By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2018 (San Diego) – Former first lady Barbara Bush died today in her Houston home at age 92.  Wife of George H.W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush, she is only the second woman in history (after Abigail Adams) to have both a son and husband who served as president.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Navy photo: A Tomahawk cruise missile blasts off from a vertical launch tube on the USS

April 14, 2018 (San Diego) -- A San Diego-based destroyer was among four Navy vessels that fired dozens of cruise missiles early Saturday morning local time in the attack on Syrian chemical weapons sites.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, which departed San Diego in November, was joined in the action by the Norfolk-based cruiser USS Monterey, destroyer USS Laboon and submarine USS John Warner.

East County News Service

April 13, 2018 (Ramona) – Conservative candidates will be participating in a candidates forum hosted by Ramona Tea’d on Saturday, April 28 at 11:30 at the Ramona Mainstage, 626 Main Street in Ramona.

Twelve candidates for Sheriff, Judge, State Assembly, State Senate and Congress were invited.  Confirmed participants so far include Judge Gary Kreep, Vicky Rothman, Tom Palzer, Dr. Robert Newman, and Larry Wilske. Other invitees include John Cox, Travis Allen, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Bill Wells, Brian Jones, Judge Herbert Exarhos, and Steven Bailey.

You’re invited to bring your questions and comments. Doors open at 11 a.m.

By Miriam Raftery

April 11, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – Prominent Republicans are speaking out to debunk claims made by President Donald Trump after the FBI raided the office and home of Trump’s long-time attorney Donald Cohen this week under orders of the U.S. Attorney’s office.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

April 7, 2018 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon City Council members temporarily set aside their differences and got down to work Tuesday in what some say was one of their most productive sessions in recent months.

Today is last day to submit a map for final consideration at next Council meetings

By Mike Allen

 April 4, 2018 (Santee) -- Like it or not, and all five council members absolutely do not, Santee is adopting a system of district elections in advance of this November.

 Starting in late January, the council has been holding public hearings and soliciting comments about how boundary lines dividing the city into four quadrants should be drawn.

East County News Service

April 2, 2018 (Julian) – The public is invited to “Meet the Candidates” on Thursday, April 5^th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Julian Town Hall.  The forum is hosted by Julian Indivisible, a progressive political organization.  Candidates confirmed to appear include Dave Myers for Sheriff, James Elia for State Assembly, Genevieve Jones Wright for District Attorney, and Matt Brower for Judge.

You’re encouraged to bring questions to ask the candidates. Voter registration will also be available at this event.  For more information, contact julianindivisible@gmail.com.

By Miriam Raftery

March 30, 2018 (San Diego) – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against several members of Congress, including Susan Davis (D-San Diego) for displaying a rainbow gay pride flag outside her offices.  U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss rejected arguments by the plaintiff, Chris Sevier, who had argued that displaying the flag amounted to establishment of a religion and thus violated the establishment clause of the constitution.

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2018 (San Diego) – The U.S. Commerce Department has announced that it will ask a question on citizenship status during the 2020 Census. The question was removed from the Census back in 1950, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross claims that the change will permit “more effective enforcement” of the Voting Rights Act. But critics contend the move will instead diminish minority representation in Congress.

The Constitution, in fact, requires that every resident be counted in the census every 10 years, whether or not they are citizens.  The results are used not only to determine how many Congressional districts each state will have, but also the amount of federal grants and subsidies that will be provided.  If minorities fail to participate for fear of answering a citizenship question, California and areas such as San Diego County with high minority populations and areas with high poverty rates could lose billions of dollars in federal funds.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated March 31 with Councilman Jones' comments.

March 26, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- Last week, many Lemon Grove residents were surprised to hear a citizen speaking during public comment at a City Council meeting reveal that the city had settled a case  filed by a former contracted city worker.  The worker alleged that Councilman Jerry Jones and City Manager Lydia Romero violated his free speech rights and retaliated against him for comments he’d posted on social media criticizing Jones.

East County Magazine has obtained a copy of the settlement and release agreement from the city in response to a public records request.

By Miriam Raftery

March 21, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – President Trump is drawing fire from wildlife protection groups for launching a “wildlife conservation council” with a mission to promote big-game trophy hunting, not preserve wildlife, Mother Jones magazine reports.

By Miriam Raftery

March 20, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – In direct conflict to warnings from top U.S. intelligence agency representatives, The House Intelligence Committee’s Republican majority shut down its investigation and  issued an overview of its report which concluded that Russia’s election hacking and social media attacks were merely intended to cause discord, not help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.  The GOP report also concluded that that it found no “evidence of coordination, collusion or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russians. “

By Joyce Strand

Photo from left to right: Democratic candidate for Congress Ammar Campa-Najjar, Republican candidate for Congress Shamus Sayed, Luawanna Hallstrom and Warren Bacon.

March 15, 2018 (Ramona) - The topics of water, farm labor, and NAFTA dominated presentations at Indivisible Ramona’s second community meeting to understand issues of importance to San Diego County, held at the Ramona Library Community Room on February 27th.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Frank Gormlie, San Diego Free Press

March 14, 2018 (San Diego) – In a visit to San Diego on Monday, President Donald Trump toured prototypes of a border wall in Otay Mesa.  Hundreds of protesters turned out, San Diego Free Press reports, at the border as well as downtown. 

Trump supporters also came to greet the president including rallies by the anti-immigrant organization San Diegans for Secure Borders, a group led by former San Diego Minutemen organizer Jeff Schwilk.

By Miriam Raftery

March 13, 2018 (San Diego) – President Donald Trump has blocked a takeover of Qualcomm by Singapore-based Broadcom, which would have been the biggest technology merger in history.

In a a presidential order, Trump cited “credible evidence” that if Broadcom acquired Qualcomm, the foreign corporation “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”