By Miriam Raftery

Map credit:  CDC

December 9, 2021 (San Diego) – The first case of the newly-identified Omicron COVID-19 variant has occurred in San Diego. The patient is a San diego resident who recently traveled abroad. He has not been hospitalized but is under isolation.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  A staff member with the Registrar of Voters demonstrates how to vote on a ballot marking device.

December 8, 2021 (San Diego) - The Registrar of Voters office is holding a series of consultation meetings inviting the public to have a say in creating the County’s new Election Administration Plan.

Innovative project first in the region to use vehicle-to-infrastructure technology

Source:  SANDAG

December 7, 2021 (San Diego) - The Bus on Shoulder pilot project hit a major milestone this week when driver training began on the I-805 and SR 94 freeway shoulders between National City and Downtown San Diego. The pilot project is a joint effort between SANDAG, MTS, and Caltrans, in partnership with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), to improve reliability and maintain travel times for the South Bay Rapid transit service (Route 225) by using select shoulders on the two freeways to bypass vehicle congestion during peak travel times.

East County News Service

December 6, 2021 (San Diego) – The number of COVID-19 cases reported by San Diego County’s Health and Human Service Agency jumped to 1,153 on December 2^nd. That’s nearly double the numbers the prior two days, which were in the 600s.  County health officials s believe the upturn is tied to Thanksgiving gatherings and not due to the new Omicron variant, which has not yet been identified in San Diego County. The Delta variant still accounts for nearly all COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S..

The news comes on the heels of a National Public Radio (NPR) analysis which found death rates from COVID-19 in recent months have ranged from  three to six times higher in Republican-leaning red states than in Democratic leaning blue states – a dramatic difference likely due primarily to high vaccination rates in blue states and low vaccination rates in red states. NPR credits the high death rate in red states to misinformation on COVID and vaccines.

By Henri Migala

December 4, 2021 (El Cajon) – Within a couple of blocks in downtown El Cajon, you’ll find an array of new boutiques, a salon, galleries, gift stores, a pastry shop and a coffee shop – all brand new.

For your holiday shopping needs, consider supporting our local economy and these new small businesses, many offering unique goods from around the world reflecting the owners’ multicultural backgrounds. 

This is part 2 in our series on new local retailers in East County.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: cc via Bing

December 3, 2021 (San Diego) – On December 10, the San Diego Regional Association of Governments (SANDAG) board will consider the proposed Regional Transportation Plan.  But a per-mile tax proposed to fund the plan’s ambitious goals has run into strong opposition from residents and political leaders in East County, as ECM previously reported. Although SANDAG’s board voted in favor of the tax in late October, today SANDAG’s top leaders--San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear and National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis--announced that they will ask SANDAG staff to provide funding alternatives for the county’s Regional Transportation Plan that do not rely on a county-imposed road usage charge. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 30, 2021 (San Diego) – The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld California’s ban on large-capacity gun ammunition magazines, overturning a lower court ruling. Gun rights advocates had taken aim at a 2016 law and a similar ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters in an effort to reduce mass casualties from assault-style weapons.

East County News Service

November 27, 2021 (Pauma Valley) – The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified Joaquin Romero, 34, of Banning, California as the worker who died on November 1^st after a fall a day earlier in Pauma Valley at the La Jolla Zip Zoom line operated by the La Jolla Indian tribe. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 27, 2021 (Alpine) – Vincent I. Esquivel, 29, of Descanso has been identified as the driver who died at the scene of a vehicle accident on the evening of November 13.

By Miriam Raftery

November 27, 2021 (San Diego) – Mike Hancock, 59, traffic reporter for several local radio stations and former news director at KNSJ radio, was found dead in his San Diego residence by a friend on November 14 after an illness. His voice has also been heard on the East County Magazine Radio Show, where he was instrumental in mentoring interns and reporting on locations in East County.

Update 5:15 p.m. -- Power has been restored to all customers, according to the SDG&E website.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Fran Materra, via Facebook: Thanksgiving by lanternlight in Potrero

November 26, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – An estimated 2,520 SDG&E customers remain in the dark on Black Friday due to power-shut offs amid a red flag warning for high fire danger. About half the communities originally blacked out have power restored, but these areas remain without power:  Alpine, Boulevard, the Campo reservation, Descanso, Jamul, Potrero, the Viejas Reservation, and Warner Springs.

More than 50,000 customers remain at risk of outages yet to come.  View the list of communities at risk at https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard. SDG&E has set up community resource centers where residents without power can go to recharge devices, pickup ice, water, snacks and more. Find the closest CRC at SDG&E’s CRC look-up tool.

East County residents posted comments and complaints on social media regarding the outages. While some railed against SDG&E for cutting power on a holiday, others pre-cooked foods early, grateful for the warnings.  Others dined out at restaurants, brought in hot meals, or headed to relatives homes’ outside the blacked-out areas. Some also voiced thanks that no homes were lost to wildfires.

By Miriam Raftery

November 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has shut off power to 5,311 customers as of 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.  Another 47,934 are at risk of outages amid a red flag warning for extreme fire danger and high winds. 

So far, these are the communities without power:  Alpine, Boulevard, Descanso, Jamul, Pala, Pauma Valley, and Potrero as well as the Campo, Cuyapaipe, La Jolla, Pauma, and Viejas reservations.Many more areas are on a list of potential outages to come.

View an outage map and click on your community for estimated power restoration times:  https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map   Some areas are listed as likely to be without power until Saturday.

SDG&E has opened several community resource centers where residents can get water, ice, snacks, and preparedness supplies, car power inverters, solar-powered batteries, radios, and update on outages.  View map at https://www.sdge.com/resource-centers.

Story and photos by Henri Migala

November 23, 2021 (El Cajon) -- November is National Homeless Youth Month. Nearly 100 people participated in a rally and march in downtown El Cajon on November 17 to bring attention and awareness to this national crisis, including El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmember Steve Goble, and representatives from various non-profit organizations and agencies dedicated to serving homeless youth.

According to the National Child Trauma Stress Network, “as many as 2.5 million youth per year experience homelessness. Along with losing their home, community, friends, and routines as well as their sense of stability and safety, many homeless youths are also victims of trauma. While trying to survive on the streets, youth are exposed to countless dangers, with an increased likelihood of substance abuse, early parenthood, impulsivity, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a vulnerability to being trafficked.”

It is estimated that there are at least 1,500 homeless youth in San Diego, although some believe that the number is much higher since homeless youth are difficult to find and count.

Update November 24, 2021:  SDG&E has widened its list of possible outage areas to include more than 53,000 customers. See the updated list of impacted communities here:  https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Before you stock up on turkey and other groceries for a feast, be aware that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is asking customers in 38 local communities to prepare for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

By Miriam Raftery

November 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Santa Ana winds are forecast starting tonight, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour in canyons and mountain passes.  With warm temperatures and humidity dropping as low as 7 percent, fire danger will be high on Sunday and Monday.

Despite a chance of showers Tuesday, a new round of Santa Ana winds is predicted late Wednesday and Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Weather Service.