By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Oct. 9, 2020 (El Cajon) El Cajon’s City Council District 4 candidates participated in a forum sponsored by East County Magazine, moderated by ECM editor, Miriam Raftery, via Zoom.  John Sepulvado was the cohost and timekeeper.

Scroll down to read highlights and excerpts of the forum, which covered a wide range of issues with questions from the public as well as the moderator.  Topics covered included racial justice and policing, homeless, housing and renters’ issues, the future of Parkway Plaza and the Magnolia performing arts center, COVID-19,  budget priorities, hate crimes, pedestrian safety/street racing, and more.

You can watch the full forum, recorded on Zoom, at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z213Qn_Cyo&feature=youtu.be

The three candidates vying for the seat are (alphabetically) Estela de los Rios (D), Phil Ortiz (R), and Dunia Shaba (R). A fourth candidate, Billy Thigpen, did not participate. He has suspended his campaign and encouraged voters in the Nov. 3^rd election to support Estela de los Rios.

By Mike Allen

October 8, 2020 (Santee) -- This week, Sharp Rees-Stealy opened its new medical center, a state of the art three-story building on Cuyamaca Street off Highway 52, which replaces four smaller clinics in East County that are now closed.

East County News Service

October 6, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Did you know that October is California Archaeology Month?  Consider marking the occasion by signing up for a talk by Anne Morgan, co-author of Geoglyphs of the Desert Southwest: Earthen Art as Viewed from Above. The mysterious and beautiful geoglyphs found in the desert southwest are one of the largest concentrations found outside of Peru’s Nazca Lines.

East County News Service

October 6, 2020 (Campo) -- Join the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association in its annual Pumpkin Express Halloween Celebration.  Come ride decorated vintage railcars through the San Diego county mountains as fall descends upon Campo, CA.  Walk through a themed Display Building complete with Halloween scenes, a pumpkin patch, and our creepy cast of ghosts and ghouls.

East County News Service

October 4, 2020 (Spring Valley) - The County of San Diego – Planning & Development Services (PDS) will host a virtual community workshop for the Campo Road Corridor Revitalization Plan on Thursday, October 15 at 4 p.m.  The plan covers the section of Campo Road in the Casa de Oro community. 

East County News Service

October 3, 2020 (La Mesa) – A suspect accused of brandishing a knife and demanding cash from a teller during robbery of the Navy Federal Credit Union on Grossmont. Blvd. in La Mesa on September 30 is in custody.

After the robbery around 10:02 a.m., the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle with an undisclosed amount of currency. He was located driving away from the area by responding La Mesa Police Department officers and followed to the 4500 block of Winona Avenue in San Diego, where a traffic stop was initiated.

By Miriam Raftery

October 2, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – A suspect who failed to yield for a traffic stop in El Cajon early yesterday morning led officers from multiple law enforcement agencies on a high-speed pursuit through three cities. It took deployment of a spike strip, a taser and a struggle with Sheriff’s deputies to ultimately arrest 53-year-old Larry Route of San Diego.

The incident began at 1:42 a.m. when Deputy Young from the Sheriff's Lakeside substation saw a vehicle drive through a red light at the intersection of North Magnolia Avenue and East Bradley Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon.The driver of the vehicle failed to yield for a traffic stop and a traffic pursuit ensued into the City of Santee. The suspect vehicle collided into the center median at Halberns Boulevard and Mast Boulevard but continued to drive at a high rate of speed on to State Route 52 into the City of San Diego, according to Sergeant Anthony Portillo.

San Diego Police Air Support (ABLE) responded as deputies coordinated a tire deflation deployment with the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

By Chris Ernest Nelson

Retired Mount Miguel High School Teacher

October 1, 2020 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove has the “Best Climate on Earth.”  Yes, that’s true enough, but we should not stop there. Mayor Racquel Vasquez is committed to making Lemon Grove also the Best Place to Live.  Since her election in 2016, she has brought to city government a new energy and a commitment to improving the environment for all the residents of Lemon Grove. She is determined to make city government more modern, efficient, fiscally prudent and responsive to public interests.

By Miriam Raftery

October 1, 2020 (Lakeside) – The Fredricks family in Lakeside is once again vying to earn the title of biggest pumpkin grown in San Diego County this year—and maybe ever.

Part 1 in a 2-part series

By Robin N. Kendall

September 20, 2020 (Lemon Grove) -- Voters have many choices this year to fill three open seats on the five-person Lemon Grove School Board. In November of last year, the district was faced with a vacancy when former school board member Katie Dexter resigned. April Leon was appointed to fill the seat until this election, when voters could choose who would serve the remaining two years. Now Leon, the appointed incumbent, is seeking to be elected. Greg Shibley is running against her.

East County Magazine emailed a set of questions to each of the candidates for school board. Below are the responses from April Leon and Greg Shibley, candidates for the short-term seat. In the next story, part 2, we report on the candidates for the full-term seat.