East County News Service

November 23, 2021 (Alpine) – Did you know that not all turkeys are brown? Richard Edwords of Alpine sent this shot of his white “royal palm” and gray “blue slate” turkeys, both heritage breeds.

Fortunately for these birds, they won’t wind up on the Thanksgiving table.  Edwords says,  “They are therapy turkeys. We take them to the senior care facilities.  I own them and I sell the babies in the spring.”

By Alecia Carroll

Photo: Creative Commons by ND via Bing

November 23, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- A balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are the wishes of every parent for their children. The problem is that busy schedules can make making healthy diets at home challenging. Furthermore, children's fussy eating and advertisements promoting high-fat and high-sugar foods add to these challenges.

There are many things to consider when choosing what to feed your kids/preschooler. Their eating habits and preferences are always changing, making it difficult to serve a balanced and nourishing diet to them. In the beginning stages of your child's development, they will form eating habits that will follow them throughout their lives. Developing healthy eating habits in childhood is a wonderful way to prepare them for adulthood. Remember that developing healthy eating habits often takes time and patience.

Update November 24, 2021:  SDG&E has widened its list of possible outage areas to include more than 53,000 customers. See the updated list of impacted communities here:  https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Before you stock up on turkey and other groceries for a feast, be aware that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is asking customers in 38 local communities to prepare for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

PAMELA BOUTE’ – KILLER D.A. by Darryl Littleton (Independently Published, Inglewood, CA., 2021, 89 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

November 21, 2021 (San Diego) - Pamela Boute’ – Killer D.A.is the story of a Department of Justice employee who issues out her own justice when the system fails to put away the guilty. Her latest list of victims – the insurrectionists of January 6, 2021.

This fictional story by renowned comedian Darryl Littleton resonates with me, for I know full well of the challenges faced in federal government employment. If there was a movie to be made about this book, and I could see it happening, Pam Grier comes immediately to mind.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via C-Span:  House Democrats cheer passage of Build Back Better Act

November 20, 2021 (San Diego) – On the heels of a major infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden, on Friday, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act on a party-line 220-213 vote, which now advances to the Senate.  The landmark measure would expand the nation’s social safety net for the middle class and poor including increased childcare, Medicare benefits, college aid, housing support, invest in shifting the nation to renewable energy and more.

By Miriam Raftery

November 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Santa Ana winds are forecast starting tonight, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour in canyons and mountain passes.  With warm temperatures and humidity dropping as low as 7 percent, fire danger will be high on Sunday and Monday.

Despite a chance of showers Tuesday, a new round of Santa Ana winds is predicted late Wednesday and Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Weather Service.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and colleagues with President Joe Biden at infrastructure bill signing

November 19, 2021(San Diego’s East County) –  Could funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act just signed into law by President Joe Biden be used to fund sorely needed projects to benefit East County, from wildfire prevention to reducing freeway gridlock, taking communities off-grid, and improving dam safety?  East County Magazine reached out to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who attended the bill signing at the White House. She issued a statement on some local priorities and had her staff respond on other potential projects including:

• Reducing gridlock on State Route 52 in Santee
• Repairing dams at El Capitan and Lake Hodges reservoirs
• Increasing mass transit for our region
• Cleaning up a toxic underground plume near Gillespie Field and an elementary school in El Cajon
• Taking communities such as  Descanso, that have suffered through many power outages, off-grid to produce their own clean energy for reliable electricity;
• Replacing lead water pipes

“We have big infrastructure needs in San Diego, from broadband to transportation to wildfire prevention, but the good news is that this bill provides new funding to meet these needs. Now it’s time to make sure that San Diego gets our share of the funding and I look forward to working with our state and local partners to get that done,” Jacob says.

By Henri Migala

November 18, 2021 (Wikieup, Ariz.) -- Few, if any, narratives in America are older, or more repeated, than the story of Native peoples struggling to protect their lands, resources, lifeways and even their culture, from exploitation, abuse and destruction. That very story is yet again unfolding with the Hualapai Nation in northern Arizona, where people are in a struggle to protect their ancestral lands from lithium mining. It’s a struggle that pits the long-term energy interests and demands of the United States against the cultural values of the Hualapai people, the health of the land and its inhabitants, and has nothing less at stake than the very survival of the entire Hualapai nation.

East County News Service

November 18, 2021 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – If you’re ready for some holiday shopping, the Gilliam Gallery is hosting a holiday pop-up gift show on December 4 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

View our interview by clicking the image at left.

November 18, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County Supervisors on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve Supervisor Joel Anderson’s proposal aimed at expanding access to local lakes where hours have been cut back during the pandemic.

The measure directs the County’s Department of Parks and Recreation to start discussions with outside agencies managing East County lakes and reservoirs, with a goal to keep reservoirs open for recreational activities.

"These are great, COVID-approved recreational activities for families," Anderson said of hiking, fishing, boating and other lake-related opportunities. In an interview with East County Magazine also aired on KNSJ radio, he added, "I wanted to fulfill my campaign promise in the first year."

By Miriam Raftery 

November 18, 2021 (Lemon Grove) -- A man described by authorities as a transient suffered multiple gunshot wounds in an apparent drive-by shooting last night at 6:20 p.m. in front of the Albertson’s store at 7090 Broadway in Lemon Grove.

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego Congressional members Juan Vargas and Sara Jacobs, along with Congressman Juan Castro of Texas, have sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigation allegations of critical incident teams or “shadow units” within the U.S. Border Patrol.

East County News Service

November 17, 2021 (San Diego) - Last week, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and Assenblywoman Akilah Weber co-hosted a Virtual Small Business Webinar. During this webinar, presenters from State and local agencies discussed a variety of useful resources available to small business owners during these unprecedented times.

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2021 (El Cajon) — On February 26, 24-year-old Jaylin Moore was sleeping in his apartment when he was fatally shot through a bedroom window. Shortly after 4 a.m. Following an eight-month investigation, Lt. Keith MacArthur announced today that El Cajon Police Homicide Detectives have arrested two suspects for murder.

Source:  City of La Mesa

November 15, 2021 (La Mesa) - The La Mesa Police Department will roll out a police traffic services program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.