East County News Service

January 16, 2015 (La Mesa)—A suspect armed with a knife robbed a 7-Eleven store at 5151 70^th Street in La Mesa shortly after midnight.  He remains at large.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy 10 News, an ECM news partner

Update January 15, 2015 - The Urgent Care is now reopened.

January 14, 2015 (La Mesa) – The Sharp Rees-Stealy Urgent Care on the campus of Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa  temporarily shut down due to six patients who came in today with rashes and symptoms consistent with measles. The clinic reopened in the evening.

The patients arrived shortly before noon and were soon isolated after healthcare workers recognized symptoms of measles, a highly contagious disease that can be spread by coughing or sneezing. Tests were conducted to confirm whether the patients in fact have measles; results are pending.

January 10, 2014 (La Mesa)—A 56-year-old man walking with a cane up a steep sidewalk on Saranac Place to Thorne Drive was struck by a large pickup truck yesterday shortly before 7 a..m.  He suffered several broken bones and internal injuries, according to La Mesa Police.

By Mimi Pollack

December 26, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) - Have you seen them? I saw my first one last week in La Mesa. They really do catch your eye. They are the billboards the San Diego Humane Society has put up all around town, and they are also an effective public relations tool.

East County News Service

December 19, 2014 (La Mesa)--It was the end of an era last Tuesday night at the La Mesa City Hall, where Mayor Art Madrid stepped down after a quarter of a century at the helm—one fourth of the time since La Mesa became a city.

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview (originally aired on KNSJ):  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

December 11, 2014 (La Mesa)—It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in La Mesa’s downtown village, where holiday lights are twinkling and festivities are set to begin for the 25^th annual Christmas in the Village celebration on Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13.  

East County Magazine sat down for an interview with John Vigil, self-proclaimed “Chief Elf” from the La Mesa Village Merchants Association and Shannon O’Dunn, owner of O’Dunn Fine Art, for a sneak preview of this year’s event—and why it’s especially important this year for local merchants to have a strong community turn-out.

By Janis Russell

December 9, 2014 (La Mesa)- The Brighter Side is a boutique that offers services and products to women with breast cancer who are in recovery. Founded in Solana Beach in 1997, The Brighter Side opened its La Mesa store a year ago.

November 26, 2014 (La Mesa)-Sharp Grossmont Hospital is pleased to announce that Daniel Kindron has been named Chief Financial Officer of its 536-bed acute care hospital.  Kindron has been with Sharp Grossmont Hospital since 2006. During his time at Sharp he has fulfilled interim CFO duties and served as Finance Director, Manager, Supervisor, and Senior Financial Analyst.

East County News Service

November 23, 2014 (La Mesa) – Each year, La Mesa’s downtown village transforms into a Victorian-style winter wonderland. This year, La Mesa’s downtown village merchants are hoping for a big attendance to help offset business lost during the downtown village streetscape project. 

Chirstmas in the Village will be held on Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13 from 5 to 10 p.m.  A holiday parade will be held each night at 5 p.m., with a pre-parade at 4:30 featuring a Salute to America honoring 50^th anniversary Vietnam War veterans. The festival also features strolling minstrels, carolers and street entertainers, live music on multiple sages, and bonfires filling the boulevard.  Plus kids can free visits with Santa at the Goodwill Plaza (8250 La Mesa Blvd.) after the parade up until 10 p.m. and also enjoy carnival rides,, ponies and puppet shoes.

UPDATE November 18, 2014 5 p.m. -- Helix Water District has responded to ECM's request for comments on the 10 News investigation.  Helix contends that an independent inquiry as well as an in-house audit found no irregularities.  You can read the Helix responses here.

View part 1 of the 10 News investigation here with links to documents and watch for part 2 airing tonight.

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2014 (La Mesa)—Whistleblowers are alleging that a Helix Water District inspector and a contractor conspired to overcharge ratepayers for work that was never done.

The district refused to be interviewed on camera about the allegations.  However an investigation by JW August at 10 News, an East County Magazine news partner, found documents that appear to substantiate some of the claims made by the whistleblowers, employees who spoke under condition that their names not be publicized due to fears of retribution.

East County Magazine has contacted Carlos Lugos, general manager at Helix, for comments on the 10 News investigation. We also inquired whether steps are being taken by the District to assure that overcharges are not made in the future. plus we asked whether competitive bids were obtained for the projects in question.  We will publish any responses once received.

By Miriam Raftery

November 8, 2014 (La Mesa) – Starting Monday, November 10, Center City Shell at 3810 Massachusetts Avenue will be offering up an ethanol fuel blend made from corn by Pearson Fuel.  The E85 Flex Fuel will be sold for a special rate of just 85 cents a gallon on opening day, when Miss California will be on hand for a ribbon cutting.

By  Leon Thompson

November 5, 2014 (La  Mesa)  - The hopes for an ordinance that would allow for medicinal cannabis dispensaries in La Mesa went up-in-smoke as Proposition “J” failed in last night’s election.   A similar measure in Encinitas suffered the same fate.

East County News Service

November 3, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)— East County Magazine has compiled this handy guide for you with links to all of our coverage of local races, as well as some statewide and federal (Congressional) races on your ballot for the election on Tuesday, November 4. 

We invited all candidates running in local races listed below to be interviewed, and include print and/or  radio interviews with those who responded.   We also have links to our coverage of debates, candidate forums, analysis, editorials submitted by our readers (ECM does not editorialize), and other relevant information on candidates and ballot propositions. Also see below for links to additional nonpartisan resources for info on these and other races.

Our nonpartisan guide is arranged in three sections: local, state, and federal (Congressional) races, with  the races alphabetical under each section. To view, click "read more" below and scroll down.