The Trump Administration is trying to sell off federal lands, while its budget cuts are severely impacting national parks and forests

By G. A. McNeeley 

Photo: Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah

May 16, 2025 (San Diego) – House Republicans have approved a provision to their budget that would allow the federal government to sell thousands of acres of public land in Nevada and Utah, in an effort to boost fossil fuel production and development projects, according to Newsweek. 

The move comes after deep cuts in rangers and other staffing have impeded public access and safety at national parks and forests.

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration’s funding cuts and the loss of federal workers who support wildland firefighting is continuing to make planning for the upcoming wildfire season a challenge, according to CBS News. 

East County News Service

Photo: Chairman Bo Mazzetti, courtesy of the Rincon band of  Luiseño Indians 

May 15, 2025 (Valley Center, CA) –Bo Mazzetti, Chairman of the Rincon band of Luiseño Indians for over 16 years, passed away on May 1 at age 77 after battling cancer.  A leading voice for Native Americans statewide over several decades, he was a founding member and President of the Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association, also serving on the statewide Tribal Chairman’s Association.

"Mr. Mazzetti was a driving force behind the establishment of the CTCA and uniting a majority of Northern, Central, and Southern California indigenous tribal members and their Indian reservations into a unified voice," according to the SCTCA website.

The SCTCA site quotes Mazzetti's words:  As my father taught me, it is our responsibility to pave the pathway for future generations and to pursue a path that younger tribal leaders can follow, like our tribal elders did for us."

He  held numerous other influential positions during his lifetime of service, including in federal, state and local government as well as tribal offices.

East County News Service

Update May 15:  The deceased has been identified as Callen Lines.

May 14, 2025 (Santee) – A 31-year-old woman died in a hospital on May 12, one day after she was arrested for vehicle theft and resisting arrest.

According to Lt. Juan Marquez with the San Diego County Sheriff’s department, sergeants at the Las Colinas and Reentry Facility in Santee found the woman unresponsive in her cell at 7:25 p.m. on May 12 while performing routine supervisor checks.

The sergeants began CPR, activated 9-1-1and requested help from the facility’s medical staff.

Emergency medical personnel from American Medical Response (AMR) Ambulance #5 and the Santee Fire Department assumed lifesaving measures upon their arrival. AMR Ambulance transported the woman to a local hospital. Despite their efforts, the woman was pronounced deceased at the hospital at about 8:15 p.m.

May 13, 2025 (Julian) -- The Julian Town Square Music Festival brings music to the mountains on June 7 from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Presented by the Julian Community Heritage Foundation and Julian Chamber of Commerce, this event will feature multiple musical performances. 

These include Kimmi Bitter and Westside Twang, Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fring, Thea The Band, The Ordeal, Donn Bree and Friends,  Dolly’s Revenge, and Subconscious Culture.

East County News Service

May 12, 2025 (La Mesa) – A collision between a motorcycle and an SUV Saturday night proved deadly for a 22-year-old La Mesa man.  

He  was riding a 2017 Ducati motorcycle northbound on Avocado Blvd. just south of Explorer Road in La Mesa with a female passenger, 20, from El Cajon  just after 8 p.m. when a 2019 Ford Explorer driven by a La Mesa man, 40, tried to make a turn from southbound Avocado onto Explorer Road, causing a head-on crash, according to the CHP.

Residents launch petition to keep lake open

By Karen Pearlman

Photo, left, by Miriam Raftery:  Lake Murray

May 12, 2025 (San Diego) – Lake Murray is one of several local reservoirs that may see their hours of operation get slashed starting next year because of budget issues in the city of San Diego.

To cover the city’s $258 million deficit in its budget, the San Diego City Council is considering reducing the hours of both Lake Murray and Miramar Lake from seven days a week to just two – Saturday and Sunday.

Other outlying bodies of water overseen by the city of San Diego, including the El Capitan Reservoir, Lake Sutherland and Barrett Lake, are also slated for reductions in hours.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Photo, left: Sign on table urging recall of four GUHSD trustees.

May 11, 2025 (El Cajon) -- The Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD)  governing board refused a last-ditch chance to rescind its layoffs of credentialed teachers, librarians, counselors, and psychologists at the May 8 board meeting, despite angry comments from constituents.

After the public session, the board adjourned to a private session and returned with a surprise announcement that the majority had voted to accept the resignation of newly named Chief of Staff Jerry Hobbs, who has become mired in controversy.

East County News Service

May 11, 2025 (Escondido) -- Elephants at the the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park in Escondido found a cool way to beat the heat during this week's heat wave--holidng their own pool party.

In this video, you'll see the herd's matriarch, Swazi, playing in the water with the youngsters. When one elephant goes in, the others quickly join, which is often initiated by the younger elephants. Teens Khosi and Kami started this "pool party" that lasted about 35 minutes. Play is a great way for the herd to bond.

By Miriam Raftery

San Diego’s inland region has a variety of cinema options, including several movie theaters (some with upscale options), outdoor movies in the park for six months each year,  summer “dive-in” movies at a pool, and a desert film festival.

Beyond popcorn, many local theaters also offer a wide array of foods and even alcoholic beverages.

Scroll down for listings of movie theaters in our inland communities,  as well as where to find movies in the park and more.

Rabies is nearly always fatal without treatment

Image Credit: PhotoSpin

Source: San Diego County News Service

May 10, 2025 (Escondido) -- County public health officials are looking for people who may have come in contact with a wild bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondidio on Wednesday, May 7 at 10:45 a.m. that later tested positive for rabies.    

The bat was found at the base of the public elevator in the African Loop near the hot air ballon ride. There is only one public elevator in the park.

Public broadcasting leaders denounce action, call executive order illegal

By G. A. McNeeley 

M. Raftery contributed to this report

May 10, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit organization that oversees the National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is firing back at President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease funding for both of these media outlets, according to ABC News. 

NPR and PBS provide a broad range of programming, from independent news reporting to arts coverage and popular children’s programming such as Sesame Street. Locally, federal defunding of public broadcasting would also impact KPBS TV and radio, which reaches audiences countywide.

"Neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to tax-paying citizens," the executive order claims , despite the fact that independent polls and fact-checkers have found NPR and PBS to be among the most trusted and reliable news outlets in the U.S. "The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding," the President's order continues.

The executive order also halts indirect funding to PBS and NPR,  prohibiting local public radio and television stations from using taxpayer dollars to support the organizations and federal agencies to terminate any direct or indirect funding to NPR and PBS. 

By Miriam Raftery

May 9, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- San Diego County has become a thriving wine region, home to well over 100 wineries.  Unlike wine hubs in Napa or Temecula, our county’s wineries are mostly small, boutique and family-owned, offering visitors the opportunity to meet the winemakers and savor a range of experiences in scenic rural and mountain areas, as well as some urban wineries. Many are producing wines that are winning awards in regional and even international competitions.

You’ll find an array of red, white and rosé varietals from around the world, as well as sparkling wines, apertifs, dessert wines, and even mead, a honey-based wine, to suit your palate.

Some wineries also offer food, as well as other experiences ranging from live music to hayrides through the vineyards.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Photos courtesy of CalFire

Image: Side-by-side demonstration shows how unprepared structure  surrounded by bark on left was rapidly engulfed in flames, unlike structure on right, with hardscaping

May 7, 2025 (Spring Valley) -- On May 6,  The Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety partnered for a live burn demonstration at the County Fire Training Center on Campo Rd. in Spring Valley.

The event showcased a live fire presentation demonstration showing the effectiveness of mitigating wildfire damage for a prepared home compared to a home built from typical materials. Attendees observed burns in real time as experts highlighted ignition materials used, fire movement, and effective mitigation techniques.

This showed how small, proactive steps can significantly influence a home’s survival during a wildfire. Central to the demonstration was Zone 0—a five-foot perimeter around the home kept clear of flammable materials to prevent ignition from wind-driven embers.

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.