By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Daren Sefcik

June 1, 2017 (Borrego Springs) – The 47^th annual Anza Borrego bighorn sheep count is set for  June 29^th through July 1^st,  with a mandatory orientation on June 17^th for all new counters and recommended for those who participated in the past.   The count will go on despite the death of its long-time leader, Ranger Steve Bier. 

“We were unable to find the master sheep count mailing list,”  states a letter from Anza Borrego Desert State Park Superintendent Kathy Dice and volunteer Sheep County Coordinator Mark Jorgensen, who are organizing a new sheep counting team. If you know of counters,  please forward their contact information to AB.Sheepcount@parks.ca.gov.

By Jonathan Goetz

Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report

May 30, 2017 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council had a packed agenda Wednesday at its 3 p.m. meeting, taking actions including:

• Voting 5-0 to put an item on an upcoming agenda to have staff prepare a report on feasibility of hiring a Crisis House “homeless navigator” expert to match unique needs of homeless people with private and public programs to help house the homeless;  
• Voting 4-1 to hold two town hall meetings annually to allow residents to propose agenda items and for Council to set agenda priorities;
• Heard a report from the County Water Authority claiming Metropolitan Water has been squandering funds and overcharging ratepayers;
• Honoring participants and supporters of America on Main Street;
• Presented awards to local youths and Friends of East County Arts contest winners
• Praised a resident for using a drone to get evidence of an illegal marijuana dispensary.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos:  Norm Case examines Civil War drum played at the Battle of Shiloh  (photo, left) by his ancestor, Philo L. Case (photo, right)

May 28, 2017 (Ramona)--Philo Case, a drummer in the Union Army, played the long roll that called troops to arms during the battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the Civil War.  This Memorial Day weekend, his drum is on display at Hatfield Creek Winery in Ramona at 2 p.m. each day. 

Norm Case, Philo's descendent, shared the amazing history handed down through his family -- a tale that includes not only Civil War stories, but also a mystery involving another branch of his family tree that includes the niece of John Wilkes Booth.  Case says she's told him her family has kept a secret for generations--claiming her uncle came to Yakima, Washington and asked that his presence be kept secret -- after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

May 27, 2017 (San Diego) --Dr. Tom Deméré, curator of paleontology and director of PaleoServices at the San Diego Natural History Museum, was our guest recently on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ.   Deméré vigorously defended his team’s conclusions that  bones from an ancient mastodon skeleton found locally were broken and sharpened with stones onsite by early humans 130,000 years ago.  

Click the audio link to hear our full interview, and scroll down for highlights.

Source:  City of La Mesa

May 26, 2017 (La Mesa) - May is Drowning Prevention Month in the City of La Mesa, and as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, the community is reminded to be safe in and around water.  

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide. Children, males, and individuals with increased access to water are most at risk of drowning.  In addition, the Center for Disease Control and Injury Prevention states that children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rate, with most of those drownings occurring in home swimming pools and during the months of May to August.  

By Jonathan Goetz; Miriam Raftery also contributed to this article

May 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Following a lively public hearing on drawing up city council district lines to comply with Voting Rights Act requirements aimed at increasing minority representation,  El Cajon’s City council voted 3-2 to adopt  Paul Circo’s map PCirco1 for council district elections. 

Councilman Ben Kalasho,  a Chaldean-American and the only minority on the Council,  earlier sent a letter threatening to sue his city if that map was approved and request public records to determine if gerrymandering laws or the Brown Act were violated. 

Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmen Gary Kendrick and Bob McClellan voted to approve the map drawn by Circo, a Republican who ran for Council in 2016.  Councilmembers Steve Goble and Kalasho voted against it.  The district election map  chosen squares Kalasho off against fellow Councilman Kendrick, who also lives in Fletcher Hills, on the opposite side of Parkway Plaza. It also pairs Councilmembers Steve Goble and Bob McClellan, leaving two other districts that will be open seats. The Mayor will continue to be elected at-large by all voters in the city.

The plan chosen creates three majority minority districts.  Two have 70% minorities and a third has 51% . The minority definition used is broad, including language minorities such as Arabic speakers as well as all classes protected under state and federal  Voting Rights Acts.

East County News Service

May 25, 2017 (El Cajon) — Dogs, cats and other pets awaiting adoption in El Cajon will soon have some spacious new digs.  The long-awaited El Cajon Animal Shelter is finally under construction after years of planning and design.

By Miriam Raftery

May 25, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – House Republicans passed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and  passage of their own American Health Care Act (Trumpcare) without waiting for a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Now the CBO’s report is published—and shows mostly negative consequences of the Republican plan now before the Senate. 

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2017 (La Mesa) – The 25^th anniversary season of the La Mesa Classic Car Show will go on.  Council voted 3-0 last night to authorize a permit for the show to be managed by the new La Mesa Village Association, despite concerns over the LMVA’s decision to drop long-time popular  DJ Jack Leary, aka “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” 

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: The project is bordered by existing sand projects to the north and east

May 23, 2017 (Lakeside) -- The Lakeside Community Planning Group  on May 17 approved by a 10-0 vote a major use permit for East County Sand LLC to extract sand from 19.23 of 27.39 acres in the heavy industrial portion of Hwy-67 and Vigilante Road. The project still needs to go before the County Planning Commission. Upon conclusion, it will host 8.8 acres of wetland in Slaughterhouse Creek and San Vicente Creekbed at the north end of Moreno Valley in Lakeside.

Popular event could fly off into sunset without more sponsors and donors

By Mike Allen

Photo credit John Ford Photography and Air Group One

May 22, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Organizers of the biggest annual air show in East County say they cannot afford to put it on because of rising costs and an inability to raise sufficient funds.

By Miriam Raftery

May 22, 2017 (El Cajon) – Crews from Heartland Fire & Rescue, Cal Fire and San Miguel Fire responded to a  call reporting a shed fire.at the Safari Mobile Home Park, located in the 1100 block of East Main Street in El Cajon at 5:30 p.m. Crews arrived within four minutes, but found the fire had spread to the interior of a mobile home.

Source: Caltrans

May 22, 2017 (San Diego) - Construction crews will close the northbound State Route 15 (SR-15) connector ramp to eastbound and westbound Interstate 8 (I-8) on Sunday from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Monday, according to Caltrans. The closure is needed for construction on the SR-15 Commuter Bikeway Project.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Cynthia Wharton, taken yesterday from Otay Lakes Road just before it was shut down.

May 21, 2017 – A criminal arson investigation has been launched into the cause of the Gate Fire, which has charred 2,056 acres and is now 70% contained.

Captain Isaac Sanchez with Cal Fire told ECM news partner 10 News that a video shot by a target shooter and posted on social media shows a group of people starting the fire. The video may be this one posted by a user named Vandalsworld on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BUVtlvSBN0r/?hl=en.   The poster claims the people started the fire, but it is unclear whether the fire was started by shooting or some other way. After the fire started, the people could be seen walking away from the scene.

Earlier, some neighbors had blamed the fire on shooters at a target range near where the fire began, in an area where shooting is believed to have started several prior brush fires. But now a shooter may have captured evidence to catch possible arsonists or careless individuals whose actions ignited the Gate Fire.

Firefighters continue to make progress towards full containment, Cal Fire reports.  State Route 94 has been reopened, as well as Otay Lakes Road.  Please drive with caution, however, in this area.

By Miriam Raftery

May 21, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – The driver of a green Honda Accord died after a high-speed accident in the 3200 block of Sweetwater Road in Lemon Grover yesterday.  The young man, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected onto the roadway.