By Robert Gehr

September 11, 2016 (El Cajon) -- After attending this year’s emotionally moving 9/11 remembrance ceremony in El Cajon at Centennial Plaza, I decided to share a few thoughts, facts and photos to awaken memories in all of us so we never forget.

East County News Service

September 11, 2016 (El Cajon) - The fifth annual “HauntFest on Main” is from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. in downtown El Cajon.

East County News Service

September 11, 2016 (El Cajon) - The city of El Cajon is offering three workshops on Measure S on Sept. 14 and 15, and again on Oct. 3.

If approved by voters, the measure would provide for district elections for city council seats, meanng each councilmember would represent a specific neighborhood, instead of city-wide elections for all seats.

Source: San Diego County Sheriff's Department

September 9, 2016 (El Cajon) - Keep your eyes open the next time you fill up at the gas pump. Someone has been installing scanning devices known as "skimmers" inside credit card readers at gas stations. They can steal your credit or debit card information, including pin numbers, and use it to make fraudulent purchases.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has partnered with local and federal agencies to investigate these crimes, which include thefts at 7-11 stations in El Cajon. Several arrests have already been made. The investigation is ongoing.

Here are things you can do to protect yourself:

By the East County Eaters

September 4, 2016 (El Cajon) – Long known for its flame-grilled steaks, cattle rancher roots and Western-themed décor,  Black Angus restaurants have now added a new hand-crafted, fresh juice cocktail menu to their Bulls Eye Bar.   From a Brazilian margarita that may make you want to dance the Samba to a Citrus Pomegranate Mule, you’ll find plenty to whet your whistle during all-day Happy Hours each Sunday , or from 3-7 p.m. all other days except Saturday.

We stopped by the Black Angus in El Cajon, where we savored some refreshing libations as well as tasty appetizers that roped us in to stay for a full dinner feast. 

By Miriam Raftery

September 1,2016  (San Diego’s East County) – Beyond the blizzard of ballot measures statewide and candidates on your November ballot, East County voters will be asked to weigh in on a variety of local initiatives with big impacts.

Those include countywide measures:  one a tax to fund transportation, the other  a measure that would set a precedent for developers to  evade environmental reviews by taking projects directly to voters.   There are also medical marijuana dispensary measures on the ballots in Lemon Grove and La Mesa, a redistricting proposal in El Cajon, and school bond measures in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College, Grossmont Union High School, and Cajon Valley  Union school districts.  Here are details:

East County News Service

September 1, 2016 (El Cajon) -- A  rummage sale will be held on Saturday, September 10, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church, 501 Farragut Circle, El Cajon. The sale includes holiday items, jewelry, clothing, shoes, purses, craft materials, toys, gift items, etc.

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) — A man with a prior conviction for lewd conduct has been arrested for allegedly photographing a 10-year-old girl in the women’s restroom at a Wal-Mart on Camino Canada in El Cajon, just off of Interstate 8, on August 17th.

By Miriam Raftery

August 18, 2016 (El Cajon) — Planners, business and marketing leaders, a teacher, a restaurant partner, and a mother/ex-deejay are among the ten candidates who have qualified for the ballot to run El Cajon’s City Council in November, the city clerk confirms.

East County News Service

August 13, 2016 (El Cajon) -- Who were the key personages that made the Reformation happen? Was it Martin Luther or a series of circumstances? This courtroom trial tells of Luther’s youth, his parents and his reasons for becoming a monk--and shows why he nailed his 95 theses to the church door.

By Jonathan Goetz

August 11, 2016 (El Cajon) -- The El Cajon City Council voted 4-0 (with Councilman Bob McClellan absent) on Tuesday, August 9, to put district elections on the ballot.

If approved by voters in the November 8, 2016 election, districts will be finalized in 2017 and utilized from 2018 forward.

Mayor Bill Wells first directed staff to look into the issue back on July 14, 2015. He was concerned that numerous state and federal Voting Rights Act lawsuits have forced similar sized cities and jurisdictions to switch from at-large seats to district elections.

You can read questions and answers from a public forum here:  http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/22153

The question on the ballot will read:

Do you approve amending Section 201 of the City of EI Cajon Charter to require election of City Council members by geographic districts in which they reside beginning with the general municipal election to be held in 2018?

The full text is as follows:

By Miriam Raftery

August 10, 2016 (El Cajon) – Three seats are up for election on the El Cajon Council. All are currently held by incumbents.  Council members Bob McClellan and Star Bales have filed to run for reelection and qualified to appear on the ballot, according to Monica Zech, the city’s public information officer.  But so far, Councilman Tony Ambrose has not.

By Miriam Raftery

August 9, 2016 (El Cajon) — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a request from Gillespie Field Airport Manager Marc Baskel to permanently raise the minimum altitude for air traffic over Gillespie Field from 1,188 feet to 1,388 feet.

By Janis Russell

August 5, 2016 (El Cajon) - Yesterday evening, the City of El Cajon held an educational workshop at Lexington Elementary School. It was for the public to attend and get information on the district election process that the city’s voters will get to vote on this November. The voters will vote to either approve and change to district election, or vote to not approve it. The district election would be for the El Cajon City Council.

By Miriam Raftery

August 2, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The deadline to file as a candidate to run for local offices is August 11. But so far, many East County races have no candidates declared or qualified for the ballot, according to the Registrar of Voters candidate list for the November election.  Most community planning groups have nobody running.  The same is true in some school, water and fire districts. Races with no candidates will be filled by appointment. In other districts, people are running unopposed—even incumbents on some of the most controversy-riddled boards.

No candidates are listed yet for the city councils in El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove or Santee, nor for the mayoral seats open in Lemon Grove and Santee, nor the La Mesa City Clerk or Treasurer seats.  Candidates have been actively campaigning in some of those races and some will likely file before deadline, but it’s also common for candidates to drop out before qualifying for the ballot.

In the Grossmont Union High School District, incumbent Jim Stieringer is thus far running unopposed in district two (La Mesa/Mt. Helix/Rancho San Diego); in district one (Lemon Grove/Spring Valley) which is an open seat, only one candidate has filed: Pastor Steve Babbitt from Spring Valley Community Church.