November 8, 2024 San Diego) --Firefighters are battling three brush fires locally.  The largest is the Garden Fire at 47.9 acres, which has sparked evacuations in Fallbrook.  The blaze started east of  Gird Rd. and Pala Mesa Drive; it is 10% contained. View the evacuation map.

The Resort Fire has burned 2 acres  along highway 79 west west of Warner Springs Rd. in Warner Springs. It is burning at a rapid rate of spread,  per incident command. 15 additional engines have been requested.

In Escondido, the Pasqual 4 Fire has charred half an acre in the 1400 block of San Pasqual Valley Rd.

By Miriam Raftery

November 6, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Sitivi “Steve” Faia has pulled ahead of Councilman George Gastil in the Lemon Grove City Council race, where four candidates are vying for two seats.  Jessyka Heredia remains in the lead with 28.86% of the votes counted, followed by Faia, a youth sports coach, with 25.40% and 2,410 votes. Gastil, at 25.16% trails Faia by just 23 votes, leaving open the potential for yet another shift as more votes are tallied.

Planning Commission Chair Seth Smith is in fourth place with 20.58% and 1,952 votes.

Update: Kamala Harris has congratulated Trump on his win. Republicans have also taken control of the House.

By Miriam Raftery

November 5, 2024 (Washington D.C.) – Former President Donald Trump has won two major battleground states, CNN and AP predict, and is edging closer to victory in the hotly contested presidential race.  Currently Trump is projected to have 247 electoral votes while Vice President Kamala Harris has 214.  At least 270 electoral college votes are needed to secure a win in the presidential race.

Of the seven battleground states,  AP has projected Trump the winner in Georgia and North Carolina.  He has leads in all of the other five swing states: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin with most votes counted, though some states could still flip as votes from large urban areas not yet tallied come in. However the path for a Harris win has narrowed, while Trump retains several paths to victory.

If Trump wins, he will have a Senate majority of his own party. Republicans have flipped control of the Senate by at least one seat to have a 51-seat majority. Senate control means Republicans will have the power to confirm the president’s cabinet and judicial appointees.

By Miriam Raftery

November 5, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – All four East County cities had measures on the ballot to raise or extend sale taxes, and three of the four are winning by large margins.

By Miriam Raftery

November 5, 2024 (La Mesa) – Four candidates are vying for two open seats on the La Mesa City Council, and the race is too close to call.  With 855, 948 ballots counted out of the county’s 1,983,767 registered voters counted in early returns, Lauren Cazares and Genevieve Suzuki lead with 32.03% and 31.27% respectively, followed closely by former Councilmember Kristine Alessio at 29.47%.  Fitness trainer Shawn Townsend trails with 7.23%. 

East County News Service

November 5, 2024 (San Diego) – All five incumbent Congressional members countywide appear cruising to reelection, including East County representatives Darrell Issa and Sara Jacobs.  Below are results for all five San Diego Congressional races with 855, 948 ballots counted out of the county’s 1,983,767 registered voters.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

November 5, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E warns that high fire risk weather conditions amid a red flag warning may result in public safety power shutoffs to prevent fires starting Wed. Nov. 6 at 4 a.m. through Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m.  Communities at risk of power shutoffs are listed below and include 24, 740 customers, or input your address here: https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

View video of full interview,  hear audio,  or scroll down for highlights

East County News Service

November 2, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Stephen Houlahan is a former Santee City Councilman and registered nurse who led successful effforts to block a dangerous liquified natural gas pipeline through the 48^th Congressional district that he is now running to represent.  That seat is currently occupied by Rep. Darrell Issa. The contrast is dramatic—and Houlahan says he’s running to restore freedoms, protect our democracy, and bring home federal dollars to underground power lines that have sparked wildfires and caused insurance rates to skyrocket.

The contrast couldn’t be more clear.

• Issa voted against certifying the 2020 election results and opposed efforts to investigate the Capitol insurrection.  Houlahan says a peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of democracy, and has won endorsement from National Security Leaders of America, a bipartisan group of retired military leaders and cabinet officers.
• Issa is coauthor of a bill to outlaw abortion nationwide, with no exceptions even to save a mother’s life.  Houlahan wants to restore women’s reproductive freedoms taken away when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
• Issa voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Houlahan wants to fight to bring home infrastructure dollars to improve storm drainage infrastructure, repair the dangerous El Capitan dam, and improve fire safety.
• Issa has opposed clean energy investment.  Houlahan  backs rebuilding the energy grid, including undergrounding power lines to protect our backcountry.
• Issa voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Houlahan wants to protect it and expand Medicare to cover those 55 and up, also adding a MediKids program to cover 4 million uninsured children.
• Issa, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has been accused of corruption including most recently failing to timely report hundreds of thousands of dollars in treasury bonds, a potential violation of the Stock Act.  Houlahan says he will stand against corruption and for transparency, calling for tougher penalties on insider trading by members of Congress and a need for honest leadership.

In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine also aired on KNSJ radio,  Houlahan also shared his views on the economy and inflation, immigration and border security NATO, the Israel-Gaza conflict,  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and more.

By Sammie Ann Wicks

November 1, 2024 (San Diego) --The voting public on Tuesday will again weigh in on the housing crisis, as homeless advocates and the real estate industry go head-to- head over a new rent control proposal, Proposition 33. If passed, the measure could change the current housing scenario in California drastically.  While the measure does not mandate rent control, it would enable local cities or counties to enact restrictions on rental rates.

East County News Service

October 27, 2024 (Borrego Springs) – The Borrego Springs Film Institute is offering a series of free film showings at the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center.

The next showing is the classic film “Casablanca” on November 6 at 7 p.m.  The1942  film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, features a cynical expatriate American cafe owner who struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.