Source: San Diego Foundation

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Foundation announced today that it has awarded $315,000 in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations leading local efforts to support and improve quality of life for older San Diegans. The grants fund projects ranging from initiatives to help homeless seniors to efforts that provide access to food, housing, medical care, dental services and jobs training for older area residents.

By Barb Ambrose

Photo:  source 

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- Sunny San Diego is the perfect spot to harness the sun’s power and light up your home’s exterior. Why go solar? Because solar lights are energy-efficient, economical, and free you from electrical outlets. They also add beauty while saving you money on your electric bill. Here are some ideas for using solar lighting to help your home’s exterior shine.

East County News Service 

October 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the eradication of nearly 1.2 million illegally cultivated marijuana plants and the seizure of more than 180,000 pounds of illegally processed marijuana as part of the California Department of Justice’s annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) program. That includes 22,497 plants at two sites in San Diego County including Cleveland National Forest land. 

The Attorney General also directed the California Department of Justice to initiate a six-month review of the CAMP program in light of changes to the law since the program was first initiated with the goal of building on existing efforts to address the environmental, labor, and economic impacts of illegal cultivation.

East County News Service

October 18, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) - The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) has awarded Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) the prestigious Thomas Paine Award for being among the most effective speakers and communicators in the Democratic House Caucus. Congresswoman Jacobs was one of just five members, out of 220 House Democrats, to receive the award. 

East County News Service

October 18, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Billie Faye Owens, 63, a journalist in San Diego from the mid-1980s until 1996, died at Rochester General Hospital in New York on Oct. 15 from complications from congestive heart failure.

She was taken to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, NY, with health issues on July 26 and remained hospitalized for 81 days. At no time did she test positive for COVID-19.

She was born in 1958 in Charlotte, N.C., to Barbara Jean Carter and Billie Eugene McSwain. Her mother moved her when she was 5 to San Diego where she would eventually attend San Diego State University, earning a B.A. in Journalism.

She went to work for the Daily Californian in El Cajon, Calif. in 1989, where she met her second husband, Howard Owens, then a wire and copy editor at the Daily Californian, and currently publisher of The Batavian in Batavia, NY. They were married on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene College in 1993.

West Hills High School math and aerospace engineering teacher wins California’s highest honor 

East County News Service

October 16, 2021 (El Cajon) - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Friday that West Hills High School math teacher Tiffany Jokerst is one of five 2022 California Teachers of the Year.

By Henri Migala

October 16, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- If you’ve ever seen the classic 1972 movie, Jeremiah Johnson, played by Robert Redford, about the golden age of Mountain Men, you might remember the last line of the movie, “…. and some men say, he’s up there still.”

Contest open to all high school students 

By Sue Sutton

October 15, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- The La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women is sponsoring the annual Speech Trek, speech contest, open to all high school students in grades 9-12. The in-person contest is open to all high schools including public, charter and private.

Each year, a critical topic is selected and students, along with a branch/teacher coach, create, prepare and present an original, 5-6 minute speech. This year’s topic is "Has the United States lived up to its pledge of “liberty and justice for all?  Would requiring the study of diversity, equity and inclusion in a high school setting help ensure liberty and justice for all?” 

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Image, left: Artist's rendering of the apartment project slated to be built on the former police station site on Allison Avenue

Oct. 14, 2021 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa City Council voted 3-0  on Tuesday to approve  development of the old police headquarters' site, where an apartment project is slated for construction.

Mayor Mark Arapostathis, Vice Mayor Jack Shu, and Councilman Colin Parent voted in favor. Councilman Bill Baber abstained due to a conflict of interest. One seat remains vacant, with a November 2 special election set to fill the vacancy.

The council also approved creation of an arts and culture commission during the October 12^th Council meeting.

In addition, Juneteenth, a new federal holiday, will now be officially observed in La Mesa, commemorating the emancipation of African Americans from slavery. The order reached Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Participating candidates, left to right: Mejgan Afshan, Kathleen Brand, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian

October 13, 2021 (La Mesa) – East County Magazine will host a virtual forum for La Mesa City Council candidates running to fill the vacancy left by Dr. Akilah Weber’s election to the state Assembly. The candidates will be Thursday, October 14 at 7 p.m.  It will be recorded via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyMagazine. A podcast will also be posted at www.EastCountyMagazine.org after the forum.

Six candidates are running and four have agreed to participate: Mejgan Afshan, Kathleen Brand, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian. A fifth, Jim Stieringer, provided detailed information on his experience and goals if elected.

Find information on  these five candidates below.

By Miriam Raftery

October 13, 2021 (San Diego) – If you’re a San Diego County resident not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, you’re in a shrinking minority. San Diego County has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation with over 2.2 million people fully vaccinated. That’s 80% of everyone eligible (ages 12 and up), the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.  Even more, 89.2%, are at least partially vaccinated.

Yet hospitalizations and deaths continue – nearly all among unvaccinated people. In the past 30 days, 263 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in San Diego County – and 258 of those were not fully vaccinated. In the past week, 37 deaths were reported from COVID-19, and 31 of those were not fully vaccinated.