By Miriam Raftery

Photo via San Miguel Fire on Instagram

May 9, 2021 (Spring Valley) - Crews from San Miguel and Heartland Fire Rescue rescued a tree trimmer Friday.  “Units arrived on scene to find the worker pinned to the tree approximately 75 feet up. His rigging, harness, and legs were compressed by the weight of the heavy skirt of dead fronds which had given way,” San Miguel posted on Instagram.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left, by Henri Migala:  protest in La Mesa on May 30 called for justice for George Floyd

May 7, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to endorse the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a federal police reform measure aimed at improving law enforcement accountability and addressing racial disparities. Supervisors split 3-2 on the issue, with East County Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson opposed while Supervisors Nathan Fletcher, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nora Vargas supported the action.

By Ariana Longley, chief operating officer at the Patient Safety Movement Foundation

Image via Pixabay

May 6, 2021 (San Diego) - The emergency room (ER) can be a stressful place – whether it’s you or a loved one seeking care. While most visits to the ER are unexpected, that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared.

Source: East County Leadership Council

May 6, 2021 (El Cajon) - East County Leadership Council’s grant has allowed it to triple the prize money for its COVID-19 essay contest. ECLC has also extended the deadline for entries to May 29 to allow broader participation.

East County News Service

May 5, 2021 (San Diego) - Regal announced that it will reopen additional movie theaters locally on Friday, May 7.  East County locations include Regal Parkway Plaza & Imax as well as Regal Edwards Rancho San Diego.  Others are Regal Escondido & Imax, Regal Rancho Del Ray in Chula Vista, and Regal Mission Marketplace & RPX in Oceanside.

Update: The Flower Fields will be open an additional week ending May 16th. Tickets will be available at a discounted rate for a limited time only, while supplies last.  Tickets go on sale Monday, May 10th at 8 a.m.

Story and video by Briana Gomez

View video:  https://youtu.be/xra1kCSymCM

May 4, 2021 (Carlsbad) - It’s the last week to visit the beautiful Carlsbad Flower Fields. The fields will finish off their season on Mother’s Day this upcoming Sunday. but there’s still time to buy tickets.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

May 4, 2021 (San Diego) - With temperatures rising and summer coming, the County’s Vector Control Program is scheduled to conduct its first routine mosquito-fighting aerial larvicide drop this week on dozens of waterways to help stop mosquitoes from potentially spreading diseases like West Nile virus.

East County News Service

May 4, 2021 (San Diego) – Applications can now be submitted for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to offset losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To apply, visit the U.S. Small Business Administration’s application portal.  The fund is part of the American Rescue Plan and is open not only to restaurants, but also caters, bars, bakeries, wineries, breweries, food carts, inns and certain other businesses where food sales provided a major source of revenues.

By Joan Cassanova

May 4, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Bird feeding is soaring in backyards everywhere, as people spend so much of their time at home, due to the pandemic. Basic tips can help enhance and entice more birds to backyards and increase bird watching enjoyment.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Annual motorcycle ride honoring veterans in our nation’s capital; Creative Commons image by Cristiano Del Riccio via Wikipedia

May 3, 2021 (Washington D.C.) – Veterans’ groups and members of Congress are criticizing the Department of Defense for denying a permit request to use the Pentagon parking lot as a staging area for the annual “Rolling to Remember” motorcycle ride. The ride organized by AMVETS, a veterans’ organization, honors fallen American soldiers, prisoners of war and those missing in action, as well as calling attention to the crisis of veteran suicides.  

Crimestoppers offers reward for information leading to arrest in felony animal cruelty case.

Source: San Diego Humane Society

May 3, 2021 (San Diego) — San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement is asking for the public’s help in a felony animal cruelty case, involving a severely emaciated puppy who was found dead in a crate on a residential sidewalk in Encanto.