By Karen Pearlman

April 25, 2025 (San Diego’s East County  – The Anza-Borrego Desert in inland San Diego County is captivating with its beauty and expansiveness, humbling and powerful in its quietness. A landscape of extremes -- sun-scorched earth and hidden blooms, rugged canyons carved by time, and sudden spring wildflowers when the rain gods have been kind -- the desert has a raw quality that strips everything down to the essentials of light, shadow, stone and sky.

Our desert region includes Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, famous for its spring wildflowers and rugged terrain; the city of Borrego Springs, the nation’s first “Dark Sky” community and ideal for stargazing; Agua Caliente State Park, known for its thermal pools; Ocotillo Wells, a wildly popular draw for off-road vehicles; and Jacumba Hot Springs, a town that has reinvented itself and become a destination on its own merits.

By Mike Allen

April 25, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee’s City Council hired Gary Halbert, a former city manager for Chula Vista, as its interim city manager on the same day, April 23, that the prior city manager, Marlene Best, officially ended her nine-year tenure in a mutually agreed separation.

East County News Service

April 24, 2025 (El Cajon)—On May 3, the Spring Garden and Butterfly Festival returns at the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College.  The event features plant sales nurtured by Cuyamaca College Nursery students as well as butterflies, live music, specialty garden-related vendors, food trucks, and family-friendly activities.

The festival coincides with the college’s Coyote Music Festival, with live bands in the amphitheater at the Garden.  In addition, Heritage of the Americas Museum next door will be hosting an arts and crafts fair.

By Miriam Raftery

April 24, 2025 (Borrego Springs) -- Just over a year ago, on March 16, 2024 amid a superbloom season, Tom Eichacher and Olivia Natt visited the flower fields along Henderson Road in the Anza-Borrego Desert, where they became engaged to be married.

“Someone with a professional photo set-up took our pictures, and I'm trying desperately to find them!” Natt told East County Magazine. At left is the photo of the couple.

She says the photographer is a woman, who said she is Korean. “My partner actually took a photograph of me with the photographer, looking at her monitor,” adds Natt, who provided the image below right.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Photo: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs speaks before a crowd of parents, teachers, community and union members about “stateof the union.”

April 23, 2025 (El Cajon) – In a live town hall meeting last night at Grossmont College’s Performing and Visual Arts Center, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-51) presented her own “State of the Union” address in which she warned that our nation is experiencing a “constitutional crisis.”  She spoke of numerous bills she has introduced seeking to push back against actions of the Trump administration.

 In addition, she fielded written questions from constituents over issues including budget cuts, mass firings, human rights violations, the looming constitutional crisis, and a potential recession on the horizon.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Kaiser attorney Jennifer Lynch

April 23, 2025 (El Cajon) – For 23 years, ever since an old medical facility was torn down, Kaiser Permanente has been promising to build a new hospital at its property on Main Street near Greenfield Ave.in El Cajon.  Frustrated by the lack of action, the City Council yesterday considered changing the zoning to residential—a proposal that surprised Kaiser representatives.

“We received no notice,” Kaiser representative Skyler Denniston told the Council.  “We would like the site developed as a hospital,” he said, adding that Kaiser representatives had just spoken with the City Manager and felt they were making “good progress.”  He asked for a 30-day extension of any proposed rezoning.

Mayor Bill Wells indicated that while he was open to an extension of 30 days or more, he wants to see a development agreement to assure that construction will commence soon. “I have no confidence that a hospital will be built within five years,” he said, adding that the vacant property attracts homeless camps and is an eyesore.  “Our constituents are screaming at us to do something,” he said.

San Diego is home to many immigrants from around the world. As a result, our inland region alone has restaurants specializing in cuisine from over 40 nations on six continents. You can take a culinary tour around the world—without leaving East County!

Below is our directory of internationally-themed restaurants.

Looking to chow down on an all-American burger, steak, or seafood dinner?  Or savor regional cuisine such as Cajun, Southern, soul food, California cuisine, or Texas-style barbecue?

Perhaps you’re hankering for health food, jarm-to-table fresh meals, or vegan options.  Or you're craving a sub sandwich or Jewish deli.  You can even sample exotic foods from Hawaii or U.S. territories including Guam and Puerto Rico—all in San Diego’s East County!

Our guide below lists many delicious options, arranged alphabetically by category.  Note:  Many of these eateries also offer options beyond American. Click each link to view full menus.

Our guide to delicious desserts in San Diego's inland region

San Diego’s East County has many options to satisfy your sweet tooth, thanks to our diverse population and rich heritage. From all-American Julian apple pies, candy cottages and ice cream parlors to international desserts such as Franch pastries, Mexican cakes and Middle Eastern baklava, you’ll find a wide variety of delicious desserts to savor—and even a vegan bakery.

San Diego’s vast inland region has many attractions, some as close as 20 minutes from downtown San Diego, with mountains an hour or so away and deserts two hours or more. 

Here’s our “getting here” guide:

Photo, right, Sycuan pow-wow dancer

East County News Service

San Diego’s inland region is home to 19 Native American tribes and 18 reservations—more than any other county in America. Local tribes trace their history here back more than 12,000 years.

Many of our local tribes welcome visitors to enjoy facilities on tribal lands, which are each sovereign nations. Attractions include casinos, hotels, golf courses, spas, concerts and other live entertainment, restaurants, an outlet shopping mall, restaurants, buffets and bars, a speedway, a paintball range, a museum, Native American pow-wows, a brewery, a vineyard, a dispensary, hiking trails, campgrounds, a water park, bike park, and a zip line.

All local tribal lands are in San Diego County’s inland areas, including northeast, southeast, and central east locations. View map here, or scroll to the bottom of this article.

League of Women Voters, groups representing veterans and seniors, and Issa’s Democratic opponent Curtis Morrison all oppose action in court

By Miriam Raftery

April 20, 2025 (San Diego) – Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican representing the 48^th Congressional district, has filed a lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. The suit, Issa v.Weber, seeks to halt California’s decade-long practice of allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to a week after an election, provided they were postmarked by Election Day.

Ballots at risk of not being counted include many cast by military members deployed overseas, as well as seniors and others who rely on mail-in ballots.  Motions to intervene in the suit have been filed by organizations representing veterans, women, voters, and by Issa’s political opponent.

East County News Service

April 19, 2025 (Ramona) – The Nashville Americana duo Goldpine, a husband and wife team, will perform at The Barn (344 Main St., Ramona) at 8 p.m., Friday, May 23.

The duo won the 2022 Rocky Mountain Songwriter Contest and has performed at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium and the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion.

Their music tells stories of live, love and purpose.