By Rachel Williams

August 8, 2024 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon’s City Council unanimously voted  on Tuesday  to put a 1/2 cent sales tax extension on the November 5 ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would continue a half-cent tax that is set to otherwise expire.  The tax has generated more than $13 million annually for El Cajon’s General Fund, and at least 75% of these funds support the City’s public safety operations.

If voters choose to pass Measure J, continuing this sales tax, significant budget cuts would be avoided, including but not limited to these essential services below:

• Firefighters and paramedics
• Police Officers
• Street Maintenance (pothole repair and repaving)
• Stormwater and sewage

When comparing El Cajon to other San Diego County cities, the Valley of Opportunity receives a smaller percentage of its property tax, which isn’t enough to sustain the community’s needs.

Photo: El Capitan County Preserve

By Shauni Lyles, County of San Diego Communications Office

August 7, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)-- Due to triple-digit temperatures, two County parks will be closed for the month of August. They are El Capitan County Preserve in Lakeside and Mt. Gower County Preserve in Ramona.

These locations have difficult trails that end in isolated areas. They also offer very limited shade which can lead to dangerous conditions during major heat events. They join two desert parks that are already closed for the summer due to extreme heat: Vallecito and Agua Caliente County Parks.

East County News Service

August 6, 2024 (Spring Valley) – The Spring Valley Community Church has agreed to lease parking lot space to the County to serve as a safe parking place for homeless people. Supervisors have voted to approve the measure,  but on August 7 at 7 p.m, the church’s pastor will hold a question and answer forum for the public.

The church is located at 3310 Bancroft Drive, Spring Valley. A tour will be provided and questions are welcome.

Source: San Diego County News Service

August 4, 2024 (Spring Valley) --The County’s Tuberculosis Control Program is working in close collaboration with Grossmont Union High School District to notify students, staff and volunteers potentially exposed to tuberculosis (TB) for four months during the second semester of the 2023-24 school year at Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley.

The dates of potential exposure are from Feb. 1 to June 4, 2024.   

TB is an airborne disease that is transmitted from person-to-person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air. The bacteria are spread when someone sick with TB coughs, speaks, sings or breathes. People with frequent and prolonged indoor exposure to a person who is sick with TB should get tested.  

Effective treatments are available to cure people who are sick from active TB. It is especially important for people with symptoms of active TB and those who are immunocompromised to see a medical provider to rule out active TB disease and to discuss treatment. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 2, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – AB 1819, a measure by Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R-Valley Center) would authorize counties to create special infrastructure financing districts in high or very high fire hazard severity zones.  These districts would fund wildfire mitigation apparatus and infrastructure including new heavy equipment to clear vegetation, create firebreaks, and harden utility infrastructure against wildfires.

 “As climate change progresses, our state is affected by longer, more intense, and increasingly hazardous wildfires. In San Diego alone, almost one-fourth of all wildfires start from the combustion of roadside vegetation by vehicles. It is crucial to have the proper firefighting equipment to prevent wildfires,” a statement by Waldron in the  Senate Floor analysis.“Obtaining funding to increase prevention response and fire-fighting equipment. backcountry areas has been difficult. The creation of an infrastructure financing district for this purpose will raise the necessary funding without the need to raise taxes.”

The bill has passed the Assembly unanimously (with several members absent) and is currently awaiting action in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  All legislative business must be concluded by August 31, the last day of the legislative session.

By Shiloh Ireland

View video

August 1, 2024-- East County Magazine met Trader Joe’s Captain Keith Miller for a behind the scenes interview and tour Thursday of his new store in Santee. The store, located at 9680 Mission Gorge Road, opened this morning.

“We’ll have some samples for everyone to try, and we’ll have some fun games we’ll be playing in the store. We’ll have a store mascot, a big-mouthed bass that the kids can find,” he said of the opening day plans. “We’ve been waiting for a long time to come to Santee, and we know the community’s been waiting.”

The new store will have 70 to 80 crew members, including 20-30 transfers familiar with Trader Joe’s culture.  New hiring will continue. He added.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated 2:45 p.m.

July 31, 2024 (Santee) – An autopsy confirms that a couple found dead with head trauma yesterday morning at the Lantern Crest senior living facility in Santee died of gunshot wounds. The Sheriff's homicide unit has concluded that Michael Sheehan, 74, shot and killed his wife, Beverly Slater-Sheehan, then committed suicide.

 The incident is the second time this year that homicide investigators have been summoned to Lantern Crest to investigate suspicious deaths.

In May, homicide investigators were summoned to Lantern Crest to investigate another pair of deaths that were determined to be a murder-suicide. Investigators found that 82-year-old David Soulner fatally shot his wife, 79-year-old Claire Soulner, then  shot and killed himself.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Team USA

July 31, 2024 (Santee) – An East County athlete is making a big splash at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Alex Bowen scored three goals in Team USA’s second match, helping lead the team to a 14-8 victory over Romania.  Team USA will compete against Greece next Thursday.

Bowen was a star athlete at Santana High School, where he served as captain of both the water polo and swim teams. He helped lead the teams to several titles and was named most valuable player for the Grossmont North/Valley League in three consecutive years, 2008 through 2010.

After graduating, Bowen played water polo for Stanford University, scoring over 200 goals in four years. He was named a First Team All-American each year at Stanford.He later turned professional, competing in many countries, most recently for Noisy-le-Sec in France.

East County News Service

July 24, 2024 (Alpine) – The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), one of San Diego’s largest trade associations for San Diego-area realtors, is applauding the volunteer efforts of PSAR member and Alpine resident Jeff Campbell who is collecting new shoes, newborn to size 13, for foster children until August 17.