By Jacob Pamus

July 14, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – Two weeks after the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s executive order granting sweeping forgiveness of student loan debts, Biden and the Department of Education today announced a new, more tailored plan to forgive $39 billion in student debt.

IPS sponsors communication training for community members starting Aug. 5 

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

July 14,  2023 (Lemon Grove) -- The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg once said, “You can disagree without being disagreeable.” For many, conversations around drugs and alcohol, homelessness, community redevelopment, law enforcement, and how tax dollars are spent, all elicit strong passions. Passions that sometimes take hold and overcome our ability to engage with each other in a cordial, respectful, and civil manner.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

July 12, 2023 (Sacramento)-- Sometimes, patients who call an ambulance end up getting stuck with a big bill because the ambulance company does not have a contract with their health plan.

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

Photo:  La Mesa Councilman Jack Shu wore an orange shirt emblematic of the gun-safety movement. Image via Facebook

July 12, 2023 (La Mesa) - The La Mesa City Council on Tuesday night advanced a draft ordinance requiring residents to keep firearms locked away or disabled with a trigger lock unless carried by — or near — an authorized user in the home.

By Miriam Raftery

July 12, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The  Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) outbreak in livestock that began in San Diego County in May has now spread to encompass six California counties.  One county in Texas also had a single confirmed case on a property that’s been released from quarantine.

Species affected locally includes primarily equine species such as horses, though two local sites have had cattle infected and one San Diego location has had clinically infected rhinoceros.

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2023 –Our East County Dining Club is back!  East  County Magazine invites you to join us on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a fundraiser where you can savor the flavors of southern Italy at AnniVenti La Trattoria,  a delightful new restaurant at 8099 Broadway in Lemon Grove. RSVP early to save space!

15% of all food and drinks plus 100% of raffle tickets will benefit East County Media to support East County Magazine, nonprofit award-winning community news coverage, and East Coundy Wildfire & Emergency Alerts.

For just $35 per person, (excluding tax and tip), the 4-course feast will include:

Appetizers served family-style (pistachio burrata, calamari, and charcuterie)

Pasta entrée options:

-- Spaghetti Vongole (clams, white wine garlic sauce, pesto and pistachio)

-- Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe (chicken pasta in creamy pepper sauce)

-- Busiata Normanna(eggplant, tomato, basil, mint, ricotta)

-- Pappardelle al Ragu (slowly braised beef pasta)                  

Caesar salad

Desert:  Tiramisu,Limoincello, or Cannoli

The restaurant also has a full wine list as well as beer and creative cocktails.

Win prizes! We will also have a raffle with prizes including a gift card to AnniVenti, gift certificates for other local merchants, gift baskets, jewelry, flowers, books, and more! Thanks to our prize sponsors so far: Anniventi La Tratorria,  Mastiff Kitchen, Jasmine Creek Florist,  Elevated Coffee, Mario's Family Clothing Center,  Stephanie Klein at Roots Real Estate, Lemon Grove Antique Mall, El Pollo Grill, Maxwell's House of Books, Mary Ann Chanthala at ASKMary4RealEstate brokered by ΓEA⅃, Moutain Gypsy, Jean's Dance Studio, Busy Bee Garden Co-op, Flowers by Elsa, and more.  

RSVP BY JULY 17: Please email editor@eastcountymagazine.org and include your name, the number of people in your party, and the subject line  “RSP for AnniVenti.” To reserve space for the July 20 event. (Late RSVPs may be accepted on a limited basis, based on availability.) We expect this to be a popular event to welcome Lemon Grove’s newest fine dining restaurant!

East Count News Service

July 11, 2023 (El Cajon) – The bodies of two brothers, Wilburn Burchette, 84, and Kenneth Burchette, 76, were found in their home on July 9.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting a death that evening and found the two bodies. “Both men appeared to have been deceased for some time,” says Lieutenant Joseph Jarjura with the San Diego County Sheriff’s department.

By Miriam Raftery

Update: The victim has been identified as Richard Taylor, 68, of Lakeside.

July 11, 2023 (Lakeside) – A Lakeside father died at the scene of a solo-vehicle three-wheel motorcycle crash last night that injured his 2-year-old son, a passenger.

By Miriam Raftery

July 10,2023 (San Diego) -- Today is a sad day for journalism in San Diego. The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper has been sold to Media News Group, which is owned by Alden Global Capital. Employees have been notified via email of the sale.

The new corporate owner has a reputation for “evisceration” of  U.S. newspapers,according to  NPR.  Alden is a “vulture” capital company known for gutting newsrooms, laying off journalists and even closing some newspapers, the Atlantic reports. They also ended reader comments at all of their newspapers, which include many Southern California publications.

This is troubling for our region, particularly East County communities that already lack adequate coverage in San Diego County's largest newspaper.  It’s also bad for democracy, with no robust discussion of issues and the focus on profits, not in-depth news such as investigative reporting,

Now, the need to maintain and expand -- not cut -- our coverage at East County Magazine is critical.  But we've struggled to keep up with our reader's requests for news coverage amid rising costs-- and we urgently need your help.

Will you please make a generous donation at www.eastcountymedia.org/donate and consider becoming a sustaining monthly donor? 

Without more readers committed to saving local journalism, there could someday be no news outlets left to cover news that matters in many local communities nor even important countywide news.

By Mike Allen

July 10, 2023 (Santee) -- Already paying some of the highest water bills in the nation, customers of Padre Dam Municipal Water District as well as 22 other agencies could see their rates increase even more if two North County water districts secede from the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA).

Both the Fallbrook Public Utilities District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District have been trying to leave the CWA because they say the costs for the purchased water is too high, and they can get it cheaper by joining the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County.

An independent government agency, the Local Agency Formation Commission of San Diego County, better known as LAFCO, will determine the outcome of this issue, and scheduled to take a vote today.

By Miriam Raftery

July 10, 2023 (San Diego’s East County)—Michele Michalina Lange was a devoted mother  and a popular waitress at the Por Favor Restaurant in La Mesa.  But on June 22, her ended when she was walking across  Jamacha Blvd. near Lamplighters Village Drive in Spring Valley and was struck by two vehicles—a red SUV and a silver sedan.

 Both fled the scene, and now Michele’s father, Michael Lange, is offering a $25,000 reward to find those drivers and hold them accountable.

“I’m lost…I loved my daughter dearly,” he told 10 news, adding, “I want justice.”

Each wave is a nice start.

Novel by Sally J. Pla; reviewed by Pennell Paugh

July 9, 2023 (San Diego) - San Diego author Sally J. Pla has released her fourth novel, The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn.

East County News Service

Photo and video by Robert Gehr

July 8, 2023 (El Cajon) – A two-vehicle crash knocked over a fire hydrant at the corner of Van Houton and Douglas in El Cajon this morning, spewing water across the roadways.  The vehicles involved were a white pickup truck and a dark Nissan car, according to ECM photographer Robert Gehr.