East County News Service

Photos via CVS

June 18, 2020 (Alpine) – An investigation is underway into a robbery at a CVS in Alpine that may be part of a series of pharmacy robberies across East County. Two juveniles were apprehended.

Shortly before 3 p.m. on June 17, deputies from the Alpine Sheriff’s station responded to the CVS Pharmacy at 1385 Tavern Road after a 9-1-1 call reported a robbery. The caller said one of two suspects, armed with a cane, jumped over the counter demanding drugs and took 13 bottles of narcotics. As he fled, he swung the cane around and smashed the glass countertop. A cell phone of one of the employees was also taken, says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle.

The suspects fled the scene, but due to a quick response from a Sheriff's Sergeant, deputies and detectives, the suspects were located behind the Alpine library and detained,” says Lt. O’Boyle.

East County News Service

Photo by Kirtland Smith: Verdin in Ocotillo

June 18, 2020 (Borrego Springs) – The Anza Borrego Foundation is planning five virtual Campfire chats with retired Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Rangers and Superintendents, streamed live from various Park locations.

In 30-minute segments, each ranger will share stories, focused on their favorite park topics such as birding, bighorn sheep, land conservation and military history of the Park.

June 18, 2020 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include: 

LOCAL

• El Cajon officer's encounter with vandals ends with unlikely painting session (10 News)
• City Attorney’s Office Says SDG&E Is Overcharging to Bury Power Lines (Voice of San Diego)
• Mountain lion found, killed after Blue Sky attack (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• ‘Hang on. I’m going:’ San Diego police officer recounts Sunset Cliffs rescue (San Diego Union Tribune)
• ‘La Mesa Civil Defense’ Group Including Councilwoman Sparks Concern (Times of San Diego)
• Man Arrested on Suspicion of Attacking Woman With Baseball Bat in La Mesa (NBC 7)
• Boomers! closing Kearny Mesa, El Cajon centers (10 News)
• Driver being pursued by deputies crashes into Lemon Grove swimming pool (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Major California police unions call for reforms, removal of racist officers (San Jose Mercury News)
• Far-right ‘boogaloo boys’ linked to killing of California law officers and other violence (Los Angeles Times)
• Airline passengers brought COVID-19 into LAX in March, but nobody warned the public (Los Angeles Times)
• State AG to probe one of two high desert hangings of black men (Cal Matters)
• PG&E Pleads Guilty to 84 Counts of Manslaughter in Camp Fire Case (New York Times)
• California Was Set To Spend Over $1 Billion to Prevent Wildfires. Then Came COVID-19 (NPR)
• California spent $38.2 million on CHP officers at George Floyd protests (Los Angeles Times)
• Watch: Golden Gate Bridge Produces Eerie Sound Effect (Patch)

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

June 18,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• On the bleeding edge of the COVID-19 fight (San Diego Union-Tribune) Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first lifesaving drug (BBC)
• Record spikes in new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations sweep parts of U.S. (Reuters)
• Hydroxychloroquine: FDA pulls emergency use of malaria drug touted by Trump to treat the coronavirus (USA Today)
• 7 Things to Know About Hand Sanitizer (AARP)
• What to Do If You Have Coronavirus and No Caregiver to Help(AARP)
• What Experts Say You Can Do to Treat Yourself at Home If You Have a Mild Case of COVID-19 (Healthline)
• Why some nursing homes are better than others at protecting residents and staff from COVID-19 (Conversation)
• 1st-Known U.S. Lung Transplant For COVID-19 Patient Performed In Chicago (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Thousands of Tons of Microplastics Are Falling from the Sky (Scientific American)
• Microsoft won’t sell police its facial-recognition technology, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM (Washington Post)
• Tesla defied county orders so it could restart production. Days later, workers tested positive for the coronavirus.(Washington Post)
• Twitter has suspended more than 23,000 accounts it says were linked to the Chinese Communist Party (Washington Post)

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

By Mikhail Zinshteyn, CALmatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland in 2018. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr

June 18, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - A federal judge sided with California’s community colleges today in ruling that the Trump administration illegally restricted recent federal stimulus funds to as many as 800,000 students, including undocumented students.

By Kendra Sitton

Photo: Jack Shu has proposed a ballot measure to create a police oversight commission for La Mesa.

June 17, 2020 (La Mesa) -- In a meeting Wednesday, June 17, the Citizen Oversight Task Force set a plan in motion that could culminate in a November ballot initiative to bring a strong police oversight commission to La Mesa.

After missing several meetings due to the coronavirus, the group resumed meeting in the wake of mass protests and riots over the La Mesa Police Department’s mistreatment of the Black community.

By Miriam Raftery

June 17, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – After the state of California released a 62-page “Stronger Together” guideline for schools to reopen, the County Office of Education released its own extensive COVID-19 recovery and reopening plan for the nearly 800 public and 230 private schools in our region.

Source: SANDAG

June 17, 2020 (San Diego) -- As the San Diego region’s labor market continues to experience an historic decline, Black and Hispanic communities are most impacted, according to a new SANDAG Data Science and Analytics report, “COVID-19 Impact on the San Diego Regional Economy: Black and Hispanic Communities Hardest Hit.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: CC by ND via Bing

June 17, 2020 (San Diego) – Couples eager to tie the knot can now hold weddings under newly announced state of California rules, but with limits due to COVID-19. However, receptions are generally not allowed per state health guidelines, due to concerns about dancing and close contact among non-household members potentially spreading the virus.

Outdoor weddings are allowed with no limit on size, provided social distancing is maintained. Indoor weddings of up to 100 people or 25 percent of a facility’s capacity are allowed.  All participants must wear face masks and maintain six feet of social distancing, except the bride and groom do not need to wear masks when they are six feet apart for others, so they can have wedding photos at the altar and share a post-wedding vow kiss.

The new guidelines are part of relaxed guidelines for all religious events, including worship services. 

Dawn D’Aquisto, a San Diego County spokesperson, said the rules for weddings and receptions are being reviewed after the agency has received many phone calls. She added that couples could potentially host a post-wedding dinner with guests at a restaurant, provided the restaurant can meet county guidelines for capacity, social distancing, and seating household members together.

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego News Association

Photo:  John Earnest, shown during September 2019 court appearance, is a defendant in suit along with his parents. Pool photo

June 17, 2020 (Poway) - Brady United has opened a new front in the gun-control wars, filing a lawsuit that targets gunmaker Smith & Wesson and the San Diego shop that sold the firearm tied to the Chabad of Poway killing.

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

June 16, 2020 (El Cajon) - Grossmont College announced today that it will hire Marshall T. Fulbright III, Ed.D., as its new vice president of academic affairs. Fulbright will join the college on July 1.

By Mimi Pollack, San Diego Jewish World, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Jeff and Fern (Platt) Hall with their dog Chico

June 16, 2020 (La Mesa) - Growing up in the last century, it was not always easy being outside of the box.  In most cultures and countries, one followed a certain path:  go to school, work an eight-hour job, get married, have kids, etc. For those of us who didn’t follow all or part of the path, we were mostly accepted, but with questions. For that reason, I have always admired humans–especially women--who lived their lives by their own rules and beliefs.  A good example of someone who has lived both a life of adventure and service is Fern Platt Hall. She is a good example of a kind, but no nonsense, adventurous spirit.

East County News Service

A convenient online registration process is now available for La Mesa businesses damaged during civil unrest overnight on Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31 to receive money from the La Mesa Disaster Recovery Fund.

The East County Economic Development Council (ECEDC) is supporting the effort initiated through the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce and La Mesa Chamber of Commerce. It will receive and manage the applications on its website.

“We had one single objective at this stage of this process: making registration and documentation as easy and quick as possible,” said Jo-Marie Diamond, President and CEO of the East County Economic Development Council.  

Businesses can register through an online form on the East County Economic Development Council website. Applicants able to complete their registration by Friday, June 26 and have it verified will be part of the Phase I distribution.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of ECM  news partner 10 News

June 15, 2020 (Lakeside) – Dustin Banzhof, 39, was shot by a Sheriff’s deputy and arrested last night after Banzhof reportedly fired multiple shots during a domestic dispute.

Deputies responded at 8:30 p.m. to the 11600 block of Hi Ridge Road in Lakeside, where a woman had locked herself in a bedroom with her two children in an effort to hide from the children’s estranged father, who was inside her home.