By Liz Alper

Photo courtesy @Padres on Twitter

April 11, 2016 (Philadelphia) - Andrew Cashner took the mound for the Padres to a crowd of 45,229 on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia in the first of a four-game series in the City of Brotherly Love.  Aaron Nola opposed him for the Phillies.

By Miriam Raftery

April 10, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The race to fill the 71^st Assembly seat being vacated by Brian Jones due to term limits has narrowed to two candidates, both Republicans: Santee Mayor Randy  Voepel and business owner Tony Teora. 

Public encouraged to send letters to state and county decision makers

East County News Service

April 10, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Supervisor Dianne Jacob has sent a letter to the County Board of Education President Gregg Robinson PhD urging support for a public vote to determine the outcome of the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposal for “by trustee” area elections. The GUHSD board majority is seeking a waiver from a state requirement that would ordinarily require a public vote on any redistricting proposal. 

But Jacob writes, “The importance of representing the people through elections is paramount to the political process. Normally, election `by trustee’ is a fair way to ensure that constituents are being properly and proportionally represented. GUHSD’s proposal to move to a `by-trustee’ area election method is not something that is generally considered unusual, however, recent actions and decisions by GUHSD’s Board of Directors has created a sense of public distrust.”

By Miriam Raftery

April 10, 2016 (San Diego) – The Sanders sweep continues.   Tonight Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential primary in Wyoming, the “Cowboy State,” with nearly 56% of votes.  Former Secretary of State Clinton took 44%.

By Dan Jauregui, aka “Boltman”

On April 4th, selected Chargers fans met with Dean Spanos and other Chargers representatives for an hour and a half to discuss a ballot initiative to fund building a stadium.  Dan Jauregui, better known as “Boltman”, was among the invited guests. Here are his observations.

April 9, 2016 (San Diego) -- The start of the meeting entailed in-depth information regarding the Goldman Sachs finance plan. We fans received a better understanding in layman’s terms of all the players and entities involved.

East County News Service

April 9, 2016 (La Mesa) – On Saturday, April 30^th, the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce invites you to join an afternoon open house and celebrate one-year of Braces San Diego at their La Mesa location (7323 Jackson Drive) from 11 a.m. and 2 p.m..

By Liz Alper

Photo:  Tyson Ross via UCInternational on Wikipedia

April 9, 2016 (Denver) - The Padres announced today that starting pitcher Tyson Ross is now on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 5th, Dennis Lin of the Union Tribune reports.

East County News Service

April 9, 2016 (Lakeside) – A 28-year-old man was stabbed in the chest in Lakeside last night.

East County News Service

April 8, 2016 (Santee) - The Boys and Girls Clubs of East County (BGCEC) has announced installation of a solar power system has been completed at its Santee clubhouse, 8820 Tamberly Way. San Diego-based Empowered Energy Solutions said its solar system costing $184,000 to install will save the Santee clubhouse $338,000 in utility costs over the next 10 years and $824,000 over the next 25 years.

By Liz Alper

Photo:  Rockies Opening Day courtesy @Padres on Twitter

April 8, 2016 (Denver) - The Padres hit the road for their first trip of the season.  First, it’s to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies and the deadly Trevor Story.  Colin Rea took the mound for San Diego against Jordan Lyles for Colorado.

East County News Service

April 8, 2016 (La Mesa) - At their April 6, 2016 meeting, Helix Water District’s Board of Directors approved a three day per  week limit on landscape irrigation, rescinding the two-day limit in effect since June 2015, when the State Water Resources Control Board mandated a 25 percent reduction in statewide water use.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Senator Bernie Sanders, by Johnathunder under GNU Free  Documentation license

Photo, right: Senator Ted Cruz, by Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons license

April  6, 2016 (San Diego) –Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Texas Senator Ted Cruz won big victories in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, making contested conventions in both the Democratic and Republican parties increasingly likely prospects.

By Janis Russell

“We have the appearance of political gerrymandering.” – George Barnett, Alpine Education Foundation director, speaking against the redistricting plan.

Assigning Jim Kelly as Alpine’s trustee through redistricting “is like putting a hungry, vengeful fox in charge of an unprotected henhouse.” – Mark Price, past president of the Alpine Union School District..

“We have exercised zero influence…please look past the irrelevant rhetoric on building a high school...” -- Trustee Robert Shield,  who voted for the plan.

“Funds spent on litigation would be better spent on children in our classrooms.” – Mike Fowler, Granite Hills principal, speaking in support over fear of a Voting Rights Act violations  lawsuit.

April 7, 2016 (Alpine) - In the third of six meetings on the Grossmont Union High School District’s proposed new election system for trustees, dozens of Alpine residents attended the meeting and voiced strong criticisms of the plan to the County Board of Education’s Committee on School District Organization. 

East County News Service

April 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – We wanted to share with you that Edna Swink Kouns, Class of 1932, received the Congress of History Ben Dixon Award in February 2016 for her preservation efforts in her hometown of Lakeside.  Edna’s acceptance speech emphasized and encouraged the importance of volunteering in your community,” the Grossmont High School Museum reports. “Edna has a lifetime passion for history, shown by her founding role in 1972 in the Lakeside Historical Society and is a driving force in its efforts to preserve, display, and celebrate the community’s history.  Edna at the age of 101 continues to volunteer weekly!”

Story and photos by Robert Gehr

April 7, 2016 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon has something new on the horizon. It’s a Courtyard by Marriott luxury style hotel, which is scheduled to be opening soon and will accommodate visitors choosing East County for  our region’s many attractions. The location is 141 N. Magnolia Ave. on the corner of Rea Ave. near the El Cajon Police station.