3:15pm: May 24, 2012 (Julian) – The “Banner Fire” which started at 2:14 p.m. has burned four to five acres thus far east of Julian near the Banner Grade. “The fire is located in an area known as Cigarette Canyon close to the location of last year’s `Great Fire,’” Battalion Chief Nick Schuler say, adding that the blaze is spreading at a “moderate rate.”

No structures are threatened at this time and additional resources have been ordered.

*This information was courtesy of East County Magazine and CAL FIRE

UPDATE 3:28pm: May 24, 2012 (Julian) Banner Fire is 18 to 20 acres, evacuations occuring in Shelter Valley. Potential for a extended attack (large) fire. (CAL FIRE)

UPDATE 3:42pm: The fire is now 150 acres, 100 homes being evacuated in shelter valley, potential for a extended attack fire (large) (CAL FIRE)

UPDATE 3:52pm: (Hwy 78 & S2) IPN (Incident Page Network) reports that fire is hitting houses on Great Sandy Trail and Jackass Trail.

*Borrego Springs High School is being used as evacuation center for Julian evacuees.

UPDATE 4pm: IPN reports the Banner Fire is now 300-500 acres with rapid spread potential of 1,000+ acres

UPDATE 4:17pm: CAL FIRE says the Julian Fire is now up to 1,000 acres with rapid rate of spread. The Incident Commander has placed a larger order for additional crews/resources

*Banner Fire Call Center has been established: 619-590-3160

UPDATE 5:40pm:  Cal Fire says the fire is now 1,200 acres / 5% contained. High Winds are expected tonight. Resources on Scene – 6 Airtankers, 1 AirAttack, 4 Helicopters, 30 Engines, 6 Crews, 4 Water Tenders, 2 Dozers. Fire is burning rapidly towards the east. No structures burned at this time.

UPDATE 6:56pm: Cal Fire says they are making good progress containing the brushfire

East County Football Camp will be offering a non-contact youth football camp June 25-28 at Granite Hills High School.  Our website is eastcountyfootballcamp.com.  Site visitors can get information about the camp and download a registration form.

Thank you,

Brad Burton burtonboys@cox.net

SUNRISE POWERLINK CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY

OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINE AND SUBSTATIONS

May 21, 2012

Overhead construction activity in San Diego and Imperial Counties continues on several tracks, including installing tower foundations, completing steel lattice towers, stringing wire and constructing and improving access roads. SDG&E also is developing the new Suncrest Substation, and upgrading existing substations and other facilities to accommodate increased power from the new line.

As of May 21, SDG&E has completed 438 tower foundations and 404 overhead structures.  More than 90 miles of overhead conductor has been strung.  Construction of the new Suncrest Substation east of Alpine is 100 percent complete.

Outlook for week of May 21 – 26

• Link 1*: Conducting road activities and improvements in the McCain Valley and Jacumba, Monday-Saturday.  Putting some finishing touches on tower foundations in the McCain Valley and Jacumba areas, Monday-Saturday.  Conducting wire stringing activities near La Posta, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 2*: Conducting road improvements just east of the Suncrest Substation and in the Bartlett Hauser Creek area, Monday-Saturday.  Putting finishing touches on tower foundations in the Barrett Canyon and the La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.  Assembling and installing lattice towers Barrett Canyon, the Bartlett Hauser Creek and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.  Conducting wire stringing activities in the Barrett Canyon and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 3: (Suncrest Substation): Complete punchlist items and prepare for energization, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 5*: Conducting road improvements in the Sycamore Canyon, Monday-Saturday.  Putting finishing touches on a few tower foundations just east of San Vicente, Monday-Saturday.

Outlook for week of May 28 – June 2

• Link 1*: Conducting road activities and improvements in the McCain Valley and Jacumba, Monday-Saturday.  Putting some finishing touches on tower foundations in the McCain Valley and Jacumba areas, Monday-Saturday.  Conducting wire stringing activities near La Posta, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 2*: Conducting road improvements just east of the Suncrest Substation and in the Bartlett Hauser Creek area, Monday-Saturday.  Putting finishing touches on tower foundations in the Barrett Canyon and the La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.  Assembling and installing lattice towers Barrett Canyon, the Bartlett Hauser Creek and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.  Conducting wire stringing activities in the Barrett Canyon and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 3: (Suncrest Substation): Prepare for energization, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 5*: Conducting road improvements in the Sycamore Canyon, Monday-Saturday.  Putting finishing touches on a few tower foundations just east of San Vicente, Monday-Saturday.

In order to bolster construction activities and ensure the project is completed as quickly as possible, SDG&E requested and received approval from the County of San Diego to work on certain Sundays in some work locations between February 26 and May 28.  The Sunday work will occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in three segments along the Sunrise Powerlink route.  Each construction location may require work for several Sundays, but by no means will encompass every Sunday outlined in the County’s Noise Variance decision.  

The Sunday work is necessary for several reasons, including completing construction activities near or in recreational areas such as the Cleveland National Forest.  The Sunday work will allow construction to be completed as quickly as possible in these areas during low-use winter months and avoid any impacts during peak use summer months.  In addition, the Sunday work will minimize the impacts of potential electric service interruptions related to construction; and provide the extra time needed to complete sections of the project before the height of bird nesting season this spring.  SDG&E is required to minimize construction activities around active bird nests during this time.

There are also three highway crossing locations where work may take place from sunrise to 10:00 a.m.  Caltrans encroachment permits for the construction work at these highway crossings requires that construction operations within state highways take place only on Sunday mornings.

The Sunday work will allow construction in these areas during low-use winter months and avoid any impacts during peak use summer months and before the height of bird nesting season this spring.

The information provided above is a general overview of potential construction activities for the weeks of May 21 – 26 and May 28 – June 2. Community requests, weather conditions and other considerations will be taken into account when determining daily work assignments. Construction schedules are subject to change without notice.

*Link definitions:  Link 1 starts at the Imperial Valley Substation and runs west near the communities of Jacumba and Boulevard to the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest (CNF).  Link 2 continues west through CNF and north of Campo until it reaches Link 3, which is the site of the new Suncrest Substation east of Alpine.  Link 4 is the 6.2 mile underground segment along Alpine Boulevard (see separate weekly update).  Link 5 consists of two segments of 230kV overhead transmission line on either side of the Alpine underground segment, one that runs from the Suncrest Substation to Alpine and the other that starts west of Alpine and runs to the Sycamore Canyon Substation  – where the project connects to the existing SDG&E system.    

SUNRISE POWERLINK ALPINE CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY:  May 21, 2012

• All major transmission line construction activity on Alpine Boulevard has been completed.  Inspections, testing and maintenance of the underground portion of the Sunrise Powerlink are ongoing.  Construction activities for Phase I of the Streetscape Improvement Plan and 20A utility undergrounding effort are continuing.

• Per SDG&E’s original agreement with the County of San Diego and its commitment to the community, SDG&E has paved Alpine Boulevard with rubberized asphalt west of Tavern Road and East of South Grade Road.  However, at the County of San Diego’s request, rubberized asphalt paving in the downtown area will be delayed until the County completes its storm drain work.  SDG&E will pay the County to conduct this work at a later date to be determined by the County.

• SDG&E has completed all 40 vaults, transmission line trenching, and cable installation and splicing on Alpine Boulevard.  Overall Sunrise construction on the Alpine underground segment is more than 99 percent complete.

• Outlook for week of May 21 – 26: Working on San Diego County’s streetscape improvements west of South Grade Road and east and west of West Victoria, Monday-Friday. The rubberized asphalt along Alpine Boulevard West of Tavern Road to approximately Peutz Valley Road and East of South Grade Road to approximately Star Valley Road will be completed May 22.
• All construction activities listed above are taking place along Alpine Boulevard. Cross streets are provided as a reference only. Construction is taking place from 7 AM to 5 PM.

• The information provided above is a general overview of potential construction activities for the weeks of May 21 – 26 and May 28 – June 2.  Business requests, weather conditions and other considerations will be taken into account when determining daily work assignments. Construction schedules are subject to change without notice.

For more information on the project:

Visit SDG&E’s East County Community Relations Office: located at 2806 Alpine Boulevard, Alpine, CA. 91901
Contact: SDG&E by email at sunrisepowerlink@sdge.com
Call: SDG&E at 877-775-6818
Website: Visit the Sunrise Powerlink website:  www.sdge.com/sunrisepowerlink

5-24-12
DESCRIPTION:  Found a male black cat at club house at the old ranch Easter Sunday here in alpine. The reason why it took so long to say anything is because the cat was so bad off, we took him home to help him recover. He was starving had ticks and other pests on him. We took him to the vet and he tested negative for feline HIV and leukemia. He needed some anti-booties as he had an infection in his mouth. He is un-neutered. Perhaps he was someone’s outdoor kitty as he certainly was affectionate once he started to feel better. Today we took him to the County Of  San Diego animal shelter (we have 3 other cats) hoping he actually belongs to someone here in Alpine..
You can go online to www.sddac.com and view him with his animal intake number….A1473159. If he isn’t claimed by the 29th of May…he can be adopted. He IS cat boxed trained and very affectionate so it is hard for us to believe he is totally ferral…probably just used to being outdoors. He has yellow eyes and an unusual sounding meow.

Please call or email me if you think he is yours …619-659-1399, or email kedsop1@yahoo.com

NAME: Karen Donahue
EMAIL: Kedsop1@yahoo.com
TELEPHONE: 619-659-1399
TYPE: Found
DATE_STAMP: 04/07/2012
TIME_STAMP: Afternoon

50% offeverything!! 

It’s your chance to save BIG!!! 

The “Buffet at Viejas” takes San Diego buffet experience to new level, 

offering unparalleled quality and variety, combined with audio visual features

SAN DIEGO – May 22, 2012 – Viejas tribal leaders, casino executives, Team Members, guests and others gathered today for the Grand Opening of the all-new Buffet at Viejas, which takes the San Diego area’s buffet experience to an entirely new level.

Viejas Casino’s buffet has been enormously popular ever since it opened as the Harvest Buffet in 2000. But the all-new Buffet at Viejas has a new look and feel from the ground up – with a new, open and airy dining room as well as a clean, crisp serving area featuring a Sushi Station, Mexican Station, Asian Station, Southern Style Station, BBQ Station Carving Station, Seafood Station, Pasta Station and much more. Specialty food items include prime rib, crab legs, oysters, fajitas, salmon, pho, and an amazing new bakery and dessert area. The Buffet at Viejas even includes state of the art audio and visual features throughout the dining area.

Tribal elders, tribal leaders, local dignitaries, Chamber of Commerce representatives and the public all joined in the Grand Opening of the new Buffet at Viejas today. The ceremonies included a Tribal Blessing, traditional Native American Bird Songs and a ribbon cutting.

Viejas Casino General Manager Chris Kelley said, “The new Buffet at Viejas tops off a major, year-long renovation of the entire casino floor and continues the modern, clean airy look and feel that our guests enjoy.” Kelley added, “We have upgraded the quality and variety of food offerings throughout the property, adding exciting new venues like North of the Border taco shop and Far East Express. The Buffet at Viejas continues this effort and will provide our guests and all of San Diego with an exciting new culinary and visual experience.”

The Buffet at Viejas is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11am to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturday.

For information on The Buffet at Viejas and all the other dining, gaming and entertainment options at Viejas Casino, visit www.viejas.com.

About Viejas Casino
Located east of San Diego, Viejas Casino has thousands of slot machines, exciting table games, a poker room, an off-track betting facility and a new high-stakes bingo room. Viejas Casino features a variety of restaurants including the award-winning Grove Steakhouse, North of the Border taco shop and Far East Express. The beautiful Viejas Outlet Center, located across the street, offers visitors a unique shopping experience with more than 50 name-brand stores, numerous eateries, Viejas Bowl and Viejas Mini Golf. For more information, visit www.viejas.com or call 1-800-847-6537.

Mark Grant pulls disappearing act

*Article courtesy of www.UTSandiego.com

For you Cox Cable subscribers fortunate enough to watch Padres game, if Mark Grant looks leaner, do not attempt adjusting your TV screen.

Grant has shed 25 pounds!

He credits the weight loss not to a diet but to joining a CrossFit gym in Alpine last November.

“I was approaching 50,” he said. “My dad suffered a heart attack last year. He’s fine. I wasn’t feeling good. I was out of shape and decided I’ve got to start doing something.”

So Grant sets the alarm at 4:30 a.m. and regularly hits an intense, 30-minute class by 5 a.m.

“I feel better,” Grant said, “and the bottom line is I’ve got too many nice clothes in my closet I want to wear. I spend all this money on nice clothes and I don’t want to be a fat (slob) and not be able to wear them.”

A confessed dessert lover —“That’s my Kryptonite” — Grant is not depriving himself.

“If I bust my butt working out, I reward myself a little bit,” he said.

Read More…..

Visit www.CrossFitEquilibrium.com

Request for Proposals for Landscape Contractors

Greater Alpine Fire Safe Council (GAFSC) has received a US Forest Service National Fire Plan Grant through the California Fire Safe Council, 12UFS01092.  This grant will enable GAFSC to provide chipping and defensible space creation/maintenance services to properties within the council boundary.

Contractor’s role in supplying these services will include, but not be limited to (additional tasks as mutually agreed upon):

Chippers

• Safe operation of GAFSC owned Vermeer BC 1500 and/or Vermeer BC 1000 by competent and qualified personnel.
• Chipper to be stored in a secured location and kept clean and fueled at the end of each work day. Conduct inspection of chipper before and after each chipper use. Air filter(s) and radiator to be cleared of excess build up, fluid levels topped off and cover replaced after cool down.
• Hauling chips if agreed upon by customer and GAFSC.
• Maintain operational log per CARB specifications.
• Light maintenance and/or repair as required, coordinate maintenance and repair with RDO Equipment.
• Supply tow vehicle(s) and tow GAFSC chipper(s) for chipping events or to RDO Equipment for maintenance at designated intervals or repairs, pick up and return to storage location, if required. (RDO currently provides field service at no extra charge)

v     Note: Currently curbside chipping is scheduled every month of 2012.  Chipping events may require multiple days’ work to complete.  It is expected that contractor will not charge overtime for weekend work.

Special Projects

• Provide manpower and equipment as required for creating defensible space around structures. Include operation of GAFSC chipper(s) and contractor supplied weed whackers, chain saws, line mowers, etc. and hauling to legal landfill, if required.

Administrative

• Records pertaining to GAFSC are to be electronically stored and electronically backed up to the satisfaction of the board. In addition, invoices are to be done on hardcopy and mailed (include original copies of receipts for reimbursements such as for fuel).
• Communication with registrants prior to pre-visits and or chipping day will be required and shall be done in a courteous, businesslike manner. Contractor shall be available by phone to answer questions or discuss requests of customers during the week of the chipping day; GAFSC and customers to be immediately notified of any schedule changes.  All attempts at satisfying the customer are to be made.
• Potential customers will be pre-visited within 3-4 days prior to the chipping day to assess and digitally and manually document materials to be chipped. Customers are to be advised of status of their request.
• Familiarity with working within Excel spreadsheets for routing of pre-visits and chipping day activities, as well as documenting and recording materials processed is required.
• Contractor to be working with an Excel spreadsheet of registrants provided by GAFSC prior to each chipping event. Fridays are targeted for chipping, in the case that work cannot be finished in one day, the chipping is to be finished on Saturday (preferred), or next available workday.  Any overtime requires prior approval from GAFSC.
• Familiarity with using a digital camera to record volume of materials, insert titles and forward photos electronically is required.

Contractual Requirements

• Comply with federal provisions regarding human trafficking, seatbelt use, cell phone use while driving, and drug-free workplaces.
• Submit complete I-9 forms for all workers on GAFSC jobs.
• Immediately report any developments that will significantly impact work completion.

INTERESTED CONTRACTORS

To submit a proposal, email information listed below to info@greateralpinefsc.org before Monday, June 4, 2012

• Resume and previous 12-months project history
• Contact information for last three customers
• DMV Driver License Information Records for any personnel hauling chipper
• Any firefighting qualifications of crewmembers
• Current CPR & First Aid certifications for competent or qualified crew leaders
• C27 Landscape Contractor’s license number
• CCR and DUNS number if applicable
• Current Insurance and bond documentation
• Contact phone number and email address
• BID including (regular & overtime) hourly rates for:

1. administrative tasks
2. chipping
3. hand clearing defensible space
4. any additional services available from your company

 www.GreaterAlpinefsc.org

SEE THE DEALS!

Visit http://viejas.com/voc/html/stores/sales.php