East County News Service

May 8, 2019 (El Cajon) -- You’re invited to join the City of El Cajon for its family-friendly (free!) community festival, America on Main Street on May 18 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown El Cajon.  

By Miriam Raftery, Editor, East County Magazine

May 6, 2019 (El Cajon) – Cajon Valley Union School District Superintendent David Miyashiro, Ed.D., sent a blistering editorial in an e-mail to East County Magazine, board members and others blasting our article on board President Tamara Otero’s failure to disclose that her son owned a company that received a $665,000 contract.   He did not list any actions planned to address Otero’s lack of disclosure and transparency.

East County New Service

May 4, 2019 (El Cajon) – It’s been 50 years since the Beatles completed their final album, Abbey Road, in 1969.  In honor of the anniversary, a 50th Abbey Road Concert will be held Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of El Cajon, 500 Farragut Circle, El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery

May 2, 2019 (El Cajon) – The vacancy left on the El Cajon City Council by the resignation of Ben Kalasho has generated strong community interest.  Applications have been received from 22 residents, all seeking to fill the seat. They range from prominent individuals including a former mayor to community activists, members of the planning commission, and a retired police officer who received a Medal of Valor. They bring a diverse range of views and visions for  El Cajon as well.

The City Council will interview applicants at the May 14 meeting at 7 p.m.  Earlier, at the 3 p.m. meeting, Council members will discuss procedures for choosing the next Councilmember, who will fill the at-large seat held by Kalasho until the 2020 election.

The applicants are, in alphabetical order, are listed below along with highlights from their applications:

Outbid contractor claims irregularities with bid process

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

April 30, 2019 (El Cajon) - A $655,000 construction contract for a new modular building at Los Coches Creek Middle School  was awarded on March 26 to the son of Cajon Valley Union School District Board of Trustees President Tamara Otero.  In total, 37 contractors “pulled plans” for the project and eight actually submitted bids.

Prior to the vote Otero was asked by fellow board member Jill Barto, “It looks like….is this your husband’s company?” Hear audio. Otero replied, “No,” and immediately brushed off the question, saying the internet connection to her computer on the dais was disconnected. (Barto says she asked about the family connections but her phrase, “and your family” was masked by Otero’s response.)

Tamara Otero is the mother of Dryw Ortero, the owner of Otero Construction, Inc., State Contractors License #1025227, with offices located on the 8400 block of Magnolia Street in Santee. The young company has been in business less than two years, founded in April 2017.

East County News Service

Photo:  (from left to right) Tracy Morgan Hollingworth, Joe Mackey, Robert Calloway, Kay LeMenager, Carol Lewis, Anna Marie Piconi Snyder.

April 26, 2019 (El Cajon) – The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), a real estate trade group for San Diego-area realtors, recently presented a $5,000 check to the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce Foundation to help pay for a website featuring resources to assist homeless people in the East County.

East County News Service

April 24, 2019 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon’s City Council will be choosing a new Councilmember to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Ben Kalasho.

The Council will make its decision at its regularly scheduled May 14th meeting.

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2019 (El Cajon) – El Cajon has received projects awards from  the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Public Works Association (APWA).   The new animal shelter was honored by all three organizations.  Other projects honored including Stony’s Neighborhood Park improvements, sewer and traffic light projects. City Manager Graham Mitchell advised the City Council and Mayor that the city has received the following awards:

East County News Service

April 22, 2019 (El Cajon) – A woman struck by a Ford Explorer on April 19^th in El Cajon succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital.  

El Cajon Police and paramedics responded to the accident in the 800 block of South Mollison Ave. around 7:50 p.m.  Witnesses told officers that the woman, 69, stepped off the curb outside of a marked crosswalk and was struck by the Ford Explorer. The driver of the Explorer, a 58-year-old El Cajon resident, remained on scene and cooperated with authorities, says Lt Stephen Kirk.  Drugs or alcohol are not suspected as factors in the collision.

Swagit Productions, LLC provides EASE^TM hands-free Webcasting system for optimal meeting video delivery to the citizens of El Cajon

Source:  Swagit

April 18, 2019 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon provides their residents with an improved City Council meeting viewing experience via Swagit Productions and their EASE™ streaming solution. 

“The City of El Cajon had an existing video streaming product that was not meeting our needs,” said Sara Diaz, Director of Information Technology for El Cajon.  “The system had a high failure rate and our staff had to spend a lot of time on the phone with their support trying to get the system functional and videos uploaded from our personal copies. 

Source:  Grossmont College

April 16, 2019 (El Cajon) - An April 22 panel presentation by a trio of local writers on the modern era of agent-free self-publishing, and later in the evening, student readings and performances of original work kick off Grossmont College’s 23^rd annual Literary Arts Festival.

By Miriam Raftery 

April 2, 2019 (El Cajon) – Cajon Valley Union School District’s board president Tamara Otero has sent a formal response letter to Californians Aware (CalAware) agreeing to comply with demands in a legal cease and desist order that the watchdog organization had sent the district on East County Magazine’s behalf. The board’s April 30, 2019 meeting will include the compliance issue on the agenda, the letter added.  

East County News Service

April 1, 2019 (El Cajon) – The Home of Guiding Hands (HGH), a non-profit organization that provides services, training and advocacy to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families, recently hosted its second annual “Pizza and Pets” event at its Verbeck Center headquarters in El Cajon.