By Tom Myers

March 8, 2013 (Alpine)--This question will be addressed at the next ACPG Circulation Subcommittee, scheduled for 6:30 pm on March 14 at the Alpine Community Center.

Bob Citrano, SD County Planner will be on hand to explain the roadway improvements recommended in a recent Supplemental Environmental Impact Report. San Diego County is seeking public comments on the SEIR report for the Former FCI lands which are the subject of a proposed amendment to the San Diego General plan adopted in 2011. Although the amendment deals with land use density changes in nine planning areas within the County including areas north, east and south of Alpine, the traffic assessment portion of the SEIR deals with the traffic impacts that increased population would bring to Alpine.

March 8, 2013 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for minor flooding in urban areas of San Diego, as well as several East County communities including El Cajon, Santee, Spring Valley and Valley Center. 

As ECM previously reported, snow is forecast for mountain areas down to 3500 feet, with thundershowers at lower elevations.

View full flood advisory below.

March 7, 2013 (El Cajon )--A Heartland Fire & Rescue engine company in El Cajon was returning from a call at 5:30 this evening and came across a possible garage fire in the 100 block of West Douglas Avenue. The fire company, noticing heavy black smoke from the garage of the three-story town home, quickly called for a first alarm assignment to combat the fire.

March 6, 2013 (Pine Valley) -- Next of kin has not been notified regarding the death of a Pine Valley man who died in a mobilehome fire back on January 12, 2013.  According to the Medical Examiner, the victim was born August 21, 1945, though his name has not been released.

The charred remains of the victim, who was white, were found after the fire destroyed a residence at 27521 Olde Highway 80, space 82, in Pine Valley. Cal Fire personnel responded to the fire after receiving calls and found the body inside after dousing the fire.

Article by Dennis Moore

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.”   --Frederick Douglass

March 6, 2013 (San Diego)--Thousands of federal employees in the San Diego area are soon to be impacted by sequestration, automatic budget cuts mandated by the federal government.  These cuts may have a larger impact on San Diego County than anywhere else in the U.S., since our region is home to wide-ranging naval operations, a bustling border and vibrant biotech and drone sectors. About $37 billion flows into the County each year, including billions of dollars for defense contracts and millions more for research efforts.

The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) is a Washington, DC based organization that promotes equality as well as exposes retaliation and racism in the federal government. “Civil servants (i.e., agents, air marshals, food inspectors, investigators, corrections officers, firefighters) function as America’s first line of defense against domestic threats. Therefore, we must protect our federal workforce against managerial abuse and reprisal in order to better protect our citizens.” That is what Tanya Ward Jordan, the founder of C4C, believes and espouses in her daily activities and advocacy on behalf of this organization. Now C4C is ramping up to strengthen its fight for federal workers.

March 4, 2013 (San Diego)– San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has received the national Supply Chain Leadership Award at the second annual Climate Leadership Awards in Washington, D.C. The Climate Leadership Awards recognize organizations that go beyond business as usual in the management and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and The Climate Registry (TCR).

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

March 4, 2013 (Lemon Grove)--The driver of a car that crashed into a Lemon Grove home last night has been taken into custody.  Residents told ECM news partner 10 News that they estimate the car, an older model station wagon, was traveling over 100 miles per hour.

March 3, 2013 (Lemon Grove) -- Live power lines are down in the 2500 block of Massachusetts Avenue in Lemon Grove after a vehicle struck a pole, Incident Page Network reports tonight.  SDG&E is reportedly en route; avoid this area.

March 3, 2013 (San Diego County)--CHP earlier announced a fatality in an accident involving a truck and a motorcycle at Emery Road and SR 94. A section of the road was closed for investigation. Vehicles were turned around at Potrero Valley.

By Miriam Raftery

Governor Jerry Brown, in his State of the State Speech in January, praised legislators for casting “difficult votes to cut billions from the state budget.  You curbed prison spending through an historic realignment,” he said among other cost-cutting measures listed.

The realignment shifts responsibility for tens of thousands of prisoners from the state to local governments by 2014.  The action is fueled in part by a court ruling that ordered California to reduce overcrowding in state prisons by 33,000 prisoners, though the Governor’s move goes further in an effort to cut the budget.

The action, however, shifts responsibilities for those prisoners  to local counties and cities. It is also forcing some jurisdictions to release some prisoners early to avert overcrowding in local jails--and raises questions on how best to address the state's crime problems overall.

March 2, 2013 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa Police Department, in an effort to keep everyone safe, was aggressively enforcing the state’s speed laws during the fourth “Traffic Safety Enforcement Program” operation, which took place Saturday February 23, 2013. The program relies on heavy enforcement and public education as a means to help reduce deaths and injuries on our local roadways.

When caught speeding, driver’s often ask for just a verbal warning.  Though sometimes appropriate based on the overall circumstances, La Mesa Police Officers said “no” to that request at least 27 times and issued them speeding tickets during Saturday’s operation.  One speeding driver was also driving on a suspended driver’s license, and his vehicle was impounded. 

By Janis Mork

March 1, 2013 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s Council 4-1 this week to cover and shut  off red light cameras for six months, though cameras will remain installed.  Safety data will be evaluated in six months and if accidents have not risen sharply, Council made clear its intent to permanently remove the red light cameras.

Pro Tem Mayor Bill Wells addressed issues that red light cameras have brought to El Cajon.  While some contend the surveillance devices improve safety, the results are inconclusive.  But the cameras also pose problems of “civil liberties,” Wells noted.  “I am asking us to engage in a debate to end the contract [with Redflex].”

By Nadin Abbott

February 28, 2013 (Flinn Springs)--CTC Towing at 15275 Olde Highway 80 suffered a fire of unknown origin on Tuesday. The fire started before 1 p.m., according to the Lakeside Fire Protection District, and drew a multiagency response, including both San Diego City Fire Department HAZMAT and County HAZMAT.

“The danger is that consumers will be required to pay for an expensive gas-fired plant they don’t’ need now or in the future.” – The Utility Reform Network

By Miriam Raftery

February 24, 2013 (San Diego) – Why is the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) pushing for a fossil fuel power plant that many authoritative sources indicate is not needed and will prove costly to taxpayers?

In a letter sent February 20, 2013 to the California Public Utilities Commission, Lani Lutar, president and chief executive officer of the SDTCA, urged the Commission to postpone a decision on the Quail Brush gas-fired power plant near Mission Trails Regional Park, until after the California Energy Commission has completed its examination of the project. 

February 28, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A head-on collision has shut down eastbound Highway 94 at Peaceful Valley Ranch Road.   Westbound 94 is now reopened.