May 29, 2015 (EL CAJON) –The recent East County Career Expo at Cuyamaca College has resulted in at least 113 anticipated hires and lined up more than 80 interviews for jobseekers, according to a survey of employers who attended the May 20 event.

By Rob Tade, Adjutant, American Legion Post 303, El Cajon

May 24, 2015 (El Cajon)-- Tomorrow is the annual day of remembrance for those that have gone before us and given “all” for our freedom and the liberties that we enjoy.   You are all welcome to join us for a short ceremony at the El Cajon Veteran’s Memorial. 

Story and photos by Robert Gehr ©

May 17, 2015 (El Cajon)—The second annual America on Main Street event ( held this year on May 16^th ) was teeming with happy people - from parents with kids in tow, to some of us senior adults mingling with the crowds, all having a good time.

May 16, 2015 (El Cajon )--Upstart Theatre Company is proud to present its inaugural production, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, hosted by the Valhalla Theatre Arts Department on June 4 and 5. Upstart, founded in 2015, is comprised of and run entirely by students from schools throughout the Grossmont Union High School District, dedicated to keeping classical works of theatre alive on the modern educational stage.

May 15, 2015 (El Cajon)--This week’s Destination East County includes Classic Cars, a wine and food festival, America on Main Street, a Last Chance Romance and more.

Plus we’ll also have a preview of coming attractions including a fiddlers’ competition in Julian, A Street Fair in Santee and Craft Beer festival.   So stay tuned for all of these events and much more!

May 12, 2015 (El Cajon) --  Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in El Cajon responded to reports of a commercial structure fire in the 100 block of Fletcher Parkway in the early morning hours on May 3rd.  Upon arrival firefighters found heavy black smoke coming from a commercial building at the site of the former El Cajon Police station.

May 11, 2015 (El Cajon) - The Home of Guiding Hands (HGH), an El Cajon-based non-profit organization that provides services, training and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities, will present its 41st annual Home of Guiding Hands Gala from 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday, June 6, at the Hotel Del Coronado. Proceeds will benefit programs and services HGH provides to more than 1,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout San Diego and Imperial Counties. Former Padres pitcher Randy Jones, a National League Cy Young Award winner, will be the master of ceremonies.

May 1, 2015 (El Cajon)--The El Cajon Valley Host Lions Club Foundation presented its annual donations  to the following organizations on April 28^th at the Ronald Reagan Community Center.

A total of $36,000 was presented by Foundation President Bob Moreau to Guide Dogs of Desert, San Diego Center for the Blind, Boys and Girls Club of East  County, Canine Companions for Independence and Lions District 4L6 Camp Jack.

East County News Service

May 1, 2015 (El Cajon)  Cajon Valley Union School District announces launch of a multilingual program at the CVUSD Language Academy.  The program will offer students who speak English or Spanish as their first language the opportunity to learn to read, write, and communicate in English and Spanish, learn computer programming, and a fourth language.

By Robert Gehr©

April 26, 2015 (El Cajon)--The grand opening  of Cajon Classic Cruises last Wednesday night appeared to be a rousing success. Everywhere I looked there were crowds of people checking out old cars. Most were fully restored in various manners, yet a few were ‘as is’ and still needing much work. Perhaps the owners had not gotten around to that yet, or maybe the ‘rat’ look was by design.

April 22, 2015 (El Cajon)—El Cajon has rolled back its sales tax from 9% to 8.5% due to the sunsetting of Proposition O, a temporary sales tax that helped build public safety facilities and more.

Playing now through April 25 at Valhalla High School Theatre Arts

By Kathy Carpenter

Associate and Youth Reviewer sdtheatrereviews

PHOTO: Paul Barnes, president of Shea Homes in San Diego ,presents El Cajon historian and author Eldonna Lay with a check for his firm’s lifetime membership in the El Cajon Historical Society. The two stand behind a historic marker installed by Shea Homes to commemorate the adjacent ancient site of El Granito Springs that once flowed beside the high granite ridge along Avocado Blvd. Photographer: archivist Mike Kaszuba, El Cajon Historical Society.

East County News Service

April 16, 2015 (El Cajon )--The boulder and brass plaque requested by the El Cajon Historical Society honors the ten thousand years or more that El Granito’s spring waters were used by tribes of local and far-flung Indian nations traveling between the desert and the Pacific Ocean shores.

By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2015 (El Cajon) --  Recently, Citizens Oversight founder Ray Lutz challenged the city of El Cajon’s allocation of community development block grant funds to the East County Transitional Living Center for programs that benefit homeless people seeking to get off the streets. In a complaint sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Lutz argued that the program was illegal due to church-state separation requirements of the U.S. Constitution.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Phil Konstanin

April 10, 2015 (El Cajon ) – Rock and roll superstar Chubby Checker will perform a concert with a “Twist” on  April 23^rd at Sycuan’s Live & Up Close Theater.  Checker rocketed to fame in 1960, when his recording of “The Twist” was the number one song in the nation, sparking a new dance craze and countless variations such as the “Peppermint Twist”, “Let’s Twist Again” and “Twist and Shout.”