By Miriam Raftery

September 19, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes some thrilling and chilling October events, including Oktoberfests in La Mesa and El Cajon, the Festival of Sunflowers and Bathhouse Bazaar in Jacumba Hot Springs, an Autumn Jubilee in Santa Ysabel, the new El Cajon Foodie Fest, Dinner and Flamenco dancers in Lemon Grove, the Borrego Days parade and festival, the Lakeside River Park Conservancy’s Trail of Terror titled “Curse of the French Quarter,” Trick or Treat on Maine in Lakeside, spooky campouts at Lake Jennings, and Haunt Fest on Main in downtown El Cajon.

September 19, 2021 (San Diego) -- Rescue Task Force (RTF), a nonprofit founded in San Diego's East County and now headquartered in Temecula, provides disaster relief response and medical aid around the world.  They also started schools for girls and women in Afghanistan. But since the U.S. troop withdrawal and Taliban takeover, the RTF team has had to close its schools, dimming hopes of students under the Taliban's brutal regime and endangering the lives of RTF's coordinator and his family, who remain trapped and in hiding inside Afghanistan.

East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery today interviewed Steven Prusky, a director with Rescue Task Force, on the Afghanistan situation as well as other projects around the world in which RTF is currently involved ranging from water purification to disaster relief and more.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 17, 2021 (San Diego) - A 53-year-old San Diego County resident is the first locally acquired case of West Nile Virus this year, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

East County News Service

September 17, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) – Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures invites you to their 5th annual Autumn Jubilee. The fall festivities happen Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sundays (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) from Sept. 18 through Oct. 30.

Six of 11 non-conference games will be played in Viejas Arena and five opponents played in the postseason last year.

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

September 16, 2021 (San Diego) - Having posted an 18-1 record in non-conference contests in the past two seasons, San Diego State men’s basketball program revealed its 2021-22 non-conference schedule on Thursday morning. The slate has a total of 11 games, which includes five teams that participated in the postseason last year. Four competed in the NCAA Tournament and one participated in the NIT.   

By Miriam Raftery

September 15, 2021 (El Cajon) – A Grossmont High School student who was in a coma after a car crash in Fletcher Hills has died, his mother, Abigail Reyes, told ECM news partner 10 News.

77.2% of County residents over age 12 are now fully vaccinated; 87.1% are fully vaccinated

East County News Service

September 15, 2021 (San Diego) – Deaths from COVID-19 tripled over the past week (Sept. 8-14) to 59, the highest number during the current surge. Since March, over 96% of hospitalizations were unvaccinated patients and nearly 89% of deaths were people who had not been vaccinated.

Online discussion hopes to decrease vaccine hesitancy in local Black community

Source:  San Diego Association of Black Journalists

September 15, 2021 (San Diego) - On the heels of the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors declaring misinformation as a public health crisis, the San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ) will host a thoughtful virtual discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 22 to debunk myths about the coronavirus, and discuss vaccine hesitancy in the San Diego Black community. A panel of five distinguished Black doctors from the San Diego community will lend their expertise on these topics and answer any questions or concerns the community has about the coronavirus.