By Heidi Hope 

November 18, 2025 (La Mesa)-- For 43 years, Act II has been a thriving and successful boutique offering women’s resale fashion in La Mesa’s downtown village. It is a trendy store started from a family business in 1982 by Dolores Buller and her daughter Deanne Ross, who still owns the store. Act II focuses on stylish female fashion with the hope of helping others dress well, feel good and maintain a budget-friendly experience. 

Andrea Holland, Act II’s store manager, explains the process of gathering fashions to sell and describes their fashion specialty for women’s clothing.

“Ladies resell--we specialize in current trendy fashion, and we have wonderful prices,"Holland says. "You can get designer wardrobe here for just really great deals.” 

NPR/PBS poll finds just 20% of Americans approve of Trump's handling of Epstein matter

Update November 18, 2025: The House of Representatives voted to release the Epstein files by a 427 to 1 margin.  It now goes to the Senate. The measure passed overwhelming after Pres. Trump withdrew his opposition once enough members had pledged support to assure passage.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Image: Best Friends Forever sculpture of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein

November 17, 2025 -- In a surprise reversal, President Trump announced approval of the upcoming Congressional vote to release Justice Department documents and data related to convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. “We’ll give them everything,” said Trump, who said he would sign a bill to release the “complete” stock of Epstein files if it ends up on his desk.

Trump has been avoiding the press about newly released emails connecting him to Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking of young girls. Trump’s name appeared at least 1,500 times in documents from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein made public last week in the US Congress, according to CBS News.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three emails referencing Trump, including one Epstein wrote in 2011 in which he told his confidant Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump had “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with one of Epstein’s trafficking victims. Documents indicate that Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell discussed Trump frequently in newly released emails between 2011 and 2019.

“Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” Epstein wrote in an email to author Michael Wolff on Jan. 31, 2019, the Miami Herald reports. If Trump had knowledge of Epstein's abuse and trafficking of under-age girls, however, he apparently never reported it to law enforcement.

East County News Service

November 17, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – The city of Lemon Grove will host its 29^th annual community bonfire on Friday, December 5 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Treganza Park, 3200 Main Street.

East County News Service

November 17, 2025 (La Mesa) -- "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." But wait. A mouse is stirring - because Santa missed his house last year. Lamplighter’s Theatre in La Mesa will present “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” featuring the wild adventures of a mouse, an elf, and a spunky little girl who visit the North Pole and just won't take no for an answer.

Performances run Nov. 29 through Dec. 14.

East County News Service

November 17, 2025 (Julian) – Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future will come to life in Julian, where the Julian Theater Company presents Charles Dickens’ holiday classic play,  “A Christmas Carol.”

East County News Service

November 17, 2025 (El Cajon) — ‘Tis the season to enjoy “Jingles and Jam” with Rebecca Jam, who was named Breakout Artist of Year by the Smooth Jazz Network and “Debut Artist of the Year” by JazzTrax, both in 2022. She earned a San Diego Music Award in 2023 “Best R&B/Funk/Soul Album” for her debut solo album, A Shade of Jade.

East County News Service

November 17, 2025 (Pine Valley) – Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from Nov. 21 through Dec. 23, Pine Valley Camp  Christmas provides enchanting family entertainment. Hundreds of thousands of lights bring the forest to life, timed to the beat of holiday music hourly from 6-9 p.m. including the finale, Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” There’s also a dancing water show on the half hour, plus many other activities to enjoy.

November 17, 2025 (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

• More nurses, fewer drugs, no suicides: Sheriff touts jail reforms, upgrades before civilian review board (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Community reacts to proposed façade changes at Goodwill in La Mesa Village (KUSI)
•  Where to access food assistance in San Diego County (KPBS)
• Who’s stealing bronze plaques from San Diego County libraries? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
•  On-campus food pantries available to college students across San Diego County ( CBS)
• La Mesa increases parking rates starting Jan. 1 (Times of San Diego )
• Lakeside father calls young children 'heroes' after they help save his life during road rage attack (KGTV)
• Looking for a pole saw? The National City library has you covered (KPBS)
•  East County family devastated as hit-and-run driver who killed Austin Spirz set for early release (10 News)
• San Diego City Council approves reduced water rate hikes over next two years (KPBS)

STATE

• California revokes 17,000 commercial driver's licenses for immigrants (AP)
• California gives Planned Parenthood $140 million boost to keep clinics open (Cal Matters)
• New California law prohibits declawing cats (KBBS)
• California sues Trump over food stamps (KPBS)
• Data centers are putting new strain on California’s grid. A new report estimates the impacts (Cal Matters)

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

East County News Service

Photo: Alvin Ray Quarles. (File photo courtesy of California Department of Corrections)

November 15, 2025 (Borrego Springs) — Alvin Ray Quarles, a sexually violent sex offender who had been temporarily placed in a Borrego Springs home, has been arrested on an alleged parole violation. In Superior Court on Friday, Quarles, 63, pleaded not guilty to the parole violation, which was not disclosed.

East County News Service

November 15, 2025 (El Cajon) - The Saps at Sea, the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the Laurel and Hardy fan organization, invite you to close out their 47th year with some End of Year Film Fun in El Cajon on Saturday, December 6.

Some native plants have already begun to show up in Glorietta Canyon, like this chinchweed that’s growing on the pad where the previous owner of the property had his trailer. Photo courtesy Anza Borrego Foundation

East County News Service

Nov. 18, 2025 (Borrego Springs) -- A nearly two-decade conservation effort has culminated in a major victory for the Anza-Borrego Desert.

The Anza-Borrego Foundation in late October shared that it has successfully acquired the 40-acre Glorietta Canyon property, a crucial parcel of land on the western edge of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, securing its protection from future development.

By Ana B. Ibarra, CalMatters

Photo:  from left, former U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services Xavier Becerra, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, and former Speaker of the California State Assembly and former California State Controller Betty T. Yee speak during the "Health Matters: A Conversation With Our Next Governor" debate at UC Riverside on Nov. 7, 2025. Photo by Leroy Hamilton

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

November 14, 2025 (Riverside) - Every day, Californians struggle to afford medications or wait weeks or months for mental health appointments. Thousands in the “sandwich generation” juggle caring for elderly parents with raising children. 

November 14, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Head of RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel: School mandates ‘not necessary’ (The Hill)
•  Bird flu surges among poultry amid a scaled back federal response  (NPR)
• FDA restricts use of kids' fluoride supplements citing emerging health risks (AP)
• Hemp-derived THC drinks, edibles could soon disappear because of shutdown bill  (The Hill)
• Worsening listeria outbreak tied to pasta products kills 6, hospitalizes 25 (NPR)
• Why some health clinics are turning to AI to screen for tuberculosis (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort (404 Media)
• Musk could leave Tesla if $1 trillion pay plan is rejected, chair warns  (Reuters)
• US will share sensitive nuclear submarine technology with South Korea, Trump says  (AP)
• US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China, AP finds
• What are the satellites saying? It's no secret if they're not encrypted. (KPBS)
• A confidential manifesto lays out Isaacman's sweeping new vision for NASA (Politico)

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