September 25, 2011 (El Cajon) -- An elderly woman and her dog have been displaced from their home following an early morning fire.

By Miriam Raftery

September 25, 2011 (San Diego) – An agreement reached last week between the United Food & Commercial Workers and supermarkets has been approved after workers voted by an “overwhelming” margin for ratification, according to Mickey Kasparian, president of the local UFCW chapter. 

September 24, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Photographer Greg Turok snapped these images of a Nutmeg Mannakin, or Spice Finch, and its mate in the Mission Trails Regional Park area Sept. 5. 

 “This bird is a recent resident to San Diego County,” said Turok, who has had the bird identified by the Ornithology Department at the San Diego Natural History Museum. 

By Judith Seid

September 24, 2011 (La Mesa) -- Do you have E-Waste?  Are obsolete computers, monitors, laptops, TVs, printers, cell phones, faxes, VCR & DVD players, stereos, cameras, etc. (working or not) cluttering your closets?  Are they taking your car’s rightful place in the garage?  

Kinde Durkee is accused of stealing funds from dozens of Democratic candidates  including Congresswoman Susan Davis, as well as many charitable organizations

September 23, 2011 (Julian) – Approximately 1,272 customers are without power tonight in Julian, SDG&E reports, due to an outage caused by a thunderstorm.

The National Weather Service reports thunderstorms and dry lightning are possible tonight and tomorrow across San Diego County.
 

September 23, 2011 (Santee)--Sip wine while tapping your toes to some lively music at the Santee Wine and Bluegrass Festival this Saturday, September 24.   The festival runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 550 Park Center Drive, Santee, CA 92071. Advance tickets are $30; tickets purchased after September 12 are $35.

September 23, 2011 (Alpine) –On the site of a run-down ex-chicken farm in Alpine, Sol Orchard wants to harvest sunshine.

September 30, 2011 (Lakeside) – Supervisor Dianne Jacob will be at Mario’s Italian Restaurant, 12440 Woodside Avenue in Lakeside this morning at 8:30 to meet with constituents regarding community problems. Local residents are invited to stop by, voice concerns, and hear what Supervisor Jacob and other citizens have to say.

September 23, 2011 (La Mesa) – A 16-year-old girl was punched repeatedly in the face and robbed of her cell phone by two women Tuesday afternoon. The attack occurred at a bus stop in the 8100 block of Allison--the same block where La Mesa's Police station is located.

September 23, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup features top news stories of interest to our region, published in other media.  Top Roundup stories this week include:

•  
•          Grid operators didn’t share info during blackout (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•          Outage had roots in Mexico, too (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•          Downtown redevelopment: A special report (La Mesa Today)
•          Only 5 schools making `adequate progress” in La Mesa Spring Valley District (La Mesa Patch)
•          13 students barred from local middle schools for lack of booster shots (La Mesa Patch)
•          City sues 12 marijuana dispensaries(San Diego Union Tribune)
•          Sycuan Indians shrink reservation expansion plan (San Diego Union-Tribune) 
•          Questions over missing items at Lions’ sensory garden (Santee Lakes)
•          Jerry Schad dies at 61; hiking writer once lived in La Mesa (La Mesa Patch)
•          California borrowing benefits from market, improved budget stability (Sacramento Bee)

Photos by Captain Brian Boggeln

September 22, 2011 (Alpine) – A dog that fell and became wedged inside a rocky, 15-foot deep crevasse in the 2600 block of Big Wheel Way is free and in good health, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Alpine firefighters.