August 24, 2014 (San Diego)—Last week, San Diego’s City Council voted to over-ride the mayor’s veto of a minimum wage increase.  That means the increase will take effect, giving raises to low-wage workers throughout the city as well as sick days to all workers citywide.

August 24, 2014 (Descanso) – A wildland fire in Descanso on Sunday briefly threatened structures. The blaze started in light, flashy fuels near the Descanso Library at River Drive and Viejas Boulevard.

By Nadin Abbott, Reporting San Diego

Reporting San Diego sat down on August 22 in Santee with Ben Kalasho, a leader in the Chaldean community, to discuss genocide in Iraq. Excerpts below are reprinted with permission.

Aug. 24, 2014 (Santee)--“All those people who you see on the mountain side on Sinjar, sleeping on what seems to be the front of churches, those people were homeowners, they owned vehicles, they had jobs or owned businesses and are now homeless,” said Ben Kalasho, a leader in the Chaldean community and President of the East County Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce.

According to Kalasho,600,000 people are internally displaced in Iraq. This is an almost incomprehensible number, but we cannot turn away from it.

Our leaders, starting with the President, have mentioned the Yazidis, who are an ancient people that precede Islam and Christianity in Iraq. But the plight of other minorities, including Christian Chaldeans, Siriacs and others has not drawn the same level of national media attention.

August 23, 2014 (Ocotillo)--Photographer Jim Pelley’s home is now surrounded on three sides by the Ocotillo wind facility built on public lands, despite promises when he purchased his home that the views would be protected forever.  He sent in these images to vent his frustration over the despoiled views of nature that drew him to this desert community.

At least 87 injured; wineries and historic district hit hard in Napa

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2014 (Napa Valley) – Governor Brown has declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and  Solano counties after a 6.0 earthquake hit just south of Napa in Northern California at 3:20 a.m., causing major damage in California’s famed winemaking region and other communities.

At least 87 people have been hospitalized, including a young girl critically injured in a fireplace collapse, CNN reports. 

By Sharon Ann Hamilton

August 23, 2014 (San Diego)--Dear Retirement Concierge,

My 16-year-old just took his solo voyage as a driver. Since I saw him learning to drive I am nervous at best when he is out there alone without a parent to guide him. At the same time my parents-in-law AND my parents are creeping into their late eighties and I notice a few dents in their cars; they all drive! That brings the tally to five people now on the road with questionable driving skills. I think I’ll be using public transportation for the next few years! What practical ideas do you have for these situations?

Signed: Scared Spitless On the Roads

August 23, 2014 (Alpine) – The Back Country Land Trust will  hold its third annual Wine and Cheese Friend-Raiser on Saturday, September 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Wright’s Field in Alpine.

Organization to host "Catoberfest" benefit on Sept. 27



By David L. Coddon



August 22, 2014 (San Diego's East County)--A cat is man’s and woman’s best friend at an adoption center in El Cajon, that for half a century has been finding homes for needy felines.

Pins pop up to show solidarity with people displaced by ISIS

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – After finding that the Islamic extremist group ISIS had an Instagram page for recruiting potential terrorists and next finding an ISIS Facebook page boasting of atrocities, Ben Kalasho of El Cajon set out to shut down ISIS online.

By Miriam Raftery

August  22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Surveillance video of two Metropolitan Transit Service (MTS) security officers brutally beating a passenger in La Mesa has prompted suspension of the officers and a police investigation, as ECM reported.  But now an ECM investigation reveals that it may be only the tip of an iceberg.

A Facebook page titled “Stop MTS Harassment and Brutality!” with the logo shown at left was launched back on March 3, 2014 by Bertha Guttierez of Chula Vista.  Posts and links at the site reveal at least three additional excessive use of force cases involving MTS security officers, two of them also involving victims who alleged racial profiling , racial slurs and taunts by the officers.

View video of beating (warning, disturbing content):  http://www.10news.com/news/investigations/video-security-officers-beat-man-on-trolley

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2014 (La Mesa) – Two security officers for Metropolitan Transit System have been suspended after security video revealed the officers knocking a man across the aisle and then beating him for nearly seven minutes, 10 News reports.  10 News obtained the video through a public records request after receiving a complaint from Lynn Riggs, a passenger who witnessed the beating aboard the trolley in La Mesa on August 18. 

“He was not trying to get away, he was just trying to avoid getting further injured,” she said.  “I just watched them beat him and beat him and beat him with the baton.”  At one point, officers paused, then began violently beating the man again, seemingly without provocation.  The witness called the behavior “out of control.”

East County News Service

August 22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – State Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat whose district includes large portions of East County, was arrested at 3:30 a.m. in Sacramento for driving under the influence.

The California Highway Patrol said Hueso was driving the wrong way on 15^th Street in his Ford Excursion when he was stopped, Fox40 TV reported.  He faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more.

August 21, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A Superior Court judge may rule Friday on a state proposal to place convicted child molester Allen Fields in Campo. If the housing plan is approved, he would be the sixth sexually violent predator placed in rural East County in recent years.

United Nations passes resolution for sanctions against ISIS backers; local Iraqis ask for airlifts to save lives

Hear our exclusive interview with Mark Arabo on progress at the United Nations to save Iraqi Christians, originally aired Aug. 20 on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM:

http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/6scu4kz7x2/Arabo-UNresolutioninterviewfor8-20-14show-FINAlwithrallyclips.mp3

By Miriam Raftery

August 21, 2014 (El Cajon) – Chanting “Save Iraq, save humanity,” and “Save Iraqi Christians,” hundreds of Iraqi-Americans marched through the streets of El Cajon on Tuesday. Many are gravely concerned about family members trapped in Iraq or who have fled as refugees as terrorists now calling themselves the Islamic State have seized cities across Iraq, torturing , killing or kidnapping those who refuse to convert to Islam.  The community showed support, with many motorists honking horns and drawing cheers.

Speakers, including former State Senator Wadie Deddeh, Chaldean-American leader Mark Arabo, and religious leaders also turned out to show solidarity with the persecuted minorities of Iraq.

August 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Bird Talk columnist Greg Dunne sent in this spectacular photos, with the following note: