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March 21, 2026 (Santee) -- Santee School District was awarded a $215,000 grant through the Strong Workforce Program to launch a new Career Technical Education (CTE) program that will give 7th and 8th grade students the opportunity to explore a variety of career pathways.
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March 17, 2026 (San Diego County) -- As the marine layer thins and temperatures climb across the region, San Diego’s original residents are beginning to stir.
From the coastal sage scrub of Torrey Pines to the rocky canyons of Mission Trails Regional Park, the Southern Pacific rattlesnake is officially back on the move, the County of San Diego warns.
Rattlesnake season in Southern California typically spans from March through October, but experts warn that the peak "shaking" occurs between April and June.
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March 17, 2026 (Santee) -- Get ready for fire-breathing fun at Santee's Bunny Trail, including dragon dancers performing from White Dragon Martial Arts School.
This year, the event takes place from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., at Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive in Santee.
This year’s event features a bunny trail experience instead of a traditional egg hunt.
Families stroll booth-to-booth collecting eggs at their own pace, then exchange collected eggs for a festive goodie bag. Visit booths in any order and stop by as many as you’d like. Be sure to bring baskets!
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March 15, 2026 (Lakeside) – Lake Jennings invites you to enter your best photos taken at Lake Jennings between April 1 and April 30, 2026. “Lights, camera… lake life!
Show us your best lake adventures, wildlife sightings, epic catches, and golden sunsets,” the Lake Jennings officials' post on Facebook reads.
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Source: Donna Durckel, County of San Diego Communications Office
March 10, 2025 (San Diego) -- The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a new quarantine area affecting the cities of La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, San Diego, and Santee as well as Spring Valley and Bonita in San Diego County after Mexican fruit flies were found during a routine inspection in La Mesa.
Residents should not move produce grown in these areas off of their properties, since this pest can infest more than 50 types of fruits and vegetables.
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March 9, 2026 (San Diego) - Construction is underway to renovate a 13,500 square-foot wing at the County’s Edgemoor Distinct Part Skilled Nursing Facility campus in Santee to convert it into a new Acute Psychiatric Unit.
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March 4, 2026 (San Diego’s East County) – A suspect accused of stealing a Jeep Wrangler in Santee and crashing into parked cars near Parkway Plaza in El Cajon following a pursuit has been arrested and is hospitalized with serious injuries.
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March 3, 2026 (Santee) – A motorcyclist suffered serious injury in a collision with a pickup truck yesterday around 1:50 p.m. at North Magnolia Avenue and the onramp to State Routes 67 and 52.
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Sycuan Casino Resort hosted the San Diego Regional East County Chamber of Commerce's 114th annual East County Honors Awards Gala over the weekend.
Photos and story by Karen Pearlman
March 2, 2026 (El Cajon) -- More than 400 business and nonprofit leaders, community advocates and public officials gathered at Sycuan Casino Resort last Saturday for the 114th Annual East County Honors Awards Gala.
Hosted by the San Diego Regional East County Chamber of Commerce, the event continues to be more than a formal dinner, it also acts as a fundraiser for the nonprofit that represent the diverse business community of the East County region, including El Cajon, Lemon Grove, Rancho San Diego, Alpine, Spring Valley and Jamul.
The organization also maintains strong partnerships with other chambers in Santee, La Mesa, Lakeside, Julian, Borrego Springs, Ramona and Poway.
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Feb. 20, 2026 (San Diego County) — There's one week left to tell San Diego County officials what you want to see, including ways they can better pull back the proverbial curtain on local government.
With a comprehensive survey launched earlier this year, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors -- Paloma Aguirre (District 1), Joel Anderson (D2), Terra Lawson-Remer (D3), Monica Montgomery Steppe (D4) and Jim Desmond (D5) -- are looking at a public outreach initiative aimed at reimagining how the public interacts with the group tasked with governing the county's $8 billion-plus budget.
The survey can be accessed here, with a Feb. 27 deadline for input.
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By Donna Durckel, County of San Diego Communications Office
Photo: rendering of final road improvements
February 12, 2026 (San Diego) - The Board of Supervisors approved three major infrastructure projects to improve safety, mobility and sustainability in unincorporated communities: new traffic signals in Lakeside and Fallbrook, road upgrades in Valley Center and a stormwater filtration project in Fallbrook.
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February 10, 2026 (Santee) -- Grossmont Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Kirsten Vital Brulte has sent a letter to District Attorney Summer Stephan expressing full support for her appeal of the San Diego Superior Court’s decision to grant a recall and resentencing hearing for Charles “Andy” Williams, the perpetrator of the 2001 Santana High School shooting.
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Feb. 10, 2026 (Santee) – It's time to grab your canine friends and their leashes for the dogstravaganza that is Fido Fest.
The city of Santee's annual soirée with all things canine will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year at the event set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive.
Fido Fest started out as a somewhat modest local gathering of dogs and their human friends but has become a huge draw for four- and two-legged visitors from East County and beyond.
From 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., Santee's Town Center Park will become a dog-centric playground, featuring everything from high-energy agility courses to the adopt-don't-shop headquarters of "Adoption Alley."
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February 7,2026 (Lakeside) -- A small plane has made an emergency landing on State Route 67 south in Lakeside at Winter Gardens Blvd., Cal Trans reports. Traffic is backed up to Mapleview, with the plane blocking the right lane and shoulder.
A SIG alert has been issued.
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January 28, 2026 (Lakeside) – Kent Cable, 55, an employee of the Lakeside Union School District in a non-teaching role, has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing a minor. Charges include three counts of sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger and four counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14.
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File photo via San Diego County Sheriff’s SWAT detail
January 28, 2026 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies from the Lakeside substation and the San Diego County Sheriff’s SWAT team assisted Los Angeles Police officers to take a “suspected armed and dangerous felony warrant suspect into custody,” according to Lieutenant David Perkins, Lakeside Sheriff’s substation.
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January 24, 2026 (San Diego’s East County) – An investigation by East County Magazine has found kratom and synthetic kratom (7-OH) products for sale locally in every East County city, despite the fact that it’s illegal in California to sell or manufacture kratom for consumption. The ban is due to risk of addiction, serious harm, overdose or death, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Kratom can also cause liver toxicity when used with alcohol.
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January 19, 2026 (Santee) -- Santee’s newest hotel came in handy for a few local families who needed a temporary home because their regular abode sustained serious damage.
“One guest stayed for two weeks because their house flooded, and another stayed three weeks because their house caught fire,” said Jesse Duenas, general manager of the Woodspring Suites on Mission Gorge Road near the confluence of SRs 52 and125 that officially opened before New Year’s Day.
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January 16, 2026 (Santee) – Bruce Clark Furze, 31, was arrested last night while trying to cross the international border pedestrian port of entry at San Ysidro. He is being charged with robbing the Chase Bank on Town Center Parkway in Santee on Monday, January 12, according to Sergeant Justin Crews with the San Diego County Sheriff’s criminal intelligence unit.
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Percy Karlstrom, winner of the chamionship racewalk in Santee
Photos and story by Mike Allen
January 14, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee’s reputation as a world-class venue for race walking was burnished again Jan. 10 when it hosted the 2026 USATF Marathon Race Walk Championship in and around the Trolley Square Mall.
It was the 13th consecutive time -- and the 15th overall -- the city has hosted championships in the sport, which has one event -- the half marathon -- in the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympic Games, being held in Los Angeles.
“This is an unbelievable honor for Santee, which as a city is just 46 years old!" said Santee Mayor John Minto. "We love being the 'Race Capital of the United States.' They (race walkers) fly under the radar but they are among the toughest and most uniquely talented athletes that there are in all of sport.”
While Los Angeles is certainly in mind for the best competitors, most of the race walkers' sights were more focused on making the United States team that will vie for medals at the World Team Race Walking Championships in Brasília, Brazil, scheduled for April 12, and the2026 Senior Pan-American Athletics Championships, to be held the last week of June in Medellin, Colombia.
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January 12, 2026 (Lakeside) – A Lakeside man, 55, died at the scene of an accident at 5:50 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10. The man, who was not identified, was riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound on El Monte Road at Omas Dirt Road in Lakeside when he veered off the roadway and struck a metal utility pole.
He was ejected off the motorcycle, striking a wooden fence post.
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January 8, 2026 (Santee) – It’s been 25 years since 15-year-old Andrew “Andy” Williams shot and killed two students and injured 13 other people at Santana High School in Santee. He was sentence to 50 years to life in prison. But due to a new state law allowing juvenile offenders with life sentences to petition for resentencing, a Superior Court judge has granted a request from Williams’ attorney for a resentencing hearing that is expected to lead to his release, potentially with two years’ probation, over the objections of District Attorney Summer Stephan, who plans to appeal the ruling.
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Evening event at new IGNITE Academy campus (see photo, left, showing students from the academy) will support automotive career training for local youth
East County News Service
Jan. 7, 2026 (Santee) -- The San Diego Automotive Museum will host its first Garage Night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at the recently opened IGNITE Academy campus, 8630 Argent St. in Santee.
The evening event will invite the community to experience an evening of food, drinks and vintage automobiles while supporting the Museum's workforce development initiative.
Attendees will have the chance to tour the academy campus, view vehicles owned and maintained by program participants, and learn about student achievements since the program's launch.
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Jan. 3, 2025 (Lakeside) — San Diego County anglers should worm their way into their tackle boxes and grab their lanterns for one of the region’s most anticipated winter traditions.
From 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, Lake Jennings will host its first "New Moon Fishing" event of the year, offering a rare opportunity for nighttime access to one of Lakeside’s most scenic reservoirs.
Lake Jennings leaders said that to ensure a productive night for all skill levels, the lake will be freshly stocked with 1,500 pounds of Rainbow Trout.
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January 3, 2026 (Lakeside) - Scott Lagace Photography sent in in this beautiful image of a Great Blue Heron at Lake Jennings in Lakeside.
The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron native to North America, with height up to 54 inches and a wingspan of 66 to 79 inches—a maximum of more than seven and a half feet.
While its primary diet is fish, this large heron also eats amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and even small mammals.
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Dec. 30, 2025 (Lakeside) – Looking to reclaim local classrooms from a rising tide of student misconduct, the Lakeside Union School District Board of Trustees earlier this month passed a sweeping resolution aimed at curbing bullying, “death notes” and chronic defiance.
Lakeside Union School Board member Andrew Hayes championed the policy, adopted Dec. 11, and said that it marks a significant shift toward “firm and enforced” disciplinary standards.
Hayes said the changes are long in coming, as educators across the country have been grappling with a post-pandemic behavioral crisis which has left far too many teachers feeling vulnerable, and at the same time seeing parents demanding a return to order.
The push for the new framework was spearheaded by Hayes, who cited a disturbing trend of “bullying, aggression, and any act that endangers the safety of others.” The resolution specifically highlights the emergence of “death notes” as a point of concern, a chilling example of the increased severity of behavioral infractions facing local staff.
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December 21, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee’s new city manager says she’s still getting up to speed in her new position, but there’s one item that puzzles her: her new office comes with a couch.
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December 15, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee’s City Council has unanimously approved a contract to build its long-planned Community Center next to the Cameron YMCA for a total cost of $26.8 million, or $3.3 million more than the city staff’s estimate given in April.
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Man detained due to mental health crisis; no weapon found
Photo by Patrick Ward
December 14, 2025 (Santee) – Sheriff’s deputies evacuated the Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group building on Cuyamaca Street in Santee yesterday afternoon, after receiving multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting a possible armed person.
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Photo courtesy County of San Diego
By Miriam Raftery
East County News Service
East County News Service
East County News Service
East County News Service 
By 
East County News Service
Photos and story by Karen Pearlman
East County News Service
East County News Service
Story and photos by Miriam Raftery
By Mike Allen
East County News Service
Percy Karlstrom, winner of the chamionship racewalk in Santee
East County News Service
By Miriam Raftery
Evening event at new IGNITE Academy campus (see photo, left, showing students from the academy) will support automotive career training for local youth
East County News Service
East County News Service
By Karen Pearlman
By Mike Allen
By Mike Allen
Man detained due to mental health crisis; no weapon found
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