July 16, 2010 (Pine Valley) – San Diego Sheriff’s office today announced a search for a Rancho San Diego man who was last seen on June 30th. Steve Smith, 47, was reported missing on July 12; his vehicle was towed by California Highway Patrol on July 8 at 2:30 a.m. from the Pine Valley bridge. Smith may be suicidal and in possession of a firearm, according to an investigation by detectives with the Lemon Grove Sheriff substation.

July 14, 2010 (San Diego's East County) --A woman is distraught and threatening to jump off a bridge over Eastbound highway 54 near the 805 junction, Incident Page Network reported at 6:05 p.m.   

Traffic is also slow on westbound I-8 due to two major accidents, including a rollover at Fairmont where a vehicle rolled down an embankment, forcing a road closure.  A second accident has occured near College Avenue.

 
LOCAL LEADERS REACT TO DECISION WITH SHOCK & AWE

July 13, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – The last 19-mile link of SDG&E’s controversial Sunrise Powerlink transmission line project has been approved by Cleveland National Forest director William Metz, the Union-Tribune reports.
 

July 13, 2010 (Alpine) –A Life-Flight helicopter has been called to transport a five-year-old boy struck by a vehicle to a local trauma center. The child is breathing and conscious, but may have broken bones, according to a Sheriff’s official.

The child was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the 2100 block of Alpine Glen Place in the Japatul Valley area around 5 p.m. and reportedly was crushed between the vehicle and a block wall.  A search is on for the driver of the vehicle after law enforcement obtained the address at which the vehicle is registered, ECM has learned.

July 10, 2010 (Pine Valley) – Donald Patterson, 57, of El Cajon has been identified by the San Diego Medical Examiner as the driver of a pickup that plummeted off I-8 near the Sunrise Highway exit in Pine Valley on Wednesday, sparking a brush fire.

By Miriam Raftery

July 9, 2010 (San Diego's East County)  -  What are the odds of a big quake striking your community?  Now there's a website where you can type in your zip code and learn the probability of a major quake striking in the near or distant future.

I typed in my own zip code (91941 La Mesa) and was startled to learn that the odds of a 6.0 magnitude quake or greater striking within the next 10 years is 50%--and in some nearby towns the chances are even greater. 

What should you do to stay safe when an earthquake strikes?

July 9, 2010 (San Diego) – East County Magazine added another award to its growing list of honors last night at the Society of Professional Journalists awards banquet at the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego. SPJ-San Diego presented ECM with a first-place award for investigative reporting in the daily news reporting category.

July 8, 2010 (La Mesa) – A 74-year-old woman whose car crashed through a fence and tumbled 60 feet down an embankment on Aztec Drive in La Mesa has been rescued. Heartland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the accident at 12:30 p.m. and found the vehicle had landed in a drainage ditch. It took ten firefighters approximately half an hour to extricate the woman from the vehicle by removing the roof of the car.

July 7, 2010 - A strong earthquake jolted East County at 4:53 p.m. today.  The quake, which was centered 13 miles north northwest of Borrego Springs in San Diego's East County, was initially rated a 5.9 on the Richter scale but subsequently downgraded to a 5.4 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"Montezuma Valley Grade had boulders rock and come loose, laying in the roadway, a citizen reported," a deputy at Borrego Springs told East County Magazine.  "They felt it was a safety hazard and I dispatched County Roads...Cell phone service went out for about five minutes also; all circuits were busy."

"It was a rough jolt," Linda Narrin, an employee at Orchard Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn in Julian, told East County Magazine.  

July 6, 2010 (Washington D.C.) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on July 1st unveiled an innovative new on-line tool aimed at helping consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources to access quality, affordable health care coverage.

July 4, 2010 (Washington D.C.) – The Fourth of July marks the anniversary of the signing of America’s most cherished document, the Declaration of Independence announcing the American colonies' freedom from British rule. Yet many today have never heard the inspiring words in their entirety.
 

 It was 234 years ago today, while the Revolutionary War was raging, that church bells rang out across Philadelphia to celebrate the Continental Congress' adopting Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence.

National Public Radio has a tradition of inviting journalists and show hosts to read the cherished document out loud each year at Independence Day.  Click here to hear the broadcast--and read the full text. Invite friends, family and neighbors to listen, too.  You may be amazed to find how many issues are just as relevant today as they were back in 1776. 

Story and photos by Dennis Richardson

July 3, 2010 (Del Cerro) – A driver who lost control of her pickup truck Thursday missed a turn on a steep downhill road, then crashed into two homes in the 6200 block of Camino Largo near Ridge Manor Avenue. The truck entered the garage of the first home, damaged an electrical sub- panel and started a fire.

The vehicle then broke through the garage wall and jumped over a property line, slamming into a neighbor’s garage wall.

East County News Service

June 30, 2010 (La Mesa) – Last night at 11:43 p.m., a driver in La Mesa collided into a parked vehicle, causing a chain reaction collision in the 5300 block of Baltimore Drive.

Recent coyote attacks on large dogs in East County also reported; area residents suggest packs are becoming more aggressive

By Miriam Raftery

June 28, 2010 (Spring Valley) – A coyote attacked a 12-year-old girl shortly before 9:30 this evening at 9119 Jamacha Road in Spring Valley, just one block from the Spring Valley Library and La Presa Middle School, Heartland Dispatch and the San Diego Sheriff's office have confirmed.