San Pasqual Winery is now offer a series of live music on Saturday nights in the back room of its tasting room on La Mesa Boulevard in La Mesa. On Saturday, February 23 from 7-10 p.m.,  The Sock Monkeys will perform.

By Jake Christie

ECM editor Miriam Raftery also contributed to this story

February 20, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--In a four-to-one vote, the Grossmont Union High School District Governing Board  this week decided to not adopt a resolution to resubmit building plans for a 12^th high school in Alpine. There was no public input from the small audience, and the item was not discussed until about an hour and 30 minutes into the meeting. The Board members voted 4-1 to defeat the motion, with only Jim Stieringer voting in favor of his resolution.

February 20, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)—El Cajon Police today announced the arrest of Forrest Gunner Fermil and Kailee Ray, both 18, in connection with three armed robberies within an hour on February 18 committed by a masked man.

The suspects were arrested in the 10000 block of Vista Parque in Lakeside at 3 p.m. today. After developing a promising lead, El Cajon Police workined in junction with investigators from the Santee Sheriff’s Station and located the first suspect.

February 20, 2013 (El Cajon)--Get the Drawing board out and get ready--the El Cajon Animal Center for Education and Services (“ACES Foundation”) invites you to be a part of the first “Barkitecture 2013” by designing, building, and donating a “doggy dream house” or “cat condo” for the ACES Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to assist the El Cajon Animal Shelter. Donated dog houses and cat condos will be displayed during late April at Westfield Parkway Plaza. Each will then be auctioned to the highest bidder at an exciting and unique reception April 28. This event is not to be missed.

Image from http://www.barkitecture.net/

By Walt Meyer

February 19, 2013 (Lakeside)--New careers as the wave of the future was a key theme in a guest lecture February 12 given by Chuck Brands at El Capitan High School.  Brands is a local sustainability and solar energy expert who is also vice-president of Heartland Coalition and director of its UnitedGREEN division.

Last fall, Brands coordinated a class at Southwestern College to teach a new technology that uses all relevant data to map a building so that owners and occupants can manage their energy consumption and plan to adapt the building for energy innovation. The students were team-taught this pioneering class by experts from across the country under a grant from SDG&E to the Heartland Coalition.

February 20, 2012 (El Cajon) -- Paul Kruze, a freelance photojournalist whose works have appeared in ECM, was at the scene of last night's fatality hit-and-run accident in El Cajon. He offers new details which suggest that the victim was jaywalking and died on impact.

"I was just getting gas at the ARCO on Avocado," he told ECM.  According to Kruze, the pedestrian was crossing Avocado considerably north of Chase -- not at the intersection.  The victim "clearly had been jaywalking, and it was really dark and raining," he said, adding that the victim wore a light-colored hoodie but visibility was poor. 

Kruze stated that the victim sustained a severe head injury and that due to the obvious damage, the individual died immediately.

February 21, 2013 (San Diego) – KNSJ, the new radio station soon to begin broadcasting from East County,  announced last night that it has purchased a transmitter and now is raising funds to cover station operations. 

On Saturday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m.  a benefit film showing of the documentary Save KLSD: Media consolidation and local radio will be shown at the Joyce Beers Community Center  in Hillcrest. Organizers promise “film, food and fun.” A  panel discussion will follow.

By Caprice Harrison

February 19, 2013 (Wynola/Julian) -- Hart Winery and Jeremy’s on the Hill present their second annual Temecula and Julian Wine Pairing Extravaganza this Friday, February 22 at 7 p.m.

Call: (760)765-1587 to make your reservation. The cost is $49 for one person or $95 for two plus tax and gratuity. (Please view the special menu for the event below.)

Jeremy’s on the Hill specializes in farm-to-table cuisine and features many local breweries and wineries at the restaurant. Chef Jeremy Manley, 25, a Cordon Bleu graduate, has been working with food and cooking since the age of ten.

February 17, 2013 (El Cajon)--Feb. 23, 2012 is a Day of Celebrating Community Gardens in El Cajon. Events are scheduled throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at different gardens and venues. Please see attached flyer.

At 11 a.m. there will be a grand opening celebration at Circle Community Garden, 476 Highland at Farragut Circle. We will celebrate with a ribbon cutting at 10:55, short speeches by dignitaries, introduction of committee and Master Gardeners. Cake then will be served and Master Gardener Joyce Gemmell and others will be there to answer gardening questions.

February 19, 2013 (Santee)--Motorists will have to be cautious along Magnolia Avenue and Mast Boulevard for the next several months because of a major construction project by San Diego Gas & Electric. Crews will be replacing wood and steel poles with galvanized steel and concrete poles.

The project footprint will span 11 miles from the utility’s Sycamore substation to the Santee substation near Mast Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue.  According to the City of Santee’s website, the infrastructure upgrades are necessary to service the expansion of the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility and to improve power circuit stability.

February 19, 2013 (San Diego's East County) --Cleveland National Forest is conducting burning operations today in the San Vicente area in East County and on Palomar Mountain near Observatory Campground.  This is a continuation of burning operations that began yesterday, but are not expected to continue into tomorrow due to the weather system that may bring rain and that is moving into southern California.

The Forest Service is burning fuels that have been piled as a result of hand and mechanical fuel treatments in the area.

Photos by Diane Lesher

February 17, 2013 (San Diego)--Mayor Bob Filner and over 500 San Diego protestors in Mission Bay Park joined similar rallies in cities across America Sunday in protest of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, beginning a massive effort to demand President Obama block it and call for leaders at all levels to take action to fight global warming.

Speaking at the San Diego rally, Mayor Bob Filner expressed his concerns about Keystone, climate change and what he wants to do in San Diego.

February 18, 2013 (Washington D.C.) –“Everyone has a teacher from their past who inspired them. Teachers play a significant role in a student’s development and as our nation’s builders, which is why it is so important to give teachers the opportunities to grow as educators,” a press release from Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) states. However, many school districts lack a method for giving teachers and principals the developmental feedback to help them reach their ultimate professional potential. 

Davis, along with Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) has introduced legislation that they believe will give teachers the feedback and the support they deserve.

By Janis Mork

February 18, 2013 (La Mesa)- At the La Mesa City Council meeting Tuesday, Paul Marra, senior principal from Keyser Marston Associates Inc., and Stephen Cook from Fehr and Peets  gave a presentation on the La Mesa Village Parking garage.

 Bill Chopyk, La Mesa community development director, advised that staff recommended that the Council establish the parking in-lieu fee to “provide an incentive to develop downtown.” Developers would pay this fee into a fund in lieu of providing required parking on site, and the fees can be used to provide centralized public parking, (http://www.mapc.org/resources/parking-toolkit/strategies-topic/fees-lieu).

February 17, 2013 (New York)--Pressman Toy (www.PressmanToy.com), announced winners of its first annual Mastermind Braintwister Challenge February 10 at its 110^th annual American International Toy Fair. The first place winners, 4^th grader Gaurov Bansal, age 10 from Stamford, CT; won for “Letters Equal Numbers” and 5^th grader Sophi Schneider, age 10 from Dresher, PA, won for “Wordsticks Mode 4 – Let’s Race.”  Each received a $1,000 scholarship.

Three Braintwister category winners were also awarded $100 each:

•          “Difficulty” – Luke Cepurac, 10, La Mesa, CA,  for his entry “Order Up”
•          “Skills” – Erica Blakely, 12, Tinley Park, IL, for her entry “Who, What, Where”
•          “Creativity” – Max Hartle, 12, Tampa, FL, for his entry “Air Attack”