East County News Service

July 10, 2019 (El Cajon) - Waste Management in El Cajon will be hosting a hiring event on Thursday, July 11 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to welcome interested and qualified commercial driver candidates to join the Waste Management family. Candidates will be considered for current and future driver positions. The event will be held at Waste Management’s office at 1001 W. Bradley Ave., El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery

July 9, 2019 (La Mesa) – Ratepayers in the Helix Water District may want to be aware of several newsworthy matters including a new report on water quality, a July 25 Helix Water Chat on water supply, and upcoming votes on water rates. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 9, 2019 (Lakeside) – CBS 8 reports that numerous goats have been killed in the past month in Lakeside's Morena Valley and Eucalyptus Hills communities. The CBS story quoted Billy Ortiz, a wildlife photographer, who said he identified tracks of a female mountain lion and a cub near the most recent kill.

But wildlife biologist Renee Owens says, "By the nature of the kills they were most if not all coyotes and possibly dogs.  Yes, there is a mountain lion in the area, as has always been the case–as in all areas of our backcountry, but the track Billy has posted is not definitive of a lion."  Her nonprofit organization, Wildlife Zone, is working on a mountain lion study.  She has been featured on National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery Channel and Dateline for her wildlife expertise.

By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2019 (San Diego) - U.S. beekeepers lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies for the year ending April 2019, according to the latest survey by the Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit led by the University of Maryland.  That continues a national decline in recent years that has alarmed scientists, with causes ranging from pesticides to climate change to colony collapse disorder of unknown causes. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos, top left to lower right:  Bill Wells, Sam Abed, Matt Rahn, Larry Wilske, Ammar Campa-Najjar, and Rep. Duncan D. Hunter

July 7, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – With Congressman Duncan D. Hunter slated for trial starting in September on 60 federal corruption charges, one Democrat and four Republicans, all men, have established campaign committees to run for Rep. Hunter's seat in 2020. At least two other prominent names have been floated as possible contenders, with more entries possible.

Here are the contenders to date:

By David Willauer 

July 7, 2019 (San Diego's East County) - Here are this week's East County alumni highlights:

June 30:

Valhalla product Greg Garcia went 1 for 4 for the Padres with a single as they were defeated in 11 innings by the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3. 

Granite Hills product Travis Tajeron went 1 for 4 with a solo home run for the Syracuse Mets as they defeated the Buffalo Bisons 10-4. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Three nonprofit charter schools operating within the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) have been ordered shut down by a judge, but now a stay issued has been ordered for one year until an appeal can be heard. 

The schools at risk of closure are Diego Valley East charter in El Cajon and San Diego Workforce Innovation High charter schools in Lakeside and Lemon Grove. 

Update July 9:  This photo has been deleted off Hunter's social media. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Hunter spokesman Michael Harrison stated, “Congressman Hunter has never supported or been accused of supporting white supremacy and if anyone were to espouse any such beliefs in a photo with Congressman Hunter they did so without his knowledge or consent,” Harrison said in an email. “To be clear, Congressman Hunter does not personally know this individual, or what his views may be.”

Updated July 7 with information on identity of the man standing next to Hunter: Kristopher Wyrick, founder of an avowed white nationalist organization.  Updated July 8 with statement from Ammar Campa-Najjar.

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2019 (Alpine) – A photo making the rounds on social media claims Congressman Duncan D Hunter spent the Fourth of July in the company of white nationalists.  A photo shows Hunter standing next to a man flashing a hand signal that’s commonly used as a white power symbol as well as A-okay sign.  The image was cropped down from a group photo taken in Alpine, where Rep. Hunter participated in the town’s annual 4th of July Independence Day Parade.

However, the man in the photo has an apparent history of participating in and leading groups that espouse white nationalist positions and of  violence against protesters as shown in videos.

According to a Times of San Diego report published July 7, the man flashing the white power sign is believed to be Kristopher Wyrick, a cofounder of the Bordertown Patriots, a white nationalist group that organized an event at Chicano Park that reportedly resulted in clashes with counterprotesters and multiple arrests. Wyrick is also reportedly a former member of San Diego Proud Boys and the United Patriot National Front. Will Johnson, who has had two court battles with Wyrick, told Times of San Diego that he's certain it's Wyrick in the photo because  "I've seen him so many times."  Johnson sought a restraining order against Wyrick but lost; Wyrick later won a small claims court against Johnson over lost work time and gun storage costs.

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by Autumn Endara

July 6, 2019 (San Diego) - If you felt some shaking on the Fourth of July, and even if you didn’t personally sense it, you have likely heard it was from a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in the Mojave Desert near the town of Ridgecrest. The quake is being called one of the biggest in Southern California in 20 years, could be felt in various counties as far as San Diego County and Nevada, and is continuing to put out aftershocks.

By Miriam Raftery

July 5, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) –Called in by family members or others to search for immigrants who have gone missing after crossing the border, volunteer with the nonprofit Aguilas del Desierto (Eagles of the Desert) brave triple digit heat, rattlesnakes and other perils in a desperate effort to save lives. 

Hear our exclusive interview with Vicente Rodriguez and Henri Migala, originally aired on KNSJ radio earlier this year, at the audio link and scroll down for highlights.

According to the Border Patrol, 7,000 migrants are known to have died crossing the border since the wall began. The toll is likely much higher, since it doesn’t include those missing and never found.

East County News Service

July 5, 2019 (Santee) – San Jose musician Joe Ferrara will perform a concert on Sunday, July 21 from 2-4 p.m. at the Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (8778 Cottonwood Ave.) in Santee.

 East County News Service

July 5, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – During a Fourth of July Salute to America in Washington D.C. yesterday featuring fireworks, tanks and a flyover by military planes, President Donald Trump made a statement filled with historical gaffes, prompting wits to take to Twitter in response.

While speaking of the Revolutionary War in 1775 that resulted in American independence from Britain, Trump stated, “The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter in Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our army manned the airports, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory.” View video.

The first reported airplane flight wasn’t until 1903 with the Wright Brothers,  long after both the Revolutionary War and the later War of 1812 at which Fort McHenry was bombarded by British ships, not America’s army. 

The White House has blamed a teleprompter that failed for the President’s ad libbed inaccuracies.

Wits promptly took to Twitter with the hashtags #RevolutionaryWarAirports and #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories.

Here are a few humorous highlights:

East County News Service 

July 5, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- “San Diego County needs your input on how best to invest federal funds in our low- to moderate-income communities,” says Supervisor Dianne Jacob. 

The County is holding a series of public forums at county libraries, each one hour, including these East County locations, to hear your ideas:

• Alpine, July 8 at 12:30 p.m.
• Ramona, July 10 at 1:30 p.m.
• Julian, July 12 at 11:30 a.m.
• El Cajon, July 22, 3:30 p.m.
• Borrego Springs, July 24 at 11:30 a.m.
• Spring Valley on July 29 at 11:30 a.m.

You can also share your thoughts and suggestions in an online survey: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/sdhcd/