By Miriam Raftery

August 20, 2013 (El Cajon) – El Cajon City Council will consider an ordinance to restrict alcohol sales at its next meeting on August 27.

The law aims to restrict sales of single-serve alcohol containers to individuals with repeated arrests for alcohol-related offenses.  The law would not affect restaurants or bars.  It would restrict sales at future stores and would also require current stores to comply with the law. 

By Jamie Reno

August 20, 2013 (San Diego) – I'm sure by now you've read the news that embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is probably resigning. Yes, the greasy pol is apparently out - though some of the details of his pending resignation "deal" are still uncertain. It had to happen. At least 18 very credible women have come forward with specific accounts of Filner's creepy behavior. That he is apparently leaving represents a potentially healing moment for this city, which has taken a major PR hit in recent weeks.

Leaders in Latino, African-American and Native American communities defend Mayor

By Nadin Abbott

August 19, 2013 (San Diego)—They approached the podium singing “We Shall Overcome,” a classic from the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s.

Enrique Morones, a community activist and supporter of Mayor Bob Filner, led them. Morones started the rally by informing the press that the silent majority “will be silent no longer.” He said that many groups, ranging from labor, to neighborhoods, to veterans and women, were standing together “stopping the public mockery of our judicial system.”

By Nadin Abbott; photo by Jeff Holtz

August 18, 2013 (San Diego)—The San Diego County Fire Authority has released a Master Strategic Plan for the next five years. The plan became effective on July 1, 2013 and will remain such until June 30, 2018. You can read the plan here: http://bosagenda.sdcounty.ca.gov/agendadocs/doc?id=09010e9680174b28.

By Janis Mork

August 17, 2013 (El Cajon)- Born missing three limbs due to a rare birth defect, Alex Montoya has triumphed over adversity. Now manager of Latino affairs for the San Diego Padres, he met representatives from Cuyamaca College after speaking at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park and was invited to deliver the commencement speech.

Montoya moved here from Columbia when he was 4 years old. “It was absolutely a new world. It was at times scary and at times daunting, but really it was refreshing and exhilarating,” he told ECM. “I realized that there were boundless opportunities.”

He learned English by watching baseball. Montoya is most passionate about baseball because “it’s a very fair and very beautiful sport..I quickly saw that it was America’s past time… [It] was something that really stayed with me my entire life.”

August 18, 2013 (San Diego) – A year after the release of their critically-acclaimed sophomore album Gossamer, Passion Pit have announced a massive fall headling tour across North America, including an appearance at the Open Air Theater at SDSU, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego.  The tour will feature special guests The Joy Formidable.

By Miriam Raftery

August 17, 2013 (Santee) – An environmental group has lodged a formal complaint over a proposed electronic billboard in Santee, contending that the sign violates city laws and further, should require an environmental review.

The LEC-powered video billboard proposed by a Toyota dealership would stand 70 feet tall and be 321 square feet in size.  It would tower above the junction of highways 125 and 52.

Update 12:35 p.m.:   The fire's spread has been stopped at 6 acres, Cal Fire reports.

Photos by Kristin Kjaero, Elizabeth Gallway, Gloria Duncan and Jeff Holtz

August 17, 2013 (Lakeside) - A five-acre brush fire is burning in Lakeside. The blaze, reported at 11:36 a.m., is near Los Coches Road and Interstate 8 and is spreading at a moderate rate, Cal Fire reports. 

August 17, 2013 (Lakeside) -- The Santee Sheriff's Station will host a community forum in Lakeside on Tuesday, August 27 at 7 p.m.  The event will be held in the Lakeside Community Center, 9841 Vine Street, Lakeside.  The Sheriff's Department wants to hear your concerns about public safety and your ideas for creting an action plan for safer communities.

Hear from Captain Lisa Miller, Sheriff's deputies, crime prevention specialists, Lakeside Fire Department, County Animal Control, Commuinties Against Substance Abuse (CASA), and the Lakeside Planning Group.

By Miriam Raftery

August 16, 2013 (Ramona) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating ""sextortion" threats allegedly made against 19 people including Cassidy Wolf, a former Ramona contestant who won the title Miss Teen USA on Saturday. 

According to NBC Today Show’s website, Wolf said she received an anonymous e-mail several months ago from a blackmailer who claimed to have stolen images from the webcam on her home computer.  The hacker reportedly threatened to publish the images unless Wolf would provide nude photos.

By Brian Lafferty

August 15, 2013 (San Diego) – Like Forrest Gump, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) views American history from a distance, a bystander swept up in a relentless flurry of major historical events that came to dominate and define the latter 20^th century.  Like Forrest Gump, Danny Strong's screenplay - based on the Washington Post article by Wil Haywood - mystifies the civil rights movement, the Kennedy assassination, and the Vietnam War.  As major political figures appear, and landmark events transpire or are referenced, the joy of discovery and realization kicks in at full stop.  And like Forrest Gump, it's full of "easter eggs" masterfully hidden that become uncovered with repeat viewings. 

By Brian Lafferty

August 16, 2013 (San Diego) – Scattered throughout Kick-Ass 2 are the same high-caliber flashes of genius of its predecessor.  Only thing is Kick-Ass had a rich, fully developed screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn from which to hang them.  Jeff Wadlow's screenplay is otherwise a messy concoction of underdeveloped subplots and gratuitous nasty violence. 

By Allison Henderson, apluscollegeconsultants.com

August 15, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- The 2013-2014 school year hasn't started yet so why not get a jump on the college application process? CA4, the new Common Application, now accepted by over 500 colleges and universities, opened up on August 1st. Yes, it crashed within a few hours of opening up. And, yes, there is criticism about the “improved” application because they eliminated the popular "topic of your choice" and increased the permissible word count. CA4 offers five prompts rather than six, but now allows for 650 words instead of 500 on the essay. In fact, it automatically counts the essay, and won't allow essays that are too short (less than 250 words) or too long (more than 650 words). According to the Common App Facebook page, the system is still slightly buggy but the new essay prompts were released in advance of the official launch of CA4, so there are no excuses, seniors!  140,000 students have already created their applicant accounts. Dust off those keyboards and start clicking away. 

August 15, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Husqvarna this week announced a recall of its closed-course/competition off-road motorcycles due to crash hazard. The motorcycle's throttle cable can malfunction so the rider loses speed control, posing a crash hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.

August 15, 2013 (El Cajon) - The Hyde Art Gallery opens its Fall 2013 Semester with “From This Place” – a Sculpture and Installation Exhibition featuring the work of Stephanie Bedwell.