Hear our interviews with representatives of San Diego County’s “Farm to School” program aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

February 7, 2015 (San Diego) – The second annual State of Farm to School in San Diego County Report reveals growth in farm to school programs bringing healthy produce to area school children – also generating returns for our region’s health and economy. See our earlier article on the program’s success here.   Recently we held a radio show on the County's Farm to School task force. We interviewed JuliAnna Arnett Director of Operations & Food Systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Community Health Improvement Partners, along with Eric Larson, Executive Director at the San Diego County Farm Bureau,Johnna Jenkins, Director of Child Nutrition at Valley Center-Pauma school district, and Jill Wittenberg, Child Nutrition Director, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.

They shared success stories on how this innovative program is helping farmers and students reap healthy rewards.  More participants are sought to meet rising demand for fresh produce in our public schools.

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2014 (San Diego)—The County’s climate action plan lacks teeth to assure that greenhouse gas emission goals will be met,  California’s 4^th District Court of Appeal has ruled. The Appellate Court upheld a San Diego County judge’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club.

The Sierra Club argued that the county’s reliance on voluntary measures and lack of clear deadlines were not enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the targeted amounts by 2020. The Court also noted that the County rejected mitigation proposed by the Sierra Club without  valid reasons.

September 30, 2014 (San Diego)-- In an effort to continue to reduce the number of people killed in bus and motorcoach collisions, the Border Division CHP will be conducting random on-highway safety inspections in San Diego County.

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2014 (San Diego)--As we reported Friday, State Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat whose 40th district includes the southern portions of San Diego and East County as well as Imperial and Riverside counties, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Sacramento.  The Senator has issued an apology and will appear in court this week.

Adding to Hueso’s woes, the Sacramento Bee has posted a photo showing Hueso partying with the Latino Caucus, shirt tail untucked, shortly before his arrest. It was tweeted by fellow legislator Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), who later deleted the image. A reporter at the Sacramento Bee also reportedly received an audio file purporting to be loud singing on a capitol balcony during the evening revelry.

Will Senator Hueso’s arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol spell the end of his political future? Not necessarily, based on an examination of records of prior legislators faced with similar charges.

August 6, 2014 (San Diego) – It’s back to school time—and Check Center locations around San Diego County will give away free backpacks and school supplies to the first 250 children who stop by on Saturday, August 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.   This includes an East County location at 1090 East Main Street, Suite 103 in El Cajon.

Update July 30, 2014: By a 5-0 vote,  Supervisors adopted the feral pig eradication plan to trap and shoot wild pigs across our region.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service

July 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--They wallow in waterways and root up sensitive habitat.  They breed prolifically—and they eat almost anything—from acorns to small animals—even goats with horns!  Those portly porkers – feral pigs in East County’s backcountry—can weigh up to 250 pounds. The largest wild pig caught anywhere--a gargantuan specimen dubbed "Hogzilla," tipped the scales at over 800 pounds.

Feral pigs are descendants of domestic pigs run wild and European boars brought over by Spaniards in the 1700s. Locally, San Diego's pig population has been around since only around 2006.  We don't know how they got here. One rumor is that  hunters released a few pigs as game animals. Another theory is that the pigs migrated in from elsewhere in California or Mexico. However they came, they've found fertile ground locally, where the number of wild pigs is now estimated at over a thousand. 

Hunting wild pigs is legal in California on private property and tribal lands – though not in our region's parks, preserves, or wilderness areas.  But bringing home the bacon isn’t as easy as it sounds.

5 Catholic justices issue ruling, raising question over lack of religious diversity on the high court

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--The Supreme Court decision last week in the Hobby Lobby case is drawing strong reactions across the nation and here in San Diego County—and raising questions over whether the Supreme Court lacks adequate religious diversity.

June 6, 2014 (San Diego County) - The voter turnout in the San Diego County for the June third primary elections surpassed expectations of a low turnout, the results were 20% equalling to 1 in 5 registered voters casting a ballot.

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A lawsuit filed against San Diego Supervisors asks the court to set aside the County’s new wind energy ordinance and an amendment to Boulevard’s community plan.  The case will be heard on Friday, April 25 at 1:30 p.m. in Superior Court, Department C-72, with Judge Timothy Taylor presiding. The courthouse is located at 220 West Broadway, San Diego.

The suit was filed by two community groups-- the Protect Our Communities Foundation, Backcountry Against Dumps-- and  by Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group. Plaintiffs seek to half industrial wind development in their backcountry community. They contend that such projects pose serious impacts to wildlife, water resources, human health and safety that the Board ignored.

Why doesn’t San Diego County end revolving door situation?

Photo: Soitec's Newberry Springs project, which promised minimal enviornmental impacts, graded all vegetation on the site.

By Miriam Raftery

March 1, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—Developers frequently put “spin” on project descriptions to emphasize benefits rather than negative impacts.  But certain statements by Soitec representatives regarding its proposed solar projects in Boulevard and a recent project in the desert fall into the “Pinnochio” category. In fact Soitec representatives misrepresented glare issues and the amount of land that is disturbed by their projects.

During a Soitec community meeting at the Manzanita Diner last month, ECM’s editor asked Soitec media and communications advisor Karen Hutchens specifically about a moratorium on solar projects approved by San Bernadino County Supervisors amid concerns about glare in Newberry Springs, where Soitec built a project very similar to its proposed Boulevard sites.  Hutchens responded, “That had nothing to do with our project. The moratorium was passed before our project was even built.”

But Robert Berkman, head of a citizens group in Newberry Springs called CEQA-NOW, told ECM that statement was a bald-faced lie.  “The moratorium came out because of the Soitec project—after it was built,” he said, adding that citizens invited Supervisors to visit the site.  Supervisors said, “’`Good grief, what has happened here? ‘ “ Berkman stated. “The moratorium occurred because we were able to bring them out and say `This is an example of solar done wrong.’” 

Soitec's Hutchens concedes that she erred in her statement on the timing of the moratorium, and agrees it was imposed after Soitec's project was built, but says Soitec's project was not the reason for the moratorium. ECM is seeking clarification from San Bernardino County's Land Services Department.

That's not the only disputed statement by Soitec.

February 28, 2014 (San Diego)—Over 242 collisions were reported yesterday during just 16 hours on the first day of the storm, compared to 50 to 75 accidents on “good weather” days.  The stats include freeways and unincorporated area streets in San Diego County as well as Temecula.

February 15, 2014 (Jacumba)—Wayne Brammer sent in these photos of SDG&E’s new Eco Substation in Jacumba. The project is (so-named for hooking up to industrial-scale renewable energy projects. But to most backcountry residents, the project is an ecological disaster that destroyed the landscape and used three times more water (90 million gallons total) than SDG&E estimated.

“This thing is a monster and they’re wasting water all over the place, not just here but all the way to Boulevard,” writes Bramley, referencing other energy projects in the pipeline.  “We really do need to separate from the city and have our own county,” he concluded, linking back to a reader’s editorial on this issue.

February 8, 2014 (San Diego County) - Due to statewide public safety realignment, 35 percent of all inmates in local detention facilities in San Diego County are offenders with more serious criminal histories who would have previously been housed in state prison – and these realigned offenders (who are generally at a higher risk of recidivism) now make up 15 percent of the local probation case load, according to a new SANDAG study.

State of the County address also calls for improved public safety, oversight of senior care facilities, and support for agricultural entrepreneurs

By Miriam Raftery

January 30, 2014 (San Diego) – In her state of the county address yesterday, Chairwoman Dianne Jacob  said the County has saved nearly $2 million a year by buying 90 percent of its electricity from sources other than SDG&E.  “The problem is, consumers don’t have the same right. You can’t shop around like the County.  But if it’s good enough for government, it should be good enough for you,” she said, then announced support for a community choice aggregation to give consumers new choices in where to buy electric power.

December 12, 2013 (San Diego)--Know someone failing to pay court-ordered child support? You can now report them online - anonymously.

The Department of Child Support Services recently launched an online tip line. You can tell Child Support where a person works or lives, and a caseworker will follow up and take the appropriate action, which could include wage garnishing or serving another court order.

The tip line is not intended for custodial parents to report non-payment, as they would be faster served by directly contacting their case worker.