East County News Service

May 18, 2019 (Flinn Springs) – Summers Past Farms in Flinn Springs invites you to come celebrate the fragrance and beauty of lavender at a Lavender Festival and Antique Fair on Saturday, June 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

May 18, 2019 (La Mesa) — The California Fair Political Practice Commission has sent a warning letter to Bill Baber for failing as treasurer of the Better East County Committee to file a timely 24-hour contribution report during the November 6, 2018 election. Baber, a La Mesa City Councilman and member of the San Diego Ethics Commission, could be fined up to $5,000 per violation, the Feb. 6 letter states.  

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

May 17, 2919 (El Cajon) --In a unanimous vote, the El Cajon City Council on Tuesday approved planning commissioner and businessman David “Phil” Ortiz to fill the seat formerly held by Ben Kalasho. Ortiz edged out three other finalists for the position: Richard Agundez, Anthony Sottile, and Humbert Cabrera.

Other applicants were Gladys “Jo” Alegria, Juan Barajas, Richard Campbell, Margaret Carlson, Estela De Los Rio, James Elia, Mark Jamil, former El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis, Amanda McGimpsey, Juan Carlos, Mercado, Michelle Metschel, Abraham Muheize, Nancy Wilson, and Steven Woods. Community activist Stephanie Harper dropped out of the race at Tuesday’s meeting. See our prior coverage for highlights on all 22 candidates.

Owner and CEO of New Earth Energy Specialists Inc. and a pastor of Foothills Church, Ortiz is also an active community volunteer. He serves on the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce board of directors and is founding member of the El Cajon Community Clean Up Group.  He has a B.A. degree in criminal justice administration from SDSU and a master’s in organizational management with emphasis in public administration.

According to his application with the city, his top priorities are public safety, including making retention of officers a priority, homelessness, including partnering with local organizations and having metrics to determine programs effectiveness, and having a balanced budget plus revitalization and incentivization to build on vacant lots.

Watch a streaming video of Tuesday’s evening's council session here and scroll down for details.

By Miriam Raftery and Paul Kruze

May 15, 2019 (El Cajon) – The Cajon Valley Union School District stepped up its war on the media during its May 7^th board workshop.  A guard demanded that East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery and contributing editor Paul Kruze move from the front row to the back, in a clear effort to prevent the investigative journalists from recording an audible copy of the meeting. Both refused, citing First Amendment freedom of the press and the district’s continued non-compliance with California public records act requests to receive audios of past meetings.

 At a subsequent meeting May 14, the guard repeated this demand for Kruze to move out of a front row seat, even threatening to the El Cajon Police for “disruption” if he would not comply. Kruze’s recording device is inobtrusive, about the size of a cell phone. There is nothing inherently disruptive about a journalist quietly recording a meeting, which is a right guaranteed to any citizen by the California Ralph M. Brown Act, the state’s public records act.

These intimidation tactics come after the board admitted destroying recordings of public meetings despite our requests for the recordings.  After receiving a cease and desist letter from an attorney at CalAware, the board on March 29 responded with a letter agreeing to comply with the law, as we reported, but has not done so. The board also voted to retain recordings for a year and make copies available on request. But the  district’s lawyer claims our more records request, along with other emails sent to multiple  people at the district, all went to a spam folder.

East County News Service

Photos courtesy of Anomar and Xavier Bailey Photography

May 14, 2019 (Ramona) -- Explore what it means to be creative at the upcoming Anomar Festival on June 29th in Ramona. Located at the scenic Begent Ranch, surrounded by the Ramona Grasslands, attendees can meet our art “collaborators” who will offer a variety of hands-on activities meant to spark joy and expand their horizons.   

East County News Service

May 14, 2019 (Lakeside) -- The Lakeside-based Foundation for Allied Health & EMS Education (FAHEE) will host a fundraising evening at The Hills Pub in La Mesa on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 from 5 to 9 p.m.  The Foundation provides scholarships for qualified students pursuing careers in emergency medicine at East County’s EMSTA College.  View flyer.

County Motor Parts hosts grand opening with car show May 31 - June 2

East County News Service

May 10, 2019 (Alpine) – One of San Diego’s longest operating small businesses, County Motor Parts Inc., announces the opening of its 12th location--8th in San Diego County--in Alpine. The 73-year-old business has been run by three generations of the San Diego-based Eckis family.

East County News Service

May 10, 2019 (San Diego) – On June 26 at 9 a.m., County Supervisors will hold a hearing on a proposed General Plan Amendment for the proposed Otay Ranch Village 14 and Planning Areas 16/19. This is rescheduled from the original May 22 date.

The project proposes to develop 1,119 homes on approximately 1,284 total acres within an approximately 860 acre development footprint that lies within Otay Ranch Village 14 and Planning Areas 16 & 19 (PAs 16 & 19).  The project includes property in the Otay Ranch area as well as land between Jamul and Chula Vista.

East County News Service

May 10, 2019 (Escondido) - Música En La Plaza is a free community series that will take place from 7- 10 p.m. the last Friday of each month. The series will bring live music, dancing, tacos and tequila to the California Center for the Arts.

East County News Service

May 10, 2019 (Poway) – On April 27^th a gunman opened fire inside Chabad of Poway Synagogue, leaving one dead and several injured. Now, Wendy’s restaurant has announced a generous benefit to help those affected. 

East County News Service

May 8, 2019 (El Cajon) — El Cajon’s popular movies in the park are coming back due to popular demand.  You can enjoy nine summer movies from June through August (free!) at parks across the city. Below is the schedule of movie showings:

East County News Service

May 8, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Greg Dunne recently hiked 77 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.  He sent in these two photos. The first is at the trailhead start in Campo near the Mexican border. The second image is about 50 miles north near Garnet Peak, between  Mount Laguna and Julian, overlooking the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.