TURKEY DELIVERIES FOR SENIORS IN ALPINE
Printer-friendly versionNovember 6, 2010 (Alpine) — Thanksgiving is just around the corner. If you’re a senior citizen, or know a senior who will be alone or housebound on Thanksgiving Day in Alpine, here’s a service to be thankful for this holiday season. Sue Roff, Executive Director of the Alpine Community Center prepares a traditional turkey dinner each Thanksgiving for seniors in the community. The Thanksgiving dinner is then delivered to the homes by gracious volunteers on Thanksgiving morning. To have a senior included on the delivery list please call 619-445-7330 or email sue@alpinecommunitycenter.com Printer-friendly version
NEED CHILDCARE? FIRST 5 SAN DIEGO APPROVES CHILD CARE BRIDGE LOANS
Printer-friendly version November 6, 2010 (San Diego, Calif.) — The First 5 Commission of San Diego will provide $2.25 million in bridge funding to maintain child care assistance for parents previously on welfare who are now working. The action comes after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed $256 million from the “welfare-to-work” Stage 3 Child Care program. An estimated 2,829 children are enrolled in the program in San Diego County. More than one thousand are under age five. Funding will take the form of loans that are to be repaid if the state legislature restores the program’s funding. CalWORKs is designed to transition people from welfare to work. It provides temporary cash assistance to eligible families with children to move families from dependency to self-sufficiency. CalWORKs’ Stage 3 Child Care program provides monthly subsidies to keep children in supervised settings while parents are at work or attending school. “Child care is a critical component of the County’s welfare-to-work program because it ensures that parents hold steady employment to ultimately become self-sufficient,” said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Chairwoman of the First 5 Commission. “The transitional funding means that parents will stay employed and off welfare,” Jacob said. First 5 San Diego has set aside funds for targeted response to critical needs emerging from state and local economic conditions. “We look very carefully at impacts to safety net services that support the 0-5 population in San Diego County.” said Barbara Jiménez, executive director of First 5 San Diego, “Access to quality child care is essential, especially for a single parent working toward self-sufficiency in providing for their family. Without safe and nurturing care for their children, many parents would have to either give up their jobs or leave their children in less safe, lower quality substitute care. The stress of this situation on families and children is tremendous, and First 5 San Diego recognizes the significant impact of these cuts.” The first five years of life are critical to a child’s development. These years shape a child’s success in school and in life. First 5 San Diego helps parents and others help children during these early years. The Commission leads the greater San Diego community in promoting the vital importance of the first 5 years of life to the well-being of children, families and society. The ultimate goal of the Commission’s work is that all children ages 0 to 5 are healthy, loved and nurtured, and enter school as active learners. Learn more at www.first5sandiego.org or call toll-free 1 (888) 5 FIRST 5. Printer-friendly version
ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE AWARDS $1 MILLION IN GRANTS TO IMPROVE HEALTHCARE ACCESS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Printer-friendly version San Diego’s Poor and Vulnerable Communities to Benefit November 6, 2010 (San Diego)–Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has awarded over $1 Million to two non-profit organizations in the 2010 Innovation Initiative (i2) grant competition. Social Interest Solutions (SIS) and Text4Baby won for their technological advancements that will improve access to health and social services for San Diego’s medically underserved population. “AHF is proud to support SIS and Text4Baby in our joint fight to dissolve silos in the health care sector,” said Robert B. McCray, Chairman of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation Board. SIS will use the awarded funds to grow One-e-App, an electronic software application that searches a large database of all available social services that a low-income client can qualify for. Currently, the interface is only available at a few community clinics and has to be administered by an employee. The i2 grant funds will expand the program to an online interface that will be accessible to the public from their own homes. SIS will also mobilize students and volunteers to assist with screening and application procedures in San Diego’s overburdened health clinics and organizations. The second winner of the i2 grant is the San Diego Text4baby coalition, administered by the San Diego Medical Society Foundation. Text4baby is a national program that provides low income pregnant women and new moms and dads free text messages with information they need to appropriately take care of their babies’ health. With the i2 grant, Text4baby coalition will create a San Diego version of the national text4baby service offering customized prenatal and maternal text messages to 18,000 pregnant women and new moms per year for two years, with the aim of decreasing San Diego’s infant mortality rate. “Text4Baby and SIS are pioneers in improving access to health care. These programs will not only impact San Diego, but act as an international model for delivering care in the future,” said McCray. Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the greater San Diego region’s community partner for improving access to healthcare for the region’s poor, working poor and vulnerable populations. Since 1989, AHF has invested more than $45 million in grants into the San Diego community. Committed to the principle that everyone should be able to access appropriate, quality, and timely care, AHF works closely with nonprofit, government, and community agencies to further this goal. They accomplish this work through advocacy, education, and collaborative grant making. www.alliancehf.org; www.socialinterest.org; www.text4baby.org. Printer-friendly version
RETURN TO THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY AT RENAISSANCE FAIRE IN ESCONDIDO NOV. 6-7
Printer-friendly version November 4, 2010 (Escondido) – Visit Falconbridge Village for a trip back in time to merry old England at this weekend’s Renaissance Faire and Fall Festival in Felicita Park, Escondido. Enjoy period music, jousting, pageanty, Shakespearean theater and reenactors representing Queen Elizabeth I and her royal court. Vendors, children’s activities and continuous entertainment are also slated. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, November 6 and 7. Admission costs $16 for adults or $8 for children. Weekend passes are available at a discount. For more information, visit http://www.goldcoastfestivals.com/Escondido.html. Felicita Park is located at 742 Clarence Lane in Escondido. Directions: http://maps.google.com/maps?h1=en&daddr=742%20Clarence%20Lane,%2092029 Printer-friendly version
OUT OF CONTROL VEHICLE ROLLS OVER ON I-8 IN LAKESIDE, BLOCKING LANES
Printer-friendly version November 6, 2010 (Alpine) – A vehicle reported as a runaway rolled over on the center divide on westbound I-8 freeway near Lake Jennings at 1 p.m., knocking the 60-year-old woman driving unconscious. Several children were also reportedly in the vehicle. According to CHP’s incident report page, the car may have suffered brake failure as the driver repeatedly applied the brakes but could not slow the vehicle down. The vehicle was first reported weaving on I-8 near Viejas. The driver reportedly nearly collided with a tanker truck. An ambulance has been summoned and several lanes are blocked. Printer-friendly version
ARREST MADE IN UCSD MURDER
Printer-friendly version Editor’s note: While ECM normally only covers crimes east of I-15, because many East County students attend UCSD we are providing this information to our readers. November 6, 2010 (San Diego) — San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit detectives have arrested Julio Angel Garcia-Puente for the murder of a woman whose body was found in a burning vehicle at a University of California San Diego parking lot on October 29 at 9:20 p.m. An autopsy revealed that the victim was murdered. The victim is a 38-year-old resident of Carlsbad whose positive identification is pending through DNA comparison. Until the results are in, the victim’s name will not be confirmed. Earlier this week, the Homicide Unit released a photo of Julio Angel Garcia-Puente, the victim’s estranged husband. Mexican law enforcement located Garcia-Puente in the Otay neighborhood of Tijuana. Garcia-Puente voluntarily returned to the United States, and detectives met him at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was arrested and booked into County Jail for one count of murder. Printer-friendly version
SUSPECT IS ARRESTED, CONFESSES TO ROBBING BANK IN SPRING VALLEY, FBI REPORTS
Printer-friendly version November 6, 2010 (Spring Valley)–FBI and San Diego Sheriff’s Department announce the arrest of Christoff Arthur Michael Lerczak, 36. Charges were filed with the U.S. District Court yesterday against Lerczak, who is accused of robbing Bank of the West at 9832 Campo Road, Spring Valley on November 4. According to the complaint, Lerczak used a demand note stating “This is a robbery.” After obtaining money from a teller, he left the bank on foot. About two hours later, at 12:23 p.m., a San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy working in a marked patrol vehicle was patrolling the parking lot area of the Shadow Point Apartments, 9830 Dale Avenue, Spring Valley in an effort to locate the bank robber. He spotted the suspect and obtained consent to retrieve Lerczak’s wallet from his pants pocket, which contained a large amount of cash, according to special agent Darrell Foxworth with the FBI. Based on Lerczak’s appearance and similar description to the Bank of the West robber, the Deputy detained Lerczak. Following an additional investigation conducted by other Sheriff’s Deputies and FBI Agents, Lerczak was arrested. According to the FBI, he later confessed to the robbery. Printer-friendly version
FBI & SDPD SEEK PUBLIC HELP TO ID SERIAL BANK ROBBER
Printer-friendly version Thief may drive a beige Mitsubishi sedan November 6, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) –The FBI and San Diego Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance to identify a man believed responsible for robbing three San Diego banks within the last month. The latest robbery was the Wells Fargo Bank, located at 5624 Mission Center Road on Tuesday, November 2. The same robber is also suspected of bank robberies in the College and Mission Gorge areas, according to special agent Darrell Foxworth with the FBI’s San Diego office. On Tuesday, November 2 at approximately 4:10 p.m., a man robbed the Wells Fargo Bank, located at 5624 Mission Center Road, San Diego. At the time of the robbery, the robber approached the victim teller and made a verbal demand for cash and then placed a demand note on the counter for the teller to read. The demand note announced that “this is a robbery.” The teller complied with the robber’s demand and provided him with a sum of money. The robber took the money and walked out of the bank through the north doors and then walked in a northwest direction through the parking lot. No vehicle was observed. Agents and detectives believe that this same individual is responsible for robbing the Wells Fargo Bank, located inside of the Ralphs grocery store at 6670 Montezuma Road, and the Bank of America, located at 6501 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego, California, on October 15, 2010. Following these robberies, the robber was observed leaving the area in a beige colored Mitsubishi sedan vehicle. Witnesses describe the robber as a white or Hispanic male in his mid- to late-20s, approximately 5”9” to 6”2” tall with a thin build. In the most recent robbery, he wore a gray baseball cap with white “SD” logo, black long sleeve shirt with white letters and an “LRG” logo on front, gray pants, and white tennis shoes. To view more photos, visit: www.sandiegofbi.gov. Printer-friendly version
BOOK REVIEW: CIRCLE THE WAGONS SDG&E REKINDLES DEBATE OVER UTILITY LINES’ ROLE IN LOCAL WILDFIRES
Printer-friendly versionCircle The Wagons SDG&E: The Perfect Corporate Cover Up, By Ed Clark (Self-Published, Huntington Beach, CA, 2010, 30 pages.) "Updated Version July 30, 2015" With Cause of Witch Creek Fire Video Book Review: By Dennis Moore November 6, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) — Electrical expert Ed Clark, who formerly worked for Southern California Edison Company, has written a provocative book about corporate cover-up and the role that he contends it played in major fires in Southern California: namely the 2003 Cedar Fire, the 2003 Paradise Fire , and the Witch Creek Fire in 2007. It is Clark’s contention that these fires were electrical in nature, and very preventable. This Huntington Beach, California resident has the education and background experience to back up his claims. With his technical experience and educational background (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering), Mr. Clark has appeared as an expert witness in the electrical utility arena–including a witness for SDG&E, before he became a whistleblower on fire hazards he contends that SDG&E's installation methods pose to the public. At times, the book reads like the Erin Brockovich movie (2000) about a single mother/legal assistant’s crusade against a California power company accused of polluting a city’s water supply. There are many similarities between the actual Erin Brockovich and Ed Clark, in that Brockovich alleged and challenged a corporate cover-up by Pacific Gas & Electric in California, and Clark has alleged and challenged a corporate cover-up by San Diego Gas & Electric. Of course, we now know how the Erin Brockovich story ended. It remains to be seen how Clark’s story will end. Clark’s book and his tenacity at uncovering disturbing details about a seemingly unending saga of wildfires in Southern California beg the questions: Why does this continually happen and what are the root causes? Clark’s story stems from his experience while investigating the 2007 Southern California wildfires. He states in his book, “Electrical overhead power lines have been known to cause fires for a variety of reasons like, car hit poles, birds making contact with power lines, equipment failures, high winds, trees, etc.” Mr. Clark indicates in his book that he had received a phone call on October 25, 2007 from a law firm that he had done a substantial amount of expert witness work for over the past several years. He further indicated that this law firm does the subrogation work for a large out of state, insurance carrier, and he was asked to investigate all of the Southern California fires that could potentially be caused by electrical utilities. These California fires included the Canyon (Malibu) Fire, the Magic (Magic Mountain) Fire, the Rice (Rice Canyon) Fire, and the Witch (Witch Creek) Fire. Significant in his story is that on October 25, 2007, accompanied by two experienced arson investigators, the author points out that they drove to the site believed as the point of origin where the 2007 Witch Creek fire originated. As they drove up to the 69v line known as Transmission Line 637, Clark noticed that the cables utilized to support the pole in high winds known as down guys, were tied together with a common bolt on the pole, which he says is wrong and a violation of GO-95 clearance requirements. GO-95 is referred to as California Public Utilities Commission General Order 95, and that GO-95 is the California Standard for the construction and maintenance of Utility owned facilities. Clark was not alone in his investigation of the root causes of the Southern California wildfires. San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper reporter Jeff McDonald started investigating the story, and inquiries were made to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), causing the PUC to launch their own independent investigation. Clark further states in his book that a PUC investigator admitted in a phone interview with Jeff McDonald of the Union Tribune that “arcing” was present at the ground level along the Transmission line 637 of the Cedar and Paradise fires, a plausible cause of those fires. This would result in the Union Tribune publishing a story on February 10, 2008, and then a follow up story on February 23, 2008, and Fox 6 news airing a story in March of the same year, called “Witch Creek Mystery.” Clark explains that “arcing,” or an electrical arc, is caused by electrical current flowing, resulting from a difference in electrical potential–the same theory as an arc welder when someone is welding two pieces of metal together. He further indicates that the arcing discovered in San Diego is a “location” arcing, and should never occur, which resulted in starting the fire–like striking a match and igniting dry brush with a hot electrical arc. Clark admits in his book of feeling “tremendous pressure” and experiencing shortness of breath and “paranoia,” along with being “scared for his safety,” during the course of attempting to reveal an alleged cover-up by a corporate giant, SDG&E. Erin Brockovich probably had similar feelings during her trials with Pacific Gas & Electric. Clark indicates that when all of this was going on, inquiries to SDG&E from various parties were being made. He believes it is important for the public to know that although he met with Sempra Energy and three key employees with San Diego Gas & Electric who he said fully understood the theory and design error made and how “arcing” occurs back on December 17, 2007, the responses to date have been irresponsible in his view. He likens their responses as efforts to “Circle the Wagons” (a term drawn from pioneer days, when wagon trains formed a circle to fend off attacks) and confuse the public in an effort to divert attention and raise questions. Meanwhile, we continue to have wildfires in Southern California that cause untold damage to property–damage that Clark alleges is preventable. The author includes in his book attachments including meeting minutes of the California Public Utilities Commission and Cal Fire, as well as his letters to President Obama and Homeland Security alleging corporate cover-up and insurance fraud. Clark
LOCAL AUTHOR SUE RUSSELL’S BOOK, LETHAL INTENT, IS RE-RELEASED AS TRUE CRIME CLASSIC
Printer-friendly version November 6, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) — East County journalist/author Sue Russell, who recently scooped up a couple of San Diego Press Club awards for her series on “Wildfire Fighting” for www.miller-mccune.com, is celebrating the reissue of Lethal Intent, her true crime book about executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos, as a Pinnacle Books “True Crime Classic.” Wuornos shot seven men to death in Florida in 1989 and 1990; she was executed in 2002 after ten years on Death Row. The book explores Wuornos’s mental health issues as well as the physical, emotional and substance abuse in her formative years. Now Russell asks “How far would you go for friendship?” as she writes about Wuornos’s key relationship on Dr Irene Levine’s “Friendship Doctor” blog on PsychologyToday.com. Russell , an internationally syndicated award-winning journalist, is the the author of several non-fiction books including the top-selling true crime book, Lethal Intent. She has had over 1,500 articles published with her work appearing in major newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and around the world. Find more of Russell’s work at http://www.SueRussellWrites.com or friend her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/suerussellwriter) or follow her on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/@SRussellWrites) Printer-friendly version