Coyote rehabilitated at San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center

East County News Service

November 18, 2021 (Ramona) – A not-so-wily coyote has been rescued from inside a car bumper, where it became trapped after being struck by a motorist. (No reports of any roadrunners or Acme products in the vicinity). Fortunately, the senior female coyote is now back in the wild, after treatment at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center.

The amazing rescue was documented on video on November 1, when San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement was dispatched to rescue an animal lodged in the bumper of a car in a San Marcos parking lot. 

The person who hit the coyote did not realize that she was stuck in his bumper and was inside a Ralphs grocery store when another shopper noted a "dog" in the bumper and called for help. The car’s owner was alerted to the situation when he came out of the Ralphs.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 15, 2021 (San Diego) - Reducing carbon emissions to zero regionally can be done, according to a new academic report commissioned by the County.  The reductions will require local governments and agencies to work together, and the County of San Diego is positioned to coordinate that effort, the report states.

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: Daniel Sullivan, founder and president of Sullivan Solar

November 1, 2021 (San Diego) – Consumers who hired Sullivan Solar Power have cast a pall over the company’s once-shining reputation. The company has closed its doors without notice to its customers. Some report being stiffed for tens of thousands of dollars, including deposits paid for work not completed, as well as having to pay subcontractors that Sullivan reportedly never paid.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by Brett Michel

October 28, 2021 (San Diego) - Hoping to help sow the seeds of sustainable, nutritional living, County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher, Vice Chair Nora Vargas, master gardeners and County staff opened a new demonstration garden at the County Operations Center Wednesday.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Creative commons image via Bing

October 22, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove’s City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to join Tree City USA, a national program that has provided 3.6 million trees to  communities since its inception in 1976. Lemon Grove joins East County’s other cities (La Mesa, El Cajon and Santee) and  3,600 other communities in all 50 states.

Planting a thriving urban forest creates theses benefits for communities, according to Tree City USA, a project of the Arbor Day Foundation:  

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: September 30 protest at Barona reservation in Lakeside

October 19, 2021 (Lakeside) –  Members of the Barona band of Mission Indians and other tribal nations have joined a fight aiming to stop the proposed Sandy Valley lithium mine in Arizona and proposed lithium mining at the Salton Sea in California that could adversely impact Native Americans.

Local activist Bobby Wallace led a local contingency of tribal members who traveled in late September to Arizona, where the Hualapai people are battling to stop the federal Bureau of Land Management from issuing permits for lithium mining that could threaten tribal water supplies.

Participants included tribal leaders and/or tribal council members from the Hualapai Nation and the Peach Springs tribe, as well as tribal youths and members of the Yavapai Apache People, Mohawk/Oneida tribe, Pueblo, Navajo, Zuni, and San Diego County tribal members from the Kumeyaay and Luiseno, as well as representatives of other activist groups.

Lithium is prized for use in cell phones, computers, batteries and other technology devices -- but at a high environmental price for those impacted by hard-rock and open-pit mining used to extract it.  Now tribal members are urging the federal government to prioritize metal and rare earth mineral recycling over issuance of new mining permits. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that metal mining accounts for 41 percent of toxic substances released and hard rock mines may have already contaminated 40% of watersheds in the West, the Arizona Republic reported on October 2.

By Barb Ambrose

Photo:  source 

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- Sunny San Diego is the perfect spot to harness the sun’s power and light up your home’s exterior. Why go solar? Because solar lights are energy-efficient, economical, and free you from electrical outlets. They also add beauty while saving you money on your electric bill. Here are some ideas for using solar lighting to help your home’s exterior shine.

By Mike Allen

October 15, 2021 (Santee) -- The joint powers agency creating the East County Advanced Water Purification (AWP) Program is using a new virtual reality video to inform local citizens about the project as it moves toward construction.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  tar balls via Ready San Diego

October 8, 2021 (San Diego) – The San Diego Office of Emergency Services today announced that tar balls have been found as far south as Mission Beach, believed to be from the Orange County offshore oil spill. Today shoreline cleanup and assessment teams are checking beaches from Oceanside to San Diego to guide cleanup operations. The teams will be sampling water, soil and air and testing will occur in the coming days.

By Renee Jiang - EarthTalk

Photo:  Dark-eyed juncos have evolved bigger bills in response to the larger temperature extremes they are experiencing throughout their range across North America thanks to human-induced climate change. Credit: DaPuglet, FlickrCC

October 6, 2021 (San Diego) - "Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that some wildlife species are evolving much more rapidly in response to the warming climate?" -D. Gould, Hendersonville, N.C.

By Henri Migala and Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of Ocotillo Wind Turbine Destruction on Facebook

September 20, 2021 (Ocotillo) – Residents in Ocotillo are voicing concerns after yet another wind turbine collapse at the Ocotillo Wind Energy facility. There were no injuries or damage to other structures when the 300-foot-tall turbine crashed to the desert floor at the trouble-prone facility on Thursday, September 16. But residents are raising serious questions over public safety at the site, which produces energy to SDG&E to power the San Diego region.

Action praised by climate activists, criticized by residents fearing increased industrial-scale energy projects in East County to power coastal and urban areas

By Miriam Raftery

September 5, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – By a 3-2 vote, San Diego County Supervisors voted Tuesday to join San Diego Community Power, a community choice energy program (CCE).  East County’s two representatives, Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond, both voted no, but for differing reasons.

Source: Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

September 1, 2021 (Sacramento) -- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has closed 33 properties that lie within or immediately adjacent to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) boundaries due to extreme fire conditions. Effective immediately, these properties are closed to the public through Friday, Sept. 17. 

Source: County News Service

August 23, 2021 (San Diego) - Summertime means road trips — not just for those of us heading out for fun or vacation, but also for crews working to maintain and improve San Diego County’s unincorporated roads to protect drivers and keep the public safe.

East County News Service

Photos by Roger Coppock

August 21, 2021 (El Cajon) – SD350, an environmental and climate change action group, held a march with dozens of activists today to protest SDG&E’s Cuyamaca Peak gas-fired power plant at 200 N. Johnson Avenue in El Cajon.