Source: County Communications Office

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.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: cc via Bing

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.

East County News Service

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.

East County News Service

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.

By Miriam Raftery

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:

By Briana Gomez

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.

SDSU represented across three sports in Tokyo

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo:  Xander Schauffele courtesy goaztecs.com

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).

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.

Story and Photos by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

July 18, 2021 (San Diego) - The late Alfred Olango, who was an El Cajon resident at the time of his death, was included in the exhibit “Say Their Names” Memorial Exhibit located next to The New Children’s Museum in downtown San Diego. The exhibit runs through July 25 and commemorates people of color killed by police or due to racism. 

Update July 28, 2021: The deceased man has been identified as Victor Sosa-Soto, 33,  of Villa Hidalgo, Mexico, according to the San Diego Medical Examiner.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

Photo: Grave of an unknown migrant in Hemet, one of 10,000 people estimated to have died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since 1994, according to Border Angels. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the rate is increasing, with more migrants dying crossing the border in the first three months of 2021 than in all of 2019.

July 18, 2021 (Dulzura) – On June 30, a search and rescue group found the body of a male believed to be from Mexico, part of a group of undocumented immigrants crossing the international border.

Source: San Diego District Attorney’s office

Photo: Screenshot from  DA’s video

July 18, 2021 (San Diego) -- As we return to pre-pandemic normalcy, consumers still need to be cautious about COVID-19 related scams and other fraudulent activity  

The government issued COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards are now the official method of vaccine verification in California, which has created a market for fraudulent and stolen vaccination cards nationwide, District Attorney Summer Stephan warns.

Our radio shows from January through March 2021 are now online.  For links to listen plus an index with full list of topics and interviews in each show. Click here or click the "read more" link and scroll down for audio links below the index. (Audio files may take a few moments to load.)  

Interviews included Congresswoman Sara Jacobs on the Capitol insurrection and COVID, Erica Pinto, chair of Southern Calif. Indian Healthcare, attorney Scott Gottredson on PFAS lawsuits and contamination at military bases, author Roger Showley, author of San Diego Memories III: A Time of Change – The 1960s and 1970s, and Craig Unger, author of American Kompromat.

The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM.  Our shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. (Note: Due to COVID-19 quarantines, some show dates aired reruns. Original shows are listed below.) Shows also include station IDs and public service announcements.

East County News Service

Photo: U.S. Army helicopter training, cc via Bing

July 17, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County has issued a noise advisory for East County’s Descanso and East Alpine communities due to military set for Wednesday, July 21 and Monday, July 26.

By Miriam Raftery

July 17, 2021 (Julian) – For the past 37 years, the Julian News has been the voice of Julian, a historic gold-mining town in San Diego’s mountain region.  Michael Hart and his wife, Michele Harvey, have owned and run the independent weekly publication since July 4, 2004, covering everything from major firestorms to community events.