Mt. Helix Park adds new butterfly garden, picnic tables

by Karen Pearlman | May 18, 2026 12:26 am

Story and main photo by Karen Pearlman

May 17, 2026 (Mount Helix) — A barren stretch of dirt outside the front office of Mt. Helix Park Foundation near the top of Mount Helix has become a colorful and welcoming spot for butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, towhees and other visitors to the area.

Thanks to financial backing from the family of Suzanne Chambers — the former CFO at Otay Water District and volunteer at the Water Conservation Garden — the foundation was able to purchase things that would bring the improvements. Mt. Helix Park Foundation leaders enlisted volunteers who planted flowers for pollinators, installed fencing and picnic tables, and added bird feeders to the spot.

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Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/mt-helix-park-adds-new-butterfly-garden-picnic-tables/#more-124817

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/mt-helix-park-adds-new-butterfly-garden-picnic-tables/

Photos of the Week: Two winning shots from Lake Jennings Photo Contest

by Karen Pearlman | May 17, 2026 9:41 pm

East County News Service

May 17, 2026 (East County) — The Helix Water District has announced the winners of the Lake Jennings 2026 Photo Contest: Sunrise to Sunset! and East County Magazine is featuring two for our “Photos of the Week.”

At left and top, first-place youth category winner Hannah Hedrick’s “A Dusky Walk,” and below right, second place youth category winner Grace Behana’s “Sunset Over the Lake.”

These and other photographs entered in the contest will be featured on Helix Water District’s website, social media, and in Lake Jennings promotions throughout the year,.

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/photos-of-the-week-two-winning-shots-from-lake-jennings-photo-contest/

How to fix a ‘giant county bureaucracy’: San Diego County debates competing charter reform plans

by Eliza Bethalper | May 17, 2026 9:10 pm

By Deborah Brennan, CalMatters

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

Photo:  photos of the current San Diego Board of Supervisors are displayed inside the San Diego County Administration Center on March 24, 2026. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

May 17, 2026 (San Diego) – San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer pitched a plan to reform the county charter by adding an ethics commission, fiscal watchdogs and an open budget process, while giving supervisors longer term limits and more say over senior staff.

(more…)[1]

Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/how-to-fix-a-giant-county-bureaucracy-san-diego-county-debates-competing-charter-reform-plans/#more-124831

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/how-to-fix-a-giant-county-bureaucracy-san-diego-county-debates-competing-charter-reform-plans/

Mount Laguna Observatory summer visitors program starts May 23

by Karen Pearlman | May 17, 2026 6:47 pm

East County News Service

May 17, 2026 (Mount Laguna) — Star parties are back at Mount Laguna with the return of the Summer Visitors Program at the Mount Laguna Observatory.

The public programs will be held on Saturday nights from 8 to 11 p.m., May 23 through August 15, with a special bonus mid-week viewing scheduled for Wednesday, August 12.

Operated by the San Diego State University Department of Astronomy in partnership with the United States Forest Service, the outreach initiative has been connecting the public with the cosmos in various forms since the observatory’s dedication in 1968.

(more…)[1]

Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/mount-laguna-observatory-summer-visitors-program-starts-may-23/#more-124806

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/mount-laguna-observatory-summer-visitors-program-starts-may-23/

Ram Media Foundation’s Borrego Sun Launches Community Media Apprenticeship Program for Borrego Springs Youth

by Miriam Raftery | May 16, 2026 9:18 pm

 

Source: Ram Media Foundation

May 16, 2026 (Borrego Springs) — Ram Media Foundation has launched a new community media apprenticeship initiative designed to provide local youth and emerging creators with hands-on experience in journalism, digital media, photography, video production, social media, marketing, and community communication. (more…)[1]

Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/ram-media-foundations-borrego-sun-launches-community-media-apprenticeship-program-for-borrego-springs-youth/#more-124725

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/ram-media-foundations-borrego-sun-launches-community-media-apprenticeship-program-for-borrego-springs-youth/

Frontier Airlines’ ‘GoWild’ Pass: the deal that sounds too good to be true — because it is

by Eliza Bethalper | May 16, 2026 7:08 pm

A San Diego traveler’s firsthand account of an all-you-can-fly promotion that delivered nothing at all

By Henri Migala

May 16, 2026 (San Diego) – Imagine paying a flat annual fee and then flying anywhere an airline flies — as many times as you want — for nothing more than government taxes and fees. That’s the promise behind Frontier Airlines’ GoWild All-You-Can-Fly Pass, a promotion the ultra-low-cost carrier has been heavily marketing to budget-conscious travelers. It sounds like a dream. For me, it turned out to be something else entirely.

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Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/frontier-airlines-gowild-pass-the-deal-that-sounds-too-good-to-be-true-because-it-is/#more-124742

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/frontier-airlines-gowild-pass-the-deal-that-sounds-too-good-to-be-true-because-it-is/

Review: Phool: First Contact by Pramod V. Argade

by Eliza Bethalper | May 16, 2026 6:42 pm

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

May 16, 2026 (San Diego) – San Diego writer Pramod V. Argade has released a science fiction epic that comments on our time¾Phool: First Contact. In this debut novel, Argade not only shows the foolishness of individuals ignoring inconvenient truths, he shows how dangerous fact denials can be on a worldwide scale.

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Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/review-phool-first-contact-by-pramod-v-argade/#more-124738

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/review-phool-first-contact-by-pramod-v-argade/

Lakeside Veterans Wall of Honor to recognize those who served in U.S. military

by Miriam Raftery | May 16, 2026 6:40 pm

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 16, 2026 (Lakeside) – As Memorial Day approaches, efforts are underway in Lakeside to create a wall of honor honoring Lakeside resident who have served in the United States military.

“ ur vision is to provide a dedicated space in the unincorporated community of Lakeside, Ca. to commemorate those who have made immense sacrifices in the service of our country,” states the website[1] launched by Lakeside Veterans Wall of Honor, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, which is seeking funds to fulfill its mission. (more…)[2]

Endnotes:
  1. website: http://lakesideveteranswallofhonor.org/
  2. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/lakeside-veterans-wall-of-honor-to-recognize-those-who-served-in-u-s-military/#more-124718

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/lakeside-veterans-wall-of-honor-to-recognize-those-who-served-in-u-s-military/

Book Review: I Am the Light by Henry Herz

by Eliza Bethalper | May 16, 2026 6:36 pm

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

May 16, 2026 (San Diego) — I Am Light is one of a three-book picture book series written by San Diego author Henry Herz. By treating sunlight as a character who is narrating about itself, the author explains where light is found, how fast it travels, and how photons behave. The reader learns to appreciate light at its source and where light is found in the world’s creatures as well.

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Endnotes:
  1. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/book-review-i-am-the-light-by-henry-herz/#more-124735

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/book-review-i-am-the-light-by-henry-herz/

Hundreds attend SDG&E virtual workshops on proposed 145-mile Golden Pacific Powerlink as state champions grid resiliency

by Karen Pearlman | May 16, 2026 6:19 pm

Preliminary graphic of a proposed map outlining planned Golden Pacific Powerlink

By Karen Pearlman

May 15, 2026 (San Diego County) — Four virtual open house meetings about the Golden Pacific Powerlink [1] provided hundreds of online attendees insight on the proposed grid that will bring a 500-kilovolt transmission line project of around 150 miles, spanning from outside of El Centro to San Onofre.

The new energy line has been in the plans for several years, with California energy leaders projecting a significant surge in electricity needs through 2045. The Powerlink is planned as a way to meet that demand for reliable electricity for homes, transportation, businesses and industry in the state.

The Powerlink is a massive 500 kV (carrying 500,000 volts) transmission project that is intended to stabilize California’s aging and congested power grid, and part of the state’s vision since 2023 for strengthening the statewide grid.

(more…)[2]

Endnotes:
  1. Golden Pacific Powerlink : https://goldenpacificpowerlink.com/
  2. (more…): https://eastcountymagazine.org/sdge-outlines-145-mile-golden-pacific-powerlink-as-state-champions-grid-resiliency/#more-124685

Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/sdge-outlines-145-mile-golden-pacific-powerlink-as-state-champions-grid-resiliency/

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