February 7, 2010 (10:10 p.m.) - A six-car crash including a head-on collision is blocking lanes on both east and westbound I-8 at Japatul Valley Road. CHP has issued a SIG ALERT and is turning around vehicles on eastbound 8 at Willows Road.

February 7, 2010 (Ramona) -- It's a good thing residents of this Ramona home weren't hosting a SuperBowl party this afternoon, when a massive tree scored an unforeseen touchdown. 

At 1:30 p.m. Cal Fire responded to a report of a tree fallen into the residence, located in the 13000 block of Fernbrook. When firefighters arrived, they found a giant oak tree had crashed down, completely destroying the entire structure.

ISSA SALOMI BELIEVED TO BE CAPTIVE SHOWN IN VIDEO

Updated February 7, 2010 8 a.m.
February 6, 2010 – The U.S. military confirms that Issa Salomi, 60, of El Cajon has been kidnapped by a militant Islamic organization, the Washington Post reports. Salomi was working as a contractor in Bagdhad, but disappeared January 23. Now a video posted on a site owned by the militants, League of the Righteous, shows a man who appears to be Salomi, according to the Associated Press.  Salomi's wife, Muna, has confirmed that the man is her husband, the Union-Tribune reports.  View the video.

February 7, 2010 (La Mesa) James Robinson, 29, of La Mesa died of acute heroin and alcohol intoxication, the San Diego County Medical Examiner has found. Robinson was found slumped over his infant child at Gas Depot, a gas station on in San Diego on January 4.

February 6, 2010 (El Cajon) Updated 11:45 p.m.. - A serious accident involving several vehicles caused CHP to shut down all lanes on I-8 westbound at Murray Drive in El Cajon, diverting traffic onto 125.  CHP's website reports one vehicle flipped over and a person was trapped inside with fluid leaking.

February 6, 2010 (Lakeside) - A high-speed, head-on traffic collision with entrapment on a rain-slicked road brought a multi-agency response to Lake Jennings Park Road in Lakeside.  Crews used hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the front seat passenger of one vehicle. Firefighter/paramedics provided advanced life support care and transported a total of three patients to the trauma centers at Sharp Memorial and Scripps Mercy hospitals.

February 6, 2010 (Lakeside) 9:25 a.m. -- Center lanes remain blocked on I-8 westbound at Lake Jennings Road in Lakeside due to a vehicle accident.  Emergency workers have now freed all people trapped in a vehicle and transported three patients to a hospital, according to Heartland Fire dispatch.

February 5, 2010 (Ramona)--Cal Fire and the Ramona Fire Department received a report of a structure fire in the 15000 block of Rosemont Lane in Ramona shortly after 7:30 this evening. When firefighters arrived, the 1500 square foot home was fully engulfed in flames.

Open to all GUHSD students – if you can draw, you can win!

February 5, 2010 (La Mesa) – Golden Artistry Jewelry Design invites Grossmont Union High School district students to participate in its 2nd annual jewelry design competition. “We are doing this in order to find students that have creative skills, and help them find their calling,” says Terry Whyte, owner and master goldsmith.

February 5, 2010 (Palomar) -- From February 8 through February 15, Cal Fire will be conducting a prescribed burn to reduce dead and dying vegetation on Palomar Mountain near the Palomar Observatory. Firefighters expect the 200 piles to be burned within seven days.

By D.R. Schwab

February 3, 2010 (Poway) -- It would be a first for Poway: Converting a city-owned mobile home park to resident ownership.  For the second time in six years, it's something that residents of Poway Royal Mobile Estates, the City's largest mobile home park, are attempting to do.

February 3, 2010 (Alpine) – Riders on a horse trail about three-quarters of a mile northeast of 3589 Cougar Summit in Alpine found the body of a Hispanic man on January 31st shortly before 4 p.m. Authorities were not able to extricate the body until the next day, due to nightfall and difficult terrain.

By Miriam Raftery

 “How can you sit there and say it’s safe to be there when that canyon has burned every year—and you’re going to put those towers up, leave us with no power, and we only have one way in and one way out?” -- Myles Thurman, Lakeside

February 3, 2010 (Lakeside) – SDG&E officials received a far-from-warm welcome from Lakeside residents at a community forum last night hosted by the utility to discuss impacts of Sunrise Powerlink. SDG&E plans to hold a follow-up meeting within 30 days.

February 3, 2010 (San Diego) – Light rain is forecast for Friday and Saturday, possibly continuing into Sunday throughout San Diego County, the National Weather Service predicts. Rain is expected to be less severe than other recent storms, with major flooding unlikely, though streams may overflow. Mudslides and debris flows are possible in burned areas, however, and snow is forecast above 5,000 feet in East County's mountain areas.

 
February 2, 2010 (San Diego) – A statewide report on immigrants released this week reveals that 23% of residents in San Diego County are immigrants—and nearly half (45%) of those immigrants are citizens. Of all children in the region, 43% have at least one immigrant parent. These and other intriguing findings are based on data collected in the 2005-2007 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

February 2, 2010 (Valley Center) Cal Fire responded to a structure fire in Valley Center today at approximately 3:21pm, finding a double wide mobile home fully engulfed in flames. The elderly resident told fire officials that when he returned home, he noticed the house was full of smoke when he opened the front door and a neighbor called 911 on his behalf.

 
 
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2, 2010 :  The FDA has taken samples to test and launched an official investigation, also pulling seed bags from other local retailers, ECM has learned. In addition, samples have been sent to the manufacturer to test for toxins or contaminants.
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
January 31, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Milt and Laura Cyphert of Lakeside suspect that Morning Song Wild Bird Seed, which they purchased at an El Cajon Wal-Mart last month, is linked to the sudden death of nearly 100 birds in their outside aviary. Only eight birds survived. Dozens of field mice that ate the seed also died suddenly, they report.  The manufacturer has previously faced other product recalls and disciplinary actions from federal regulators.

February 2, 2010 (Lakeside)  SDG&E will host a community meeting with the Lakeside Community Council  tonight at 6 pm. to discuss impacts of Sunrise Powerlink on Lakeside.   Members of the East County Community Action Coalition will also be on hand to provide information on citizens' efforts to halt the controversial high-voltage line. The meeting, whichi is open to the publicf, will be held at the VFW hall at 12650 Lindo Lane.

Many aren’t aware of tax credit that can be claimed, County says

February 1, 2010 (San Diego)--The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has launched the 2010 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) campaign, an effort to get more low-income families and individuals to take advantage of the federal government’s largest cash assistance program.

February 1, 2010 (Spring Valley) – On Saturday evening, San Miguel Firefighters responded to a kitchen fire in the 600 block of Water View in Spring Valley. When crews arrived, they saw flames coming out an attic vent of the single story home.The homeowner and his 14-year-old daughter were inside at the time, and were alerted when several smoke detectors sounded. A pan on the stove super-heated, creating a flash flame which set the back splash on fire, the homeowner told firefighters.

January 31, 2010 (Julian) – Carl K. Davis Jr., 28, of San Diego died in a head-on collision shortly after noon yesterday on Highway 78 at Payson Drive, Julian.

February 1, 2010 – An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter Scale struck off the Baja California coast at 6:19 a.m. The quake’s epicenter was 41 miles southwest of Imperial Beach, at a depth of four miles under the ocean floor, the U.S. Geological Service reports. It was felt throughout San Diego County, including East County, though no reports of damage have been received.

January 31, 2010 (Alpine) – Firefighters from Viejas and the U.S. Forest service responded to a vehicle fire on Interstate 8 in Alpine this afternoon. Alpine firefighter/paramedics Broc Thorn and Colby Ross formed an attack line and quickly knocked down the fire before it spread into the nearby vegetation.

February 3, 2010 - An American Airlines MD-80 plane has just landed safely at San Diego's Lindbergh Field after failure of one of its two engines, ECM has learned. There 111 people on board and 22,000 pounds of fuel, Incident Page Network reports.  

Emergency responders were dispatched and ECM notified readers via our Viejas Emergency Alert during the distressed plane's approach into San Diego. If you are not not yet signed up to receive our emergency alerts, click the "subscribe" button above the Viejas Wildfire Alert logo at the top right side of our page.

Is the LRAD disabled, or not?

By Miriam Raftery

January 28, 2010 (San Diego) San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore drew sharp criticism from the public and his three political opponents following an article we published last fall, revealing that his office purchased a long-range acoustic device (LRAD) and rolled it out at Congressional healthcare forums and other events.  The Sheriff’s office held a press conference in September to announce that the sonic weapons feature had been “disabled.”

Now the Sheriff has removed a press release discussing the disabling of the sonic weapons feature from the homepage and from the archives at his website. We contacted the Sheriff’s spokeperson, Jan Caldwell, to ask why the release was removed and whether the sonic weapons feature has been reenabled.

This is the first in a series of interviews profiling people who are homeless in East County. If you know of a homeless person willing to be interviewed, please contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org
 

By Miriam Raftery

January 28, 2010 (El Cajon) – “I’m trying to get off the street,” says Dawn Marie (last name withheld), who has been homeless for three months and is currently sleeping in an abandoned building in El Cajon. “I’ve been to college, but I can’t get a job because I have no experience, and you can’t get experience if nobody will hire you.”

Complicating matters, Dawn Marie suffers from a genetic medical condition known as neurofibromatosis. “I get fibrous tumors wherever I have a nerve,” she said, rolling up a sleeve to reveal bumps on her arms. She also wears a brace on her knee, which  had previous surgery for a sciatic nerve tumor. She  needs more surgery, but has no insurance.  Waits for medical care through County Medical Services are long and coverage is limited.

January 27, 2010 (Ramona) – Bridgette T. Hale, 36, was killed in a head-on collision on State Route 67 near Johnson Lake Road in Lakeside on Tuesday. Hale was driving southbound in her Chevy Astro Van when she was struck head-on by an Oldsmobile that had crossed a double-yellow line, according to the California Highway Patrol.

 
By Tod Aubin
 
Editors note:  Recent storms proved eye-openers for many local  residents.  Are you covered if a tree falls on your roof?  What if your house floods?  Will insurance pick up the tab if you drive through deep water and get stuck or worse, washed away?  Find out what you need to know about storm insurance in this informative piece by emergency management trainer and educator Tod Aubin.

By Miriam Raftery

January 27, 2010 (Spring Valley) – A memorial service for David Norman Reid will be held on Sunday, January 31st at 2 p.m. at the Steele Canyon High School theater (see address below). Reid was killed last Friday when a car driven by Andrew Bellati, 18, crossed the center line at a high speed and crashed head-on into Reid’s van.

 
January 21, 2009 – Over 700 Salvation Army relief workers are in Haiti, bringing food and medical attention to earthquake survivors. Amid the devastation, there are some tiny miracles –including three babies born at the Salvation Army clinic since the quake struck (photo, left).
 
Locally, The Salvation Army Kroc Center’s Verge Theater Company invites you to an event on January 29 to raise money for Haitian relief.