March 24, 2015 (El Cajon) – Get ready to rev up – Cajon Classic Cruises is rolling out its 2015 season starting Wednesday, April 22^nd with a full street closure for opening night.  The cruises will continue all summer long on Wednesday nights from 5 to 8 p.m.

The second week, April 29^th will celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  Other  highlights include Jimmie Johnson night on July 22^nd , a Military Tribute June 17^th, Thunder on Main on September 30^th, and Trunk or Treat on October 28^th at season’s end.

March 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes the Ramona Music Festival and Vallecito Days, recreating frontier life, plus our very own Party with the Press. We’ll also have a preview of coming attractions including egg hunts, April Pool’s Day in La Mesa, and readings of baseball’s most famous stories!  Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.

March 24, 2015 (San Diego) –San Diego State University has issued a community safety alert warning that a man armed with a black handgun tried to kidnap a female student Monday night at 10:50 p.m. and force her into a vehicle.

An East County Magazine special report

By Miriam Raftery

March 24, 2015 (El Cajon)--An East County Magazine special investigation reveals a long string of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct claims involving the El Cajon Police Department, dating back over the past two decades.  Following a recent sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the ECPD, victims and witnesses to past sexual crimes and alleged sexual misconduct have come forward to speak with ECM about other cases.

Bonnie Price, who is organizing a protest rally Tuesday at 2:15 outside El Cajon's City Council, contends that the Police Department has a "culture of sexual harassment" that may be overly conducive to such actions.

Originally Published on the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

March 23, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The lives of more than 8 million Californians may have been put at risk, when the steam generators at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) malfunctioned. The subsequent California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) investigation failed to probe into the extent to which Southern California Edison (SCE) was responsible for the facilities “design errors.”  Now  the California Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce is calling on the CPUC to investigate the SONGS settlement.

By Miriam Raftery

March 23, 2015 (Otay) –The City of San Diego’s first legal marijuana dispensary is now open for business.  A Green Alternative is located in an Otay Mesa strip mall near the Brown Field airport.

East County News Service

March 23,2015 (San Diego) – The Islamic State terrorist group known as ISIS or ISIL has issued a hit list of 100 American military men and women, including three  San Diego-based service members, 10 News reports.

Ambulance responses in our region raise alarms:  Part I in a series

By Miriam Raftery

March 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – What if you had a medical emergency and the nearest ambulance had to come from Imperial County or other distant places up to an hour away?  That’s the very real prospect facing rural East County residents under a stealth change in ambulance service approved by a county bureaucrat with no public notice, no hearing, and no vote by the Supervisors.

While some aspects of coverage stand to improve under the contract, adding more in-district ambulances and newer equipment, there are some major concerns raised by local safety advocates with regard to mutual aid and staffing.

East County Magazine

Photo by Heartland Fire Marshall Chris Jensen

March 21, 2015 (El Cajon) –Heartland Fire & Rescue doused a structure fire in a vacant commercial building at 581 South Marshall Avenue in El Cajon at 1:22 a.m.

Update March 21: Linda Adene Snow-Biggers has been found safe and unhramed, the Sheriff reports.

East County News Service

March 20, 2015 (Spring Valley) – The Sheriff seeks public help to locate a missing Spring Valley woman.  On Wednesday, March 18^th,  Linda Adene Snow-Biggers walked away from her home at 2601 Sweetwater Road, where she lives with her husband.  She was last seen walking barefoot by a neighbor, wearing a white sun dress.  She is 53 years old, six feet tall, weighs 160 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes.

Recipe: Tangerine and feta salad

By Greg Dunne

March 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Get your Tangerine on! Here’s a beauty of a Tangerine: the Golden Nugget Tangerine. If you are not familiar with these tangerines you must give them a try, you will have found a “Golden Nugget” in the produce department. This variety is not found everywhere, but plenty of locally grown Golden Nugget Tangerines from Valley Center are on sale at Barons Market in Alpine.

By Miriam Raftery

March 18, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – The Republican-controlled House and Senate budget proposals call for $5.5 trillion in spending cuts including deep  cuts in Medicare,  food stamps and other social programs. It also includes tax cuts for the wealthy and $40 million in increasing “emergency” war funding for the military.  It would also repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

By Leon Thompson

March 18, 2015 – (San Diego’s East County) That familiar blue box dinner may have shards of metal in it.  Kraft has recalled its Macaroni & Cheese dinners, after receiving eight consumer complaints.

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes a star party and a free community festival in Lakeside, theater, and musical events. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including some major music festivals, historical renactments, egg hunt extravaganzas and a family fiddle camp.  Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.