By Mary Moran

April 25, 2012 (Spring Valley)—Tonight at 6 p.m. the Board of Directors of the San Miguel Consolidated Fire District will vote on a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Cal-Fire to operate the fire district, which includes the communities of Rancho San Diego, Spring Valley, Jamul, Crest and parts of unincorporated La Mesa and El Cajon. 

Fired-up San Miguel Fire District residents are urging the fire district to remain independent. Cal Fire is operated by the State of California. Residents have expressed deep concern over the nearly bankrupt State of California operating its fire district with its purported poor quality and lack of modern technology.

April 25, 2012 (San Diego) -- With just one click, hundreds of at-risk, new San Diego moms will be supported this Mother’s Day. Each year, nearly 500,000 women living in poverty give birth to their first child. This Mother’s Day, the public can make an impact in the lives of vulnerable new moms by simply spending a moment online.   The Boppy Company and Nurse-Family Partnership on April 19 launched a Mother’s Day Support Program where the public can help local moms’ in-need by simply visiting www.Boppy.com and clicking on a special “Give Your Support” icon.

By Brian Lafferty

By Brian Lafferty

By Billie Jo Jannen

For East County Magazine

April 23, 2012 (Julian) -- A new boutique and gallery arrived in Julian on April 22.  Taurus Moon Boutique and Gallery, located at 2602 Washington Street, Julian infuses old world charm with all that's eclectic and modern from independent artists, fashion/jewelry designers, artisans and photographers from all over the country who seek a modern space to sell their creations or a cool place to find out what's next.  Taurus Moon Boutique & Gallery exists to nurture emerging artists and indie brands as well as the art & culture scene in the local community. 

April 23, 2012 (San Diego) -- The Foundation for Change announced $15,000 in grants to 15 local organizations in the Immigrant, Refugee & Border-Based Communities to attend Immigrant Day in Sacramento on May 21.  Grants of $1,000 each cover travel expenses for grantees, participation in a pre-event Orientation, Media Advocacy session at the Equality Alliance in May and a debrief session, in June. 

April 23, 2012 (San Diego) – A pizza delivery driver returning from a delivery was robbed at gunpoint while parking his car beside the Dominoes Pizza at 4701 El Cajon Blvd. at approximately 10:26 p.m. on April 21.  He was confronted by an adult black male with a handgun who demanded money and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2012 (Ocotillo) – The wind industry has been likened to the wildcatters during the oil boom – risk takers seeking out ever more land on which to extract energy to fuel our nation’s power demands.  While some energy companies have made efforts to be good corporate citizens, profits in the energy industry have attracted some players of dubious integrity. (Remember those ENRON traders caught on tape boasting about defrauding grandmothers?)

Thus it’s important for decision makers weighing whether or not to approve major energy projects to consider, among other factors, the ethical record of the project applicant.

Pattern Energy seeks to build the Ocotillo Express wind facility on Bureau of Land Management property in Imperial County.  It also has an application pending for a wind project in the Kitchen Creek area near Campo, in San Diego County.

April 22, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – For years, the tobacco industry claimed that cigarettes don’t cause cancer—long after compelling medical evidence proved otherwise.  A similar scenario is now happening with the wind industry, which has put forth various “experts” funded by the wind industry to claim that no evidence exists of negative health impacts caused by wind turbines.

Those are dubious claims that ignore mounting medical and anecdotal evidence around the world indicating that living near wind turbines can harm human health. View a video made by residents living near wind turbines in Wisconsin, discussing health problems they are experiencing which are consistent with symptoms found at many other wind sites around the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71DxuicwCXw&feature=player_embedded

April 22, 2012 (Santee) -- Join family and friends of Grant Fisher on April 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Joe’s Old Fashion BBQ, 205 Town Center Parkway, Santee to help raise funds for his financial recovery. 

Fisher, a San Diego County Credit Union employee, has spent most of this year confined to a hospital bed recovering after he was run over by an elderly driver in the bike lane of Sorrento Valley Boulevard during a lunchtime bike ride.