East County News Service

May 7, 2025 (San Diego)—The Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego (RJCSD) and Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance (MoGo) invite you to attend a Community Town Hall centered on the ongoing inhumane treatment of people detained in the San Diego County Jails. The event will be held on Thursday, May 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at theChristian Fellowship Congregational Church UCC, 1601 Kelton Rd., San Diego 92114.

The organizations will provide an update on a class action lawsuit initiated by the San Francisco law firm Rosen Bien Galvan and Grunfeld on behalf of 14 families who have relatives in San Diego County jails. Their presentation will include a discussion of recent developments in San Diego jails and what work has been done to improve the conditions of inmates.

After resigning from the Grossmont Union High School District in 2018, Jerry Hobbs found his way back seven years later. All it took was a law firm, a new investigation, a settlement and an entirely new position. 

Updated May 8, 2025 with comments from Hobbs sent to ECM.

by Jakob McWhinney for  Voice of San Diego

Photo by Alexander J. Schorr: Crowd holds protest signs at the April 24, 2025 GUHSD board meeting.

May 7, 2025 (El Cajon)--Seven years ago, Jerry Hobbs, a Grossmont Union High School District teacher, resigned after officials launched an investigation into allegations he’d engaged in misconduct.  

Years later, Hobbs was hired as a paralegal for a law firm that ended up doing work for the district. That work included conducting an investigation into Hobbs’ former boss, the person who launched an investigation into him. Hobbs worked on that investigation, which concluded he’d been a victim of retaliation. 

A settlement agreement he helped draft then cleared the way for his rehiring at Grossmont – and district officials wasted no time. They hired him the month after the agreement to serve in a lofty administrative role, even as the district’s deteriorating financial position led to job cuts. 

Now, in a leaked memo, the law firm at which he worked suggests he deceptively altered that settlement without their knowledge, adding potentially “illegal,” language.

May 6, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Man arrested in ICE raid near El Cajon is back with his family (KPBS)
• San Diego County Budget reserves proposal fails after Supervisors vote (KPBS)
• La Mesa-Spring Valley, Lemon Grove school mental health grants cut early by Trump administration  (KPBS)
• Settlement reached in lawsuit over San Diegan Ashli Babbitt’s death in Jan. 6 attack (Times of San Diego)
• Poway sues councilmember Tony Blain over alleged public records violations (Fox 5)
• Tragedy strikes East County family days before 'surprise' announcement  (10 News)

STATE

• Hollywood’s reaction to Trump’s movie tariffs idea: Confusion, dread and a little hope (Politico)
• California high-speed rail leader pushes state to support private investment (AP)
• Judge restricts Border Patrol in California: ‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin’ (Cal Matters)
• Despite Newsom’s objections, Democrats approve striking penalty for soliciting older teens from bill (Los Angeles Times)

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

May 6, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• This Infectious Disease Has Increased 1,500% Nationwide: See CA Data (Patch.com)
• The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the battle with Agent Orange continues (AP)
• US Justice Department unit for drug and food safety cases being disbanded (Reuters)
• USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry (AP)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Amazon launches Project Kuiper satellites designed to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (CNN)
• New proposed law would require Apple and Google to verify your age before letting you into their app stores (CNN)  
• Where EV batteries go to die—and be reborn (BBC)
• After CalMatters investigation, LinkedIn and Google face lawsuit alleging improper access to health data (Cal Matters)

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

Despite improvements in San Diego's air pollution overall, San Diego ranks worst in the U.S. for ozone pollution, per to a new report from the American Lung Association, making our region one of the most polluted areas in the U.S. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Los Angeles smog in 2006, before California's clean vehicle emissions laws dramatically cleaned up the air.  Image by David Iliff, CC license

May 4, 2025 (Washington D.C.) – House Republicans have pushed through three bills to repeal California’s Clean Air Act waivers, which have allowed our state to have stricter vehicle emission standards than the rest of the nation, resulting in dramatically cleaner air. 

Governor Gavin Newsom has blasted the measures as both illegal and aimed at “making California smoggy again.” 

Since the Clean Air Act was passed under Republican Richard Nixon’s administration in 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted California over 100 waivers for its clean air and climate efforts.

Impacts include dismantling a DOJ unit, withdrawal of a Biden-era effort, and mass layoffs that were only partially reversed. 

By G. A. McNeeley 

Photo: FDA lab tests seafood; public domain image via FDA

May 2, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unit that oversees the criminal and civil enforcement of food and drug safety regulations is being disbanded by President Donald Trump’s Administration, according to three individuals who are familiar with the issue, Reuters reports. 

Meanwhile, The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a rule proposed back in August 2024 that aimed to help prevent food poisoning from poultry contaminated with salmonella, according to CBS News. The rollback increases the risk to public health, since the USDA has estimated that there are 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 salmonella infections from turkey every year, according to CBS News. San Diego County has had 184 cases of Salmonella so far this year, and 753 cases last year.

Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is bringing some of their recently fired employees back, according to KOCO News. Staffers were reportedly informed that about a third of the fired staff would be returning. 

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

May 2, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) -- April and May mark the beginning of rattlesnake season which continues through the summer months. At one point or another, while hiking, golfing or depending upon where you live, you’ve probably encountered them at least one time. Unless you’re one of those odd people who seem to like getting startled by a rattler, encountering snakes is not a pleasant experience for most. But it doesn’t have to be a dangerous one. 

With temperatures heating up, there have been reports that rattlesnake sightings are on the increase. Snakes come out of their hiding places and are looking for food. So there’s plenty of reasons to be proactive and remind ourselves and others the commonsense of snake safety.

Practice these precautions:

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

Update May 2, 2025 -- The fire is 100% contained according to CalFire. One firefighter has suffered a minor injury, according to City News Service.

Update 4:30 p.m.--The fire has grown to around 50 acres and is burning at a slow rate. Per Cal Fire, crews are working in steep,rocky terrain but firefighters are making good progress. The fire is 5% contained.

May 1, 2025 (Julian, CA) – The #FelipeFire is burning along Highway 78 east of San Felipe Road and north o f Shelter Valley near Julian.  The fire is 15-20 acres and has shut down all lanes of State  Route 78 in both directions, per Cal Fire.

The fire has a moderate rate of spread with potential for extended attack, however no structures are threatened at this time, Watch Duty reports. Air attack has requested additional air tankers and incident command is asking for two more hand crews.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Photo via Cuyamaca College: Dean of Athletics Anthony “Tonie” Campbell, Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu, and County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe.

April 30, 2025 (El Cajon) -- On Friday, April 25, Cuyamaca College celebrated the men’s soccer team’s championship season with a ring celebration, banner reveal, and County of San Diego proclamation presented by Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. Their victory marks a historic achievement, as it is the first title won by a soccer team from the San Diego-Imperial County Region, as well as the fourth in the region of Southern California.

By Alexander J Schorr and Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Students, teachers, librarians, and community members rally outside GUHSD meeting April 24 in latest protest over layoffs.

April 27, 2025 (El Cajon) -- A recall effort is underway seeking to oust four trustees on the Grossmont Union High School District Board:  Scott Eckert, Robert Shield, Gary Woods,PhD, and Jim Kelly. At the April 24 GUHSD board meeting at Grossmont High School, Andy Trimlett held up four notices of intent to recall the trustees, telling the four trustees,  “You  have refused to listen to your community, so we are launching a campaign to remove you from office.”   

The recall effort follows two months of protests over the board majority’s elimination of 61 positions, including 49 credentialed teachers, counselors, assistant principals, and 9 teacher librarians, as well as 12 support staffers. Despite the outcry, at the April 24 meeting, when trustee Chris Fite made a motion to rescind the controversial firings, none of the other four trustees would second the motion. The action intensifies growing mistrust between community members and the four conservative trustees, with each side accusing the other of disrespect.

View video of recall announcement. Recall organizers have setup a website and an Instagram page. Since the GUHSD has district elections, signatures must be obtained in each of the four districts to qualify a recall election for the ballot.

Photo, right: Andy Trimlett announces recall effort against four GUHSD trustees

An East County Eater review

By Miriam Raftery

April 29, 2025 (La Mesa) – Now you don’t have to venture to a tapas bar in Spain or a sidewalk café in France to savor the flavors of Europe.  Tour de Tapas in La Mesa’s historic downtown village offers small plates featuring cuisine of Southern Europe including Spain, France and Italy.

“We’ve tried to be as traditional as we can,” owner Gerald Torres told ECM. “I know tapas is a Spanish concept, but we tried to expand that.’

View the appellate court ruling

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon

April 30, 2025 (El Cajon) – The 4^th district Court of Appeals has ruled against the Chaldean Coalition over supervisorial redistricting. The lawsuit, Chaldean Coalition v. The County of San Diego Independent Redistricting Commission et al, filed in 2021 had argued that the Chaldean community was disenfranchised by the County’s supervisorial redistricting in East County.

By Pennell Paugh

April 30, 2025 (San Diego) -- San Diego writer, Peter Shaw recently released a debut novel: Murder on the Way: A Camino de Santiago Mystery.

On a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino family sends a hitman who poses as a pilgrim. His target stole a bag of the gang’s money, now travels as a pilgrim. To begin his new life, the target has undergone plastic surgery.

The reader, remaining in the hitman’s point of view, finds that the pilgrimage is changing the man dramatically.

East County News Service

April 29, 2025 (Jamul) – Jamul Trails Ranch invites you to experience Farm Days, which include a petting zoo, planting sunflowers, painting bird houses and feeding farm animals.

Farm Days will be held May 2-4 and May 8-10 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jamul Trails Ranch is located at 2865 Echo Valley Road in Jamul.

Cost is $50 per family.