November 30, 2021 (San Diego) – The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld California’s ban on large-capacity gun ammunition magazines, overturning a lower court ruling. Gun rights advocates had taken aim at a 2016 law and a similar ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters in an effort to reduce mass casualties from assault-style weapons.
November 30, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) - The House of Representatives today passed legislation co-led by Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) to reauthorize Johanna’s Law, which supports federal campaigns to raise awareness about gynecologic cancers among patients and health care providers. In committee and on the floor of the House, the legislation was approved with unanimous bipartisan support.
November 30, 2021 (Ramona) – John Romeo, 57, a convicted felon seen leaving the vicinity of a shooting in Ramona, has been arrested on charges of illegally possessing a handgun and drug possession. He has not been charged in the shooting because the woman injured has refused to tell deputies how she sustained the wound, says Sergeant Jared Anderson.
On November 29 shortly after 4:30 p.m., deputies at the Ramona Sheriff’s station responded to a call reporting a woman had been shot at her home in the 2100 block of Walnut Street. They found her in the front yard with an apparent gunshot wound on her leg.
Photo: A San Diego Unified student is vaccinated in school. Courtesy of the district
November 29, 2021 (San Diego) - The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a last-minute injunction Sunday temporarily preventing the San Diego Unified School District‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from going into effect in December.
November 28, 2021 (Spring Valley) – Two homes in Spring Valley were destroyed yesterday by a fire started from a propane barbecue grill.
The blaze on San Bernadino Avenue near Date Street in La Presa started around 12:30 p.m. The grill was reportedly left unattended and flames caught wood siding on fire, San Miguel Fire & Rescue division chief Andy Lawler told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Residents, unable to locate a fire extinguisher, called 911.
November 28, 2021 (San Diego) -- I remember as a young firefighter responding on a structure fire in the south end of town. Upon arrival we had a single-story, single-family dwelling with heavy smoke from the bravo side. My Captain told me to pull a pre-connect and make entry. RIT teams, two in, two out were not policy.
November 28, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Angel Gaspar Gallegos, 12, a student at Parkway Middle School in La Mesa, was killed on Thanksgiving night by a bullet while playing with cousins in his aunt’s backyard in the Skyline neighborhood.
November 28, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- This is the time of year when many people will be picking out this year’s Christmas tree. Remember these safety tips when you choose your tree and throughout the holiday season.
SELECTING YOUR TREE - Choose a tree with fresh, green needles that do not fall off when touched.
PLACING YOUR TREE - Before placing the tree in the stand, cut 2” from the base of the trunk.
November 28, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – Help bring joy to families in need by donating a new, unwrapped toy (or several) to the Lemon Grove Toy Drive from Nov. 23 through Dec. 16. The toy drive is sponsored by Kids Fashion Week Network So-Cal along with Lemon Grove Lions Club and Improving Lemon Grove.
November 28, 2021 (La Mesa) - Once upon a time, before scrolling through your social media feed, before television, in a simpler time, there was radio--with only a couple of options to choose from. But the family came together and listened. Lamplighter's theatre presents "The 1940s Radio Hour," a musical by Walton Jones touching on the nostalgia of the era. The play is a soothing and peaceful interlude among the chaos of the holiday season’s hustle and bustle.
November 28, 2021 (San Diego) – While breakfast was being served yesterday at 4:30 a.m. in the San Diego Central Jail, 57-year-old inmate Robert Dwayne Moniger told deputies that he was not feeling well.
November 27, 2021 (Pauma Valley) – The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified Joaquin Romero, 34, of Banning, California as the worker who died on November 1st after a fall a day earlier in Pauma Valley at the La Jolla Zip Zoom line operated by the La Jolla Indian tribe.
November 27, 2021 (Ramona) – The medical examiner has identified the woman found dead after a fire at her home as Deborah Ann Hester, 61.
Based on preliminary law enforcement investigation, on the early morning hours of November 15th, Hester called 9-1-1 and requested emergency assistance due to a fire at her residence. San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the decedent’s residence at 566 Telford Lane in Ramona and heard her screaming for help.
November 27, 2021 (Alpine) – Vincent I. Esquivel, 29, of Descanso has been identified as the driver who died at the scene of a vehicle accident on the evening of November 13.
November 27, 2021 (Berkeley) - The Aztec women’s basketball team (4-3) fell to Furman (5-2) 71-62 in their final game in Cal’s Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Photos by Henri Migala, Miriam Raftery and Sammy’s
November 27, 2021 (La Mesa) -- Having been reviewing restaurants in East County for nearly two years now I have been reporting that East County has become the new gastronomic center of San Diego.
November 27, 2021 (Lemon Grove) -- The City of Lemon Grove 2021 State of the City Address has now been released on several public digital platforms. The address, delivered virtually by Mayor Racquel Vasquez, focused on the City’s successes in 2020 including compassionate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, goals for the future, and a positive year-end budget.
November 27, 2021 (San Diego) – Mike Hancock, 59, traffic reporter for several local radio stations and former news director at KNSJ radio, was found dead in his San Diego residence by a friend on November 14 after an illness. His voice has also been heard on the East County Magazine Radio Show, where he was instrumental in mentoring interns and reporting on locations in East County.
Celebrate “50 Days of Fiesta” with special menu and more now through Dec. 24
East County News Service
November 27, 2021 (La Mesa) – Diane Powers’ Casa de Pico Mexican restaurant is celebrating 50 years of delicious and festive fun starting November 4 through December 24 in La Mesa’s Grossmont Center.
November 27, 2021 (Anaheim) - Trey Pulliam scored 11 points, while Lamont Butler and Aguek Arop each had nine, but the No. 24 Southern California Trojans, were able to limit the San Diego State Aztecs to 32.1 percent shooting and defeated SDSU 58-43 in the championsip game of the Paycom Wooden Legacy on Friday night.
November 26, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – What could be merrier than a Holiday Wine Trail in the country featuring 17 local wineries? This year, the Ramona Holiday Wine Trail is extended for a full month, each Saturday and Sunday from Nov. 28 to Dec. 19.
November 26, 2021 (Berkeley) - The Aztec women’s basketball team (4-2) lost to Ole Miss (5-1) 62-48 Friday afternoon in the first game of Cal’s Raising the B.A.R. Invitational. SDSU shot 46 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep and were led by Sophia Ramos’ 18 points.
Update 5:15 p.m. -- Power has been restored to all customers, according to the SDG&E website.
By Miriam Raftery
Photo by Fran Materra, via Facebook: Thanksgiving by lanternlight in Potrero
November 26, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – An estimated 2,520 SDG&E customers remain in the dark on Black Friday due to power-shut offs amid a red flag warning for high fire danger. About half the communities originally blacked out have power restored, but these areas remain without power: Alpine, Boulevard, the Campo reservation, Descanso, Jamul, Potrero, the Viejas Reservation, and Warner Springs.
More than 50,000 customers remain at risk of outages yet to come. View the list of communities at risk at https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard. SDG&E has set up community resource centers where residents without power can go to recharge devices, pickup ice, water, snacks and more. Find the closest CRC at SDG&E’s CRC look-up tool.
East County residents posted comments and complaints on social media regarding the outages. While some railed against SDG&E for cutting power on a holiday, others pre-cooked foods early, grateful for the warnings. Others dined out at restaurants, brought in hot meals, or headed to relatives homes’ outside the blacked-out areas. Some also voiced thanks that no homes were lost to wildfires.
November 25, 2021 (Crest) – Santa will arrive by firetruck to cap off a two-day Christmas Market and Festival in Crest. The event will be held at the Crest Clubhouse (113 North Park, El Cajon) on Friday, December 3 from 3-8 p.m. and Saturday, December 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
November 25, 2021 (Spring Valley) – Pedro Arturo Rodriguez, Jr., 22, has been arrested and charged with the shooting murder of Arnolfo Quinntero, 26.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives responded to the killing on November 3 in the 8700 block of Troy Street in Spring Valley. On November 23, the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Rodriguez as he left his residence in the 5200 block of Quince Street in San Diego, says Lieutenant Thomas Siever.
November 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – The #Magnolia Fire in Santee at Walker Preserve , 9500 N. Magnolia AVe., has burned 10 acres and has prompted evacuation notices, according to ECM reporter Rebecca Jefferis-Wiliamson.
The fire is spreading at a moderate rate, fueled by windy weather.
An evacuation warning has been issued to homes around Hill Creek School near Ramsgate Drive & Hillcreek Road. The Sheriff reports a temporary evacuation point is at Pathways Church (9638 Carlton Hills Blvd.)
November 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has shut off power to 5,311 customers as of 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Another 47,934 are at risk of outages amid a red flag warning for extreme fire danger and high winds.
So far, these are the communities without power: Alpine, Boulevard, Descanso, Jamul, Pala, Pauma Valley, and Potrero as well as the Campo, Cuyapaipe, La Jolla, Pauma, and Viejas reservations.Many more areas are on a list of potential outages to come.
SDG&E has opened several community resource centers where residents can get water, ice, snacks, and preparedness supplies, car power inverters, solar-powered batteries, radios, and update on outages. View map at https://www.sdge.com/resource-centers.
November 24, 2021 (San Diego) -- Felony arrest rates decreased 14%, and misdemeanor arrest rates decreased 38% in the San Diego region in 2020, compared to 2019, according to a new report released by SANDAG, Arrests 2019 and 2020: Law Enforcement Response to Crime in the San Diego Region. Overall, arrests dropped 31% countywide.
November 24, 2021 (El Cajon) - The nonprofit Campaign One At A Time is (OAAT) hosting a fundraiser for a 5-year-old cancer patient, Maximiliano Jacobs from El Cajon, to help fulfill his dream of going on a dream trip to Disney World with his family.
By Miriam Raftery
Source: Congressman Darryl Issa
By Miriam Raftery
By Chris Jennewein, 
By Miriam Raftery
By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
East County News Service
Heartland Fire & Rescue
East County News Service
By Kathy Carpenter
East County News Service 
East County News Service
East County News Service
By Miriam Raftery
Mercedes Staples led the Aztecs with 20 points
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
Celebrate “50 Days of Fiesta” with special menu and more now through Dec. 24 
East County News Service
Sophia Ramos had a game-high 18 points
East County News Service
East County News Service
East County News Service
East County News Service
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