Cops and Fentanyl Cont. on

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needed. If no response, give a second dose of naloxsone (Narcam). 7. Continue with rescue breathing until medics arrive.

Last year, fentanyl was the number one cause of death among Americans 18 to 45 years-old, according to data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How Prevalent is fentanyl?

In 2021, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) seized 6,354 pounds of powder fentanyl at the San Diego County Ports of Entry (POE) San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate.

Experts tell us one kilo of fentanyl could produce up to 500,000 lethal doses, which has the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of people.

Before the drug ends up at the lab, law enforcement has to find it. Which is not an easy task. Investigators say the Mexican Cartels hide it in everything from tires to water pumps.

Our city and county Government Has Taken Notice

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors, led by 5th District Supervisor Jim Desmond, has declared illegal fentanyl as a public health crisis. The board pointed out accidental overdose deaths caused by fentanyl have reached historic levels across the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that over 80,000 overdose deaths caused by fentanyl occurred in 2021 alone. Data from the CDC shows that accidental deaths caused by fentanyl is the number one killer of people between the ages of 18 and 45, far exceeding the number of deaths caused by car accidents, COVID, heart disease, and gun violence within this age group.

According to board statistics, the number of people in San Diego County dying from accidental fentanyl overdoses has increased exponentially over the past several years.

Fifth District Supervisor Jim Desmond has been a strong leader in getting this message out to the San Diego County community, particularly in North County.

Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara has also taken a strong, leading role in calling for prompt community action to educate parents and community members as to just how serious this crisis is.

JR Rowten, Executive Director of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, has also become very active in this movement. The Paper is working with all of these individuals and their organizations to address the issue, first with this cover story that provides important facts that need to be known, and including information as to whom to contact if you wish to get involved, to volunteer your time, money, energy or all of the above. See a list of organizations at the end of this cover story.

Fentanyl's Pervasive Growth

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that submissions of drugs seized by law enforcement and testing positive for fentanyl spiked more than 400 percent between 2013 and 2014, as the drug has been flooding the American market. Fentanyl is commonly laced into various drugs.

Fentanyl is lethal in doses as small as 2 milligrams.

Fentanyl Drug Combinations

Fentanyl can be hidden in plain sight. The majority of the popular sleep aid Xanax (alprazolam) that is being sold on the street is counterfeit and likely laced with fentanyl. Illicitly produced fentanyl can be pressed into pill form and passed off as other opioid pain relievers like Norco (hydrocodone/acetaminophen), CNN reports.

Why Are Various Drugs Being Laced With Fentanyl?

Illicit fentanyl is primarily manufactured in foreign labs, (China), then smuggled into the United States through Mexico. The drug is then sold on the illegal drug market after being distributed throughout the country. Alongside illicit fentanyl that is being sold as such, there is also an increasing amount of other illicit drugs being sold that have been laced with fentanyl.

As there is absolutely no quality control in the black market of selling illicit drugs, it is impossible for a consumer to know if their drugs are cut with fentanyl, and if so, how much.

In 2021 alone, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized 9.5 million counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine, which is more than the prior two years combined. The counterfeit pills are illegally manufactured by extensive drug networks and are made to look identical to prescription medications such as Oxycontin, Adderall, Percocet, Vicodin, and Xanax. The pills are often sold on the black market through social media and ecommerce platforms.

As fentanyl is exceptionally potent, the risk of overdose from taking the drug is astronomical, particularly when taking it without knowing it, or when mixed with other drugs. The risk and prevalence of fentanyl-laced pills has become so prevalent that the DEA issued its

Cops and Fentanyl Cont. on Page 6

The Paper has embraced the fight against the illegal use of fentanyl and recognizes the enormity of the crisis. Many people are dying needlessly. Our thanks to the area merchants who also recognize this problem and join us in urging you to get on board as we do all we can to educate the public and put a stop to this madness!

lyle e davis editor/publisher The Paper

Escondido Coin & Loan

241EastGrandAvenue,Escondido,CA92025 (760)745-1697 Ourgreatestwishisthatwe, asacommunity,willcome togetherandfighttheillegal useoffentanyl! YourhelpisneededNOW!

From all the staff here at the San Marcos Dental Center to you and your families, we need to gather together and fight the illegal use of fentanyl! Dr. Gregory Hurt and the San Marcos

Dental Center

San Marcos, CA. 760.734.4311

Marcia and Richard Jungas CaliforniaFuneralAlternatives "OurFamilyServingYours"

All of us at Mike’s BBQ in Escondido hope you are aware of the dangers of the illegal use of fentanyl and urge you to join in the fight to solve this crisis!

Mike’s BBQ 1356 W. Valley Parkway 760.746.4444

The friendliest pharmacist in town . . . your hometown pharmacist, Nami, owner of The Escondido Pharmacy at 909 East Valley Parkway Escondido says . . “From the bottom of my heart, we are all Community! Let’s fight the illegal use of Fentanyl together! The Escondido Pharmacy (760) 480-1871

The Alto Family Extends our suppor for for the battle against illegal use of fentanyl! La Tapatia Mexican Restaurant 340 W. Grand Avenue Escondido, CA.

Cops and Fentanyl Cont. from Page 3

first public safety alert in six years, warning individuals of the sharp increase in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and meth. The statement came with some alarming news: more than 40 percent of black-market prescription pills contain lethal amounts of fentanyl.

Fentanyl is abundant, low cost, undetectable, and extremely potent. In an article published in the New York Times, the executive vice president of a drug rehabilitation center in New York City put it aptly by stating, “These are no longer street drugs. This is poison.”

Lethal, and Easy to Obtain

Fentanyl appears to have started becoming a major problem initially in Dayton, Ohio. A series of unexplained deaths in the fall of 2012 occurred. Police found a white powder that looked like heroin but tested positive for fentanyl. By 2015, as the crisis took hold, more than 250 people were dying of drug overdoses every year in Dayton and the rest of Ohio's Montgomery County. The death toll rose to nearly 350 in 2016. The year after that: 566. The coroner's office had to bring in refrigerated trucks to accommodate the dead.

“It was terrifying,” said Ann Stevens, who helped coordinate the response for the county's Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services agency. “These were people next door, friends and family. The effects just rippled through the community. Everybody knew somebody.”

Today, fentanyl is a mail-order product, marketed on the open internet and shipped directly to consumers and dealers, no international drug cartels required. Some of it comes across the border from Mexico, but much of it comes from poorly regulated labs in China.

RAND researchers found several Chinese firms willing to ship a kilogram of nearly pure fentanyl to the United States for as little as $2,000. A shipment of heroin with the same potency would cost at least 50 times that much.

Drug dealers didn't need much imagination to see that they could cut a bag of heroin with cheap fentanyl and pocket the difference. But fentanyl is not just cheaper than heroin; it's also up to 30 times more powerful, and some of its chemical cousins are even more potent. A dosing error equivalent to a few grains of salt will kill a person. Users wouldn't even know what was hitting them until it was too late.

'Mobilize as Quickly as Possible'

In Dayton, as drug overdoses mounted, the community pulled together. Neighbors, business lead-

Cops and Fentanyl Continued on Page 9 Man About Town Continued from Page 4

Member Dick Daniels that I was pleasantly surprised at Mayor McNamara’s performance. “He got elected in what is generally regarded as “Republican Country” but he is a Democrat. But, so far, I’m impressed. He seems to be doing a good job.”

That’s when Jeff Epp made his profound statement: “I think Mac is about 10% Democrat and 90% of what is good for Escondido.”

That’s the kind of legislator I want! One who serves his constituency first, one who serves the community over political party.

Mayor McNamara has worked long and hard to build Escondido . . .new businesses continue to open in downtown Escondido; we’re seeing businesses that have a location in other cities like Carlsbad, North Park and downtown San Diego opening locations here such as Barrel Republic, Mikko Sushi and James Coffee.

Our auto park continues to grow and thrive; dealerships are expanding and adding electric vehicle charging stations to accommodate the growing EV industry. Mercedes just opened their new facility and Cadillac is just completing an infrastructure upgrade with SDG&E for EV charging stations.

• We continue to have one of the most highly sought after business parks with one of the lowest vacancy rates in the county; it’s a convenient location for many businesses and it’s affordable. With the acquisition of Stone Brewing by Sapporo we anticipate to see growth in their local operations. We also recently welcomed Leap Coffee roasting and Thin Vine Wines. Acquacyle is a water innovation company that continues to grow and thrive in our business park.

Healthcare is our largest employment sector; we are fortunate to have the state of the art Palomar hospital and many great healthcare companies in Escondido.

The Paper strongly endorses both 5th Districdt Su[pervisor Jim Desmond and Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara for re-election.

They made a commitment to their constituency and they have kept it.

Elected officials like these are hard to find and retain. We need to keep them working for our respective communities.

The Paper says, re-elect Jim Desmond and Paul McNamara!

In coming weeks The Paper will be endorsing other candidates, many of whom we know and have worked with personally, some of which we don’t know but have or will have researched them and make our recommendatons based on multiple factors. We are making our endorsements very early in the election season but we think it’s important our readers know our thoughts. Study the candidates, the issues, and then vote accordingly.

Spending Taxpayer Dollars Wisely

California’s spending priorities are often seriously out-of-whack. We spend billions on a bullet train to nowhere that few will ever ride, yet we refuse to spend available funds on new dams, reservoirs and aqueducts during repeated periods of drought. Once-in-a-while though, we get it right.

Our local fire departments are essential for public safety, responding to the ever-present threat of wildfires, along with other life threatening emergencies like automobile accidents and heart attacks. Ensuring they have the means to respond quickly and effectively has been a big priority for me in Sacramento. Once again this year, I’m very happy that my efforts to obtain funding for local fire departments in our region have succeeded.

During the budgeting process, I was able obtain $8 million for the Deer Springs Fire Protection District to fund a new permanent station at Deer Springs Rd. and the I15 freeway. Centrally located along I-15 in North San Diego County, the station will act as a regional hub for critical emergency response throughout the region. Replacing trailers that have housed the facility for over 40 years with a larger permanent facility is essential for the station’s mission to safeguard the area’s growing population.

I’m also very happy that I was able to direct $2 million to the San Marcos Fire Department, to be used for capital improvements on Fire Station #3, which requires extensive remodeling to improve safety and security for the building and for personnel. In addition, all four San Marcos stations need to install diesel exhaust removal systems to remove exhaust fumes from the apparatus bay areas to ensure firefighter safety.

These monies are in addition to the almost $3 million I acquired last cycle for three local fire districts: Valley Center, North County and Rincon. First responders protect our homes and lives every day. As your Assembly representative, I will continue to do all I can to make sure they have what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

Assemblymember Marie Waldron, RValley Center, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, San Marcos, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.

5th District Supervisor Jim Desmond

What’s Being Done About Homelessness

Pollsters at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies asked nearly 8,500 Californian voters, including 872 San Diegans, to choose two leading concerns they would like state leaders to address. The top two statewide concerns were, housing affordability and homelessness.

Whenever I meet with groups or people in our community, the most frequently asked question I receive is, 'What is being done about homelessness?' With nearly 50% of the homeless population living in California clearly, there's a problem.

It's a complicated issue that isn't helped by government bureaucracy as law enforcement cannot take someone off the street and provide them help if they refuse.

Rather than focus on what we can't do, I've been focused on areas we can help, including mental health. A large portion of our homeless population suffers from mental health issues, which is only exacerbated by living on the street, which many then cope with by using drugs and alcohol. suffering from a mental health crisis. So, we've opened up three places in North County for anyone suffering from a mental health crisis to receive treatment.These are known as Crisis Stabilization Units and it's basically a mental health emergency room.

Three North County Locations: Escondido: 2185 Citracado Parkway, Escondido, CA 92029

Vista: 524 W. Vista Way, Vista, CA 92083

Oceanside: 1701 Mission Ave., Oceanside, CA 92058

We've also made major strides in North County by providing affordable housing units. Over 500 units in the past few years have been built. We are currently looking at affordable housing for seniors in Escondido at the old hospital site. Seniors on fixed incomes are suffering dearly due to inflation and the high cost of living. We want to make sure they don't end up on the streets.

A lot is being done when it comes to homelessness, even though changes may not be happening overnight. There are many success stories out there and for those who want help, there are resources out there!

Travel Troubleshooter

Q: I recently canceled two flights and submitted a refund request with Delta Air Lines. Delta denied my refund but offered two e-credits for future travel. The problem is that they are both still listed as "open" with an "oops, we can't value this coupon" message.

I've contacted Delta's customer service department repeatedly, with no response. I then called, and after two hours on hold, a representative told me I would need to call Delta reservations to book flights manually.

This is just not an option for me. I need the e-credit so that I can easily book new flights. I can't find any good reason why Delta makes it so difficult for me to use credit for canceled travel. Would you please reach out to them and ask that they convert the open e-credits into two actual credits for $1,402 that they already approved? -- Theodore Schmiechen, Philadelphia

A: Delta didn't have to refund your tickets, but it should have offered credits you could use. The type of fare you booked is nonrefundable, but you can still get a reusable flight credit. Delta never promises the credit will be easy to use.

So why would an airline make a ticket credit difficult to use? That's easy. If you face so many obstacles in redeeming a flight voucher, guess what? Chances are, the customer will never use it. And that means the airline gets to keep your money and give you nothing for it. Pretty good deal for the airline, huh?

There are ways to prevent a problem like this from happening. First, you could have booked a refundable ticket. Unfortunately, those tickets are often ridiculously overpriced. They're often two or three times more expensive than a nonrefundable ticket. So, while you can get a refund for them, you'll pay dearly for flying.

Timing is important, too. You have 24 hours to cancel and receive a no-questions-asked refund on most airline tickets. So if you had canceled your flight within this time frame, you wouldn't have had to worry about the e-credits. You'd have all of your money back by now.

A qualified travel agent might have advised you on the best kind of ticket to book for your trip. Agents can sometimes bend a rule on refunds. A resourceful travel advisor can sometimes get a refund a few days after you book your ticket, even if it's nonrefundable. Tickets are sometimes issued hours or days after being booked in your agent's system, giving them extra time. effective self-advocacy. I supplied you with the names, numbers and email addresses of the Delta Air Lines executives. You contacted them, and within a few days, you had working e-credits.

Good job! I love the fact that you were able to fix this yourself. Companies create seemingly impenetrable systems designed to turn away customers with legitimate requests. It's nice to see someone find their way over the get the outcome they deserve.

Problem Solved

Q: I rented a car from Turo in Baltimore recently. My family met our host at Baltimore International Airport, and he gave us the keys to the vehicle. Everything was going well, and we were enjoying our trip until a few days later when we could not find our rental in our hotel parking lot.

We called all surrounding hotels to see if it had been parked incorrectly and towed. I texted the host of the car and asked if he had picked up the car. The host did not know the car's whereabouts.

I then called Turo, and a representative told me to report it stolen. So I called the police. An officer asked for the owner's address and then informed me the car had not been stolen but repossessed by the lien holder.

I called Turo to report this, and they again advised me to report the car stolen. I called the police officer back. She told me that if I said the vehicle was stolen, that would be fraud.

I called Turo for days and days, asking for assistance. They gave me absolutely no support. I missed the last two days of vacation trying to track down our rental car to get our stuff out of it. The biggest problem was that my son had left his epilepsy medication in the vehicle. They are expensive, so I do not understand how Turo can hold no liability. They know their hosts are breaking the rules with their finance companies, and they let the customer suffer when things go wrong.

Things went very wrong in Baltimore, and Turo has done nothing to help me. They refunded the last day of our rental -- that was their only offer. I want my son's medications, our other belongings, and our rental fees returned. Can you help me? -- Michelle Marshall, Franklin, N.C.

A: Turo bears some responsibility for your rental disaster. But the question is, how much? Technically, Turo isn't a car rental company. Instead, it connects hosts who have vehicles they want to rent. Think of it as Airbnb for cars.

Historically Speaking

by Tom Morrow

It’s a Matter of Time

About the only occasion most of us take notice of “time” is when we have to keep an appointment, find out when our favorite TV program is aired, or cuss out the confounding “daylight savings time.

The definition of a time zone is a longitudinal geographic location that observes a uniform area for legal, commercial and social purposes. There are 24 time zones circling the globe. Time zones are 15 degrees apart longitudinally and often follow the boundaries between states and countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude degrees, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time … like railroads, airlines, and communications networks. The position of the Sun in the sky, known as solar time, varies by location due to the spherical shape of the Earth. This variation corresponds to four minutes of time for every degree of longitude, so for example when it is solar noon in London, it is about 10 minutes before solar noon in Bristol, England which is about 2.5 degrees to the west of that city.

The British Royal Observatory in Greenwich was founded in 1675, establishing “Greenwich Mean Time” (GMT), the solar time at that location. Astronomers of that era developed GMT as an aid to mariners to determine longitude at sea. Today, U.S. military units refer to GMT as “Zulu Time.”

In the 19th century, as transportation and telecommunications improved, it became increasingly inconvenient for each location to observe its own solar time. In November 1840, the Great Western Railway started using GMT kept by portable chronometers. This practice was soon followed by other railway companies in Great Britain and became known as “Railway Time.”

Around Aug, 1852, time signals were first transmitted by telegraph from the Royal Observatory. By 1855, Great Britain's public clocks were using GMT, but that didn’t become England’s legal time until 1880.

Time-keeping on North American railroads in the 19th century was complex. Each railroad used its own standard of time, usually based on the local time of its headquarters or more important it’s terminus. The railroad's train schedules were published using its own time. Some junctions served by several railroads had a clock for each railroad each of which showed a different time.

In 1863, Charles F. Dowd proposed a system of hourly standard time zones for North American railroads. He took this action without consulting the railroads. Rail officials weren’t consulted on the matter until 1869.

In 1870, Dowd proposed four ideal time zones for the United States having north-south borders with the first centered on Washington, D.C. But, by 1872 the first time zone was centered on meridian 75 degrees west of Greenwich. Dowd's system was never accepted by North American railroads. Instead, U.S. and Canadian railroads implemented a version proposed by the Traveler's Official Railway Guide. The borders of its time zones ran through major cities’ railroad stations Canadian-born Sandford Fleming proposed a worldwide system of time zones. His proposal divided the world into 24 time zones. All clocks within each zone would be set to the same time as the others, but differing by one hour from those in the neighboring zones. He advocated his system at several international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference, where it received some consideration. Today, his system has not been directly adopted, but some maps divide the world into 24 time zones.

By 1900, almost all inhabited places on Earth had adopted a standard time zone, but only some of them used an hourly offset from GMT. Many applied the time at a local astronomical observatory to an entire country, without any reference to GMT. It took many decades before all time zones were based on some standard offset from GMT, also known as “Coordinated Universal Time. (UTC). By 1929, the majority of countries had adopted hourly time zones, except Iran, India and parts of Australia which have time zones with a 30minute offset to UTC.

Today, all nations currently use UTC time zone system, but not all of them apply the concept as originally conceived. Several countries and subdivisions use half-hour or quarter-hour deviations from standard time. China and India use a single time zone even though the extent of their territory far exceeds the ideal 15 degrees of longitude for one hour; while others such as Spain and Argentina, use standard hour-based offsets, but not necessarily those that would be determined by their geographical location. The consequences, in some areas, can affect the lives of local citizens, and in extreme cases contribute to larger political issues, such as in the western reaches of China. In Russia, which has 11 time zones, two zones were removed in 2010, but were reinstated in 2014.

When I was a boy, my grandfather could look up at the sun and tell within 30 minutes, what time it was. He’d check himself by looking at his pocket watch as the trains came through town. Bygone days.

Cops and Fentanyl Continued from Page 6

ers, and community groups formed an emergency action team to track and respond to the crisis in real time. The health department offered free training for anyone to learn to use naloxfone, every Wednesday at noon. Clinics handed out test strips so that drug users could check their drugs for fentanyl.

It's hard to say what made the difference—the community response, the naloxone, or just changing patterns of drug use or supply. By 2018, overdose deaths had fallen by nearly half, from 566 to 289. Early numbers from 2019 suggest they were holding steady. But the community itself is still in recovery.

And Ann Stevens, whose agency helped rally the community response to the crisis, has some advice for communities in fentanyl's path:

“Mobilize as quickly as possible. Get everybody to the table. Every community in the country needs to see this as a public health crisis.”

The overdose numbers are down in Dayton. National news headlines don't point to the city anymore as an epicenter of the nation's drug epidemic.

And that type of community effort, we submit, is what Escondido and other North San Diego County cities need to do.

NOW!

Sources: DEA

Supervisor Jim Desmond's Town Hall Meeting on Fentanyl

Participants in Jim Desmond's Town Hall on Fentanyl included District Attorney Summer Stephan, San Diego County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Steve Campman, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, Emergency Care Physician Dr. Roneet Lev, and Outreach Director for U.S. Attorney, Cindy Cipriani all were part of this important presentation.

https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fent anyl

Comment from Supervisor

Desmond: Supervisor Jim Desmond points out that "Last year, I led the effort to direct the County to work with the educational community, and other stakeholders to develop a substance use prevention campaign, that focuses on fentanyl awareness. This effort is ongoing and is just the start. It's going to take the entire community coming together and letting our youth know that one pill, can kill.

San Diego Sheriff's Department Video: showing how a sheriff's deputy almost died from just being close (exposed) to Fentanyl. The video is graphic and viewers are advised what they are about to see (in the video) may prove disturbing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2TkBKCEecuQ

Contacts in North County:

Patty Huerta, Executive Director Education Compact

Drug Free Communities

220 S Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025 · (760) 839-4515 https://www.educationcompact.org/ programs-overview

Patrick Holstrom - Drug Free Coalition, Escondido, Coordinator

Erica Leary, MPH, Program Manager

North Coastal Prevention Coalition

Health Promotion Center P 760-631-5000 x7150 F 760-4143736 email: info@northcoastalpreventioncoaltion.org website: www.northcoastalpreventioncoalition.org

K.C. Strang

Executive Director

San Marcos Prevention Coalition

“Working together for alcohol and drug free San Marcos youth” (858)688-5537 www.sanmarcospreventioncoalition.org

Danger!Theseare Fentanylpills.Bealert!