By Bill Crotty

March 13, 2012 (El Cajon) – El Cajon City Council approved Mayor Mark Lewis' motion to appoint a replacement for recently-resigned Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Hanson-Cox at yesterday's council meeting, despite numerous community members who asked to be considered for the slot. 

The Mayor has indicated that he intends to choose a replacement, to be approved by Council, and will not accept applications from the public.

March 7, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Community leaders expressed shock and sadness today over the resignation of El Cajon Councilmember Jillian Hanson-Cox.

March 6, 2012 (El Cajon)—Smoke from an attic fire filled Kelley’s Pub on East Bradley Avenue this evening, but no one was injured thanks to the swift response from San Miguel Fire. Firefighters evacuated about 20 patrons safely, then attacked the fire by removing ceiling tiles, eliminating the need to cut large holes in the roof to vent the fire.

March 6, 2012 (El Cajon )- 7:00 p.m. – El Cajon Firefighters are at the scene of a one-alarm fire at Emerald Middle School, 12221 S. Emerald Avenue in El Cajon. Incident Page Network (IPN) reports heavy smoke on arrival with firefighters laying lines for a fast attack.

El Cajon tops list for East County at 50; La Mesa has 7 yet crime rate has gone down

By Miriam Raftery

February 29, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Under court order to reduce prison overcrowding, the state passed AB 109 to allow transfer of many prisoners to county jails. In San Diego County, that resulted in 950 prisoners being released early to ease overcrowding in the County jail.  Tonight, La Mesa Police Chief Ed Aceves shared statistics on how many of those prisoners have wound up in East County communities.

By Mia Myklebust

 
February 2, 2012 (El Cajon)—The driver of a KSON radio station vehicle smelled smoke while sitting in traffic yesterday in downtown El Cajon. Looking behind his seat, he saw flames, quickly exited the vehicle and called 911 shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday. 

Late night fire displaces 4 adults and 2 children

January 31, 2012 (El Cajon)—A Heartland Fire & Rescue crew from El Cajon responded to reports of a structure fire at a board and care facility at 1460 E. Lexington Avenue in El Cajon late last night. Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the facility, with reports of a trapped victim.

 Update January 31, 2012 - The Medical Examiner has identified the victim as Gordon Woodard, 41, of Santee.

January 30, 2012 (El Cajon) – A pilot attempting to start up a stalled plane at Gillespie Field Airport has died after being struck by the propeller and suffering a severe head injury. The pilot has not been identified by authorities yet pending notification of relatives. However the single-engine 1974 Piper was registered to a Lakeside resident.

Creations will be displayed at Parkway Plaza and auctioned; entry deadline extended to Feb. 15

January 26, 2012 (El Cajon) --Hoping to make its first "Barkitecture" competition, the ACES Foundation asks your help to design the uldimate "doggy dream house" or "cat condo." Companies, nonprofit groups and individuals are encouraged to let their creativity run wild by designing, building and donating their most delightful and original dog and cat dwellings to the ACES Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to assist the El Cajon Animal Shelter.

Update January 24, 2012:  Richard Hiel has been found, the Sheriff reports today.  

January 23, 2012 (El Cajon)—The San Diego Sheriff seeks public help to locate Richard Hiel, 83, who suffers from early onset dementia and diabetes.  He was last seen driving a red 2000 Ford Ranger pickup truck (license CA 6A11090) away from his residence today at 2 p.m. at 2040 Marlinda Way in the unincorporated area of El Cajon.  He was wearing a beige raincoat and uses a cane to walk.

January 20, 2012 (El Cajon ) – El Cajon Police have arrested June Carol Pickard, 57, and her son, Francis Richard Noble, 31. The two were arraigned Tuesday, accused of conspiring to hire a hitman to kill Noble’s wife.

Police learned of the plot after a former classmate of Noble came forward and revealed that Pickard had offered money for killing the 31-year-old victim. 

January 17, 2012 (El Cajon)--World-renowned speaker Azim Khamisa on January 29, 2012 will kick off the 15th annual "Season for Nonviolence" at Christ Church Unity in El Cajon. Khamisa, who has been praised by dignitaries including the Dalai Llama and former President Bill Clinton, delivers his inspirational message following the senseless-gang-related death of his son, Tariq in 1995.

January 16, 2012 (El Cajon)—A 12-year-old boy has died of stab wounds in a crime that has shocked a neighbors on Royal Road in the unincorporated area of El Cajon.  The  suspect is a 10-year-old boy, Lt. Larry Nesbitt with the Sheriff's Homicide Detail confirms.

A neighbor, Derek Gorton, 18, told 10 News that the boys were close friends, but indicated that the younger child suffered from severe emotional issues. “Even though he threw temper tantrums, we never thought he’d do anything like this,” he said. 

January 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Due to guardrail repairs, the connector ramp from northbound State Route 67 to westbound Interstate 8 will be closed Saturday morning. The closure will be in effect from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m., according to the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).

January 7, 2012 (El Cajon) – A transformer fire behind the Walmart store at Westfield Parkway Plaza caused a power outage last night at 9 p.m. The Regal movie theater escorted theatergoers outside using flashlights, while stores and restaurants at the mall also closed. View a video by Dennis Richardson: http://youtu.be/Y6IrzcdBW9g.

 
January 6, 2012 (East County) --  Estela De Los Rios, social justice advocate from El Cajon, has been selected to receive the Ashley Walker Social Justice Award from the San Diego Human Relations Commission.  She has championed battles to end human trafficking, hate crimes, and discrimination in our region. 

 
January 6, 2012 (El Cajon) -- Twenty-four recruits will begin a 16-week Firefighter 1 Academy starting this coming Saturday, January 7, at the Heartland Fire Training academy located at 1301 N. Marshall Avenue in El Cajon. The Academy Coordinator will be retired El Cajon Fire Chief Rich Henry.

Photos by Monica Zech

January 4, 2012 (El Cajon) – A homeowner escaped her burning mobile home this morning, but her chihuahua dog, Mojo, was found unconscious and near death. Thanks to dedicated efforts  by local firefighters, however, Mojo's live has been saved. 

Photos and video by Jon Nevin, firefighter/paramedic, Heartland Fire & Rescue (video edited by Paul Kruze, ECM)

December 29, 2011 (El Cajon) – Patrons of a restaurant helped three women passengers, including an elderly woman in a wheelchair, escape from a burning van in downtown El Cajon today.

View a video of firefighters battling the fire:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmu0RRPH2Fg&feature=youtu.be

By Megan McGlamery

Photos by Woo-Jin Shim and Natalia Robert (http://full-circle-images.com/)

December 30, 2011 (San Diego)--Since 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been helping refugees rebuild their lives after fleeing tumultuous wars or other catastrophes in their homelands.  The IRC is currently active in 22 U.S. cities as well as overseas. In 2001, the IRC created its Microenterprise Program with the goal of helping refugees create their own businesses.

In the last 10 years, the IRC has helped 175 San Diego-based refugees become small-business owners. To showcase some of the great refugee-owned eateries of East County, the IRC hosted a Micro-finance bus tour, offering patrons a chance to sample some delicious cuisine from Iraq and East Africa.

East County Performing Arts Center is among major projects at risk from the decision

December 29, 2011 (Sacramento) – Sounding a death knell for hopes to restore redevelopment funds eliminated by the Legislature to fund education, the California supreme Court today ruled that the state has the right to eliminate local redevelopment agencies. The decision has sparked criticism from local business owners and politicians on both the left and right.

By Meg Jensen

December 28, 2011 (El Cajon) – After heated testimony, El Cajon’s Council unanimously approved a ballot measure to grant the City Council “supreme authority over state law by having El Cajon become a charter city. Council members also approved a management team for a new planned business improvement district (PBID)in its December 13 meeting.  

The agenda also included a wealth of other items – from banning card playing in public to approving the posting of a religious message in Council chambers.