By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

Photo via D3Damon, iStockphoto

May 18, 2017 (Sacramento) - Opponents of a bill intended to smooth the way for the rollout of next-generation cell technology are cautiously optimistic - after a key committee put the measure on hold on Monday.

East County News Service

May 18, 2017 (San Diego) - The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) will present its 2017 Journalist of the Year award to Morgan Cook, an investigative reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune, for her investigative reporting that revealed campaign finance scandals involving Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine).

“San Diego has seen its share of big stories this past year, but our board believes no local journalist did better work than Cook in her relentless accountability reporting on Congressman Duncan Hunter’s use of campaign funds for personal expenses. She broke the story last year and continues to follow it after the Department of Justice made clear in March that it is investigating Hunter, whose district covers Alpine, Escondido and Temecula,” a press release from SPJ states.

By Jordan Damond

May 18, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Congressman Duncan Hunter has introduced the Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Electronic Vapor Alternatives Act, which eases regulations on vaping and electronic cigarettes.

By Miriam Raftery

An East County Magazine Special report

May 17, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – In a bombshell announcement, the U.S. Justice Department has  issued an order to appoint a special prosecutor  to investigate Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign.  Far more broadly, the order allows investigation of any matters that arise from the investigation and all other matters within a special prosecutor’s jurisdiction under federal law – including authorization to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation.   

Acting Attorney General  Rod. J. Rosenstein issued the order to appoint Robert Mueller, a former federal prosecutor who served as FBI director from 2001 to 2013 under both Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic President Barack Obama.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Gage Skidmore

May 17, 2017 (Washington D.C.) –President Donald Trump pressured FBI director James Comey to halt the FBI investigation into former National Security Director Michael Flynn’s Russian connections, but Comey refused, according to a memo written by Comey at the time,  the New York Times reports.  Comey also refused Trump’s demand to jail journalists for publishing leaked materials—shortly before the President fired Comey.   The revelation has top Republican and Democratic Senators preparing to subpoena records that could, potentially, lead to impeachment.

“Obstruction of justice is what it looks like to anybody who’s looking at it,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat working with Republican  Senator Lindsey Graham to investigate the FBI’s role in the federal Russia investigation,  Politico reports. “This is about as lay down a case…as a prosecutor could imagine,” he added.

Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee who has said he won’t seek reelection,  today announced on Twitter that his committee will “get the Comey memo, if it exists,” adding, “I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.”

By Miriam Raftery

May 16, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – After the Washington Post reported yesterday that President Donald Trump leaked classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Moscow’s Ambassador Sergey Kisylyak, multiple major media outlets now report that they have independently confirmation this through their own sources, including the New York Times,  Politico, Buzzfeed and CNN.

East County News Service

May 15, 2017 (Ramona) –  A Mother’s Day crash last night in Ramona killed a San Diego woman, 29, who was eight months pregnant, along with her unborn child, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

By Julie Pendray 

May 15, 2017 (Alpine) -- When construction of a high school in Alpine was delayed indefinitely following passage of bond measures in 2004 and 2008, Alpine Union School District (AUSD) decided to seek unification. Reorganizing the district would enable it to operate K-12 schools and build the high school without waiting on Grossmont Unified High School District (GUSD), which is responsible for the school’s construction under Props. H and U. Alpine’s proposal was given the green light by the County Office of Education, which forwarded its recommendation to the state Board of Education (Board) in 2014.

East County News Service

Ramona's Dye & Highland Valley Intersection to be Impacted

May 13, 2017 (Ramona) -- Lane closures with one-way traffic will impact State Route 67 at the Dye Road/Highland Valley Road intersection in Ramona on Sunday, May 14, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and next week during overnight hours from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. rom Monday night, May 15, to Friday morning, May 19.

Source: City of La Mesa

May 12, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Applications are now being accepted for volunteer positions on the City’s boards and commissions. The deadline for submission of applications is 5:30 p.m., Monday, May 22, 2017, in the City Clerk’s office at La Mesa City Hall, 8130 Allison Avenue. Applications may be obtained at City Hall or from the City of La Mesa website, www.cityoflamesa.us.

By Jonathan Goetz

May 12, 2017 (El Cajon) – After inviting the public to submit redistricting maps and hiring a consultant to advise the city as it moves toward district elections instead of citywide elections for all council members, the options have been narrowed to five maps.  Three of the five maps square Councilman Ben Kalasho off against Councilman Gary Kendrick by putting them in the same City Council District.  Four of the five maps put Councilman Bob McClellan and Councilman Steve Goble in the same district.  Below are the maps and descriptions of each proposal.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

May 11, 2017 (Lakeside) – Two deputies fired shots at a fleeing suspect yesterday at the intersection of Wildcat Canyon Road and Ketuull Uunyaa Way on the Barona reservation in Lakeside, killing the suspect driver at the scene and injuring two people in another vehicle as well as a deputy, according to Lieutenant Greg Rylaarsdam at the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Facebook

May 11, 2017 (Santee) — Santee resident Andrea Daves, 33, seemed to have everything to live for.  A married Navy sailor with children ages 2 and 3, she was on maternity leave when her body was found in a burning vehicle on Mast Boulevard in Santee back in February.   But now her death has been determined to be a suicide; cause of death was thermal burns, according to a press release issued by Lt. Kenneth Nelson with the Sheriff’s Homicide Unit.

East County News Service

May 10, 2017 (La Mesa) - The volunteer citizens group monitoring the spending of millions of dollars in public funds for new and improved patient care facilities at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa has a new member. Lindsey Ryan, the hospital’s Manager of Nursing Education and Professional Development, has joined the Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (ICBOC).

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Comey official FBI portrait

May 10, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump has fired the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director over the weekend, stating that he has “lost confidence” in James Comey.   Comey was scheduled to testify this Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the FBI investigation into Russia’s hacking of the U.S. presidential election.