East County News Service

August 27, 2016 (Alpine) - The Alpine Woman’s Club will hold its Eleventh Annual “Christmas in Alpine” Home Tour on Saturday, December 10th from 10am to 3pm. You will have an opportunity to stroll through five stunning country estates, and visit Kathy and Mario’s quaint and spectacular place they call Alpine Country Garden and Gifts Shop. The Historic Town Hall will be open from 1pm till 4pm, where you can view Dickens Christmas Village on the Town Hall stage. Ticket holders can also enjoy light refreshments and a surprise gift to say thank you for your support.

By Miriam Raftery

August 3, 2016 (La Mesa) – With scarcely any public notice, Helix Water Board passed a 10.3% rate hike by a slim one-vote majority. The stated reason was because water use has dropped due to customers conserving water--just as the district asked them to do.

Directors Kathleen Coates-Hedberg and Joel Scalziti voted against jacking up rates, while directors John Linden, Chuck Muse and Deana Verbeke voted for the rate hike over public objections.

July 26, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Unless they’re a pet and you’ve given them a name, nobody wants rats or rodents skittering around their homes, scaring them at night, creeping them out by day and maybe even making them sick.

By Miriam Raftery

July 4, 2016 (San Diego) – Recently,  East County Magazine’s Radio Show  featured an interview with Amber Albrecht  from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).  The interview originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM Radio.

 We talked about a new fast-track process for going solar and about renewable meter adaptors invented by SDG&E employees to help you avoid costly electrical panel upgrades when going solar.

Hear our interview by clicking the audio link below.

East County News Service

June 23, 2016 (El Cajon) – Effective July 1, local realtors will be dealing with completing new forms from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), a 2,300-member trade group for San Diego-area realtors, will present “Forum on Forms,” a program for realtors on new changes in CAR forms, from 1 to 2 p.m. on Friday, July 1 at the PSAR East County Service Center, 1150 Broadway, El Cajon.

“We All Count” organizers voice concerns over undercount of homeless due to lack of data provided by shelter in El Cajon

By Miriam Raftery

May 12, 2016 (San Diego) – Results of “We All Count,” the annual count of homeless people countywide, show a 19% increase in the number of unsheltered homeless people, though a slight dip (less than a percentage point) in the total number of homeless countywide.

In an interview with the East County Magazine Show originally aired on KNSJ radio, Dolores Diaz, Executive Director of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, and Michael McConnell, an advocate for the homeless who has served as team leader for “25 Cities”, a national initiative to end homelessness and publisher of Homelessness News San Diego, discussed this year’s results of the point-in-time homeless count, as well as long term solutions to end homelessness.

Hear our interview by clicking the orange arrow above (sound files may take a few moments to load), plus scroll down for additional details and updates obtained after our interview aired.

East County News Service

May 2, 2016 (San Diego) -- “Build a box. Fill it with Mel’s Mix. Add a grid…and start planting.” Mel Bartholomew, creator of Square Foot Gardening, has passed away at the age of 84 in La Jolla, California. His easy, innovative method of growing vegetables revolutionized the way millions grow their own food. 

Native Gardens Tour April 2-3 previews

East County News Service

April 1, 2016 (Deerhorn Valley) --Two Deerhorn Valley couples who addressed their need for a fire-safe landscape using native plants discovered that native plants in the garden not only save water and reduce fire risk, but provide year-round beauty that appeals to all the senses.   They will be sharing their gardens and their experience as part of the California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) Garden Native Tour, April 2^nd and 3^rd, which features a total of twenty gardens in inland San Diego County.  

This year's tour highlights numerous gardens in East County and inland San Diego

By David Fleitner

Cover photo:  The view from the California Sunflower trail in the "Nature Adorned" garden

March 8, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- Jean and Jerry Kaiwi look contentedly over their 2½-acre home site near Flynn Springs, enjoying the view from a patio table along a trail above their house. “It used to be that you couldn’t even see the land contours – the entire lot was covered with waist-high mustard,” says Jean. “ Now the beautiful natural contours and rock outcrops are finally visible, complemented by our native plants.   We so enjoy them, along with all the native birds, lizards, snakes and bees that now share this space with us.”  

East County News Service

March 4, 2016 (El Cajon) -- Tomatomania!, the renowned Heirloom tomato seedling sale, returns to excite an enthusiastic group of gardeners in El Cajon this spring at the Water Conservation Garden, on March 12 and 13.

East County News Service

February 17, 2016 (La Mesa) -- The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), a 2,000-member trade group for San Diego area realtors, has announced that La Mesa resident Jan Farley has joined its board of directors. Farley also is serving as the 2016 president of the San Diego chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors.

Financing from Fident Capital helped infill project get off the ground

East County News Service

February 10, 2016 (Lemon Grove) --  Celsius, an 84-unit multi-family rental project by CityMark Development, broke ground in December in Lemon Grove, with phase I slated for completion mid-year. 

Two-day sting catches 15 illegal operators, including three repeat offenders and a Most Wanted suspect

East County News Service

February 3, 2016 (San Diego) -- Forecasters have been warning West Coast residents to prepare for heavy rain and flooding from this season’s El Niño. Along with these warnings, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) urges homeowners to be cautious of unlicensed workers advertising for roof repairs and other flood prevention jobs. Fifteen unlicensed contractors were caught during a two-day sting in San Diego this week, proving that many illegal operators are taking this as opportunity to prey on consumers preparing for storms.

Energy efficient and long-lasting high intensity grow lights will provide the greatest yields when growing tomatoes and other fruiting plants indoors.  Photo courtesy of Gardner's Supply Company. 

By Melinda Myers

January 18, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Add some homegrown flavor to your winter meals.  From microgreens to tomatoes, it is possible to grow produce indoors.