TRICK OR TREATING IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Printer-friendly version Does the thought of going house-to-house Trick or Treating make you feel uncomfortable? How about mall Trick or Treating? Mall Trick or Treating is an easy way to take the little ones for out for an evening of fun. On Saturday October 31st, two local malls–Grossmont Center in La Mesa from 4 to 6 PM and Parkway Plaza in El Cajon from 3 to 5 PM–are the places to be in East County to be for a frightfully good time. Parkway Plaza’s event does require a parent to bring one non-perishable food item. It’s not totally free, but the food donated goes to a good cause – feeding the hungry through the San Diego Food Bank. For more information on these events, follow the links below. http://www.grossmontcenter.com/eventspromotion/events.html http://westfield.com/parkway/specialoffers/SweetHalloweenTreatsatWestfieldParkway.html This Freebie Alert is provided by Nancy and Dawn Clement, East County Magazine’s Dollar-Wise Diva columnists and they can be reached at 619-563-4184 or Dollar-WiseDivas@Cox.net. For more Freebie Alerts and money-saving tips, check out their weekly column at: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/, just scroll down until you reach the Dollar-wise Diva’s banner. Printer-friendly version
DOLLAR WISE DIVAS: SAVE MONEY, CREATE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FOR LESS!
Printer-friendly version Share creative ideas to assist people of all ages with tips to save money and improve their lifestyle! By Nancy and Dawn Clement October 22, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)-Costumes are not about how much money you spend. You could spend hundreds of dollars and still have a less-than-exciting costume. What make a costume great is a little creativity–along with a few accessories. For example, take a man in an ordinary suit, slick back his hair, give him a pencil thin mustache and a string tie, and voila – Clark Gable! Take the same man, in the same suit, give him a wide tie, spectators, and a waist chain, and you have a Mobster. The clothes you wear are a mere canvas on which to paint your costume. If you need a little inspiration, check out these sites: www.coolest-homemade-costumes.com or www.costumeideazone.com for ideas. You will find that the best costumes are usually the ones you make yourself, and sometimes the only way to get a specific costume is to make it yourself. Dawn’s five-year-old daughter wants to be a bat this year. She could not find a ready-made costume anywhere, but did find a great idea online – a simple black hooded garment and an umbrella (for the wings). Her five-year old is thrilled and knows on one will be dressed up for Halloween as she is! The best place to start looking for a great Halloween costume is your own closet. Men, do you have a bright Hawaiian shirt and a pair of jeans? Go as Magnum P.I. (you can add a model Ferrari to complete the picture). Women, do you have a plain black dress? Add your highest heels, a little powder, bright lipstick and fake fangs for a woman vampire. Dawn’s favorite costume was the year she went as a palm tree. Yes, as a palm tree. She wore brown pants, a brown shirt, and made a frond “hat” out of green construction paper. It was easy, cheap, and got many compliments. If you cannot find what you need, hit the thrift stores. Look for solid color items with no embellishment. Unless your costume specifically calls for it, you are going to want to avoid buttons and zippers as well. Choose a top and bottom that match, and then accessorize your heart out. If you are making a costume for your child, make sure that he or she actually wants to dress up like that character. Last year, a clip from the “Today Show” showed some poor child with an example of a cute, inexpensive, homemade Halloween costume. He was dressed as Captain Underpants, and he was adorable! The only problem… he obviously (and vocally) disliked his costume. Kids love to dress up for Halloween, but they will undoubtedly change their minds more than once before the big day arrives. It does not make sense to spend a lot of money on a child’s costume only to hear “I don’t like Power Rangers any more” two days before Halloween. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get a good costume, and then if someone changes his or her mind, it is no big loss. Halloween Etiquette: Here are some great do’s and don’ts when out trick-or-treating, from our friend Elaine Swann, The Etiquette Lady, www.elaineswann.com. She offers some advice on handing out candy and tips to follow if not handing out candy. Tips for Parents 1. This is a great opportunity to help your child practice good manners. 2. Teach your child to respect other people’s property by not cutting through shrubbery and across lawns. 3. Tell your child to ring the doorbell or knock on doors just once. Ringing the bell several times or knocking insistently is rude. 4. Teach your child to say “Yes Please” when verbally offered candy and “Thank You” when they receive candy or if complimented on their costume. If you are not handing out candy: 1. Leave your porch light off. During Trick-or-Treat hours, this is a universal sign saying there is “NO CANDY”. 2. Just in case someone ventures towards your front door even though the lights are off, you can leave a friendly sign on your door saying “no candy.” Treat giving do’s and don’ts Do not give: 1. Home baked goods. 2. Unwrapped treats 3. Fruits 4. “Healthy” snacks (do not force your dietary choices on to other people’s children). Do give: 1. Candy (the good stuff). 2. If you just cannot bring yourself to hand out candy for fear of promoting tooth decay, here are some suggestions: stickers, temporary tattoos, or small toys such as rings, whistles etc. Anything you would drop into a hand-out goodie bag for a child’s birthday party. Nancy Clement is an east county Realtor®, mortgage broker and freelance writer and can be reached at 619-563-4184 or Dollar-wiseDivas@cox.net. Dawn Clement is a stay-at-home mother of three, a freelance writer, and creative shopper. Printer-friendly version
EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE NAMED BEST GENERAL INTEREST WEBSITE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, SWEEPS SAN DIEGO PRESS CLUB WITH 18 AWARDS
Printer-friendly version October 20, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine took home 18 awards at tonight’s San Diego Press Club dinner, including some of the top honors in the region. Our publication was named best general interest website in San Diego County and second best news site (after the San Diego Union-Tribune). Five of our writers (E.A. Barrera, Gayle Early, Miriam Raftery, Jamie Reno, and Joseph Rocha) also won individual honors, beating out many of the top writers and publications in the region. Not bad for an upstart nonprofit media site that’s barely one year old! As an online magazine that’s swiftly vaulted from monthly to weekly to now daily new publication, ECM had a choice of categories in which we could qualify. Believing that our writers’ works were strong enough to compete head-to-head against the top newspapers in town, ECM entered their articles in the daily newspapers and websites category – and won or placed in nearly every category we entered. Two ECM writers also won in the magazine category. Our team picked up awards for breaking and general news coverage, investigative reporting, consumer/public interest reporting, as well as political’government, travel, multi-cultural, opinion, and column writing. In addition, ECM received an award in the "wild card" category (regional economic crisis) for our coverage of how budget cuts impact local fire agencies. Winning topics also included wind turbine projects, solar farms, water rate hikes, wildfire protection, hunger in East County, early voting lines, Old Highway 80, and cultural celebrations at a new Native American museum. “Congratulations to our talented team of journalists and to our webmaster, our hard-working webmaster, business manager, volunteers and interns who have helped make our publication a success,” said editor Miriam Raftery. ““We are deeply honored by San Diego Press Club’s recognition and aspire to expand our award-winning team to provide coverage in every community east of I-15. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to our publisher, the nonprofit Heartland Foundation, and our founding grantor, Foundation for Change, for believing in our business model and helping our vision to become a reality In addition, we thank our many donors and sponsors, especially Viejas, sponsor of our wildfire alert system, for helping us attain more than a million hits to our site each month." Leon Thompson, general manager, expressed appreciation to the many supporters of East County Magazine. “What makes ECM stand out is our talented writers providing fresh, original reporting on stories of interest to East County residents. We are essentially of a small town newspaper in a high-tech package,” he said, noting that editor Miriam Raftery has been writing about East County for twenty-five years and has in-depth knowledge of the region. He added, “As a not-for-profit, non-partisan community news magazine we depend on the community we serve for support. “That is why we are so grateful for the support of individuals and local, indigenous businesses. We are especially grateful to Viejas, for sponsoring our e-mail wildfire alert service and enabling us to expand our distribution of this life-saving free service as well as our news coverage of wildfire preparedness and other important issues.” Thompson added, “Do you remember when we all paid the newspaper boy five bucks every month for a rolled up newspaper tossed into our driveway? That five dollars, along with advertisers, financed fresh, timely original reporting. If all of our readers pledged a similar amount, just imagine how much more East County Magazine could accomplish. Obviously our readers want more reporting on topics too often ignored by media outside East County. By supporting our nonprofit media in this way, we can be assured of news served up independently, free of outside influences, and beholden to no one but our readers.” "With support from our readers in the community, we hope to cover even more important East County issues in the future," Raftery concluded. Winning writers, categories and articles from East County Magazine include: DAILY NEWSPAPERS & WEBSITES E.A. Barrera: 1st place, General News, Firestorm of Controversy. Judge’s comment: “Clear explanation of a complex issue and a strong call to action.” Gayle Early: 2nd place, Breaking News, Ecumenical Gathering of Friendship Park Disrupted by Taunting. Judge’s comment: “Chilling account of a tragic human story.” 2nd place, General News, Hungry in East County. Judge’s comment: “Excellent first person reporting, well resourced and comprehensive.” 2nd place, Series, Don Quixote Fights Windmills & So Do the Folks in Boulevard” (part 1, part 2, and part 3.) Miriam Raftery: 1st place, Political/Government, Battle of the Watchdogs. Judge’s comment: “This story is like a great political debate. Solid reporting on the contrasting candidates.” 2nd place, Wild Card Category: Regional Economic Budget Crisis, How Prepared is East County for the Next Wildfire? Budget Cuts Burn Some Local Agencies. Judge’s comment: “Disturbing tale of a community left vulnerable in the wake of the worsening economy.” 2nd place, Political/Government, Solar Farm Reaps Controversy. Judge’s comment: “Comprehensive wrap-up of the facts surrounding a controversial subject.” 3rd place, Public Service/Consumer,Early Voting Lines. Judge’s comment: “Clearly, this is an issue that needs to be solved and this story makes a compelling, fact-based argument.” 3rd place, Public Service/Consumer, Where’s the Pork? No Money for Fire Stations or Fire Prevention in San Diego’s Proposed Stimulus Projects. Judge’s comment: “Love the headline – and the story delivered what it promised. As the author says, sometimes you need a little `muckraking.’” 2nd place, Multicultural, Bird Singers and Basketweavers Celebrate Opening of Native American Museum in Warner Springs 2nd place, Essay/Commentary/Opinion, Proposal for President-Elect Barack Obama: Put Americans to work providing fire protection infrastructure and energy independence for San Diego’s fire-ravaged East County region 2nd place, Travel, Lost Highways of East County: Traveling Old Hwy 80 is a Trip Down Memory Lane. Judge’s comment: “A loving, even romantic account of a trip through the region’s past.” 3rd place, Investigative Reporting, Water Board Stirs Flood of Controversy Jamie Reno: 2nd place, column, The Reno Report. We also congratulate
APARTMENT FIRE DISPLACES 3 FAMILIES IN EL CAJON; FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE 2 TRAPPED ON BALCONY
Printer-friendly version October 20, 2009 (El Cajon)—Just before 9:00 p.m. this evening, El Cajon firefighters responded to reports of an apartment fire at 1077 E. Lexington Avenue. When the first crews arrived, flames and heavy smoke were seen coming from a second floor apartment of the 12-unit complex. About twenty firefighters fought the blaze, knocking it down in 15 minutes. Two occupants of a neighboring apartment were trapped on their second floor balcony and were rescued by crews. Three families displaced by the fire are being assisted by the American Red Cross. Quick action by firefighters kept the flames from spreading to adjoining units. The San Miguel Fire Protection District assisted El Cajon fire crews. The two people rescued from the balcony sustained minor smoke inhalation, but were not transported for medical treatment. There were no other injuries reported. One upper floor apartment unit was heavily damaged, two adjoining units sustained some smoke and fire damage, and an additional two to three units sustained water damage. The cause of the fire is now under investigation. Total damage to structure and contents has been estimated at $250,000. Printer-friendly version
MILITARY PERSONNEL TEE OFF AT “IT’S IN THE HOLE”
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery October 22, 2009 (Rancho San Diego) – Spending a sunny autumn day golfing was a welcome change of pace for U.S. Marine Corporal Andrew Johnson, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. “It’s nice and relaxing to get away,” Johnson said. Johnson was among the military personnel and veterans who participated in the “It’s in the Hole” golf tournament sponsored by the Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce at Cottonwood Golf Course. The Chamber offered members and guests the opportunity to play golf–or sponsor a U.S. military member or veteran. “It was a fun time,” said Navy airman Joey Zaliagiris, who joined Johnson and U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Elmer Ugarte, an Iraq War veteran, at a dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse after a day of golf. “We had about 68 golfers and nearly 100 people at our dinner,” said Valerie Harrison, president of the Chamber, which recently celebrated its second anniversary. Guests bid on silent auction items including golf packages, spa treatments and a trip on Southwest Airlines. D-J Eric Lund provided musical entertainment, while local teen beauty queens helped boost raffle ticket sales (photo, right). The Chamber presented awards to the winning golfers—also awarding a giant inflatable golf club as a gag gift to the golfer with the highest score – to make sure he won’t miss any shots the next time around. Printer-friendly version