By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Creative commons image via Bing

October 22, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove’s City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to join Tree City USA, a national program that has provided 3.6 million trees to  communities since its inception in 1976. Lemon Grove joins East County’s other cities (La Mesa, El Cajon and Santee) and  3,600 other communities in all 50 states.

Planting a thriving urban forest creates theses benefits for communities, according to Tree City USA, a project of the Arbor Day Foundation:  

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left by Jake Rose: Chase Bank in flames

October 21, 2021 (La Mesa) – Ricky Bernard Cooper, 34, has pleaded guilty to setting an arson fire that burned down Chase Bank in downtown La Mesa during a riot on May 30, 2020.  Cooper also pleaded guilty to a burglary count for looting at the La Mesa Springs Shopping Center. His sentencing is slated for next month.

By Miriam Raftery

October 21, 2021 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police arrested a man this evening for domestic violence after a physical altercation at Salon Radiance.

Officers responded to a report of the altercation between a man and woman around 5:30 p.m. at the hair salon located at 4753 Palm Avenue in the La Mesa downtown village.

“When officers arrived, their investigation revealed that it was a domestic violence incident and the victim had a valid restraining order against the suspect. The victim suffered minor injuries (abrasions),” Lieutenant Greg Runge with La Mesa Police told ECM in an email response to our request for information.

By Miriam Raftery

October 21, 2021 (San Diego) – A strong Pacific storm is forecast to bring an “atmospheric river” to Southern California Sunday and Monday. The storm could dump over two inches in some East County communities including El Cajon, Alpine, Julian and Mountain Laguna, with over five inches forecast on Palomar Mountain.  Even high desert areas such as Campo and the Anza Borrego Desert could receive an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.

East County News Service

October 21, 2021 (Jamul) – A retail shopping center in Jamul has been sold for $6 million. The property, which had not been listed for sale, sold on Sept. 17, Commercial Asset Advisors announced.  The 18,926-square-foot center has multiple tenants and is anchored by a 7-Eleven gas station. It is located at 12918-12930 Campo Road, Jamul, CA 91935.

CAA’s Gino Kalasho and Mike Conger represented the buyer, Fuel Team Inc., on this transaction. The seller was Dan Floit.The property includes approximately one acre of unused land that could be developed in the future.

East County News Service

October 21, 2021 (San Diego) – A salmonella outbreak in 37 states including California has been linked to fresh red, white, and yellow onions imported from Chihuahua, Mexico and distributed by ProSource Inc. The outbreak has sickened 652 people in the U.S. and resulted in 129 hospitalizations.  

These onions were sold to restaurants and grocery stores throughout the United States, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Consumers are advised not to buy or eat any fresh onions unless you know where they were grown. If there is no sticker, or if they are labeled from Chihuahua, Mexico or ProSource, throw them away or return them to the retailer. Wash any surfaces or containers that the onions touched with hot soapy water or run containers through a dishwasher. Businesses should check coolers and discard any onions of unknown origin or from the contaminated sources.

October 21, 2021 (El Cajon) -- Visitors to El Cajon's first-ever Foodie Fest on October 9 had an opportunity to savor flavors from an array of restaurants and caterers, featuring cuisines from around the world.

East County Magazine intern Cristina Lombardo visited Foodie Fest and created a video to document the experience. She spoke with local restarurant owners and an event organizer of the successful event.

Among the offerings were Iraqi, Afghan, Mexican, Italian, Hawaiian foods and more.  Offerings ranged from spicy entrees to healthy smoothies to rich desserts.

This is the fifth time SDSU has teamed up with the American Red Cross for a blood drive

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

October 20, 2021 (San Diego) - For the fifth consecutive year, San Diego State University and the American Red Cross are teaming up to help hospital patients through the Aztecs for Life blood drive. The San Diego community is invited to join Aztecs and CBS 8 at the largest annual collegiate blood drive in the state of California, Tuesday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Viejas Arena. The blood donations collected will help treat cancer patients, trauma victims, surgery patients and others requiring lifesaving blood transfusions.

By Staley Pitts

October 20, 2021 (La Mesa) -- Biden has a choice to make: Does he want to establish his legacy as a president who fought for voting rights, or not?

By Miriam Raftery

October 20, 2021 (San Diego) – East County Magazine interviewed Dr. Mark Sawyer, infectious disease specialist at Rady Children’s Hospital and an advisor to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on COVID-19 vaccines for children and booster shots.  He also serves on an advisory commission for the Governor and advised County Supervisors on COVID-19 issues. 

We asked him to address concerns raised by parents and others over vaccine mandates, to assess the safety of COVID vaccines compared to risks of COVID-19 for children and teens, and discuss the likely timetable for approvals of vaccines for young children and boosters for adults.

Dr. Sawyer revealed that hundreds of children have been treated at Rady Children’s Hospital for COVID-19, including 75 treated in the intensive care unit and another 75 diagnosed with multi-system inflammatory disease, a rare but serious complication of COVID-19 in children.  “To say that COVID is not serious in children is underestimating the virus,” he said.

By Miriam Raftery

October 20, 2021 (La Mesa) – The family of Corneilius Donte Brown is offering a $9,000 reward in addition to a $1,000 reward from Crimestoppers, bringing the total to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest for his killing. 

The 22-year-old stationed at Naval Base Coronado was fatally shot by one of two men wearing ski masks and black hooded sweatshirts show came to the front door of his home on Echo Court in La Mesa on April 24 around 12:30 a.m.  

Source: San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector

October 20, 2021 (San Diego) -- Many people could use extra cash with the holidays approaching.That’s why the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office is doing all it can to reunite $713,585 in county refunds with its rightful owners. See if your name is on the list at sdttc.com. 

“With many people cash-strapped, it’s essential to return this money to the citizens of San Diego,” said Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister. “The average refund is $386, and that can go a long way for those who are the rightful owners and who need it.”  

The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office has 1,848 refunds in a list that is easy to search on its website. 

Source: County of San Diego

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- The County of San Diego today announced 11 new shigella cases associated with an ongoing outbreak, bringing the total to 15 confirmed and three probable. The cases are all among individuals experiencing homelessness who resided at multiple locations in central San Diego; none have been identified in East County.

No source of the outbreak has currently been identified, says County spokesman Jose A. Alvarez. The continuing investigation shows onset of illness dates between Aug. 16 and Oct. 14. The 18 cases in this outbreak represent 6.8 percent of the 266 total cases reported to date in San Diego County.

The County is working closely with the City of San Diego to:

By Brian Schrader

Photo, left: San Vicente Dam in Lakeside underwent the largest dam raise in the nation, rising 117 feet to its currrent 337 feet in height -- one of several steps undertaken in recent years to increase our region's water storage capacity.

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- California is no stranger to droughts, and while much of California is straining to conserve water, San Diego is in no such predicament.

A recent analysis from the New York Times found that San Diego, over the course of nearly 30 years, has become adept at conserving water and at preparing for dry years. The San Diego Water Authority—the agency that manages the county’s water supply—announced that the agency, "would have sustainable water supplies through 2045, even if dry conditions persisted for years."

This is good news for San Diegans, since the dry conditions that have plagued California are not expected to abate any time soon.