Updated May 2, 2018 with identity of the victim.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by ECM news partner 10 News

May 1, 2018 (Spring Valley) – Maria Cristina Duran, a 35-year-old mother from Spring Valley, was driving a blue Kia SUV westbound on State Route 94 this morning near the Kenwood Drive exit when she swerved to avoid hitting a Honda Civic that had pulled in front of her. She crashed onto the center divide and the vehicle overturned, CHP reports. 

Duran, who was wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene, says California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Demarest.

Her son, 17, and daughter, 12, both passengers in the Kia, were transported to a hospital with minor injuries.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Screenshots, KUSI Turko Files

April 30, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Several property owners have filed lawsuits against SDG&E over negative impacts from the utility’s plan to widen easements to 15 feet on each side of power lines in communities including Pine Valley, Descanso and Alpine.

Memorial services in San Diego April 27 and May 1

East County News Service

April 27, 2018 (La Mesa) --- Gladys Palast (1921-2018), a beloved mother, former La Mesa resident, progressive activist and military veteran, passed away Friday at age 96 in Kaiser Permanente Hospital.  A life-long activist for union, education and civil rights, she is survived by her son, journalist, author and film producer Greg Palast and her daughter, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Geri Palast. 

Gladys Palast was a union activist with SEIU and the San Diego Teachers Union.  Until the age of 80, she was also a school teacher in Los Angeles then San Diego.  She and her late husband, Gil Palast, were cofounders of the La Mesa Democratic Club and Activist San Diego, owner of KNSJ radio.

The first woman to enlist in the Coast Guard during World War II, she will be interred with full military honors at Miramar National Military Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Drive, San Diego, CA 92122 today at 11 a.m. along with the ashes of her late husband, Gil Palast. A celebration of her life will follow at 1 p.m. in the rec room at 6780 Mission Gorge Road in San Diego, where friends are invited to bring memories, stories and songs to share.

Proposed stadium allows for expansion to attract NFL team

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photos courtesy SDSU Athletics

April 26, 2018 (San Diego) - San Diego State University revealed today additional details regarding a plan for a multi-use stadium in Mission Valley that could serve as a future home of a San Diego National Football League franchise.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2018 (Santee) – In the latest round of claims that Assemblyman Randy Voepel has inflated his military record, audiotapes and transcripts from two California legislative hearings last year reveal Voepel speaking of being in “heavy combat” in Vietnam and serving with the “Tiger Battalion.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

April 24, 2018 (Descanso) – Three men in the trunk of an orange Mazda have sustained moderate to serious injuries after the driver failed to follow an order to pull over for a secondary inspection at the Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley.   The driver fled through the checkpoint onto I-8 west at speeds over 100 miles per hour with Border Patrol officers in pursuit.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

April 23, 2018 (El Cajon) -- An iconic mainstay of El Cajon retail shopping is closing with the sudden announced closing of the Sears store at Parkway Plaza.

The official announcement of the El Cajon store’s closing came earlier this week as part of the latest round of eight store closures by the wounded national retailer that plans to close 166 stores this year.

Source: Department of Toxic Substances Control

April 23, 2018 (Sacramento) -- The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) this week issued guidelines to help local government agencies in California voluntarily establish and implement a program to make salons healthier for nail care workers, who are exposed to toxic chemicals in some nail care products.

The program must first be adopted by local governments, but thus far, none of the five participating jurisdictions are in San Diego County.  In addition to creating safer working conditions for workers and customers, the program helps consumers identify salons which have met state standards through gold and silver certificates that qualifying salons may display. 

Source: SANDAG

April 23, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- The San Diego Association of Governments is hosting a series of public meetings to gather ideas from San Diego residents about what they want in the future for the region’s transportation.In East County, the meeting will be held Monday, April 30that 3:30 p.m. at the El Cajon Police Department.

By Miriam Raftery

April 20, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit against the Trump campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and associates of President Donald Trump. The suit alleges racketeering, computer hacking, fraud and conspiracy to win the 2016 presidential election and harm Democrats.

The suit provides evidence of how the Trumps allegedly used their family business to curry favor with Russians as well as how Russia allegedly shared findings of a cyber-attack on Democratic National Committee headquarters with the Trump campaign. The evidence includes numerous written communications between Trump advisors and Russians, the Washington Post reports.

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2018 (San Diego) -- The dream of home ownership is slipping away from many San Diego County residents.

The median price of a home has shot up 9.5 percent in the past year, hitting a record $625,400 in March, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Hear our interview on KNSJ on these hot topics and more by clicking the audio link:  Protecting residents from wildfires and frequent power outages,  setting state standards to shorten ambulance response times and beef up fire protection, make healthcare more accessible,  create opportunities for middle class jobs, and stop special interest influences.

By Miriam Raftery

April 15, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – “I’ve bene fighting to save lives and protect people my entire adult life,” says Cal Fire Captain/paramedic Jeff Griffith, who is also an elected member of the Palomar Health District board.  Now he’s running for the 38^th State Senate district seat being vacated by Joel Anderson due to term limits, which includes most of East County’s urban, rural and mountain areas.

He’s running against Brian Jones, former Assemblyman and current Santee Councilman—and taking Jones to task for a legislative record that he says favored special interests over public health and safety. 

Captain Griffith wants to solve concerns raised recently by residents in San Diego’s inland region, such as  protecting residents not only from wildfires, but also from dangers posed by frequent intentional power outages. He would support legislation to improve ambulance response times, as a paramedic who has seen what happens when patients don’t get to an ER in time.  He also wants legislative to put fire protection as a guarantee in our county's charter and pledges to fight for better access and affordability to healthcare, as well as opportunities for middle class jobs.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: ECM News partner 10 News

April 17, 2018 (San Diego) – A driver who exited his vehicle after striking and killing a deer on northbound State Route 125 south of State Route 54 before dawn died after falling off an overpass into a canyon.

California Highway Patrol’s dispatch was notified of the collision at 4:39 a.m.   Upon arrival, CHP units found a black 2007 Audi A3 that had crashed into the deer in the right-hand lane.

By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2018 (San Diego) – Former first lady Barbara Bush died today in her Houston home at age 92.  Wife of George H.W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush, she is only the second woman in history (after Abigail Adams) to have both a son and husband who served as president.