By Miriam Raftery

October 28, 2020 (San Diego) – East County Magazine writers and photographers picked up seven awards in the  San Diego Press Club’s 47^th annual  Excellence in Journalism Awards. ECM’s winning entries included coverage of the May 30-31 riot and protest in La Mesa, Cajon Valley Union School District’s educational challenges during COVID-19 and controversial spending on promotional videos, the railway museum’s centennial celebration in Campo, and a column addressing health issues in local communities.

“I’m proud of our team of hard-working journalists, who went above and beyond the call of duty to report during tumultuous times,” says ECM editor Miriam Raftery. “I also want to thank the Facebook Journalism Project grant, which supports local journalism and funded our reporting on most of this year’s winning entries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This year’s Press Club awards program drew more than 1,100 entries, making it one of the largest journalism competitions in the nation. Judges for the Press Club’s entries included members of 15 journalism professional organizations from around the country, including press clubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Rochester, Florida, Cleveland, Orange County, Milwaukee, Tulsa and Alaska.

ECM's  award-winners this year are editor Miriam Raftery, photojournalists Paul Kruze, Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson, Henri Migala, and Jake Rose, as well as columnists David Shorey and Paul Levikow.

East County News Service

November 22, 2019 (El Cajon) -- East County Magazine’s award-winning Contributing Editor, Paul Kruze, will be one of several celebrity announcers at this year’s iconic “Mother Goose Parade” set to hit the streets of downtown El Cajon on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. on Main Street.

“I’m truly honored to be a part of this classic start to the holiday season,” said Kruze, who has been a part of East County Magazine for nearly a decade. “The best part of my work is when I get to meet so many people who are involved in our community."

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Three East County Magazine writers received honors in San Diego Press Club’s 2018 Awards of Excellence presented this week.  All were entered in the online and daily newspapers category, bringing our total to 112 journalism awards as we celebrate our 10th anniversary.

By Miriam Raftery

October 31, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Nine East County Magazine team members combined to win 11 awards in the 40th annual “Excellence in Journalism Awards” presented by San Diego Press Club on October 29.  ECM has won a total of 58 journalism awards since our launch in September 2008.

Our winning news entries dealt primarily with compelling public health and safety issues(wildfires and industrial-scale energy projects), though we also picked up awards for photography, feature-writing and commentary.

Congratulations to our winners!  In alphabetical order, they are:  Nadin Abbott, Parke Ewing, Paul Kruze, Brian Lafferty, Ron Logan, Jim Pelley, Miriam Raftery, Sierra Robinson, and Darin Sefcik.

By Paul  Kruze

July 23, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- After nearly a decade of wrangling between the State of California and Caltrans, Old Town State Park is set to be expanded and revitalized with approval of the new California state budget, which includes $436,000 in bond money allocated to demolish the old Caltrans building on Taylor Street.  Most significantly, the abandoned 115,735 square foot Caltrans building sits on top of an ancient Kumeyaay village which allegedly dates back to 500 AD, and which was once a thriving Mexican settlement.

Click here to view an ECM special video report by Paul Kruze.