By Jonathan Goetz

January 17, 2018 (Lemon Grove) – On Tuesday, Lemon Grove City Attorney Jim Lough presented to Council Ordinance changes for the Municipal Code that the Council chose to table.  Council wanted more time to review it and compare differences between the new verbiage and the old verbiage.  Lough is expected to bring it back for a vote Tuesday, February 20.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: December 19, 2017 was declared Marcos’ Jewelry Day in honor of the retirement of Marcos Ortega.

December 20, 2017 (Lemon Grove) -- Lieutenant S. Amos updated the Lemon Grove City Council yesterday on the Sheriff’s Department progress on body-worn cameras. Amos announced that all Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Lemon Grove station (excluding those there on overtime from other stations) have body-worn cameras.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

December 11, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Cal Fire crews are working a fully-involved structure fire in Ramona in the 21000 block of San Vicente Road in Ramona, Cal Fire reports. According to Brush Fire Partyline on Facebook, scanner traffic indicates this is a residential structure fire at 1166 San Vicente View, just off of San Vicente Road.

Brush rigs have been called in; the location is adjacent to the Barnett Ranch Preserve, a County Preserve.

Photo: (L-R) Councilmember Jerry Jones, Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Mendoza, Mayor Racquel Vasquez, Councilman Matt Mendoza, Councilman David Arambula

By Jonathan Goetz

November 22, 2017 (Lemon Grove) -- Two recent votes by the Lemon Grove City Council allocate additional funds for city streets based on promises of additional funds that may or may not materialize.

By Helen Ofield   

November 9, 2017 (Lemon Grove) -- The City of Lemon Grove will hold its 20th annual holiday "Light up the 'Grove" bonfire on Dec. 1 from 12 noon to 8 p.m. The bonfire lighting at 6 p.m. will be preceded by game booths, rock climbing wall, hayrides, arts and crafts, live music and skating on an actual ice rink. Free hot chocolate and outreach from the city's non profit groups, including the Lemon Grove Historical Society's traditional open house, will be part of the fun.  Event hours are extended this year to mark Lemon Grove's 40th anniversary of incorporation.

For information, call 619-825-3800 or visit https://www.lemongrove.ca.gov/home/showdocument?id=3549.

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A ballot initiative effort in Lemon Grove to loosen regulation of where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located has gone up in smoke, for now.

Judge Kenneth Medel upheld a city clerk’s decision to refuse to accept signatures submitted for a special election on the measure, because voters were provided petitions with incomplete language on the proposed measure. Backers have until January 2018 to gather signatures from 15 percent of the city’s registered voters to qualify for the ballot.

Update October 19, 2017:  The man killed while standing beside his disabled vehicle has been identified as Cesar Duenas, 55. 

By Miriam Raftery

October 18, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A Lexus driver struck and killed a disabled motorist who was on the shoulder of State Route 94 at the Lemon Grove off ramp at 5:50 p.m. yesterday.   A tow truck driver, 39, from Santee who was assisting the disabled motorist also was struck and sustained minor injuries.

By Helen Ofield

September 24, 2017 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Historical Society will hold the annual Pam Glover English High Tea on Oct. 8 from 2 - 4 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove, in support of the 2018 Treganza History Essay Competition for Third Grade in Lemon Grove Schools. Tickets are $25/person for a lavish, four-course high tea, party favors and door prizes.

Classical menu brings on flavor, nostalgia and a bit of surprise

East County News Service

September 15, 2017 (Lemon Grove) -- With a fast approaching debut next month, the neighborhood eatery, Giardino, has finalized its menu and looks forward to opening its doors to the Lemon Grove community. Featuring Italian inspired cuisine in a welcoming and casual setting, the menu will feature a variety of classic dishes found throughout Italy.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: ECM news partner 10 News

September 6, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A 77-year-old San Diego woman parking her vehicle in Lemon Grove inexplicably drove through a window at a Nail salon, coming to rest 40 feet inside.

The vehicle struck a reception desk, partially pinning an employee against a wall.  The employee complained of arm pain and said she would seek medical attention. The driver complained of pain and was tended to by paramedics, who transported her to a hospital for evaluation.

Photo: Gastil, right, with UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla's Community Advisory Board

By Jonathan Goetz

August 31, 2017 (San Diego) – Lemon Grove resident George Gastil, a professor, former school board and city council member, has been appointed to Chancellor Pradeep Khosla’s Community Advisory Board (CCAB) for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). 

By Jonathan Goetz

August 28, 2017 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Lions Club is hosting a Salsa y Salsa Fiesta to raise money to buy new bleachers for Lemon Grove Little League.

Lemon Grove Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer Mendoza cited safety concerns with the current bleachers . “Lemon Grove is one of the poorest communities in San Diego,” she said. “Our Little League has been here for some fifty years and is showing its age, so our Lions Club adopted it as our project.”

By Jennifer Mendoza, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Lemon Grove

August 18, 2017 (Lemon Grove) -- Less than a year ago, the voters of Lemon Grove narrowly approved an ordinance to allow Medical Marijuana Dispensaries (MMD) to operate in our city. This ordinance was written by a coalition of MMD businesses and proponents. This same coalition is now unhappy with some of the language and restrictions they wrote into the ordinance. They wish to force the city to hold a special election in 2017, so that they can change the language.

East County News Service

August 9, 2017 (Lemon Grove) — A Sheriff’s deputy patrolling the Palm Street area in Lemon Grove recognized a face he’d seen on a Crime Stoppers Bulletin. Last night at 11 p.m., he arrested Rainier Raroque, 31, who was wanted for failing to register as a sex offender.