February 5, 2015 (El Cajon ) -- Heartland Fire & Rescue crews from El Cajon were at 5:17 a.m. Wednesday following reports of a residential structure fire in the 1000 block of East Madison Avenue in El Cajon. Fire crews arrived within five minutes to discover heavy fire and smoke coming from three sides of a single story duplex. Firefighters contained the fire within 10 minutes, and stopped the fire from spreading to nearby units. There were injuries reported.
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February 6, 2015 (El Cajon)--Gillespie Field in El Cajon ranks high among airports in California in potential for sustainable economic growth and job creation, according to a recent study by the California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans), Division of Aeronautics.
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February 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- Identity theft advocacy organizations and the FBI warn those who use online dating sites to watch out for “sweetheart scammers” who swindle money or bank account information from online daters.
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Looking for the most romantic places in East County? Feast your eyes on our "Romance in East County" special section.Click here!
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February 4, 2015 (Jacumba Hot Springs) -- The state has approved funding for construction of infrastructure improvements at the Jacumba Hot Springs airport . Back in 2012, County Supervisors authorized a co-pay with the state to pave the runway and make other upgrades.
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February 5, 2015 (La Mesa)--A Hazmat crew was dispatched to downtown La Mesa this morning after a city engineering crew found an underground storage tank. Fire crews were summoned and after abnormal readings were found, a Hazmat crew as called in.
The old storage tank contained no gas, but did have trace amounts of kerosene and water, Sonny Saghera, public information officer for Heartland Fire and Rescue, told East County Magazine. The tank was too old to show up on any city records and may predate the century-old city.
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February 3, 2015 (El Cajon)--El Cajon Police officers and Fire Department paramedics responded to reports of a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle in the intersection of Cuyamaca Street and Weld Boulevard in El Cajon at 5:28 a.m.
Based on preliminary statements, an adult female pedestrian in her mid-50's was crossing westbound at the intersection of Weld Boulevard and Cuyamaca Street when she was struck by an SUV travelling South on Cuyamaca in the #1 lane. The pedestrian was transported to a local trauma center with serious injuries, says Lieutenant Randy Soulard. He added, “The driver of the SUV, an adult male in his mid-60's, immediately stopped after the collision and is cooperating with Traffic Investigators. Speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the collision at this time.”
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February 2, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--The Federal Aviation Administration is reporting approximately 200 close calls in the past year between aircraft and drones. That includes two cases of drones flying too close to airport runways in San Diego County – one in East County near Gillespie Field in El Cajon and a second in Carlsbad.
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You're invited to East County Magazine's first "media meet-up" in the community!
Tues., Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at Downtown Café, 182 East Main St., El Cajon
If you believe community reporting is important in your neighborhood, or that wildfire reporting is important to sustain, please join us and share this invitation with your friends!
Tell us what news matters most to you - and help our nonprofit award-winning media outlet cover the stories that you believe are important! We're your community media - because East County matters to us all.
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February 2, 2015 (El Cajon) – A tenant at a mobile home park in El Cajon made a grisly discovery at 3.a.m. yesterday, finding the body of an 80-year-old man in a vehicle. According to El Cajon Police Lieutenant Walt Miller, the man had a gunshot wound to his chest and a gun was found beside him, City News Service reports.
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February 1, 2015 (San Diego)--San Diego County’s older adults have new opportunities to stretch, lift weights and help maintain an active lifestyle as the County’s popular Feeling Fit Club expands with three new locations—including two in East County.
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Update: Alpine Rentals is open for business, working out of a trailer temporarily, the Alpine Community Network reports.
East County News Service
Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News
February 1, 2015 (Alpine)--Things were rocking and rolling in Alpine early this morning.
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January 31, 2015 (Santee) – A young girl was injured after a fire broke out in a unit downstairs from the apartment she was in with her grandmother Friday afternoon on Mission Gorge Road in Santee. A firefighter battling the blaze also sustained injury, 10 News reports.
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You're invited to East County Magazine's "Treasures of East County" event to benefit our nonprofit community news and wildfire reporting!
Saturday, January 31 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1625 East Main Street, El Cajon
You can help by shopping (just in time for Valentine's Day) and by donating items for our big event, which features 4 sales in one location!
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“I have seen so much evidence of corruption at the CPUC that it is appalling. Judges who appeared sympathetic to the consumer were regularly changed out for those who would do what Peevey wanted, which meant what the utilities wanted” – Susan Brinchman, , La Mesa
By Miriam Raftery
January 30, 2015 (San Francisco) – Investigators from the California Attorney General’s office reportedly raided the home of former Public Utilities Commission Chairman Michael Peevey this week, seizing computers and smart phones. State law enforcement officials also seized evidence from the home of Pacific Gas & Electric Company executive Brian Cherry, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
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January 28, 2015 (La Mesa) – At his first City Council meeting with a full agenda, recently elected Councilmember Guy McWhirter joked that he used to think the meetings were boring and overly lengthy and dreamed of better efficiency. But after attending a League of California Cities course for newly elected representatives, he’s learned why this format is necessary to allow for full public participation and disclosure.
That fairly sums up Tuesday’s La Mesa Council meeting, one moment compellingly informative, the next protractedly bureaucratic.
Two presentations of particular interest could have significant impact on their parts of town, namely a presentation by the Cushman family about their vision for redevelopment of Grossmont Center, and a staff report on a study investigating the possibility of building a parking building in the Village.
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By Miriam Raftery; Kristin Kjaero contributed to this story
Big changes could soon be coming to Grossmont Center
January 28, 2015 (La Mesa)--At the La Mesa City Council meeting on Tuesday night January 27th, Steve Cushman gave a presentation regarding the future of the regional shopping mall and surrounding properties owned by the Cushman family.
A 50-year lease with developers of the shopping center expired in mid-January and now the shopping mall and adjacent properties are reverting back to the Cushman family. That includes 125 acres, extending beyond the mall itself to many surrounding sites.
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January 27, 2015 (Sacramento) – E-cigarettes could soon be prohibited in restaurants, bars, workplaces and hospitals. State Senator Mark Leno has introduce a measure, Senate Bill 140, that would ban e-cigarettes everywhere that standard cigarettes are currently prohibited.
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January 26, 2015 (San Diego) – A 15-year-old boy hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park on Sunday was bitten by a rattlesnake.
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January 26, 2015 (San Diego)--If you’re traveling to the Northeast, you may have a long wait. Over 7,700 flights have been grounded—and many may not take off for days. That’s because the worst blizzard in years is slamming the region. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for a 250-mile-wide area where whiteout conditions may occur.
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January 26, 2015 (San Diego) – Multiple flights have received threats posted on Twitter in recent days, including a threat against a Southwest flight from San Diego to Dallas. All of the threats proved false – but not before causing added screenings and concerns.
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January 25, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The U.S. Department of the interior announced Sunday that President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress to designate 12 million acres of Alaska’s 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness to protect it from oil and gas drilling.
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January 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Here are some of the most important items on agendas of our local boards, commissions and councils this week in San Diego’s East County.
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January 24, 2016 (Campo)—The Campo Lake Morena Planning Group meets Monday evening at 7 p.m. The agenda includes a staff update and vote on the latest version of the Star Ranch plan. Officers will be elected and vacancies on the board filled. In addition planners will discuss concerns raised by Boulevard and Jacumba planners over the addition of large battery storage facilities at the proposed Soitec Solar project.
To view the full agenda, click “read more” and scroll down.
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January 22, 2015 (Lemon Grove) – A woman crossing Skyline Drive at Alton Drive in Lemon was struck by a vehicle on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. and sustained life threatening injuries.
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January 21, 2015 (Ramona) - A Black Hawk helicopter crash landed at the Ramona Airport on Tuesday, causing minor injuries to two Army National Guard aviators.
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January 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The National Weather Service has issued a Drought Report following the recent rains. While the winter storms have brought some relief, water supplies remain low, though the situation may ease in coming months.
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January 17, 2015 (Rancho San Diego)—“This week, an image we shot at a Star Wars themed wedding went viral on Imgur and Reddit and the story has been picked up by many news affiliates across the U.S.,” Rancho San Diego photographer Mark Hills at Unveiled Wedding Photography ( http://www.unveiledwedding.com) told East County Magazine.
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Massive release of emails between CPUC and utilities also ordered by administrative law judge
By Miriam Raftery
January 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Taking the helm of the scandal-ridden California Public Utilities Commission, new president Michael Picker announced reforms aimed at ending back-door access by utilities to state regulators and improving transparency to the public.
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January 18, 2015 (San Diego) –Around the nation including here in San Diego a “4 Mile March” is set for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, March 19th to build a new civil rights movement. Locally the march will begin at 1 p.m. at the City Heights Weingart Library, 3775 Fairmont Ave., and will end at the Malcolm X Library, 400 Roosevelt Street.
“The goal of every 4 Mile March in every city is the same: to bring awareness to the national epidemic of racial profiling and police violence, and to honor all the lives lost as a result,” a flyer for the event states.
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February 3, 2015 (El Cajon)--El Cajon Police officers and Fire Department paramedics responded to reports of a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle in the intersection of Cuyamaca Street and Weld Boulevard in El Cajon at 5:28 a.m. 
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