By Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2023 (San Diego) – The outbreak of Vesicular Stomatitis  Virus (VSV) that started last month in San Diego County has now spread to San Bernadino as well as Riverside County. There are now 44 properties quarantined, including 28 in San Diego County, according to the latest update posted  June 2, 2023 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Since the last report a week earlier, 18 new properties affected by VSV have been identified, including three new confirmed positive cases and 8 suspected cases in San Diego County.

To date, all of the premises quarantined have cases in horses or other equine species, except one property that has clinically affected cattle locally. However the disease can occur in other animals such as llamas, alpacas, pigs, sheep, goats and deer.

By Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2023 (La Mesa) – You’re invited to bring friends, form a team with a creative name and vie for prizes in fun challenges at stations across Grossmont Center in La Mesa on Friday, July 28 from 4 to 7 p.m.  It’s all part of “Team on a Trek,” an event to raise funds for the nonprofit San Diego Oasis Learning & Wellness Centers.  The fun will also include music, entertainment and awards.

What is “Team on a Trek?”

“It’s essentially an Amazing Race type of event, but for all ages and levels,” says Oasis committee member Claudia Erickson.  Sponsors as well as teams are sought.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: East County Magazine Radio Show host Miriam Raftery,  Dilkhwaz Ahmed, CEO of License to Freedom, and Bob Gan, Co-Chair of Welcome Home in San Diego

June 3, 2023 (San Diego) – San Diego is a national hub for refugees fleeing war and persecution from nations around the world. Welcome Home in San Diego and License to Freedom in El Cajon are two organizations helping people who have been legally designated as refugees. 

Recently, ECM Editor Miriam Raftery interviewed Bob Gan,Co-Chair of Welcome Home locally and Dilkhwaz Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of License to Freedom. 

You can hear our full interview, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio, by clicking the audio link, or scroll down for highlights to learn how you can help these nonprofit organzations welcoming new Americans.

June 1, 2023 (La Mesa) -- Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed both unfair labor practice charges that Sharp healthcare filed against SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) regarding an election in which 1500 workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa voted to form a union. 

By Kathy Carpenter

May 28, 2023 (Poway) - In PowPac Theatre's presentation of Visiting Mr. Green, a dramedy by Jeff Baron, the power of connection takes center stage. The play revolves around Ross Gardiner, a successful executive reluctantly assigned by the court to visit Mr. Green, an elderly and grumpy widower, as part of his community service. What begins as an unfavorable obligation soon evolves into a heartwarming journey of friendship and personal growth.

Source:  AAUW

May 29, 2023 (La Mesa/El Cajon) - The June 10, 2023 installation meeting of the La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women will be held at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina at 2131 Shelter Island Dr. in San Diego. The luncheon meeting begins at 11:00 and dress is Tropical. The new officers will be led by President Elect, Jane Drinkwalter. For more information, lunch selections and reservations go to AAUW La Mesa-El Cajon (CA) Branch. The cost of the luncheon is $40.00.

East  County News Service

May 28, 2023 (La Mesa) – Former La Mesa City Councilman Guy McWhirter died May 26, 2023 after a long battle with cancer.  A strong voice for La Mesa’s business community, who helped develop the village merchants’ association, McWhirter was also a long-time insurance agent and a Bishop in the Church of  Latter Day Saints for La Mesa's second ward in the 1990s.

A memorial service will be held on  Friday,  June 2 at 3 p.m. at the LDS church at 5555 Aztec Drive in La Mesa.

McWhirter was elected to the La Mesa City Council in November 2014 and served through 2018, after previously serving on the city’s planning commission.  In a 2018 interview with East County Magazine, he said serving on the Council had been “one of the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had,” adding that he enjoyed “working with people who want to make a difference.”

On the Council, he supported programs to boost business in the downtown village, from a farmer’s market to Oktoberfest. He supported efforts to help the homeless and approve the city’s landmark climate action plan.

 In a 2014 ECM interview, McWhirter provided his definition of leadership. “Be an example by being the hardest worker and have the ability of encouraging others by giving them a vision of what we are trying to accomplish.  Always listen and be willing to accept new ideas.”

Source: City of La Mesa 

May 27, 2023 (La Mesa) - May is National Bicycle Safety Month and the La Mesa Police Department is encouraging more people to get active and safely take bike rides. “Bicycling is a great means of transportation and recreation,” Chief Ray Sweeney said. “Let’s look out for one another and make sure everyone arrives safely at their destination. Share the road and share the responsibility.”

East County News Service

May 27, 2023 (El Cajon) – The Biden-Harris administration has announced over $4.8 million in grants to Southern California to cleanup polluted brown field sites and provide technical assistance. That includes a $500,000 grant to the East County Economic Development Council Foundation to address contamination cleanup in the city of El Cajon.

According to the EPA site, the target area for this grant is the 1.4-square-mile El Cajon Opportunity Zone Corridor. Priority sites include a 1.1-acre former commercial and lumber operation; a 3.06-acre former ice house, lumber operation, and garage; and several sites formerly used for auto repair centers, a dry cleaner, a gas station, and a current restaurant and motel.

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) says, “Safely cleaning up and reinvesting in properties with potentially hazardous materials strengthens our local tax base, promotes job growth, and protects public health and the environment. That’s why I’m so glad East County Economic Development Council Foundation will receive a much-needed $500,000 from the EPA to invest in properties and frontline communities that have been ignored and neglected for far too long.”

May 26, 2023 (Lakeside) – Trevi Hills Winery in Lakeside will host “Runway Chardonnay” on Saturday, May 27 from  3 p.m. to 7 p.m. featuring wine, fashion and music.  The event is presented by Local Umbrella Media and  benefits Music Therapy for Veterans studio.

Floyd Armstrong will be entertaining with his smooth, baritone voice singing favorites while guests sip wine and feast their eyes on Dawn Sebaugh's new spring collection from WALA, a beautiful compilation one of a kind dresses inspired from her original art.

Update 3:15 p.m. -- The seven-hour SWAT standoff has ended. According to the Sheriff's Dept., the suspect, Brandon Andrade, walked out of the house and surrendered after deputies used chemical agents. Mental Health Clinicians with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) will evaluate Andrade before he is booked into San Diego Central Jail. He is expected to face three counts of attempted murder charges. The evacuation notification and road closures will be lifted in an hour.

East County News Service

May 25, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is working to peacefully resolve a SWAT standoff in Lemon Grove. A suspect has barricaded himself inside his home and is refusing to come out after firing multiple shots and injuring a neighbor. 

Skyline Drive between Longdale Drive and Palm Street is closed as deputies continue to negotiate with the suspect, who may have other weapons. Deputies evacuated eight homes in the neighborhood. Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.

By Ken Stone,Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  La Mesa Councilwoman Laura Lothian, seeing no chance of council OK, made no motion for her policy proposal. Image via Facebook

May 25, 2023 (La Mesa) - La Mesa Councilwoman Laura Lothian ran a proposal up the flagpole but saw it shot down in a hail of public scorn and derision.