BANNER FIRE 100% CONTAINED; EQUIPMENT BLAMED
May 29, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The Banner Fire is now 100% contained, after scorching 5,321 acres. The blaze, which started in the Banner Grade area near Julian, cost $4 million in firefighting expenditures to date. “The cause of the Banner Fire was determined to be equipment use,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Nick Schuler announced today. Cal-Fire would not disclose the type of equipment or who owns it. “Due to an ongoing investigation, no further details are currently available," Schuler added.
LITERARY EVENTS: SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY CONTINUES DOWNTOWN VERSE POETRY & SPOKEN WORD PROGRAM
www.SDWriteWay.org Early June May 29, 2012 (San Diego) — The San Diego Public Library continues its poetry and spoken word series Downtown Verse during June. The next featured performance is by the Lake San Marcos Writers on Monday, June 11. The performance begins at 4:00 pm in the Lobby of the Central Library, located at 820 E Street in downtown San Diego. This event is free and open to the public. The Lake San Marcos Writers are a diverse group of women who are mothers, former teachers, a social worker, a nurse, librarian, financial analyst, entrepreneur and healer. Since forming in February 2005, they have completed memoirs, chapbooks and family histories, and compiled a treasure chest of personal prose and poetry. Together they produced two chapbooks: Arrivals & Departures, in 2011, and Reflections, in 2010, which was a finalist in the San Diego Book Awards. The Lake San Marcos writers’ group is small, creative, and caring for each other and the world outside. Downtown Verse will continue to feature area poets and spoken word artists on an occasional basis, offering the community an accessible and exciting venue for expressive performance. Learn about other events at the San Diego Public Library’s Central Library and 35 branches, find links to numerous additional resources (including those for local authors), or search for materials online in the Library’s catalog at www.sandiegolibrary.org. June 2 (Saturday, 2:30-5:00 pm) — Adventures by the Book, in partnership with The Westgate Hotel, presents a Ladies’ Literary Tea Adventure with New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hodgkinson at The Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue, San Diego 92101. This is a ticketed event ($40++ per person) which includes an elegant afternoon tea, author discussion, Q&A, book signing, and an opportunity to meet the author up close and personal in an intimate setting. About the Book: 22 Britannia Road is a harrowing and gripping tale about the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her child. A wrenching story of WWII and its effect on families, the book is most touching in its depiction of one couple’s desperate desire to create a home in the aftermath of war when neither can quite remember what home is. For more information regarding the event, please contact Susan McBeth at (619) 300-2532 or at susan@adventuresbythebook.com. June 2 (Saturday, 7:30 pm) — Warwick’s will host the bestselling author of The Slippery Year, Melanie Gideon, who will discuss her novel Wife 22. This event is free and open to the public. In order to be signed, the author’s most current book must be purchased from Warwick’s. Background: For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again . . . in the middle of her life. Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other. But when the anonymous online study called "Marriage in the 21st Century" showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101). And, just like that, I found myself answering questions. Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions. But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision – one that will affect my family, my marriage, and my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions. As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac. June 3 ( Sun. 11:00 am to 1:00 pm) — The Chino Farm will be hosting Jeanne Kelley to sign copies of her beautiful new cookbook SALAD FOR DINNER: Complete Meals for All Seasons just released by Rizzoli International Press. Ms. Kelley is the third chef in the recently launched Good Earth/Great Chefs Series, a collaboration between veteran bookseller Milane Christiansen of Vintage Works and the legendary Chino Farm. There will be an informal reception with select tastings of Jeanne’s salads using seasonal lettuces and vegetables fresh from the Chino farm, along with a sample of a virgin olive oil from 36° degrees, to try at home. It will be held outdoors rain or shine and is free to the public. Jeanne will be signing books purchased at the event or pre-ordered by emailing greatchefseries@gmail.com. The farm will also be open for regular shopping during the event. The Chino Farm, 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe. June 3 (Sunday, 2:30 pm) — At the La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave., Warwick’s and the La Jolla Library present an afternoon with Michael Scott author of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel series as he discusses and signs his book The Enchantress. This event is free and open to the public. In order to be signed The Enchantress must be purchased from Warwick’s. Pre-orders are available, but must be picked up from Warwick’s prior to the event. Teens (Ages 12-18) who attend this event can sign up for the Summer Reading Program before anyone else! Those who sign up at the event will be entered to win various raffle prizes, including a copy of The Enchantress! Background: Let’s kick off the Library’s Summer Reading Program with Warwick’s and author Michael Scott. The La Jolla
CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN DAVIS COSPONSORS THE VOTER EMPOWERMENT ACT
May 29, 2012 (Washington, D.C.) — More than 3 million Americans had difficulty voting in the 2008 election for a number of reasons. To improve our voting system, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) joined her Democratic colleagues to introduce the Voter Empowerment Act to protect the right of Americans to choose their government. The Voter Empowerment Act includes language from two Davis bills – the Universal Vote by Mail Act, which would eliminate barriers to voting by absentee ballot and the Election Integrity Act, which would prohibit top elections officials from participating in the political campaigns whose results they oversee. The comprehensive bill would also increase voting opportunities and strengthen overall the voting process in every state by modernizing the voter registration system, assisting voters with disabilities, protecting voters from deceptive practices and setting standards for voting equipment. “A priority of the government should be to eliminate barriers to voting because our nation is stronger when we’re all involved in the decision-making,” said Davis. “Too many Americans are being left out of a process in which they have a constitutional right to participate because of antiquated rules, inefficient procedures and a lack of voter protection—we can do better for our voters and our democracy. Other countries look to our elections as an example and we have a responsibility to make sure that all eligible Americans can vote and know their votes will be counted correctly.” In Congress, Davis has been a leader in election reform. In the 111th Congress, the House passed two of Davis’s bills – The Federal Election Integrity Act prohibits a states’ chief election official from playing an official role in a federal campaign and the Absentee Ballot Track, Receive, and Confirm Act helps states establish a system to allow voters to track their absentee ballot. Davis’s hallmark election bill, the Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act, has passed the House Administration Committee twice. Learn more about the Voter Empowerment Act
TWO ARCHITECTS OF LEARNING AT CUYAMACA COLLEGE RETIRING AFTER 33 YEARS
Founding instructors of landmark programs leave a legacy May 29, 2012 (El Cajon)– For more than three decades, two instructors at Cuyamaca College have worked within hailing distance of one other, each heading an academic program they personally designed and cultivated. Not only have Jim Custeau, the founder of the automotive technology program and Brad Monroe, the creator of the ornamental horticulture program, worked in close proximity – their careers have followed similar trajectories. Both are products of the state community college and university systems and received their graduate degrees from National University. They were hired in 1979 as Cuyamaca College was starting up and built their programs from scratch, an opportunity the two men – then in their early 30s – took up with aplomb. This month, the coordinators of the two cornerstone programs are saying goodbye to lesson plans and the day-to-day minutiae of managing a department as retirement brings their Cuyamaca careers to a close. “The contributions of these founding faculty members are beyond measure,” said Bill Garrett, president of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board. ” Their programs have set the standard for vocational training at community colleges and have been modeled by other campuses. Countless students have benefitted from their excellence as educators and have thriving careers today because of what they’ve gained from these two instructors.” Although Monroe and Custeau will no longer be working in the adjacent buildings where they’ve taught thousands of students, their legacies remain in the programs they’ve created and the opportunities borne of their single-minded vision: producing stellar graduates and highly skilled workers. The programs that they’ve devoted their professional lives to are highly regarded for their academic excellence and for producing top-flight graduates. Industry partnerships have flourished as have outreach efforts and sponsorships of major college events, such as the annual Spring Garden Festival. Donor support over the years has totaled in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. For Monroe, Cuyamaca College was a second opportunity to build an ornamental horticulture program from the ground up. Five years earlier, he had done the same at Southwestern College. “I’ve spent most of my life here at Cuyamaca and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” the Rancho San Diego resident said. “I met my wife, Therese, here – she’s the last remaining original faculty member — and we raised our daughter, Marta, during my years here.” Monroe eschews the word “retirement,” saying he prefers to view the milestone as a transition to new challenges. Phu Nguyen/Cuyamaca College photographer Brad Monroe, coordinator of Cuyamaca College’s ornamental horticulture program, cultivates both minds and plants in the campus nursery operated by students as a retail outlet open to the public. “I tend to look forward, not back,” he said, adding that his projects include establishing a Cuyamaca College Alumni Network for OH alumni. With the help of the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges, he plans to set up a network of former students who have earned a degree or certificate or have even just taken a class or two in ornamental horticulture. In addition to being an invaluable resource for program advocacy and fund-raising, the network would provide invaluable industry connections benefitting the local economy, Monroe said. Also, it would be a great service for people looking for, say, a landscape contractor, an arborist or a floral designer. “It would be a great way to stay connected with our alumni, the program and the industry,” said Monroe, who was instrumental in the college being selected in April as one of three community colleges in the state to win the inaugural Energy and Sustainability Award from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. While Custeau’s plans for retirement are more leisurely – spending time with his wife and six grandchildren, fly-fishing in Idaho with his brother, and improving his golf game – he, too, is committed to remaining involved in the program he started decades ago. Upon his arrival at the Rancho San Diego campus, Custeau tossed aside the preliminary plans a consultant had drawn up for the automotive technology program and with the college president’s blessing, took a road trip to visit other Southern California colleges to see for himself what was needed to start a successful program. Phu Nguyen/Cuyamaca College photographer Jim Custeau, coordinator of Cuyamaca College’s automotive technology program, has developed Industry partnerships over the years that have provided invaluable on-the-job training to students, as well as cars and other costly tools and equipment used for instruction. “As it turns out, the best question I asked the instructors I visited was, “If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?” he said. “It was then back to my office, where I rewrote all of the curriculum and researched equipment brochures and catalogs like crazy to order tons of equipment. We rolled up the doors and began teaching in the spring of 1980 —it was a dream come true.” Over the years, Custeau expanded the department with the addition of programs that combine intensive on-the-job training at local dealership shops with classroom and lab instruction. Graduates of the two-year program are virtually guaranteed jobs in the field with promising careers and credentials leading to higher-salary positions. Like Monroe, Custeau sees the value of industry partnerships, and his longstanding relationship with the local chapter of the Automotive Service Council is credited for the donation of tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and tools. The annual High School Automotive Skills Day, a Cuyamaca tradition for 33 years, has benefitted hugely from the largess, with winners of the competition earning not just bragging rights as the top high school auto tech students in the county, but also taking home expensive tools and accessories of the trade. Putting on the competition is no easy feat, requiring dozens of judges and complicated setups, but Custeau has persevered
EPA GRANTS EXEMPTION REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER EMERALD
May 29, 2012 (San Diego) — Recent Federal Environmental Protection Agency rules to reduce diesel emissions were forcing our fire engines off the road, putting the public at risk. Fire apparatus in San Diego and across the nation were breaking down because of the new diesel engine requirements. In the interest of public safety, City Councilmember Marti Emerald called on the federal government to exempt public safety vehicles. Councilmember Emerald began working with the city’s fire chief and immediately went to work lobbying our Congressional representatives to intervene. The Councilmember’s hard work has now paid off. The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to waive the diesel standards for emergency equipment in San Diego and across the nation. In a thank you to Councilmember Emerald, San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainar said, “As you may recall, when I contacted the International Association of Fire Chiefs about this problem and our desire to get an exemption, they felt that would be impossible. I tended to agree that fighting the EPA seemed like a tough hill to climb. Fortunately, you do not readily take no for an answer and doggedly went after the exemption. You should be as proud of this outcome as we are of your advocacy on behalf of SDFD and the fire service as a whole.” The new emission systems are designed to burn off carbon deposits in filters as trucks travel long distances at freeway speeds. However, fire crews travel short distances and carbon builds up in the exhaust system causing vehicles to break down with little or no warning. This became a dangerous problem for the San Diego Fire Rescue Department with the City’s newest vehicles out of service about 400 times last year. The problem created delays in response to emergency calls and often left the Fire Rescue Service short of critically needed trucks and engines.
COUNTY ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AGAINST TRIBE COULD VIOLATE FEDERAL LAW
May 29, 2012 (Santa Ysabel) – The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), the federal agency charged with oversight of gaming on Indian lands, has warned the County of San Diego that its recent debt collection effort against the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel could violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Due to the recession and financial condition of its casino, the tribe has been unable to meet the agreed payment schedule under an arbitrated settlement reached in 2010. In its collections effort against the tribe, the county has attempted to levy against the tribal casino’s operating accounts. In a letter yesterday to County Attorney Thomas Bunton, the NIGC cautioned the county that seizure of the tribal casino’s operating monies would violate Indian gaming laws. The NIGC explained that collection of the casino’s operating monies would amount to management of the tribe’s casino and that “IGRA prohibits any party other than an Indian tribe from managing a tribal gaming facility without an approved management contract. 25 U.S.C. § 2711.” Management without a management contract expressly approved by the Chairperson of the NIGC is illegal and could result in the voiding of the intergovernmental agreement under which the county is seeking $3 million. The county has previously defended its actions. See prior coverage at http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/9677
TEACHERS, STUDENTS JOIN TO SHOW PROGRESS IN COLLEGE PREP MAY 30 SYMPOSIUM TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT’S WORKING
May 29, 2012 (El Cajon) — East San Diego County high school teachers and their former students will join together Wednesday, May 30, 2012, to highlight a daylong symposium on changes made to better prepare high school students for college. A panel presentation by Grossmont Union High School District English teachers and past graduates is set for 8:45 a.m. in Griffin Gate at Grossmont College. The 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. symposium is expected to draw more than 100 teachers sharing changes made this past year as part of the English Curriculum Alignment Project. ECAP is a project of the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS), the institute for Evidence-Based change (IEBC) and the Grossmont Union High School District. The ECAP project uses student data and close collaboration between high school and college instructors to link coursework to ensure high-schoolers are ready for the reading, writing and critical thinking expected at the college level. The program has been in effect for more than six years at a number of East San Diego County high schools. In a time of tightening education budgets, IEBC/Cal-PASS, working statewide to facilitate K-16 collaboration, helps save money by making sure that students are prepared as they transition from elementary to middle school, high school and beyond. Using Cal-PASS data, educators can determine the answers to important questions, such as: How do my students do when they leave my class? Were they well prepared? Are changes in curriculum necessary to improve preparation?
DRIVER HITS PARKED CAR, FLEES FROM DEPUTIES
May 29, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – After spotting a Saturn car driving erratically near 257 East Bradley Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon at 12:08 a.m., three deputies from the Santee Sheriff’s Patrol Station attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver accelerated, leading deputies on a two-minute pursuit. The Saturn then struck a parked car in the driveway of a home at 988 Flint Street, pushing it into the garage. The driver fled the scene. A perimeter was set up and the area was searched by ASTREA helicopter and a K-9 crew, however the suspect was not found, said Sergeant M. Marcq with the Santee Sheriff’s station. After contacting the registered owner of the Saturn, deputies learned that the vehicle had been borrowed by a family member a short time before the pursuit. Deputies obtained the identity of the suspect. The amount of damage to the garage and vehicles at the residence is unknown. There were no injuries or damage to patrol vehicles. El Cajon Police conducted the investigation.
EDITORIAL: KEEPING FAITH WITH VIETNAM VETERANS
By President Barack Obama May 28, 2012 (Washington D.C.) — Today, all across America, we’re coming together to remember our men and women in uniform who gave their lives so that we could live free. In town squares and national cemeteries, in moments of quiet reflection and parades down city streets, we’ll pay tribute to all those who gave the last full measure of their devotion, from Lexington and Concord to Iraq and Afghanistan. This Memorial Day also holds special significance because it marks the beginning of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It was 50 years ago — January 1962 — when U.S. Army pilots on dozens of helicopters transported South Vietnamese troops into the jungles outside Saigon for a raid against enemy forces. It was one of America’s first major operations in Vietnam and another turning point in what would become one of our longest wars. Today at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., I’ll join Vietnam veterans and their families for a ceremony to begin this 50th anniversary. It will be an occasion to honor the 58,282 names on The Wall—men and women who gave their lives in that war. We’ll stand with their families, who have borne that loss ever since. And we’ll reaffirm our commitment to never stop searching for the 1,666 service members who are still missing from that war. After Vietnam, our veterans didn’t always receive the respect and thanks they deserved. At times they were neglected and even shunned, which was a national shame. We’ve pledged many times since Vietnam that we would never let that happen again, and that we would give our veterans, especially our Vietnam Veterans, the respect and honor they deserve. This 50th anniversary is our opportunity to do it right. We’re calling on all Americans to join us in honoring and supporting our extraordinary Vietnam veterans who are among the more than three million Americans who served in that war. There are so many ways to show our appreciation to these veterans and their families, and many of them are available at www.vietnamwar50th.com. As this anniversary proceeds we will also continue working to ensure that our Vietnam Veterans– and all veterans – receive the services, respect, and support they have earned. Our efforts on behalf of Vietnam veterans are part of our larger effort to make sure our nation is serving all our veterans as well as they served us. And because no veteran who fights for our nation overseas should have to fight for a job when they come home, this country has made it a priority for businesses to hire veterans and provided resources that make it easier for veterans to find a job. Supporting and honoring our veterans and their families can’t be the work of government and our businesses alone. That’s why the First Lady and the Vice President’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, are leading a national effort, Joining Forces, to mobilize Americans in supporting today’s military families and veterans. Only about one percent of Americans may wear the uniform, but 100 percent of Americans need to be supporting those who do. This Memorial Day, let’s remember all those who’ve put on the uniform, served far from home, and laid down their lives so we can live ours in security and freedom. And let’s take this opportunity to truly honor and support all those who served and sacrificed in Vietnam. That’s what we’ll be doing when we gather today at The Wall, and that’s what we can all do together in the months and years ahead. The opinions expressed in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
TUESDAY’S WEATHER WITH GARY KELLEY
May 29, 2012 (San Diego) – As temperatures sizzle, many East County residents are heading for the shore. Gary Kelley’s got the scoop on the coolest place around.