By Miriam Raftery

County to Sue State Over Funding Cuts

By Miriam Raftery

Supervisor Dianne Jacob

February 12, 2009 (El Cajon) — Dianne Jacob, Chairwoman
of the County Board of Supervisors, presented a bleak outlook in a State of the County
address presented
last night at Cuyamaca College. As a result of falling revenues
and state budget cuts, lay-offs and deep cuts in County services will be necessary,
she warned. “Apparently, state legislators see nothing wrong with collecting
their paychecks, while aid checks to more than 63,000 `at risk’ San Diego children
hang in the balance,” said Jacob, who revealed that the state plans to delay
some $100 million in aid payments to foster families, disadvantaged children
and their parents.

San Diego Gas & Electric will be at the Lakeside Community Planning Group (LCGP) Mtg on February 18 at 7 PM at the Lakeside Community Center at 9841 Vine Street, Lakeside, CA to discuss the Sunrise Powerlink high-voltage power lines proposed for the El Monte Valley.

A map and view of the proposed powerline path, which would include three sides of the valley, is at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/34534939@N07/oku65G.

February 2009 (San Diego)--The County Board of Supervisors will deliberate February 25 whether to ease permitting requirements for installing industrial-scale meteorological testing units (MET towers) on private and county properties. The county is also debating the turbine ordinance to allow for more options, such as industrial-scale turbines on private property or more than one turbine per lot, including the smaller scale turbines.

BOARD TO CONSIDER CHARTER SCHOOL CURE CORRECT ORDERS AT FEB. 12 MEETING

February 6, 2009 (La Mesa) Did administrators at Helix Charter High School respond appropriately to four incidents of sexual abuse and misconduct involving teachers and students and has enough been done to prevent similar problems in the future? The Grossmont Union-High School Governing Board will consider these questions and review conflicting findings from two reports in closed session followed by open public testimony at the February 12 GUHSD Board meeting.

Jan Hedlun, right, at victory celebration last year after Blackwater dropped plans to build a training base in Potrero.

February 1, 2009 (San Diego's East County) —--"Blackwater has been fired
by the State Department from its job protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq," ABC
News has reported. The U.S. State Department has announced
it will not renew a $1.2 billion contract for Blackwater's Iraqi operations
after Iraq refused to license the U.S. firm. Iraqi officials cited "lingering
outrage" over September 2007 shootings by Blackwater guards that killed 17
civilians in Iraq's Nisour Square. In East County, leaders who
fought to keep Blackwater from opening a training camp in Potrero greeted the
news with cautious optimism, while Blackwater Vice President Brian Bonfiglio
defended the company's record.

"Huzzah!!!!!! Miracles do happen!" Jan Hedlun, Potrero Planning Group
member who led her town's battle to oust Blackwater, stated in an e-mail to
East County Magazine. But she added, "Although we know this is not the demise
of Blackwater, persay, or companies like them, it is gratifying to know that
their mask has been lifted and they have been seen for what they are. And
though they continue to try to fly under the radar of public scrutiny and the
transparency promised is still not forthcoming, now we are aware of the danger
inherent in our ignorance." Hedlun cited a quote by James Thurber: "Let
us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness."

By Miriam Raftery

February 2, 2009 (San Diego's East County)--San Diego Gas & Electric Company has notified attorneys representing fire victims that the utility company plans to sue victims of the 2007 wildfires. The announcement has sparked an angry response from some elected officials and residents in burned-out areas of East County.

January 31, 2009 (La Mesa) -- Faced with a budget gap, La Mesa's City Council has voted not to provide financial support for the City's Flag Day Parade this year. To save the popular community event, some councilmembers and community leaders have launched a one-week fundraising drive in hopes of saving the community's parade.

Despite Border Patrol Ban, Communion Celebrations Continue at Historic Border Park--”For Now

(Karl W. Hoffman)

Editor's Note: Impacts of the border wall are important nationally and internationally, as well as for people in San Diego County. Each Sunday afternoon, Friends of Friendship Park gather at the historic venue to celebrate communion through the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Rev. John Fanestil, a pastor in the United Methodist Church and Executive Director of Foundation for Change, sent this poignant report to East County Magazine on closure of Friendship Park to the public.

By Miriam Raftery

Mitsubishi Eclipse with spoiler, vehicle possibly driven by suspect.

January
15, 2009 (Lakeside) — Lakeside deputies responded to a radio
call of a possible kidnapping at 10133 Maine Avenue in Lakeside shortly before
7 a.m.  Upon
arrival, deputies contacted the victim, a 15-year-old ninth grade female who
attends El Capitan High School. The victim reported an unknown male had followed
her as she walked to school from the intersection of Channel Road and Industry
Way (near Highway 67). The male suspect made several attempts to lure the female
into his vehicle by offering her a ride, and eventually stopped his vehicle
on Mapleview Street just west of Highway 67. As the victim attempted to walk
past the vehicle, the suspect got out of his vehicle and walked toward the
victim. The suspect placed his hand on the victim's shoulder and she fled the
scene to the 7-11 store at 10133 Main Avenue where she called the Sheriff's
Department.

By Miriam Raftery January 24, 2009 (San Diego's East County)--In the last days of the Bush administration, two federal agencies gave a parting gift to Sempra Energy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission designated a vast swath of San Diego's East County as a federal energy corridor, paving the way for the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to approve Sempra's controversial Sunrise Powerlink project one day before George W. Bush left office. For construction to commence, however, the U.S. Forest Service (a division of the U.S.

January
21, 2009 (La Mesa) — A man attempted to rob the Shell Gas Station at 5302 Lake
Murray Boulevard, La Mesa at 6:32 this morning by threatening the clerk there
with a hammer.  The suspect entered the business and demanded money.  The
suspect threatened to hit the clerk, 28, with a ten-inch-long sheet rock hammer.  A
struggle ensued over the hammer and the clerk was finally able to wrestle the
hammer from the suspect.  The suspect punched the clerk at least once
during the fight. 

January 9, 2009 (Ramona) — An eighteen year-old woman was attacked
by an unknown male suspect while walking home from a bus stop in the 27200
block of Sawday Truck Trail in Ramona at 3:20 p.m. today. The victim was cut
with a sharp instrument and sustained a 2 1/2 inch laceration on the back of
her head.

January 11, 2009 (San Diego) — Two landmark bills aimed at helping women employees achieve equal pay for equal work and obtain judgments against employers who violate the law have passed the House of Representatives and will now go to the Senate. San Diego County's Congressional delegation split down party lines, with Democrats Susan Davis and Bob Filner voting yes, while Republicans Brian Bilbray, Duncan D. Hunter and Darrell Issa voted no on both bills.

The bills were introduced in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Lilly Ledbetter (see photo), who worked nearly 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant in Alabama. Ledbetter filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination immediately after she found out that she was the lowest paid supervisor at the plant, even though she had more experience than her male colleagues. A jury ruled in favor of Ledbetter.