East County News Service

File photo by Nadin Abbott:  San Felipe wildfire, a prescribed burn  in San Diego's East County that got out of control in 2013.

August 21, 2015 (Anza-Borrego)—East County residents and a fire official have voiced concerns over a prescribed burn scheduled to be conducted by the California State Parks service today in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

“My opinion, not wise!” says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Los Angeles. DiGiovanna also author’s the “Chief’s Corner” column on East County Magazine. He questions why a burn would be done in mid-summer amid drought conditions. “I don't have all the facts," he acknowledges, "however, fuel moisture content is the lowest ever. We have bone dry drought conditions. We have over 11,000 firefighters on the west fighting multiple major blazes. Aircraft, resources, personnel are stripped thin. We risk it? What if it gets away?”

By Janis Russell

August 21, 2015 (San Diego)- Mary Lubey, division director of Behavioral Health Sciences from Volunteers of America Southwest, recently sat down with ECM to talk about Hawley Veterans Center and what the center has been doing to help veterans among other topics. Lubey is also in charge of overseeing the program manager at Hawley Veterans Center at 9980 Hawley Road in El Cajon.

East County News Service

August 20, 2015 (El Cajon)—El Cajon Police  responded to a 911 call reporting a possible shooting last night at 7:15 p.m. at an apartment complex at 989 Peach Avenue in El Cajon. Officers found the victim, a black man about 40 years old, lying on the ground in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was transported to a hospital for treatment, but later died of his injuries. His name has not been released pending notification of family.

East County News Service

Photo:  Vernal pool fairy shrimp, Calif. Dept. of Pesticide Regulation

August 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - What do bald eagles and fairy shrimp have in common?  They’re both on a list of species to be protected under a $3 million grant that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is providing to San Diego County for habitat preservation. In addition, the City of Santee will receive close to $189,000 for its Multiple Species Conservation Program.

East County News Service

Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture

August 18, 2015 (La Mesa)-- State, federal and County of San Diego officials have announced that 93 square miles covering portions of San Diego City and East County communities have been put under quarantine after the discovery of four Mediterranean fruit flies — a dangerous pest that can infest more than 250 crops.

Will travel to London to deliver the official Match Ball on the field for the USA v South Africa match

August 19, 2015 (La Mesa) -- Haley Harris, a 15-year-old sports enthusiast from San Diego, will be given the unforgettable experience of delivering the official Match Ball onto the field at Rugby World Cup 2015 in London, courtesy of DHL. Selected as the winner of the U.S. DHL Youth Leadership Scrum Contest, Haley will become a part of Rugby history by representing the U.S. on the world stage of Rugby World Cup 2015.  

By Janis Russell

August 17, 2015 (La Mesa)- The San Diego East County Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second Meet Your Candidates event at Sammy’s Woodfire Pizza in La Mesa on August 5. The speakers were Assemblyman Brian Jones, who is running for Senator Joel Anderson’s seat, and 71^st state Assembly district candidate Randy Voepel, who has been Mayor  and served on Santee’s city council since 2000. Voepel is running against Mike Harrison, who currently serves on Duncan D. Hunter, and Tony Teora, an engineer. (Harrison spoke at a prior Chamber event and Teora is invited for the future.)

August 17, 2015 (El Cajon) – The public is invited to an Emergency Resource Fair at Parkway Plaza mall in El Cajon on Saturday, August 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. organized by Senator Joel Anderson. You can learn about earthquake safety, fire safety and how to prepare for emergencies. Organizations participating include American Medical Response, Community Emergency Response Team, SDG&E, American Red Cross, Heartland Fire & Rescue, and FEMA.

By Miriam Raftery

August 18, 2015 (La Mesa)—Our staff has been hard at work ferreting information out on proposed initiatives seeking to weasel their way onto the 2016 ballot.  Here’s a scoop: La Mesa resident Pat Wright has proposed a ballot measure that would ask California voters to legalize owning ferrets as pets.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Joseph Zatarain, Potrero Town on Facebook

August 18, 2015 (Jamul) – On Sunday, we reported on a 10-hour closure of State Route 94 last Friday due to a head-on collision involving a semi-truck that left many local residents stranded and angry by the long delays.  Our story included documentation of numerous past lengthy closures on the highway in the Jamul area provided by the Deerhorn Valley Antler editor.We asked the California Highway Patrol and Supervisor Dianne Jacob for comments on this serious issue.

Supervisor Jacob responded,  “The public has every reason to be outraged, given the length of the closure, the dangerously high temperatures that day and the lack of communication from state authorities. I will be sharing those concerns with the Caltrans, CHP and other state officials. Drivers are already at risk on this dangerous and congested state highway, and the situation will become even more dangerous if a casino opens. Thousands of lives are at risk in the event there is a need for an evacuation of the area with nowhere to go."

Kevin Pearlstein, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol in El Cajon, today advised East County Magazine that the delay was due in part to the truck shifting and dropping part of its load. 

"The truck was carrying a form of coal.  When the trailer opened up like a aluminum can it spilled everywhere," he said, adding that the prolonged road closure was due to cleanup of the coal spill.  The accident caused five injuries,two major and three minor to moderate, he added, and providing additional details:

Credit photo to Billy Ortiz

East County News Service

August 17, 2015 (Lakeside) – The County is preparing an environmental impact report on a massive sand mining project  proposed in El Monte Valley. The first step is to determine the “scope” of issues to be addressed. The County will host a scoping meeting on the project on Wednesday, August 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lakeside Community Center, 9841 Vine Street in Lakeside.

Members of the public, agencies and organizations are invited to attend and submit comments to assist the in determining the scope and content of the environmental informational impact report.  Details can be found at http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/pds/ceqa_public_review.html . To have your comments entered into the official record, you must voice your comments at the public meeting or submit a letter before September 14 to:

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Joseph Zatarain, Potrero Town on Facebook

August 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --Friday, August 14th was a rough day for motorists in East County. A motorhome sparked a dozen spot fires along 67, forcing closure of the highway and long delays for motorists while firefighters worked to douse the blazes.

Even longer delays were experienced by motorists along Highway 94, which was shut down for roughly 10 hours along the key border-region artery after a semi-truck collided head on with a vehicle carrying several passengers and rolled over.  Inadequate notifications from official channels left motorists stuck in traffic for hours during extreme heat of over 100 degrees and an ambulance was forced to take a lengthy detour.

“Something is wrong here,” says Kim Hamilton, Editor of the Deerhorn Valley Antler. The publication's Antler Alerts  provided the most reliable source of information for the public during most of the extended shutdown.  “Not only was the primary artery and evacuation route closed, but there was little media coverage of it while it was taking place.”

East County News Service

August 16, 2015 (El Cajon)—El Cajon Police Chief Jim Redman  has announced plans to retire on December 4^th, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Redman has served as chief since 2011 and has been a member of the city’s police force since 2008.

El Cajon City Manager Doug Williford has said that the crime rate dropped 25 percent with Redman at the helm. He also credits Redman with community-based policing that shows sensitivity to El Cajon’s increasingly diverse community.

Singer/Songwriter Brent Payne to perform October 17th

August 14, 2015 (La Mesa) --  The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce, “FallFest” as the name of their new event being heldOctober 16th and October 17th at 5500 Grossmont Center Drive in Grossmont Center.

The Chamber partnership on this new event with the well-respected Cushman family and the management team of Grossmont Center incorporates a strong marketing collaboration that will spotlight Grossmont Center as a destination for unique entertainment activities. This new entertainment experience will be produced in the Macy’s parking lot next door to Hooleys Irish Pub.