Hear audio aired on KNSJ Radio

View video of interview with Jay Steiger (Note: Max Coston, whose name appears on screen, is Steiger's campaign manager)

September 27, 2023 (San Diego's East County)-- Jay Steiger is running for the Grossmont Union High School Board in Trustee Area 2,  Steiger is a middle school teacher who graduated from Monte Vista High School in the Grossmont District and he’s a parent of two children who graduated from Grossmont High School. In an exclusive interview, he shares his goals to assure a 21st century education for students and assure that all students, staff and teachers are treated with respect and inclusivity.

Steiger says he’s running because extremists have targeted school boards in the 2024 election, and he wants to prioritize students’ wellbeing and education over extremist policies he believes could harm our community.

By Ken Stone,Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  On Sept. 12, Christian High School forfeited a girls volleyball game. Rumors included the presence of a lesbian player for Helix.

September 26, 2023 (La Mesa) - After Christian High School of El Cajon abruptly forfeited a girls varsity volleyball match with Helix Charter High School, the La Mesa school’s athletic director sought in vain to learn why.

By Cassie N. Saunders, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 14, 2023 (San Diego) --The Tuberculosis Program in the Public Health Services (PHS) department, of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, in collaboration with San Diego State University (SDSU) and Aztec Shops are working closely to notify employees potentially exposed to tuberculosis (TB) on the SDSU campus, primarily at the Charles B. Bell Jr., Pavilion. Exposures to the general public, SDSU students and faculty, and to other employees are considered to be limited.

The dates of potential exposure are from Feb. 16, 2023 to June 22, 2023. Those known to have been potentially exposed have been directly notified and have been provided direction from health officials. People sick with TB may be sick for many months before they are diagnosed, and as such, exposure periods can be long.

TB is an airborne disease that is transmitted from person-to-person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air. The chance of infection is higher for people with prolonged indoor exposure to a person who is sick with TB.

Chronic absenteeism has always been at its worst in lower grades. Now that rates have exploded, it’s an even greater cause for concern.

by Jakob McWhinney, Voice of San Diego

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

August 26, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- San Diego County Probation officers partnered with STAR/PAL, a nonprofit youth organization at its Back-to-School event passing out 450 backpacks and supplies to help students start the school year off right.

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2023  (Washington D.C.) – On Tuesday, the Biden launched an application for a new student loan repayment plan called the SAVE Plan, or  Saving on a Valuable Education Plan. Borrowers can sign up and learn details at https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan .

This is a revised plan after an earlier effort to forgive student loans was blocked by the Supreme Court, though Republicans have also filed a challenge to the new plan.

The new SAVE plan calculates repayment based on the borrower’s income family size. According to the White House fact sheet, it will cut many borrowers’ monthly payments to zero,  save others around  $1,000 a year,  and prevent balances from growing because of unpaid interest. 

Specifically, the SAVE plan will:

All Credit Union branches accepting book donations for San Diego elementary school students

Source:  North Island Credit Union

August 1, 2023 (San Diego) - North Island Credit Union has launched a book drive to help ensure children in low-income households have access to books outside the classroom. In the second year of the partnership, the book drive is being conducted with the Scripps Howard Fund and ABC 10News as part of its “If You Give a Child a Book . . .” childhood literacy campaign.

East County Congressional leaders split in views on the rulings

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Supreme Court website

July 3, 2023 (San Diego) – The Supreme Court on Friday issued two controversial decisions. By a 6-3 vote, the conservative majority found that President Joe Biden lacked authority to forgive student loans. The court also ruled that Christian web designer can refuse to create websites for same-sex couples, an action that eliminates civil rights protections enacted by many states for the LGTBQ community and potentially, other protected groups.

Those cases cap off a week in which justices earlier found affirmative action programs at universities to be unconstitutional, barring preference for racial minorities.

What do local representatives have to say about these decisions, and what might the long-term impacts be for students, the LGTBQ  community, businesses and minorities concerned about discriminatory state laws?

By Fernanda Lopez Halvorson, County of San Diego Communications Office

Video by Alex Aguirre

June 28, 2023 (San Diego) - The County is expanding its campaign to help more San Diegans get online.

East County News Service

June 4, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) -- throughout the month of June, approximately 4,746 students earning a high school diploma from nine comprehensive high schools, two charter schools, and three alternative high schools in the Grossmont Union High School District will be donning caps and gowns for commencement exercises.

 Listed below are the total graduate numbers and the names of the Valedictorians and Salutatorians at each school.

Source:  AAUW

May 29, 2023 (La Mesa/El Cajon) - The June 10, 2023 installation meeting of the La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women will be held at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina at 2131 Shelter Island Dr. in San Diego. The luncheon meeting begins at 11:00 and dress is Tropical. The new officers will be led by President Elect, Jane Drinkwalter. For more information, lunch selections and reservations go to AAUW La Mesa-El Cajon (CA) Branch. The cost of the luncheon is $40.00.

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

May 17, 2023 (El Cajon) - Two Cuyamaca College students have each received one of the highest honors available to California community college students.

Mary Hamer and Hannah Renew have been named 2023 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-California award winners. Hamer and Renew are among just 112 community college students statewide to be selected for the All-California Academic First, Second and Third Teams. Hamer was named to the First Team while Renew was named to the Third Team.

East County News Service

May 10, 2023 (El Cajon) – You’re invited to an evening of musical celebration to bridge the gap between student success and equity, raising funds for students studying musical arts.  Nationally renowned musical artists will join students from Grossmont and Cuyamaca Community colleges and other local musicians at this inaugural event on Thursday, May 25 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Samuel M. Ciccati Performing Arts Center at Cuyamaca College.

By Helen Ofield, Historian to the Board, Lemon Grove Historical Society

Photo: Roberta Bulling, Education Chair, Lemon Grove Historical Society

March 27, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove's third graders have set a record: 142 entries in the 2023 Treganza History Essay Competition--the largest number in 33 years, or since Dr. Amorita Treganza launched and endowed the competition in 1990. She was also a founder of the Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) in 1978, which annually sponsors two history competitions for third and eighth grades.