Congresswoman Davis wants to speak with family members of detained Chaldeans

By Miriam Raftery

August 3, 2015 (Otay) –After our story  yesterday on efforts by local Chaldeans to free more than 20 Iraqi Chaldean Christians detained for months at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Homeland Security facility in Otay Mesa, we received a response from Lauren Mack, public affairs officer for ICE in San Diego. 

Mack advised us via e-mail, “There are currently 28 Iraqi nationals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Otay Detention Facility in San Diego. One of those individuals was criminally charged this week in federal court with providing false information on an immigration application. Five others in the group have now been ordered removed (i.e., deported) by an immigration judge.”

Asked if these six individuals are Chaldean Christians or not, Mack declined to reveal the religion of these detainees. However she did provide a copy of the criminal complaint filed against Reta Morrogi (a.k.a. Zina Hormes Oraha Delli. It states that Morrogo communicated through an interpreter in the Chaldean dialect. She is charged with failing to disclose time spent in Germany on her flight from Iraq to the U.S.

Concerns raised over merchants group's solvency and credibility during heated hearing

By Kristin Kjaero

August 3, 2015 (La Mesa) – Whether or not there will be an Oktoberfest 2015 is in the hands of the La Mesa Village Merchants Association (LMVMA).

On Tuesday, the Council voted 4-1 to grant conditional approval for this year’s Oktoberfest, with Council member Ruth Sterling voting against. The deal requires the LMVMA to pay all outstanding debt plus a 25% security deposit and meet a scheduled list of new requirements giving the City oversight of LMVMA’s outside contracts for the event, before an Oktoberfest permit will be issued.

If all deadlines are met, Oktoberfest 2015 will be smaller and shorter: two days instead of three, closing an hour earlier, and held only in the downtown area east side of Spring Street. However, if any deadline is not met, Oktoberfest will be automatically cancelled with no further Council action required--and no refunds.

East County News Service

August 2, 2015 (Santee) – Nathan Smoltz, 31, has been arrested for felony drunk driving after the Ford Explorer he was driving plunged off a steep embankment and rolled over several times, ending up in a ravine in harsh terrain northwest of Summit Avenue in Santee.  Four people were injured, including two in serious condition and one who sustained critical injuries.

East County News Service

July 31, 2015 (San Diego) – East County Magazine picked up three more awards from the Society for Professional Journalists San Diego pro chapter last night during the annual awards banquet at the Bali Hai restaurant.   Two of the awards honor coverage on our East County Magazine Show on KNSJ Radio while the third is for an investigative report at our online news site (www.EastCountyMagazine.org), bringing our total awards to 83 since our founding in 2008.

Last night’s honors, all second place awards presented to Miriam Raftery (photo, left), include our radio interview series with local Chaldeans’ efforts to halt genocide in Iraq, a radio interview with a Kurdish woman about her family’s ordeal fleeing ISIS, and an online investigative report on a San Diego company’s failure to disclose negative impacts of a proposed energy project.

You can read and hear our award-winning entries here:

Source: CalTrans

July 31, 2015 (San Diego)-Long-term lane closures will be needed to repair the Clairemont Mesa Boulevard overcrossing above southbound State Route 163 (SR-163), according to Caltrans.

The announcement was made after structural engineers assessed the damage following a hit on the bridge this morning by a backhoe carried by a semitrailer traveling southbound on SR-163.  The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident, which closed the right lane on southbound SR-163 and the left lane on westbound Clairemont Mesa Boulevard during the morning commute.

East County News Service

July 28, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—Nature’s Variety has announced a voluntary recall of its Instinct Raw Chicken Formula food for dogs due to salmonella contamination.  The products, which were distributed in California including San Diego and East County, pose a health risk to pets and people.

By Miriam Raftery

July 28, 2015 (Pine Valley)—Angered by the inflammatory and possibly unlawful actions of Pine Valley Municipal Water Company’s chairman Flip Boerman and board, Pine Valley residents/shareholders will convene a town hall meeting on August 2^nd at 3 p.m. in the Pine Valley Community Center.

By Miriam Raftery

July 27, 2015 (Fletcher Hills) – As gas prices climb, gas thieves are on the prowl in East County.

July 27, 2015 (El Cajon ) – El Cajon Police are looking for the driver of a black Mercedes sedan who fled the scene after striking a fire hydrant near the intersection of Ballantyne Street and Madison Avenue in El Cajon on Monday.  The collision caused a 40-foot-high water geyser that damaged several trees nearby, but did not damage homes.

July 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Heartland Fire & Rescue, serving the Cities of El Cajon, La Mesa and Lemon Grove, is currently accepting applications for the reserve portion of the Heartland Fire Academy through August 7, 2015. Applications will be accepted between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at 100 E. Lexington Avenue in El Cajon.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

July 26, 2015 (Lakeside)—A head-on crash on Lakeside’s Wildcat Canyon Road near Blue Sky Ranch killed two people early this morning, the California Highway Patrol reports.

East County News Service

July 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – AT&T wants to phase out landline phone service by 2020.  But as many San Diego County residents have learned during firestorms that burned cell phone towers and a multi-state blackout that crippled cell service, land lines are critical during such emergencies. Land lines also make it easier for people with disabilities such as the visually impaired or anyone who has suffered injury to easily access a land line to call for help.

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Today, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency for five southern California counties including San Diego due to damage from severe storms starting July 18 that caused “flash flooding, mudslides, and fires ignited by lightning strikes, resulting in damage to roads, highways, and other infrastructure and the evacuation of residents.” (Read the proclamation: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=19049 )

The emergency declaration applies to Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino and San Diego Counties. 

  East County News Service

July 23, 2015 (San Diego ) – While thousands of people protested yesterday outside the American Legislative Exchange Council’s national convention in San Diego, State Senator Joel Anderson (R-San Diego), California chair of ALEC, told Times of San Diego that is “proud” to have San Diego post ALEC’s national convention where legislators exchange ideas, adding, “ALEC takes on difficult, complicated issues and takes on free market solutions.” (View video, top of story)

As for the thousands of protesters, he said derisively, “There’s a naysayer in every crowd,” adding that the protesters “don’t like the free market.” As for criticisms of secret dealings behind closed doors, Anderson retorted, “We can’t respond to every wack-job” and insisted the process is not secretive, as critics claim. Reporter Ken Stone with Times of San Diego pressed Anderson, pointing out that he had been denied access to cover some key sessions.

The protesters included a  prominent local business organization as well as labor, environmental, human rights and political reform organizations. They contend that secretive actions conducted behind closed doors by ALEC result in laws that hurt small businesses in America and weaken protections for workers, the environment, and civil rights.

July 22, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- Stay safe and informed!  East County Magazine's free wildfire and emergency alert service has been busy lately warning people here about flash floods, wildfires, roadway hazards and severe weather.

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