July 25, 2021 (El Cajon) – A rally and march in El Cajon is being planned today at 2 p.m. by pro-Palestinian groups, in reaction to a “We are Israel” rally slated for 3 p.m. at a separate location that Palestinian leaders locally describe as "Zionist" and "anti-Palestinian."
Organizers of the “We are Israel” rally at 3 p.m. on Prescott Promenade at 201 East Main St. have stated that their event is in response to the record number of violent attacks on Jewish people and synagogues in the U.S. and in San Diego County, not policies in the Mideaast.
Organized by Shield of David, that rally is slated to include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as keynote speaker and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells as one of several other speakers, as ECM reported.Pompeo, as Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, broke with decades of U..S. foreign policy tradition by declaring that Israeli settlements in the West Bank did not violate international law. But Pompeo also helped broker a peace deal between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
“I have concerns about the legal justification of the recent strikes, particularly as they seem to have been conducted without White House approval.” – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
By Miriam Raftery
July 24, 2021 (San Diego) – The Pentagon has launched two airstrikes this week targeting combatants with al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliated terror group in Somalia. The air strikes come after a six-month pause in airstrikes that were halted after Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump as U.S. President.
San Diego has the second largest Somali population in the U.S., with approximately 10,000 Somali immigrants, KPBS reported last year.
CAP Update Measure Development Workshop: Energy, Water, and Waste Emissions Reduction Sectors
East County News Service
July 24, 2021 (Unincorporated San Diego) - The County invites you to participate in their online Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update measure development workshop series. The July 28 virtual workshop covers Energy, water, and waste emissions reduction sectors.
Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 6:00 PM
Use this link to register for the workshop and add the event to your calendar. You will receive a confirmation e-mail and a numeric passcode to participate in the meeting.
If you are interested in being notified of their upcoming opportunities to participate, please sign up for the County’s CAP mailing list.
July 24, 2021 (Spring Valley) -- A group of people led by Victoria Abrenica, founder and president of the Spring Valley cleanup crew, met Friday at the Tijuana River Valley for a large-scale cleanup of the land.
July 23, 2021 (El Cajon) - Spectators at the upcoming Cajon Classic Cruise events in downtown El Cajon will have two opportunities to view iconic autos: on the streets and at Car Gaze being held in The Gallery Without a Name, 134 E. Main St., where acclaimed photographers will offer their images of vehicles in a limited showing.
“A parked car can be, well, not much to think about,” said Jake Rose, an award-winning San Diego-area photographer. “But the right car, in the right place, conjures memories, mystery and curiosity. “Some photographers can’t resist what a car says about its place, an old car in front of an old building, a view back in time.”
July 24, 2021 (La Mesa) – Live theatre returns at Lamplighters Theatre after a 15-month closure due to COVID-19. Lamplighters presents “The Last Five Years,” Tony-Award winner Jason Robert Brown’s poignant and smart contemporary musical of five years in the relationship of an ambitious young writer, Jamie, and his struggling actress wife, Cathy. The show runs July 23 through Aug. 15.
July 24, 2021 (Chula Vista) - The Chicano Federation, in partnership with the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club, proudly presents 'Kickin' it With the Loyal,' an eight-week soccer camp for children ages 5-12.
June 19, 2021 (El Cajon) – Sponsors are needed for a golf tournament on Friday, July 30 at Cottonwood Golf Course in El Cajon for the “Saddles in Service” golf tournament. The event will support local veterans, active duty military, and first responders receive mental health wellness and healing through equine assisted activities at Saddles in Service in Alpine, CA.
Photo: Othman Al-Kusairy (far left) and Sally Bachori (middle left), Ahmed (to the right of Sally) and Sam (far right) stand with other Iraqi organizers and signs in memory of lives lost
July 23, 2021 (San Diego) -- A group of Iraqi organizers held a protest in Balboa Park last Sunday. The group calls itself “End Impunity in Iraq” and is calling for accountability.
July 22, 2021 (Dulzura) -- Members of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) San Diego Sector’s (SDC) Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) team rescued a Mexican citizen yesterday who was lost in East County San Diego and suffering from a heat emergency.
"Our contributions to this country are innumerable. Yet, there’s no path to citizenship for us. We pay taxes, build the economy, and contribute to our communities during a pandemic. Yet, we are rejected and insulted once more. Every day that we live without a path to citizenship, is a day filled with anxiety and fear.” -- Dulce Garcia, an undocumented immigrant and attorney who chairs the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium.
By Miriam Raftery
July 22, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego immigrant advocates are reacting in shock to a federal judge’s ruling which orders the Biden administration to halt approval of any new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. The judge also issued a stay temporarily protecting those already granted DACA protections from deportation – but warned that Congress must act to make protections permanent, or the stay might be lifted.
DACA was created through an executive order by President Barack Obama, protecting thousands of young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to stay here, hold jobs and attend school. Known as “Dreamers,” many have been here nearly their entire lives. The ruling creates an uncertain future for 305,000 DACA recipients and another 854,000 eligible for DACA in southern border states, according to the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Some have been in the U.S. for many years, and some are now married or parents of U.S. citizens.
July 22, 2021 (San Diego) -- Thousands of people flocked to the Hillcrest area this weekend from across San Diego County for the region’s annual pride weekend.
July 21, 2021 (San Diego) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in San Diego has spiked in the past week, prompting County health officials to urge residents to continue getting vaccinated. In the past seven days, 3,465 COVID-19 cases were reported in San Diego County. That’s 1,566 or 82% more cases than the previous seven-day period.
July 21, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) -Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) announced today that he is now an original cosponsor of legislation to reauthorize “Johanna’s Law,” which supports federal campaigns to raise knowledge and awareness among women and health care providers about gynecologic cancers.
July 21, 2021 (San Diego) – A fentanyl overdose may have claimed the life of 22-year-old Saxon Rodriguez, an inmate at the San Diego Central Jail. He was found unresponsive in his cell, which had two other inmates, yesterday at 10 a.m. Despite lifesaving efforts by deputies and medical personal, Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the facility.
An autopsy today by the County Medical Examiner found Rodriguez tested positive for Fentanyl, a powerful opiate, however more laboratory tests are required to confirm the cause and manner of his death.
July 21, 2021 (San Diego) — Why does San Diego County have the highest rate of jail deaths of any other major California county? Local legislators hope to find out. On July 1st, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved a measure to ask California’s State Auditor to provide independently developed and verified information on inmate deaths in the custody of the San Diego Sheriff’s department.
The request for the audit was introduced by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) along with other members of the San Diego delegation including Assemblymembers Tasha Boerner-Horvath, Brian Maienschein, Christopher Ward, Lorena Gonzalez, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Senator Ben Hueso.
“The approval of this audit request may provide answers to the many families who have lost loved ones while in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office,” said Assemblymember Weber. "A jail sentence should not be a de facto death sentence. We can use this opportunity to uncover the disparities of the department protocol so that we can implement better procedures for protecting the safety of incarcerated individuals.”
July 21, 2021 (El Cajon) – A man found stabbed on July 18 at 2:20 p.m. has died at a local hospital. El Cajon Police responded to a medical aid call with Heartland Fire in the 1600 block of North Mollison Ave where “they located an unresponsive subject who had been stabbed at least one time,” according to Lieutenant Keith MacArthur.
Photo: Screenshot of Josef Aschbacher at July 13 signing ceremony
July 21, 2021 (San Diego) — Recognizing that climate change is an urgent global challenge, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a strategic partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to observe Earth and its changing environment. In a statement, NASA says, "Together we are leading and supporting a global response, with combined efforts in Earth science."
“Climate change is an all-hands-on-deck, global challenge that requires action now,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA and ESA are leading the way in space, building an unprecedented strategic partnership in Earth science.”
Photo: Defendant John Earnest during a witness’ testimony in 2019. Pool photo
July 20, 2021 (Poway) - John Earnest pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and other state charges in the 2019 shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue that killed one woman and injured three other people.
July 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region: Then and Now by Marie Simovich and Mike Wells, published by Sunbelt Publications in El Cajon, has been named a Gold Medal winner in the Contribution to Publishing category at the 90th Annual California Book Awards.
July 20, 2021 (San Diego) – Thank you, California.
Thank you for your empathy and your commitment to patients and families in the Golden State suffering with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease often called Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Photo, left to right: Mejgan Afshan, Letitia Dickerson, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian
July 20, 2021 (La Mesa) – So far, the lineup of candidates seeking to serve on La Mesa’s City Council have one thing in common: all are women who filed papers to run for a vacancy on the Council left when ex-Councilmember Akilah Weber won election to the state Assembly. Dr Weber, a Democrat, was the first Black woman to serve on the Council.
The filing deadline opened July 12 and will close on August 6, so more candidates may yet file. The candidates who have filed to run so far are:
July 19, 2021 (San Diego) – This is the time of year where swimming pool drownings reach their peak.Drowning incidents are dramatically on the rise both locally and nationally. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, just under 400 deaths a year on average are attributed to drowningin a swimmingpool or at a spa. Sadly, of the total number of accidental drownings, approximately one in five victims are aged 14 or younger.
July 19, 2021 (El Cajon) - The first of four redistricting meetings in El Cajon took place last Wednesday.
Local governments redistrict every 10 years to reflect a change in local population. The redistricting plan will affect how residents elect their council members.
July 19, 2021 (Descanso) – Thunderstorms resulted in 84 lightning strikes in our region on Saturday, July 17—nearly all of them in Descanso and Alpine. On a Descanso discussion forum on Facebook, some residents described the loud thunderbolts as “house shakers," “insane,” and a “wake up call” from Mother Nature.
July 19, 2021 (San Diego) - Three former San Diego State athletes and one incoming student-athlete are set to compete at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which begins on Tuesday (Pacific Daylight Time).
July 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a lab that help boost the immune system to fight viruses. The monoclonal antibody combination treatments of monoclonal antibody combination treatment from Regeneron has been authorized for emergency use to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg / 88 lbs.) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) viral testing, and who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. Monoclonal antibodies have been shown in clinical trials to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalization and emergency room visits.
SDSO advising residents of Parc One to shelter in place
East County News Service
Photo credit: Google and in-house
July 19, 2021 (Santee) -- The initial response to the Parc Fire (also appearing in some places spelled Park Fire) in Santee appears to have been successful, and poses little danger to neighbors. Parc One residents are being asked to shelter in place.
SD County Fire Scanner broke news of the fire and its early containment on twitter at approximately 2:20 p.m. this afternoon July 19, and and the fire is (almost) out before it even started. They report that firefighting crews expect to be "mopping up" over the next 2-3 hours.
July 18, 2021 (Spring Valley) – A body has been found inside a mobile home at the Sweetwater Lodge Motor Home Park, 10707 Jamacha Blvd., unit 80 in Spring Valley. A 14-year-old escaped a fire shortly before midnight last night, but told Sheriff’s deputies that his grandmother did not make it out.
According to 619 News Media, the juvenile was screaming for help and neighbors tried to enter the residence by kicking a door and pulling windows open before firefighters from San Miguel Fire and Rescue arrived, but were unable to do so due to smoke and flames. View video.
“I have concerns about the legal justification of the recent strikes, particularly as they seem to have been conducted without White House approval.” – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
CAP Update Measure Development Workshop: Energy, Water, and Waste Emissions Reduction Sectors
By Briana Gomez
East County News Service
East County News Service
ly 23, 2021 (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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SDSU represented across three sports in Tokyo
SDSO advising residents of Parc One to shelter in place
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