The Man Who Helped Shape Borrego Springs

Full-Time, Part-Time and Seasonal Positions Available

Free Summer Movies Continue in Borrego Springs This August

San Diego broadcaster and local Ram Media Foundation founder returns to the convention where his Comic-Con journey began. Gabriel B. Wisdom, founder of Ram Media Foundation and creator of KRAM 90.5 FM Borrego Springs, will speak at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 24. Founded in 1970, San Diego Comic-Con has grown into one of the world’s largest pop culture conventions, drawing more than 130,000 attendees for panels, exhibits and appearances by creators, artists, filmmakers and celebrities from around the globe. Wisdom will join Radio Hall of Fame inductee (Shotgun) Tom Kelly for "A Conversation with San Diego Celebrities Gabriel Wisdom and (Shotgun) Tom Kelly," from noon to 1 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. Beginning at KPRI-FM San Diego in the late 1960s, Wisdom went on to work at KGB-FM San Diego and KMET-FM Los Angeles during the formative years of FM rock radio in the 1970s. Today, he leads Ram Media Foundation and, among other roles, serves as a portfolio manager with American Money Management, LLC (AMM),

Originally published on www.kpbs.org Several groups are formally pushing back on San Diego Gas & Electric’s request to raise customer rates by 8.6% in 2028, citing affordability concerns. Under the proposal , an average electric bill would jump about $14 over 2027 estimates, while a natural gas bill would rise about $8. Edward Lopez, executive director of the San Diego-based Utility Consumers’ Action Network, thinks that’s too high. He cited a California Public Utilities Commission report that found SDG&E’s average residential electric rates have already risen 98% over the last decade. “Coming on the heels of the ever-increasing requests, at some point, isn’t enough enough?” Lopez said. “We all feel the pain of these rates. They’re getting out of hand.” About 20% of SDG&E residential customers are at least a month behind on their power bills, according to same report. The Utility Consumers’ Action Network and several other ratepayer advocacy groups filed formal protests against SDG&E’s rate request with the California Public Utilities Commission on Monday. It’s part of a complicated four-year regulatory process, called a general rate case , to determine how much money the utility can collect from customers starting in 2028. Now, organizations “intervening” in the regulatory proceedings on behalf of SDG&E customers are hiring experts to dig into the utility’s thousands of pages of application materials in order to answer some top-line questions. “What is the utility doing? What are they proposing to do more of? Is it reasonable? What are the costs associated with that? Are those costs reasonable?” Lopez said. SDG&E wants to collect about $3.8 billion from customers in 2028, a roughly 8% bump over next year’s estimated revenue requirement. The utility says inflation, rising medical benefit costs and wildfire-related expenses are driving the increase. For SDG&E and other privately-owned utilities in California, shareholder revenue is partially based on the return from infrastructure projects. Malinda Dickenson, executive director of the San Diego-based Protect our Communities Foundation, contends SDG&E could lower its requested rates by prioritizing local power generation. The foundation’s protest filing calls for greater consideration of small-scale solar generation and storage in order to reduce costs tied to hardening grid infrastructure against wildfire risk. “You're not going to need these transmission upgrades and new transmission lines to bring power from faraway places to urban centers where the power’s used,” Dickenson said. “So what Protect our Communities will be doing in this proceeding is presenting alternatives to SDG&E’s heavy capital expenditures.” SDG&E has until July 30 to respond to intervening groups’ protests. In a statement, the utility acknowledged affordability is top of mind for customers. “Our proposal reflects a focused, disciplined plan to keep energy safe and reliable while managing costs responsibly on behalf of the customers and communities we serve,” spokesperson Anthony Wagner said. “We support the transparent regulatory process that allows customers, community members and other stakeholders to provide input as the [California Public Utilities Commission] reviews our request.” The commission’s five voting members will ultimately decide whether to grant or adjust SDGE’s rate request.

By Dennis Mammana Week of July 26 - Aug. 1, 2026 In a couple of weeks, I'll be telling you about the annual Perseid meteor shower. It should be a good one this year since moonlight won't reduce our view. Of course, if you've read my column regularly, you already know that stargazers will almost always see more meteors in the hours before dawn than during the evening, so that means we must rise early or stay awake all night. I know either can be quite a challenge for some, so this week I present to you an opportunity to practice getting up early and heading outdoors. Not for meteors — though you will almost certainly spot some early Perseids in the early morning sky — but to see two planets that haven't been visible during the evening hours for quite a while. During early dawn this week, early risers have the chance to see the only two planets of our solar system whose names begin with the letter M: Mars and Mercury. Before sunrise, look midway up in the eastern sky, and you'll spot a fairly bright reddish-orange light. Many people may think that's the Red Planet, but I assure you it's not. It's actually a star named Aldebaran, and it marks the fiery red eye of Taurus, the bull. Betelgeuse, in Orion, the hunter, also appears the same color. It's true that Mars also appears reddish-orange, but at this time, it appears 1.5 times fainter than Aldebaran and can be found to its lower left. Because it's so faint, you may have a tough time seeing its color easily, but aim binoculars or a small telescope in its direction and its ruddy hue will become quite apparent. Mars changes its distance from Earth, and therefore its brightness, quite dramatically over its orbit around the sun. It can go from about 35 million miles from us at its best oppositions; the next of these won't occur until September of 2035, when it will lie just 35.8 million miles from us. That will be a great time to view the planet with a small telescope, but right now, Mars lies nearly 186 million miles from us and appears quite small and faint. The other planet visible in the early morning hours this week is the elusive planet Mercury. I use the word elusive because this planet is the closest to the sun of all our solar system's worlds and, as such, never strays far from its glare. With its orbital motion combined with that of the Earth, Mercury flips from dusk to dawn about every three or four months, but it's always rather tough to spot. It's been said that the great 16th-century Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who overturned the long-held notion that the Earth occupied the center of our planetary family, had never actually seen this world with his own eyes. Now I don't know if this is true, but it makes sense given what we know about weather conditions in Eastern Europe and how challenging Mercury is to spot. This week you can achieve something even the great Copernicus never could ... but you've got to get up pretty early to do it! Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com . 

Jeff Sloan, Christmas Circle Community Park Board President

Local stylist Maribel Tellez is donating her time to help Borrego Springs seniors look and feel their best.

By Karen Pearlman, East County Magazine July 20, 2026 (Ramona) — San Diego County’s aerial firefighting capabilities have been boosted with the reopening of the modernized Ramona Air Attack Base, where state and local officials on Monday morning unveiled nearly $20 million in upgrades designed to get aircraft back into the air faster and expand around-the-clock wildfire response. The renovated base at 2498 Montecito Road now houses a new 4,000-gallon CAL FIRE C-130 Hercules air tanker, a night-capable S-70 CAL FIRE Hawk Helicopter, two S-2 air tankers and an OV-10 Air Tactical aircraft. The group of aircraft is creating what officials called one of California’s most advanced aerial firefighting hubs. The base’s aging infrastructure has been replaced with a modern retardant mixing plant capable of storing 20,000 gallons of fire retardant, redesigned aircraft loading bays that dramatically reduce turnaround times, and expanded ramp space to accommodate additional air tankers during major wildfire incidents. “This base is a regional asset,” CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham said at a press conference that was livestreamed on YouTube . “When there is smoke in the sky, the citizens don’t care what color the fire engine is or what patch is on the uniform. They just want people to show up quickly.” The improvements come as California faces increasingly destructive wildfire seasons fueled by hotter temperatures, prolonged drought and more extreme weather conditions. CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler said the Ramona facility reflects years of investment in modernizing California’s aerial firefighting fleet. Over the past two years, CAL FIRE aircraft have flown more than 11,500 flight hours annually while maintenance crews logged more than 90,000 hours keeping aircraft mission-ready, Tyler said. Among the most significant additions is the C-130 Hercules air tanker, capable of dropping 4,000 gallons of fire retardant — more than three times the capacity of CAL FIRE’s traditional S-2 air tankers. The aircraft is part of the state’s new fleet of converted military transport planes that entered service beginning in 2024. Also based in Ramona is the county’s new S-70 Firehawk helicopter, which can perform water drops after dark — a capability officials said is already proving invaluable. It has an integrated 1,000-gallon water tank with hoist rescue capability and the ability to transport helicopter crews into remote terrain. San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer pointed to last week’s Thorn Fire, where the Firehawk flew nighttime suppression missions that slowed the fire’s progression and helped prevent flare-ups the following morning. “Our days are getting hotter, our nights are getting warmer, the winds are stronger and fuels are drier,” Lawson-Remer said. “Wildfire does not stop when the sun goes down.” She urged residents to prepare for wildfire emergencies by signing up for emergency alerts, planning evacuation routes and heeding evacuation orders when issued. For East County backcountry communities, the upgrades could mean quicker aerial response to fires threatening homes. Aircraft assigned to Ramona regularly respond throughout the county. Mecham twice shared the importance of coordinated and consolidated efforts between firefighting agencies across the county. “We fight fire without boundaries and without egos,” he said. Mecham said the modernization project focused on improving efficiency as much as expanding capabilities. Previously, air tankers were forced to maneuver awkwardly into a single retardant loading area, creating backups during major wildfire incidents. The redesigned facility features three drive-through loading pits that allow aircraft to taxi in, reload and immediately return to the fire. “The S-2s can reload in about two to three minutes,” Mecham said. “The C-130, under 10 minutes, it’s on the ground here at Ramona before it’s back in the sky responding to the next fire.” The expanded ramp now allows up to six air tankers to stage simultaneously. During last week’s Thorn Fire, officials said 11 air tankers were assigned to the incident, underscoring the need for increased loading capacity. Additional improvements are in the planning stages. Construction is expected to begin next year on a 14-person barracks to support future 24-hour operations, along with further expansion of the helicopter facilities. Monday’s ceremony also highlighted the historical significance of the Ramona Air Attack Base, which opened in 1957 as CAL FIRE’s first aviation base. While the facility received new buildings in 2000, much of its underground infrastructure — including water lines, electrical systems and retardant delivery equipment — had remained unchanged until the recent reconstruction. San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson, who lives in the fire-prone area of Alpine, thanked leaders for their understanding of the importance of the Ramona airport site… “not just in San Diego County but for Southern California in general.” “CAL FIRE has been an essential partner for the County Fire, providing joint fire protection in emergency services for more than 1.7 million acres,” Anderson said. “Since CAL FIRE’s creation in 2008, the Board of Supervisors have invested over a billion dollars into fire protection in emergency medical services. “In the years since we created County Fire, we have also expanded our partnership in collaborations. In 2022, CAL FIRE successfully collaborated with the Ramona Municipal Water District to establish the Ramona Airport as a hub for aerial firefighting teams, in addition to replacing fire engines and adding a third ambulance, which was so important to the backcountry and to all my constituents.” 

Photo courtesy County of San Diego

Organizers announce no 2026 event as they review the race's long-term sustainability, with plans to work toward a return in 2027.

On Wednesday, July 29, at 7pm BSFI presents: A Simple Plan – 1998 – Rated R – 2h 1m A Simple Plan is a gripping neo-noir crime thriller that represents a striking departure from Sam Raimi's reputation as a master of horror and stylized genre filmmaking. Directed by Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith, adapting his own 1993 novel, the film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda, and is set in rural Minnesota. The story follows brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Thornton), who, along with Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe), stumble upon a crashed plane in the woods containing $4.4 million in cash. The four — including Hank's wife Sarah (Fonda) — go to great lengths to keep the money secret, but begin to doubt each other's trust, resulting in lies, deceit, and murder. Roger Ebert, who ranked the film fourth on his list of the best films of 1998, praised how rarely a film is "this skillful at drawing us, step by step, into the consequences of criminal action," and Gene Siskel called it "an exceedingly well-directed genre picture" in which Raimi "does an excellent job of presaging the lethal violence that follows." A Simple Plan premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim, before a limited US release in 1998. It underperformed at the box office, grossing $16.3 million, but was widely praised by critics. On the awards front, the film earned two Academy Award nominations: one for Best Supporting Actor for Thornton and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Smith. After Paxton's death in 2017, critic Matt Zoller Seitz declared his performance as Hank the finest of Paxton's career — a fitting testament to a film that, despite its modest box office, has only grown in reputation as one of the most emotionally devastating thrillers of its era. This season’s BSFI movie screenings are being generously underwritten by the Borrego Valley Endowment Fund (BVEF). A Simple Plan — Free BSFI Movie Screening When: Wednesday, July 29 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Where: Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center, 590 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs Rating/Runtime: Rated R | 2 hours, 1 minute

Marine Science Institute has named Lisa Biasillo its new Executive Director, succeeding longtime leader Marilou Seiff.

Photo courtesy County of San Diego

Borrego Sun Youth Intern Mia Garcia Talks with Martha Deichler About Community, Service and Opportunity During a visit to the Borrego Springs Community Resource Center while a dog training class was underway, Director Martha Deichler reflected on education, community service and why transportation could shape the town's future. As part of the Borrego Sun Youth Internship Program, Mia Garcia prepared the interview questions, discussed the topics in advance and selected the questions she wanted to ask, gaining hands-on experience in community media.