May 31, 2023 (San Diego) – A memorial service has been scheduled for renowned author and radio host Charles Harrington Elster, who died March 1, 2023 of cancer at his home in Kensington. The memorial will be held on Saturday, July 15 at 2 p.m. at the Kensington Community Church, 4773 Marlborough Drive, San Diego.
Best known as the original co-host of “A Way With Words” on KPBS from 1998 to 2004, Elster was a passionate logophile, or lover of words. The show’s founding cohost, Richard Lederer, remembers Elster as “a real communicator with a great voice.”
Elster also authored a dozen books on pronunciation, vocabulary and style, starting with There is No Zoo in Zoology and Is There a Cow in Moscow?” He penned high school vocabulary-building novels Tooth and Nail: A Novel Approach to the SAT and Test of Time: A Novel Approach to the SAT and ACT. His last book, How to Tell Fate from Destiny and Other Skillful Word Distinctions, came out in 2018.
May 28, 2023 (Poway) - In PowPac Theatre's presentation of Visiting Mr. Green, a dramedy by Jeff Baron, the power of connection takes center stage. The play revolves around Ross Gardiner, a successful executive reluctantly assigned by the court to visit Mr. Green, an elderly and grumpy widower, as part of his community service. What begins as an unfavorable obligation soon evolves into a heartwarming journey of friendship and personal growth.
May 29, 2023 (San Diego) – To address the housing crisis in San Diego County’s unincorporated areas, Supervisors last week approved 22 actions aimed at helping renters and homebuyers.
May 29, 2023 (La Mesa/El Cajon) - The June 10, 2023 installation meeting of the La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women will be held at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina at 2131 Shelter Island Dr. in San Diego. The luncheon meeting begins at 11:00 and dress is Tropical. The new officers will be led by President Elect, Jane Drinkwalter. For more information, lunch selections and reservations go to AAUW La Mesa-El Cajon (CA) Branch. The cost of the luncheon is $40.00.
Photo by Miriam Raftery: Rooftop solar on People's Market in Ocean Beach
May 29, 2023 (San Diego) – For years, residents in San Diego’s rural and desert areas have argued that it would make more sense to put solar on roofs and parking lots in urban areas where power is used, instead of building massive wind and solar projects in the backcountry that negatively impact communities and require miles of new power lines. On May 25, County Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Supervisor Jim Desmond that will include studying capacity for renewable energy projects on infill lots, roofs and parking lots.
The study will be part of the proposed Regional Decarbonization Framework (RDF), which sets a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net-zero levels by 2045. The Chief Administrator has six months to complete the study and report back to the Board of Supervisors, though the board cannot vote until the vacancy in District four has been filled by a special election.
As ECM reported in early March, the Protect Our Communities Foundation filed a lawsuit in late February against the County over its RDF, contending that the County hired a biased utility industry consultant to direct the County’s RDF and that its conclusions are skewed toward utilities’ interests over consumers’ interests based on flawed data and that it would actually cost less for infill energy projects than for large-scale energy facilities in remote areas, if costs of transmission is factored in.
Story, photo and slideshow by Chris Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
May 29, 2023 (San Diego) -- Overlooking rows of white headstones Sunday at Miramar National Cemetery, a veteran recounted the March death of a former Navy SEAL and issued a call to action to prevent military suicides.
Joshua Prado, 2022 San Diego County Veteran of the Year, spoke of Silver Star recipient Douglas “Mike” Day in a Memorial Day observance.
“Every American can play a part in preventing another death like his and honoring his memory by helping those who have served this country,” he said of the Navy SEAL.
Prado’s ask of about 250 people at the holiday ceremony was: Check in on the veterans in your life. If you have a veteran or a person in your social circle or family, look for the warning signs that may precede a suicide.
May 29,2023 -- Our radio shows from January through April 2023 are now online.
Highlights included interview with Supervisor Joel Anderson over ICE dropping migrants off at the trolley in winter, human trafficking victim and advocate for survivors Kathi Torres on how to protect young people locally, Bob Gam on how his parents survived the holocaust, Dilkhwaz Ahmed, License to Freedom, and Bob Gam, Co-chair, Welcome Home, on helping refugees and asylum seekers; Bill Powers on the County’s Regional Decarbonization Framework, Clovis Honore, Grid Alternatives and Green New Deal Alliance on the future of solar energy in Calif., Amie Zamudio and Joanne Standlee: Housing 4 the Homeless on hospitals dumping homeless and seniors on streets, plus highlights from a heated hearing in Alpine on closure of Loveland Reservoir after extreme draining and other top local issues.
The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM. Our shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Note: Some shows were reruns; original run dates are listed below. Shows also include station IDs and public service announcements.
For links to listen plus an index with topics and interviews in each show, click here or click the "read more" link and scroll down. Audio links are below the index. (Audio files may take a few moments to load.)
May 28, 2023 (Salt Lake City) - San Diego State’s season came to an end with a 7-2 loss at No. 15 overall seed Utah in the NCAA Salt Lake City Regional final Sunday afternoon at Dumke Family Softball Stadium. The Aztecs (39-17) captured the Mountain West Tournament and NCAA Los Angeles Regional before falling a victory short in the NCAA Super Regional of making it to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
May 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF) will hold a webinar on May 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Vesicular Stomatis Virus (VSV), a contagious livestock disease that has spread to at least six different communities in San Diego County. Registration is required for the webinar, which will be held on Zoom. Register here.
Dr. Angela Pelzel McCluskey, USDA equine epidemiologist, will provide an overview of Vesicular Stomatitis and the current situation report also providing perspective based on her firsthand experience managing numerous VS outbreaks in her previous roles. Dr. Katie Flynn,USEF Equine Health and Biosecurity veterinarian, will cover prevention measures for horses and their premises, as well as the biosecurity requirements being implemented at those USEF events with horses competing from VS Affected States.
As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 23 properties are quarantined due to VSV, including 18 sites in San Diego County—seven more than in the last report five days earlier. All but one case in the outbreak have occurred in equine species such as horses, but there is one suspected case in a “backyard beef steer” at a local property with three cattle. The remaining cases are in Riverside County.
The USDA has not responded to our media inquiry for specific locations impacted in our region, but the Ramona Sentinel reports that the first six confirmed cases since the outbreak began May 17 were in Ramona, Lakeside, Campo, Jamul, Del Sur, and Descanso, according to local veterinarians. San Diego and Riverside counties are the only places in the nation with current cases.
May 28, 2023 (La Mesa) – Former La Mesa City Councilman Guy McWhirter died May 26, 2023 after a long battle with cancer. A strong voice for La Mesa’s business community, who helped develop the village merchants’ association, McWhirter was also a long-time insurance agent and a Bishop in the Church of Latter Day Saints for La Mesa's second ward in the 1990s.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 2 at 3 p.m. at the LDS church at 5555 Aztec Drive in La Mesa.
McWhirter was elected to the La Mesa City Council in November 2014 and served through 2018, after previously serving on the city’s planning commission. In a 2018 interview with East County Magazine, he said serving on the Council had been “one of the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had,” adding that he enjoyed “working with people who want to make a difference.”
On the Council, he supported programs to boost business in the downtown village, from a farmer’s market to Oktoberfest. He supported efforts to help the homeless and approve the city’s landmark climate action plan.
In a 2014 ECM interview, McWhirter provided his definition of leadership. “Be an example by being the hardest worker and have the ability of encouraging others by giving them a vision of what we are trying to accomplish. Always listen and be willing to accept new ideas.”
CalMattersis a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters
Photo: drought-stricken Lake Mead on the Colorado River in August 2022. Photo by Christopher Clark / U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
May 28, 2023 (San Diego) - After nearly a year of intense negotiations, California, Nevada and Arizona reached a historic agreement last Monday to use less water from the overdrafted Colorado River over the next three years.
May 27, 2023 (La Mesa) - During May’s Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, the La Mesa Police Department reminds drivers to always look twice for motorcycles. Safe riding and driving practices, and a shared responsibility from all road users, will help everyone get to their destination safely.
May 27, 2023 (La Mesa) - May is National Bicycle Safety Month and the La Mesa Police Department is encouraging more people to get active and safely take bike rides. “Bicycling is a great means of transportation and recreation,” Chief Ray Sweeney said. “Let’s look out for one another and make sure everyone arrives safely at their destination. Share the road and share the responsibility.”
May 27, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The County of San Diego is kicking off its annual movies in the park, which this year features 150 movies at dozens of parks across the County. Bring the family—along with blankets and lawn chairs—to cozy up for a night under the stars.
The season opens this Memorial Day weekend at Waterfront Park downtown and runs through October. East County and inland locations include Anza Borrego,Campo, El Cajon, Encanto, Escondido, Julian , Lakeside, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Pine Valley, Potrero, Poway, Ramona, Rancho Penasquitos, Rolando, San Carlos, and Spring Valley.
Theme weekends have also been scheduled, including Juneteenth (June 16 and 17), Comic-Con (July 21-22), Ladies Night (Aug. 12), International Dog Day (Aug. 25 and 26), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) and Halloween (late October).
May 27, 2023 (San Diego) – Rail service resumes today from San Diego to Orange County, after emergency workers stabilized a hillside north of the San Clemente pier that scattered debris onto the rail right-of-way below last month.
Both Metrolink and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner are resuming service today,according to the Orange County Transportation Authority.
The rail line is being reopened at the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start to summer and a popular time for travel by all modes, including rail.
May 27, 2023 (El Cajon) – The Biden-Harris administration has announced over $4.8 million in grants to Southern California to cleanup polluted brown field sites and provide technical assistance. That includes a $500,000 grant to the East County Economic Development Council Foundation to address contamination cleanup in the city of El Cajon.
According to the EPA site, the target area for this grant is the 1.4-square-mile El Cajon Opportunity Zone Corridor. Priority sites include a 1.1-acre former commercial and lumber operation; a 3.06-acre former ice house, lumber operation, and garage; and several sites formerly used for auto repair centers, a dry cleaner, a gas station, and a current restaurant and motel.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) says, “Safely cleaning up and reinvesting in properties with potentially hazardous materials strengthens our local tax base, promotes job growth, and protects public health and the environment. That’s why I’m so glad East County Economic Development Council Foundation will receive a much-needed $500,000 from the EPA to invest in properties and frontline communities that have been ignored and neglected for far too long.”
Warnings issued for beaches from North County to South Bay, impacting beach safety for humans and dogs
East County News Service
File photo by Tony Webster,Friendship Park sewage warning sign in Imperial Beach cc 2.0
Update May 29, 2023: The closure is lifted for the Coronado Lifeguard Tower and North Beach Shorelines. Recent water quality samples meet State health standards. Warnings at other beaches remain in effect.
May 27, 2023 (San Diego) – Sewage spills in Tijuana have contaminated many local beaches. Some South Bay beaches have been closed for months or more, including Imperial Beach and Tijuana Slough shoreline. Earlier this month, the Coronado shoreline was shutdown by county health officials, after earlier closing the Silver Strand.
This Memorial Day weekend, the county has also issued advisories warning consumers of pollution at the following beaches:
May 26, 2023 (Lakeside) – Trevi Hills Winery in Lakeside will host “Runway Chardonnay” on Saturday, May 27 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. featuring wine, fashion and music. The event is presented by Local Umbrella Media and benefits Music Therapy for Veterans studio.
Floyd Armstrong will be entertaining with his smooth, baritone voice singing favorites while guests sip wine and feast their eyes on Dawn Sebaugh's new spring collection from WALA, a beautiful compilation one of a kind dresses inspired from her original art.
Bulldogs hit a pair of two-run homers to sink Aztecs
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
May 26, 2023 (Fresno) - Second-seeded San Diego State was eliminated from the 2023 Mountain West Championship on Friday after suffering a 4-2 defeat to No. 4 seed Fresno State at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Update 3:15 p.m. -- The seven-hour SWAT standoff has ended. According to the Sheriff's Dept., the suspect, Brandon Andrade, walked out of the house and surrendered after deputies used chemical agents. Mental Health Clinicians with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) will evaluate Andrade before he is booked into San Diego Central Jail. He is expected to face three counts of attempted murder charges. The evacuation notification and road closures will be lifted in an hour.
East County News Service
May 25, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is working to peacefully resolve a SWAT standoff in Lemon Grove. A suspect has barricaded himself inside his home and is refusing to come out after firing multiple shots and injuring a neighbor.
Skyline Drive between Longdale Drive and Palm Street is closed as deputies continue to negotiate with the suspect, who may have other weapons. Deputies evacuated eight homes in the neighborhood. Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.
May 25, 2023 (San Diego) - The San Diego County Fire Protection District is giving out more than 400 pool alarms to help prevent drownings as part of Health and Safe Swimming Week (May 22 through 28). The alarms can offer notification when a child or pet falls into a pool. The alarms will be available to households in the San Diego County or Deer Springs Fire Protection Districts.
Photo: La Mesa Councilwoman Laura Lothian, seeing no chance of council OK, made no motion for her policy proposal. Image via Facebook
May 25, 2023 (La Mesa) - La Mesa Councilwoman Laura Lothian ran a proposal up the flagpole but saw it shot down in a hail of public scorn and derision.
May 25, 2023 (San Diego) -- The small town of Elderton is in crisis. French fries and other forms of potatoes are disappearing from kitchens. The thief seems invisible in San Diego author Erik Christopher Martin’s latest children’s book, The Case of the French Fry Phantom.
Action seeks to expand representation for a half million residents in County's unincorporated areas
East County News Service
Map courtesy of the County of San Diego
May 25, 2023 (San Diego)-- On May 23, San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution to support adding representation from the unincorporated area to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors. This board action was introduced by Chairwoman Nora Vargas and Supervisor Joel Anderson, both of whom represent the County on the SANDAG Board.
The County’s unincorporated communities are home to more than half-a-million people, making them the region’s second largest population group behind only the City of San Diego. Geographically, the vast majority of the county lies within unincorporated areas.
Three candidates are running to replace Nathan Fletcher so far
By Miriam Raftery
Photo, left to right: Monica Montgomery Steppe, Amy Reichert,and Janessa Goldbeck
May 24, 2023 (San Diego) – Supervisors have authorized an Aug. 15 special primary election to fill the vacancy in District 4 left by Nathan Fletcher’s resignationCandidates must file paperwork to run at the Registrar of Voters’ office between May 30 and June 6, though if they wish to submit signatures instead of a filing fee, they must pick up those forms by this Friday. If no candidate wins a majority of votes in the primary, then a general election will be held on Nov. 7.
District 4 includes the East County communities of La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Crest, Dehesa, Casa de Oro, Spring Valley, Mt. Helix, and Rancho San Diego as well as San Diego neighborhoods including Clairemont, Hillcrest, Balboa Park, North Park, Bankers Hill, Old Town, Mission Hills, Normal Heights, University Heights, Oak Park, Valencia Park, Encanto, Bay Terraces, Paradise Hills, Birdland, SerraMesa, Civita, and parts of Grantville, City Heights, Rolando, Azalea Park, Chollas Creek, Rolando Park, Kensington, Talmadge, Mid-City, Montezuma Mesa, SDSU and Mission Valley.
By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office
May 24, 2023 (San Diego) - County Supervisors approved setting aside $32 million in state and County funds Tuesday to help quickly create housing for people experiencing homelessness, or who are at risk of homelessness and $4.6 million a year in services to support them.
May 23, 2023 (San Diego) -- Law enforcement leaders today announced that an unprecedented two-month fentanyl-enforcement surge along the southwest border has resulted in the seizure of about 4,721 pounds of fentanyl, 1,700 pounds of fentanyl precursors and more than 200 arrests of alleged smugglers, traffickers and dealers within the Southern and Central Districts of California.
East County News Service
Source: AAUW
By Miriam Raftery
Story, photo and slideshow by 
Aztecs finish season with a 39-17 record
By Miriam Raftery
By Alastair Bland, CalMatters
Source: City of La Mesa
Source: City of La Mesa 
By Miriam Raftery
East County News Service
East County News Service
East County News Service
Bulldogs hit a pair of two-run homers to sink Aztecs
East County News Service
Update 3:15 p.m.
B
By Erik Christopher Martin
Authorities seek public help to locate a vehicle that
By 
East County News Service
Three candidates are running to replace Nathan Fletcher so 
By 
Photo: U.S. Attorney Andy Grossman, San Diego
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