By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Mendez, left, from his Facebook page; Ingram, right, courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

August 3, 2014 (Lakeside) –A second body has been recovered from El Capitan Reservoir in Lakeside, following a boating collision Thursday.    Russell Mendez, 20, and Jeffry Ingram, 21 were killed after a Nitro vessel struck the boat while they were fishing, ejecting both men into the water.  Two men aboard the Nitro were treated for injuries and released.

July 30, 2014 (Santee) – On July 25, Santee sheriff deputies responded to a report of a possible drunk driver traveling on a motorcycle northbound on Carlton Hills Boulevard at a high speed.  The victim struck a parked vehicle. He was ejected, striking a telephone pole and then landing in the roadway.

By Miriam Raftery

July 30, 2014 (El Cajon) – Outliers Collective (www.outco.com), the only legal,  licensed medical marijuana dispensary  in East County’s unincorporated areas, will open this Saturday, August 2 near Gillespie Field.  A grand opening party is set from 1 to 4 p.m. at the collective dispensary, located at 8157 Wing Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon.

The grand opening will feature raffles, prize giveaways, meet and greet with model “Queen Esther”, poster signings, a food truck, 619 clothing and more.

By Miriam Raftery

August 1, 2014 (Lakeside)--A boat collision has claimed the life of at a 21-year-old man and injured two others at El Capitan Reservoir in Lakeside Thursday night.   In addition a 20-year-old victim is missing after being ejected into the water.  A search continues, with help from San Diego Lifeguards, Heartland Fire & Rescue and the San Diego Fire Rescue Department.

A witness told ECM news partner 10 News that a Nitro vessel was traveling at a high rate of speed when it slammed into a small boat that was adrift, plunging everyone on board into the water.

Update July 30, 2014: By a 5-0 vote,  Supervisors adopted the feral pig eradication plan to trap and shoot wild pigs across our region.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service

July 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--They wallow in waterways and root up sensitive habitat.  They breed prolifically—and they eat almost anything—from acorns to small animals—even goats with horns!  Those portly porkers – feral pigs in East County’s backcountry—can weigh up to 250 pounds. The largest wild pig caught anywhere--a gargantuan specimen dubbed "Hogzilla," tipped the scales at over 800 pounds.

Feral pigs are descendants of domestic pigs run wild and European boars brought over by Spaniards in the 1700s. Locally, San Diego's pig population has been around since only around 2006.  We don't know how they got here. One rumor is that  hunters released a few pigs as game animals. Another theory is that the pigs migrated in from elsewhere in California or Mexico. However they came, they've found fertile ground locally, where the number of wild pigs is now estimated at over a thousand. 

Hunting wild pigs is legal in California on private property and tribal lands – though not in our region's parks, preserves, or wilderness areas.  But bringing home the bacon isn’t as easy as it sounds.

July 30, 2014 (San Diego County) – The County Water Authority voted Thursday to make water use restrictions mandatory in our region.

July 25, 2014 (Santee)--Santee’s City Council has voted to approve $2,000 as its fair share to assist the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless.

The vote was 3-1, over the objection of Santee Mayor Randy Voepel. Councilman John Ryan was not present.

East County News Service

July 25, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)- A hazardous weather warning remains in effect through tonight across our region, with high temperatures expected to continue through this weekend, cooling slightly.

Thunderstorms are also moving across the region.

By Janis Russell

Photo: Applicant Bill Adams states his case for 7-Eleven

July 23, 2014 (El Cajon)- At Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council meeting, Council had two public hearings on the appeal of planning commission’s decision denying request for beer and wine sales at 1021 West Washington Avenue and 500 North Second Street.  The stores sought permission to sell alcohol for off-site consumption. 

Council confirmed the planning commission’s decision and voted unanimously to deny the requests as well.

Hear our  radio special report on the Save Iraq Christians rally, plus our interview with East County Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce president Ben Kalasho on the worsening crisis in Iraq:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2014 (El Cajon) –They carried an American flag, proud to be in a country where they are free. But their hearts ache for loved one endangered in their homeland: Iraq.  They are Iraqi-American Christians who rallied Friday in El Cajon's Promenade Park, pleading for political leaders to save Iraqi Christians from massacre by terrorists invaders who have declared an Islamic state, or caliph.

Farouk Georges shared the latest chilling news. Just one day earlier, he revealed, sources inside Iraq told him that the terrorist group ISIS “issued a decree against the Christians of Nineva…They are asking them to leave, or to convert to Islam, or be killed.”   

A million and a half Christians in Iraq have been displaced, said Ben Kalasho, president of the Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce and organizer of the rally. “We’ve counted 120 churches that have been bombarded and destroyed.” Thousands of Iraqi Christians have been killed, hundreds have been kidnapped and as of a few days ago, he revealed, “ISIS has spray-painted the letter N on Christian homes, letting everyone know where the Christians live.”  The N is for Nasrani, an Arabic word meaning Christian.

(caution: graphic photos)

July 18, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - It’s raining cats – and more cats – over at the County animal shelters.

To help ease this overabundance, the shelters are offering up a special to help these felines find their forever homes.

July 18, 2014 (El Cajon) – East County is home to an estimated 40,000 Iraqi Chaldean Christians as well as many Assyrians and Syriacs. 

Local Iraqis including the Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce, churches and other groups, ask the community to join them in a rally today, July 18 at El Cajon City Hall , 200 Civic Center Way, to urge protection and humanitarian help for those now fleeing Iraq, where a terrorist group has declared an Islamic caliph and is slaughtering Christians and other minorities.

A petition has also been launched calling on U.S. representatives to consider creating a safe haven for Assyrians and other minorities in the Nineveh Plains.

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2014 (Sacramento)--The California State Water Resources Control Board has announced they will impose unprecedented restrictions statewide on outdoor watering—including steep fines of up to $500 a day for those who ignore the rules.  This marks the first time ever that water rationing has been imposed statewide, though locally San Diegans have seen rationing in prior droughts.

East County News Service

July 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- The drought is hitting local ranchers hard.

Severe drought has killed off grasses in pasturelands across inland San Diego County, forcing cattle ranchers to sell off calves early and even their breeding stock.

By Miriam Raftery

July 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is the first utility company in the nation to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test the use of small, unmanned drone aircraft for monitoring electric and gas lines. 

The company announced that this will improve safety and response times, but the announcement is also drawing criticism for the lack of public input and potential environmental issues.