By Henri Migala & Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2021 (Alpine) -- Nearly 100 people, many of them children, came to Lions, Tigers and Bears in beautiful Alpine yesterday to help celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. 

By Miriam Raftery 

April 3, 2021 (San Diego) ECM staff writer and photographer, Rebecca Jefferis Williamson, submitted this picture of a baseball game ---San Diego style - at the beach. The San Diego Padres' Petco Park includes a fan section that has beach chairs and sand. Pictured are three fans enjoying the second game of the season.  Fans were seated in "pods" or groupings of family and friends due to the pandemic. Social distancing between the pods was enforced. 

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2021 (Sacramento) – State officials yesterday announced a major rollback of COVID-19 restrictions.  Indoor events can resume in most counties starting April 15, including concerts, plays, indoor sports, conferencesand private receptions.

Aztecs post two walk-off victories in Friday’s twin bill

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

April 2, 2021 (San Diego) - In a recurring theme of the 2021 season, San Diego State once again displayed its resiliency on Friday, posting a pair of walk-off victories against New Mexico at Tony Gwynn Stadium, winning the opener in a 10-9 thriller before completing the sweep with a 5-4 extra-inning triumph in the nightcap.

Limited fans can start attending Aztec home events this weekend

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

April 2, 2021 (San Diego) - A limited number of spectators will be allowed to attend San Diego State outdoor sporting events, beginning this weekend on the Aztec campus. Only fans on the respective team pass lists from the state of California will be allowed to attend as no tickets will be sold or made available to the public.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

April 2, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) – Spring is in the air – and lilacs are in full bloom.  The annual Lilac Festival at Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures in Santa Ysabel returns each weekend this month.  The hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 12 noon to 5 p.m.

"Hop on the hayride and enjoy the views on a scenic nature loop, try your skill with some tomahawk throwing, visit our friends at the petting zoo, enjoy a lively hoedown or pick up an instrument and join the jug band, paint a flower vase to keep, dip your very own lilac themed candle the old fashioned way, and so much more,” the Fort Cross website states.  "Our very own Jesse Cross, dance caller and music man extraordinaire will be playing live during various times to lead any willing kids and adults through the most fun jug band hootenanny you ever did see!”

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

March 31, 2021 (San Diego) -- When it comes to adverse mental health conditions related to COVID-19, younger adults, racial and ethnic minorities, essential workers and unpaid adult caregivers report having more increased substance use and mental health issues than others who are not listed in those categories.

By Skye Ryder

Image:  Artist's rendering of a reimagined Chase Bank in La Mesa, topped by a Sky tram station.

April 1, 2021 (La Mesa) -- Sky rides at the San Diego Zoo and Sea World are among the most popular attractions for visitors. Now an aerial gondola adventure is coming to East County.

The idea is a joint proposal by East County’s newly elected Supervisor Joel Anderson and La Mesa City Councilman Colin Parent, also a spokesman for Circulate San Diego, which promotes advancing mobility choices for communities across our region.

Back in 2017, then-County Supervisor Ron Roberts suggested expanding the ride to downtown San Diego.  Roberts said,  “I was looking at the zoo ride, and I was thinking, ‘You know what, if we just kept going across the freeway to Sixth Avenue and went downtown.’ That would be fun.”

The current board of Supervisors is now embracing that concept – and carrying it a step further. (Read more)

Experience Nature Unplugged: A Guide To Wellness In The Digital Age, by Sebastian Slovin & Sonya Mohamed (Nature Unplugged, Encinitas, California, 2021, 240 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

March 30, 2021 (San Diego) - Sebastian Slovin and Sonya Mohamed has written a thought provoking book that resonates with me, and may very well change the trajectory of my life going forward, Experience Nature Unplugged: A Guide To Wellness In The Digital Age.

Sebastian Slovin and Sonya Mohamed  founded Nature Unplugged in 2012 with the mission of inspiring wellness in the digital age.  Basically, this book is about nature and improving on mental health. As a matter of fact, throughout this well written book the central theme seems to be about mental health, and how to optimize it. It should be noted that the authors are actually husband and wife.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of San Diego Sheriff’s department

Public comments accepted through April 9

March 30, 2021 (El Cajon) – The state has proposed releasing Douglas Badger, a sexually violent predator, into a supervised home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive. The site is just east of Avocado Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon, near Mt. Helix.

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2021 (San Diego) – With vaccine supplies increasing, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that starting April 1, all Californians age 50 and up will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition, starting April 15, the vaccine will be available to all Californians age 16 and up.

The state expects to receive 2.5 million doses a week in early April and over 3 million doses a week by the second half of the month, as a result of actions taken by the Biden administration to dramatically boost supplies including forging a deal to have rival pharmaceutical companies team up to increase production and providing funds to state and local governments to expand vaccinations.

East County News Service

March 27, 2021 (Borrego Springs) -- Did you know? Cesar Chavez has important history in Borrego Springs and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP). To honor this history, bilingual interpretive panels were devised that depict these historic events, a joint project between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and High School students at Borrego Springs High School. 

March 27, 2021 (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.

• New shootings plunge Biden, Congress into gun control debate (The Hill)
• Biden will deploy FEMA to care for teenagers and children crossing border in record numbers (Washington Post)
• U.S. facing biggest migrant surge in 20 years: Homeland Security  (Reuters) 
• How GOP-backed voting measures could create hurdles for tens of millions of voters (Washington Post)
• Civil rights groups challenge Georgia voting restrictions (Reuters)
• Ban on US water shutoffs could have prevented thousands of Covid deaths – study (Guardian)

WORLD

• Dislodging the huge ship blocking the Suez Canal could take 'days to weeks,' as the traffic jam builds (CNN)
• China adopts new laws to ensure only 'patriots' can govern Hong Kong (Guardian) 
• Myanmar suppression "like Tiananmen Square" as police shoot protesters, killing at least 9 (Reuters)
• Brazil’s Covid Outbreak Pushes Hospitals to Brink of Collapse (New York Times)

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