East County News Service

August 5, 2017 (Anza-Borrego) -- Calling All Photographers!  The 2018 Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest is now live and ready to accept your entries!

The contest is meant to encourage desert lovers and photography enthusiasts to capture their favorite views, moments and adventures in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Since the theme of the contest is the unique and natural beauty of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, all photographs must be taken within the Park boundaries.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: National Park Service

August 5, 2017 (San Diego) – If you suffer from arachnophobia, you may not like this story.  Those winter showers have brought out more than May flowers. The wet weather has also led to an increase in tarantula sightings locally due to plentiful populations of critters on which these giant spiders feast.

Board passes over ex-PTA president/LMSV bond oversight committee member and former teacher’s union representative to select church worker

By Kendra Sitton

Read full transcript of meeting here.

August 5, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Rebekah Basson received the appointment to the La Mesa-Spring Valley (LMSV) Board of Education during a special meeting on Aug. 3, just two days before the deadline for an expensive special election to be held in its place.

East County News Service

August 4, 2017 (Escondido) – Public help is sought to help locating Seraphine Bustillos, a missing Escondido 15-year-old who may have left home with a foot-and-a-half long ball python snake and a black backpack.  She has hair dyed black, blue eyes, pierced ears, and is 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 110 pounds.

East County News Service

August 4, 2017 (El Cajon) - The Superior Court of California and Mental Health Systems, Inc. will hold a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, August 9th at 5:00 p.m. at the Lakeside Community Center, 9841 Vine Street, Lakeside.  This is the court’s 45^th Graduation ceremony since it was founded 20 years ago in August 1997.  The 20th anniversary of East County Drug Court and the uplifting commencement ceremony is evidence of the tremendous impact that East County Drug Court has had on our community, a release from  the county’s Mental Health Service department states.  

East County News Service

August 4, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Authorities seek public help to locate 31-year-old Rainier Raroque, a convicted sexual batterer.  He failed to register as a sex offender in San Diego County and is known to frequent La Mesa and Lemon Grove, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reports.

Congress also takes action to prevent firing of Mueller before recessing for summer

By Miriam Raftery

August 4, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has convened a federal grand jury  several weeks ago to determine whether criminal indictments should be filed in relation to the Trump team-Russia probe.   The report was swiftly confirmed by the Washington Post and other media.

 Reuters reports that the grand jury actions include approval of issuing subpoenas related to a meeting between Trump’s son, son-in-law, a Russian lawyer, then-campaign manager Paul Manafort, a cyberhacking expert and  other key figures to discuss negative information the attorney claimed to have on Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: East County resident Linda Niman stripped down and cooled off with a free-spirited "rain dance" that piqued interest on social media.  

August 3, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – A monsoonal storm brought torrential rain, hail, lightning strikes and flooding to portions of San Diego County over the past two days.

Residents also sweltered in high heat coupled with high humidity  The National Weather Service San Diego office posted on Facebook earlier today,“Current Dewpoint at the office is 73F degrees, oppressive!"

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

 A father's anguish: Richard Olango Abuka shared memories of his late son, a refugee whose American dream ended in gunfire by an El Cajon police officer.  Photo, left by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson.

August 3, 2017 (El Cajon) -- At a march to celebrate what would have been Alfred Olango’s 39^th year of life, his father, Richard Olango Abuka, recalled one of his favorite memories; his son’s 13^th birthday, “celebrating coming here” one month after they arrived in America.

Lemon Grove kicked off its 40^th Birthday Celebration at Tuesday’s City Council meeting

Photo: (left to right) Councilman David Arambula, Councilman Jerry Jones, founding Councilman W. Dale Bailey, Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Mendoza, Mayor Racquel Vasquez, founding Councilman Jack Doherty, Councilman David Arambula, former Mayor Mary Sessom and her grandson, former Councilman Tom Clabby and Helen Ofield with the Lemon Grove Historical Society.

By Jonathan Goetz

August 3, 2017 (Lemon Grove) –  To commemorate the city’s 40^th birthday, Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez presented certificates to founding Councilmembers W. Dale Bailey and Jack Doherty; Matt Jennings presented a certificate to the City from Senator Joel Anderson at this week’s Council meeting.

Review by Kathy Carpenter

Associate Reviewer sdtheatrereviews.com

Freelance writer Splash Magazine

August 3, 2017 (El Cajon) - Adventure is where you make it. In this rendition of Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved tale adapted for the conservatory by Jeanette Thomas, Jim is now Jamie, a girl, and she finds life is the adventure. Escape your every day life for a couple of hours and live the adventure of Treasure Island, directed by Brian Rickel & Mitzi Smith and with scores by musical director John Reynolds, complete with pirates, surprises and fun.

By Joey Collado, General Manager at The Montera 

August 2, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Over time our bodies go through more changes than we might often realize, and our everyday beauty regimens should evolve to work with these changes. As we age our hair, skin and nails have the biggest changes, with hair color fading, skin acquiring wrinkles and age spots, and nails losing some shine and strength. It’s vital to make sure our daily routines are modified to embrace and enhance our changing appearance. While aging will always involve some stress and fear, encouraging your loved one to embrace aging with some beauty tips can help them maintain their mental and physical wellness:

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

August 2, 2017 (San Diego) -- More people lose their LIVES in floods than in any other weather-related event. Eighty percent of flood deaths occur in vehicles, and most happen when drivers make a single, fatal mistake - trying to navigate through floodwaters.

Watch for the following signs:

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

August 2, 2017 (La Mesa) – A long-term highway closure is in effect at State Route 125 and I-8 in La Mesa, where an out-of-control big rig truck struck multiple vehicles, killing two women in a green Chevy car and injuring six other people, including two children, ages 6 and 3.

The children were in an SUV that was struck.  The 6-year-old was not in a carseat suffered major injuries including a broken neck, KNSD reports. She was reportedly not breathing when emergency responders arrived but she was resusciated.The children were taken to Rady Children's Hospital.

According to the CHP site, the big rig on southbond  125 struck a center divider, then careened into northbound lanes, striking multiple vehicles before coming to rest, jackknifed across the freeway. 

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Story by Liz Alper

Photo:  Though they lost, the Padres made some key offensive plays against the Twins in the series finale.  Via @Padres on Twitter

August 2, 2017 (San Diego) - Believe it or not, last night, thought it was only game one of the series against the Twins, the Padres won the series--because it’s only two games!  The Pads went for the sweep today against Ervin Santana, the ace of the Twins’ staff, against Luis Perdomo.