East County News Service

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) - Out of the Boat Swim, a nonprofit, provides free water-safety and beach programs to refugee and underprivileged children living in San Diego. Out of the Boat Swim offers free beach and water-safety programs to help refugee and inner city kids integrate during a challenging time of transition. Some of the children will go on to become Junior Guards in the San Diego Junior Lifeguard program by design of the partnership between Out of the Boat Swim and San Diego Junior Lifeguards.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

June 21, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Run up three flights of stairs in heavy firefighter boots--in the heat wave.  To walk in someone else’s shoes, or firefighter’s boots, can be eye opening and “deepen” your respect for what these men and women firefighters are required to do.  The opportunity to learn what Heartland Fire & Rescue does on a routine basis was extended via their first-ever Fire Ops 101 class held Saturday, June 17^th, at their Thomas H. Owen Sr.  training facility in El Cajon. 

By Jordan Damond

Update June 22, 2017 – The Senate Republican bill has just been released this morning. Watch for an update soon on its contents.

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) – After Republicans passed a measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare and pass their own healthcare reform plan, leading Senators asserted that the Senate would go it’s own way. Senator Lamar Alexander stated, "We're writing a Senate bill and not passing the House bill."  Senate Republicans are pushing for a vote by the end of next week, but the majority of the Senate, the press and public have not yet been allowed to view their revised proposal.

"Republicans are writing their health care bill under the cover of darkness because they are ashamed of it," Stated by Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer.

By Pat Landis

June 21, 2017 (Julian) -- Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District is at risk. Choices appear to be (1) Do nothing and persevere until finances force it to dissolve; (2) Voluntarily dissolve and allow the Fire Authority to take over; (3) Increase the Benefit Fee to cover the rising costs and remain viable as an independent/volunteer fire department.

By Miriam Raftery

June 21, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Lamplighters Community Theatre presents Women in Jeopardy! This new comedy by Wendy MacLeod, directed by Rob Conway, will run July 7-30 at Lamplighters Theatre in La Mesa.

East County News Service

June 21, 2017 (La Mesa) - It’s Charley Brown Preschool’s 45^th anniversary and you’re invited to join the celebration honoring its long history of service to East County families.  Former students, parents, friends and neighbors are invited to the event on Saturday, July 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 5921 Jackson Drive in La Mesa.

East County News Service

June 21, 2017 (El Cajon) - Elvis tribute artist Scott Bruce will shake, rattle and roll with your favorite Elvis Presley songs on Friday night, June 30^th from 6 to 8 p.m. in downtown El Cajon. It’s all part of the Dinner and Concert series all summer long in Prescott Promenade Park. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 20, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The US. Supreme Court has ruled that former Bush administration officials cannot be sued for allegedly violating Constitutional rights protecting against illegal search and seizures.  The case, Ziglar v. Abbasi, was filed by Muslim immigrants who allege that they were profiled based on their religion, arrested and detained in harsh conditions after the September 11^th terrorism attacks.  

East County News Service

June 20, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A vehicle crash in front of San Miguel Elementary School on San Miguel Avenue in Lemon Grove on Sunday afternoon, June 18^th.  The crash toppled over several poles.

Three additional members named to nonprofit’s Board of Directors

East County News Service

June 20, 2017 San Diego) -- Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has named businesswoman and renowned philanthropist Marie Raftery, a La Mesa resident, as chair of the 99-year-old nonprofit’s board of directors. The appointment was officially announced at JFS’s Annual Meeting Luncheon on June 13. Raftery previously served as chair elect.

By County News Center, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 20, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Summertime is here and the Department of Animal Services (DAS) wants to remind everyone that these hot days can pose a danger to your pets.

By Patty Mooney

Photo:  Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze married on their mountain bikes in San Diego’s Cleveland National Forest in 1987; creative commons photo by Rolf Schulze via Wikipedia

June 20, 2017 (Santee) - There’s a new kid on the block (8774 Cuyamaca Street) in Santee. Heads up to bicyclists in the neighborhood, because the “new kid” happens to be the illustrious Zumwalt’s Bicycle Center.  The shop has served avid bicyclists in San Diego for over 85 years now and is the oldest family-run bicycle shop in our region.  The cyclery had its roots in North Park when Robert Zumwalt, weary of repairing lawnmowers, began repairing bicycles and opened Zumwalt’s Bicycle Hospital along with his father on University Avenue in 1931.  Father and son added bicycle sales, starting with Schwinn.  The small shop weathered WW2 during which steel was unavailable for consumer goods like bicycles.  So Zumwalt’s fell back on bicycle repairs and reconditioning used bicycles.  When the war ended, the popularity of bicycles skyrocketed and Zumwalt’s cyclery flourished.

East County News Service

June 20, 2017 (El Cajon) -- Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) is hosting a Veterans Town Hall to establish a greater understanding between local veterans and the friends and neighbors they fought for.  The town hall will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 24 at the Ronald Reagan Community Center in El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery, East County News Service

June 16, 2017 (Lakeside)-- Helix Water District (HWD) received a long-anticipated $8 million check on June 16th, officially marking the end of a six-year legal dispute over a 460-acre parcel of land the water agency owned in Lakeside’s El Monte Valley. The land sale is the result of a 2014 court settlement between Helix Water District and the El Capitan Golf Club (now known as El Monte Nature Preserve LLC). 

The payment is good news for customers of the Helix Water District, where hefty rate hikes to balance budgets led to a ratepayer revolt and ouster of two incumbent board members last election.  But the final payment dashes hopes of El Monte Valley residents and Lakeside community planners opposed to El Monte Nature Preserve’s proposed   sand mining operation to extract 18 million tons of sand over 15 years from the El Monte Valley on the site.

By Miriam Raftery

June 19, 2017 (San Diego) – Cal Fire Captain Isaac Sanchez has asked media to remind the public about several new laws passed by California’s Legislature last summer to address problems raised by drones that interfered with firefighting, including causing delays by firefighting aircraft.  Under the new laws, anyone whose drone interferes with emergency personnel can be charged with a misdemeanor and if their drone is damaged or destroyed in the process, they will not have legal recourse to hold emergency responders liable.