ECO-FURNISHING LINE LAUNCHED IN SAN DIEGO
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery May 3, 2009 (San Diego)—Now your home can be beautiful—and green! San Diego designer Laura Birns, ASID, LEED AP, has launched LauraBirdsDesignEco-Furnishings. Named among the “Top 10 Green Gurus” by Innovative Home Magazine, the nationally published designer is a Certified Green Build Professional, USGBC,and Sustainable Furnishings Council member. Now she has created home and commercial furnishings that use only certified renewable and sustainable green resources. Blending form and function, the sophisticated new furnishing products use only low/no VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesives and glues in construction, preserving interior air quality. Birns’ company also offers a selection of Green Guard certified textiles, as well as organic and natural fabrics from suppliers that not only have eco-friendly fabrics, but also utilize sustainable practices in their businesses. Cushions are made from renewable, soy-based foam with 20% soybean oil, reducing the amount of petroleum-based products, and are wrapped in 100% recycled fibers. Options for countertops include wood, veneers, lightweight concrete, engineered stone, metal with post-consumer content, and glass. “Our office is committed towards reducing our carbon footprint by minimizing paper use, reduce energy through day lighting strategies, water use reduction, recycling and wind powered web hosting,” said Birns. “We are committed to educating the public and promote design that assists in the quality of life for all. Working with and researching materials that qualify as “green” is a challenge worth our time and energy …after all, human energy is a renewable resource.” Even shipping of products ordered off the company’s website is dong in an eco-conscious manner. Many items are blanket-wrapped and the freight company is encouraged to recycle crates. Custom sizes and finishes are available. All furniture information, including schematics, descriptions, finishes, are available on the company website: www.LauraBirnsDesign.com. Printer-friendly version
ARRIBA! CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA AT SAVANNA GRILL
Printer-friendly versionApril 29, 2009 (El Cajon)—No need to venture south of the border to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! The Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Cinco de Mayo grand opening party at Savanna Grill complete with music, mariachis, mariachis and Mexican-style food–and the public is welcome to join the fiesta. Savanna Grill is located at 3773 Willow Glen Road in El Cajon, complete with an outdoor patio overlooking a golf course. The menu includes BBQ tri-tip, mini-quesadillas, nachos with beef fajitas, potato skins, chips, salsa and guacamole. The celebration also marks the opening of Realty Executives’ new office next door to the Savanna Grill. Lyle and Grace Caddell along with Diah and Jennifer Asker invite you to join in the festivities at their new businesses from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 5th. Valet parking will also be provided. Printer-friendly version
CUYAMACA COLLEGE EAST COUNTY CAREER FAIR SET FOR MAY 5
Printer-friendly versionCommunity interest likely to be high as more people look for jobs April 30, 2009 (El Cajon)– With unemployment figures topping a record 9 percent in San Diego County, Cuyamaca College’s 15th annual Career Fair set for Tuesday, May 5 is expected to draw strong interest among job and career-seekers. Nearly 60 companies and organizations will be represented at the free event, set for 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the new student center. The fair offers students and the community an opportunity to meet employers and possibly get hired on the spot. Companies and organizations will be discussing the job market, interviewing and collecting resumes. “Even with the depressed job market, the career fair at Cuyamaca College continues to draw employers because we are an excellent source of well-prepared, motivated workers looking to get a foothold in the job market,” said Dr. Cristina Chiriboga, interim college president. “Community colleges continue to produce a steady stream of workers ready and eager to accept the challenge of an increasingly competitive and technology-driven workplace.” Governing Board President Bill Garrett said that it’s important to remember that the Cuyamaca College event is more than a job fair and provides exposure to careers that students and other fair-goers may have never even thought about. “In addition to job interviews, attendees can benefit enormously by gathering information about a variety of career fields and gain insight into the local job market,” he said. “Plus, for those considering a career change, or who are seeing signs that their current jobs are at risk, the fair is a great way to scope out new possibilities. It offers a chance to speak with representatives from many areas to help people decide on a career. Even if an industry is not hiring right now, students can ask important questions of representatives who can share what is really happening with the career in the future.” Cuyamaca programs, including computer and information science, or CIS, and Grossmont College programs, including occupational therapy assistance and respiratory therapy, will have tables set up at the fair to provide a peek into what the careers entail. The East County Career Center will also participate as an additional resource that fair-goers can tap for insight into the job market. Laurie Brown, Cuyamaca College Career Services coordinator, said the 58 vendors confirming attendance is the same as last year’s numbers and is higher than she had anticipated, given the economic climate. Other colleges sponsoring job and career fairs have been reporting about a 20-30 percent reduction in the number of participating employers, she said, so the continuing strong interest in Cuyamaca’s fair is positive news for local job-seekers. As for who’s actually hiring, Brown said the most promising fields are those relating to the environment and alternative energy, highway construction, customer service, healthcare and jobs associated with the stimulus package put forth by the federal government. Career fairs such as Cuyamaca’s have long been regarded as a valuable recruiting tool among public-sector employers who tend to cast their nets wide for a diversity of workers. Local, state and federal entities are all well represented: the California Highway Patrol, the FBI, Helix Water District, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the Social Security Administration, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, San Miguel Fire Department, the state National Guard, and military recruiters from the U.S. Army and Navy. In addition to a wide range of occupations, the military also provides GI Bill education benefits as high as $1,500-$2,000 monthly. In August, the so-called “Post 9/11 GI Bill” goes into effect, offering the most comprehensive education benefits package since the original GI Bill became law in 1944. The new bill not only will help pay tuition, but will also provide a new monthly housing stipend and $1,000 annually for books and supplies. For troops who extend beyond the four-year service requirement, there is the option of transferring the benefit to family members. The smaller companies and businesses that participate in the fair historically provide foot-in-the-door opportunities and are also likely to grant less-experienced workers great latitude to perform a variety of jobs. With greater competition for jobs, workers need to make their credentials shine in terms of their education and training. With so many employers in one spot, the career fair offers the perfect opportunity to hone those interview skills and make contacts that can pay off down the line. “Many of the people who were laid off recently didn’t pay attention to the writing on the wall and didn’t see that things were changing,” Brown said. “They didn’t update their skills and now are left trying to play ‘catch up’ with their education.” For more information and an up-to-date list of employers, contact the Career Center at (619) 660-4450 or visit www.cuyamaca.net/careerserv/. Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in El Cajon. For driving and campus maps, go to www.cuyamaca.edu. Printer-friendly version
NEW FLU’S ORIGIN TRACED TO SAN DIEGO BOY; 15 LOCAL CASES NOW CONFIRMED, 3 AREA SCHOOLS CLOSE
Printer-friendly versionMay 3, 2009 (San Diego)—Health authorities have traced origins of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak to a 10-year old son of a military family in San Diego, UPI reports today. The Centers for Disease Control conducted tests on samples from the boy, revealing the never-before-seen strain of flu virus on April 15, though his brother had symptoms two weeks earlier. Today, the County Health & Human Services Agency confirms four new cases of the flu, bringing the total of cases locally to 15, with several more suspected. The four new cases are a 3-year-old female, a 17-year-old male, a 35-year-old female and a 33-year-old male. The latter two are cases previously confirmed by the military. The media age of patients with the H1N1 flu is 17, younger than in past flu outbreaks. Three schools in the county have closed temporarily to prevent spread of the disease: San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills, Kearny High School in Kearny Mesa and Mission Hills High School in San Marcos. Over 475 schools have closed across the U .S., though only 176 cases have been confirmed in this country. But world health authorities believe the strain is milder than initially feared. In the U.S. thus far, the illness has been blamed for one death, a toddler from a wealthy Mexican family who died in a Texas hospital. Several cases have now been confirmed in Mexicali, a border town south of Imperial County. To date, none have been found in Tijuana, though thousands have been sickened in Mexico City and over 150 have died. “I went to Tijuana on Monday and very few people there were wearing masks…It’s just important to be informed but there is no panic among day laborers. They know who to call if anything happens,” said Enrique Morones of San Diego, who traveled to Tijuana last week. “I just pray the information gets out.” Morones denounced some radio stations for airing “racist things”, adding, “Unfortunately, the right wing is attacking, saying it’s Mexico fault.” In fact, Wired.com reports: Scientists have traced the genetic lineage of the new H1N1 swine flu to a strain that emerged in 1998 in U.S. factory farms, where it spread and mutated at an alarming rate. Experts warned then that a pocket of the virus would someday evolve to infect humans, perhaps setting off a global pandemic. The new findings challenge recent protests by pork industry leaders and U.S., Mexican and United Nations agriculture officials that industrial farms shouldn’t be implicated in the new swine flu, which has killed up to 176 people and on Thursday was declared an imminent pandemic by the World Health Organization. The article quotes Bob Martin, former executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Farm Production, who maintains that “industrial farms are super-incubators for viruses.” The World Health Organization has renamed the virus H1N1 in deference to pork producers, after Egypt ordered slaughter of pigs and Russia banned import of Mexican and U.S. pork. Health authorities insist that the illness cannot be contracted by eating pork. Locally, health authorities have declined to provide details on communities where the flu victims reside or where they work, though some patients have voluntarily spoken with media to provide those details. Asked why more information has not been provided to the public, County Health & Human Services spokesman Tom Christensen replied, “Both the CDC and our Public Health Officer have verified that the virus is circulating within our communities and pinpointing where specific cases live does not provide any benefit. Where people live in this outbreak is not relevant since people move around all the time – working, shopping, school events, etc. so where they live is not particularly important as far as potential exposure to the virus.” He added, “ The only time that varies is if it affects a particular school and the need is there to notify others in a close setting. Even then, where the student lives is not revealed, only the school they attend. We also operate under strict confidentiality laws.” Frequent hand-washing is advised to prevent transmission of the disease. If you have flu-like symptoms, health authorities ask that you remain home, or seek medical help if you have trouble breathing or other severe symptoms. For more information, call the County’s 211 non-emergency line or visit the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov. Printer-friendly version