June 6, 2011 (El Cajon) -- Just before 10:00 a.m. this morning Heartland Fire & Rescue, serving the City of El Cajon, responded to reports of an apartment fire at 525 East Camden Avenue in El Cajon. As crews arrived smoke was coming from a second floor apartment. El Cajon fire crews, assisted by firefighters from the San Miguel Fire District, had the fire knocked down in about ten minutes. Quick action kept the fire from reaching neighboring apartment units. The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated, but it appears to have started in or around the clothes dryer area located in the middle of the apartment.

Damage has been estimated at $15,000 to the apartment and its contents. There was some smoke damage to an adjoining apartment. The family was at home at the time of the fire and were able to escape safely. The family will be staying with relatives. There were no injuries reported. 

June 7, 2011 (Bonsall) --San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from San Diego County Sheriff’s Department seek help from the public to identify a suspect wanted for a battery that caused serious injuries to the victim.  

June 6, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – This month, approximately 5,300 senior students will be graduating from the Grossmont Union High School District’s 9 comprehensive high schools, two charter high schools, and three alternative high schools.

For a list of graduate dates, times and locations, as well as statistics on graduates by school and a complete list of valedictorians and salutatorians, click here.

June 6, 2011 (Sacramento) -- The method for assessing skills of incoming community college students will become more efficient and less costly to taxpayers under a bill approved by the California State Assembly. AB 743 by local Demcratic Assemblyman Marty Block (AD-78), chair of the Higher Education Committee, establishes a standardized assessment system at the California Community Colleges for the purpose of placing and advising students, and promoting uniform assessment across all campuses.

Every Thursday night 5-8 p.m.  during the months of June, July and August

June 5, 2011 (La Mesa) --Starting Thursday June 2, 2011, The La Mesa Car Show starts a thirteen week run. Thousands of spectators attend the weekly car show.

In addition to the show crafters and street vendors display their products.

June 5, 2011 (La Mesa) --Volunteers to conduct walk audits and evaluations of City of La Mesa parks are needed during the months of June and July as part of a citywide Park Master Plan project. Volunteers will walk neighborhood areas surrounding the City’s 14 parks to identify access barriers to the parks as well as potential opportunities for adding open space or green space in areas of the community that are underserved by parks and recreational facilities.

By Brian Lafferty

June 5, 2011 (San Diego) – Most comic book movies that are the first in a franchise feel like a feature-length first act. I had this feeling with X-Men and Spider-Man. They’re good movies but they functioned more like set-ups for X2 and Spider-Man 2, which also delivered the goods better.

May 26, 2011 (El Cajon)--Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 20^th was a big success in El Cajon.  A total of 103 riders stopped by the Bike To Work Day Pit Stop at East Main Street and Sulzfeld.  City employees and residents were asked to find an alternative way to get to work, such as riding their bike, carpooling or taking public transit.

This event also reminded motorists and bicyclists about bicycle safety - and about sharing our roadways.  Those who stopped by the Bike To Work Pit Stop were treated to snacks, water and a Bike To Work Day T-Shirt. 

Through the sale of t-shirts, El Cajon employees raised $850 to purchase bikes for deserving grade school children in the City of El Cajon.  Last year six bikes were purchased for area students.   

Following cuts in Cal-Fire staffing, fire agencies will be out in force next weekend to inspect properties and educate public

June 5, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- State budget cuts have slashed staffing on Cal-Fire engines from four men to three.  The manpower cuts as fire season approaches come at a time when heavy winter rains mean more growth of brush, providing increased fuel for fires.  The County asks residents to join in Defensible Space Days and remove fire hazards within 100 feet of your home before peak fire season. Fire agencies and safety groups will be out in the community June 10-12 to provide information about defensible space, including what is required by law and local code.  

Click here for information on protecting your home with defensible space. 

June 4, 2011 (Otay) – One person is dead and two others injured following a collision on Otay Lakes Road today, the Deerhorn Valley Antler reports. A blue Ford F-150 truck struck a motorcycle near the glider port, causing a shut down of Otay Lakes Road at Highway 94.

June 4, 2011 (La Mesa) -- This summer the City of La Mesa is offering fun, safe, and FREE outdoor family activities including the Chipotle “Sundays at Six” Summer Concert Series each Sunday in June and July at Harry Griffith Park. In addition, the city hosts a popular outdoor movie night July 29 at La Mesita Park plus a special "dive-in" showing at the La Mesa pool July 15.

 By Miriam Raftery

 Photos by Deputy Fire Chief Rick Sitta

June 3, 2011 (El Cajon) Updated 8 p.m. -- A 9 year-old boy was struck by a vehicle at Madison Avenue and East Main Street while riding his bike to school at 7:24 this morning.  Trapped under an SUV, the boy was crying for help, Incident Page Network reported.

Firefighters attribute a bicycle helmet to saving the boy's life. Photos show abrasions on one side of the helmet and tire tread marks on the other side.

By Mayan Avitable

June 3, 2011 (La Mesa) -- When I first met David Moye, he was a sixth-grader at Maryland Avenue Elementary School in La Mesa, California. The school’s students went on to a variety of colleges, careers and dreams.  David's dreams varied from music to public relations to living the American dream. In 1995, he started his career of weird news wriitng. 



"La Mesa," he says, "is the perfect place to start a career in weird news." After all, he tells me, he remembers the story of Frank Zappa coming up from El Cajon to La Mesa to go to the music store to find an obscure LP he had been searching for since reading a Look magazine article: The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Volume One. "Where else coud Zappa have possibly found such a work that influenced the world of modern music so much?" he asks."Where else could you find The Age of Unarius?"  The East County cult-like group believed there would be 33 spacecraft landing one on top of the other to teach us the way of peace and harmony. Those are just two among many experiences that led Moye to start a career in weird news. 

June 3, 2011 (La Mesa)-- Each June the East County Chamber takes great pride in organizing and hosting East County's largest Health Fair. Summer Healthcare Saturday. now in it's 9th year, the fair has grown to become a fixture in East County. It also provides a whole host of crucial health related screenings and testings for free to East County residents. Mark your calendars for Saturday June 11th and consider participating in this informative and important East County event.

June 3, 2011 (El Cajon) --The concerts on the Prescott Promenade, located at 201 E. Main Street will be offered on Fridays through September 30th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Enjoy great music with no admission charge! Concerts are presented by the El Cajon Community Development Corporation and the downtown business district, and sponsored by Sycuan Casino and Taylor Guitars.