Communities

HUNGRY IN LEMON GROVE? FOOD DISTRIBUTION APRIL 17

East County News Service

April 11, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – A drive-through food distribution for Lemon Grove residents will be held April 17 from 9 a.m. until supplies run out. The event is at the Lemon Grove Recreation Center, 3131 School Lane in Lemon Grove.


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COME CATCH A WHOPPER: CATFISH SEASON OPENS APRIL 17 AT SANTEE LAKES

By Miriam Raftery

April 11, 2021 (Santee) – Get your rods and reels ready.  Santee Lakes invites you to drop a line at its Catfish Season Opener, when the lakes will be stocked with 2,000 pounds of catfish.


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BORREGO SPRINGS FILM FESTIVAL TO HOLD DRIVE-INS APRIL 15-19

 

East County News Service

April 11, 2021 (Borrego Springs) - The 8th annual Borrego Springs Film Festival April 15-19 will be a free outdoor drive-in event.

The special event will take place at the shopping mall in the center of Borrego Springs. Guests will see a collection of films from all around the world.


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ALPINE NONPROFIT SEEKS WAREHOUSE SPACE TO STORE ITEMS FOR FAMILIES IN NEED

East County News Service

 

April 11, 2021 (Alpine) – Serving Good, a nonprofit organization that provides food and basic necessities to families in need, needs additional warehouse space for inventory.


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EARTH DAY IN THE HIGH DESERT APRIL 24

East County News Service

(Photo by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson)

April 10, 2021 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – Desert View Tower in Jacumba Hot Springs will host an Earth Day celebration on April 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You’re invited to come experience Earth in the high desert including an Earth blessing ceremony and Sacred black Star Eyed Eagle Dancer, an array of live music, healthy natural foods including vegan options, and a wildflower and plant walk. There will also be alternative healers, local arts and crafts, nature art, native plants for sale, herbal products and essential oils, EMF awareness, nutritional counseling, natural beauty, country collectibles and more.


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LA MESA COMMISSION HOSTS FORUM APRIL 28 ON CITYWIDE COMMUNICATION

Source: City of La Mesa

April 10, 2021 (La Mesa) --  As part of the Livable La Mesa Age Friendly project, the City of La Mesa Community Relations and Veterans Commission will host a virtual forum on Wednesday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. to solicit feedback on the City’s information distribution methods. The event will foster dialogue on the current methods of communication being used by the City of La Mesa and solicit input for improvement.

Questions, comments and suggestions are encouraged from residents as the City looks to improve distribution of critical information to further involve and inform the community.


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SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR FATAL HIT AND RUN IN LA MESA

East County News Service

April 9, 2021 (La Mesa) – Scott Satterfield of Spring Valley, 61, was arrested April 7 by the La Mesa Police Department on charges of felony hit and run.  An investigation found that Satterfield struck and killed 18-year-old Jok Joseph Jok on February 27, then fleeing the scene of the accident on Bancroft Drive.

Detectives from the La Mesa Police Department’s Investigations and Traffic Divisions, working with San Diego County Crime Stoppers, the media, and our community, were able to identify Satterfield as the suspected operator of the vehicle that struck Jok. The white pickup truck depicted in the previously released photographs has been located and is in police custody for evidence processing, according to a press release issued by LMPD.


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CASH, GUNS AND $6 MILLION WORTH OF MARJUANA SEIZED AT ILLEGAL SPRING VALLEY DISPENSARY

East County News Service

 

April 8, 2021 (Spring Valley) - A search warrant was served at an illegal marijuana dispensary located in the 10600 block of Willie Baker Way in Spring Valley on Wednesday, April 7 around 11:20 a.m. 


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RAMONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO MEET EMERGING COMMUNITY NEEDS

East County News Service

April 7, 2021 (Ramona) --Ramona Community Foundation (RCF), an affiliate of The San Diego Foundation, has announced the availability of grant funding through the Vibrant Community program to enhance the quality of life for those who live, work and play in Ramona.  

“We want to help organizations that have a strategic impact in Ramona to ensure the community thrives,” shared Kristin Zook, RCF Board Chair. “After a year of pandemic woes, we recognize the needs of the community might be different now and these grants aim to address those emerging needs.” 


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LA MESA POLICE SEEK ROBBERY SUSPECT IN RED DODGE CHARGER

East County News Service
 
April 7, 2021 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police seek public help to locate a suspect who robbed the Denny’s on Alvarado Road shortly after 1 p.m. today, then fled in a red Dodge Charger (license 5YVT249).

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COMMUNITY ORGANIZES TO PREVENT PLACEMENT OF SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS IN HORIZON HILLS NEAR MT. HELIX

 April 9 is deadline for comments to block Badger's release just outside El Cajon city limits

By Henri Migala

April 6, 2021 (Horizon Hills/Mt. Helix) -- The Grossmont Mount Helix Improvement Association (GMIA) hosted a community meeting on Tuesday, April 6, at 5:30, to protest the proposed placement of two sexually violent predators (SVP), Merle Wade Wakefield and Douglass Badger, at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive in their community.

Well over 200 local community members of all ages attended the neighborhood meeting.


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DR. AKILAH WEBER TAKES BIG LEAD, COULD AVOID RUNOFF IN SPECIAL ELECTION FOR 79TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

Update April 11: Dr. Akilah Weber has won the election outright, avoiding a runoff with 52% of the votes. Only 300 ballots remain to be counted, not enough to change the outcome.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

April 7, 2021 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa City Councilmember Dr. Akilah Weber took a big lead Tuesday night and could avoid a runoff in the special election to succeed her mother in the 79th Assembly District.

The seat is open because five-term Assemblymember Shirley Weber was appointed to succeed Alex Padilla as Secretary of State in a series of changes prompted by Sen. Kamala Harris’ election as Vice President. Padilla was appointed to succeed Harris in the Senate.

The younger Weber, a Democrat, received 52% of the vote, according to final unofficial election-night results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

The projected number of outstanding ballots is 9,500, according to the Registrar of Voters. If Weber’s total remains above 50%, she will be elected without a runoff. If it falls below 50%, she will face Marco Contreras, the lone Republican in the field of five candidates, in a runoff June 8.


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BORDER PATROL AGENT AND FIREFIGHTER PREVENT SUICIDE AT PINE VALLEY BRIDGE

By Miriam Raftery 

April 7, 2021 (Pine Valley) -- A San Diego Sector Border Patrol agent and off-duty firefighter prevented a woman from jumping off the Pine Valley Bridge along Interstate 8 early Tuesday morning.

At approximately 7 a.m., while driving eastbound on I-8, a Border Patrol agent observed a woman standing on the rails of the Pine Valley Bridge near the westbound traffic lanes. The agent quickly turned around and was joined by an off-duty firefighter. The agent and firefighter physically removed the woman from the edge of the bridge and secured her for her safety, according to a press release issued by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.


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SUCCESSFUL SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPING A CLICK AWAY FOR HELIX, PADRE DAM CUSTOMERS

Source: San Diego County Water Authority

Photos, before and after, courtesy of La Mesa resident Laurie Haeger: Haeger was inspired to replace her grassy front yard with sustainable, water-efficient landscaping thanks to landscape makeover classes and resources offered by the San Diego County Water Authority. 

April 6, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- No matter whether their landscaping is just a few square feet alongside a front porch or estate acreage, thousands of San Diego County residents have learned to embrace sustainability as a central principle for creating and renovating their landscapes. 


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SANTEE HOLDS VIRTUAL DISTRICT 4 TOWN HALL ON WED. APRIL 7

East County News Service

Photo: Councilman Dustin Trotter

April 6, 2021 (Santee) – Santee Councilman Dustin Trotter and Mayor Minto will host a special District 4 town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 7 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually.  


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LAKESIDE RALLIES TO SAVE JACARANDA TREES FROM DESTRUCTION BY COUNTY

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left by Billy Ortiz: historian Betty McMillan stands beneath the shade of a jacaranda tree, one of 22 she is fighting to save.

Updated with quotes from the County library director.

April 5, 2021 (Lakeside) – On April 9, San Diego County is slated to cut down nearly two dozen jacaranda trees to make way for a new county library—trees that the county claims are growing in a utility easement.  But Lakeside’s historian Betty McMillen disputes that claim – and is fighting to save the trees, which hold special significance as part of a “mile of trees” planted in Lakeside -- trees planted to replace an earlier canopy of trees felled by bulldozers.


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SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER ”DELIBERATELY” RAMMING MOTORISTS AT FOUR EAST COUNTY SITES

East County News Service
 
April 3, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – David Archer, 56, has been arrested after deliberately ramming multiple vehicles at three locations on Thursday. The suspect then fled, leading deputies in a pursuit from unincorporated La Mesa through Lemon Grove ending in Spring Valley, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s department.

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LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS CELEBRATES NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY DAY

By Henri Migala & Miriam Raftery

 

April 3, 2021 (Alpine) -- Nearly 100 people, many of them children, came to Lions, Tigers and Bears in beautiful Alpine yesterday to help celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. 


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FIREFIGHTERS CONTAIN AUTO WRECKING YARD FIRE

By Miriam Raftery

(Photo courtesy of San Miguel Fire District) 

April 3, 2021 (Spring Valley ) --  Crews from San Miguel Fire Department, Heartland Fire and San Diego Fire & Rescue successfully controlled a fast moving commercial fire on Jamacha Road in Spring Valley on Thursday.

According to Heartland Fire in a post on Instragram, Initial arriving units encountered heavy fire and smoke from behind an auto wrecking and recycling facility. The smoke column was pushed by a strong west wind which produced an immediate threat to exposures including businesses and an apartment complex.


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GROSSMONT COLLEGE STREAMS THE MAD ONES APRIL 8-17

By Kathy Carpenter

April  2, 2021 (El Cajon) - One of the things that has suffered greatly during the past year is live theatre at all levels. Over the past several months, many theatres have turned to streaming as an alternative to provide you with a form of entertainment, give a few people in the business a little work and serve as fundraisers to keep theatres afloat until they can get back to live performances.  Grossmont College’s Stagehouse Theatre needs your support. The theatre will be streaming "The Mad Ones," a musical coming to your home/device April 8-17, 2021.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

SADDLE UP, KIDS: PONY RIDES RETURN AT BATES NUT FARM

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

 

April 2, 2021 (Valley Center) – Pony rides are back at Bates Nut Farm,located at 15954 Woods Valley Road in Valley Center.  The rides are available on the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.:  April 3, May 1, June 5 and July 3.  


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LILAC FESTIVAL IN FULL BLOOM AT FORT CROSS IN SANTA YSABEL DURING APRIL

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

 

April 2, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) – Spring is in the air – and lilacs are in full bloom.  The annual Lilac Festival at Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures in Santa Ysabel returns each weekend this month.  The hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 12 noon to 5 p.m.

 

"Hop on the hayride and enjoy the views on a scenic nature loop, try your skill with some tomahawk throwing, visit our friends at the petting zoo, enjoy a lively hoedown or pick up an instrument and join the jug band, paint a flower vase to keep, dip your very own lilac themed candle the old fashioned way, and so much more,” the Fort Cross website states.  "Our very own Jesse Cross, dance caller and music man extraordinaire will be playing live during various times to lead any willing kids and adults through the most fun jug band hootenanny you ever did see!”


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THE CONRAD PREBYS FOUNDATION AWARDS $25,000 TO ST. MADELEINE SOPHIE'S CENTER

Source: St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center

 

Photo:  Artist Kristin McKenney shares her woven bookmark with other artists at one of the evening Art Social hour classes.  Kristen used a cardboard loom kit from the Galley to make her brother-in-law this bookmark.

 

April 1, 2021 (El Cajon) -- St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center (SMSC), a nonprofit organization that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has been awarded a grant from The Conrad Prebys Foundation for $25,000. The grant is designated towards Sophie’s Gallery Virtual Art Program. SMSC was among 121 local arts, education, health, and science projects to receive a combined $78 million in grant funding from The Conrad Prebys Foundation’s inaugural grant cycle. 


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WEED OUT HATE DAY EVENT IN SANTEE ON APRIL 3

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Photo courtesy of Setche Kwamu-Nana 

April 1, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- This Saturday, April 3,diversity expert and musician Setche Kwamu-Nana is organizing a Weed Out Hate event to be held at Santee’s West Hills Park from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

“In light of the rising violence, hate crimes, and polarization in our communities, though I’m not a conservative, I have been reaching out to conservatives in East County, where I used to live, to understand them and build bridges so we all can find common ground and make better choices for our communities,” said Kwamu-Nana, MBA-HRM, CDP, a diversity, inclusion, equity trainer and consultant via email. 


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SANTEE COUNCIL SETS PRIORITIES TO REAP REVENUES, INCLUDING POSSIBLE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS BUSINESSES

 
By Mike Allen
 
March 30, 2021 (Santee) - While other East County cities such as La Mesa and Lemon Grove tap into taxes that legalized marijuana shops generate, Santee has staunchly kept these enterprises illegal.
 
But that could change. At its most recent meeting, the Santee City Council announced a list of 11 priorities it wants to address in the next two years. At No. 11 was one to “consider economic development and regulatory options for cannabis businesses in the city, with a funding ordinance for the November 2022 election.”

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HEARING APRIL 20 ON PROPOSED RELEASE OF SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR IN EL CAJON NEAR MT. HELIX

By Miriam Raftery

 

Photo courtesy of San Diego Sheriff’s department

 

Public comments accepted through April 9

 

March 30, 2021 (El Cajon) – The state has proposed releasing Douglas Badger, a sexually violent predator, into a supervised home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive. The site is just east of Avocado Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon, near Mt. Helix.


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CESAR CHAVEZ HISTORY AT ANZA-BORREGO HONORED ON MARCH 31

East County News Service

March 27, 2021 (Borrego Springs) -- Did you know? Cesar Chavez has important history in Borrego Springs and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP). To honor this history, bilingual interpretive panels were devised that depict these historic events, a joint project between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and High School students at Borrego Springs High School. 


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SANTEE COUNCIL GETS UPDATE ON PADRE DAM’S BIG PROJECT

By Mike Allen
 
March 27, 2021 (Santee) -- Padre Dam Water District wants to keep everyone in the loop about its massive sewage reclamation project, especially the city where the project is located -- Santee.

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SHERIFF ASKS PUBLIC TO REPORT ILLEGAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

By Miriam Raftery

March 26, 2021 (San Diego) – Unlike licensed and regulated cannabis dispensaries, illegal marijuana dispensaries have had negative impacts on communities, neighboring businesses and consumers, the Sheriff’s department warns. Recently, several have been involved in shootings and other serious crimes; moreover there is no state oversight to test products being sold and assure they do not contain pesticides, herbicides, or that they are not laced with other drugs.

“Unregulated pot shops attract criminals involved with other illicit drugs and are often the catalyst for violent crime, property crime and financial crime that affect us all.  Products sold at unlicensed cannabis facilities are cultivated and manufactured using processes which may be harmful to consumers and are often marketed toward children,” warns Sgt. Mark Knierim.


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HIGHWAY 67 LANE CLOSURES MARCH 26-30

East County News Service

March 25, 2021 (Ramona) – Caltrans has announced that due to mowing operations along State Route 67 between Willow Road in Lakeside to Etchevary Street in Ramona, motorists should expect shoulder closures, lane reductions and lane closures with one-way traffic control directed by flaggers and pilot vehicles over the next few days.


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