By Jessyka Heredia

January 23, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – The age-old question always comes up: what do you want for dinner? Look no further than Lemon Grove Bistro located at 3308 Main Street in what used to be the cherished Sonka’s General Store in 1944 and the Lemon Grove Pastry Shop of years past.

By: Jessyka Heredia

January 22, 2024 (Lemon Grove) — Lemon Grove Happenings in collaboration with Elevated Coffee, and the Musicians Club of San Diego are hosting ‘Groovin’ in the Grove’, a band open mic event at Elevated Coffee Sunday January 28, 2024, from 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated January 23, 2024 to include city and county of San Diego declaring an emergency

January 22, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Heavy rains during today’s storm caused widespread flooding, road closures, power outages, and inundation of vehicles and structures including an East County school. Flooding also prompted numerous rescues including motorists trapped in vehicles in Spring Valley and Lemon Grove, as well as homeless people stranded by rising waters along the San Diego River in Santee.

Richard Attaway took dramatic  photos  (left) of Mission Gorge Road in Santee just east of  Carlton Hills Boulevard, where he said “there are homeless clinging on trees for their lives in the river bed.” One video showed a woman stranded on an island surrounded by swift-flowing currents. Numerous emergency crews were on hand and at least one person was rescued from the floodwaters.

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By: Jessyka Heredia

Watch video here

December 22, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove’s City Council on Tuesday voted 3-0 (with Councilmembers Liana LeBaron and George Gastil both absent) for a 3% raise for all non-contracted employees. The Council also approved an amendment for a 3% increase to the City Managers pay, a half percent increase above what her contract states as well as an additional 2.5 making a total of 5.5% increase.

By: Jessyka Heredia

December 12, 2023 (Lemon Grove)—Back in October, founding member of the Lemon Grove Improvement Council (LGIC) Teresa Rosiak received 100 sleeping bags that convert into warm coats for the unsheltered. Rosiak has already distributed over 75 of them directly to the homeless in Lemon Grove during her group’s weekly volunteer outreach.

WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE

By Jessyka Heredia

An earlier version of this artile mistakenly reported the Council voted 5-0. The vote was 4-1with LeBaron voting no.

December 6, 2023 (Lemon Grove) —Yesterday the Lemon Grove City Council unanimously voted to move forward with installing all new playground structures at Lemon Grove Park, thanks to the Proposition 68 Per Capita Grant Program. This non-competitive grant program provides funding to local government agencies to support the rehabilitation, creation and improvement of local parks and to address deficiencies in neighborhoods lacking access to outdoor recreation facilities. Lemon Grove currently only has two parks with playground equipment and a recreation center that lost all funding over 12 years ago.

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch full video here.

October 9, 2023 (Lemon Grove)—On Tuesday, Lemon Grove councilmembers Allysson Snow and Jennifer Mendoza teamed up to have a 3% wage increase on the agenda for the public works department and bypass waiting on the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 127 union’s negotiations that have been going on for several months. Mayor Raquel Vasquez was very adamant that this could set a dangerous precedent in the future.

By Jessyka Heredia

WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE

October 16, 2023 (Lemon Grove)—Earlier this month the Lemon Grove City Council voted to approve adding additional revenue to an already existing contract with Rick Engineering Company for a sewer rehabilitation project that was previously approved with a winning bid from Rick Engineering not to exceed $508,694 even after a buffer of $25,306 in contingency funds was included.

East County News Service

September 23, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society’s 45th annual free "History Alive" lecture series will present the story of the Buffalo Soldiers, led by Trooper Rachel Hilliard (photo,left), founder and president of the San Diego Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers, and several troop members. This special presentation will take place on Thursday, October 5 at 5 p.m. at the H. Lee House Cultural Center,3205 Olive Street in Lemon Grove.

“This extraordinary organization played a major role in America's westward expansion as they helped and saved many wagon trains of migrants, seeking farmland, pasturage and places to establish towns,”says Helen Ofield, historian to the board of the LGHS. “On every level, the Buffalo Soldiers are at the heart of American history. Don't miss this uniformed presentation.”

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

September 3, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove’s main business corridor on Broadway is the center of commerce, but the physical environment of the area is suffering. Community leaders recently took to the streets to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their neighborhood along Broadway. It was an inspiring display of community engagement and commitment to positive change to shed light on issues like drug and alcohol harm, blight, walkability, and other areas needing of improvement. This June walk on a Saturday morning reflects the strong sense of community among Lemon Grove's residents and underscores the urgency to address pressing concerns through collaborative efforts.

By Jessyka Heredia

August 18, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – Approximately 50 people were in attendance earlier this month at the Lemon Grove Library to hear what Mayor Raquel Vasquez, the city council and staff has accomplished this past year and what is planned moving forward for Lemon Grove.

By: Jessyka Heredia

August 14, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- There is a new bistro coming to Lemon Grove in what was formerly the Lemon Grove Bakery. Located at 3308 Main Street, the building has a long history that has  been the center of town ever since and Lemon Grove Bistro will be the next business to keep this historical building alive.

$1,000 reward for info leading to arrest of suspect, who is considered armed and dangerous

Source: San Diego Sheriff's Department

July 26, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Do you recognize this man? He is Daniel Ethridge, 34, and he is wanted in connection with a homicide in Lemon Grove earlier this year.

On March 18 around 10:00 p.m., deputies from the Lemon Grove Sheriff's Substation responded to a report of a shooting in the 2800 block of Lemon Grove Avenue. While searching the area, deputies found Gregory Moore, 39, unconscious in a car at the intersection of Lemon Grove Avenue and San Miguel Avenue. He was later pronounced dead.

Sheriff's Homicide Investigators have identified Ethridge as a suspect. He has an active arrest warrant for homicide and is believed to be associated with a local street gang. Ethridge has prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an inhabited dwelling.

He should be considered armed and dangerous, according to Lt. Joseph Janjura with the Sheriff’s homicide unit.