Helix Pension 'Reform,' Shooting Suspect Arrested, and a Changing Spring Valley

At Mount Helix Patch, we know that in your busy lives there may be some stories that you can't read about the day they happen. With the "Week That Was" column, we'll provide a roundup of the most important stories of the week.

Hundreds of residents rushed to local McDonald's stores on Tuesday to participate in the company's National Hiring Day, during which set a goal of hiring 50,000 new employees across the country. More than 400 people waited to apply and meet with hiring managers at the Jamacha Boulevard location in Spring Valley.

A nasty trust estate battle featuring a family with Mt. Helix roots ended with a settlement.

After agreeing to a new two-year MOU, which now calls for Helix Water District employees to pay 2 percent into their CalPERS pension plan in 2011-12, and 4 percent thereafter, many ratepayers were upset, saying that the Board didn't do enough to protect them as ratepayers.

In that vain, David Smyle, of the East County Tax Hawks watchdog group, wrote an opinion piece about how the negotiations were unfair as the ratepayers were not represented at the bargaining table.

Police last week arrested a suspect in the case of a college student who was mysteriously shot on SR-163.

The "Community Conversation" in Spring Valley on Thursday was a chance for residents to meet one another, and discuss important issues in their community with many public agency representatives. The discussion was lively and focused on code enforcement, traffic, illegal dumping problems, and among many more.