May 5, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- On May 1st, several changes to the County's Order of Health Officer and Emergency Regulations went into effect. Including allowing reopening of public and private golf courses that meet certain requirements.
Since then, there have been questions about a ban on use of golf carts.
After consulting with the Public Health Officer, the following clarification is being provided regarding the use of golf carts. Golf cart use is limited to the following two groups:
• Senior citizens over 55 years of age.
• People of any age with disabilities that would prevent them from walking the course.
May 5, 2020 (San Diego) - Nursing homes and other senior living facilities have been some of the hardest-hit communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As countless news stories emerge about outbreaks at nursing homes, the best guess that anyone has so far as to the total number of coronavirus deaths from nursing homes is 10,000.
Photo (Google): CoreCivic's Otay Mesa Detention Center
May 5, 2020 (San Diego) – Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego issued an order on April 30 directing the federal government to release more than 50 medically vulnerable individuals who are in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. According to the ICE website, at least 105 detainees at the facility have tested positive for COVID-19.
Judge Sabraw wrote in his decision, “The Court HEREBY DECLARES that current conditions of confinement for Otay Mesa Medically Vulnerable subclass members held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center are unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment because the conditions of their confinement place subclass members at substantial risk of serious illness or death.”
May 5, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat waring for San Diego County deserts, where dangerously hot temperatures of 103 to 108 degrees are forecast each afternoon this week. In addition, a heat advisory is in effect local valleys including the cities of Escondido, El Cajon, San Marcos, La Mesa, Santee, and Poway today through Friday.
Children’s Nature Retreat launches virtual field trips & online lessons
**The Alpine sanctuary also calls for support among COVID-19 pandemic**
Source: Chlidren’s Nature Retreat
May 5, 2020 (Alpine) – The Children’s Nature Retreatis a 20-acre animal sanctuary in Alpine with nearly 150 domesticated animals. Due to the statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the Retreat is closed for public visits and school field trips. They have recently launched online classes – $5 lessons and virtual school field trips.
The Retreat has teamed up with the Association for Human-Animal Bond Studies to offer the remote programming, which will include a video lesson, as well as a tutorial for a craft project related to the lesson. The first lesson – launched this week – is Reptiles and Birds. The objective is to introduce students to the similarities that reptiles and birds have with each other, and for them to have an opportunity to see different reptiles up close, including a rosy boa snake, a bearded dragon lizard, and a leg less lizard, as well as different birds from the Retreat – chickens, ducks, and turkeys.
May 5, 2020 (Santee) -- I grew up in San Diego's East County. I lived and went to school in Lakeside. Over the years I lived in Santee, the SDSU College area, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Hillcrest, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, El Cajon and Julian. I currently own a home in Lakeside.
May 5, 2020 (Lakeside) – A male driver and passenger were transported to a hospital with major injuries after jumping from a moving vehicle in Lakeside, says Officer Travis Garrow.
May 5, 2020 (Sacramento) – Due to progress made on flattening the growth curve of COVID-19 hospitalizations in California, Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday announced plans to allow some (but not all) non-essential businesses in “Stage 2” of his reopening plan to resume business starting Friday, May 8.
The Governor also announced a plan to allow some counties to move quickly through Stage 2 by submitting a readiness plan that meets the state’s criteria for reopening more businesses and public spaces soon. Counties can also opt to retain more restrictive measures.
May 5, 2020 (San Diego) – San Diego essential workers and at-risk populations may be eligible to enroll their children in emergency subsidized child care so they can continue to work and protect our community during the COVID-19 crisis. Child Development Associates (CDA) and the YMCA of San Diego County Childcare Resource Service (YMCA CRS), which operate the two largest subsidized child care programs in the region, will begin processing vouchers for essential worker families starting today.
Photo: Man wearing makeshift Ku Klux Klan hood was photographed by a fellow shopper Saturday at the Santee Vons store.
May 3, 2020 (Santee) - Social media users including the leader of the Anti-Defamation League of San Diegoexpressed outrage this weekend over photos taken Saturday of a male shopper at the Santee Vons wearing a makeshift Ku Klux Klan hood.
May 4, 2020 (El Cajon) –“Helping other people was the only way that I survived through different risks and wars I went through,” says Kilian Colin, an Iraqi refugee in El Cajon who says he went through lockdowns in Iraq and Syria. A long-time civil rights and labor activist, he has now started a mask-making campaign that is protecting thousands of the most vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His masks have been sent to protect healthcare workers in San Diego and in cities across the nation including had-hit New York City, as well as to farmers in the Midwest, farmworkers in Oregon, asylum seekers in Mexico, and tribal members of the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
How the effort began
“I was visiting Asia in January when the pandemic started,” says Colin, who began wearing masks in Vietnam and Taiwan. Back home as a student at San Diego State University, he kept wearing a mask to avoid infecting others.
But he recalls, “Both professors and students at SDSU were making fun of me…I had no option but to face some of those bullies and told them I was protecting them by wearing this mask, since I had no idea if I carried the virus with me home.”
In mid-March, SDSU moved classes online. Without spending an hour daily commuting, Colin decided to make several masks instead and offer them online to whoever needed them, also replacing his own surgical masks that had been washed too many times to be protective.
“I looked online for patterns to make masks and I looked in my closet for clothes that I no longer use,” he tells East County Magazine in an exclusive interview.
May 4, 2020 (La Mesa) –A general fund financial forecastpresented to the La Mesa City Council on May 28 revealed significant anticipated impacts on city revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council also heard concerns raised by Councilmember Kristine Alessio over financial hardships faced by small businesses, but voiced skepticism over her suggestion for city funding to help businesses survive the shutdown and postponed consideration of the proposal until Tuesday, May 12.
May 4, 2020 (El Cajon) - El Cajon Police seek public help to find a vandal who damaged a church and car dealership, also breaking the windshield of a truck set to delivery donations of personal protective equipment to hospital workers, says Officer Sue Stoller.
May 2, 2020 (Sacramento) -- California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a new food assistance program for children throughout the state who are living in households struggling with food insecurity. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program provides electronic food benefits to families equal to the value of meals children eligible for free or reduced-priced meals would have received at school.
Photo: Rev. Shane Harris, People’s Alliance for Justice
May 2, 2020 (San Diego) – San Diego County will deploy mobile testing sites to at-risk communities. The vehicles will include a new Live Well Bus, bookmobiles and other County vehicles, the County announced on Thursday. The County also announced plans to dramatically increase tracing of contacts with each person who tests positive and announced job openings for tracers.
May 1, 2020 (Santee) – The city of Santee today announced the reopening of Mast Park and Woodglen Vista Park, with some limitations to prevent spread of COVID-19. (see below) All other parks remain closed, however all trails and walking paths remain open.
The city asks everyone to follow the regulations below “so we can keep these parks open, and hopefully open more parks in the near future.”
Photo: A Scripps Health medical team. Group president/CEO says San Diego needs “PPE, pharmaceuticals and scarce medical equipment needed in this type of pandemic.” Photo courtesy of Scripps
May 1, 2020 (San Diego) - Executives with Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare, two major San Diego hospital chains, have written to the federal government seeking “urgent action” to combat COVID-19 along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Concert cancelled? You can get a refund – or a 150% credit, plus give tickets to healthcare workers
By Miriam Raftery
May 1, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Live Nation’s concert venues remain shut down around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Magnolia performing arts center in El Cajon, House of Blues in San Diego and others. But their site proclaims, “Just because we’re keeping our distance doesn’t mean the music has to stop. Join us daily for live streams from around the globe – follow artists live form their homes as they share music, stories and more.”
Photo: Unions across the country say the meat processing industry should have enacted adequate worker safeguards long before the pandemic. (Adobe Stock)
May 1, 2020 (Madison, Wis.) - At least 20 meat processing plants have closed temporarily across the country, including one in Wisconsin, following the spread of COVID-19 cases at these facilities.
And some say President Donald Trump was too quick to sign an order to keep all plants open during the crisis.
May 1, 2020 (San Diego) -- People are eating at home more amid the pandemic. With everything going on it can be hard to get creative with what you have on hand, while you are trying to avoid running to the store to pick up that missing ingredient or spice, at a time when many are also on reduced income. As people stocked up on non-perishable pantry goods, one thing that many people loaded their shelves with was canned tuna.
A tin of tuna is not just good for sandwiches and cheesy noodle casseroles. Tuna is a versatile protein that can be used in a variety of dishes. Here are a few recipes to spark creativity with this pantry staple.
May 1, 2020 (San Diego) – Starting today, all San Diego County residents over age 2 must wear a face-mask when within six feet of others in public places, as well as when riding on public transit, shopping or certain other activities. However exercising with social distancing will be exempted from the order set for release this week, according to ECM news partner 10 News.
Here are examples of where you will be required to cover your nose and mouth:
Waiting in line to enter a store.
Shopping in a store or other essential business,
Picking up food at a restaurant,
Waiting on transit or riding on public transportation, such as a bus, trolley or train,
Riding in a taxi or rideshare vehicle,
At a healthcare facility or
Working at an essential job where you interact with the public.
Here are examples of where you will not have wear a mask:
April 30, 2020 (Otay) – A body was located shortly before noon yesterday on a rugged trail south of Otay Mountain, says Lt. Ricardo Lopez with the San Diego Sheriff’s department. This is the area where Sheriff's deputies, the Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit and other partner agencies had been looking for missing dirt biker Roberto Jose Manual Camou.
Camou, 48, went off-roading on a motorcycle on Saturday, April 25th. The last time Camou's family heard from him was around noon that day, when he sent them a photo of him standing next to his motorcycle.
Since then, the San Diego Sheriff's Department along with the San Diego Fire Department, U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR), California State Parks, California Office of Emergency Services (CAL OES) and other partner agencies have been working day and night trying to find Camou.
April 30, 2020 (San Diego) – Starting tomorrow, a new county health order eases many restrictions on recreational facilities. Specifically:
All county parks will be reopened, with 50% parking capacity for social distancing.
Members of the same household can picnic or participate in sports or other activities in parks, but gatherings are still prohibited.
Recreational boating can resume at local lakes, bays and the ocean, however passengers must be in the same household.
Golf courses can also reopen, but golf carts are not allowed. Courses must provide physical distancing and conduct temperature screenings on all golfers.
Photos by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson at Pacific Beach
April 30, 2020 (San Diego) – After crowds packed Newport Beach in violation of social distancing mandates amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom today ordered Orange County beaches to shut down. But he backed off a broader order that Reuters News Service reported was under consideration, which could have closed all beaches statewide.
April 29, 2020 (Sacramento) – Low-risk businesses and public spaces may be able to open, with modifications, in “weeks, not months” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a briefing yesterday . He laid out a detailed plan to reopen the state in four phases, with six key indicators to be met in order to lift restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 health emergency.
April 29, 2020 (Sacramento) – In a briefing yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom suggested California schools could reopen in July or August, provided keys steps are met.
“We recognize there’s been a learning loss because of this disruption,” Newsom said of school closures since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those closures have impacted 6.1 million students statewide. “We’re concerned about the learning loss even into the summer,” the Governor added.
Newsom outlined four phases to reopen the state, which is currently in phase one. Phase two would allow some low-risk businesses to reopen, ease restrictions on some public spaces, and potentially include plans to reopen some K-12 schools for either summer school programs or an earlier start to the 2020-2021 school year.
April 28, 2020 (Alpine) – Motocross Hall of Fame champion Marty Smith, 63, died yesterday along with his wife, Nancy in a dune buggy accident at the Imperial Sand Dunes in Glamis, California.
The couple lived in Alpine and are survived by two daughters, a son and grandchildren.
TMZ sports reports that the couple was in a dune buggy that flipped and rolled down a hill. According to TMZ, Marty Smith was not wearing a safety harness and his wife wore only a lap belt.
Lee Rampage posted “with a grieving heart” on social media that he and his wife, Tammi, were with the Smiths when the crash occurred.
April 27, 2020 (San Diego’s East Count) -- Despite a growing desire to return to life as normal, East County residents and businesses are following the state’s COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, officials say. But some mayors and local business leaders voice concerns over impacts on the business community from extended closures.
April 28, 2020 (El Cajon) – Robert Gehr of El Cajon sent in this image taken at Christ Church Unity in El Cajon, which he titled “Finding strength in faith during these trying times.”
April 28, 2020 (San Diego) -Today the San Diego Foundation Board of Governors announced it approved $5 million to support short-term, interest-free loans to San Diego County nonprofit organizations impacted by COVID-19.
By Miriam Raftery
By Marcel Gemme
By Miriam Raftery
Children’s Nature Retreat launches virtual field trips & online lessons
By E.A. Barrera 
By Miriam Raftery
Eligible families may begin enrolling at [
By Ken Stone, 
By Iris Neal
East County News Service 
By Miriam Raftery
By Ken Stone, 
Concert cancelled? You can get a refund – or a 150% credit, plus give tickets to healthcare workers
By Mike Moen, Public News Service
Recipes and photos courtesy of Safe Catch Tuna
East County News Service
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
Source: San Diego Foundation
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