Articles written by Jeannie Beck
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 89
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WATER: Proposition 218 Considerations
Since we depend on public water utilities to ensure the safety of our water, we ought to pay attention to cases where water providers have failed, often with catastrophic health consequences, and avoid their mistakes. After the publicity surrounding Flint, Michigan’s lead c... — Updated 5/6/2016
Borrego Springs - Veterans Day Celebration
Veterans Day will be celebrated on Nov. 11 at 11:00 a.m. at Christmas Circle. The public are invited, along with veterans and the American Legion. Nov. 11 became a Federal holiday in 1938 and was called "Armistice Day." After... — Updated 11/9/2015
Borrego Days Music
There was a great variety of music for the 50th Anniversary of Borrego Days this year. It all started on Friday evening with local favorites, 'Borrego Blues and Dance All-Stars,' with Dennis Franklin, Harry Joe Reynolds, Sheldon... — Updated 11/4/2015
Doctors on Probation Proposal
According to the Director of the Safe Patient Project for Consumers Union, Lisa McGiffert, the interests of patients should be put first, and the Medical Board of California should require doctors on probation to inform those they treat. “Patients should not be kept in the dark w... — Updated 10/28/2015
New Border Drug Tunnel Found
On Thursday Oct. 22, ten tons of marijuana were seized from a tunnel with a rail-car that was designed to smuggle drugs from Tijuana into San Diego. The passageway was ventilated, lit, built with metal beams, nine feet underground, and close to 2,600 feet long. Sixteen people... — Updated 10/28/2015
Hand Cyclist Pursues World Record
Andre Kajlich's goal is to set the world record in 24 hours on a hand cycle. After losing both legs in a train accident in Prague in 2003, Kajlich decided, "out of the bad can come a lot of good." Andre's first big race will be... — Updated 10/21/2015
Lizard Tree Library
The Slab City Lizard Tree Library is a cobbled-together building housing wooden shelves of books and a small children's area on a floor of sand. There are paintings on the walls and ceilings between gaps that let in the sunlight... — Updated 10/12/2015
Action On Ailing Salton Sea Urged
Imperial Irrigation District (IID) General Manager Kevin Kelly and Imperial County Executive Officer Ralph Cordova requested more action on the ailing Salton Sea at a State Water Resources Control Board meeting Thursday. Kelley sai... — Updated 9/24/2015
Supervisors Advocate For Removal And Relocation Of Spent Nuclear Fuel
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Supervisor Greg Cox recusing himself, on Tuesday, Sept. 15 to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy, urging them to get the nuclear waste still being stored in the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station out of San... — Updated 9/24/2015
Monsanto's Roundup Reevaluated
In March, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer reported that glyphosate (one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture) is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The California Environmental Protection Agency announced on September 4 a n... — Updated 9/11/2015
Renewable Energy Bill - Still Not Promoting Rooftop Solar
California lawmakers are anxious to pass a climate and energy plan before the legislature closes the door on another year. Governor Jerry Brown’s priorities include a 50 percent cut in oil use, a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency in existing buildings, and a 50 percent c... — Updated 9/10/2015
California's Levees Susceptible To Disaster
There’s a problem with a network of levees at the center of California’s plumbing; a freshwater confluence called the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Most of the state’s water is drawn from the delta, which is protected by poorly constructed levees from another era. If enoug... — Updated 9/1/2015
Artistic Gate Coming to U.C.I. Desert Research Center
Metal-man Robert Schooley's creatively forged gate for the U.C.I. Desert Research Center is approaching completion. Many months ago Schooley was offered a rough 2D drawing for the gate but he has taken the idea to another level.... — Updated 8/27/2015
Contaminated Water To Reach Largest U.S. Reservoir By Wednesday
Three million gallons of toxic water were accidentally released from the Gold King Mine in Silverton, Colorado on Aug. 5 by workers from the Environmental Protection Agency. The toxic water contains heavy metals, including arsenic... — Updated 8/14/2015
Slab City Ministry Assistance
Ernie and Debbie Loza and other volunteers go to Slab City each month to deliver food, water, clothes and donated essentials to the people living in Slab City. Slab City was constructed in 1942 as "Camp Dunlap" to prepare Marines f... — Updated 8/13/2015
World Congress Desalination Event To Be Held In San Diego
Global water experts will meet in San Diego at the end of August to look at southern California’s pioneering technologies for easing world-wide water shortages. The IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse was last held in San Diego in 1999. The Carlsbad seawater d... — Updated 8/13/2015
Growing Up Heckle
Resident of Shelter Valley, Rod Johnson, has a pet raven. He's given the raven a name, knows his favorite foods, and communicates with him. He'd like to see "Heckle" be independent though. Rod hopes Heckle will learn to socialize... — Updated 8/5/2015
Inspiring Journey Of A Wounded Vet
Toran Gaal left San Diego on June 1st to hand-cycle across the country towards Arlington, Virginia. At the end of the first day he was put up for the night by Orchard Hill Country Inn owners in Julian and received visits from the American Legion and John Baca, a medal of Honor... — Updated 8/3/2015
Volcan Mountain Foundation Helps Kids Explore Nature
A Summer program for kids is currently underway on Volcan Mountain (at the Nature Center Property at the end of Farmers Road in Julian) for three weeks in July. From July 6th to the 24th, children are learning about native plants,... — Updated 7/30/2015
Julian - Merchant of the Year Award for Wynola Flats Produce
Wynola Flats Produce and R&S Honey was opened three years ago by Stacy and Randy Peyakov. Their produce is both organic and conventional, and locally grown whenever possible- with imports from small farms in Imperial Valley and... — Updated 7/30/2015
San Diego Residents Urge Governor to Stop Fracking
An outdoor, interactive, family-friendly, fracking-themed giant art project and petition drive in Ocean Beach is just one of over a dozen events scheduled this weekend as part of a statewide response to growing opposition to fracking. On August 1 from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. local... — Updated 7/30/2015
Closest Twin to Earth Found
Astronomers just announced they've discovered the "closest twin to earth," seen so far. It's the smallest planet found orbiting in the habitable zone of a star and at about the same distance that earth orbits the sun. The twin to... — Updated 7/28/2015
State of Emergency Declared Due to Weekend Storms
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom recently declared a state of Emergency in six California counties- San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Kern. Widespread damage to public and private facilities- inspired by Hurricane Dolores- was caused by flash... — Updated 7/23/2015
Summer Swim- Lifeguards on Duty
A Summer Swim Program has been available to the youth, community of Borrego, and visitors each summer for many years- thanks to a generous donation from Audrey Burnand. According to swim instructor Cathy Paredes, every summer poten... — Updated 7/23/2015
Water Conundrums
While California is experiencing its fourth year of a severe drought, and a senior scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and a professor of Earth System Science at U.C. Irvine, Jay Famiglietti said California only has one year of water supply left in its reservoirs,... — Updated 7/21/2015
