Southern California cities average about seven days of rainy weather in February meaning there is still plenty of sunny days to plant trees and shrubs and prepare gardens for spring, according to Agromin. The company collects organic material from more than 50 Southern California communities, and uses it to manufacture earth-friendly soil products.

Plant Trees and Shrubs:

Planting trees and shrubs is relatively simple. First, dig a hole twice as wide but just as deep as the tree’s root ball. If the soil is mostly clay or compacted, dig a hole three times as big and amend the soil.

Doing this encourages trees roots to spread out. Place the root ball in the hole with the top of the root ball even with the top of the hole. Add soil until the hole is about two-thirds full. Water and then let the soil settle.

Use a thick layer of mulch to keep in moisture, but don’t let the mulch touch the trunk. Water as needed during periods of no rain.

Avoiding Staking New Trees:

Unless the newly planted tree is in a windy area, do not stake the tree. If you must stake the tree, do so for no more than a year. Movement helps strengthen the trunk and stimulates root growth.

A staked tree may grow taller faster, but in general, their root system is less developed and their trunks are weaker.

Plant Warm-Weather Flowers:

Once the danger of frost has passed, plant warm-season flowers such as marigolds, petunias and already-blooming plants such as violas, snapdragons, calendulas and primroses.

They provide instant color.

Select Healthy Plants At The Nursery:

Watch for signs up an unhealthy plant before you decide to make your purchase at the local nursery or home center. Otherwise, your garden will not be as successful, despite your best efforts.

Wilted or yellow leaves could mean an illness or not enough water. Long stems without much leaf growth are an indication the plant has been in its container too long. While flowers on a plant may look nice in the store, too many blooms mean the plant is devoting too much energy into creating those flowers – and could go into shock once transplanted. Roots poking out of the bottom of the plant are another sign a plant has been in its pot too long and is experiencing stress. Weeds in the pot are not a good sign. It means the plant is sharing the soil nutrients with an unwanted guest.

Plant California Native Shrubs:

Plant California native plants now, many of which are ready to bloom. These include Creeping Sage, varieties of Manzanita, California Morning Glory, Ceanothus Rigidus Snowball, Maritime California Lilac and Wooly Blue Curls.

Get A Jump On Weeds:

ven during mostly dry winters, weeds will find a way to grow. Remove them by hand or with a hoe before they get too big. Once they go to seed, the time it takes to remove them becomes much greater.

Cover your garden with two or three inches of mulch to keep new weeds from growing.

Water Potted Plants:

The winter sun can quickly dry out both indoor and outdoor potted plants. Water outdoor potted plants so the soil remains moist, especially if the weather has been dry for 7 to 10 days.

Indoor plants can dry out just as quickly, especially if exposed to sunlight or warm air from heaters or fireplaces. Agromin has more gardening tips, at www.agromin.com Agromin manufactures earth-friendly soil products for farmers, landscapers and gardeners. Agromin is the organics recycler for over 50 Southern California communities. Each month, Agromin says they receive more than 30,000 tons of organic material and then transforms the material into premium soil products,using a safe, natural and sustainable process.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Founded in October 2010, San Diego company, Flud, created a new kind of social news reader. Their goal is to create platforms that that allow discovering, consuming and sharing news, and that’s exactly what they have done.

The way it works is you open Flud every day to interact with news content in the easy-to-use interface and you can become a news personality by endorsing content for other people who use the mobile Flud application. It was named Best UI Design of 2010 in mobile applications, by Fast Company.

Flud is billed as an “information ecosystem” where the audience is empowered to influence the news.The next generation of Flud’s award-winning mobile application brings a social element to its enticing platform for news consumption. “Fluders” can recommend content to their community, discover new information and sources from friends, follow trends, and create their own informative front page.

The company says the most recent update makes Flud an irresistible environment for reading, viewing and sharing news and information. It takes them well on their way to the next phase of their mission, which is to build a total content ecosystem.

When using the lastest release, Flud 2.0 you can still control the content you follow, but now you can become a news personality, by building multiple information networks around your key interests. Flud 2.0 runs on iOS devices now, and is soon to be released on Android and Windows Phones.

“We know our Flud community loves the content they access inside our platform. Now they can also enjoy building an audience of their own. We think the future of news has a lot to do with filtering out the noise. That means getting news from people and sources you trust.”

- Bobby Ghoshal, Flud CEO, co-founder

Flud v 2 allows synching between devices and easier access to premium content sources. Flud media partners benefit not only from the community’s deeper relationship with their content, but also expand their brand presence and loyalty.

Here are the New Social Capabilities

Popularity: 10% [?]

It came as a surprise after speaking at a San Diego prison ministry banquet dinner when Marty Angelo received a special recognition award.

It isn’t every day that a prison minister gets the chance to speak at a social event. Therefore, when an offer came asking Marty Angelo to be the keynote speaker at the Nov. 11th dinner banquet held at the Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon California, Angelo really didn’t know what he was getting himself into.

“It is not every day that I get a call to speak outside of prisons, rehabs and courtrooms.” Angelo remarked. “My ministry is mainly conducted behind the scenes so I felt very honored and humbled when my phone rang a few months ago and it was Thomas Heyer coordinator for the church’s annual banquet inviting me to be this year’s keynote speaker.”

Former Shadow Mountain Community Church associate pastor Marcial Felan (left) presented Marty Angelo (right) with a special recognition award at the church's annual prison ministry banquet held on Nov. 11, 2011. They both worked together at Prison Fellowship Ministries in the 1990s. Felan was Angelo's supervisor when he was the P.F.M. east Los Angeles area director.

According to Angelo the event went far beyond his wildest expectations. There were over 150 people in attendance all with the same passion of wanting to help those incarcerated in the local, state and federal prisons in the San Diego area.

“There were so many exciting testimonies of God’s saving grace, mercy and love that I didn’t want the evening to end.” Angelo continues. “The event’s agenda was filled with people who were so deeply touched and changed through Shadow Mountain’s prison ministry that by the time I got up there to speak, I felt so blessed by their stories I almost just wanted to close the event in prayer and leave my speech for another day.”

A big surprise came after Angelo finished his keynote address and he was asked to return to the podium by Thomas Heyer and Angelo’s former Prison Fellowship Ministries supervisor Marcial Felan. They presented him with a special recognition award for his 30 years of prison ministry service. Angelo was stunned when he accepted the plaque that read:

“To Marty Angelo – In appreciation for your faithful and tireless efforts in ministering to inmates, ex-offenders, and all those impacted by incarceration, resulting in countless lives yielded to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Angelo spent the entire next day ministering to prisoners in the state R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, CA.

Marty Angelo started in full time ministry back in 1981 after his electrifying conversion to Christianity. He is author of the life-changing book, “Once Life Matters.”

Please see http://www.martyangelo.com/san_diego2.htm for more information.

Contact – Marty Angelo – 805-405-8174

Popularity: 61% [?]

Sgt 1st Class Kristoffer Domeij

Relatives and friends of Army Ranger Kristoffer Domeij are to meet at Maranatha Chapel this Sunday, to honor the his life.

A star football player at Rancho Bernardo High School, Kristoffer Domeij graduated in 2001.
He grew up in in Orange County and in the Rancho Bernardo community. Kris’ father, Bob Domeij was Minister of Music for Rancho Bernardo Baptist
Church, now known as Lightbridge Church.

Kris became one of the Army’s most decorated soldiers, earning three Bronze Stars. He had multiple tours of combat duty with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he was on his 14th tour when he was killed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar.

During his service Kristoffer was awarded three Bronze Stars, three Iraq Campaign Medals, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Joint Commendation Medal.

His friends, supporters and comrades are asked to come to celebrate his life and sacrifice.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” – Isaiah 6:8;.”

The gathering at Maranatha Chapel is Sunday, November 13, at 2:30pm

Sunday, November 13
2:30 pm(1430hrs)
Maranatha Chapel
10752 Coastwood Road,
San Diego, CA 92127
(858)-613-7800

Popularity: 14% [?]

Assembly members Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) led a joint hearing to discuss problems and solutions stemming from the Southwest-area power outage that disabled power for more than five million area residents in California and parts of Arizona and Mexico last month.

The outage affected customers of San Diego Gas & Electric Company, the Imperial Irrigation District, Southern California Edison (SCE), Arizona Public Service in the United States and Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in Mexico.

The joint hearing of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management included testimony from high-ranking officials with electricity reliability organizations and utilities, emergency responders, wireless communications providers, and wastewater facility operators. The session included time for members of the public to provide comment.

“Any time you have a failure like this in a major metropolitan area, you need to ask questions and get at the root cause of what went wrong,” Bradford said. “Obviously whatever safeguards were in place did not work. We need to fix that and identify steps we need to take to make the electricity system less vulnerable and quicker to recover.”

The outage was caused by a 500-kilovolt, high-voltage line from Arizona went out of service, although it is not clear if the work on the transmission line was a single event or one of a number of other events that caused the outage to spread throughout the affected area.

San Diego City Hall was shutdown, classes at many schools were canceled, and the outage also triggered a 3-million gallon sewage release into the Los Penasquitos Lagoon and the Sweetwater Channel near the San Diego Bay and two wildlife preserves. In addition, some cellular tower service caused communication difficulties until backup systems were restored.

“In the spectrum of possible disasters, this was fairly minor, but it certainly has focused the community’s interest in emergency planning, and we have to seize this opportunity to make sure we have the best plans possible.”- Bonnie Lowenthal Assembly Member Chair Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Planning

“Obviously there are some deficiencies and vulnerabilities in the grid,” Bradford said. “This blackout is very glaring proof that we must make improvements and modernize the grid to ensure that it can handle our current and future demands.”

Assembly Member Bradford is Chair of the Utilities and Commerce Committee. He represents the 51st Assembly District, comprised of the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Inglewood, and the communities of Athens, Lennox, South Central LA, Westchester, Willowbrook, Playa Vista, and parts of Ladera Heights and West Compton.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Uniquely Handy Tray Saves Time & Money In The Kitchen & Home

It is the only chopping tray on the market that offers ½ inch raised sides to keep spills and messes contained. The Chop Keeper from Argee Corporation is a fun-to-use, lightweight yet sturdy tray that can be used for kitchen & grilling tasks, crafting hobbies, projects in the garage, and even as placemats for catching spills for kids or adults.

“Before Chop Keeper, my wife and I were tired of cleaning up messes on our counters and floors from chopped foods, liquids and crumbs.”
- Robert Goldman, Chop Keeper Inventor and President, Argee Corp.

“Now with Chop Keeper that isn’t a problem. Marinades and meat juices won’t follow you out the door when you are barbecuing; flour, chopped, diced, and sliced veggies stay contained, rolled dough does not stick and kids’ crayons, beads and glitter no longer cover the table and floor when doing crafts. Unlike other chopping trays, juices do not trickle underneath tray. That is why we like to call the Chop Keeper our ‘everything tray’ around our house.”

Chop Keeper is wide and long enough for multiple tasks (18 inches x 13 inches) and is made in the USA from FDA approved, knife friendly plastic and is BPA free and safety certified and dishwasher safe.

The innovative design and shape of Chop Keeper al so allows the board to flex and form an easy funnel guide so items will slide right into a bowl, plate, bag or bucket. A set of 3 Chop Keepers sells for $10.99 at www.argeecorp.com, 800-449-3030 and sets come in multiple colors including: midnight, copper, stainless; or red, yellow and green.

See more information at the company website www.argeecorp.com

Popularity: 39% [?]

The California Association for Local Economic Development Applauds Lieutenant Governor for Newly Released Economic Development Report

Sacramento, CA – The California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) congratulates Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom on his leadership in releasing the Economic Growth and Competitive Agenda for California. The report outlines an economic development vision to move California forward.

According to CALED President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Schell,

“We’ve spent time and energy urging elected state and local officials to provide us with clear-cut strategies to improve the economic conditions of California residents. We do not want more piecemeal economic development but rather a comprehensive jobs strategy. This report takes a step in the right direction.

“CALED has consistently called for a strategy that is a blueprint for action that articulates and initiates a plan to get people to work; identifies targeted state and local investments; shifts from a one-shot-project orientation to a dynamic process-based plan; and influences the California economy on a permanent basis.

“Recognizing local and state economies do not run on automatic pilot, this report highlights the importance of economic development in stimulating growth to create jobs and increase revenue by retaining, expanding, creating and attracting businesses.

“Our state’s economic health hinges on actions taken by the Governor and Legislature in creating quality jobs for the residents of California.

“Now more than ever our state leaders need to view economic development as an investment.”

California Association for Local Economic Development

Popularity: 21% [?]

Parents and teachers concerned about a child’s mental health and development can now get immediate answers from an online screening with Project SKIP (Screening Kids for Intervention and Prevention) (www.projectskip.com).

Project SKIP was developed by Dr. Bonny Forrest, a psychologist and attorney, who has more than a decade of experience working with children with mental health issues and development disabilities, including autism.

“Project SKIP has been my passion for more than 10 years,” said Dr. Forrest. “We have developed the program to effectively and efficiently screen children for social-emotional, cognitive, and developmental delays (including autism) through the use of gold standard on-line instruments.” Project SKIP is for kids from the ages of two through 18.

Forrest says a U.S. Government study found 1 in 7 children have a developmental disability. Sadly, only half these children are identified before they enter school. The parents and teachers of these children deserve to have a reliable screening tool at their disposal.

With SKIP, any parent or teacher can log on, any time, and for a $20 fee, get immediate feedback a child’s behavior in relation to other children of the same age. Dr. Forrest emphasized that the screening does not provide a diagnosis, but begins the process of understanding a child’s mental health and developmental needs to access supports at home and in school. In addition to the online screening, Dr. Forrest will provide parents and teachers with a 15 minute consult if their child is found to be “at risk” for a mental health issue or development delay. The consultation will focus on helping the parent identify any necessary follow-up services.

Dr Forrest says we need to take mental health and developmental screening to the level of prevention in this country, in much the same was as we brush our teeth every day.

Popularity: 12% [?]

“California’s economy is growing, but we still face a $10 billion structural deficit and a wall of debt for years to come,” says California Governor Gerry Brown. “California’s finances were plunged into turmoil by the Great Recession and a decade of short-term fixes and fiscal gimmicks. This is not the time to delay or evade. This is the time to put our finances in order.”

Governor Brown today unveiled a revised state budget that reduces by nearly $3 billion the amount of taxes needed to balance the budget, spurs job creation through new tax incentives and pays off most of the $34.7 billion debt built up over the last decade.

The revised budget also downsizes state government and protects education and public safety. Since taking office in January, Brown and the legislature have cut spending by $9 billion and have taken other steps to reduce the deficit.

While the Governor thinks this is a good budget, others are not so sure.

The Governor’s May Revision Budget

Reduce the amount of taxes required to balance the budget. Californians will pay $2 billion less in income taxes this year than proposed in the January budget.

Increase spending on K-12 education. For years, the state has shortchanged public education in order to balance the budget, forcing school districts to borrow in order to balance their budgets. The revised budget increases funds for public schools by $3 billion. Even with this new infusion of funds, California schools are still owed billions by the state.

Spur job creation through tax incentives. The revised budget restricts Enterprise Zone credits to create new jobs only; spurs investments in California jobs through mandatory single sales; encourages manufacturing jobs through reduced sales tax on equipment purchases; and revamps a hiring tax credit to encourage additional job creation.

Create a long-term strategy to address California’s Wall of Debt. California has accrued $35 billion in budgetary debt by borrowing from future generations. The May Revision lays out a plan to pay off at least $29 billion in looming state debt by 2015.

Cut state government. The revised budget eliminates 43 boards, commissions, task forces, offices and departments that represent an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars. As services are returned to the local level, the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Programs will be eliminated. The revised budget also proposes to merge the Healthy Families Program into the Medi-Cal program, reducing costs and creating a single health care program for low income families

Improve debt management. More than $11 billion in cash from bond sales is sitting in department accounts, where it costs taxpayers more than $700 million a year in debt service for projects that have yet to be completed, creating an unacceptable burden on taxpayers. The revised budget proposes expediting projects, moving cash out of accounts and into projects that create jobs and improve state infrastructure as taxpayers intended.

Restore honesty to the budget process. Last year’s budget underfunded the costs of both the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Mental Health by $465 million. The revised budget addresses the shortfalls in these departments and establishes controls to prevent future overspending.

Sell underutilized state properties. The revised budget proposes the sale of state-owned properties like the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Montclair Golf Course in Oakland, the Capital Area Development Authority in Sacramento and the Ramirez Canyon property in Southern California. These properties serve no state function and should be sold off to pay debt.

The May Revision can be found here: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/

Popularity: 15% [?]

According the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, more than 384,778 thousand people in San Diego County live below the poverty level. This holiday season, Existence Church asks the community to “picture yourself fighting poverty” as the theme of its third annual Shoes That Fit drive to benefit Monarch School, one of only three schools in the U.S. for homeless children, and UPLIFT, a tutoring program for children of low-income families. Students and families will get to select their new shoes on December 12, 2010, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Monarch School during a holiday carnival held in their honor.

Existence Church aims to collect 800 pairs of shoes before the holiday carnival. Shoe donations may be made at Existence Church (7686-B Miramar Road), or via donations on the church’s Shoes That Fit Facebook cause page or on the Existence Church website.

As part of this year’s shoe drive, Existence Church launched a “picture yourself fighting poverty” Facebook campaign, which has raised over $1,000 to date, the proceeds of which will help purchase additional shoes and socks. Shoe drive participants are invited to take a picture after buying shoes and post it on the Facebook wall to “picture yourself fighting poverty.”

“The community has done a great job of encouraging their families, workplaces and friends to get involved,” said Josh Carter, Missional Pastor, Existence Church. “One college student asked her family to buy new shoes in lieu of birthday presents and they ended up buying out the entire shoe department at Kohl’s. We also have a teacher at SDSU who encouraged students to bring in shoes, and another student who involved her entire sorority by offering an hour of community service per pair of shoes brought in.”

Monarch School, dedicated to providing homeless and at-risk children with an accredited education while caring for their basic needs, and UPLIFT, a tutoring and mentoring program for low-income and racially diverse children, each serves over 150 students every year ranging from ages four to 19.

For more information about the Shoes That Fit drive and to learn how to “picture yourself fighting poverty”, visit http://www.causes.com/causes/531155-shoes-that-fit. For more information about Existence Church, visit http://existencechurchsandiego.com. For more information about the beneficiaries, visit Monarch School at http://monarchschools.org and UPLIFT at http://upliftsandiego.org.

Popularity: 56% [?]