East County News Service

September 12, 2015 (El Cajon) – Employees of Advanced Air and Vacuum on Marshall Street in El Cajon responded  to a burglary alarm going off at 6:30 last night and made a disturbing discovery.

East County News Service

September 12, 2015 (San Diego) – A bull dog died of heat stroke at Mission Trails Regional Park on September 7^th.  As a result, the park posted warnings urging owners not to take dogs on trails during the excessive heat. 

But some ignored the warnings, including the owner of another dog that nearly suffered heat stroke a couple of days later, Fox 5 news reports.

By Liz Alper

September 8, 2015 (Grayson, Ky.) - A Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for withholding marriage licenses to gay and straight couples has been released today.

By Miriam Raftery – Photo by Jim Larson, Caltrans

September 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Exactly 39 years ago this week, Hurricane Kathleen struck our region – the most powerful tropical cylone ever to hit San Diego and Imperial Counties. With another powerful storm, Hurricane Linda, set to sock our region starting Wednesday, it’s worth remembering just how much devastation was wrought the last such storm set to hit the identical area, on the very same day of the year.

Some dangerous road conditions are reported across region

East County News Service

Photo by Paul Cummings: View from Mt. Laguna looking south at 1:30 p.m.

September 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County ) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for San Diego County’s mountains, lower and upper deserts in effect now through Thursday.

Tropical moisture is building across the region, bringing thunderstorms , locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding possible.  Heavy rain and flooding are reported currently in Boulevard and Pine Valley, the CHP website reports.  A mudslide is reported on San Felipe Road 2 miles south of State Route 79, blocking the roadway.

Deadline swiftly approaching; residents voice displeasure 

By Kristin Kjaero

September 7, 2015 (La Mesa) -- A controversy arose at the August 11 La Mesa City Council meeting when Friends of the La Mesa Library President John Schmitz noticed that a contract for the city to hire a consultant to conduct a Civic Center/Old Police Station Feasibility Study and Master Plan did not include a permanent library building. He requested that the Council add the library back in, as it was included in earlier Master Plans. Despite this omission, the Council approved the study as is, without the library.

The Council will review a Staff Report on the issue of "Interim" vs. "Permanent" library on its agenda for tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., in which Staff takes the position that the City is not obligated to build a "permanent" Library building.

Source: County Water Authority

Photo: Creative Commons image by Pro Green Grass

September 6, 2015 (San Diego)--Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority that prohibits common interest developments (typically governed by homeowners associations, or HOAs) from banning artificial turf. Assembly Bill 349, carried by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, takes effect immediately and will enhance outdoor water conservation opportunities statewide.

“Californians are making great strides to reduce their water use and hit aggressive benchmarks for conservation, and this new common sense law will give homeowners one more way to save as this drought continues,” Gonzalez said. “The grass may be fake, but the amount of water a homeowner can save by installing it is very real.”

September 4, 2015 (Alpine)--Bobbi Brink, Founder/Director of San Diego's Lions Tigers & Bears (LTB) sanctuary announced that a 2.5 month old tiger cub found roaming the Southern California neighborhood of Hemet is being transferred to the accredited sanctuary in East San Diego County on Friday afternoon.

By Ed Barrena, East County News Service

September 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The National Safety Council has announced some startling data about America’s roads.  They released a report on Monday estimating that traffic deaths for the first six months of 2015 were up 14% over the same period during the previous year, with serious injuries up 30%.  Approximately 19,000 deaths have occurred on US roads from January through June of this year.

Same plane previously landed on highway 52; residents voice alarm

August 3, 2015 (Santee) – A plane owned by a flight school at Gillespie Field crashed into a Santee neighborhood at 9:15 this morning, damaging two cars and a home. The pilot died on impact and a  passenger later died in a hospital of critical injuries, Santee Patch reports. (Photo, left: ECM news partner 10 News.)

The plane, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, is currently registered to the Volar Corp. flight school at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records. The same plane made an emergency landing on State Route 52 in 2013 directly in front of ECM reporter Paul Kruze (photo, right), 10 News reports. Back then the plane was registered to Golden State Flying Club, another local flight school.  

Advocates for Safe Airport Policies (ASAP), has long voiced concerns over increased flight school traffic over homes nearby.  ASAP leader Sue Strohm shared her reaction with ECM.:

September 2, 2015 (Campo) -- An oak tree with a six-foot diameter and large canopy of branches crashed down onto State Route 94 in Campo yesterday, closing eastbound lanes temporarily until crews could clear away the debris.

East County Magazine's emergency alert service sent alerts via e-mail and Twitter about the lane closures.

Reader Susan Reilly senst this photo of the downed tree.

By Devoreo Bell

September 2, 2015 (San Diego)--The San Diego County Water Authority is owed $188.3 million plus interest from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District, a judge has affirmed in a final ruling which found Metropolitan charged illegal rates to the San Diego district from 2011 to 2014.

August 31, 2015 (El Cajon)--Don your Hawaiian shirt, sarong or other festive attire and join us this Saturday, September 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. at East County Magazine's Tropical Party as we celebrate summer's end and watch the sunset atop the roof of our studio building in El Cajon (1625 East Main St., just off the Greenfield exit from I-8)   Savor the flavors of the tropics:

 Tropical feast  including coconut curry &  tropical chicken from Pick Up Stix, Pina Berry Colada & Champagne Mango Cakes from Grove Pastry Shop, island-fresh pineapple from Baron’s Market.

Pacific Islanders Beer and Wine-tasting with San Pasqual Winery (award-winning wines including passionfruit!)

Live entertainment:  Reggae music by Ed Barrena & musical theater by Visionary Dance Theatre. 

Prize drawings & silent auction: Padres tickets, Italian dinner lover's basket, wine lover's basket with premium vintages, "Hairspray" musical theater tickets, pottery by Get Centered Clay, Kwai Sun studio passes (yoga, pilates, karate, fitness and more), dance lessons, beach-goers basket, Water Conservation Garden memberships, Santee Lakes fishing and pedal boat passes, Urban Jungle passes, Hawaiian wear, hand-crafted treasure chest, & more!   SPACE LIMITED: EARLY RSVP STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: Black jaguar

September 1, 2015 (Cedar Creek Falls) – Last year, East County Magazine ran a two-part series  on numerous reported sightings of large black wildcats in our region :

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/are-black-wildcats-prowling-east-county

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/hello-kitty-more-black-wildcat-reports-surface

Today, we received an email from Chris and Peter Ruth, Forest Service volunteers and trail head hosts at Cedar Creek Falls.  “We now have had two reports of a black `cat-like’ animal down by the falls,” they wrote, adding that there is water in the pond though the waterfall is dry this time of year.

Multiple hikers reported seeing a “large black animal” resembling a big cat in a tree near the falls in San Diego's backcountry in Cleveland National Forest between Julian and Descanso. The sightings were reported to the ranger.  In addition, the Forest Service volunteers state, “Today, two female volunteers who hike the trail and pick up trash heard growling noises three times. With the drought, we wonder if animals are frequenting the pond to get water.”

East County News Service

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

August 29, 2015 (La Mesa) – The Albertson’s grocery store on Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa was evacuated around 2 a.m. on August 26^th due to a fire the erupted in trees between the store and State Route 125.