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During early COVID lockdowns, a teen worked with his family to raise $1.8 million in venture funding and built a web filter with a team of data scientists and psychologists that he now hopes will help students safely surf the web.
July 25, 2024 (Sacramento) -- Like most kids, Aahil Valliani has been frustrated by the filters that his school uses to block inappropriate websites. Often, he has no idea why certain sites are blocked, especially when his web browsing is tied to his schoolwork.
Many students in this situation find a way around their districts’ web filters. They access the internet on their phones instead, or use proxy servers or virtual private networks to essentially access a different, unfiltered internet. Aahil, searching for a more systemic solution, teamed up with his younger brother and father to start a company called Safe Kids, raise almost $2 million in venture funding, and design a better filter.
As The Markup, which is part of CalMatters, reported in April, almost all schools filter the web to comply with the federal Children’s Internet Protection Act and qualify for discounted internet access, among other things. Most schools The Markup examined used filters that sort all websites into categories and block entire categories at once. Others scan webpages for certain off-limits keywords, blocking websites on which they appear regardless of the context. In both cases, the filters are blunt tools that result in overblocking and sometimes keep kids from information about politicized topics like sex education and LGBTQ resources.
Photo credit: Wieghorst Museum courtesy City of El Cajon
July 25, 2024 (El Cajon) -- Wieghorst Museum and Western Heritage Center in El Cajon honors the accomplished artist Olaf who lived in our community for 44 years.
You can also arrange private tours and classroom visits, Tuesday through Saturday. By becoming a supporting member of the museum, you can enjoy many benefits such as free year-round admission to the Museum, 10% discount at our Museum Store, and invitations to their exclusive exhibitions, artist’s receptions, and other community events.
July 25, 2024 (Santee) -- Make connections with coffee and conversation at the Santee Chamber Morning Buzz the first Wednesday at each month at Coffee Corner in Santee on 235 Town Center Parkway from 8 to 9 a.m.
LMVA Farmers Market features 90+ vendors with a focus on high quality, fresh produce, locally raised meats, fresh fish, eggs, honey, cheeses, prepared and pre-packaged food, local artisans, fresh flowers and plants, live music and a dedicated food court to enjoy.
July 25, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Sharp Grossmont Hospital is hosting its annual backpack drive to support children in San Diego impacted by HIV/AIDS on Friday, July 26. This year, Sharp Grossmont staff are sponsoring 75 children through Christie's Place, a nonprofit support center dedicated to women, children, and families living with HIV/AIDS.
Christie's Place, whose motto is "Love Grows Here," focuses on empowering individuals affected by HIV/AIDS to take charge of their health and wellness, ultimately improving their quality of life and that of their families. Many of the women, children, and families supported by Christie's Place face significant challenges such as poverty, unstable housing, food insecurity, and a lack of basic needs. By providing school supplies through this backpack drive, Sharp Grossmont staff help alleviate one of these burdens, enabling the children to concentrate on their education.
July 25, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Sharp Grossmont Hospital is pleased to announce a free webinar focused on advanced treatments for Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s Disease. This informative session will provide attendees with valuable insights from a highly experienced neurosurgeon affiliated with the hospital.
During this webinar, participants will have the opportunity to learn about two groundbreaking treatments: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery and MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS). These innovative approaches have been shown to significantly ease symptoms, improve movement control, and enhance the quality of life for individuals affected by these conditions.
Update 12:46 p.m. per CAL FIRE San Diego County Fire: #GroveFire [update] the fire is now 900 acres and 10% contained. The cause has been determined to be lightning. Read the latest in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association.
Update 8:38 a.m. 7/25 from Sekhar Padmanabhan a Staff Reporter on Watch Duty app: Evacuation order downgraded to a warning for zone SDC-0075. Fire holding at 816 acres.
Photo, right by Chet Kalinowski
Update 7:42 p.m. 7/24 from Liam Winstead: "FIRIS has mapped the fire at 816 acres. The permineter can be viewed by toggling on the Active Fire Perimeters layer on the Watch Duty map. Note that perimeters are preliminary and do not reflect any structure protection efforts by firefighters on the ground."
07/24/2024 07:14 PM PDT
Large Animal Shelter Opened at Ramona High School for Grove Fire
Per the San Diego Sheriff Department, residents impacted by the Grove Fire EVACUATION ORDERS with large animals can go to Ramona High School located at 1401 Hanson Lane, Ramona, CA 92065.
For those under an EVACUATION WARNING, always take into consideration that large animals take extra time to evacuate. It's best to leave now or prepare early so you are ready to go.
For an interactive map with updated emergency information, visit: OES Emergency Map
Update 5 p.m. Evacuation orders have been issued in the #Grove Fire, which is now 400 acres with potential for 2,000, Find map and evacuation details at https://www.alertsandiego.org. Evacuation center is at Warner Springs High.
Update: 4 p.m. the #GroveFire is now at 250-300 acres
Update: 3 p.m. the #GroveFire is now at 50 acres
By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery
Photos courtesy: Watch Duty app, San Diego Sheriff and East County Magazine
July 24, 2024 (Sunshine Summit) -- CAL-Fire is at scene of a vegetation #GroveFire in the area of Dodge Valley in the community of Sunshine Summit. The fire is 15 acres with a moderate rate of spread. Additional resources have been ordered, per CAL-Fire on X.
July 24, 2024 (Campo) -- The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning in effect until 7 p.m. this evening for areas including Pine Valley, Campo, Jacumba, Boulevard and Mount Laguna.
July 24, 2024 (La Mesa) -- The Home Equity Leveraged Program is an estate planning arrangement that is a contractual agreement between you and Grossmont Hospital Foundation. You retain the use of your home for the rest of your life and the Foundation promises to pay an annuity to you for life.
July 24, 2024 (La Mesa) -- The Downtown District Sign is moving along! View the Fox 5 interview for the latest update. Construction projects take time and the next step is geotechnical investigations (predrill), which will begin soon and take 6-12 weeks. A predrill is required for:
July 23, 2024 (United States) – Presidential hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris clinched enough delegates to proceed as the Democratic nominee today before an official vote. Harris was quick to address the public and assert herself as the democratic nominee after she secured the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to garner the nomination.
Today in her first campaign speech in Wisconsin, Harris addressed her party, “When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination. Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”
July 23, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- With summer now in full swing, I’m enjoying the warmer weather and longer days! I hope you're all finding ways to stay cool and make the most of summer too. While I have you, I want to highlight some federal grant opportunities to help you improve energy efficiency and protect our environment.
You can find up-to-date information on all open federal grants attached. This spreadsheet is updated regularly as more grants become available and lists grants related to agriculture; arts and culture; business and commerce; community development; consumer protection; disaster prevention and relief; education; employment, labor, and training; energy; environment; food and nutrition; health; infrastructure; income security and social services; natural resources; opportunity zones; regional development; science, technology, and R&D; transportation; and more.
Here are some of the best grant opportunities available right now:
July 23, 2024 (San Diego) -- Former San Diego State men’s golfer Xander Schauffele (pictured, courtesy: SDSU) captured his second major of the season, winning2 The Open Sunday afternoon at Royal Troon Golf Course in Troon, Scotland. Schauffele fired a 6-under 65 in today’s final round on the par-71, 7,385-yard course to finish at 9-under 275, two shots clear of co-runner-ups Justin Rose and Billy Horschel.
Schauffele, who also won the PGA Championship in May for his first major championship, now has nine career PGA Tour victories along with a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Schauffele is the first player with multiple majors in the same season since Brooks Koepka in 2018 and the 21st different player to ever win two majors in the same season.
July 23, 2024 (La Mesa) -- This journaling workshop offers simple writing techniques that use a reflective method for participants to foster healthy boundaries for expressing thoughts and emotions, relieve stress and re-orient thinking in stressful situations.
Presenter: Lisa Goodman, Integrative Healing Coord.
Photo: Jonathan Goetz, who got dental coverage a decade and a half ago for three months via the California State Assembly.
July 23, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- This week has been an incredibly wild ride for politics in the United States. One former president is targeted by an assassin’s bullet, and one soon-to-be former president drops out of his campaign for reelection. History is unfolding, and fear about the future is rising.
One constant certainty for every person residing in the U.S. of the free and the brave is the extraordinary profits made by health insurance corporations and the providers who deny care to millions of Americans who don’t present themselves with enough coverage or cash to afford needed care.
July 23, 2024 (Topeka) -- It’s an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision — that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even “after birth.”
Update: The victim has been identified as Brian Colvin from Spring Valley.
East County News Service
July 22, 2024 (Lemon Grove) -- On July 22, 2024, at about 2:15 a.m., Deputies received a radio call of a hit and run in the 8200 block of Broadway in Lemon Grove. Deputies arrived two minutes later and discovered a 44-year-old white male lying in the center lane in the 8300 block of Broadway. The male was conscious and breathing when they arrived. Paramedics arrived and transported the male to the hospital. Unfortunately, while at the hospital, the male succumbed to his injuries.
With President Joe Biden announcing yesterday he won’t seek reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, some California Democratic delegates quickly went along. Gov. Gavin Newsom also endorsed Harris.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
Photo: From left to right: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Harris, and civil rights lawyer Constance L. Rice celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
July 22, 2024 (Sacramento) -- California’s nearly 500 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month will play a key role in choosing a replacement nominee now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign.
July 22, 2024 (San Diego) -- Wendy Schultz, a resident of Oceanside, recently released a fictional story, River of Light. It seems so real that I initially believed the book was a memoir. It begins with the main character wanting to change her name. A judge tells her that by persisting and insisting others use her preferred name, she’ll succeed in changing from being Fresno Bakersfield Ingersoll to Clare Elizabeth Ingersoll. Schultz’s mother names her children the places at which her children may have been conceived.
July 22, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Women face unique challenges when it comes to estate planning. Statistics show that women are almost four times as likely to be widowed compared to men. Additionally, more women than ever before are either divorced or choosing not to marry. These factors make it crucial for women to take proactive steps in planning their estates.
This seminar is designed to help you get organized, avoid common mistakes, and prepare for the future with confidence. Whether you are single, divorced, or widowed, this seminar will provide valuable insights and practical advice tailored to your specific needs.
The right-wing Ohio Republican, who opposes abortion rights and backed Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, is a former venture capitalist who portrays himself as a champion of the working class.
July 21, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- Former President Donald Trump on Monday chose U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his running mate despite the Ohio Republican formerly describing himself as a "Never Trump guy" and calling the presumptive GOP nominee an "idiot," an "---hole," and "America's Hitler."
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
July 21, 2024 (Sacramento) -- Lisa Peterson (video, left) interviewed first at Kohl’s, then at TJ Maxx and Target. She applied for jobs at Raley’s, Safeway, Applebee’s, and Olive Garden, too. Once, she advanced to a second interview at the Cheesecake Factory, but like the rest, no job offer followed.
Update 6:27 p.m. per Caltrans: SR-67 all lanes reopen to traffic.
July 21, 2024 (Poway) -- Highway 67 is closed northbound at Poway Road and southbound at Archie Moore, reports Caltrans San Diego on X, due to the #MinaFire.
July 21, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Are you caring for a loved one at home without much outside support? Join the Sharp HealthCare Team at the Grossmont Healthcare District Conference Center (9001 Wakarusa St., La Mesa 91942), Wednesday, July 24, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. for an informative and supportive workshop designed just for you!
July 21, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Extreme heat is forecast Sunday, followed by thunderstorms with dangerous lightning activity in San Diego County’s mountains and deserts.
July 21, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Today Joe Biden released a statement on social media to announce he was dropping out of the Presidential race against former President Trump and his newly announced Vice Presidential running mate JD Vance.
July 20, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – An angry crowd of residents confronted Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe during a community forum in Lemon Grove Thursday night, most opposed to a homeless sleeping cabin project voted on by Supervisors before the community’s voices were heard. The meeting had to be moved to the recreation center’s gymnasium to accommodate the overflow turnout.
Just two days earlier, Supervisors voted 4-0 to move forward on the project, with Chair Nora Vargas absent. The forum, held after the vote, left many residents feeling lied to. as they had believed Thursday's forum was a chance for the community to be heard. The crowd was loud and passionate.
July 20, 2024 (Worldwide) -- Air travel, banking, media and hospital systems were just some of the industries affected by a bug in a software update that scrambled business operations for many globally on Friday.
Many of those who use Microsoft Windows are likely experiencing a “blue screen of death” or an error page. The issue is due to a single bug in a software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which provides antivirus software for Microsoft users.
The company pushed out an update to the software overnight, and at 1:30 a.m. EST, CrowdStrike said its “Falcon Sensor” software was causing Microsoft Windows to crash and display a blue screen, Reuters reported.
July 20, 2024 (Ramona) – A large barn fire broke out Thursday at Demler Brothers Egg Ranch, a factory egg farm in Ramona that confines approximately two million chickens and supplies eggs to Walmart, Smart & Final, and other chains. Tens of thousands of birds inside the impacted barn burned to death, and animal rights activists who went to the scene were told there were no plans to evacuate birds in the remaining barns, according to Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an international animal rights group which says Animal Services was not present at the scene. Demler Brothers Egg Ranch was previously investigated by the San Diego chapter of DxE in 2019, when the group’s investigators found tens of thousands of animals in extreme confinement inside the facility, injured birds languishing in trash bins, and corpses on the floor.
By 
East County News Service
Source: 
Update 12:46 p.m. per CAL FIRE San Diego County Fire: #GroveFire [update] the fire is now 900 acres and 10% contained. The cause has been determined to be lightning. Read the latest in 
East County News Service
By 
Presidential hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris clinched enough delegates to proceed as the Democratic nominee today before an official vote. Harris was quick to address the public and assert herself as the democratic nominee after she secured the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to garner the nomination.
Source: 
East County News Service
No Matter Your Politics
By 
Update: The victim has been 
With President Joe Biden announcing yesterday he won’t seek reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, some California Democratic delegates quickly went along. Gov. Gavin Newsom also endorsed Harris.
By Wendy Schultz
By 
The right-wing Ohio Republican, who opposes abortion rights and backed Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, is a former venture capitalist who portrays himself as a champion of the working class.
East County News Service
An angry crowd of residents confronted Supervisor 
By 
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