By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Miriam Raftery: Bishop Shaleta in May 2024 at opening of incubator business center for refugees and immigrants in El Cajon

March 5, 2026 (El Cajon) – San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies today arrested Chaldean Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta at the San Diego International Airport, where he was attempting to leave the country. He is charged with eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white collar crime enhancement, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s department.

East County News Service

March 4, 2026 (El Cajon) — El Cajon Valley High will roll out the proverbial red carpet on Friday, March 6 for the Grossmont Union High School District's 2026 GUHSD Film Festival.

The annual event will take place this year from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the El Cajon Valley High School Event Center, a premier stage for the district’s most talented young filmmakers.

The film showcase features original creative works from students enrolled in the Career Technical Education Arts, Media & Entertainment pathway at GUHSD.

More than just a screening, the film festival is a celebration of technical mastery and artistic storytelling of students, and by students in the district -- GUHSD students who have spent months scripting, filming and editing projects that range from narrative short films to complex animation.

A memorial of bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, notes and religious candles for the children who were hit by a car, with one killed, at the site of an October accident on Jackson Drive. The city of San Diego continues to make changes for safety. Photo by Karen Pearlman

By Karen Pearlman

Feb. 27, 2026 (San Carlos) -- The San Diego City Council is paving the way for safer streets in the city, including along heavily traveled Jackson Drive in San Carlos, where speeding vehicles, line of sight issues and pedestrian safety have been a growing concern.

The City Council in mid-March will consider passing a plan that will reduce vehicle traffic speeds along Jackson and in other high-priority areas where safety concerns are the most pressing.

East County News Service

Feb. 26, 2026 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa Police Department is sounding the alarm to the community about rising thefts of recent models of Jeeps.

The police department shares that residents in La Mesa as well as surrounding East County neighborhoods need to be informed of a sophisticated spike in vehicle thefts targeting high-end, newer-model Jeeps.

They say that thieves are pivoting from traditional "smash-and-grab" tactics to high-tech electronic hacking that allows them to drive away in a stolen vehicle in under three minutes.

The primary targets are 2020 and newer Jeep Wranglers and Jeep Rubicons.

Unlike older theft methods that involved hotwiring or physical damage, tech-savvy criminals are using portable electronic devices often marketed as locksmith tools to bypass security. By accessing the vehicle's On-Board Diagnostic port, thieves can communicate directly with the car's computer.

Once connected, the device "tricks" the vehicle into thinking a new key is being programmed. Within moments, the thief has a fully functional electronic key fob, allowing them to start the push-to-start engine and drive away without ever having the original key.

East County News Service

Jan. 9, 2026 (San Diego County) --  San Diego public advocate Shane Harris has introduced a new ordinance to fully repeal paid parking in Balboa Park and restore free public parking.

To support this effort, Harris has launched this online petition to demonstrate broad public support for making Balboa Park parking free again.

Harris has also called a press conference for Monday, Jan. 12 at Balboa Park that will include supporters from around San Diego County, including El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Jim Kiddrick, president and CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

Starting this past Monday, Jan. 5, the park’s century-long tradition of free access for vehicles came to an end.

Harris argues that the system is not just a financial burden but "a logistical disaster that punishes the very people the park was built to serve."

The parking charges in Balboa Park were not approved by city voters in a general election. Instead, they were enacted through a series of votes by the San Diego City Council.

Photos and story by Karen Pearlman

Dec. 22, 2025 (San Diego) — Across the street from the calm San Diego Bay but amid a rising tide of global concern, some of San Diego County’s top elected officials, law enforcement and multi-faith leaders gathered Monday at the County Administration Center to send a singular message: Hate has no sanctuary in San Diego.

Organized by San Diego County Assessor Jordan Marks (shown speaking in photo above right), Monday afternoon’s "Rally for Light," marked the eighth and final day of Hanukkah, and the hour-long event ended with a ceremonial lighting of a 6-foot hanukkiah (menorah) by local faith leaders, county employees and community members.

While the event celebrated the "Festival of Lights," the atmosphere was underscored by a somber urgency following a string of recent anti-Semitic attacks reaching from San Francisco to an outdoor celebration on Bondi Beach in Australia.