March 29, 2025 (Santee) - Mary Hennessy, the 90-something owner of Mary's Donuts, grabs a sweet treat during her business's 40th anniversary bash Saturday morning, March 29.
Hennessy, who plied the donut trade at a Winchell's Donuts, bought the former Zona's Donut Shop with her husband, and opened the original Mary’s Donuts and Coffee in 1984 on Mission Gorge Road in Santee. After a lease dispute with her landlord, Hennessy moved the popular donut spot just a few blocks away to a nearby strip mall along Carlton Hills Boulevard. Hennessy still oversees operations.
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January 28, 2025 (Jamul) -- Robert Hobbs sent in these images of the Border 2 Fire, which burned over 6,500 acres after starting on Otay Mountain in San Diego County on Jan. 23. These photos were taken Jan. 23 and 24 from Jamul.
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January 8, 2025 (Los Angeles) – No, that’s not a tornado or mother ship descending. Henri Migala snapped this apocalyptic image of the Palisades Fire which is devastating Los Angeles. This photo was taken from the Westin Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. As of today, the fire has burned 15,832 acres, has destroyed many homes and forced evacuation of some 70,000 residents in several communities including Pacific Palisades, Topanga, Malibu, and Santa Monica. It remains zero percent contained.
Anyone in the path of this fire is urged to evacuate. High winds grounded firefighting aircraft last night and some hydrants ran out of water, leaving firefighters without the means to halt the destructive blaze which has burned all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
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January 6, 2025 (Deerhorn Valley) – Jordan Valladares snapped this close-up portrait of a bobcat near his home on Deerhorn Valley Road south of Jamul on Sunday.
“I spotted the little guy sneaking about while I was enjoying some warm morning sunshine,” he writes. “So I ran in, grabbed my camera and a 300mm lens with a teleconverter, and made my way down into a nearby field. The bobcat was comfortable with my presence, even showcasing some stalking behavior. This allowed me to snap a decent photo at eye level.”
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November 24, 2024 (Campo) – Eileen Martinez of Boulevard took these photos of controlled burn conducted by Cal Fire in the Cal Fire area on November 22.
She wrote after receiving our alert, “Thanks for keeping us up to date! I was driving thru Campo this evening and this fire was visible all along 94, to the south with flames occasionally. It was quite spectacular and kind of surreal as there was no concern it was threatening anything.”
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January 14, 2024 (San Diego) – Tim and Susan Taylor sent in these photos from this weekend’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in San Diego. Participants carried messages in support of Reverend. King’s goals including freedom, equality, peace, and love triumphing over hate.
Others called for an end to gun violence.
Participants came from across San Diego County, including students San Diego State University and Gompers Preparatory Academy, shown below.
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December 20, 2023 (Ramona)—The crew from Cal Fire’s Station 80 rescued nearly 20 animals from a barn fire in Ramona earlier this week, including these adorable puppies.
Unfortunately, one animal perished in the fire on Ramona Real.
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May 25, 2023 (Lakeside) – Shiloh Ireland took photos behind the scenes for two days leading up to the Lakeside Rodeo last month.
Just eight seconds is considered a successful bull ride. Bulls released into the arena briefly weighed between 1,800 to 2,000 pounds each.
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May 2, 2023 (Campo) - Scott Lagace snapped images of a Bald Eagle taking flight at Lake Morena in rural East County.
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March 7, 2023 (San Diego's East County) - East County’s high desert communities saw a better-than-ever snowfall this winter and many residents have captured scenes unusual to the area in Campo, Jacumba, Live Oak Springs, Boulevard and Bankhead Springs.
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February 27, 2023 (Roland) -- A rare hailstorm pelted much of San Diego County on Saturday night. Pat Bennett of Rolando sent in these photos, stating, "I have lived in San Diego for 55 years and have never seen more than a few hailstones fall. Tonight, my garden, deck, patio furniture and roof were covered with it!"
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February 27, 2023 (Ramona) – Looking for wildflowers? You don’t have to go all the way to Anza-Borrego. Henri Migala took these colorful photos of a hillside abloom in orange and yellow daisies along the Old Julian Highway in Ramona yesterday.
If you’ve found a great place to view wildflowers locally this spring, send your photos and the location to editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
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February 13, 2023 (Lakeside) – Shiloh Ireland Photography sent in this image of a hummingbird nesting on his Lakeside property.
Hummingbirds build their tiny nests with twigs, moss and spiderwebs. They can measure as little as an inch in diameter when built, but can stretch to accommodate growing chicks once the eggs hatch. Because the nests are fragile, hummingbirds typically need to build a new nest each year, though if in a sheltered spot, nests are sometimes revisited year after year.
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February 9, 2023 (Mt. Helix) – Harbingers of spring, American Robins have arrived in our region. Dawn Sebaugh, a resident of Mt. Helix, says, “Last week we had 60 to 100 robins land all over the backyard and our deck. It was like the movie The Birds.”
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Photo, left, by Alex Tardy, National Weather Service: car is swept away by floodwaters beneath overpass in Fashion Valley, where the river topped flood stage at 13 feet yesterday morning.
January 17, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Torrential rains that doused our region caused roadway flooding and rockslides, filled reservoirs, and resulted in multiple rescues. Here are photos, provided by our readers, social media users, and public agencies.
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January 7, 2023 (Santee) – Scott Lagace started the New Year off right with a stroll around Santee Lakes on January 1, where he captured a Great Blue Heron in flight, shown in these beautiful images.
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December 26, 2022 (Lakeside) – Scott Lagace snapped these photographs of a Bald Eagle, our national bird, over the holiday weekend at Lake Jennings in Lakeside. Though no longer federally endangered, Bald Eagles are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act as well as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. They remain rare in San Diego County, however, where there are only a handful of nesting pairs, making such a sighting a special thrill.
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December 17, 2022 (Alpine) – Rescued tigers at the Lions Tigers & Bears big cat and bear sanctuary in Alpine enjoyed last week’s snowfall.
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November 27, 2022 (Inaja) – Claudia White took this photo of the Inaja Memorial between Santa Ysabel and Julian, where she stopped to remember the 11 men who lost their lives battling the Inaja Fire on November 25, 1956. She writes, “My husband, Dean White, was across the canyon on the same fire. He was affected by what they saw and heard for the rest of his life. He was especially saddened by the death of his friend Carlton Lingo.”
She adds, “God bless Albert Anderson, Forrest Maxwell, Carlton Lingo, Leroy Wehrung, Miles Daniels, William Fallin, George Garcia, Virgil Hamilton, Joseph O'Hara, Lonnie Shepherd, Joe Tibbets. Rest in peace. You are not forgotten.”
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September 24, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Robert Gehr snapped these photos with his iPhone XR about 30 minutes apart, shows the color change as the sun was rising in the east this morning over El Cajon. The sight transitioned from a vivid orange sunrise to white clouds afloat in an azure blue sky.
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September 1, 2022 (Barrett Junction, CA) – Connie Kirkpatrick took these photos of the #Border32Fire last night and early this morning from the parking lot of her business in Barrett Junction.
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July 26, 2022 (Lakeside) – The owner of Shiloh Ireland Photography sent in these photos taken at the Lakeside Rodeo grounds on July 17, including an action shot of a junior barrel racer.
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July 17, 2022 (Lakeside) – For the past several years, Lakeside residents have held an impromptu Fourth of July parade. This year’s event honored the memory of the late Betty McMillen, founder of the Maine Avenue Revitalization Association and long-time leader of the Lakeside Historical Society.
Participants meet at the Lakeside Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building in decorated vehicles, then drive through the town to show their patriotic spirit each Independence Day, followed by lunch with hamburgers and hotdogs at the VFW. This July 4, Shiloh Ireland Photography sent in these photos of the occasion.
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July 3, 2022 (El Cajon) - Robert Gehr took this photo of the half moon in the early morning eastern sky over El Cajon this week, exposing the many craters from interstellar objects impacting its surface over eons of time.
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June 22, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – They may look like impressionist paintings, but they’re clouds over East County taken by Robert Gehr in El Cajon today. The colorful palette and orange glow enhance formations from a tropical storm, says Gehr.
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June 18, 2022 (Shelter Valley) – Tina Goff snapped the photos left and below of saucer-shaped clouds at sunset from her home in Julian overlooking Shelter Valley around 8:06 p.m. on June 17. Goffl quipped, “They may be coming for us, LOL!”
Carol Birch also took pictures of the same beautiful and bizarre cloud formation. (right)
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May 24, 2022 (Julian) -- Scott Lagace snapped these inspiring shots of the sun's rays on an early morning hike up Volcan Mountain in Julian.
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April 15, 2022 (San Diego) - On Friday April 8th, the People's Convoy passed through San Diego on its way to Los Angeles. With a motto of “Let freedom roll,” the truckers are on the road to protest proposed vaccination mandates and other COVID-19 related bills in California.
The convoy left Arizona in the morning and arrived at the Golden Acorn Casino on the Campo Indian reservation around 6 p.m., where they were greeted by local supporters of the movement. When the convey first arrived, it parked in the front of the casino but was later moved to the back lot behind the building
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March 9, 2022 (Ramona) – Photographer Scott Lagace was hiking in the Ramona Grasslands Preserve this week when he was fortunate enough to encounter a bobcat basking in the sun that obligingly posed for photos. Though this was one cool cat around the human present, bobcats are normally secretive and solitary. They have been protected species in California since 2020.
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February 24, 2022 (El Cajon) - Robert Gehr snapped these early signs of spring in El Cajon.
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