By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2022 (Fallbrook) – Jacob Daniel Oberg, 29, is under arrest after San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies found Molotov cocktails, or handheld firebombs, in his vehicle this morning.

Update:  The suspect's last name as Al Rawi, not Al Wari. The earlier misspelling was provided by El Cajon Police based on a a translation error. Friends of his have voiced shock at his arrest and doubts about the accusations against him, calling him a good father and pillar of the Syrian community locally who has helped other refugees, 10 News reports.

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Abdulhannan Abdurazaq Al Rawi is under arrest for allegedly shooting and killing his wife, 37, in the bedroom of their El Cajon home at 1599 Soma Place. The couple's nine children, ages 2 to 17, were in the home at the time, according to Lieutenant Randy Soulard with EL Cajon Police.

Dilkhwaz Ahmed with License to Freedom, an El Cajon social services agency supporting refugees, posted on Facebook tonight “Please pray for these kids who lost their mom today. Out team of therapists and myself stayed with them all day to make sure they have a safe place to go. If you would like to support them, please let me know. They are refugees from Syria.”

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

Photos by Josh Stotler

Update 6:10 p.m. -- Dozers and hand crews will work through the night to make progress on containment. The bulk of the aircraft have been sent back to their bases and only a few will be on scene tomorrow if needed. A radio report from the Incident Commander to USFS indicates fire is 175 to 200 acres.

August 22, 2022 (Pine Valley) --  The #ValleyFire has scorched over 120 acres in the Pine Valley area and is 0% contained as of 4:40 p.m. The blaze began near Pine Creek Road and Noble Canyon. Pine Creek Road is closed while firefighters battle the blaze.

The fire is spreading away from structures and there are no evacuations at this time. The terrain is steep and isolated and conditions are moderately breezy; the fire is spreading at a moderate rate in heavy brush.

ECM reporter Josh Stotler reports that multiple agencies have responded; there are at least four helicopters and five fixed wing tankers currently dropping water and retardant on the fire as hand crews are trying to cut lines to slow the spread.

East County News Service

August 10, 2022 (Alpine) – Voters are invited to a “Candidates to Constituents Town Hall” on Sunday, September 18^th, 2022 at the Alpine Community Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Doors open at 12:45 p.m. Food and beverage provided. The event is hosted by Alpine resident Anne Tillmond and features local, state & federal candidates Barbara Bry, Steven Houlahan, Joseph Rocha as well as special guest candidate for S.D. County Superior Court Seat 36, Commissioner Peter Singer.

Below is information on the candidates featured, provided by Tillmond:

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Diane Granander

Update August 21, 2022: The victim has been identified as Joseph "J.C." Curtis, 44, a father of four who lived nearby the gas station.

August 12, 2022 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police are asking for public help to locate a man suspected of shooting and killing another man this morning in front of the Speedway Express gas station at the corner of University and Park avenues.

Officers responded to multiple calls reporting the shooting. They found the victim on the sidewalk and immediately provided aid.  The victim, a 44-year-old man from La Mesa, was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital, but “tragically was pronounced deceased,” says Lieutenant. Katy Lynch.

She adds, “Initial information gathered by investigators has revealed that the victim and suspect were involved in a verbal altercation that turned into a physical fight. The suspect then shot the victim several times before fleeing the scene in a dark colored smaller SUV or similar style vehicle, westbound on University Avenue.” 

The suspect is described as a Black male adult in his early to mid-30s. He was wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans and was accompanied by a heavy-set Hispanic female.

Source:  Dr. Akilah Weber

August 20, 2022 (San Diego) -  Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D. (D-79) hosted District 79’s 10th annual Backpack Giveaway on Saturday, August 13, 2022 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Lemon Grove Recreation Center located at 3131 School Lane, Lemon Grove, CA 91945.

East County News Service

August 20, 2022 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police Department seeks public help to identify a suspect in a fatal shooting last night. 

Officers responding to a report of one or more gunshots found a man with a gunshot injury in the parking lot at 441 Dominguez, El Cajon.

By J.W. August, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Jack Murphy and his dog Abe outside Snapdragon Stadium. Photo by J.W. August

August 18, 2022 (San Diego) - Jack Murphy was a mover and shaker in San Diego’s sports world. His statue once greeted fans exiting the trolley at the main entrance of “the Murph,” a nickname attached to former Qualcomm Stadium. 

By Sameea Kamal, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Sonja Shaw is running for a seat on the Chino Valley school board in the Inland Empire, with help from the state Republican Party. “I’m running because I want to make sure that parents have a voice on the board, and to preserve the rights of a parent. During the shutdown, parents were pushed out, and we have had enough," she said on Aug. 14, 2022. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

August 18, 2022 (San Diego) - When California Republicans gathered in Anaheim this spring, attention focused on candidate speeches and endorsement battles as the party tries to win its first statewide race since 2006. 

Story and photos by Josh Stotler, 2412 Fire Photo

Updated 4 p.m. with information from California Highway Patrol

August 19, 2022 (El Cajon) -- A small plane crashed Thursday morning on Greenfield Dr. in El Cajon. The pilot of the 1951 Cessna 195 attempted to land on Interstate 8 around 10:25 am and ended up between the East and West bound overpasses of interstate 8, coming to a rest on Greenfield Dr.

Eyewitnesses say the plane hit a car before coming to rest under the bridges. It is not immediately clear what caused the crash and the accident is still under investigation. California Highway Patrol conforms that a Hyundai Santa Fe driven by a 57-year-old Alpine woman sustained moderate damage.

The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Greenfield Drive under I-8 when it was struck, but fortunately the driver of the Hyundai, Carrie Zub, was not injured. Her dog was in the SUV and is also safe.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God, and I pulled to the right and stopped," Zub said, NBC 7 reports. "I'm just so grateful I'm OK."

Source: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

August 18, 2022 (El Cajon) -- If you haven’t registered for fall classes at Grossmont or Cuyamaca colleges – there’s still time! Both colleges will welcome back students on campus beginning Monday, August 22.For help registering for classes, students are invited to:

Grossmont College: In-person Class Assistance events August 22-23 12 – 6 p.m., August 24-25 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and August 26 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Student Services Building computer lab; A Student Fair in the Main Quad on August 24 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., with a College Hour 12 – 1 p.m.; or the Virtual Help Center (https://www.grossmont.edu/help-center).

Cuyamaca College: Online Find Your Pack events, where students can meet faculty and staff to hear about programs and services, August 16-17 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.; Online Student Help Center (https://www.cuyamaca.edu/help-center) or How to Register for Classes webpage (https://www.cuyamaca.edu/admissions/how-to-register-for-classes);

Financial aid information is also available online through the Grossmont College Financial Aid Office (https://www.grossmont.edu/financial-aid) and the Cuyamaca College Financial Aid Office (https://www.cuyamaca.edu/financial-aid/index.php). If you are a first-time college student planning to attend full time, you may be eligible for free tuition through the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College Promise program (https://www.gcccd.edu/promise/index.php)

Both colleges are offering a variety of compelling courses and programs this fall:

August 18, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• ​Over-the-counter hearing aids could be available as soon as October (NPR)
• Rainwater everywhere on Earth unsafe to drink due to ‘forever chemicals’, study finds (Euro News) 
• Dog tests positive for monkeypox in first suspected human-to-pet transmission (The Hill)
• FDA recommends 3 home tests if you're exposed to COVID (NPR)
•  The U.K. approved omicron-specific booster shots. They're coming to the U.S. soon (NPR)
• Myths and facts about how monkeypox spreads — and how to protect yourself (NPR) 
• New COVID boosters could get approved using a streamlined review process (NPR)
• CVS, Walmart and Walgreens ordered to pay $650.6 million to Ohio counties in opioid case (Reuters)

SCIENCE AND TECH

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