By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Toxic burn pit, cc via Bing

March 5, 2022 (San Diego) – On his website, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-San Diego) calls himself a “proud veteran” who served as a U.S. Army Captain. But this week, he voted against HR 3967, a bill to make Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans eligible for medical coverage of conditions due to toxic exposures, such as those released in burn pits.

By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2022 (Spring Valley) – State Route 94 is shut down this morning for investigation of a car-to-car shooting that injured a woman who was driving a white Ford Edge. She was traveling west on 94 just east of Kenwood Drive, along with two male passengers, at 5:40 a.m. when an unknown vehicle pulled p behind and opened fire.

“Several of the rounds penetrated the vehicle and the female driver was struck.  This caused driver of the Ford to veer to the left and crash into the center median,” says Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol. “The unknown vehicle fled the scene westbound on State Route 94.”

By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2022 (El Cajon) – A shoplifting suspect at the Walmart store in Parkway Plaza in El Cajon has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after reportedly striking a police officer with a baseball bat.

Tribe to benefit from low interest rate

Source:  Jamul Indian Village

Photo:  the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), owner and operator of Jamul Casino, recently closed on a refinance with a syndicate of commercial banks.  JIVDC was able to retire all of its high-interest pre-development debt and consolidate its financing in a single low-interest loan.

March 4, 2022 (Jamul) - On February 10, 2022, the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), owner and operator of Jamul Casino^®, closed on a refinance with a syndicate of commercial banks led by Western Alliance Bank.  The other lenders were U.S. Bank, Nevada State Bank, KeyBank, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. and Columbia State Bank.  JIVDC was able to retire all of its high interest pre-development debt and consolidate its financing in a single low interest loan.  With this refinance, the JIVDC was able to pay off the entirety of its high interest rate loan with funds from the refinance and significantly reduce the interest rate on its debt, dramatically improving the financial future of the Jamul Indian Village.

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: cc via Bing

March 3, 2022 (San Diego) – If you spotted a bow-and-arrow wielding man on Interstate 8 yesterday, it wasn’t Robin Hood.  California Highway Patrol reports the man attacked the driver of a Toyota Highlander and hijacked the vehicle.

By Mike Allen 

Photo:  Richard Marks speaking

March 3, 2022 (Santee) -- As a city with one of the smallest minority populations in San Diego County and one that experienced some well-publicized racist incidents in recent years, Santee’s leaders realized they had to do something.

By Matthew Manosh and Miriam Raftery

Part 2 of our State of the Union coverage

View Part 1, on the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Read full transcript of State of the Union speech

View video of State of the Union speech

View Republican response

March 3, 2022 (Washington D.C.) –  “We meet tonight in an America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced,” President Joe Biden stated during his State of the Union speech on March 1^st.  Those two years have seen Americans struggling amid a global pandemic, inflation, an assault on the U.S. capitol, and now a war in Europe that has ratcheted up tensions. 

After an in-depth discussion of the Ukraine war, Biden pivoted to his domestic agenda, unveiling several ambitious proposals to address our nation's challenges as well as highlighting some successes during his first year in office.

March 3, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

American response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

• Justice Dept. Announces Task Force to Go After Russian Oligarchs (NY Times)
• Russian Ruble Is Now Worth Less Than 1 U.S. Cent After SWIFT Bank Sanctions (Time)
• New US sanctions target Russia’s multibillion-dollar defense sector (Defense News)
• Pentagon mulling ways to get more lethal aid to Ukraine (The Hill)
• U.S. troops rush to Europe amid war in Ukraine (PBS)
• US expels Russian diplomats for allegedly 'engaging in espionage'   (NPR)
• Trump again praises Putin moments before Russia launches invasion of Ukraine (Yahoo News)
• Trump, who was impeached for withholding nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine, said 'this deadly Ukraine situation would never have happened' if he were in office (MSN)

January 6 investigation

• Jan. 6 committee alleges Trump, others engaged in criminal conspiracy amid bid to overturn election (USA Today)
• Feds net first guilty plea in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case (Politico)
• Judge rejects effort by Trump to toss Jan. 6 lawsuits (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Other national news

• U.S. Supreme Court Spurns Bid for Religious Opt-Out From Vaccine Rule (MSN)
• Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first Black woman to sit on Supreme Court (CNN)
• State of the Union: Biden vows to halt Russia, hit inflation (Associated Press)
• Three White men guilty of hate crimes charges in connection with Ahmaud Arbery murder (Washington Post)
• Medina Spirit's 2021 Kentucky Derby win has been nullified and horse trainer Bob Baffert is suspended (CNN)

WORLD

War in Ukraine

• Ukraine and Russia agree on evacuation corridors as U.S. punishes oligarchs (Reuters)
• Ukraine jets hit Russian column; Russia has used thermobarics, Ukraine military says (Military Times)
• U.N. General Assembly in historic vote denounces Russia over Ukraine invasion (Reuters)
• First Ukrainian city reportedly falls to Russia as Pentagon says 90% of Russian troops amassed for war are now in Ukraine (Stars and Stripes)
• $1 million bounty on Putin offered by Russian businessman (Jerusalem Post)
• Ukraine, rights groups say Russia used cluster & vacuum bombs (Reuters)
• How Zelensky Gave the World a Jewish Hero (The Atlantic)
• Elite Chechen hit squad sent to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky ‘eliminated’, says Ukraine  (Military Times)
• NATO Activates Troops for First Time as Russia Intensifies Its Assault on Ukraine (Time)
• Ukraine conflict: Russia bombs Kharkiv's Freedom Square and opera house (BBC)
• Russian sites hacked across country to display their war dead (MSN)
• Putin waves nuclear sword in confrontation with the West (AP News)
• Here are all the private companies that have made moves against  Russia (The Hill) 
• Russia faces major disruptions to oil, commodities flows without SWIFT (Reuters)
• Russia's richest 22 billionaires have lost $39 billion in one day after the invasion of Ukraine (Business Insider)
• Ukraine conflict: Zelensky warns of new iron curtain as Russia invades (BBC)
• Russia threatens 'military and political consequences' if Finland, Sweden try joining NATO (The Hill)
• More than 150 senior Russian officials sign open letter condemning Putin's invasion of Ukraine  (Daily Mail)
• Ukraine-Russia invasion: Europe prepares for wave of refugees (BBC)
• Full transcript of Zelenskyy's emotional appeal to Russians (NBC)

Other world news

• Countless human remains found at cartel "extermination site" near U.S. border as Mexico can't account for nearly 100,000 missing (CBS News)
• Searchers dig into the rubble after an earthquake hit Indonesia (NPR)

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

March 2, 2022 (San Diego) -- 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

• Some school districts in rural San Diego County can’t catch a break with COVID  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego restaurants pull Russian vodka and wear flags of solidarity to protest war in Ukraine (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego passes San Francisco as least affordable city in the United States (KUSI)
• Baber announces he won’t seek reelection in La Mesa (SD Rostra)
• San Diego's Decades-Old Valley Farms Market Closes BBQ Shack & Releases Plans For New Brewery Restaurant (SanDiegoVille)
• Anger surfaces at SDSU over rule requiring faculty to include Kumeyaay acknowledgment in syllabi (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego firefighter dies of COVID-19 complications (10 News)
• Trial Ordered For Man Accused Of Killing Ex's Twin Daughters (Patch)

STATE

• Will Russia’s attack on Ukraine push gas and food prices even higher? (Los Angeles Times)
• Fast-moving wildfire grows to 500 acres in Cleveland National Forest (Los Angeles Times)
• More college freshmen want to attend University of California schools (San Jose Mercury)
• San Francisco voters recall 3 school board members  (NPR)
• Newsom Rips Into Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Calling Them “Propaganda Networks”; Announces New State Unit To Combat Misinformation (Yahoo News)

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

East County News Service

March 2, 2022 (San Diego) -- Local microbusinesses and nonprofits that were affected by COVID-19 may be eligible for a $2,500 grant from the County.  The Microbusiness grant program is funded by the Board of Supervisors with approximately $4.175 million allocated from the California Office of the Small Business. The deadline to apply is March 31.

By Jonathan Goetz

Last update: 7:07 p.m.

March 2, 2022 (Cleveland National Forest) - CAL-Fire San Diego has sent air resources to a remote area east of Irvine, in Orange County with smoke also visible in Riverside County in Southern California. The fire began at 11:20 a.m. in the Holy Jim trail area, per Cleveland National Forest, which is coordinating the firefighting response.

The Fire Integrated Real-time Intelligence System (FIRIS) reported that as of 4:24 p.m. the #JimFire had reached 551 acres. It can be difficult to map and fight fires in such mountainous terrain.

East County News Service

March 18, 2022 (Julian) – Mike Wells and Marie Simovich will speak and sign copies of their book, A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region, Then and Now, at the Julian branch of the San Diego County Library.

The event is slated for Friday, March 18 at 2 p.m. The Julian library is located at 1850 Highway 78 in Julian.

March 2, 2022 (Spring Valley) -- Detectives from the Rancho San Diego Sheriff's Station want the public's help in identifying and locating a man accused of trying to lure children into his black vehicle near a school in Spring Valley.

One of the children also told detectives the car may have tinted windows and a scratch on the rear bumper.Between February 17 and February 28, there have been at least two incidents of a man attempting to lure children into his car. The children told detectives the person who followed them is a black man between 30 and 40 years old driving a black car, possibly a Dodge Challenger or Charger. 

The children also told detectives the driver had a passenger whom they describe as a white man between 30 and 40 years old. 

East County News Service

March 2, 2022 (Julian) – Julian Tea and Cottage Arts will be serving up St. Patrick’s Day Teas March 17-21, both indoors and outdoors, weather permitting.  They are also available to go.

East County News Service

March 2, 2022 (El Cajon) – Cajon Classic Cruise Car Shows return in the heart of downtown El Cajon, where thousands of people converge to visit displays of classic vehicles each Wednesday evening from 5 to 8 p.m.