By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  U.S. Capitol, cc by SA

December 24, 2022 (Washington, D.C.) - The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military spending and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight shutdown deadline.

By Assemblymember Marie Waldron

December 24, 2022 (Sacramento) - Holiday celebrations began in the State Capitol in1869. Though the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington DC is well-known, many may not be aware that a similar ceremony continues to take place each December in Sacramento at our State Capitol.

Past Governors decorated the Capitol with wreaths and their offices with trees, but in 1931 the tree was moved from the Governor’s office to the Rotunda and later to a spot near the Lt. Governor’s office, where it remained until 1984. Concerns about fire safety resulted in the tree being moved outside, where it has remained ever since. Despite a brief hiatus as a `Holiday Tree’ under former Governor Gray Davis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who succeeded Davis, decided the tree was indeed a `Christmas Tree,’ and so it remains.

On December 1st, Governor Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosted the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the State Capitol’s West Steps. This year’s tree is a 65-foot white fir donated by the U.S. Forest Service from Camino California, which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in El Dorado County. 

Source:  San Diego International Airport

December 20, 2022 (San Diego) - San Diego International Airport (SAN) wants those who will be traveling during the holiday season to be prepared before they arrive at the airport. Due to the New T1 project, much of the airport’s campus is under construction. SAN is offering the following travel tips:   

Source:  City of El Cajon

December 19, 2022 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon Veterans Coalition is seeking new members. The Veterans Coalition will open its application period from January 9, through February 10, 2023.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: dry conditions at Lake Mendocino, via Calif. Dept. of Water Resources

December 19, 2022 (San Diego) -- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has declared a Regional Drought Emergency for all of Southern California amid a fourth year of drought. MWD is calling on local water agencies to immediately reduce their use of all imported water supplies. This call could become mandatory if drought conditions persist in the coming months.

By Miriam Raftery

December 18, 2022 (Spring Valley) – The San Diego Sheriff’s department seeks public help to find Mario Sandoval, 32, who aimed a handgun at his wife and threatened to kill her. 

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

December 17, 2022 (San Diego) - Bivalent COVID-19 vaccination boosters are now approved and available in San Diego County for children as young as six months of age. The County Health and Human Services Agency is urging parents to protect their children, and themselves, by getting vaccinated with the new booster.

By Miriam Raftery

December 12, 2022 (La Mesa) – Patricia Dillard and Laura Lothian have won their races for the La Mesa City Council.  According to the final certified results, Dillard will fill the seat vacated by Bill Baber’s retirement, drawing 8,600 votes, or 23.92%, while Councilmember Lothian won reelection with 8,414 votes or 23.40% -- just 11 votes above civil rights activist Mejgan Afshan, who got 8,403 votes, or 23.37%.

East County News Service

December 7, 2022 (El Cajon) - Last night, El Cajon Police officers and paramedics responded to 724 Fletcher Parkway to assist in a call of a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle. Police officers arrived and found a man unconscious in the roadway. The man was transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The identity of the 89-year-old man is known.  However, his name is being withheld pending notification of family.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: El Capitan County Preserve

Update: The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Nathaniel Takatsuno, who had reportedly been free climbing without a rope when he fell 200 feet, Times of San Diego reports.

December 5, 2022 (Lakeside) – The body of a rock climber who fell to his death yesterday on El Cajon Mountain, located in the El Capitan County Preserve in Lakeside was recovered today by a Sheriff’s helicopter crew.

By Miriam Raftery

December 5, 2022 (Jamul) – The Jamul Dulzura Community Planning Group (JDCPG) held two public hearings on the Jamul Casino Hotel and Event Center project planned by Jamul Indian Village (JIV). On November 19, the planning group chair Preston Brown sent a letter to JIV Chairwoman Erica Pinto stating that the tribal environmental impact report (TEIR) was “extraordinarily incomplete and premature for a project of this magnitude.” The planning group recommended the No Project Alternative.

The hotel would be 16 stories with floor-to-ceiling glass; the project would also include an indoor-outdoor event center and additional parking, but no new gaming.

ECM reached out to Chairwoman Pinto to request an interview. She initially agreed, but cancelled due to a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on other matters.  ECM sent written questions and requested a new interview date, but no response has yet been received. The Jamul Casino employees approximately 1,000 people and has provided economic security for the Jamul Indian Village of California's tribal members, many of whom lived in poverty in the past. The new project, if built, would significantly expand employment opportunities in the area as well as economic growth for the tribe.

County planner Scott Christman has said the project does not need approval of county Supervisors or the Governor, and the tribe has previously indicated it hoped to begin construction this month. However the the JDCPG contends that since the casino was built based on certain conditions and legal requirements being met, some of which have not been completed, the project thus does need approval/cooperation/participation of both Supervisors and the Governor.

By Miriam Raftery

December 1, 2022 (La Mesa) – With two seats open on the La Mesa City Council, the latest returns reported tonight by the San Diego Registrar of Voters are so tight that a recount may be in the cards.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Governor’s office: The five biggest oil refiners — Chevron, Marathon, Phillips 66, PBF Energy and Valero — all rejected invites to the California Energy Commission’s hearing today on gas prices.

November 30, 2022 (San Diego) – Here’s some news to brighten your holiday season: the average price for regular self-serve gasoline in San Diego County has dropped below $5 a gallon, to $4.98.  That’s the lowest since early March -- 21.6 cents less than one week ago and 62.4 cents lower than one month ago, though still 31 cents over a year ago.

By Susan Taylor

Photo credit: Tim Taylor

November 26, 2022 (San Diego) ---The City of San Diego’s Human Rights Commission held a press conference, Wednesday, November 16 to present a proclamation to approve Human Rights Week to Mayor Todd Gloria for his signature.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Robert Gehr: A homeless person sleeps in a tent on Main Street in downtown El Cajon.

November 24, 2022 (El Cajon) –  El Cajon’s grant application to purchase property to build a homeless shelter has been rejected by the County. According to El Cajon City Manager Graham Mitchell, County staff informed him that  the grant was rejected because “the City did not own the property that was being proposed for the shelter – in other words, the City did not own the property that the grant was intended to purchase.”

Mitchell, in an email sent to El Cajon’s Mayor and City Council, said he told County staff in a pre-grant question and answer session that the city intended to apply for a grant to buy land for a shelter.  “The response was that the city should still apply and explain how the site will be obtained,” he wrote.  “During their follow-p questions of the City’s grant application, they asked for an update and we indicated that an appraisal was on its way and that the formal offer was about to be made.”

The application was made through the County’s Capital Emergency Housing Solutions Grant Program, for which Supervisor Joel Anderson had urged East County cities including El Cajon to apply.