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.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: IRONY AT BUCKMAN SPRINGS

Printer-friendly version  March 31, 2012 (Buckman Springs) — Cynthia Rowley found irony in this sign posted by SDG&E at a Powerlink tower site in Buckman springs. "It’s right behind my house where we would hike," she said of the posted environmentally sensitive area, where the greatest damage to the environment has been caused by SDG&E itself. "Now there are 10 towers on the

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: PORTRAIT OF A HAWK

Printer-friendly version    March 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Photographer Daren Sefcik captured the nobility of this magnificent bird of prey in a stunning close-up shot.  The red-tail hawk was spotted in Indian Valley within the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.   Printer-friendly version

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SMILE!

Printer-friendly version  March 22, 2012 (San Diego) — Kristin Kjaero snapped this ultra close-up portrait at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in San Pasqual.   “We rode the "Caravan" down into the exhibit which we’ve never done before, and got to hand feed giraffes and rhinos,” she says. “Wow, so worth the experience!    They nuzzle right up to you

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: ONCE UPON A TIME IN EAST COUNTY….

Printer-friendly version  March 19, 2012 (Descanso) – Nancy Manning shot this picturesque night time image of snow falling along a country bridge in Descanso, where four inches have blanketed the ground thus far.  Doesn’t it resemble a scene straight out of a fairy tale? Printer-friendly version

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WINTER WONDERLAND: EAST COUNTY READERS SHARE THEIR PHOTOS

Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery March 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) — As a late winter storm sweeps across our region, readers in San Diego’s East County have shared some of their favorite photos of the season.             Morgan La Salle shared these first two pastoral images of Pine Valley, where a blanket of white coats corrals and farmlands–serving up a

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK, WITH A CHARCOAL FILTER

Printer-friendly version   March 17, 2012 (La Mesa) — Mayan Avitable, our assistant editor, took this photo around midnight last week as a cutting she had taken from a neighbor’s plant generated this amazing bloom. The flower opened, filled the room with a fabulous aroma, and by morning was gone. This flower is commonly called a Night Blooming Cereus. This

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: DEER, DEER!

Printer-friendly version  By Miriam Raftery March 14, 2012 (El Cajon)–Students at Grossmont College may be surprised to see who’s hanging out just off campus.  ECM editor Miriam Raftery spotted these deer grazing on a sunny slope adjacent to the community college. Printer-friendly version

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SUNFLOWER

Printer-friendly version   March 11, 2012 (Lakeside) – Jan Owens sent in this photo of her “accidental bird food” – a golden-hued sunflower that sprouted from a seed in the front yard of her Lakeside home.   Printer-friendly version

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: BOBCAT IN EL MONTE VALLEY

Printer-friendly versionBy Billy Ortiz March 9, 2012 (Lakeside) – Most every day I like to drive down El Monte Rd in Lakeside. It reminds me of how it used to be in the old days with wide open fields, some farming and the best part is all the wildlife in the area–golden eagles, hawks and falcons, wild turkeys, deer and

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: FLOWER POWER

Printer-friendly version  March 4, 2012 (East County) –Henri Migala sent in this close up  image of sunshine-hued blooms here in East County–sure signs that Spring is in the air.          Printer-friendly version

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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.