By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

View video of entire town hall: tinyurl.com/SenJonesTownHall

September 14, 2019 (Lakeside) -- California Sen. Brian Jones (R-Inland San Diego County) confidently faced a large mostly well-behaved crowd in a packed community room at the Lakeside Community Center on August 22.

By Miriam Raftery

Roger Coppock contributed to this story

September 8, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- Extreme heat is poised to rise steeply in frequency and severity over the coming decades, bringing unprecedented health risks for people and communities across the country. That’s the disturbing finding of the Union of Concerned Scientists in a just-issued report titled Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days.

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

By Miriam Raftery

September 5, 2019 (Santee) – For the second time in recent weeks, coyotes  killed a leashed dog in Santee, Michelle Cimmarrusti told 10 News.

By Mike Allen

August 30, 2019 (Santee) -- The Santee City Council agreed to adopt a community choice model for purchasing its future electricity but isn’t sure yet what the model will look like.

County asks public’s help to report and eradicate invasive mosquitos that can transmit dangerous diseases including Yellow Fever and Zika

By Miriam Raftery

August 28, 2019 (San Diego) – Lakeside resident Dennis Richardson was appalled to discover that “thousands” of Yellow Fever mosquitos were breeding in water dishes under potted plants at his home.  His grandfather was a sanitation engineer who worked to eradicate Yellow Fever so that Americans could build the Panama canal and later battled a Yellow Fever epidemic in Peru. Richardson says, “This work was deadly for most who did the work, as most got yellow fever.”

Source: City of Santee

August 26, 2019 (Santee) -- The City of Santee Parks & Recreation Committee’s annual Bluegrass Festival, a fundraiser for people, parks, and programs, is scheduled for Sept. 14 at Town Center Community Park. This year’s event marks a decade in existence for the festival.

East County News Service

August 25, 2019 (Santee) – Minor decoys tried to buy liquor at eight stores in Santee and also asked adults outside four locations to purchase alcohol for them on August 23rd.

East County News Service

August 15, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – From August 28 through August 31^st, the San Diego Blood Bank will host four blood drives in East County. Below are details:

East County News Service

August 12, 2019 (Santee) – The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association (PSRM), a San Diego-area historical and educational nonprofit, will host a free presentation on the history of railroading in San Diego County at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 17th at the Santee Historical Society’s barn building, 9200 Magnolia Ave., Santee. The public is invited to attend.  For more event information, visit www.santeehistoricalsociety.org.

East County News Service

August 8, 2019 (Lakeside) – The Sheriff’s Homicide Unit is investigating the death of a woman, 60, found dead in a trailer at 11361 Oak Creek Drive in Lakeside.

East County News Service

Photo: Creative Commons by SA-NC via Bing

August 8, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Blood Bank is hosting blood drives in Rancho San Diego on August 24,  Santee on August 25, and El Cajon on August 27.   Scroll down for details.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

August 5, 2019 (Lakeside) - Don’t use the axe to shave, cut your double axe burger in half, or to divvy up a piece of cherry cobbler or deep-fried Portuguese donut at Lakeside’s newest bar and restaurant---SoCal Axe Throwing at HH Bar & Grill (9927 Maine Ave, Lakeside). 

Use the axe for target practice, fun, as a form of exercise, or to compete in an axe throwing tournament. Lakeside’s newest bar and restaurant comes with the opportunity to throw axes, eat, drink, and compete against your family or friends in a friendly game of axe throwing.

East County News Service

August 1, 2019 (San Diego) -- National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer. Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August—including a dozen locations in San Diego County.

You can come meet deputies who patrol your neighborhoods, learn about services the Sheriff’s department provides, and get crime prevention safety tips. You can also explore Sheriff’s programs such as senior volunteers, home vacation checks, the You Are Not Alone program for homebound seniors and the disabled, and Jr. Explorers. Visitors may also meet McGruff “The Crime Dog” and view a Sheriff’s K-9 demo. The events also offer free food and drinks, giveaways and a bicycle raffle at some locations.

Click on one of the communities below for an event flyer at each of these Sheriff's stations and substations including several  East County locations: