by Laura Cyphert

East County Community Action Coalition

By Tracy Emblem (Democratic candidate, 50th Congressional District)

March 27, 2009 (San Diego)--The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is vital to rebuild America’s economy. But the right-wing media is disseminating false information and scare tactics aimed at duping the public regarding EFCA.

We are losing the middle class. Wages are spiraling downward, workers are losing healthcare, yet CEOs are earning hundreds of times more than the average employee and pocketing billions in bonuses for failing companies. This is wrong.

By Charlene Ayers

February 26, 2009 (Lakeside)--Last night SDG&E had all of its easels up and tables placed so that folks could mozy around the large Lakeside community room and inform themselves about the Sunrise PowerLink. There were approximately 30 black pants and white shirted people there to help. As soon as a person stopped to read, they were surrounded by these cheerful minders, er, messengers. It was like entering Circuit City.

But even with all these smooooth operators inside, there was trouble brewing outside in the hall. It was "The Battle of the Tables."

By Ed Clark

February 25, 2009--I was reading the article on your site this morning, where SDG&E plans to turn off power to remote residences during high wind, low humidity days.

This is nothing more than part of their cover-up to prevent a system ground fault on a high windy days from arcing at down guy anchors and starting fires. What they don't get is that depending on where a ground fault occurs, it could still catch the grass on fire, if not corrected.

Additionally, SDG&E has several alternatives other than turning power off to customers who are in need.

By Denise Morse

As a Campo property owner and native San Diegan I just can't fathom how 120
miles of transmission lines with 150 ft. high steel towers buzzing and crackling their way into San Diego fits with "America's Finest City" image.

By Mary Handfelt

January 19, 2009 (Lakeside) — The election that wouldn't
end is over; all the parties have cranked down their intensity level notch
by notch. The
victors have quietly settled into a new kind of peace, as if committed to demonstrating
in hyperbole the open minds and hearts that they promised would be - the harmony
that comes from choosing peace not war, or even bipartisan sparring.

Put Americans to work providing fire protection infrastructure and
energy independence for San Diego's fire-ravaged East County region

By Miriam Raftery, Editor, East County Magazine

December
7, 2008 (San Diego's East County) —President-Elect Barack
Obama is expected to propose the largest infrastructure-rebuilding program
since Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the Works Progress Administration
(WPA) during the Great Depression.  The goal is to put Americans back
to work and revitalize the economy while also repairing roads, bridges, levees
and other public projects.

While fiscal conservatives may oppose massive spending on public works projects,
the reality is that with a Democratic-controlled Congress, the President's
proposed infusion of capital into infrastructure rebuilding is guaranteed to
pass. "So why not have San Diego County's bipartisan Congressional delegation
propose that a portion of those infrastructure dollars be spent to improve
fire safety right here in East County, where the worst wildfires in California
history struck in 2003 and again in 2007?"

By Wren Osborn

Early voting at the San Diego Registrar of Voters, where some people waited up to six hours in line.

December 1, 2008 (El Cajon) — I cannot understand why it is so easy to change
the California Constitution. "All it takes is an initiative with 50% of
the vote plus one voter and voila a new amendment to the Constitution." Yes,
it takes 8% to qualify the proposition instead of the usual 5% but does that
bring mature reflection to the process? "I would say not." Especially
since the process is now dominated by moneyed interests who hire paid signature
gatherers -- We've created a slam dunk process for those with money.

San Diego County’s Green Energy Future

By Martha Sullivan

The
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is poised to take action any
day now on Sempra Energy’s proposed Sunrise Powerlink project, which
the CPUC’s own ratepayers’ advocate division has concluded is unnecessary.
In this editorial, Martha Sullivan, former CPUC staffer, lays out a plan of
action for consumers interested in halting the Powerlink project. Sullivan,
now a San Diego resident, also reveals why major environmental groups are opposing
ballot propositions 7 and 10, which she describes as “seriously flawed.”

(Editor’s note:  The name of this author has been withheld
upon request, due to privacy concerns. All details have been fact-checked
for accuracy.)

Proposition 4 would outlaw abortion for minors unless parental notification
or a judicial order is obtained.

What's wrong with restricting abortion access for teens? We already
require girls to obtain a parent's permission for piercings or other
medical procedures, right?

The answer is not so simple. If you are pro life, be aware that voting "yes" on
Prop 4 could jeopardize the health or even the life of your daughter and other
teens. As a reporter for nearly 30 years, I've interviewed countless
women, girls, fathers, counselors and medical professionals on this issue. What
I've learned is that there are many grey areas where moral clarity is
murky.

By Bob Hamilton

It’s
not surprising that the American people are against the $700 billion financial
rescue plan, which was rejected by Congress on Monday.  We’ve
seen this movie before, where the government steps in with taxpayer funds to
rescue those who overdosed on greed, and we’re not interested in seeing
it again. After our government lied and mismanaged its way into a
quagmire in Iraq that has increased the burden for taxpayers by trillions,
why should we trust them now?  They say we must fork over another $700
billion to stabilize the financial system, the same financial system that allowed
banks and mortgage companies to knowingly issue bad mortgages and convert them
to risky investments that were sold to investors as safe.  At the same
time, too many of our political leaders in Washington seem more concerned about
the next election than solving the financial crisis, which leaves us disinclined
to trust them either.

By Ken Sobel

It’s impossible to turn on the TV or radio lately without being barraged
by T. Boone Pickens presenting his ambitious plan to save the world from global
warming and wean us off foreign oil. But the decision we need to make in the
days and weeks to come is between creating the energy we need locally—or
leaving control of solar and wind power production in the hands of big utility
companies that aim to sell us back our energy after we build the transmission
lines with our tax money.

Who would spend $14,300 to win a little rural election?
Big dollars can drown out the voices of Campo community members

By Billie Jo Jannen

When was the last time you donated $2,000 to control the
selection of members for an advisory body in a tiny little rural town? This
may hardly seem worthwhile to you and I, but it clearly is to a number of Star
Ranch development proponents, some of whom have spent much more than $2,000.

By Miriam Raftery

October 1, 2008 (San Diego's East County) Legislators
who voted to ban cell phone usage while driving obviously never tried communicating
via a a hands-free device while traversing East County's back roads and
byways, where even normal cell phone service is spotty at best and often non-existent. I'm
certain that if these do-gooders in Sacramento had to conduct their business
in the boonies, they'd repeal the law in a nanosecond.