May 20, 2011(Washington D.C.) Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, announced that he will introduce legislation in the coming days directing the Secretary of the Navy to name the next available ship after Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta.

“Marine Corps Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a Hispanic-American who grew up in Southeast San Diego, was nominated for the Medal of Honor for smothering a grenade with his body, saving the lives of the other Marines in the room with him,” Hunter said. The incident occurred after Peralta led a team of Marines into a house during combat in Fallujah, Iraq.

Update May 22:  View an underwater video of the training session:  http://vimeo.com/24063472

29 cases confirmed in U.S. including 13 in CA

Local horse shows cancelled, state quarantines imposed to stop spread

May 19, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Horses from across the West were exposed to a deadly new form of Equine Herpes Virus at a Utah horse show. There is no vaccine for Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), which is caused by Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). The disease, which results in neuorological symptoms, is highly contagious and often fatal. 

So far, the virus has not been reported in San Diego. But local horse experts are concerned—and horse owners are advised to take precautions.

May 19, 2011 (San Diego) – San Diego County’s Health & Human Services Agency is looking for several community members to fill vacancies on its Community Action Board.

“We are looking for new members and the posts needed to be filled up are East County for the economically disadvantaged sector and three for the public sector for the 2rd, 3rd, and 5th (Supervisorial) District,” said board member Awichu Akwanya.

Investigation finds NRC cancelled safety regulations designed to prevent hydrogen explosions at U.S. nuclear reactors such as those that occurred in Fukushima, Japan

May 19, 2011—A scathing report critical of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission following the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in Japan has been issued by Congressman Edward Markey’s office following an investigation into NRC procedures.

The report concludes that “flawed assumptions and under-estimation of safety risks are currently an inherent part of the NRC regulatory program, due to a long history of decisions made by prior Commissions or by the NRC staff that have all too often acquiesced to industry requests for a weakening of safety standards.”

Among the disturbing findings:

By Miriam Raftery

May 18, 2011 (La Mesa) – Ashley Charlton, a junior and AP student at West Hills High School, has been named the grand prize winner for her entry in the 3rd Annual Golden Artistry Jewelry Design Competition.

Other top entrants for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place were Cassandra Kingsbury from El Capitan, Scott Holcomb and Noraa Reeder from Santana.

May 14, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Sheriff’s department had planned a training exercise this weekend for Search and Rescue volunteers. The exercise was cancelled, however,  in order to enlist help from the SAR volunteers in a real-life search and rescue mission that has yielded a happy ending.

Patricia McGinn, 63, of La Mesa was found safely at 2:30 p.m. today in a canyon in the 5000 block of Mountainbrook Road in Santa Ysabel by SAR volunteers, after neighbors reported hearing her call for help.

May 13, 2011 (Alpine) - East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery will once again be a guest on Billie Jo Jannen's "TGIF" radio program tonight. Listen live on 107.9 FM from 6-7 p.m. 

Hot topics will include fire victims asked to return  payments from FEMA, mlitary discrimination against graduates of online schools, legislative news, Rep. Duncan Hunter's effort to save the Mt. Soledad cross, and an ECM investigation into "lion walks" that resulted in an attack on an East County resident.

Bring Your Items and Take Part In This Community E Waste Event

May 11, 2011 (La Mesa) --In order to create a cleaner environment for our community, the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce is hosting an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling collection event.  It will take place on Saturday , May 14th and Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The drive will be located in the parking lot of Grossmont Center between Lava Fitness and Fuddruckers.

May 9, 2011 (San Diego) -- Getting a ticket for running a red-light equipped with camera can be a costly mistake, with fines that can run hundreds of dollars in some areas. Fortunately, ECM reader Jan Hedlun has compiled a  list of locations for all red-light cameras in San Diego County--including East County, North County, and other communities in our region. 

Check out our handy guide to red-light camera locations below, then pass this link along to other drivers.  

May 8, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for San Diego’s mountain and desert regions. The warning is in effect through midnight tonight. Sustained winds of 40 mph or more are forecast with gusts up to 60 mph possible.

May 7, 2011 (Lakeside) – A fatality accident on the new section of Highway 52 has claimed the life of Gary Leroy York, 68. York was driving his three-wheel motorcycle westbound on State Route 52 when he was rear-ended by a sedan and ejected just west of Fanita Drive in Santee on Friday at 8:40 a.m.

UPDATE MAY 11:  This missing person has been found in National City and is now at Paradise Hospital being treated for confusion.

May 10, 2011 (San Carlos)11:50 p.m. – San Diego Police seek public help to find a missing 85-year-old man with early-stage Alzheimer’s. John Morreal was last seen at 7 p.m. driving toward a grocery store at Jackson Drive and Navajo Road. He was driving a 2010 black Ford Ranger pickup, with California license #8Y06548. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt and tan pants.

May 5, 2011 (San Diego) – A new pageant takes the stage on Monday, May 30, when the Joan B. Kroc Center will host the 2011 Miss San Diego Cities Pageant. Pageant organizers are currently seeking outgoing women ages 13-26 to participate in the program. Miss San Diego Cities 2011 will receive at $1,000.00 scholarship while Miss Teen San Diego Cities will receive a $500.00 scholarship.

The pageant is open to residents of unincorporated areas as well as residents of cities within San Diego County. It will be the first county wide pageant since the “Fairest of the Fair” ended in 2004 that does not have a swimsuit competition, does not have a talent competition and where the contestants do participate in essay writing and speech presentation.