East County News Service

Image: surveillance photos of the suspect

August 3, 2025 (El Cajon) – The Sheriff’s department seeks public help to identify and find a man wanted for sexual battery of a female jogger, 24, in the 1600 block of Hilton Head Road in the Rancho San Diego community of unincorporated El Cajon.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  El Capitan County Preserve

August 1, 2025 (Lakeside) - As summer temperatures rise, the County of San Diego has closed three parks that it shuts down every year for the month of August to protect residents during what is often the hottest time of the year.

East County News Service

August 1, 2025 (San Diego) - Sheriff's stations and substations across the county will be hosting family-friendly community events to take a stand against crime on Tuesday, August 5.

National Night Out is an annual event that promotes law enforcement-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie.

You’re invited to our East County Dining Club special event at Zest Wine Bistro in Lemon Grove on Thursday, August 21 at 6:30  p.m.

20% of dinner proceeds and100% of raffle proceeds will benefit East County Magazine’s reporting and wildfire alerts.

Savor gourmet charcuterie served family-style (gourmet cheeses and deli meats, olives, crostini and fresh fruits) paired with three wines (red, white, and rosé).

This exclusive event is expected to sell out quickly, since seating is limited, so we4 recommend RSVPing as soon as possible to reserve seats!  The deadline to RSVP is August 18, if seats are still available. 

RSVP to: info@eastcountymedia.org with your name and number of guests (with guest names if possible).

Update August 1, 2025  --The missing girls have been found,  per ECPD Watch Command.

July 31, 2025 (El Cajon) --  El Cajon Police Dept. is searching for 2 girls, age 10, on pink razor scooters.

They were last seen in the 500 block of East Camden Ave, El Cajon. A helicopter search has thus far not been able to locate the girls as of this evening.

One girl has long black hair & was last seen wearing a black hoodie, light skirt and black Croc shoes. The other has short black hair and was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. 

July 29, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Trump says Epstein poached young women from Mar-a-Lago. That raises new questions about what he knew. (CNN)
• Native communities could lose $24.5B under Trump administration proposal (Indian Country Today)
• Trump falls to 37% approval in Gallup Poll (Gallup)
• Judge blocks Trump order barring asylum access at border; door open for appeal  (AP)
• Native public media reels after federal budget cuts (Indian Country Today)
• Judge rules Los Angeles police can't use nonlethal weapons against journalists (Politico)
• Trump’s Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces (AP)
• Volunteers flock to immigration courts to support migrants arrested in the hallways (AP)
• Trump-Tied Lobbying Firms Are Cashing In (NOTUS)
• Democratic memo: The party's redistricting problem goes much deeper (Politico)
• Congress Requires ICE to Publish Detention Statistics. The Numbers Don’t Add Up.(NOTUS)
• Lawmakers seek to ban federal agents from wearing masks (NPR)
• Gabbard’s claims of an anti-Trump conspiracy are not supported by declassified documents  (AP)

WORLD

• One in five children in Gaza is malnourished, UN aid agency says  (BBC)
• Judge weighing disciplinary referral for DOJ lawyers in Venezuela deportations case (Reuters)
• Canada follows France and UK with plan to recognise Palestinian state
• Canada's prime minister says the move would depend on Palestinian democratic reforms and elections without Hamas. (BBC)
• Here are some of the newest UNESCO World Heritage sites (NPR)
• Moscow airports temporarily closed after Ukraine drone attacks (BBC)
• Thai and Cambodian forces clash as escalating border dispute leaves at least 11 dead (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

Tsumani could reach Hawaii and Alaska this evening, San Diego shortly after midnight, with risk of more tidal waves due to powerful aftershocks.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Note:  An earlier tsunami watch has been upgraded to a tsunami advisory.

July 29, 2025 (San Diego) – The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami advisory for the entire West Coast including San Diego County after , an 8.8 quake, struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula late this afternoon. This is among the 10 strongest quakes ever recorded worldwide. The quake has been upgraded  from earlier estimates.

Aftershocks including a 6.7 quake have also occurred.

The quakes and aftershocks have potential to produce tsunamis, or tidal waves, posing life-threatening danger.

Avoid low-lying coastal areas until the tsunami advisory is lifted.  The earliest a tsunami could reach San Diego County is estimated at around 1:15 a.m. for La Jolla and Oceanside, slightly later in the South Bay and earlier for Northern California, Alaska and Canada.

The advisory extends indefinitely due to powerful aftershocks that produce additional risks. 

July 29, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• FDA might ban fluoride supplements. Dentists are upset.  (Time Magazine)
• Simple home test for endometriosis developed (Newsweek)
• 5 million above-ground pools recalled after deaths reported in 6 states (Fox 5)
• Treatments From Llama Brains Can Help People With Schizophrenia  (Newsweek)
• How US adults feel about legal abortion 3 years after Roe was overturned, according to AP-NORC poll (AP)
• Kennedy considering firing members of preventive services task force (NBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Nearly 4,000 NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program (NPR)
• Trump’s EPA says climate pollution doesn’t endanger people  (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

July 29, 2025 (Borrego Springs) – When a fire engulfed her home in Borrego Springs on July 24, Cherie Bianco, a hairdresser and yoga teacher, lost everything – her home, her car, clothing and other belongings, and even her beloved pet dog and cats.

By Michael Lozano, CalMatters

Photo:  a line of federal immigration agents and protesters stand-off near the Glass House Farms facility outside Camarillo on July 10, 2025. Protesters gathered after federal agents conducted an immigration raid earlier in the day. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

July 27, 2025 (Sacramento) - They appeared in plain clothes outside a San Diego hotel, wore camouflage as they raided a Los Angeles factory and arrived with military gear at a Ventura County farm.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

July 25, 2025 (San Diego) -- Warm temperatures can have a surprisingly complex impact on your blood and cardiovascular system. Here's how your body responds when the heat rises. Heat does not literally “thicken” the blood, but dehydration from heat can make your blood more concentrated, which might feel similar in effect.

Federal budget cuts have closed an EPA office and pose significant threat to California’s clean air, water, and clean energy sources 

By G. A. McNeeley 

July 25, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- On Thursday, July 10, California’s top leaders in wildfire response, water resources, natural lands and clean energy assembled to discuss budget cuts, staff reductions and more significant changes brought forward by The Trump Administration that are posing a threat to California’s environment, the LA Times reports. 

California’s drive to run its electric grid entirely on wind, solar and other clean sources of energy got harder after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping new budget law. Changes in federal tax incentives could affect the feasibility of new solar and wind projects that California is counting on to provide more electricity for its citizens, according to CalMatters. 

East County News Service

July 25, 2025 (San Diego) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Diego and its law enforcement partners yesterday arrested five people believed to be associated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, the latest in string of related arrests and indictments.

The latest five suspects have been indicted for allegedly running an illegal gambling establishment, money laundering, and importing methamphetamine.

By Miriam Raftery

July 24, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – Hot August nights and late summer days bring some of East County’s most iconic events. 

This month’s hot happenings include the Ramona Country Fair, San Diego Dark Sky Fest in Julian, A Gatsby-themed Mt. Helix Food and Wine Festival celebrating the Mt. Helix Park’s centennial, a country music pool party at Sycuan, Santee’s summer concerts,  La Mesa’s classic car show, Julian Mountain brew fest, Macy Gray in concert at the Magnolia, Grammy Award-winning Alabama Shakes at SDSU, Julian Mountain Brew Fest, open farm days at the Oaisis Camel Dairy,  and the new Jacumbia Fest brings Afro-Columbian vibes to Jacumba Hot Springs.

Scroll down for details on these events and more.