Congress also takes action to prevent firing of Mueller before recessing for summer

By Miriam Raftery

August 4, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has convened a federal grand jury  several weeks ago to determine whether criminal indictments should be filed in relation to the Trump team-Russia probe.   The report was swiftly confirmed by the Washington Post and other media.

 Reuters reports that the grand jury actions include approval of issuing subpoenas related to a meeting between Trump’s son, son-in-law, a Russian lawyer, then-campaign manager Paul Manafort, a cyberhacking expert and  other key figures to discuss negative information the attorney claimed to have on Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: East County resident Linda Niman stripped down and cooled off with a free-spirited "rain dance" that piqued interest on social media.  

August 3, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – A monsoonal storm brought torrential rain, hail, lightning strikes and flooding to portions of San Diego County over the past two days.

Residents also sweltered in high heat coupled with high humidity  The National Weather Service San Diego office posted on Facebook earlier today,“Current Dewpoint at the office is 73F degrees, oppressive!"

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

 A father's anguish: Richard Olango Abuka shared memories of his late son, a refugee whose American dream ended in gunfire by an El Cajon police officer.  Photo, left by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson.

August 3, 2017 (El Cajon) -- At a march to celebrate what would have been Alfred Olango’s 39^th year of life, his father, Richard Olango Abuka, recalled one of his favorite memories; his son’s 13^th birthday, “celebrating coming here” one month after they arrived in America.

Lemon Grove kicked off its 40^th Birthday Celebration at Tuesday’s City Council meeting

Photo: (left to right) Councilman David Arambula, Councilman Jerry Jones, founding Councilman W. Dale Bailey, Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Mendoza, Mayor Racquel Vasquez, founding Councilman Jack Doherty, Councilman David Arambula, former Mayor Mary Sessom and her grandson, former Councilman Tom Clabby and Helen Ofield with the Lemon Grove Historical Society.

By Jonathan Goetz

August 3, 2017 (Lemon Grove) –  To commemorate the city’s 40^th birthday, Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez presented certificates to founding Councilmembers W. Dale Bailey and Jack Doherty; Matt Jennings presented a certificate to the City from Senator Joel Anderson at this week’s Council meeting.

Review by Kathy Carpenter

Associate Reviewer sdtheatrereviews.com

Freelance writer Splash Magazine

August 3, 2017 (El Cajon) - Adventure is where you make it. In this rendition of Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved tale adapted for the conservatory by Jeanette Thomas, Jim is now Jamie, a girl, and she finds life is the adventure. Escape your every day life for a couple of hours and live the adventure of Treasure Island, directed by Brian Rickel & Mitzi Smith and with scores by musical director John Reynolds, complete with pirates, surprises and fun.

By Joey Collado, General Manager at The Montera 

August 2, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Over time our bodies go through more changes than we might often realize, and our everyday beauty regimens should evolve to work with these changes. As we age our hair, skin and nails have the biggest changes, with hair color fading, skin acquiring wrinkles and age spots, and nails losing some shine and strength. It’s vital to make sure our daily routines are modified to embrace and enhance our changing appearance. While aging will always involve some stress and fear, encouraging your loved one to embrace aging with some beauty tips can help them maintain their mental and physical wellness:

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

August 2, 2017 (San Diego) -- More people lose their LIVES in floods than in any other weather-related event. Eighty percent of flood deaths occur in vehicles, and most happen when drivers make a single, fatal mistake - trying to navigate through floodwaters.

Watch for the following signs:

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

August 2, 2017 (La Mesa) – A long-term highway closure is in effect at State Route 125 and I-8 in La Mesa, where an out-of-control big rig truck struck multiple vehicles, killing two women in a green Chevy car and injuring six other people, including two children, ages 6 and 3.

The children were in an SUV that was struck.  The 6-year-old was not in a carseat suffered major injuries including a broken neck, KNSD reports. She was reportedly not breathing when emergency responders arrived but she was resusciated.The children were taken to Rady Children's Hospital.

According to the CHP site, the big rig on southbond  125 struck a center divider, then careened into northbound lanes, striking multiple vehicles before coming to rest, jackknifed across the freeway. 

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Story by Liz Alper

Photo:  Though they lost, the Padres made some key offensive plays against the Twins in the series finale.  Via @Padres on Twitter

August 2, 2017 (San Diego) - Believe it or not, last night, thought it was only game one of the series against the Twins, the Padres won the series--because it’s only two games!  The Pads went for the sweep today against Ervin Santana, the ace of the Twins’ staff, against Luis Perdomo.

August 2, 2017 (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 top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• San Diego approves equal pay law  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• No charges to be filed in case criticized as racial profiling (SDUT)
• SANDAG Considers Putting Governance Change Proposition Before Voters (KPBS)
• Investigators Reveal SANDAG Leaders Scurried to Hide and Delete Documents as Scandal Unfolded (Voice of San Diego)
• SANDAG Board Members: We Should Have Been Told About 2004 Ballot Discrepancy (Voice of San Diego)
• SANDAG Staff Knew About 2004 Voter Deception but Didn’t Tell Current Board (VOSD)
• Surprise: storm runoff not main cause of illness from polluted beaches (SDUT)
• SD Unified tackles sex education, Muslim anti-bullying, lead in water (10News)
•  County Water Authority Takes Rates Dispute to State Supreme Court (KPBS)
• Third biologist sues Salk claiming gender discrimination (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• California Valley Fever Cases Highest on Record (KQED)
• DA: Hackers Penetrated Voter Registrations In 2016 Through State’s Election Site (KPBS)
• CA wildfires have burned 3 times more than historical average (KCRA)
• Calif. strict gun control laws may soon be lifted by the federal government (Patch)
• Yosemite So Crowded You Can’t Park; But You'll Still Pay to Enter (Apple News)
• California Is Poorer Than You Think (L.A. Weekly)
• Calif. has too much pot, growers won't be able to export the surplus (LA Times)
• California mountain highway is finally cleared of snow after FOUR MONTHS of snowplowing (Daily Mail)
• How California can and must stop wasting its storm water (SF Chronicle)
• California Bill Would Allow Supervised Drug Consumption Centers (KPBS)

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

East County News Service

August 2, 2017 (San Diego) -- Summer is underway and if you plan on travelling, you should follow these eight tips from the County of San Diego to protect yourself and your loved ones from the Zika virus.

Zika is now found in nearly all South American and Central American countries as well as Mexico, the Caribbean, much of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. (View map)  The Centers for Disease Control also list Florida and Texas as areas of risk in the U.S.

East County News Service

August 2, 2017 (La Mesa) – A kitchen fire at Wong’s Golden Palace, 7126 University Avenue, caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to the restaurant.  The Chinese restaurant had celebrated its golden anniversary in 2016, its 50^th year in business.

August 2, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Senate panel advances measures to advance medical marijuana (The Hill)
• Obamacare repeal is dead for now. What could that mean for you?  (USA Today)
• Study: CTE Found in Nearly All Donated NFL Player Brains (NPR)
• Sperm count drop 'could make humans extinct' (BBC)
• Controversial milestone: Scientists genetically modify human embryos for first time, reports say (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• There's Great News — And Grim News — in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS (NPR)
• 'Mind-blowing' cows hold clue to beating HIV (BBC)
• Injections ‘next revolution’ in HIV - study (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• How Western spyware is used to shut down Arab rights activists (CS Monitor)
• Fukushima disaster: Robot finds possible melted nuclear fuel (BBC)
• Scientists dim sunlight, suck up carbon dioxide to cool planet (Reuters)
• Is it a Good Idea to Pay Villagers Not to Chop Down Trees? (NPR)
• Revolutionary gene drive works in lab, but will it succeed in the wild? (SDUT)
• Heartland Institute’s `Six reasons to be a climate-change skeptic’ are six demonstrable falsehoods (Forbes)
• Apple 'pulls 60 VPNs from China App Store' (BBC)
• Putin bans VPNs in web browsing crackdown (BBC)
• It is easy to expose users' secret web habits, say researchers (BBC)
• Snopes’ trouble is real news (KPBS)
• How, and Why, Some Farmers Are Bringing Livestock Back to Prairie (NPR)

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

By Miriam Raftery

August 2, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes the Dog Days of Summer at Ramona wineries, a Sip of Julian, Cajon Classic Cruises, plus outdoor concerts in Lemon Grove, Santee and El Cajon.

Plus, we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including the HeART of Mt. Helix, a Star Party in Lakeside, a dive-in movie and ice skating at Kroc Center, the Chippendales at Sycuan, the Ramona Country Fair, Laurel and Hardy comedy films with Thelma Todd n Spring Valley, a Fall Art Show in Julian, the Ramona Grape Stomp, and Lakeside River Park Conservancy’s Once in a Blue Moon.

So scroll down for all of these events and many more!

East County News Service

August 1, 2017 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa Community Services Commission will host a public meeting on August 9 at 6 p.m. at La Mesa Community Center (4975 Memorial Drive) to get community input on proposed uses for MacArthur Park land, including the former Sun Valley Golf Course.