La Mesa Patch Week in Review: Sept. 4-11

Monday, Sept. 5

• Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, a second-term congressman, took part in a with Patch editors from around the county. Hunter said jobs and national security are “two of the main things I work on all the time.”

Tuesday, Sept. 6

• John and Marilyn Adams , Lt. Thomas Adams. He was the first U.S. Navy officer killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the only La Mesa casualty.
• Helix Charter High School spokeswoman responded to band noise complaints by saying the school is willing to “do what we can to minimize the impact on the surrounding community.” They to deal with the issue.

Wednesday, Sept. 7

• The final 2010-11 budget for K-8 schools came in with a , but La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Superintendent Brian Marshall says the “future is as cloudy as it’s ever been.”

Thursday, Sept. 8

• A spokeswoman for SDG&E said only a “very small fraction” of wireless smart meters installed in La Mesa have generated , despite what is cited in a series of blog posts by  smart-meter opponent .   
• The Helix Water District board of directors the $200 million El Monte Valley wastewater-recycling project, and cited rising project cost and a delay in the availability of treated water.

Friday, Sept. 9

• Almost exactly 12 hours after the big San Diego blackout, SDG&E to its 1.4 million customers.
• The California Independent System Operator Corporation announced it would create a joint the cause of the massive blackout that affected nearly 4 million people.
• A from the day after the blackout: Water was never compromised and four people were arrested on charges of prowling outside the BevMo! on Center Drive.

Saturday, Sept. 10

• A UCLA School of Public Health professor and expert consultant to SDG&E from La Mesa Patch regarding smart meters and their health effects.

Sunday, Sept. 11

• The city said police Capt. Ed Aceves had been named interim police chief starting Thursday, and confirmed he was one of 22 applicants for the permanent job of police chief—and the only in-house applicant to succeed Al Lanning.
• Former firefighter Greg Matthews, a La Mesan for nearly three months, told the story of how searching The Pile at ground zero for nearly a month in on September 2001 led to his new career as a civilian anti-terrorism official.
• Some 100 people led by Mayor Art Madrid and Legacy Church Pastor Curt Gruber remembered the victims and rescuers of 9/11  in a somber morning ceremony in front of Fire Station No. 12 on Dallas Street.

Top Blog Posts, Columns and Letters to the Editor

• Moms Council : Did you vaccinate your child against the flu or take the exemption?
• Blog post: La Mesa woman says landlord is by smart meter and has found a senior citizen who has returned to the .
• Blog post: East County mom of the power outage.
• Youth soccer volunteer Mel Mann from his ninth-floor window.
• Essay on 9/11: Don’t Forget the Children of 9/11—and Their New World of Mistrust
• Blog post: Susan Brinchman says underlying cause of the blackout was the .
• Blog post: Parking Commissioner Wieboldt Summons City Attorney to Muzzle Fellow Commissioner.
• Letter to the editor: Capt. Ed Aceves Is an Exceptional Choice to Become Police Chief