East County News  Service

July 3, 2023 (Santee) – A man armed with knives, a hatchet and dumbbell weights threatened to harm people including deputies inside the Walmart Store in Santee yesterday, prompting a seven-hour stand-ff with law enforcement.

The 22-year-old man entered the store on Town Center Parkway shortly after noon and climbed atop shelving in the sporting goods department.  “Store employees called the Sheriff's Department after the man armed himself with workout dumbbells and threatened to use them as weapons. The man also told employees he wanted deputies to shoot him,” says Lieutenant Christopher Galve with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The Walmart store was evacuated and closed down for several hours.The Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail (SED/SWAT team) and Crisis Negotiations Team were called to assist.

“During negotiations, deputies determined the man was experiencing a mental health crisis,” Lt. Galve says. “The man refused to drop his weapons and refused to come down off the shelving. He told deputies several times to shoot him and walked toward them with the hatchet raised.”

By Daniela Torres

June 30, 2023 (Washington D.C.) -- Representatives María Elvira Salazar of Florida and Veronica Escobar of Texas have proposed a bipartisan immigration bill, the Dignity Act, that will address issues like providing immigrants with a path to citizenship, while also strengthening border security.

Red tide toxins can also poison seafood and harm people, pets, fish and seabirds

By Miriam Raftery

Map, left:  Forecast for Saturday, July 1

June 29, 2023 (San Diego) – A red tide containing a toxic algae bloom that has sickened and killed hundreds of sea lions and dolphins off the California coast is forecast to reach San Diego’s beaches as early as tomorrow. By Saturday, July 1^st, the red tide will be impacting all San Diego beaches, with levels of the potent neurotoxin domoic acid at double the 500 nanograms per liter considered harmful.

That’s according to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, which issued a press advisory today with this forecasting tool.

By Miriam Raftery

June 29, 2023 (San Diego) – Over three-fourths of all adults arrested in San Diego  County tested positive for at least one drug, and more than half of those arrested were on meth. Those are the disturbing findings of a new report by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The study also found high levels of mental health problems and homelessness among those arrested locally last year.

According to the report, CJ Bulletin: 2022 Adult Arrestee Drug Use in the San Diego Region. the positive rate of meth use in 2022 was 55% for female arrestees and 52% for males. The also found that 77% of males and 75% of females surveyed tested positive for at least one illicit substance, a drop from the 22-year high in 2021 for males but a sharp increase from the second-lowest rate in 2021 for females.

East County News Service

Update: The County Medical Examiner has determined that Paul Heimark died of natural causes from pneumonia.

June 29, 2023 (San Diego) – A 66-year-old San Diego man who was in the Sheriff’s custody on a parole violation died at 9:30 Monday night at Alvarado Hospital. Paul Arthur Heimark had medical issues identified by the Sheriff’s medical staff during his booking on June 16, so he was admitted directly to the hospital. He received treated at the hospital for 10 days before his death and was never housed at a detention facility. 

East County News Service

Photo and budget breakdown via County News Service

June 28, 2023 (San Diego) – A new fire station in Jacumba and an animal shelter for Santee are among the projects funded by the County’s $8.17 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24, which Supervisors unanimously adopted on Tuesday.

The budget also has substantial allocations to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, build affordable homes, plant trees and help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost investment in mental health and addiction services, foster youths, justice reforms, and more.

Story and photo Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Jimmie Johnson and his wife, Chandra Janway,  at a 2009 rally with then-Supervisor Dianne Jacob in Santee, where Johnson and his wife were honored for their charitable foundation’s generous donations to local schools.

June 27, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The parents of NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson’s wife, Chandra Janway, Johnson, were found dead today at a home in Muskogee, Oklahoma, along with Johnson’s 11-year old nephew.  Raised in El Cajon, Johnson has long been hailed as a hometown hero not only for his NASCAR wins, but also for the generosity of the foundation that he and his wife ran, donating millions of dollars to help children in need and benefit local schools.

Police investigators report that they believe Terry Janway shot and killed her husband, Jack Janway, and their grandson, Dalton, then killed herself.  

NASCAR issued this statement.  “We are saddened by the tragic deaths of members of Chandra Johnson’s family.  The entire NASCAR family extends its deepest support and condolences during this difficult time to Chandra, Jimmie, and the entire Johnson and Janway families.”

East County News Service

June 25, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) — Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire will suspend all outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Areas of San Diego and Imperial counties, effective Monday, June 26, 2023, at 8 a.m.

Story and Photos By: Josh Stotler

Photo, left:  A San Diego Helitack crew heads into the smoke to clear crush as the Proctor fire burns in the background.

June 24, 2023 (Jamul)-- Crews from CAL FIRE and Inmate fire crews are still on the scene at the #ProctorFire this evening, mopping up and dousing hot spots. All   road closures and evacuation orders have been lifted.

The  brush fire was reported off Proctor Valley Road around 5:23 pm. Units were dispatched to the scene and reported the blaze burning in medium vegetation with a medium rate of spread. Due to vegetation drying out and homes in the area, the fire was upgraded; more air and ground units were called in.

Source: SANDAG

June 24, 2023 (San Diego)-- On Wednesday afternoon, SANDAG and Facilitating Access to Coordinated Transportation (FACT) representatives were joined by local community members to celebrate the launch of RideFACTNow, a new and first-of-its-kind on-demand specialized transportation service in the San Diego region.

The new on-demand service is for people using mobility devices, including wheelchairs, and will operate on a same-day basis with a maximum one-hour response time.

East County News Service

June 24, 2023 (Spring Valley) – California Highway Patrol is searching for the drivers of a red SUV and a silver sedan which each struck a 50-year-old woman in Spring Valley shortly before 10 p.m. on June 22, then fled the scene.

The woman was walking northbound on Jamacha Blvd. east of Lamplighter Village Drive when she was hit by the red  SUV, which was traveling west on Jamacha.  The impact knocked the victim to the ground. While she was lying on the roadway, she was struck a second time by the silver sedan.

The woman sustained major injuries and died at the scene.

“Both vehicles were last seen fleeing the scene, westbound on Jamacha Blvd.,” says Officer Matthew Baranowski with the California Highway Patrol. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 23, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – Michael Perez, an attorney who runs the nonprofit Imago Dei (operating as 29: Eleven), with his wife, a dream to restore two historic buildings in Lemon Grove. They wanted to open up a home for women who are struggling, including pregnant women in need of shelter and mothers with babies. Since buying the property in 2008, however, Perez told ECM, “We’ve been in a constant struggle with the city of Lemon Grove over building permits.”  

He described a nightmare of obstacles in the permitting process, as well as frustrations with the Sheriff’s department for not being responsive to his pleas for help to keep out homeless people who repeatedly broke down barriers to camp out inside.

Then last week, a fire destroyed one of the two buildings, a house originally built in the 1930s by Dr. Ebon McGregor. The other building, which once served as Dr. McGregor’s was spared. The site is on Main Street, next to city hall in the heart of Lemon Grove.

“My wife and I both cried when we heard about it,” Perez told ECM. “We’re going to trust  God,” he said, adding that he still hopes to  find a way to bring the nonprofit’s services to the site. “I think it’s needed.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  former homeless camp in unincorporated El Cajon later cleared by the County, which opened a safe parking lot on the site

June 22, 2023 (San Diego) – El Cajon’s City Council voted unanimously on June 13 to direct staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting camping on any public property, such as sidewalks and parks.  The ordinance would mirror a similar, controversial ordinance adopted by the San Diego City Council 5-4 on the same date.

Enrolled customers who conserved during last heat wave earned more than $11M in bill credits for helping to reduce strain on statewide grid

Source:  SDG&E

June 21, 2023 (San Diego) - With today being the first official day of summer, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is sharing summer energy savings tips and encouraging its residential customers to sign up for Power Saver Rewards, an energy savings incentive program that rewards customers with bill credits for reducing their electricity use on days when the statewide grid is stressed by high demand. Enrolled customers who conserved during the summer 2022 heat wave earned more than $11 million in bill credits.

Historical Society founder weighs in on what could have been done to prevent this from happening

Story and pictures by Jessyka Heredia

Historical photo provided by Helen Ofield

View video provided by Stephan Clay

Update June 23, 2022:  The home's owner, Micfhael Perez,  in an in-depth interview with ECM,  says he's spent years struggling to secure permits from the city of Lemon Grove, and faults delays for the house being left in disrepair. He also voices frustration over the Sheriff's department regarding efforts to keep homeless people from repeatedly breaking into the property.  View article with his remarks.

June19, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- A fire broke out early last Tuesday morning at the historic Ebon McGregor house at 3262 Main Street, next to City Hall and the Sheriff’s station.

“This is a tragedy. One of the few buildings in town designed by master architect, Alberto Owen Treganza, is no more,” says Helen Ofield, founder of the Lemon Grove Historical Society.