By Miriam Raftery

October 11, 2016 (La Mesa) –  At today’s 4 p.m. meeting, La Mesa City Council will consider a proposal introduced by Council members Bill Baber and Kristine Alessio that would require signatures  of two  Council members to place any item on the agenda.  Under the proposal (item 10 on the agenda), all requests must also be made in writing, be relevant to the official business of the City, and submitted with any pertinent materials by the Wednesday prior to a Tuesday Council hearing.

Until now, any member could ask to add an item to the agenda and seek full discussion, sometimes at the request of a concerned citizen. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy of Deerhorn Valley Antler and Ray Conser

October 11, 2016 (Jamul) – Opening of the Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego yesterday caused extreme traffic delays of to several hours, according to the California Highway Patrol and residents.  The Deerhorn Valley Antler reported 2-4 hour delays.  Traffic on State Route 94 (Campo  Road)  was  backed up for  many miles, all the way from Otay Lakes Road in the south and from  Kenwood Drive in Spring Valley in the north.Side roads such as Lyons Valley Road and Skyline also became jammed.

CHP’s incident page logged multiple complaints of motorists parking on both sides of  highway 94 and other nearby streets illegally after the casino parking lot, which holds 1,800 vehicles, filled to capacity. There were reports of  vehicles making illegal U-turns, passing illegally, and making right turns from a left-hand lane, as well as motorists walking along the roadway.  One caller voiced distress, reporting that her vehicle overheated and her daughter was home along,  per the CHP log. On Brush Fire Partyline’s  Facebook page, Melissa Woodall worried about her children stuck in traffic on a school bus with no air conditioning. John MJodline wrote that it took two hours to get his son at Steele Canyon High school, where dozens of kids were stranded waiting for parents and some students crossed a dangerous thoroughfare.

By Janis Russell

October 10, 2016 (San Diego) - Close to a hundred people turned out on Wednesday October 5 at the Jacob Center for a pre-regulatory meeting on medical marijuana regulatory issues.  The public meeting was convened by the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (BMCR) in the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the Office of Medical Cannabis Safety, Department of Public Health.

By Liz Alper

Photos courtesy Joel Price

October 10, 2016 (Oakland) - For week four, the Chargers traveled north to face the AFC West rival Oakland Raiders.  The Raiders started the scoring midway through the first quarter with a field goal from Sebastian Janikowski, good for three points and the Raiders took a 3-0 lead.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Byron Croft: top, Richard St. Jean and Penn National team; right, Final Cut steakhouse view.

October 9,2016 (Jamul) – “I’m like a proud parent,” Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego vice president and general manager Richard St. Jean said,  during a preview tour of the 200,000 square foot facility on Saturday.  This has been a long time coming.”

The casino will opening to the public on Monday at 2 p.m., after an 11 a.m.ribbon-cutting for Penn National Gaming executive team members and tribal members of the Jamul Indian Village of the Kumeyaay Nation.

For more sports stories, visit ECM's Sports section

Source: goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

October 9, 2016 (San Diego) - Donnel Pumphrey had 198 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, Rashaad Penny added 160 scrimmage yards and two TDs, and San Diego State beat UNLV 26-7 on Saturday night.

Pumphrey ran 31 times for 141 yards and caught seven passes for 57 yards. His 26th career 100-yard rushing game tied DonTrell Moore (New Mexico, 2002-05) for the Mountain West Conference record.

Source: SDSU Police Department

October 8, 2016 (San Diego) – Campus police at San Diego State University have issued an alert warning of cell phone thefts on Aztec Walk that occurred on October 2 and again on October 6.

Below is the full bulletin including descriptions of the suspects:

By Miriam Raftery

October 7, 2016 (El Cajon )—El Cajon Police provided extra security today at Montgomery Middle School after a series of threats circulated on Instagram by a user named “elcajonclown.”

 ECM obtained a copy of one threat, which read, “Who wants to get hired killing teachers?” 10 News reports an additional threat posted, which stated, "Tomorrow we attacking Montgomery at 9:30 AM send this [expletive] to montgomerys teachers we will kill all teachers and kidnap students we will have 19 people age 17+ be ready.”

Update Oct. 12: The Chamber has rescinded its endorsement of Measures U and V after receiving more information from the cities of La Mesa and  Lemon Grove.

By Miriam Raftery

October 6, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) –Community leaders in La Mesa and Lemon Grove are reacting with shock and outrage over endorsement by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce (ECC) of Measures U and V, which would legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the two cities.   Voters in both La Mesa and Lemon Grove rejected similar ballot measures in the last general election.

“The City of Lemon Grove is a dues-paying member of the ECC. Our tax dollars pay for those dues,” states an e-mail sent to  Lemon Grove’s mayor and others  from  Helen Ofield,  President of the Lemon Grove  Historical Society, and her husband, Jack.  “We urge the Lemon Grove City Council and City Manager to oppose the ECC’s action in the strongest possible terms and to cancel its membership in the ECC.”

The Respectful Leader: Seven Ways to Influence Without Intimidation, by Gregg Ward (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2016, 130 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

October 6, 2016 (San Diego) - Ironically and coming at a time when Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has been called before the Senate Banking Committee to account for his actions and those of the bank, along with intemperate and disrespectful actions of numerous other business leaders, Gregg Ward, CEO of the Gregg Ward Group, a management consulting, training and coaching firm that focuses on helping leaders develop their Respectful Leadership, has written a timely book; The Respectful Leader: Seven Ways to Influence Without Intimidation.

By Miriam Raftery

October 5, 2016 (Santee) – Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman at her home in Santee last night.

The woman’s roommate called 911 to report finding the victim unconscious with trauma to her upper body.  Deputies and paramedics responded at 10:39 p.m. to the residence at 8837 Mission Greens Road #3 in Santee, but the woman was dead.

Listen now: click the audio link to hear the candidate forum originally aired on East County Magazine's  Show on KNSJ radio on September 30, 2016.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Mark Gracyk,  Dan McMillan, Lou Tejeda and John Linden

October 5, 2016 (Lemon Grove)—Four contenders vying for two seats on the Helix Water District Board shared their goals at East County Magazine’s candidate forum  at the Lemon Grove Library on September 21^st.  Incumbent John Linden defended repeated  rate hikes as necessary, while challengers  Mark Gracyk, Dan McMillan, and Louis Tejeda pledged to fight for holding the line against future rate hikes and/or trying to reduce water rates.

Candidates fielded questions from  the audience and from East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery on a wide range of issues including water quality, the future of Lake Jennings, the  land deal for sand mining El Monte Valley, their financial backgrounds and more.