Award-winning nonprofit media in the public interest, serving San Diego's inland region

Award-winning nonprofit media in the public interest, serving San Diego's inland region

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: OCOTILLO SUNRISE

Printer-friendly version August 13, 2012 (Ocotillo) — ECM photographer Jim Pelley shot this beautiful sunrise this morning from the yard at his home in Ocotillo.  Soon this dramatic landscape may be only a memory, vanished in the dust as towering ocotillo cacti are torn down and replaced by 112 wind turbines, each 500 feet tall.  That’s the plan for Pattern

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: EAST OF EAST COUNTY

Printer-friendly versionBy Tom Lemon   August 10, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) — When you’re driving east on Interstate 8 past Jacumba and the Desert View Tower there’s a sharp left turn and you begin to descend Mountain Springs Grade. You will drop about three thousand feet to the desert in ten miles, and can see the remains of Old

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: WILD RIDES AT THE BULLS ONLY RODEO

Printer-friendly version     July 29, 2012 (Lakeside) — Barry Claessens (www.bcphotography.biz) snapped these action shots at the Optimist Club’s "Bull’s Only Rodeo" at the Lakeside Rodeo arena on July 21. Rodeos began to help cowboys hone their skills and, in the case of bull-riding, showcase their bravado. Isn’t this the original extreme sport? Today there are some modern-day twists. Some local bull riders

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: ON THE ROCKS

Printer-friendly version  July 23, 2012 (McCain Valley) – ECM reader Tom Lemon sent in these spectacular photos of McCain Valley, site of the proposed Tule Wind facility in San Diego’s East County. "I first visited McCain Valley around 1995 after reading Jerry Shaad’s book Afoot and Afield in San Diego County. I began camping and hiking in the Valley and

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SPACE INVADERS?

Printer-friendly version   July 25, 2012 (Ocotillo) – No, this isn’t the mother ship that’s landed in Ocotillo. It’s another alien power – the first wind turbine foundation poured at Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Express project.  Photographer Jim Pelley measured a single turbine foundation hole measures 286 feet. More than 100 turbines, each 450 feet tall, are planned to invade this

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: SNOWFALL AT MCCAIN VALLEY

Printer-friendly version July 19, 2012 (McCain Valley) – Tom Klimek of Lemon Grove shared these photos that he took of McCain Valley “as few have seen it,” blanketed in snow, isolated in its pristine beauty. “On March 18, 2012 I drove to Laguna Mountain and then to McCain to enjoy the late winter storm that brought wind, rain, hail, and

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: STORM OVER OCOTILLO

Printer-friendly version   By Miriam Raftery Photo by Jim Pelley July 15, 2012 (Ocotillo) — Photographer Jim Pelley captured this inspiring image of sunbeams illuminating the proverbial silver lining of this storm cloud over the desert in Ocotillo. There is a tragic irony to this spectacular image, however. The landscape in shadow beneath the stormcloud is being destroyed, as excavation

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DOWN ON THE FARMS: A VIDEO TOUR OF LOCAL AGRICULTURAL IN LAKESIDE

Printer-friendly versionIn honor of Harold Hilliker Farm Day at Lakeside Middle School, videographer Billy Ortiz created a video documentary tour of local agricultural sites Story, photos and video by Billy Ortiz June 30, 2012 (Lakeside)– Lakeside Middle School held  its first annual Harold Hilliker Farm Day on May 30.  It  was a day full of information on agriculture, highlighting several

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: HORNED DESERT LIZARD

Printer-friendly version   June 20, 2012 (Ocotillo) — Photographer Jim Pelley snapped this image of a horned desert lizard, whose camouflaged appearance blends right in with its desert surroundings. Pelley spotted the reclusive reptile on the site of the Ocotillo Express wind energy facility, which is now under construction. Printer-friendly version

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: REFLECTIONS AT SANTEE LAKES

Printer-friendly version               By Miriam Raftery May 30, 2012 (Santee) – ECM editor Miriam Raftery took a break from the hustle and bustle of news editing for a stroll at Santee Lakes.  There, she spotted a majestic great blue heron and a colorful wood duck, both with images reflected in the water’s surface, as

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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.

COUNTY PARKS SERVICE TAKES ACTION TO SAVE MIGRATORY BIRDS AT LINDO LAKES

Printer-friendly version    View a video by Billy Ortiz of water flowing into Lindo Lakes. View an earlier video of stilts in low water.  View a Facebook page created by Ortiz with photos of wildlife at Lindo Lakes. June 22, 2013 (Lakeside) – Migratory shorebirds at risk for nesting areas drying out will be saved, thanks to an inquiry from Lakeside

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ASSEMBLYMAN JONES AND EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE TO HOST EASTERN SAN DIEGO COUNTY PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

Printer-friendly version   June 20, 2013 (Santee) –– Assemblyman Jones (R-Santee) and East County Magazine announced today that they will host a photography contest that features photographs taken in San Diego’s East County. The winning photographs will be displayed in Assemblyman Brian Jones’ Capitol Office and featured in East County Magazine.  “It’s an honor to be able to highlight the

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SUMMER FUN

Printer-friendly version     June 21, 2013 (Campo)–Mary Clark and her son, Jimmie, 3, enjoy an idyllic moment in the summer sun amid wildflowers next to their family’s vineyard.  Miriam Raftery captured the moment on a visit to the Campo Creek Winery earlier this month. The photograph illustrates the joy of rural living–a lifestyle treasured by many people in East

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RUNNING CATTLE: HOME ON THE RANGE

Printer-friendly version  Campo Creek Ranch offers local delivery of all-natural grass-fed beef By Miram Raftery June 13, 2013(Campo)—Cattle come running when rancher John Clark arrives.  It looks like a scene out of a  California “happy cows” commercial.  View video.  These beef cattle are raised in open pastures, not crowded feed lots. They graze in green pastures at Campo Creek Ranch

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: WHAT’S MISSING?

Printer-friendly version     May 27, 2013 (Ocotillo) — When Jim Pelley arose at sunrise and looked out over the desert from his home in Ocotillo, he noticed something missing. So he grabbed his camera to record the unusual sight. A Siemens wind turbine at Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Express Wind Energy facility had hurled off  a multi-ton blade onto a

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: BIGHORN SHEEP AT MOUNTAIN SPRINGS

Printer-friendly version   May 24, 2013 (Mountain Springs) – Photographers Jim Pelley and Parke Ewing spotted a herd of endangered Peninsular Bighorn sheep preparing to cross I-8 in Mountain Springs, at the county line separating San Diego and Imperial Valley counties.  Residents report that wildlife is returning to the area over the past week, since wind turbines at the adjacent

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: FIVE PEAKS IN MISSION TRAILS

Printer-friendly version By Greg Dunne April 28, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) —  My friend, David Hart, and myself went on a long and strenuous six-hour but fun hike of all five peaks at Mission Trails Regional Park on Wednesday. We enjoyed seeing many of nature’s wild life. Mule Deer, Red Diamondback Rattlesnake (always be aware of rattlesnakes this time

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SIGNS OF SPRING: WILD LILACS

Printer-friendly version   April 24, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) — A sure sign of spring in East County is when you see wild lilacs (ceanothus) blooming, covering fields and hillsides in a tapestry of lavender and purple. ECM editor Miriam Raftery captured these beautiful blooms in Deerhorn Valley.  Printer-friendly version

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WINNERS OF 2013 LAKE JENNINGS PHOTO CONTEST ANNOUNCED

Printer-friendly versionApril 24, 2013 (La Mesa) – The Lake Jennings March Photo Contest garnered 83 spectacular entries from individuals throughout Southern California and Arizona, from age 8 and older. Photographers roamed the banks, paddled into the deep, hung out in Hermit Cove, watched the wild life, and clicked shutters. Winning entries were selected in both the Youth and Adult categories.

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TOWN OF CAMPO TAKES ON MEXICAN BANDITOS IN HISTORICAL REENACTMENT

Printer-friendly version                                                                                                                                                               By Ariele Johannson April 9, 2013 (Campo)–Imagine the Old West back in the 1800s. Lawmen are few and far between. Desperadoes sometimes spread terror throughout the new state of California. And Campo, on the United States-Mexican border, is the site of a confrontation between law-abiding citizens and one such gang of outlaws. The Gaskill Brothers Gunfighters,

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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.