By Miriam Raftery

November 24, 2017 (Santee) – Off Broadway Live Theatre in Santee will present “A Big Band Christmas with The Gaslamp Quarter Jazz Orchestra & Leonard Patton" on Friday, December 22^nd at 7 p.m.

East County News Service

November 23, 2017 (San Diego) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of seven California winners participating in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge. Winners include Sprouts Farmers Markets in Daly City and Carlsbad, Calif., Ramona High School in Ramona, Calif., Food Forward in North Hollywood, Calif., Cherokee Point Elementary School in San Diego, Calif., the City of San Diego and the San Diego International Airport.

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photos courtesy goaztecs.com

November 24, 2017 (San Diego) - Rashaad Penny didn't take it personally that he was snubbed by the Doak Walker Award selection committee.

He just went out and ran 22 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns in his final regular-season game to crack the 2,000-yard mark and lead San Diego State to a 35-10 victory against New Mexico on Friday.

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

November 23, 2017 (San Diego) - Sheriff Bill Gore recalls sitting at work this summer, listening to Carl DeMaio on his KOGO radio talk show.

Even though the former San Diego City Council member was an early endorser of Gore for sheriff in 2010, DeMaio “really blasted me” over permits to carry a concealed weapon, Gore told a Republican women’s club this week.

Image: “Signs of Survival” courtesy of SDWS

Source: San Diego Watercolor Society

November 28, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Ski Torzeski, an artist and resident of El Cajon, won the Second Place award in the highly competitive Member’s show, “Polar Extractions," currently at The San Diego Watercolor Society. His painting titled “Signs of Survival“ was given the honor by award-winning artist and juror, Mary Sievers.  According to Sievers, “I love how this artist captured the light. The colors and design are remarkable.”

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 22, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Let the shopping — and receipt-checking — begin!

Black Friday and the holiday season mean the shopping-est time of the year is back. The County wants to remind shoppers to double-check all receipts to protect themselves from being overcharged by faulty cash register price scanners.

East County WIldfire and Emergency Alerts

November 22, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Elevated fire conditions are forecast for today, continuing on Thanksgiving.  While conditions should cool over the weekend, fire danger returns Monday due to extremely hot, dry conditions and Santa Ana winds, the National Weather Service predicts.

 Already this Thanksgiving week,  many places in San Diego County have experienced record-breaking temperatures for the season. Highs reached into the 90s in El Cajon, Ramona, Escondido and other local communities.

East County News Service

November 21, 2017 (Julian) – Julian Theatre will present Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.”  This timeless tale focuses on the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future.  Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit and his impoverished family including the frail Tiny Tim face a grim future, unless Scrooge can find redemption and discover the true spirit of Christmas.

By Steve Goble, Councilmember in the City of El Cajon



November 21, 2017(El Cajon) -- Some voices, especially from outside the City of El Cajon, have mischaracterized the City’s temporary prohibition on feeding the public in public spaces.  I thought I’d address here why I voted for the temporary ordinance and attempt to clear up any misunderstandings which have been distributed on social media and spoken in public forums.

By Paul Kruze

November 21, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Some 300 members of El Cajon’s large Chaldean  community gathered at Prescott Promenade in downtown El Cajon on Thursday afternoon to vent their frustrations that the U.S. government is not doing enough to protect ethnic Chaldean Christians who still live in war-torn Iraq and face new persecutions now, even after ISIS has been routed from their homeland.

The rally was sponsored by the Chaldean League of California, local Chaldean associations, and the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter. Several speakers called for the Iraqi constitution to be amended to assure equality for Muslim and Christian Iraqis and asked for there to be a separation of church and state in Iraq.

According to a flyer distributed by the Chaldean League, since the defeat of ISIS, Iraqi Christians have started to return to their overrun towns and villages, yet are once again being forced to flee again when Iraqi and Kurdish forces clash.

  By Paul Kruze

November 20, 2017 (El Cajon) – Since the East County Perform Arts Center shut down  in 2010, many East County residents have been frustrated with the slow pace of completing repairs and finding new management.

Finally, at last Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council hearing, residents heard the news they’ve long been waiting for. Mayor Bill Wells and City Manager Doug Williford announced that a preliminary five year management agreement for the theater has been reached with Live Nation, a Beverly Hills-based live-events company focused on producing worldwide concert and entertainment-show promotions.

Details of the final agreement are expected to be shared at the next meeting and approved by the City Council. The vote will mark the culmination of some one-and-a-half years of negotiation by Williford.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 20, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Escape the shopping madness of Black Friday on Nov. 24 and discover the upside of outside during County Parks’ Green Friday. You can relax, breathe in the fresh air and maybe work off some of those Thanksgiving dinner calories. You’ll save some green, too. Parking fees will be waived at all County parks.

County Parks is offering several special Green Friday events across the region. They range from coffee with a ranger and a “Work Off the Turkey” boot camp class to exploring a butterfly garden and a sunset hike.

They all take place on Friday, Nov. 24.  Here is a roundup of events:

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By Miriam Raftery

November 20, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO), a political action committee promoting Second Amendment rights, has long opposed what it contends is an undisclosed internal policy on who can qualify for a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit. SDCGO says that Sheriff Bill Gore routinely denies CCW permits to law-abiding, trained county residents who qualify under state law for a CCW.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated with analysis from Forbes Magazine.

November 19, 2017 (San Diego) – House Republicans rammed through passage of a sweeping tax reform measure without holding a single hearing on the 400-page bill and without allowing any input from Democrats.   The measure, hailed as the first major legislative victory for President Donald Trump, was opposed by San Diego’s three Democratic representatives as well as by Republican Darrell Issa, but was supported by Republican Duncan Hunter.