SILVER CREEK FINE ART CELEBRATES 30 YEARS WITH $3,250 DRAWING
Printer-friendly versionApril 26, 2009 (El Cajon)–Silver Creek Fine Art & Custom Framing is offering more than $3,000 in prizes as part of its 30th Anniversary celebration, according to Lynn Endicott, owner of the art gallery and custom framing business serving East San Diego County since 1979. “We wanted to do something fun to mark our 30th year in business and something that showcased our custom art and framing, so we came up with the first annual Custom Art Contest,” said Endicott (shown in photo with Tom Johnston and Carlos Castrejon). Entering the contest is easy. Simply stop by Silver Creek Fine Art & Custom Framing anytime during business hours before June 7 and vote on which one of the 55 pieces of custom art hanging in the gallery is your favorite. Each voter’s name will be entered into the June 7 drawing to win one of several prizes, including a $1,000 Gift Certificate Grand Prize, 15 second place Gift Certificates for $100 each, and 15 third place Gift Certificates for $50 each. All Gift Certificates are for custom framing services from Silver Creek Fine Art. All of the 55 custom pieces of art are available for sale. Silver Creek Fine Art & Custom Framing will host a free “First Fridays” art reception on Friday, May 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. Part of the First Fridays events held on the first Friday of every month throughout Downtown El Cajon, the reception will showcase a range of new improvements at the gallery, as well as new inventory, new artists, and affordable prices. Located at 120 E. Main Street, in historic Downtown El Cajon, Silver Creek offers quality custom framing services, complete restoration and picture hanging services, and a gallery of original artwork and limited editions by such artists as Bateman, Brenders, Doolittle, Hanks, McCarthy, Redlin, Terpning, and Wieghorst. In addition, Silver Creek offers a selection of unique jewelry, books, gifts and more. Named Business of the Year by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, Silver Creek Fine Art & Custom Framing is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, on Sunday by appointment. Contact Silver Creek at 619-447-3535, or on-line at www.silvercreekfineart.com. Printer-friendly version
WELCOME RECEPTION MAY 5 FOR NEW GCCD CHANCELLOR: DEALING WITH BUDGET CRISIS A TOP PRIORITY
Printer-friendly versionApril 26, 2009 (El Cajon)–– Talk about a baptism by fire. Dr. Cindy L. Miles has started a new job as chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District at a time of fiscal uncertainty amid what some economists still expect to be the deepest recession in the modern era. Limited funding by the state at a time of escalating enrollment and expanding costs presents the college district with major fiscal challenges. A budget deal brokered by lawmakers in February offers only a temporary respite. The pact hinges on a May 19 special election containing six ballot propositions intended to close what was previously estimated to be a $42 billion budget gap. Add an additional $8 billion shortfall, analysts say, noting overly optimistic revenue projections. In the face of this conundrum and with the specter of a prolonged recession looming, it is the most challenging fiscal situation the state, and by extension, the district, has ever faced. Dealing with budget issues is nothing new for the Texas native who now calls La Mesa home. But the new chancellor, for whom a welcome event is planned 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, at the La Mesa Community Center, said she’ll have to be a quick study of California’s byzantine budget process. With the state’s immediate financial outlook depending on the vagaries of voters, she said it is impossible to predict with certainty what’s in the cards for the East County district. Meet and Greet What: Welcome event for Dr. Cindy L. Miles Where: La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa When: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5 RSVP: 619-644-7569 “What I’m seeing on the horizon is a much more challenging financial picture,” said Miles, the president of the Hialeah Campus of Miami Dade College in Florida before taking the helm of the 29,000-student Grossmont-Cuyamaca district March 1. “I’ve got to get up to speed on the California budget process to help lead this district’s response to the budget cuts we know are coming next year.” The mismatch between community college needs and resources call for creative solutions demanding the colleges’ and district’s best talents, she said. “The goal is to protect the learning core, the front-line services to students, and to keep access as available as possible,” Miles said. “And, of course, this district has a commitment to its employees to try to protect positions. We have some 800 full-time employees and another 2,000 part-time employees. We are a major employer in the East County and we don’t want to see the kind of layoffs that other school systems are experiencing. We know that the outlook is very poor and we need to be prepared for this.” Miles began her career in higher education in 1989, teaching developmental mathematics at Paris Junior College in Texas while pursuing her master’s in secondary and higher education at Texas A&M Univeristy-Commerce. This while raising her now 30-year-old son, Gabriel, a business administration major at Florida International University. Creative solutions Chief operating officer from 1999 to 2001of the League for Innovation in the Community College, a national think tank and advocacy group for community colleges in the United States and Canada, Miles values finding creative answers to educational challenges and sharing the knowledge with others. She remains a lead consultant for the League and she is a national speaker on education and leadership. Much of her research and publications on community college issues can be found on the Web. “My years with the League for Innovation gave me the opportunity to work with institutions all over the country and to see best practices. I’ve looked at solid research into what makes a difference, what works,” she said. In 2002, Miles began a three-year stint as vice president of learning and academic affairs at the Community College of Denver, followed by her hiring in 2005 as the founding president of the Hialeah Campus of Miami Dade College, or MDC. With 160,000 students enrolled at its eight campuses, MDC is the largest college in the nation. Coming from a campus where 91 percent of its 11,000-student population is Hispanic and 70 percent native Spanish speakers, Miles has had key roles in developing programs to improve retention and academic success. One program, called Project V-Coach, is a virtual student advising, tutoring and support system for Hispanic and low-income students pursuing the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The five-year project, funded with a $3 million federal grant targeting Hispanic-serving institutions, is an example of a creative approach to enhancing decreasing revenue, Miles noted. “It’s really linking a lot of existing programs,” said Miles, whose grant writing secured the Title V monies, part of the $40 million overall she’s acquired over the years in grants and gifts for various institutions. “The creative aspect of Project V-Coach comes in the use of technology to provide holistic, high-level support to students at an affordable cost.” Miles has been a leading proponent of serving under-represented groups and promoting diversity. During her years with the League for Innovation, she helped launch the Digital Divide Project targeting the technology gap in certain populations, as well as the League Tolerance Project advancing respect for racial, ethnic and lifestyle diversity. She has carried what she describes as a passion for social justice to the national level via service on the American Association of Community Colleges’ National Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as involvement with Habitat for Humanity. Miles will receive a $245,000 salary, which may make her the highest paid public employee in East County. According to a 2008 San Diego Business Journal listing, the highest salary for an East County official then was $240,000 to Grossmont Union High School District Supervisor Bob Collins. www.thefreelibrary.com/Highest-paid+public+employees:+ranked+by+salary+for+2007-2008+fiscal…-a0173021321 Personal history A glance at the chancellor’s resume and long list of honors and accomplishments is enough to sap the strength of even the most energetic, but Miles just laughs, calling it a family trait. A younger sister has a master’s and law degree and is
FLOOD OF RATEPAYER PROTESTS PROMPTS HELIX WATER TO HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING MONDAY, APRIL 27 AT 2 PM; CRITICS CONTEND DISTRICT PLAN IS UNFAIR TO BIG FAMILIES & LARGE LOT OWNERS
Printer-friendly version Update April 28: Despite strong public protest, Helix Water District approved eliminating agricultural meters for 900 customers and accepted other staff recommendations. Watch for details soon. By Miriam Raftery April 26, 2009 (La Mesa)—Deluged by hundreds of calls from residents irate about steep rate increases for heavy water use, and by many seeking irrigation meters to qualify for cheaper water rates, Helix Water District’s Board of Directors will convene a special meeting at 2 p.m. Monday, April 27th. The board will consider proposals to eliminate the heftiest Tier 5 price increases for “excessive” water users. Tier five rates as originally proposed would have penalized the heaviest water users by 30% to 165%, depending on which stage of drought level (1 through 4) is declared. But the board also plans to vote Monday on whether to take away irrigation meters (and cheaper irrigation rates) from single-family residences that don’t sell commercial agricultural products. There are 900 irrigation meters in the district, and 13 customers that have a commercial operation which receive an agricultural rate. The move leaves homeowners with large lawns, orchards and gardens worried about how to protect landscaping including edible food crops for their families. Mark Schuppert of unincorporated La Mesa, in written public comments, objects to the entire Tier Pricing structure, not just Tier 5. “The remaining tiers also place an unfair pricing burden on large families and large lot owners,” he writes. Citing Helix budget figures that estimate the average family uses 137 gallons a day, Schuppert concludes, “a family of five will use an average of 55 units per billing cycle and the resulting pricing increase will be 59% under current drought Level 2 conditions, not the 22% claimed by the District’s literature…and the proposed increase is not intended to reflect the entire increase that is coming in 2011.” Schuppert further calculates rate increases for the average use of a five-person household would range from 30% to 147% under drought level conditions 1 through 4, based on the Helix Bill Estimator—and the average family of five will not approach Tier 5 rate levels proposed to be dropped. Thus Schuppert concludes, “The punitive pricing to larger families and owners of larger lots is discriminatory.” Installing an irrigation meter costs $2,500 to $10,000—up until now, an option few homeowners would find cost effective. But with rate increases looming, Helix Water District has received a flood of requests from homeowners seeking to add irrigation meters. Kristin Hobbs Kjaero of La Mesa, who has covered water issues previously for East County Magazine, now plans to speak out at Monday’s meeting on her own household’s behalf. Kjaero also notes that in the Cities of La Mesa and El Cajon, sewer bills are based directly on Helix water bills; adding an irrigation meter gives households an option to be responsible for their own interests. If that option is eliminated, customers would be billed for services not rendered (i.e., irrigation water does not go into the sewer system for treatment), she notes. Whether the city of Lemon Grove have similar billing arrangements could not be verified at press deadline Sunday. In an e-mail to ECM, Kjaero notes that Helix estimates that 60% of average water use goes to irrigation, and concludes, “As one of these households with an irrigation meter, I will understand if they take away my irrigation rate because they are doing away with a tiered system to be equitable and make ALL water one rate…but if they take away my irrigation meter they need to provide an alternative accounting system so my irrigation water doesn’t go onto my sewer bills." Helix Water District Director Kathleen Coates Hedberg wrote that eliminating Tier 5 from the proposed domestic rate structure “helps, but it is NOT the ultimate solution in providing full equity across the board….” Hedberg, who voted against the initial proposed rate structure, added, “I understand that we have a water crisis, water is limited and it is more expensive, however, we can implement a water shortage rate schedule that is FAIR to all and would be similar to the one we have right now.” Hedberg says that is what she will propose on Monday. “We do have time to get it right,” she adds, noting that Helix will not have to actually pay higher rates to the San Diego County Water Authority until at least September, and more likely January 2010. Rate increases from the County will occur in mid-May, she observes. “Then we can use real numbers—not estimates, and get this all right the second time around.” The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 27, in the Helix Water District Board Room, 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa. Printer-friendly version
U.S. DECLARES SWINE FLU EMERGENCY; BORDER CROSSERS, AIR TRAVELERS TO BE SCREENED FOR ILLNESS
Printer-friendly versionApril 26, 2009 (Washington D.C.)—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public emergency today in the United States due to the outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in five states (California, Ohio, New York, Kansas and Texas). “We have implemented passive surveillance protocols to screen individuals who may arrive at our borders,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a press conference today. Travelers entering the U.S. from areas with swine flu, including Mexico, will be asked about their health and will be isolated if ill. In addition to screening travelers at borders, security personnel at airports will also be screening passengers. The emergency declaration also enables the federal government to release stockpiles of Tamiflu and Relenza, antiviral drugs. “We are releasing 25 percent of those courses,” said Napolitano, adding that priority will be given to states that already have confirmed cases of swine flu, including California, which has had seven cases, including four in San Diego County. Funds for lab analysis of viruses(see photo) are also freed up via the emergency declaration. Although no patients have died in the U.S. and only one American has been hospitalized, the swine flu strain has sickened more than 1,300 people in several nations worldwide and is believed responsible for 81 deaths in Mexico. Cases have now been reported in Canada, Spain, and New Zeland as well. “We need everybody in the United States to take some responsibility here,” Napolitano added. “If you are sick, stay home. Wash your hands, take all of those reasonable measures, that will help us mitigate, contain, how many people actually get sick in our country.” School closures are possible if outbreaks escalate, she confirmed. Health authorities are particularly concerned because this outbreak has stricken many young, healthy people– unlike most flu strains that target infants and older adults. The good news is that flu season is nearing an end and a decline in cases is expected soon. Steps are also being taken to boost diagnostic testing and move toward development of a vaccine. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov. A Spanish language version of swine flu information is also available at the site. How worried are you about swine flu? Take our poll: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=poll019 Printer-friendly version