November 11, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The past month has been deadly on East County roadways.  Accidents in Jamul, Spring Valley, San Diego, Lakeside, and Ramona have claimed the lives of several local residents.

Steven John Eastman, 24, of El Cajon died November 3 of injuries sustained when he was struck by a cement truck while walking along Mission Gorge Road and Cottonwood Avenue on November 1. Witnesses called 911 and paramedics found him unresponsive. He was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where despite treatment, his health declined.

November 11, 2013 (San Diego)--During November, veterans and active duty military personnel can adopt a dog or cat at half price through County Animal Services.  This includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, a microchip, and a free health examination.  The adoptions are limited to one dog or two cats per household.

Dawn Danielson, director of the County’s Department of Animal Services, says “This is truly a win-win situation for both the pets that deserve a loving home and our service members who will gain a loyal, forever companion.” Pets can often have healing effects on veterans and can help them transition back into their civilian lives, she added.

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2013 (Washington D.C.) –The Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act was introduce November 4 in the Senate.

“The FAA’s plan falls far short of putting in place the necessary privacy protections for the commercialization of drone use in U.S. airspace,” Senator Ed Markey (D-MA)said in a statement. “This disregard for the need for strong and comprehensive privacy safeguards underscores why we must pass federal legislation to protect innocent individuals from expanded use of commercial and government drones.”

Markey said that his legislation requires transparency on the domestic use of drones and adds privacy protections that will “ensure this technology cannot and will not be used to spy on Americans.” Markey’s bill would require law enforcement agencies to acquire warrants before they use drones to conduct surveillance.  A copy of his bill can be viewed here. 

By Miriam Raftery

Cary Hyatt also contributed to this report

November 5, 2013 (San Diego) – Nearly 270,000 San Diegans, including 136,000 children and 15,000 senior citizens, had their food stamp benefits cut effective November 1^st.   Nationwide, around 48 million people rely on food stamps, or nearly 14% of all Americans.

Meetings set in Julian on November 11 and December 4

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Should unmanned drone aircraft testing be allowed over San Diego and East County?   

San Diego’s entire Congressional delegation thinks so. All five members have signed a letter supporting efforts by Inyokern to have the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declare our region an unmanned aircraft systems test site,The Drone News reported on October 26. San Diego Supervisors have also voiced support for the proposal, directing staff to write a letter in support. Supervisor Dianne Jacob has said she supports the concept to provide jobs and fire monitoring.

But now a citizens action group called Back Country Voices has formed  to oppose drone testing here.  The  The group plans two meetings, one at the Julian Library on November 11 at 6 p.m. and the second on December 4 at 6 p.m. Objections include safety and privacy concerns over drone surveillance,  impacts of drones on the environment, bird migrations, and the deaths of innocent civilians including thousands of children worldwide inadvertently killed by drones.

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

October 31, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Nine East County Magazine team members combined to win 11 awards in the 40th annual “Excellence in Journalism Awards” presented by San Diego Press Club on October 29.  ECM has won a total of 58 journalism awards since our launch in September 2008.

Our winning news entries dealt primarily with compelling public health and safety issues(wildfires and industrial-scale energy projects), though we also picked up awards for photography, feature-writing and commentary.

Congratulations to our winners!  In alphabetical order, they are:  Nadin Abbott, Parke Ewing, Paul Kruze, Brian Lafferty, Ron Logan, Jim Pelley, Miriam Raftery, Sierra Robinson, and Darin Sefcik.

Photos by Vernon Fry:  Highway 94 and Lyons Valley Road

October 31, 2013 (Jamul) – On October 28, ECM published a story citing numerous complaints from residents of near-miss crashes on Highway 94 that drivers believed were caused by lack of roadway striping during a months-long CalTrans roadway repaving project.  The story also noted a fatality accident on Highway 94, though CHP has said alcohol may have been a factor in that crash. http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/fatality-crash-raises-concerns-over-ro...

On October 20, Marcia Spurgeon with the Jamul Action Committee wrote to ECM and our news partner, 10 News, with an update:

I cannot thank you both enough for writing (East County Magazine) and airing (Channel 10 News) the serious and dangerous situation on Highway 94 in Jamul. Today at approximately noon, a large truck parked in our office driveway. Within a 1/2 hour we had not one or two but three large white arrows in the west bound turn lane. The east bound turn lane has two. The intersection at Proctor Valley and 94 also has painted arrows in the turn lanes….Bravo to both of you. I honestly believe you have saved lives by bringing this to the public's attention and obviously Granite Construction and Caltrans.

October 28, 2013 (Jamul) - Could road paving work have caused last night's  fatality crash on State Route 94 at Otay Lakes Road?

"Without striping on the road, very few delineation markers, and no lights during this resurfacing, it becomes virtually impossible to see where you are going or know where the road is," the Jamul Action Committee wrote in an email after the deadly crash. Moreover, two more motorists have come forward to warn of near-miss crashes including at least three near-head on collisions that they blame on missing or confusing pavement markings from the resurfacing project.

Jamul residents have been warning that the repaving work, being done both day and night with multiple stops and congestion, could endanger motorists, as ECM previously reported: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/14217 . The paving is expected to continue for months.

October 27, 2013 (Spring Valley) – Jacob Greenwald, 20, was struck and killed while walking on a sidewalk on Campo Road near Cordoba Avenue in Spring Valley at 3:54 a.m.   Greenwald, a recent Grossmont High School graduate, worked at a nearby McDonalds at State Route 94 and Avocado and was walking home from work.

Jason Michael Palmer, 33, of Spring Valley has been arrested for fleeing the scene after fatally striking Greenwald while driving a Toyota 4Runner SUV.  Authorities tracked him down after finding his license plate at the accident site.  Greenwald died at the scene.

October 26, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – The Sheriff’s Department is looking for witnesses with information on an accident that occurred around 9:48 this morning involving two vehicles that collided, causing a bicyclist to also be struck and severely injured.

Deputies reported that the two vehicles were involved in a dispute over right-of-way where State Route 67 merges from two lanes to a single lane at Poway Road. As the two vehicles merged, the passenger side of a Volvo S 60 collided with the driver’s side of a Dodge Ram 3500.  After the collision, the Dodge Ram veered right, striking a bicyclist traveling northbound in a marked bicycle lane.

October 25, 2013 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis has resigned, effective immediately.  In his resignation letter, the Mayor  cited health reasons, including cancer, a dislocated shoulder and a minor stroke in 2010. “Unfortunately at times, this has caused me some difficulties in clearly communication my thoughts, including during the recent interviews  that have caused understandable concern,” he wrote, adding that he is stepping down to avoid further concerns by citizens and to “allow our City Council and community o move forward in their work to make this City the finest place it can be.”

He added, “I deeply love our town and have given a major portion of my adult life to its wellbeing and, so, this is a bittersweet moment for me."

October 23, 2013 (Alpine) – Four people sustained life-threatening major injuries in a rollover accident on westbound I-8 at East Willows Road in Alpine at 11:50 a.m. on October 21.   None were properly restrained in seat belts, according to CHP officer Kevin Pearlstein.

According to the CHP, a 28-year-old woman from Campo was driving a 2001 Ford Explorer westbound at about 70 miles per hour when her vehicle drifted onto the dirt center divide and rolled out.  A 2-year-old girl was ejected from the vehicle.  She was transported to Children’s Hospital.

October 22, 2013 (Borrego Springs) – A big-rig truck driver lost control entering a curve on Montezuma Valley Road and overturned, crashing through a guard rail and plunging down an embankment at 6:15 this morning.  The driver, 28, and his 18-month-old son were extricated from the wreckage and airlifted to the Borrego Springs Airport, where Mercy Air flew them to Riverside General Hospital.

The driver, who is from Coachella, sustained minor injuries to his knee and back.  His young son sustained a broken leg.

October 21, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Two scoping meetings are planned this week in Julian and Alpine  for the public to obtain information and voice views on a proposal by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)  that includes Cleveland National Forest lands.  SDG&E wants to combine over 70 existing special use permits for electric facilities in the forest into one Master Special Use Permit.  In addition, SDG&E wants to replace some power lines and distribution liens both inside and outside the forest  including fire hardening, relocation and undergrounding of certain facilities.

Areas impacted include the vicinity of Descanso, Campo, Pauma Valley, Santa Ysabel, and Warner Springs.