By Miriam Raftery

September 14, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) - The Sunrise Powerlink Fire Mitigation Group (SPFMG) invites you to a public open house where you can learn more about the fire mitigation grants program and the results of the Year 2017 Grants Program.  The open house will be held Tuesday, September 19 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Alpine Community Center, 1830 Alpine Blvd. in Alpine.

Next event is Sept. 21 at Tiramisu Trattoria in La Mesa

September 1, 2017 (La Mesa) – Thanks to all who turned out to help make the launch of our East County Dining Club a big success! 

Over 75 people attend our premiere party  at Fabrison’s Country French Restaurant in  Jamul, where guests feasted on all-you-can-eat crepes and  savored wines from the award-winning Deerhorn Valley Vineyard.

If you haven’t yet joined our dining club (just $10 a year!) we strongly recommend doing so now since we expect future events to sell out.

East County Dining Club members  will receive early invitations and  first options to reserve space at all of our future special culinary events, two free drawing tickets at their next event, and a free “Best of East County” cookbook we are compiling with recipes from top restaurants, wineries, farms and more in our region. Join us to savor the flavors of the world at great restaurants here in East County!

By Kendra Sitton

 

August 24, 2017 (Jamul) — San Diego Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) sponsored SB 649, which would let technology companies install 5G mini and micro cell sites on any government property without county or city oversight. The usurpation of local authority is already sparking protest from his home district: in its Aug. 22 meeting, the Jamul planning group joined other city councils as well as the County of San Diego in opposing the bill, which will be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Sept. 23.

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.

Source:  Cal Fire

May 10, 2017 (Jamul) - CAL FIRE and San Diego County Fire, in cooperation with California Department of Fish & Wildlife, will be conducting a habitat restoration prescribed burn approximately 4 miles southeast of Jamul within the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. Burning of standing vegetation will occur on approximately 70 acres as part of CALFIRE’s Vegetation Management Program (VMP). Ignition will occur at approximately 8:00 AM on May 11, 2017 and smoke may be visible throughout the County.

East County News Service

April 18, 2017 (Jamul) – Fantastic local wines, great food and live entertainment will be just a few of the highlights of the second annual Wine Festival benefiting St. Pius X Catholic Church's building fund.  On Saturday, April 29, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., wine lovers will enter the event grounds in Jamul, Calf. and begin tasting wines from the following participating wineries:

By Miriam Raftery

March 21, 2017 (Jamul) – Final Cut Steakhouse offers a premier menu of artfully prepared dishes served up amid the glamour of vintage Hollywood. You can also savor spectacular scenic views through a wall of windows high atop the new Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego.

You don’t have to be a gambler to be a winner at Final Cut Steakhouse!

By Gig Connaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

January 19, 2017 (Jamul) - Three wild deer mice caught in routine trapping in a rural area in Jamul have tested positive this week for hantavirus — the first to test positive for the potentially deadly virus in San Diego County in 2017.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

January 9, 2017 (Jamul) - More than four dozen goats are now in the care of County Animal Services after being rescued Monday from a property in Jamul.

Animal control officers went to the property after receiving reports of several dead goats. When the officers arrived, they found nine dead goats. The investigation is still underway, but officers suspect the animals starved to death. The officers found dozens more goats that were thin or severely underweight.

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2017 (Jamul) — The County Medical Examiner has identified a body found in Jamul on Saturday as Melissa Whitby, a Jamul resident.  She was reported missing December 31^st by her husband, Winnie Whitby.   There was upper body trauma and cause of death has been determined to be a homicide.

East County News Service

November 6, 2016 (Jamul) – In honor of “Shop Small Business Saturday”,  a Holiday Pop-Up Market will be held on November 26 from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. at 13910 Lyons Valley Road in Jamul.

Guests can shop for unique gifts including hand-made hats, scarves and gloves, gift baskets, jams, jellies and tamales, jewelry, fine art, poinsettias,  holiday floral arrangements and vintage collections. A fashion show will take place at 1:30p.m.  The Upper Hand Salon will offer gift certificates for manicures, pedicures, massages, cuts  and colors.

By Miriam Raftery

October 14, 2016 (Jamul) - A GoFundMe site setup yesterday to help a Jamul woman whose three dogs were bitten by a rattlesnake has raised over $7,000.  She is a single mother who can’t afford the costly care needed to save her dogs’ lives.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of Deerhorn Valley Antler and Ray Conser

October 11, 2016 (Jamul) – Opening of the Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego yesterday caused extreme traffic delays of to several hours, according to the California Highway Patrol and residents.  The Deerhorn Valley Antler reported 2-4 hour delays.  Traffic on State Route 94 (Campo  Road)  was  backed up for  many miles, all the way from Otay Lakes Road in the south and from  Kenwood Drive in Spring Valley in the north.Side roads such as Lyons Valley Road and Skyline also became jammed.

CHP’s incident page logged multiple complaints of motorists parking on both sides of  highway 94 and other nearby streets illegally after the casino parking lot, which holds 1,800 vehicles, filled to capacity. There were reports of  vehicles making illegal U-turns, passing illegally, and making right turns from a left-hand lane, as well as motorists walking along the roadway.  One caller voiced distress, reporting that her vehicle overheated and her daughter was home along,  per the CHP log. On Brush Fire Partyline’s  Facebook page, Melissa Woodall worried about her children stuck in traffic on a school bus with no air conditioning. John MJodline wrote that it took two hours to get his son at Steele Canyon High school, where dozens of kids were stranded waiting for parents and some students crossed a dangerous thoroughfare.

September  2,  2016 (Jamul) -- Ray Conser sent in these dramatic videos of the Lyons Fire in Jamul.  He writes,”The fire on Thursday that burned up to Skyline Truck Trail was 1/4 mile from my house and these are the video that I took. God bless all those firefighters!!!!”

The first video shows the fire in close proximity to homes: https://youtu.be/DQNxPXjvRmQ

The second shows a helicopter dropping water on the fast-moving brush fire, which firefighters held to about 10 acres with no structures lost: https://youtu.be/G5yde4f0qHc

By Miriam Raftery

August 20, 2016 (Jamul) – Supervisor Dianne Jacob today joined with residents at a press conference to voice concerns over state actions regarding the Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego.