EDITORIAL: INDUSTRIAL WIND ENERGY PROPONENTS INCREASE PRESSURE FOR 40-50 STORY TURBINES IN EAST COUNTY – EVEN ON FOREST LAND
by Donna Tisdale reprinted with permission from The Alpine Sun For the record, even though I chair the Boulevard Planning Group and head up the non-profit group, Backcountry Against Dumps, this opinion column is my own personal perspective. The pressure from industrial wind energy proponents is really cranking up in Eastern San Diego County. Multi-national firms, worth billions of dollars, and others, have targeted public, private and tribal lands in the Tecate Divide and Tierra Del Sol area of Campo and Boulevard for their hulking 40-50 story wind turbines. Other windy areas of the County will follow in time. Their coordinated behind-closed-doors lobbying efforts are apparently gaining ground with a majority of the Board of Supervisors. Their goal is to relax County regulations and streamline their efforts to industrialize rural landscapes, private lands, and communities, most of which are in Supervisor Jacob’s District 2. Absentee landowners, who care more about a few thousand dollars than impacts to a community they don’t live in, are joining the fray that threatens to change the face and character of rural East County. A Board hearing will be held on February 25th to discuss removal of the current Major Use Permit requirement for the installation of Meteorological Test (MET) towers, up to 200 feet tall. Some claim MET towers are needed to study the viability of installing residential wind turbines, but the real goal is to take measurements for industrial scale wind projects. I strongly disagree with proponents’ claims that MET towers are a separate issue from industrial wind turbines. They are intrinsically connected. The agenda item for POD-08-015 will also address the question of changing County regulations which currently restrict wind turbines to 80 feet in height. New turbines stand an average of 400-500 feet with some as tall as 600 feet. They are as tall as 40-50 story buildings with a blade span equal to the size of a 747 jet airplane. Along with the visual impact, turbines generate significant noise, health, environmental, and property value impacts. They also pose a real threat of wildfire ignition through the malfunction and overheating of various generator parts, highly flammable hydraulic fluids, fiberglass blades, transformers and other related infrastructure. Iberdrola Renewables (formerly PPM Energy), a Spanish corporation, represented by Ed Clark an Andy Linehan, is getting ready to initiate the joint state and federal review process for their 200 MW Tule Wind project (130 plus turbines) on BLM land in the multi-use recreation area known as the McCain Valley Cooperative Land and Wildlife Management Area, the Lark Canyon OHV Park, and the Cottonwood Campground. Massive turbines will also loom over abutting private property and residences on McCain Valley Road and Ribbonwood Road. Due to their location on the ridge line near the Carrizo Gorge, the Tule Wind turbines will also be highly visible over extensive geographic areas, including I-8, Historic Rt 80, Hwy S-2 and the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. To secure the 20,000 or so acres they wanted, documents show that PPM Energy applied significant pressure to the BLM and Department of Interior to downgrade the area from pretty to ugly. Governor Schwarzenegger helped them. In the forced process to change the land use to industrial zoning, multiple federal regulations were violated including the Administrative Procedures Act. A law suit will be filed against the BLM soon. Invenergy, LLC, based in Chicago, represented by Brit Coupens and local consultant Rich Volker, is one of the main instigators behind POD-08-015. They have secured several easement agreements with absentee land owners in the Tierra Del Sol area, and made presentations to groups like the Campo Gentlemen’s Club. If the agreements are the same as the unsolicited Invenergy agreement turned down by me and my husband, in exchange for about $14,000, they allow for the installation of MET towers, turbines, substations, transmission lines, communications facilities, roads, and more – all things that are not currently allowed under existing County regulations and zoning without major changes. The Campo Band is looking at the potential for another 100 turbines/300 MW on their tribal lands, according to a 2008 power point presentation by Michael Connolly Miskwish, a tribal Councilman at that time. The map shows the potential for turbines both north and south of I-8, both east and west of Church Road, BIA Route 10 and 15, and near the Shockey Truck Trail area. Connolly’s figures would require 3-MW turbines which stand about 600 feet tall. Their 25 existing 2-MW turbines (325 feet tall), at Kumeyaay Wind near their Golden Acorn Casino, already had one giant blade shatter near I-8. We have not received an answer to how far the pieces flew. Experiences at other wind turbine projects indicate debris can be flung great distances. Impacted off-reservation neighbors say the thumping, groaning noise and vibrations are irritating and pose problems. The visual impacts of the turbines themselves and the blinking strobe and red night lights required by the FAA, will be vastly multiplied. While wind energy represents income for the tribe ($300-400,000 annually) some members are reportedly not happy with the prospects for expansion. Scott Debenham of Debenham Energy, LLC has applied for 1-3 MET towers on Cleveland National Forest Land near the La Posta area. He has asked for fast-tracking and appears to be working closely with absentee private property owners south of I-8, including George Coldonato. Sempra Energy is working on their 1,250 MW Energia Sierra Juarez wind energy project, and others, encompassing 60 miles of prominent ridge line, owned by various communal ejidos, starting at Jacumba. Hamann Companies, absentee owners of 2,000 plus acres in Boulevard represented by John Gibson, has also joined the push for industrial wind turbines, falsely claiming in an e-mail to BLM that the area "is unpopulated." Court documents, in a 2008 dispute between partners, also show that Greg Lansing of Lansing Companies, absentee owners of approximately 7,900 acres of Boulevard land, was party to $12 million agreement with SDG&E
VROOOOOM! DREW FORD/LA MESA KIWANIS CLUB TO HOLD SOAP BOX DERBY RALLY RACES MARCH 7 & 8
“There’s No Substitute for Experience,” Says Derby Director March 1, 2009(La Mesa)–In the seventh year of its Soap Box Derby program, the Drew Ford and the Kiwanis Club of La Mesa will hold two days of Rally Races on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. The back-to-back races lead to the Annual La Mesa Soap Box Derby in late May. Winners of that contest are sent to the National Derby in Akron, Ohio, in July. About 35 to 40 youngsters from cities throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada are expected to participate in the two days of racing down Junior High Drive adjacent to La Mesa Middle School. Nearby Highwood Park will be the staging area and picnic grounds. Being held in cooperation with the City of La Mesa, the rally races are designed to provide drivers with experience and garner points. Youngsters ages 8 to 17 wishing to enter should contact La Mesa Kiwanis Derby Chairman Dennis Wilkes at 619-469-7353 or online at dwilkes1@cox.net for entry information. “Each driver must participate in the building of his or her own racer from a kit ordered from Derby Headquarters in Akron,” Wilkes said, adding that sponsors are being enlisted to underwrite the cost of the car kits for those unable to afford the price tag which starts at $650. “Rally races are really important for kids who hope to go all the way to Akron,” declared Wilkes. “Kids get familiar with the procedures and gain confidence. There’s no substitute for experience.” Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m. each day. Each day’s derby is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and continue in single and double elimination brackets until about 5 p.m.
A REAL FAMILY CIRCUS: EIGHT GENERATIONS UNDER THE BIG TOP
By Yuliana Cerda Vittorio Arata,
Gabriella Quiroga (1), 
Katya Quiroga,
Mariella Quiroga (Mark Raftery) February 21, 2009 (El Cajon) — Circus Vargas distinguishes itself from the competition because the audience becomes part of the show. Every child who attended a recent performance at Parkway Plaza was invited to participate in the pre-show and taught to juggle scarves, spin hula hoops, and balance peacock feathers. Unlike some shows in sports arenas or other large buildings, this circus is held under a big-top tent. Mary Thomas, five, of Lakeside was most excited to see the animals. While this show did not feature large exotic animals, it did include acts with Clydesdale horses, dogs, cats, and a giant snake. At intermission the audience was invited to ride a Clydesdale and pose for pictures holding the snake. General Manager Vittorio Arata says Circus Vargas no longer uses exotic animals because, “most cities don’t allow them anymore.” He also said Circus Vargas agrees that it is better not to have animals in cramped conditions. Every seat in the house, from the $15 to the $50, seat had a great view of the entire show, which included acrobats, trapeze artists, quick-change artists, and the newest act – “The Globe of Death,” with three motorcycles, to name a few. Arata is a sixth generation circus performer, who became manager after retiring, Yuliana Cerda “Iâ’ve been an acrobat, but you have to know when to retire from that,” he said. “My daughter is the seventh generation. She and her husband are the owners of the circus. My granddaughter, Mariella, is the eighth generation. She works as one of the girls on the horses,” Arata added, smiling with pride. His daughter, Katya, and her husband, Nelson Quiroga, purchased the circus after it had been closed down for two years. It has now been reopened for four years, and is celebrating its 40th anniversary season. This is the second year Circus Vargas has come to El Cajon. When asked if she ever thought she’d own a circus when she grew up, Katya laughed and said, “My parents sent me to school to break the cycle and get out of the circus.” Fortunately for circus fans, her love of life under the big top won out–fulfilling an adage every seasoned performer takes to heart: the show must go on. View our videos! Jump roping dog and clown Acrobats on flying trapeze Grand finale Yuliana Cerda is a journalism major at San Diego State University and a student intern with East County Magazine. When a Circus Vargas clown handed a tambourine to Yuliana, who had a ringside seat, she wound up becoming part of the show–joining the fun with some audience participation of her own.