February 1, 2011 (El Cajon ) – A 35-year-old motorcyclist has died of injuries sustained in a collision with a car that occurred at 6:30 p.m. last night. Witnesses told El Cajon Police that the driver of a 1987 Suzuki Motorcycle was traveling eastbound in the 1100 block of Broadway when a 1997 Honda Accord made a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcyclist.

DUI Victim donates vehicle to educate public about dangers

January 31, 2011 (San Diego) – Sheriff Bill Gore held a press conference today to remind San Diegans not to drink and drive on Super Bowl weekend, or anytime. He was joined at the conference by Erin Limonchi of La Mesa, whose mother, Pamela Marabeas, was killed September 30, 2009 when a drunk driver smashed into her mother’s SUV in Santee. Limonchi has donated the crumpled vehicle for use in free “Start Smart” classes to provide teens a graphic reminder of the deadly consequences of drinking and driving.

January 30, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Rain is likely this afternoon and tonight, with a chance of thundershowers. A wind advisory has been issued for mountain and desert areas, where strong westerly winds are forecast with gusts over 50 mph. Winds are expected to increase in intensity, with gusts over 50 mph Tuesday night through Thursday.

Update 10:45 p.m.:  This missing person has been found safe in Tijuana.

January 28, 2011 (San Diego) – San Diego Police seek the public’s help to find a missing juvenile at risk. Lorena Perez-Estrada, 17, has the mental capacity of a much younger person. She speaks Spanish and has a speech impediment. She was wearing a short-sleeve purple T-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. She has scars on the back of her hands and no lower teeth.  She is 5 feet tall with a thin build, black hair, and brown eyes.

“She was last seen running off toward the trolley, probably around 3 p.m.,” Officer David Stafford told East County Magazine.  Lorena is a resident of Tijuana, Mexico but disappeared while in San Diego with her family today. Her mother called police to 1500 Imperial Avenue at 3:05 p.m.

January 28, 2011 (Deerhorn Valley) – Today, a Deerhorn Valley resident photographed two dogs that match descriptions of those that have been killing livestock animals in the area. If you can identify the dogs or their owners, please contact theantler@deerhornvalley.net.

January 28, 2011 (Poway) – An 80-year-old man who got lost while hiking has been found, Sheriff Lt. Jim Duffy has informed East County Magazine. “He had a cell phone and called for help,” said Duffy.

January 27, 2011 (San Diego)— Earlier this month in San Bernardino County, three members of a family were electrocuted when they came in contact with a downed power line owned by Southern California Edison. According to news reports, the husband was the first one to approach the downed line, which had fallen into the family’s backyard. His wife and son also were killed when they tried to rescue him from the energized line.

“This tragedy serves as a reminder that you should never touch a downed power line and always should assume that any power line is ‘live’ and electricity is flowing through it,” said David L. Geier, vice president of electric operations for SDG&E.

Shocking numbers could be even higher if veterans were included

January 25, 2011 – Results of a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry have found that 93 percent of soldiers contemplated suicide when they went without aggressive mental counseling in a controlled group.

Results of the study, conducted by the Army on 20,000 soldiers in Iraq, shows that 54 percent fewer soldiers contemplated suicide and the number of soldiers who needed to be sent home with mental health problems dropped by nearly 70 percent with more aggressive counseling in the field.

January 25, 2011 (San Diego) – Dale Fetherling, one of San Diego’s most prominent journalists and authors, died January 18 at Kaiser Foundation Hospital from complications following heart surgery.

Fetherling helped establish the Los Angeles Times’ San Diego County edition in 1978, serving as editor until the publication closed in 1992. He covered some of our region’s biggest stories including the 1978 PSA plane crash, the 1984 McDonald’s massacre, and the trial of Mayor Roger Hedgecock.

Money Will Fund 29 Projects Throughout County

More than $4.7 million is going to local programs that help homeless individuals and families who deal with challenges such as mental illness, disabilities and domestic violence. In East County, projects funded include Crisis House and Kurdish Human Rights Watch.

The County of San Diego Department of Housing and Community Development applied for funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Supportive Housing Program on behalf of community organizations.

January 24, 2011 (Valley Center) – The San Diego Medical Examiner’s office has identified Dwight Fredrick Asmus, 67, of Valley Center as the motorcyclist killed on January 16 in Borrego Springs.

January 23, 2011 (Poway) – San Diego Fire and Rescue airlifted a 13-year-old girl with an injured ankle off the popular Iron Mountain Trail, approximately half a mile east of Highway 67 in Poway.

January 21, 2011 (El Cajon) – If you bought a lottery ticket in December, be sure to check your numbers. A Mega Millions lottery ticket sold at a Shell gas station at 13538 Camino Canada in El Cajon is worth $195,910---but so far, the winner has not come forward to claim the prize, State Lottery officials announced today.

The winning numbers drawn on Dec. 21 were 8, 32, 31, 11 and 12, and the outstanding ticket missed only the Mega number of 29.

Donations of cash, food also sought by rescue volunteers

January 19, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Nine-year-old Makena Sacks of Blossom Valley volunteers with her mother, Cate Sacks, to train dogs rescued from shelters. Now Makena asks help from ECM readers to save cats slated to be destroyed.

“I am hoping that I can save them but there are so many,” she writes. “The people at the shelter are putting cats down starting today, I need help taking these cats.”