February 2, 2022 (La Mesa) – A man who attempted to rob Cabrillo Credit Union at 7900 El Cajon Blvd. in La Mesa yesterday passed a demand note to the teller, but fled before receiving any money.
He fled on foot, heading west on El Cajon Blvd. La Mesa Police officers searched the area. Within seven minutes of the initial call, an officer spotted a man matching the suspect’s description on Guava Avenue, says Lt. Katy Lynch.
Funds will be used to assist in the distribution of free COVID-19 at-home test kits
Source: Grossmont Healthcare district
Photo: District employees prepare boxes of at-home COVID-19 test kits for distribution to the community through partners and its Library (Courtesy of Grossmont Healthcare District)
February 2, 2022 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District announced it has received $47,117 in State funding for COVID-19 relief, which it plans to reinvest into the community by supplementing the nationwide effort to provide the public with free COVID-19 at-home test kits.
February 3, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.
February 2, 2022 (San Diego) -- Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) announced that she tested positive today for COVID-19.
“I have been testing daily – and tested negative as recently as 6pm last night – but tested positive on an antigen test this morning,” a statement sent to media advises. “Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and boosted and am only experiencing mild symptoms. I will be isolating and working remotely in accordance with public health guidance. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, get boosted, test regularly, and stay safe.”
February 2, 2022 (San Diego) -- Punxsutawney Phil has spoken - we can expect six more weeks of winter! It’s true - cold and dark days mean you’re more likely to spend time hibernating in bed instead of going on an early run - but a good workout session is always a good idea. Exercise helps release endorphins and maintains muscle mass. The benefits are especially noticeable for those who suffer from SAD; exercise has been shown to help alleviate symptoms during these dark, cold months.
Both sides of issue have rare agreement: California does a poor job
By J.W. August
Photo: Microsoft clip art
February 1, 2022 (San Diego) -- The approval this past week by the California Assembly of new state legislation has the potential to significantly alter the oversight of skilled nursing facilities statewide that are home to some 400,000 patients.
Assembly Bill 1502 cleared the Assembly on a 55-15 vote, with only Republican legislators casting no votes, including the minority leader Republican Maria Waldron representing part of North County. Whether this far-reaching bill becomes law depends on whether the legislation will survive review by the California Senate. The first stop is at the Senate Health Committee.
February 1, 2022 (Alpine) – Beer lovers in East County will soon have more to cheer about. Mike Hess Brewing of San Diego (www.mikehessbrewing.com) is expanding through their acquisition of Alpine Beer Company’s Outpost. The announcement comes after Alpine Beer Co. sold its Green Flash and Alpine brands in late December to Canada’s Tilray.
Photo, left: Savaii Seau and his wife, Megan, on their wedding day, courtesy of the Seau family
Updated 8:30 with information on Seau's wife, Megan, the passenger in his vehicle.
February 2, 2022 (Lakeside) – Savaii Seau, the brother of former Chargers' linebaker Junior Seau, has died of injuries sustained when the 2005 Audi A6 he was driving crossed the center line on Los Coches Road in Lakeside yesterday and struck a Helix Water District dump truck head on.
His wife, Megan, was a passenger in Seau's vehicle and remains hospitalized in stable condition, a family member told ECM.
February 1, 2022 (Sacramento) – State Senator Brian W. Jones (R-Santee) today introduced a measure to save off-highway vehicle (OHV) competitions in California. Senate Bill 894 is the third OHV competition bill Jones has authored in the last three years, with the two previous measures easily clearing the Senate only to become stalled in the Assembly.
February 1, 2022 (El Cajon) – Pastor Harold Brown overcame homelessness and other hardships to become a community leader dedicated to helping others. As founder and CEO of the East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC) in El Cajon, he championed programs that have helped thousands of people escape homelessness and find hope instead of despair. Brown was also senior pastor of Christian Fellowship of El Cajon.
Following a long battle with lung cancer, he was hospitalized last week with pneumonia and passed away yesterday morning.
Community leaders voiced sorrow as well as praise for Rev. Brown’s remarkable achievements.
February 1, 2022 (San Diego) – Born during the Great Depression, I was in my 30s when President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, guaranteeing that after taking office, he would pass a major tax cut bill, the Clean Air Act, and the Civil Rights Act. In addition to banning job discrimination, these laws also forbade segregation of public accommodation (for example, not allowing blacks to use the bathroom).
January 31, 2022 (La Mesa) - Forty years ago, in February 1982, Romance Writers of America was introduced to San Diego. With five founding members, local chapter RWA San Diego was established. Through championing the romance genre, the national organization brought romance to the forefront, legitimizing romance writing throughout the writing industry.
Shot down before, this time advocates have momentum as bill heads to a vote
By J.W. August
Photo: Isolation of patients in nursing homes during COVID era increases need for state oversight; image CC-by-NC via Bing
Update August 11, 2022: AB 1502 has passed the State Senate Judiciary and Appropriations Committees, and now heads to the Senate floor.
Update 5 p.m. --AB 1502 passed the Assembly this afternoon by a 47-12 vote and now heads to the State Senate.
January 31, 2022 (San Diego) -- If you want to drive a car in California you need a driver's license. In San Diego County all dogs must be licensed. But if you own a nursing home, you can buy another home or chain of facilities, and no license is required.
Unlike a driver who is in multiple accidents or an animal that's attacked someone, there are no rules when it comes to the takeover or sale of nursing homes, no matter how ugly the track record of the firm buying or selling a nursing home.
Even if a chain operator has a history of poorly managed homes, it can add to its portfolio and can do so without first obtaining a license, as long as it submits a license application. The trouble is, such applications can take years to process.
The California Department of Public Health, which is charged with providing oversight of the nursing home industry, says it has no authority to disqualify owners and operators who are already in operation in the state. The agency says this is allowed to happen under what they call a Management Operations Transfer Agreement.
This is what Tony Chicotel, attorney for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), calls “zombie licenses.”. He explains it’s “the essence of license-evasion.”
Update:The public comment period has been extended to Monday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Comments can be sent to Robert.Hingtgen@SDcounty.ca.gov.
January 31, 2022 (Rancho San Diego) -- The County of San Diego held an online meeting January 19 in response to a request for a Major Use Permit for sandmining at the Cottonwood Golf Course along the Sweetwater River. The property owner’s proposal requires an environmental review and public input. Hundreds weighed in, despite major technical issues.
The in-person public meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday, January 12, 2022 was cancelled due to health concerns related to COVID19. However the public can still weight in via the comment link or at a February 1 meeting of the Valle de Oro Planning Group.
January 30, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – In the past, getting zoning approval for shelter space in San Diego County could take up to two years and require costly payments.
Now, after the Board of Supervisors unanimously amended a zoning ordinance on Wednesday, there will be fewer obstacles for multiple kinds of safe shelter and housing options, which could especially serve East County.
Photo: Sheriff recruits, via San Diego Sheriff’s Department
January 30, 2022 (San Diego) – San Diego County Supervisors on January 25 unanimously approved a request by East County Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond to resolve an anticipated shortage of law enforcement officers as vaccine mandates, retirements, COVID-19, recruitment and retention issues impact staffing levels.
Photo, left by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson: Voter casts ballot at San Diego Register of Voters
January 26, 2022 (San Diego) — With year one of the Biden Administration completed and the 2022 midterm elections on the horizon, Congress’s pivotal tug-of-war over federal voting rights legislation continues to escalate.
In January 19 in the Senate, Republicans blocked the Democrats’ attempt at passing both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The legislation — which was also blocked several times in 2021 — sought to strengthen the protections of voters in light of manyrecent state laws that suppress voting rights.
Such laws have been levied across the nation in the wake of the 2020 Presidential election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently warned, “Our voting rights – and our democracy – are on the line.”
Jan. 30, 2022 (East County) The County of San Diego’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Jan. 26 to adopt a local ordinance to allow, on a temporary two-year basis, Micro-Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) in the County.
Apartments, leased spaces, and houses will all be considered private homes. The County cautions future home cooks to check their lease and see if a MEHKO is allowed. Multiple people are not allowed to each operate a MEHKO, or cottage food operation (CFO), in one residence.
January 30, 2022 (Palomar) -- A 4.0 earthquake at 9:46 this morning struck approximately 5 kilometers west-southwest of Palomar Observatory in north San Diego County, the U.S. Geological Service reports. That's about 18 miles northeast of Escondido.
The shaking was felt as far away as Mexico to the south, Santa Maria to the north, and Yuma, Arizona to the east.
January 30, 2022 (Spring Valley) – A Spring Valley woman found dead of traumatic injuries Thursday night has been identified as Ericka Joyce Wilson, 29. She died of multiple stab wounds, the Medical Examiner’s office has concluded after an autopsy.
“Ericka Wilson and the suspect who was arrested in this case, 29-year-old Kandynn Taylor Wilson, were married but estranged. The motive is still under investigation,” says Lieutenant Joel Stranger with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Family Protection unit.
January 29, 2022 (Jacumba Hot Springs) -- Jacumba Hikers recently trekked to the rugged, rock-strewn Valley of the Moon in the Jacumba Mountains. Angela Somera sent these photos from the hike, which was led by Mike Rood and Bill Paper.
“I was the `sweep,' the last person on the hike to make sure no one gets off trail,” she says.
January 29, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) -- I recently lowered my “bad” cholesterol level by 33 points, simply by changing diet to largely eliminate saturated fats and adding cholesterol-lowering items such as oatmeal, blueberries, acai berries, salmon, and walnuts. My cholesterol dropped from the very high range to borderline normal, without any medications.
While I did not use any specifically formulated products, a study just published in the Journal of Nutrition has found that a “food as medicine” approach using Step One Foods can be as effective as medications at reducing cholesterol, without the need for drastic lifestyle changes.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters
Photo: Bradley Fisher, 62, in the Antioch home he eventually moved into after spending 14 years in a Bay Area nursing home. Sept. 2, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
January 29, 2022 (San Diego) - Bradley Fisher, a 62-year-old retired mechanic, lived in a Bay Area nursing home for 14 years.
Entering at age 39, Fisher had been partially paralyzed when bone spurs severed tendons in his spine. After a few years of rehabilitation, Fisher said, he could have lived at home with proper care.
January 29, 2022 (San Diego) – This week, 10 House and Senate committee chairs sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation into the involvement of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (CITs) along the southern border region.
Photo by Jake Rose: Randall Lamb building in flames
January 29, 2022 (La Mesa) – Daniel Louis Sandoval, 44, of Campo has been sentenced for his role in the burning down of the historic Randall Lamb building in La Mesa shortly after midnight on May 31, 2020 during civil unrest.
January 29, 2022 (La Mesa) – A homeless man accused of robbing the Wells Fargo Bank in Grossmont Center on Thursday was arrested soon after in a nearby restaurant.
January 29, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Snow flurries, scattered rainfall and strong winds are forecast this afternoon and tonight in San Diego County’s mountains, creating hazardous travel conditions. Adverse weather conditions are also forecast later in the week across our region.
Tuesday through Friday, expect moderate west winds for mountains, deserts and coastal waters with potential for yet another Santa Ana winds period Wednesday through Friday.
January 29, 2022 (Lakeside) – Shawn Orr, 26, a wanted felon and gang member with a felony arrest warrant, has been captured in Lakeside.
According to Sergeant Aaron Meleen, “Orr was in possession of approximately 1 ounce of methamphetamine, two "ghost" guns, and various burglary tools” when Patrol and Crime Suppression Team deputies form the lakeside Substation contacted him on January 27 in the 12500 block of Lakeshore Drive.
January 28, 2022 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police today announced the arrest of Valerie Eliezer, 29,on multiple counts of arson and parole violations. She is accused of setting fire to several ATM machines at Bank of the West, located at 1234 East Main Street, on January 25.
El Cajon Fire and Police officers responded to reports of the fires, which caused extensive property damage to the unoccupied building, but no injuries. Images of the arsonist were caught on surveillance cameras at the bank and surrounding areas.
February 2, 2022 (La Mesa) – A man who attempted to rob Cabrillo Credit Union at 7900 El Cajon Blvd. in La Mesa yesterday passed a demand note to the teller, but fled before receiving any money. 
Funds will be used to assist in the distribution of free COVID-19 at-home test kits 
February 3, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.
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