East County Rep also calls Middle Easterners liars, draws fire for remarks
By Miriam Raftery
December 8, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) Updated 8:40 p.m. – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-El Cajon), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has long been known as a hawk on military matters. But in an interview on CSPAN’s Washington Journal this week, the former Marine went further, voicing support for use of "tactical nuclear devices" if the U.S. launches an air strike against Iran. He backed use of tactical, or non-strategic nuclear weapons to set Iran's reported effort at developing a nuclear weapon "back a decade, or two or three."
Hunter, whose San Diego region district includes over 80,000 Middle Eastern immigrants, also ignited controversy when he stated,”In the Middle Eastern culture, it is looked upon with very high regard to get the best deal possible, no matter what it takes. That includes lying.” (View video of full interview.)
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October 25, 2013 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis has resigned, effective immediately. In his resignation letter, the Mayor cited health reasons, including cancer, a dislocated shoulder and a minor stroke in 2010. “Unfortunately at times, this has caused me some difficulties in clearly communication my thoughts, including during the recent interviews that have caused understandable concern,” he wrote, adding that he is stepping down to avoid further concerns by citizens and to “allow our City Council and community o move forward in their work to make this City the finest place it can be.”
He added, “I deeply love our town and have given a major portion of my adult life to its wellbeing and, so, this is a bittersweet moment for me."
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April 8, 2013 (El Cajon ) – In Babylon 7,313 years ago, Chaldea became the first nation to celebrate Akitu, a New Year Festival heralding the arrival of spring and the renewal of life. Yesterday the tradition continued in El Cajon’s Prescott Promenade Park, where thousands of local Chaldeans turned out to celebrate the ancient tradition. View a video: http://youtu.be/YfeKE22-wXw
“We are doing it to celebrate and have some fun with other, and to keep remembering,” Wissam Gello, a local Iraqi Chaldean told ECM. “Our children will keep doing this every year, to remember and tell the truth.”
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January 18, 2012 -- (San Diego’s East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:
STATE
California lawmakers take another crack at single payer healthcare bill (Sacramento Bee)
Jerry Brown’s budget demands would strip demands, payments from local governments (Sacramento Bee)
Education magazine gives California a “C” for its students (Sacramento Bee)
California in eye of Internet piracy storm (San Francisco Chronicle)
LOCAL
Can $20 a head “cash mobs” save local shops? (U-T San Diego)
E. County leaders like their politics unbuttoned (U-T San Diego)
Parents protest, but are told school attendance boundaries won’t change (La Mesa Patch)
San Diego County Water Authority challenges rate (KPBS)
Stuck in traffic, long awaited Park Place project awaits fifth study (La Mesa Patch)
Chaldeans launch community newspaper (U-T San Diego)
Chickens finally okayed in Santee (U-T San Diego)
5 involved in Sweetwater District probe plead not guilty (10 News)
Sweetwater says workers stole from cafeterias (U-T San Diego)
Campaign limits proposed for Southwestern and San Diego Schools (U-T San Diego)
Scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
December 18, 2010 (El Cajon) – Christmas on Prescott, a unique Chaldean Christmas Celebration, will be held Saturday, December 18 from 1-5 p.m. on Prescott Promeande in downtown El Cajon. The event will feature Christian Arabic carols and music, English carols and music, skits, Santa Claus, face painting, balloons, and more. In addition, downtown stores and restaurants are open while you enjoy the free Holly Jolly Trolley around downtown, strolling Christmas carolers, and merchant specials.
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November 3, 2010 (San Diego's East County) – East County’s Iraqi Christians will hold a prayer gathering tonight from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Prescott Promenade at 201 East Main Street, El Cajon.
A crowd of 500 or more is expected to attend the gathering, which is held in remembrance of Iraqi Christians massacred November 1st in an Al Qaeda attack on a Catholic church in Iraq.
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Nearly 85% of local refugees are from war-torn Iraq, straining resources on schools and social services; local leaders call for major changes in treatment of refugees
"We can create a national model," -- Sunny Cooke, president, Grossmont College
November 12, 2009 (El Cajon) – Impacts of the Iraq War are hitting home in East County, where so many Iraqi refugees have settled that El Cajon's mayor has dubbed a section of his community "Little Baghdad." From Oct. 1, 2008 to October 1, 2009, the U.S. admitted almost 75,000 refugees—including 18,333 from Iraq.* Since October 2008, San Diego has been taking in 400 refugee families a month. Nearly 85% are from Iraq. Almost 75% of all area refugees have settled in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD), straining resources beyond capacity in social services, education, and healthcare.
“Social Services predicts that 200 to 300 new families will be entering East County each month for the next two or three years,” Mike Lewis, PhD, assistant superintendent of education for the Grossmont Union High School District said at a November 6 summit at Cuyamaca College titled Spotlight on Refugee Education and Employment. Some have spent weeks or even years in refugee camps. Many don’t speak English and have not been able to receive an education. Many refugees are also physically maimed by war or suffer post-traumatic stress. Often they receive misinformation and find steep barriers to getting the help that they need.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
December 18, 2010 (El Cajon) – Christmas on Prescott, a unique Chaldean Christmas Celebration, will be held Saturday, December 18 from 1-5 p.m. on Prescott Promeande in downtown El Cajon. The event will feature Christian Arabic carols and music, English carols and music, skits, Santa Claus, face painting, balloons, and more. In addition, downtown stores and restaurants are open while you enjoy the free Holly Jolly Trolley around downtown, strolling Christmas carolers, and merchant specials.
November 3, 2010 (San Diego's East County) – East County’s Iraqi Christians will hold a prayer gathering tonight from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Prescott Promenade at 201 East Main Street, El Cajon.
"We can create a national model," -- Sunny Cooke, president, Grossmont College
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