By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Dawn Lundquist

July 12, 2019 (Campo) – A train that Roy Athey ran for 20 years in Alpine, offering rides to delight children, will soon be part of a mine train ride at the Campo Railroad Park & Museum  Athey donated his train to the facility. Now, three new cars for the train are being constructed at Greg Heyser’s shop in Alpine. 

Source:  San Diego County Sheriff's Department

July 11, 2019 (El Cajon) - A missing person at risk in the East County has been found safe.

79-year-old Eufemia Danaher was found around 10:00 a.m. in the 600 block of El Cajon Boulevard in El Cajon. Sheriff's ASTREA (helicopter) Deputy Gary Kneeshaw spotted a woman who matched Danaher's description and made contact with her. She has been reunited with her family.

By Criss Brainard, Fire Chief

July 10, 2019 (Spring Valley) - The San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District invites residents to attend a ceremonial “roll-in” to start the service life of two new fire engines. The ceremony will take place at San Miguel Station 16 on Friday, July 12, 2019 at 9:00 am.

East County News Service 

July 5, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- “San Diego County needs your input on how best to invest federal funds in our low- to moderate-income communities,” says Supervisor Dianne Jacob. 

The County is holding a series of public forums at county libraries, each one hour, including these East County locations, to hear your ideas:

• Alpine, July 8 at 12:30 p.m.
• Ramona, July 10 at 1:30 p.m.
• Julian, July 12 at 11:30 a.m.
• El Cajon, July 22, 3:30 p.m.
• Borrego Springs, July 24 at 11:30 a.m.
• Spring Valley on July 29 at 11:30 a.m.

You can also share your thoughts and suggestions in an online survey: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/sdhcd/ 

Congratulations to Nicole LaBella of Steele Canyon High School

Source:  San Diego County Credit Union

Photo from left to right: Nicole LaBella, Steele Canyon High School, Sarah Bilyeu, San Diego County Credit Union, and Vanessa Davis, Broadway San Diego.

July 1, 2019 (San Diego) - San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU), San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution, is excited to announce that Nicole LaBella of Steele Canyon High School was named the Best Local Theatre Teacher at the Broadway San Diego Awards. The awards ceremony was held May 26 at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego.

By Rebecca Person

Photo:  Poster displayed at meeting by citizens concerned about impacts of wind energy in their rural communities.

July 1, 2019 (Campo) -- July 8th is the new deadline for public comments on the pending Campo Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Comments are sought on a pending plan by the Campo tribe to build wind turbines in the Ribbonwood area of Boulevard and Campo to produce clean energy. Each new turbine would be 586 feet tall, nearly triple the height of existing turbine towers, which are less than 200 feet in height.

East County News Service

June 28, 2019 (Campo) – Golden Acorn Casino announces launch of an "Open Aire Market" that will be held the first and last Saturdays of each month from 3:30 to 7 p.m. starting this Saturday, June 29.

The market, held in the grand entry of the casino, will feature fresh produce, eggs from pasture-raised hens, dried and canned goods and other locally grown goods as well as a variety of vendors plus live music.

Update 9:56 a.m.:  The strucure fire has been extinguished and the brush fire has been halted, Cal Fire reports.  Firefighters will remain on scene for mop-up activities.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

June 27, 2019 (Boulevard) -- Cal Fire is at the scene of a fully-involved outbuilding fire in the 41000 block of Old Highway 80 in Boulevard that has spread into the vegetation. Though currently only a 20 by 20 foot spot fire, the #McCainFire has the potential to reach 20 acres, Cal Fire San Diego tweeted shortly after 9 a.m.

By Miriam Raftery

June 22, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The city of San Diego ranked second worst in the nation for rent hikes on  a one-bedroom apartment in 2018, at 17% with an average rent of $2,300, according to Rent.com. By contrast, the national average rent increase nationwide was 2.69% and California averaged a 4.48% increase in rents on one bedroom apartments during the same time period.

Rents are also skyrocketing in East County, where some communities had double digit rent hikes from March 2018 through March 2019 for 1 BR units:

Lemon Grove +15.66%

La Mesa +10.63%

El Cajon + 5.04%

Santee, by contrast, had only a modest 1.25% increase.

Spring Valley, the only unincorporated community in San Diego County with enough inventory to provide statistically valid data, had a 9.6% increase.

East County News Service

June 21, 2019 (Jamul) – On Saturday, June 22, Jamul Casino will ring in summer by hosting an All-Star Block Party featuring casino promotions, live entertainment, and celebrity guests.  The all-day event will feature:

By Miriam Raftery

June 14, 2019 (Campo) – After Border Patrol agents stopped two vehicles in Campo on June 2^nd that were traveling in tandem and suspected of smuggling undocumented immigrants, drug paraphernalia was observed during examination of the vehicles.  “Shortly after, one of the agents began coughing and complained of nausea,” says Justin Castrejon, public affairs officer for the Border Patrol in San Diego.  The agent reported an odor from inside one of the suspect vehicles.  The San Diego County Hazardous Incident Response Team responded, ECM news partner 10 News has learned.

Firebreaks planned to protect Crest and Guatay

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

June 6, 2019 (San Diego) -- Not wanting a repeat of devastation suffered in the deadly 2003 and 2007 firestorms in San Diego County, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob announced on Tuesday a highly coordinated fire prevention effort in anticipation of a tough fire season.

While recent heavy rains have been good for replenishing water supplies, Jacob stated at a press conference, “From a fire standpoint, what has happened, our backcountry brush is thicker than ever. That means there is more fuel to feed a fire when it hits. And it will."

Jacob, whose District 2 includes fire-prone East County, added, "Since the series of deadly firestorms in 2003 and 2007, the county has worked side-by-side with CAL FIRE and spent more than half-a-billion dollars on firefighting improvements.” This has included “new stations, aircraft, and the establishment of a bigger and better firefighting force."

Source:  Saps at Sea San Diego

June 5, 2019 (Spring Valley) - Saps at Sea, the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the official Laurel & Hardy fan society, invites you to their next meeting on June 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Williams Hall at Trinity Presbytarian Church in Spring Valley. 

Updated with identies of the vicitms, provided by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2019 (Jamul) – The driver and a passenger in a 1997 green GMC Sonoma pickup truck are dead following a head-on collision with a Jeep at 11:45 p.m. last night on Lyons Valley Road in Jamul.  The driver, Martin Lopez Soto, 19, from Lemon Grove and his passenger, Hope Najera, 18, from Jamul, died at the scene after the GMC crossed the center line into the path of the Jeep. According to their Facebook posts, the couple recently became engaged.

Witnesses called 9-1-1 but both victims were found inside the vehicle without a pulse by first responders who were unable to revive the teens despite aggressive life-saving efforts. The Medical Examiner concluded that both died of blunt-force injuries.

The driver of the Jeep, an 18-year-old El Cajon woman, had three teen passengers in the vehicle. All four sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were either treated on scene or transported to local hospitals for medical evaluations, according to the California Highway Patrol.