East County Magazine
A Requiem for Reading?
Printer-friendly version by Craig S. Maxwell The memorial service for my grandfather, Vernon Wahrenbrock, was sparsely attended; the inevitable consequence, I suppose, of his having lived nearly a century. All his friends and much of his family were gone. We, his survivors, were there of course. And so were a few of the folks he’d come to know at
BOOK REVIEW: HOWARD DEAN’S PRESCRIPTION FOR REAL HEALTHCARE REFORM: HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE AFFORDABLE MEDICAL CARE FOR EVERY AMERICAN AND MAKE OUR JOBS SAFER
Printer-friendly version By Howard Dean, M.D. Chelsea Green Publishing Reviewed by Miriam Raftery The free market just doesn’t work in medicine. You can’t be an informed consumer. I never saw someone with severe chest pain jump off the table and say, Doctor, I’m going to the cheaper guy down the street.” — Howard Dean. M.D. , on a
LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND: THE SAGA OF COMBAT SEARCH AND RESCUE
Printer-friendly version George Galdorisi and Thomas Phillips. Minneapolis, Zenith Press. 2008. 642 pages. Reviewed by Walter Hall August 15, 2009 (San Diego)–This is a remarkable and opportune book. San Diego-based authors George Galdorisi and Thomas Phillips – both with significant operational experience in multiple theaters – are not poets. But they have given their narrative an epic quality.
EXPLORE 7 MILLION YEARS OF EVOLUTION AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO
Printer-friendly version Author of New Book on Anza-Borrego Desert’s Fossil Treasures Featured at Aug. 15 Event July 29, 2009 (San Diego)—Lowell Lindsay, co-author of Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert: The Last Seven Million Years, will be at the San Diego Zoo’s new Elephant Odyssey Exhibit on Saturday, August 15. He will be discussing, in a hands-on presentation, one of
HOPE BEGINS IN THE DARK
Printer-friendly versionBook Review by Dennis Moore Jamie Reno, an award-winning journalist and an 11-year survivor of stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has written a book about the resilience of the human spirit. Hope Begins in the Dark chronicles the lives of 50 lymphoma survivors, revealing their exclusive stories. The book speaks of the frailty of our existence as human beings and
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting — not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine’s local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
EDITOR/AUTHOR DEL HOOD TO SPEAK AT KNOX HOUSE MUSEUM’S SALON SERIES OCT. 7
Printer-friendly version September 24, 2011 (El Cajon)–The Salon Series at the Knox House Museum continues Friday, October 7, with guest Del Hood, executive editor of the former Daily Californian newspaper before his retirement. Hood, who is currently writing a book, will share stories of the newsroom. He has also written an article on El Cajon history which is featured on the elcajonhistory.org website.
ECM COLUMNIST LAUNCHES WRITER’S GUILD SEPT. 17 AT SACRED ROCKS RESERVE
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery August 27, 2011 (Boulevard) – “Be the writer you have always dreamed of being,” urged Sharon Courmousis, ECM’s “Purple Mountain Sage” columnist and owner of Sacred Rocks Reserve. Now she is organizing a writer’s guild at her East County retreat in Boulevard, California. Writers of every genre such as poems, short stories, novels and
BOOK REVIEW: MOORE DELIVERS A COURAGEOUS WORK IN “THE CITY THAT WORKS”
Printer-friendly version By Linda Loegel My how the tables have turned. I have gone from having my books reviewed by Dennis Moore to now reviewing Moore’s courageous book, The City That Works: Power, Politics and Corruption in Chicago, Part One, "Pay to Play." At present, this volume by Moore, a book reviewer for East County Magazine, is an e-book
GATHER ALL YOUR PLANT KNOWLEDGE IN ONE PLACE
Printer-friendly version Looking for a new plant for your garden or architectural endeavor? By Matt Kopjak August 4, 2011 (San Diego’s East County)–Choosing the right plant for your garden can be a daunting task, but with Plants-Pedia you can sift through 48,000 plants from the USDA plants database and narrow down your choices, complete with charts and images. You can filter
HOW SAFE IS SAN DIEGO’S DRINKING WATER? “FLUORIDEGATE” TOWN HALL MEETING AUG. 1 TO FEATURE AUTHOR/CHEMIST
Printer-friendly version July 30, 2011 (San Diego) – Effective February 2, a water fluoridation program went into effect in San Diego. All other water districts in the County also have fluoridated water, according to a researcher with Citizens Oversight Panels. Is your tap water more toxic as a result? The American Dental Association warns parents not to mix infant formula with
ALPINE LIBRARY IS GOING TO THE BIRDS ON SATURDAY, JULY 30
Printer-friendly version July 30, 2011 (Alpine) – Exotic birds from around the world will flock to the Alpine Library on July 30th at 1 p.m. for a very special program. Be sure to bring your camera! Learn about different bird species, habitats and behaviors, then come and play with the birds at this free family event. The show will
DIAMOND LITERARY DINNER CRUISE ELEGANTLY CELEBRATES LOCAL AUTHORS
Printer-friendly version By TJ Dunnivant July 18, 2011 (San Diego)–As an East County resident and local news writer, attendance at the 7th Annual Diamond Literary Festival Authors Dinner Cruise at the Bahia Resort Hotel aboard the “William D. Evans” boat was all but mandatory for me. East County Magazine’s own writer and book reviewer, Dennis Moore, was the
MEET THE AUTHOR OF CAMPO THE FORGOTTEN GUNFIGHT AT EL CAJON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Printer-friendly version July 14, 2011, (El Cajon) — Bryon Harrington, local Alpine author, will appear at s meeting of the El Cajon Historical Society on Thursday, July 28 at 11:30 a.m. Mr. Harrington will share stories and sign copies of his self-published book,Campo, The Forgotton Gunfight. See the East County Magazine review here. History buffs will enjoy this true
CAMPO, THE FORGOTTON GUNFIGHT BRINGS EAST COUNTY’S COLORFUL PAST TO LIFE
Printer-friendly version Campo, the Forgotten Gunfight by Bryon Harrington (www.CampoGunfight.com, 2009 Campo, 372 pp.) Review by Miriam Raftery July 3, 2011 (Campo) –Few San Diegans are aware that a Wild West shoot-out deadlier than the famed O.K. Corral confrontation occurred in our own East County. A patron in a Tecate cantina overheard a notorious group of banditos boast
2011 CHEF JEFF ROSSMAN’S COOKBOOK TIES FOR BEST COOKBOOK 2011
Printer-friendly versionJune 28, 2011 (San Diego) — Executive Chef Jeff Rossman’s farm-to-table cookbook-come-love story to local growers, From Terra’s Table: New American Food Fresh From Southern California’s Organic Farms (Chefs Press, 2010), adds a new honor to its list of accolades. The San Diego Book Awards Association just named the tome Best Cookbook 2011 in the Seventeenth Annual San Diego Book &
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting — not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine’s local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
East County Magazine

Pretty Happy: healthy ways to love your body
Printer-friendly versionBook by Kate Hudson Review by Heidi Hope October 5, 2025 (San Diego) – Pretty Happy is a New York Times best-selling self-help book written by my favorite actress, Kate Hudson. She thoughtfully researched each area and provided a variety of questions to ask, as well as suggestions to reference and ideas for carrying out each lesson to take

Lucas and Emily’s Food Bank Adventure by Dave Grunenwald
Printer-friendly versionReviewed by Pennell Paugh September 28, 2025 (San Diego) – Lucas and Emily’s Food Bank Adventure is a children’s book for 5- to 10-year-olds. It is designed to inspire children and their families to volunteer in community programs that help those in need. In the book, two friends and a grandparent visit a group that make and deliver sandwiches. Next,

Author Tanya Harris hosts book signing Sept. 21 at Grossmont Center to benefit domestic violence survivors
Printer-friendly versionEast County News Service September 5, 2025 (La Mesa) — Local author, domestic violence survivor and advocate Tanya Harris will host a powerful community book signing and awareness event on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the gazebo at Grossmont Center mall (5500 Grossmont Center Dr., La Mesa). The community-focused event is designed to

Blood in the Water: an A.J. Hawke legal thriller
Printer-friendly versionNovel by Donald McInnis Reviewed by Pennell Paugh September 4, 2025 (San Diego) —Blood in the Water, though fictional, exposes a flaw in the United States’ tripartite federal government structure as established in the Constitution. The third branch of government, the Judiciary, cannot enforce its rulings, even when those rulings are necessary for protecting an individual citizen’s rights or the constitutional powers of