By Miriam Raftery

December 24, 2022 (El Cajon) – A small plane experienced an emergency over Gillespie Field in El Cajon last night, when its landing gear failed to lock into place.  Heartland Fire Department responded in preparation for a potential emergency landing while the plane, which had an hour and a half of fuel, circled repeatedly over the area for nearly an hour looping left to right, struggling to manually lower the landing gear. 

By Shiloh Ireland

December 23, 2022 (Lakeside) -- On Wednesday, December 15, Grocery Outlet  held its grand opening in Lakeside. ECM has been in contact with corporate and the new owner-operator Cristobal Sanchez as he prepared for the occasion.

Story and photos by Shiloh Ireland

December 23, 2022 (Lakeside) - Wesley Maddocks of San Diego County Parks and Recreation featured Snow Day at Lindo Park in Lakeside.

"It has been a dream of our directors to bring snow to our parks," says Maddocks.

Twenty tons of ice were donated for this event and the crowd grew to approximately 150 as kids arrived from school. Santa sat patiently for the children to hear their Christmas wishes. It looked like all the participants had a fun afternoon.

By Chuck Westerheide, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by José Eli Villanueva

December 21, 2022 (San Diego) - The San Diego County K-12 Youth Services Community Grant Program awarded $6.4 Million in grants to more than 40 local organizations to offer services like tutoring, after-school programs, business development and anti-bullying campaigns.  The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office recovered millions of dollars as part of a public corruption case to be used to care for children by reducing inequities and improve opportunities for local students. The interactive play, Safa’s Story, is one project benefitting from the grant.

December 22, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• 7 things we’ve learned from the Jan. 6 committee report so far (Washington Post)
• US sending Patriots to Ukraine under $1.85B aid package (AP)
• The Trump Organization is found guilty of a criminal tax fraud scheme  (NPR)
• Appeals court strikes down special master in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents case (Washington Post)
• Kansas cleans up from record Keystone pipeline spill (NY Post)
• Over half of car crash victims had drugs or alcohol in their systems  (NPR)
• Trump's income taxes were often paltry, newly released documents show (Politico)

WORLD

• A Global Backlash Is Forcing Qatar to Treat Migrant Workers Better (Time)
• People of Ukraine handed EU’s top human rights prize (AP)
• Russia: U.S. air defense systems could be targets in Ukraine (AP)
• Hit by COVID wave, companies in China strain to keep operations running normally (Reuters)
• Peru's president ousted after trying to dissolve Congress (AP)
• Nigerian military ran secret mass abortion program in war against Boko Haram  (Reuters)
• The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has been knocked offline for more than a month  (NPR)
• Japan lifts a longtime restriction to allow a major defense buildup   (NPR)
• A massive Berlin aquarium bursts, flooding streets with 1,500 tropical fish (NPR)
• Adultery becomes a punishable offense in Indonesia's criminal code 

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

December 21, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Lead and calcium could be in your dark chocolate (Consumer Reports)
• CRISPR gene-editing improves cancer immunotherapy (NPR) 
• Positive Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine data advances mRNA promise, shares rise

SCIENCE AND TECH

• US scientists reach long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough, source says (CNN)
•  Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council (Washington Post)
• AI-generated fake faces are being used by bad actors online  (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

December 21, 2022 (Alpine) – Viejas Casino & Resort invites you to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Viejas Casino & Resort in the Park.  The party will feature live entertainment with Earth to Mars, the Bruno Mars experience, as well as go-go dancers from the Femme Fatale Dancers and DJ Gemini Nikki.  At midnight, a fireworks show and ball drop will cap off the night’s festivities.

Source:  San Diego International Airport

December 20, 2022 (San Diego) - San Diego International Airport (SAN) wants those who will be traveling during the holiday season to be prepared before they arrive at the airport. Due to the New T1 project, much of the airport’s campus is under construction. SAN is offering the following travel tips:   

East County News Service 

Source:  City of El Cajon

December 19, 2022 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon Veterans Coalition is seeking new members. The Veterans Coalition will open its application period from January 9, through February 10, 2023.

By Susan Taylor

Photo  tutor Elaine Westheimer is enthusiastic about being part of the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring Program

December 19, 2022 (La Mesa) -- At San Diego Oasis in Grossmont Center, seniors have the opportunity to be trained for and directed to the wonderful world of tutoring.  This fall, 175 volunteers, most of them seniors, are tutoring children in elementary schools in San Diego County.  This number is up from the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when just a handful of people were meeting face to face with kids at schools. 

The number of tutors was between 300-400 before COVID.  Kristen Amicone, Director of Intergenerational Programs at Oasis, said, “(We are) working diligently to reach that number again and estimate that we will do so by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.”

By Miriam Raftery

December 18, 2022 (Lakeside) – San Diego County is a hub for child sex trafficking, with at least 3,000 victims here each year. How can you protect your children?  Find out on Thursday, January 19 when the Lakeside Union School District and El Capitan High School PTSA groups host a screening of the film “Stolen: a Year-Long Investigation into Child Sex Trafficking and Exploitation.”  This must-see film based on an NBC 7 investigative series will be shown at the El Capitan High School Events Center (10410 Ashwood St., Lakeside) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

East County News Service

December 18, 2022 (El Cajon) – Chabad of East County will present a Chanukah Celebration  at the Grossmont High School football field (Jack Moshin Stadium) starting at 4:30 pm. today. Highlights of the event will include a grand Menorah lighting with community leaders and guests, as well as a drone gelt drop and magic show.

The event will also feature music, hot latkes, jelly donuts, Chanukah crafts and prizes.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

December 17, 2022 (San Diego) - Bivalent COVID-19 vaccination boosters are now approved and available in San Diego County for children as young as six months of age. The County Health and Human Services Agency is urging parents to protect their children, and themselves, by getting vaccinated with the new booster.