By Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of  E.  Rullet and Deerhorn Valley Antler

October 13, 2016 (Jamul)—Monday’s grand opening of the Hollywood Casino in Jamul caused traffic backups of several hours.  On Tuesday,  residents report delays were reduced to 15-30 minutes for those seeking to run errands in the rural town of Jamul,  still a hassle for residents who long opposed the casino. Illegal parking along State Route 94 and side roads continue to pose problems, though authorities have begun ticketing vehicles.

Parents have voiced concerns over safety of students at Steele Canyon High School’s homecoming football game and dance this weekend, the first weekend the casino will be in operation.  The traffic and parking issues could also negatively  impact JamulFest Sunday, where Lyons Valley Road closes for a parade and parking is tight even in prior years.

October 12, 2016 (La Mesa) -- Bring you friends, family or favorite team to  East County Magazine's  "Good Sports" night out at the Hills Local Pub in La Mesa (8753 La Mesa Blvd.,  near Jackson Drive and La  Mesa Blvd) this Wednesday, October 12 between 5 p.m. and  9 p.m.!  There's no cover charge, but the Hills wil donate a percentage of all food and drinks sold to benefit East CountyMagazine and our coverage of  East County youth and high school sports, as well as Aztecs and pro sports.

By Miriam Raftery

October 11, 2016 (La Mesa) –  At today’s 4 p.m. meeting, La Mesa City Council will consider a proposal introduced by Council members Bill Baber and Kristine Alessio that would require signatures  of two  Council members to place any item on the agenda.  Under the proposal (item 10 on the agenda), all requests must also be made in writing, be relevant to the official business of the City, and submitted with any pertinent materials by the Wednesday prior to a Tuesday Council hearing.

Until now, any member could ask to add an item to the agenda and seek full discussion, sometimes at the request of a concerned citizen. 

Song, online guide help Californians prepare to vote this November

October  10, 2016(Sacramento)---A new “Proposition Song” music video has been released by the California Voter Foundation (CVF) to give Californians a quick, informative, impartial and entertaining overview of all 17 measures on the November 8th ballot. The song and video can be accessed at http://www.calvoter.org or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizO7L2J7LU .

Accompanying the new song, CVF also released its new California Online Voter Guide, providing voters with easy online access to information about all California state and federal contests.

ECM records document 9 of the 12 ECPD shootings in the past decade

By Miriam Raftery

October 9, 2016 (El Cajon)—Yesterday,  the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that El Cajon Police Department had 12 officer-involved shootings in the past 10 years, including five fatal shootings.  According to the U-T,  El Cajon had the highest rate of shooting per 100,000 people of any law enforcement agency in the county.

The U-T story mentioned only two shootings specifically: the recent fatal shooting of Alfred Olango, an African refugee reportedly having a mental health crisis who pointed a vaping device resembling a gun at an officer, and Kelsey Hauser, a white female passenger fatally shot in January 2016 following a high-speed chase of a stolen vehicle that had rammed a police car.

East County Magazine searched our records, which date back to late 2008 when we began publishing,  and found details on a total of nine of the 12 shootings.  At least four of those were fatal, including the two listed above.

By Miriam Raftery

October 5, 2016  (El Cajon) –El Cajon residents are invited to attend a Journalism  Forum featuring candidates running for the  El Cajon City Council.  The forum, co-moderated by journalists from four major media outlets, will be held on Wednesday, October 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grossmont College at Griffin Gate in Griffin Center. (See map.)

Bring your questions, meet the candidates and hear their ideas and goals for El Cajon.

The moderators will be: Miriam Raftery,  editor of East County Magazine, Karen Pearlman, reporter for the San Diego-Union Tribune, Albert  Fulcher,  editor of the East County Californian, and Marya Fani, broadcast journalist at Mega Network. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, ,left:  Stacy Taylor interviewing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on KLSD radio

By Miriam Raftery

October 1, 2016 (El Cajon)—No arrests were made overnight as protests continued for a fourth night and into today, following the shooting of Alfred Olango by El Cajon Police on Tuesday.

Tensions remain despite video released yesterday and a photo showing Olango in a shooting stance, aiming a vaping device at Officer Richard Gonsalves, who has said he believed it to be a gun. 

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

October 1, 2016 (San Diego) - The Registrar of Voters is urging voters to double-check their registration status on its website after some residents got letters from an organization called the Voter Participation Center claiming the residents aren’t registered to vote.



The organization’s letters offer a pre-filled voter registration form that may include incorrect or outdated information or information for persons who don’t live at the address. The letters are causing some confusion because in many instances, the voter is properly registered to vote.

East County News Service

September 30,2016 (San Diego) –Following a swarm of recent small magnitude earthquakes that began on Monday near the Salton Sea in Southern California, the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) has issued an advisory that there is a small chance that an earthquake measuring 7.0 or  more on the Richter scale could occur on the San Andreas fault before October 4.

The advisory warning includes San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern , Imperial and Ventura counties.

2 men wanted for stealing photojournalist’s $15,000 camera Wednesday night

By Miriam Raftery

September 30, 2016 (El Cajon)--Demonstrations continued overnight in El Cajon over the killing of Alfred Olango Tuesday by police.

  After receiving several 911 calls of 50-70 protesters blocking cars and breaking car windows, police declared an unlawful assembly. 10 News reports that tear gas and pepper balls were deployed by police. The station posted video of the incident and reported that protesters also knocked a motorcyclist off a motorcycle. Glass bottles were also thrown at officers. Two arrests were made, according to police.

 “A large group of demonstrators marched through the streets throughout the evening and into the early morning hours,”said Lieutenant Rob Ransweiler.

Police are also investigating theft of a $15,000 camera taken forcibly from a photojournalist.   A video viewed by 250,000 people on social media has led to identification one suspect, San Diego News Video reports.  Public help is requested to identify a second subject shown at the end of a video here: https://www.facebook.com/SDNVtv/videos/918156954956981/

Did lack of mental healthcare “PERT” team response contribute to Olango’s death? 

Suicide Help Resources included below

By Jonathan Goetz

September 29, 2016 (El Cajon) – East San Diego County’s El Cajon was rocked Tuesday with an officer involved shooting of an unarmed black man, Alfred Okwera Olango. The city has remained in the spotlight all week.  Lost amid the blitz of media coverage has been other news, including a nudity ban targeting homeless people.

In chronological order, here are the highlights and lowlights:

By Miriam Raftery

Jonathan Goetz also contributed to this report.

Photo, left, by Rebecca Williamson, during vigil at shooting sight this evening

September 28,2016 (El Cajon) –Amid mounting tensions and protests this evening,  El Cajon Police released updates in yesterday’s fatal shooting of Alfred Okwera Olango.  

The updated information reveals the Olango, an El Cajon resident, drew a vape smoking device from his pocket and pointed it at officers. The release also indicates a Psychiatric Emergency Response Team was unavailable due to being dispatched to another call.

A 10 News investigation found  Olango had a criminal record including  a 2005 arrest in Colorado as a felon in possession of a firearm—a semi-automatic pistol in the vehicle he was driving. He also pled guilty to receiving stolen property and driving under the influence in 1999, as well as selling cocaine in 2001.

In this confrontation, however, Olango did not have a gun or any other weapon.  The Ugandan refugee who came to America  after death threats to his famliy was shot and killed after his sister called officers for help due to her brother's erratic actions.

Tonight, crowds clashed with police.  While organizers of a march and vigil sought to keep the peace, some protesters reportedly threw bottles at police and chased a counter-protester wearing a Trump hat after he shouted racial slurs.

By Rebecca  Jefferis-Williamson and Miriam Raftery

Photo, left,by Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson: Marchers at Mollison near Broadway

September 28, 2016 (El Cajon) – Parkway Plaza regional shopping center is shut down for tonight after protests spilled into the mall over yesterday’s fatal police shooting of Alfred  Olango, 38, an unarmed African-American man with mental health issues.  Marketing director Ken Gray told  ECM the mall shut down for the night on advice of police.

“ Where I work, a lot of people were crying and screaming,” Gage Miller told  East County Magazine shortly after police evacuated the Walmart store where he works and escorted everyone outside. He said around 3 p.m., “lots of people were marching in the mall and going into the movie theatre…Walmart had to put its gates down. Protesters were spraying water from water bottles all around.”

Source:  Press release, SDSU Homeland Security graduate program

September 24, 2016 (San Diego) -- What can be done to stop active shooter incidents such as the one at the Washington Mall this week?  Two San Diegans who recently graduated from San Diego State University’s Homeland Security Program, have developed an innovative mobile app solution for preventing, mitigating and responding to active shooter situations. The Active Shooter Identification (ASI) application has the ability to detect a gunshot that supersedes 125 decibels.