Police Seek Suspects: 3 Hispanic Men with Shaved Heads; Reward Offered

October 2, 2009 (La Mesa) – Last night at approximately 8:28 PM, a man and woman were assaulted by three men and knocked unconscious outside the 24-Hour Fitness Center in La Mesa.

New Census data show 850,000 county residents living in economic hardship
 

September 29, 2009 (San Diego)--Poverty in San Diego County shot up in 2008, rising at a much faster pace than in California or the nation. This plunge in quality of life for many San Diegans is documented in U.S. Census data released today.

The data shows that 850,000 county residents--29% of the population--were living in economic hardship in 2008, according to analysis by the Center on Policy Initiatives. That measure, using a threshold double the federal poverty level, is a more realistic gauge in cities like San Diego where living costs such as housing and fuel are higher than the national average, CPI reports.

"The starkest case is that of El Caj on, which has 21% living below the poverty rate (compared to 12.6% countywide)," said CPI director of research Murtaza Baxamusa. "One in five is pretty dire. El Cajon, in terms of poverty, is the worst city in the County...The City of El Cajon really needs to examine their public policies and their investment in people."  Even worse, nearly half (46%) of all people in El Cajon are living in economic hardshp, using the threshhold of double the poverty level.    

I’M IN THE TUB, GONE. By Richard James Carlson

Publish America, Baltimore. 2004. 123 pages.
Available at the San Diego Police Museum and on Amazon.com

Reviewed by Walter Hall

“Today is the final day of this life…”

Only once in a long while do we encounter a book that just won’t let go. This is one of those books. The subject is suicide; the format is simple: a collection of the notes left behind. Identities are protected, but the texts are rendered just as they were found. Unvarnished. No commentary. Just a last wish, an edgy accusation, or a lonely cry against the coming night. Each voice wallops the unsuspecting reader from a different corner of life.

An experienced SDPD emergency negotiator, Richard Carlson introduces the collected letters and notes with a personal appeal not to give up. He is addressing two audiences: those who would consider taking their lives and the rest of us. After absorbing even a handful of these notes, readers will find it difficult to argue.

September 29, 2009 (San Diego) 4:30 p.m. -- Federal experts have issued a tsunami advisory for possible dangerous currents in coastal areas of California and Oregon following a magnitude-8 earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says an advisory means that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or very near the water is imminent or expected.

October 1, 2009 (Santee)--The Santee Chamber of Commerce announces finalists for the 2009 Santee Chamber Awards Night, which will be held on October 16 at Barona Resort & Casino.

Small Business of the Year Finalists: Ronn Hall Insurance Services, Cookies By Design & Eccentric International Chefs
 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Tracy Emblem

September 28, 2009 5:40 p.m. (Escondido) -- A brush fire reported at 5:05 p.m. today at Bear Valley Parkway and San Pasqual Road has burned three to four acres, CAL-FIRE spokesperson Denise Kessel informed East County Magazine.

According to Incident Reporting Network, homes are in danger and air support was requested by Escondido Fire.

September 28, 2009 (El Cajon) – Karen Hunter was found dead following a fire in her mobile home that began shortly before 7 p.m. last night, the County Coroner’s office has confirmed. Heartland Dispatch received numerous calls about the fire at El Capitan Mobile Home Park, 1425 E. Madison Avenue.

El Cajon firefighters were cooking their dinner on the patio of Fire Station 8 when they also spotted smoke.

By Vince Wallgren, Jr.

As the 2009 autumn sun saps the moisture from most inland San Diego County vegetation; and with yet another Santa Ana condition just a high pressure weather system away, it begs the question: Following the ’03 and ’07 wildfires, what steps has government taken to ensure a similar future event does not result in the same devastation of property and loss of life?

Nothing but the Truth!

By Will Power

September 28, 2009--American Banks and Brokers are so desperate for new financial instruments that they invent entire new commodities to trade- such as “carbon credits” . The idea is to slow global warming by encouraging green business practices. But the market has been a bust, like in New Zealand, where carbon credits that once went for $7.00 a share are now worth 25 cents.

No matter! In fact, “Green” Governor Arnold “Terminator” Swartzenegger, who received $100,000 from Sierra Pacific Logging, muscled through a decision that allows loggers who clear-cut California forests to claim a “carbon credit” for decimating the environment. According to Arnold, clear-cutting is "Green"!

  Whitman takes heat for failure to vote for nearly 3 decades

By Miriam Raftery
 

September 27, 2009 (Indian Wells) – Three Republican candidates vying for the California governorship offered contrasting views on how to revive the state’s ailing economy—and lobbed some pointed barbs at each other at this weekend’s state Republican convention.
 

Ex-Senator Kuehl Leads New Effort to Win Healthcare for All Californians

By Miriam Raftery

September 27, 2009 (San Diego) –Speaking to the San Diego League of Women Voters last week, former state Senator Sheila Kuehl shared some startling facts:

• California law used to require insurance companies to be nonprofits.  Since that law changed, premiums have skyrocketed much faster than costs of medical care.
• Iinsurers are routinely refusing to pay doctors for services—forcing doctors to spend $78 million a year suing insurance companies, according to the American Medical Association.
• Insurers are canceling policies when people get sick, claiming applications were filled out wrong. Many are refusing to sell policies (or canceling existing ones) due to pre-existing conditions—even toe fungus or use of asthma inhalers years ago.

Kuehl authored two bills passed by the California Legislature which would have provided healthcare for all Californians—including dental, eyecare and medical coverage. But both were “terminated” with vetoes by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Now a statewide coalition has launched a campaign to win public support for a new single-payer healthcare bill in California.  View the video. 

4 San Diego Congressional representatives vote “aye”; Hunter votes “no”

September 24, 2009 (Washington D.C.)—San Diego Democrats Bob Filner and Susan Davis joined with Republicans Brian Bilbray and Darrell Issa in voting  to stimulate the local economy and provide stability to American families by extending unemployment insurance benefits to those hit hardest by the recession. Rep. Duncan Hunter, who represents most of East County, voted against the bill.

The Unemployment Compensation Act of 2009 (HR 3548) will provide immediate assistance, extending relief to the estimated 314,000 workers who would otherwise exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of September, and one million more whose benefits would run out by the end of the year.

September 25, 2009 (La Mesa) – At 3:15 PM yesterday a 16 year-old La Mesa boy was walking home from school near Amaya Drive and Water Street, when he was confronted by at least four teenage suspects. The suspects first demanded the victim’s cell phone. When the victim refused, one of the suspects hit the victim with his fist in the face, causing the victim to fall to the ground. The other suspects surrounded the victim and while the victim was on the ground, the suspects kicked him several times about the body and head area. The suspects then ran away.

By Miriam Raftery

September 24, 2009 (El Cajon) –Why was water left to flow for three days from a pipeline on Pepper Drive? After a reader e-mailed East County Magazine to say that Helix Water had failed to repair an apparently ruptured pipeline a day and a half after it was first reported, we contacted Helix Water District to find out why.