Source:  City of La Mesa

April 15, 2023 (La Mesa) - After an extensive recruitment process, Amanda Lee has been chosen for the Assistant City Manager position for the City of La Mesa. Ms. Lee comes to La Mesa after ten years at the City of Vista, California where she was the Assistant City Manager for the past two years. As Assistant City Manager at Vista, Ms. Lee provided direct supervision over Homelessness and Housing, Communications, Code Enforcement, Climate Action Plan implementation, Grants and Governmental Relations, and administrative support staff. Ms. Lee has been serving as the Acting City Manager at Vista for the past six months where she was responsible for leading the City’s Department Directors and Management Team.

East County News Service

April 11, 2023 (Mt. Helix) – Atkinson Plumeria Farm in La Mesa will be hosting a plumeria cutting and tropical plant sale this weekend, April 15-16.

Eleven vendors will be selling hundreds of cultivars,  thousands of cuttings and rooted plants from small to large in a many different colors; some as low as $5.These are water-wise plants.

Plus there will be other tropicals such as hibiscus, air plants, hoyas, heliconia, ginger, and more.

East County News Service

April 8, 2023 (Mount Helix) – The 106^th consecutive Sunrise Easter Service atop Mt. Helix will be held tomorrow at 6:30 a.m.  Free shuttle services begin at 5 a.m. from Grossmont High School, since there is no parking at the amphitheater.

The event is the second longest running Sunrise Easter Service in America, according to the Mt. Helix Park Foundation. The nation’s oldest is in Salem, North Carolina, which has held consecutive services since 1772.

The Mt. Helix Park Foundation and College Avenue Church invite you to enjoy a glorious sunrise over the mountains just as the service begins. 

By Miriam Raftery

April 6, 2023 (La Mesa) – Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber has announced Thursday that she will run for the 39^th State Senate seat held by termed-out Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, after Supervisor Nathan Fletcher dropped out of the race amid accusations of sexual misconduct.  

Today, La Mesa City Councilman Colin Parent announced that he will run for Weber’s 79^th State Assembly seat.  Since Parent’s term on the Council ends in 2024, his announcement also means La Mesans can expect to have a new face on the City Council after the 2024 elections.

By Jessyka Heredia 

April 2, 2023 (La Mesa) -- Clear Channel Outdoor Vice President of Public Affairs Layne Lawson gave the La Mesa City Council a presentation on a proposed digital billboard plan during the March 28 Council meeting. The company is proposing that the City enter a development agreement with Clear Channel for two digital billboards that would display advertisements generating an annual development fee payment of $125,000 per new advertising structure for the City, plus a 3% annual increase, starting in the second year. 

April 1, 2023 (La Mesa) – Surfrider Pizza in La Mesa will donate 15% of all food and beverage sales on April 2 between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. to the James Cerebral Palsy Foundation (tax and gratuity not included). 

This applies to dine-in and to-go orders, but not to-go orders through a third party company. You must mention the fundraiser when you order, or print and bring the flyer in this article.

City also lifts pandemic emergency declaration, proposes enforcement of affordable housing rules

By Jessyka Heredia

March 21,2023 (La Mesa) -- At Tuesday’s meeting, the La Mesa City Council voted to have staff draft a project labor agreement, form a subcommittee to consider stricter regulation of tobacco sales, and create fees for monitoring compliance with affordable housing in the city, among other items.

East County News Service

Photos courtesy Steve Covault, rockmusicphotos.com

March 3, 2023 (La Mesa) – Local and national stars will be playing American blues harmonica music at Spring Harp Fest. The family-fun event, which raises funds to benefit music education countywide, will be held April 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Harry Griffen Park, 9550 Milden Street in La Mesa.

Since 1999, the Spring Harp Fest has introduced local musicians and music lovers to the great American art of Blues Harmonica. The unique once-yearly showcase includes local jams, competition among unknown players, and some of the best professional players in the music scene.

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2023 (La Mesa) — The City of La Mesa has reached a settlement in a civil case filed by Leslie Furcron, a 59-year-old great-grandmother struck in the head by a beanbag projectile fired by a La Mesa Police officer during a racial justice protest that ended in a riot on May 30, 2020.  The City will pay out $10 million to Furcron in one of the largest officer use-of-force settlements in the San Diego region, according to her attorney, Dante Pride.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  CC by NC-ND

Updated March 22 with responses from East County cities and the County.

March 13, 2023 (La Mesa) – Two failed banks have been taken over by federal regulators.  The Federal  Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has taken control Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and Signature Bank on Monday.  That’s sent ripples  of concern through the financial community, also prompting La Mesa’s Treasurer to assure residents that at least 99% of the city’s assets are safe.

How did the bank failures happen?

The failures are tied to the Trump administration’s rollback of Dodd-Frank banking regulations, an action that eased restrictions on banks with under $250 billion in assets. That measure passed Congress in 2018 with overwhelming Republican support, though a few Democrats also backed the regulatory rollbacks. Both failed banks had under $250 billion in assets and would have been subject to stress tests and other regulatory scrutiny before the rollback of regulations.

Silicon Valley Bank got in trouble when many of its tech industry and business start-up customers needed money and made large withdrawals. So SVB had to start selling assets, mainly bonds, at a loss to free up funds for those withdrawals until its losses became too high, fueling a bank run by customers fearful of losing their money. That prompted the FDIC to take action. Like SVB, Signature Bank had over 90% of its deposits that were unisured, over the federally insured amount.  Now, the federal government is stepping in to help restore funds for investors -- but will not bail out the banks, leaving shareholders and holders of unsecured corporate bonds to absorb the losses.

By Kathy Carpenter

March 9, 2023 (La Mesa) - Individuality versus conformity is an eternal conflict and in the case of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, man versus institution. More than that, this is a story of people, with a huge, wonderful cast full of characters to connect to and learn from. The play is emotionally impactful and well-acted; you leave Lamplighters theatre with an impression of right or wrong and individuality at all costs. 

Teen driver who died was not wearing seat-belt

East County News Service

Updated March 3, 2023 with identity of the victim.

March 2, 2023 (La Mesa) – An 18-year-old El Cajon man, Eugene Nelson,has died after he lost control on I-8 west and struck a California Highway Patrol vehicle that had stopped to investigate a pair of unrelated solo-vehicle accidents on Feb. 25.

According to Officer Jared Grieshaber, the vehicles involved in those two accidents were blocking the center divider and the #1 lane of traffic. “The CHP officer on scene parked his patrol vehicle with the emergency lights activated, within the #1 lane, and partially within the center divider for scene safety,” Officer Grieshaber said.

Source:  City of La Mesa

Updated Feb. 19: Photo, left, La Mesita Park fitness plaza, courtesy City of La Mesa

February 10, 2023 (La Mesa) – In celebration of Heathy Heart week, a ribbon cutting will be held for the City of La Mesa’s newest outdoor fitness plaza on February 14, 2023, at 12:15 p.m. at La Mesita park, 8855 Dallas Street. Funding for the equipment was made possible through a $40,000 Age-Friendly Communities Grant provided by the San Diego Foundation, in addition to a $10,000 Greenfields Outdoor Fitness Grant in celebration of the California Park and Recreation Society’s 75th Anniversary.

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2023 (La Mesa) – San Pasqual Winery has Valentine’s week happenings in the Barrel Room at its tasting room in La Mesa’s downtown village.

An open letter to La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis 

By Aaron Amerling

Photo, left: Kathleen Brand

January 24, 2023 (La Mesa) -- I want to wholeheartedly recommend Kathleen Brand for the planning commissioner spot. She has over 20 years of history serving the people in La Mesa in both volunteer positions and on boards and committees, her work experience is in city planning and she has shown an even-keeled approach to sustaining growth while not losing what makes La Mesa, La Mesa.