Update April 11: Dr. Akilah Weber has won the election outright, avoiding a runoff with 52% of the votes. Only 300 ballots remain to be counted, not enough to change the outcome.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

April 7, 2021 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa City Councilmember Dr. Akilah Weber took a big lead Tuesday night and could avoid a runoff in the special election to succeed her mother in the 79th Assembly District.

The seat is open because five-term Assemblymember Shirley Weber was appointed to succeed Alex Padilla as Secretary of State in a series of changes prompted by Sen. Kamala Harris’ election as Vice President. Padilla was appointed to succeed Harris in the Senate.

The younger Weber, a Democrat, received 52% of the vote, according to final unofficial election-night results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

The projected number of outstanding ballots is 9,500, according to the Registrar of Voters. If Weber’s total remains above 50%, she will be elected without a runoff. If it falls below 50%, she will face Marco Contreras, the lone Republican in the field of five candidates, in a runoff June 8.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks outside a vaccination site in San Francisco on Tuesday. Image from live feed

April 7, 2021 (San Diego) - Marking a major step in a return to normalcy, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that all COVID-19 restrictions on businesses, gatherings and recreational activities will be lifted June 15, although a statewide mask mandate will remain in place.

Source:  TurfMutt

April 6, 2021 (San Diego) - Backyarding – the trend to use the backyard for everything from tele-working and working out to relaxing and recreating – has a different purpose for each of us. Identifying your backyard’s role in your family’s health and happiness is the key to cultivating a purposeful outdoor space that is customized to your needs.

East County News Service

Photo: Councilman Dustin Trotter

April 6, 2021 (Santee) – Santee Councilman Dustin Trotter and Mayor Minto will host a special District 4 town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 7 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually.  

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left by Billy Ortiz: historian Betty McMillan stands beneath the shade of a jacaranda tree, one of 22 she is fighting to save.

Updated with quotes from the County library director.

April 5, 2021 (Lakeside) – On April 9, San Diego County is slated to cut down nearly two dozen jacaranda trees to make way for a new county library—trees that the county claims are growing in a utility easement.  But Lakeside’s historian Betty McMillen disputes that claim – and is fighting to save the trees, which hold special significance as part of a “mile of trees” planted in Lakeside -- trees planted to replace an earlier canopy of trees felled by bulldozers.

By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service CA

Photo:  One study from the United Kingdom found one in ten COVID-19 patients reports changes in hearing. Hearing aids can help people improve their listening comprehension. (UnitedHealthcare Hearing)

April 5, 2021 (Sacramento) - If you've noticed some hearing loss after you've had COVID-19, you're not alone.

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2021 (San Diego) – One day after Major League Baseball announced that the 2021 All Star Game will not take place in Georgia to protest the state’s new law restricting voting rights, an effort to move the All Star Game to San Diego is underway.

By Henri Migala & Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2021 (Alpine) -- Nearly 100 people, many of them children, came to Lions, Tigers and Bears in beautiful Alpine yesterday to help celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. 

By Miriam Raftery 

April 3, 2021 (San Diego) ECM staff writer and photographer, Rebecca Jefferis Williamson, submitted this picture of a baseball game ---San Diego style - at the beach. The San Diego Padres' Petco Park includes a fan section that has beach chairs and sand. Pictured are three fans enjoying the second game of the season.  Fans were seated in "pods" or groupings of family and friends due to the pandemic. Social distancing between the pods was enforced. 

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2021 (Sacramento) – State officials yesterday announced a major rollback of COVID-19 restrictions.  Indoor events can resume in most counties starting April 15, including concerts, plays, indoor sports, conferencesand private receptions.

Aztecs post two walk-off victories in Friday’s twin bill

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

April 2, 2021 (San Diego) - In a recurring theme of the 2021 season, San Diego State once again displayed its resiliency on Friday, posting a pair of walk-off victories against New Mexico at Tony Gwynn Stadium, winning the opener in a 10-9 thriller before completing the sweep with a 5-4 extra-inning triumph in the nightcap.

Limited fans can start attending Aztec home events this weekend

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

April 2, 2021 (San Diego) - A limited number of spectators will be allowed to attend San Diego State outdoor sporting events, beginning this weekend on the Aztec campus. Only fans on the respective team pass lists from the state of California will be allowed to attend as no tickets will be sold or made available to the public.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

April 2, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) – Spring is in the air – and lilacs are in full bloom.  The annual Lilac Festival at Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures in Santa Ysabel returns each weekend this month.  The hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 12 noon to 5 p.m.

"Hop on the hayride and enjoy the views on a scenic nature loop, try your skill with some tomahawk throwing, visit our friends at the petting zoo, enjoy a lively hoedown or pick up an instrument and join the jug band, paint a flower vase to keep, dip your very own lilac themed candle the old fashioned way, and so much more,” the Fort Cross website states.  "Our very own Jesse Cross, dance caller and music man extraordinaire will be playing live during various times to lead any willing kids and adults through the most fun jug band hootenanny you ever did see!”

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson