By Henri Migala and Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of Ocotillo Wind Turbine Destruction on Facebook

September 20, 2021 (Ocotillo) – Residents in Ocotillo are voicing concerns after yet another wind turbine collapse at the Ocotillo Wind Energy facility. There were no injuries or damage to other structures when the 300-foot-tall turbine crashed to the desert floor at the trouble-prone facility on Thursday, September 16. But residents are raising serious questions over public safety at the site, which produces energy to SDG&E to power the San Diego region.

By Miriam Raftery

September 19, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes some thrilling and chilling October events, including Oktoberfests in La Mesa and El Cajon, the Festival of Sunflowers and Bathhouse Bazaar in Jacumba Hot Springs, an Autumn Jubilee in Santa Ysabel, the new El Cajon Foodie Fest, Dinner and Flamenco dancers in Lemon Grove, the Borrego Days parade and festival, the Lakeside River Park Conservancy’s Trail of Terror titled “Curse of the French Quarter,” Trick or Treat on Maine in Lakeside, spooky campouts at Lake Jennings, and Haunt Fest on Main in downtown El Cajon.

September 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- Rescue Task Force (RTF), a nonprofit founded in San Diego's East County and now headquartered in Temecula, provides disaster relief response and medical aid around the world.  They also started schools for girls and women in Afghanistan. But since the U.S. troop withdrawal and Taliban takeover, the RTF team has had to close its schools, dimming hopes of students under the Taliban's brutal regime and endangering the lives of RTF's coordinator and his family, who remain trapped and in hiding inside Afghanistan.

East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery today interviewed Steven Prusky, a director with Rescue Task Force, on the Afghanistan situation as well as other projects around the world in which RTF is currently involved ranging from water purification to disaster relief and more.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 17, 2021 (San Diego) - A 53-year-old San Diego County resident is the first locally acquired case of West Nile Virus this year, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

East County News Service

September 17, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) – Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures invites you to their 5th annual Autumn Jubilee. The fall festivities happen Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sundays (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) from Sept. 18 through Oct. 30.

By Miriam Raftery

September 15, 2021 (El Cajon) – A Grossmont High School student who was in a coma after a car crash in Fletcher Hills has died, his mother, Abigail Reyes, told ECM news partner 10 News.

77.2% of County residents over age 12 are now fully vaccinated; 87.1% are fully vaccinated

East County News Service

September 15, 2021 (San Diego) – Deaths from COVID-19 tripled over the past week (Sept. 8-14) to 59, the highest number during the current surge. Since March, over 96% of hospitalizations were unvaccinated patients and nearly 89% of deaths were people who had not been vaccinated.

Online discussion hopes to decrease vaccine hesitancy in local Black community

Source:  San Diego Association of Black Journalists

September 15, 2021 (San Diego) - On the heels of the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors declaring misinformation as a public health crisis, the San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ) will host a thoughtful virtual discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 22 to debunk myths about the coronavirus, and discuss vaccine hesitancy in the San Diego Black community. A panel of five distinguished Black doctors from the San Diego community will lend their expertise on these topics and answer any questions or concerns the community has about the coronavirus. 

Source:  Home of Guiding Hands

September 14, 2021 (El Cajon) - Home of Guiding Hands, an El Cajon based nonprofit providing programs and housing for men, women and children with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial Counties, said its board unanimously named Edward Hershey president and chief executive officer.

By Kathy Carpenter 

By Miriam Raftery

September 14, 2021 (El Cajon) – The German American Societies invite the public to celebrate Oktoberfest in El Cajon the weekends of September 24-26 and October 1-3.  Festivities include Oom-Pay music by the Guggenbach-Buam from Germany, German beers, food and desserts, dancing, kids’ activities, vendors and a raffle with a round-trip flight for two to Germany as grand prize.

By Laurel Rosenhall, CalMatters

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom supporters hold up signs urging voters to vote “no” on the recall during a campaign event at the IBEW-NECA training center in San Leandro on Sept. 8, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

September 14, 2021 (Sacramento) - For nearly 25 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom rose the ranks of California politics without ever losing an election, buoyed by connections to powerful San Francisco Democrats and a willingness to take risks — like sanctinoing same-sex marriage — that put him at the vanguard of his party.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

September 12, 2021 (Sacramento) --  Advocates for older Americans are working to spread the word about a federal program to cut people's internet bills.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit program gives people who qualify a $50 credit on their monthly internet bill and a $100 voucher toward a laptop or other mobile device.

Joe Garbanzos, state president for AARP California, said for tribal communities the program goes further, providing a $75 subsidy per month.

By Editor, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and Nathan Fletcher last month. Photo by Chris Stone

September 12, 2021 (San Diego) - Lorena Gonzalez of the California State Assembly underwent successful surgery for breast cancer this weekend.