This is the latest in a series on homeless persons in East County based on first-person accounts. Because voices of the homeless are seldom heard in the media, this provides an ongoing platform for the homeless to relay their unfiltered stories. If you are homeless, or know of a homeless individual willing to be interviewed, please contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.

By Richard Darvas

June 28, 2010 (El Cajon) -- Lucy has lived a rootless life. In a recent interview with East County Magazine, the 46-year-old homeless woman detailed how she lost her way. (To shield her children from untoward attention, she is using a pseudonym for this article.)

June 25, 2010 (El Cajon) – An undercover operation by the El Cajon Police Department yesterday targeted males soliciting acts of prostitution from women on the streets of El Cajon. With assistance from the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, 14 individuals were arrested yesterday during the six-hour operation.

June 25, 2010 (San Diego) – It doesn’t get much closer than this. Yesterday, Mary Salas' lead over Juan Vargas had evaporated to a single vote.  Today, in the hotly contested Democratic primary for the 40th State Senate District,Vargas pulled into the lead by a six vote margin with 24,079 votes to Salas' 24,073. But this horse race isn’t over yet, with thousands of votes yet to be tallied in a race spanning three separate counties.
 

Update 5:15 p.m.: Cal-Fire confirms this fire was started by a weed whacker with a metal blade. Residents are reminded not to trim brush after 10 a.m. and avoid metal blades, where possible.

Update 4 p.m.:  This fire has been contained at three acres.  
 

June 25, 2010 (Escondido) A brush fire at Harmony Grove and Country Club in Escondido is threatening a mobile home and has potential to reach five acres, Incident Page Network reports. The blaze is currently a half acre burning in light flashy fuel and spreading at a moderate rate.
 

View a map of the location here.

Local legislators split on support, opposition to measure

June 25, 2010 (Sacramento) – On Wednesday, the State Senate Health Committee passed AB 2578, the Healthcare Accountability Act. The measure aims to protect California consumers from excessive health insurance rate hikes, such as the 39% rate increase announced by Anthem Blue Cross earlier this year and an up to 75% increase imposed on businesses by Blue Shield.

Finale at Viejas Fire-Safe Expo proves a bang-up hit with crowd
 

By Miriam Raftery
 

June 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Lemon Grove Firefighters scored a victory in the Firefighters Demolition Derby, held June 19th at the Del Mar Fair. Viejas, sponsor of the event to benefit the San Diego Burn Institute, took second in the action-packed event.

The Firefighters Demolition Derby has been a long-standing tradition in East County, dating back to the days of the old Cajon Speedway. The event disappeared when the Speedway shut down in 2005—until now, when Viejas resurrected the Derby and brought it to Del Mar. View our videos of the derby’s opening and final round segments.

June 24, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Police report that a man in a faded and rusted blue van tried to kidnap a 12-year-old boy who was walking home from school at 5:23 p.m. today. The man, described as a white man in his 30s or 40s with a long beard, ordered the boy to get in the van in the 3800 block of Demas Street in the Rolando area of San Diego, just west of La Mesa. When the boy refused, the man got out and grabbed the victim, ripping the boy's shirt.

June 24, 2010 (Valley Center) -- The Indian Health Council, Inc., (IHC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary June 25 with a festive Open House, featuring health screenings, raffle prizes and giveaways, tours of the facility, and a Fun Zone for children that includes a bike rodeo. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the council headquarters, 50100 Golsh Road, Valley Center (on the Rincon Reservation).

By Brian Lafferty

June 24, 2010 (San Diego's East County) -- Knight and Day was a movie that gave me fits. That’s something I did not expect from a movie starring either Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz. These two stars are reunited for the first time since Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky in 2001. That movie, while not their best, was at least interesting, thought-provoking, well-acted, and most of all, not the least bit boring. The same cannot be said for Knight and Day, which tries to be like James Cameron’s 1994 action flick True Lies but winds up only paling in comparison.

June 23, 2010 (9:55 p.m.)  - California Highway Patrol announced shortly after 9:30 p.m. that it would reopen Highway 54, which was closed this evening due to a brush fire near Plaza Bonita and I-805.

The fire started in the Sweetwater River bed near a homeless encampment. According to some reports, explosions were hurt that may have been from propane tanks.  No structures were lost.

Nearly 5,000 students on waiting lists due to 50% cutback in classes;
veterans on G.I. bill and students on financial aid risk losing funds

East County News Service

June 21, 2010 (El Cajon) – Higher education funding cuts due to the California state budget crisis have forced Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to severely reduce summer course sections, despite growing demands for classes from students seeking to retrain for new careers and complete general education requirements to transfer to four-year universities and colleges.

Despite efforts to keep budget cuts from harming students, the colleges have been forced to slash summer offerings by 50%.

June 23, 2010 (La Mesa) -- The 10th annual Summer Healthcare Saturday, East County’s largest free health fair, held  June 19th at Grossmont Center, was by far the most successful ever, according to Mike Cully, president/CEO of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.  The event was organized by the Chamber and co-sponsored by Grossmont Healthcare District, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Alvarado Hospital and Grossmont Center.