal, Francke informed the district.

The district sent its recordings only to Francke, with a short window to download copies, but never did provide copies directly to either Kruze or Barto, both have confirmed. Barto says the district has refused to provide CDs for any meeting prior to May, and that they told her they won’t provide CDs unless a request is made within 30 days of a meeting – backtracking off their vote in  late March to retain recordings for a year and make them available on CD, as ECM reported.

East County News Service

June 5, 2019 (La Mesa) – It began with unexplainable fatigue then weakness in his left arm and shoulder for Jessy Ybarra of La Mesa. “I regularly worked out with my trainer 3 days a week and it seemed like one day, my left side just couldn’t keep up with shoulder presses and pushups anymore,” said Ybarra. “Then, my left pinkie finger started curling up. Then, there was a twitch on my left triceps.”

By Miriam Raftery

June 5, 2019 (Campo) – Public participation is needed at two upcoming meetings on Terra-Gen’s proposal to install 60 wind turbines, each 586 feet tall and capable of producing 4.2 megawatts of power.  The turbines are proposed on the Campo tribal reservation, from north of I-8 to near the border in the south. 

“These turbines are about twice the size with twice the harmful energy and noise as existing local Kumeyaay Wind and Tule Wind turbines. If new turbines are approved, life for many area residents will change for the worst.” Says Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group which represents nearby communities. She adds, “People are already sick around existing turbines.”        

Below are details on upcoming meetings June 6 and June 19, where the public can learn more and speak out:    

East County News Service

June 4, 2019 (La Mesa) – Was your home built before 1984?  If so it may qualify for historic preservation, with tax benefits and other advantages.  La Mesa Conservations and the La Mesa Historical Society will host “Historic Preservation in La Mesa: Myths, Realities and Benefits” including the city’s historic property update. The event will be held this Thursday, June 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 4731 Date St., La Mesa.

This event is free. but please RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/historic-preservation-in-la-mesa-tickets-61773023777?mc_cid=a883f98a8a&mc_eid=54e8d2ba08

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District

June 3, 2019 (El Cajon) -  Commencement is a day of celebration, but for some, the pomp and circumstance is more than they can afford.

For the past 15 years, longtime Grossmont College staffer Juliette Harrington has quietly paid for the caps and gowns of dozens of graduates who might otherwise not been able to participate in commencement. This year, Harrington, a Health Services specialist, wanted to help more students and thanks to a $500 grant from student government and a vendor who provided a sizable discount, 105 students received caps they can treasure as keepsakes and six will be provided loaned gowns, all for free, for the ceremony taking place at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Grossmont College Main Quad.

San Diego County fails to pay JCFPD paramedics as agreed in earlier court judgment

Update: Sheriff's office declines to comment on eviction of the JCFPD

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

June 3, 2019 (Julian) -- CAL FIRE, under the authority of the San Diego County Fire Authority, retook the remaining Julian fire station Sunday afternoon. The station  has been held by volunteers Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District (JCFPD) with court approval after the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) dissolved the JCFPD, pending the outcome of litigation by those trying to save the county's last volunteer firefighting district.

The move by CAL FIRE and the Sheriff’s Department failure to halt the takeover was in defiance of an appeal filed to the San Diego Superior Appellate Court Division immediately after Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp on Friday ordered members of the JCFPD to vacate Fire Station No. 56 in her Friday ruling.  The appeal triggers an automatic stay, the County’s director of communications acknowledged Friday, prior to the forced takeover this weekend. Judge Trapp on Friday also affirmed that no eviction should occur until an appeal could be heard, according to a witness present in the courtroom. ECM is working to obtain videotape of the judge’s statement.

East County News Service

June 2, 2019 (La Mesa) -- A free talk on “5G & Wireless: Keeping Safer in a Wireless World” by a wireless expert and attorney Dafna Tachover, is being held at 4700 Spring St., La Mesa, Suite 201, on Sunday 6/2/19 at 3 p.m.  Tachover previously worked in the Israeli Defense Forces as a telecommunication and computers officer. She is the founder the advocacy group “We are the Evidence” for rights of people impacted by wireless technology radiation and led a Supreme Court case in Israel that led to the strictest limitations in the world on Wi-Fi in schools.

Susan Brinchman with the Center for Electrosmog in La Mesa has been working for three months in an effort to consult with the County on a revision of its recent wireless ordinance approved Feb. 27 for unincorporated areas which she says “fell short in the area of protecting property owners and residents.  The County is now seeking public comments. View the latest draft ordinance: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/advance/smallcellwirelessfacilities.html

East County News Service

June 1, 2019 (El Cajon) – Robert Gehr snapped this photo of a crow in El Cajon. “It was keeping an eye on me as I photographed the antics of it, being a bit playful,” he writes.

Crows are highly intelligent, capable of recognizing individual human faces and have even been trained to talk.

Meet some amazing stand-out students

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca College

June 1, 2019 (El Cajon) - Almost 2,700 graduates from Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges will be receiving 5,652 degrees and certificates at this year’s commencements, setting a new record as the largest graduating class from the two East County colleges.

Memorial gathering June 8 at 2 p.m. at Desert View Tower

East County News Service

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2019 (Spring Valley) – A male caller, possibly a juvenile, called Bancroft Elementary School in Spring Valley at 2:44 p.m. today to state that there would be a shooting and warned the school to go on lockdown.  Staff put the school into lockdown and notified the Sheriff.

Sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded.  There were no further threats or substantiation, but the school dismissed students with law enforcement present.

East County News Service

May 30, 2019 (La Mesa) -- Six gifted San Diego area high school musicians, appearing in concert, will vie for scholarship honors in a new program to be featured annually as part of La Mesa’s popular Valerie Victor* Concert Series.  The featured finalists are Derek Savage, West Hills High – Guitar; Lydia Schmidt, Carlsbad High – Soprano; Mikel Ibaibarriaga, St. Augustine High – Baritone; Jacob Francisco, Montgomery High – Baritone Saxophone; Andrew Hendrix, Steel Canyon High – Alto Saxophone and Kartik Sundaram, Canyon Crest High – Tenor.

East County News Service

May 28, 2019 (Alpine) - Grab your popcorn – it’s time for (free!) summertime movies at the outdoor roller skating rink at Viejas Outlets shopping mall (5005 Willows Rd.) in Alpine.  Showtimes start at 7:30 p.m. The season opened May 24 with Top Gun. The lineup of popular movies coming up include:

• May 31  – Hotel Transylvania 3 (PG)
• June 7 – Moana (PG)
• June 14 – Bumblebee (PG13)
• June 21 – Antman and the Wasp (PG13)
• June 28 – Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse (PG)
• July 4 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PG13)
• July 5 – How to Train Your Dragon 3 (PG)