By County News Center, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 7, 2023 (Mount Laguna, Calif.) -- A deer mouse collected near Mount Laguna on Aug. 24 during routine monitoring has tested positive for hantavirus.

Hantavirus in wild rodents is relatively common in San Diego County. This is the seventh routine detection of hantavirus in the region for calendar year 2023.  However, because wild rodents naturally avoid people, human exposure to the virus is rare. Still, County officials advise people should be careful around wild rodents as there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus.

Story by Liz Alper

Photo via @padres on Twitter

September 6, 2023 (San Diego) - Both the Padres and Phillies went  for the series today.  Zack Wheeler started for Philly against Michael Wacha.

By Miriam Raftery

September 5, 2023 (Ramona) – A head-on crash in Ramona early yesterday morning proved deadly for one driver, but the other survived with non-threatening injuries. Both young drivers were residents of Ramona. The difference? The motorist who survived was wearing a seatbelt, while the other was not.

September 5, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) -- 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

• Grossmont Union school board reaffirms decision to change mental health provider  (KPBS)
• Supervisors pass policy supporting voter OK for water district departures  (KPBS)
• San Diego’s Eye-Popping Electricity Rates Get National Notoriety (Voice of San Diego)
• America’s Most Wanted fugitive Donald Santini used bankruptcy to finance life on the run  (10 News)
• Rolling in money and talent, San Diego State University is emerging as a major player in science
• Citizen brings to light questionable spending in Ramona cemetery district (KPBS)
• Nathan Fletcher & Lorena Gonzalez sitting on a combined $2.3 million in campaign funds (KUSI)
• Former SDSU football player connected to gang-rape case pleads guilty on child-porn charge (NBC)
• San Diego City Council approves use of 'smart streetlights,' automated license plate readers (10  News)
• Thousands of gallons of sewage spills after South Bay plant pumps fail  (10 News)
• Tijuana's illegal sewer hookups linked to cross-border pollution  (KPBS)
• Venezuelans make way in San Diego, join 1.9 million migrants nationally in legal 'twilight zone'  (KPBS)
• UCSD ranked 3rd, San Diego State at #16 on Forbes' Top 25 Public Colleges list  (10 News)

STATE

• U.S. sues Southern Calif. Edison over 2020 California wildfire (Reuters)
• A new gray wolf pack is found 200 miles south of California's nearest-known pack  (KPBS)
• As California maternity wards close, preterm birth rate rises  (KPBS)
• California aims to introduce more anglers to native warm-water tolerant sunfish as planet heats up (KPBS)
• Closure of 3 Southern California power plants likely to be postponed, state energy officials decide  (KPBS)

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

Latest pro-labor actions aim to grow the economy "from the middle out and the bottom up” as part of Bidenomics

By Miriam Raftery

View President Biden's Labor Day speech in Philadephia, where he speaks to union workers about the differences between his record of helping working people and Donald Trump's record

September 3, 2023 (Washington D.C.)-- President Joe Biden promised to be the most pro-worker and pro-union President in American history, and has taken numerous steps to keep that promise.

Under his administration,  more jobs per month have been created than under any president in the past four decades, despite the pandemic. Recent polls show  support for unions at its highest level in more than half a century—68%  according to Gallup. Though inflation has been the greatest economic challenge,Inflation-adjusted income is up 3.5% since the President took office, and the largest wage gains over the last two years have gone to the lowest-paid workers, according to the White House. The unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years, the Deptartment of Commerce reports,  and a greater share of working-age people have a job today than in over 20 years. Under Bidenomics, America is seeing a historic level of investment in manufacturing, Forbes reports, and new industries to create good-paying jobs that Americans can raise a family on and build a community around.

In advance of Labor Day, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions this week to empower workers by investing in America’s clean energy workforce, establishing pathways into high-paying and union jobs, demonstrating the benefits of unions, and extending critical wage protections. 

The White House released details on these actions, including:

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

September 3, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove’s main business corridor on Broadway is the center of commerce, but the physical environment of the area is suffering. Community leaders recently took to the streets to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their neighborhood along Broadway. It was an inspiring display of community engagement and commitment to positive change to shed light on issues like drug and alcohol harm, blight, walkability, and other areas needing of improvement. This June walk on a Saturday morning reflects the strong sense of community among Lemon Grove's residents and underscores the urgency to address pressing concerns through collaborative efforts.

By Miriam Raftery

September 3, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Fall is in the air –ushering in some of East County’s most iconic festivals including Oktoberfests, Alley Cat Art Walk, Julian Autumn Jubilee, Sycuan's Powwow, and haunting Halloween happenings. Plus comedians Randy Rainbow and Paula Poundstone will be performing in El Cajon and music legend Crystal Gayle will be onstage at Sycuan.

Scroll down for these events in San Diego's inland region, and more.

East County News Service

September 3, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- The maximum amounts for which you can be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in California will increase starting October 1st, 202312. 

September 2, 2023, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Long COVID Recovery Remains Rare. Doctors Are Struggling to Understand Why (Time)
• Medicare names first 10 drugs up for price negotiations with the government (NBC)
• U.S. health agency recommends easing federal restrictions on marijuana (NBC)
• COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Deaths on the Rise (WebMD)
• Highways are the next antiabortion target. One Texas town is resisting. (Washington Post)
• Diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy seem to curb other cravings  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• India lands a spacecraft near the moon's south pole, a first for the world as it joins elite club (AP)
• What to know about Japan releasing Fukushima water into the ocean  (NPR)
• Meta takes down large Chinese and Russian influence operations  (NPR)
• NASA releases first U.S. pollution map images from new instrument launched to space: "Game-changing data"  (MSN)
• An 'ancestral bottleneck' took out nearly 99 percent of the human population 800,000 years ago (PopScience)

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

By Miriam Raftery

September 2, 2023 (La Mesa) — From  Sept. 29 through Oct. 1, La Mesa Oktoberfest will be celebrating 50 years of Bavarian festivities in an effort to top its traditions for the past half-century.

By Miriam Raftery

September 1, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Undercover officers with the San Diego Regional Auto Theft Task Force infiltrated organized auto theft rings locally, says CHP Captain Charles Leonard. Through a sting operation at a storefront in East County, suspects were caught on video selling stolen vehicles, guns, ammunition and narcotic drugs to undercover detectives.

On August 31, the task force announced that Operation Sunrise has resulted in recovery of stolen vehicles worth an estimated $3.3 million.  Fifty suspects have been indicted on crimes including auto theft, identity theft, illegal firearms possession and selling drugs.  Officers also seized  narcotics and 14 firearms, including several untraceable and illegal ghost guns.

La Mesa Police Chief Ray Sweeney, who serves as the task force's Executive Chair, said cracking down on auto thefts is important because stolen cars are often used to commit other crimes, 10 News reports.

By Mike Allen

September 1, 2023 (Santee) -- The owner of the Santee Drive-In Theater said the outdoor movie complex that opened in 1958 will shut down in January. In a press statement, Susan Boyd, a member of the Forte Family, said the business “is no longer economically viable.”

“We are facing loss of customers, higher costs, equipment obsolescence, competition from streaming services, and the inability to show some of the newly released films.  Like movie theaters across the country, we can’t afford to stay open,” she said.

Instead of letting the property sit vacant, the family selected North Palisade Partners of Los Angeles as buyers in a sale that’s expected to occur in 2024, according to the recent press statement.

This news confirms what East County Magazine reported in early May, based on several reliable sources.