Updated Feb. 24 with information on fundraising effort to help toddler critically injured in crash

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2024 (El Cajon) – A woman who died January 28 in a fiery El Cajon crash has been identified as Katalina “Katy” Frausto Aguilar, 43, of El Cajon. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help her widow and their children.

A separate GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched to pay medical bills of Akeel, a 17-monthh-old toddler who suffered serious head and neck injuries in the crash. Akeel was asleep in his father's SUV parked at a stoplight when Aguilar lost control of her vehicle while driving the wrong direction on I-8. View article with latest updates on Akeel's condition.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2024 (San Diego) – Joseph “Joe” Mackey, 37, went missing from an independent living facility in Encanto on January 25.  He is considered high risk and needs medical attention.

His sister, Wendy Hayes, says her brother is "the biggest sweetheart you will ever meet." She told ECM that he was stable for 10 years with a mental health condition, but recently went off medications. On January 25, she says, “he apparently walked out because he was told that his house was closing and he was going to have to move...Now we are just beside ourselves...He had been missing for two weeks before we heard about it.”

Mackey is 5 ft. 11 inches tall, weighs around 150-160 pounds and has lost weight since the photos on this flyer were taken.  He has tattoos including a Chargers emblem on his left shoulder, a clown with gun on his right shoulder, Lil Kim on his back and bones on his left forearm.  He  may  no longer have facial hair and may not be wearing his glasses. He may be wearing shorts and a T-shirt with pieces of cut or torn clothing wrapped around his waist, neck or arms.

Hayes says the family is "beside ourselves" with concern and that family members gave been out daily searching for her brother. 

East County News Service

February 7, 2024 (La Mesa) -- The Collier Park renovation is almost complete with the reopening/ribbon cutting celebration on February 10, 2024!

Join the City of La Mesa for interactive activities, presentations, and resources while you enjoy the new park, playground, fitness equipment, walking trails, courts, and more.

By Michael Howard

February 7, 2024 (San Diego, CA) - The 2024 California March Primaries ballot are in the mailboxes of many voters, including the residents of the 48th Congressional District, where the Republican incumbent Darrell Issa is vying for his second term.

Issa has been in San Diego politics since 1998 when he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost to Matt Fong during the primaries. In 2000, he won the District 49 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and has also served in the same capacity for districts 48 and 50 in the ensuing years.

As the incumbent for District 48, Issa votes primarily along conservative lines, achieving a minimum of 82% or higher with most conservative political organizations such as the American Conservative Union, Christian Action Network, and Heritage Action for America. Conversely, his votes received zero to only 13% ratings with liberal organizations such as Americans for Democratic Action, Freedom Democrats, and Radical Middle. 

Issa faces five candidates across the political spectrum this election, including four Democrats and a no-party-preference candidate. Three of the five are candidates he beat in the 2022 election for his current seat, the other two are first-time contenders. The top two in the March 5 primary will advance to a November runoff race.

Stephen Houlahan (D) was the closest contender in 2022, whom Issa beat in the general election by a 20% margin. Matthew Rascon (D) lost to Issa during the primaries with 9.1% of the votes along with the no-party-preference candidate Lucinda KWH Jahn with only 1.6% of the votes. Two new contenders this year are Mike Simon (D) and Whitney Shanahan (D).

Photo:  The four candidates who participated in our questionnaire; top left to lower right, Democrats Stephen Houlahan,Mike Simonand Whiney Shanahan, and decline-to-state party candidates Lucinda KWH Jahn.

East County Magazine reached out to all candidates asking them to answer questions about the economy, immigration, healthcare, democracy, the Israel-Hammas and Russia-Ukraine wars, social security, and more. Four of the six candidates submitted their answers, which we have included in this article. Phone calls and emails to Congressman Issa and Matthew Rascon were not successful in obtaining answers to these questions. 

Here are the questions and answers from the candidates:

East County News Service

February 7, 2024 (El Cajon) – Yesterday afternoon, a man entered Big 5 Sporting Goods on Fletcher Parkway, selected merchandise, and then exited the store without paying. A store employee attempted to stop the man from stealing. 

According to El Cajon Police, the man swung a plastic bag containing a small metal propane bottle at the employee and struck her in the forehead, causing pain and minor injury. The employee was able to use her cell phone to photograph the man as he fled the area toward the trolley.  

Winter storm warning in effect for mountains through Thursday, Feb. 8 at  12 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Laguna Mountain Lodge webcam

February 7, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)—Several inches or more of snow blanketed San Diego County’s mountains overnight.  Snow fell in Julian, Pine Valley, and many other mountain communities, with more precipitation forecast today.

Due to weather and road conditions, several school districts are closed and have a snow day today, according to the San Diego County Office of Education:  Julian Union Elementary , Julian Union High, Mountain Empire,  Spencer Valley,  Warner Unified.

Source:  goaztecs.com

Video courtesy goaztecs.com

February 7, 2024 (Colorado Springs, Colo.) -- Reese Waters scored 15 points, making five of San Diego State's season-high 11 3-pointers, and the 24th-ranked Aztecs cruised to a 77-64 win over Air Force on Tuesday night.

By Jonathan Goetz

February 5, 2024 (Borrego Springs) -- The 18th Annual Plein Air Invitational in Borrego Springs, California promises to be a captivating celebration of art and nature. The event runs from March 4 to April 14, 2024.

While wildflowers typically start popping up halfway through February, the peak blooming usually occurs in March and continues through April. Given all this winter's rain this year's floral blooms in the Anza Borrego should be early and quite exceptional.

By Henri Migala

Photo, top row: Democratic representatives Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara  Lee; bottom row: Republicans Steve Garvey, ex-baseball player, and attorney Eric Early

February 5, 2024 (San Diego) -- California’s U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched and pivotal contests in the upcoming election cycle, capturing the nation's attention as a dynamic lineup of contenders from different backgrounds and political ideologies vie for the coveted seat.

With the death of long-serving Senator Dianne Feinstein, a seat that has been held by Democrats for decades is now up for grabs. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to fill out the rest of Feinstein’s term ending in January 2025.The top-two primary winners will run in the November general election for the six-year term beginning on January 3, 2025. Also on the primary ballot is a special top-two primary for the remainder of Feinstein's current term,so be sure to vote in both.

Butler is not seeking election. But 22 others are on the March 5 primary ballot vying for the Senate seat, including five well-known names—three Democratic members of Congress and two prominent Republicans, an attorney/businessman and a former baseball player.

.East County Magazine takes a closer look at the top five major contenders vying for this influential position to represent the golden state in the U.S. Senate.

East County News Service 

February 5, 2024 (Julian) -- Julian Tea and Cottage Arts’ Valentine’s Teas will be held seven days Thursday February 8 through Wednesday, February 14. These teas will be served indoors and are also available to go. 

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

February 5, 2024 (San Diego) -- We are having a cold spell here and a lot of times during these cold spells, or during the wintertime, we respond to an increased call of natural gas odors in a home. But carbon monoxide is a silent poison. It’s a colorless and odorless gas. You can’t smell it. But there are warning signs if there is a leak in your home.

If you start feeling flu-like symptoms or achy or you just feel very tired, there’s a good chance you may be having carbon monoxide symptoms.  I say that with hesitation because right now is flu season, and we have COVID 19 that’s running and starting to spike a bit. If you start feeling that way, and maybe several people start feeling that way in your house, I would get out of the house, open the house up, air it out and call 911.

However, there are many ways people can prevent these leaks before they happen.

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Director, Institute for Public Strategies

February 5, 2024 (San Diego) - Tara Stamos-Buesig hit rock bottom one Sunday night while working the streets on El Cajon Boulevard near Hoover High School. She was a sex worker wearing a mini skirt and fishnet stockings. She was snared in a San Diego Police sting operation in an area notorious for prostitution. It was after she had filled her hypodermic needle with the drugs she recovered off the dirty floor of a fast food restaurant restroom and injected them into her system. That’s when she decided to change her life.

East County News Service

February 5, 2024 (Jamul)—Charges against Travis Bodle, 53, have been upgraded from attempted murder to murder after the victim, his mother, 77-year-old Vicki Bodle, died of her injuries. A memorial for Vicki Bodle will be at the Jamul Community church at 11am on Saturday, February 17.

Deputies responded on January 19 at 1:33 p.m. to the 14400 block of Hillside Estates Drive in Jamul at the request of firefighters because Vicki Bidle showed signs of a physical assault. Shew was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died.