By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson and Miriam Raftery

August 16, 2019 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa City Council members voted unanimously 5-0 on August 13^th for a landmark agreement to form a joint powers agreement (JPA) with the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista to create a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and give La Mesa residents an alternative to SDG&E for purchasing power.

La Mesa Vice Mayor William “Bill” Baber was on the subcommittee leading the efforts on this matter. “With this vote, La Mesa took another step forward on the path to 100% clean energy!” Baber told ECM via e-mail.

Source:  City of La Mesa

August 8, 2019 (La Mesa) - Continuing with the National Night Out celebration, the La Mesa Police Department and Heartland Fire and Rescue will be hosting the 8 th Annual Safety Fair on Saturday, August 10th, 2019. The event will run from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the La Mesa Police Department parking lot.

Source:  City of La Mesa

July 30, 2019 (La Mesa) - Enjoy two free outdoor movies as part of the 2019 Summer Movies in the Parks series. Movies are free to the public and will be shown on a large screen. Bring a picnic along with a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy this family activity in the park. Movies will begin at dusk. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 23, 2019 (La Mesa) – An attorney with Californians Aware (CalAware), an organization that protects the public’s rights in open government matters, has advised ECM that Councilman Colin Parent should likely recuse himself from tonight’s vote on the La Mesa Farmer’s Market for showing bias prior to public testimony.

Four applicants have submitted applicants. Three would keep the market downtown and one, Grossmont Center, would move it to the regional shopping mall.

ECM sought Calaware's opinion after Councilman Parent posted a notice on the NextDoor forum urging residents to email a form letter to fellow councilmembers asking that the farmer’s market be kept downtown. A resident sent us a reader’s editorial and a letter to the full Council and  City Manager complaining of bias.  

Parent also sent a media advisory announcing a press conference to be held at 5 p.m., before tonight’s meeting, which he plans to hold with Brian Beevers, who currently operates the farmer’s market along with the La Mesa Village Association. The media notification states,  “ Both support the current location and date of the Farmer’s Market.”

East County News Service

July 18, 2019 (La Mesa) – The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association (PSRM), a San Diego-area historical and educational nonprofit, will host its monthly free “meet-and-greet” from 9 to 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 23, at the La Mesa Depot, 4695 Nebo Dr., La Mesa. The public is invited to attend.

By Miriam Raftery

July 15, 2019 (La Mesa)—The city of La Mesa is exploring a community choice aggregation (CCA) energy option to provide 100 percent clean energy for the entire community.

Tonight at 6 p.m., the city’s Environmental Sustainability Commission will discuss findings of a feasibility study funded jointly by the cities of La Mesa, Santee and Chula Vista on the viability of a CCA that would let each city purchase electrical power for its residents as an option to SDG&E for competitively priced clean energy. 

East County News Service

July 8, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The 14 Chick-fil-A restaurants in San Diego County are offering a free entrée to guests who create or log-in to their Chick-fil-A One app on either Monday, July 8, or Tuesday, July 9.  After connecting to the app, guests will receive a free entrée from Wednesday, July 10 through Wednesday, July 31, not including Sundays when Chick-fil-A is closed.

July 5, 2019 (La Mesa) – Should La Mesa form a citizens’ police oversight or advisory commission? Jack Shu, a former Superintendent of California State Parks and Janet Castaños, a former dean in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College district and past president of Helix Charter High School’s board, have a proposal that will soon be considered by the La Mesa City Council. 

We interviewed them on our East County Magazine Show on KNSJ.   You can hear the entire interview by clicking the audio link, or scroll down for highlights.

East County News Service

June 27, 2019 (La Mesa) – A woman who was shot in the leg at her La Mesa home called 9-1-1 this evening.  La Mesa Police responded at 6:13 p.m. to the residence at 3752 Harris Street, where they found the woman in the front of the home and administered first aid until paramedics arrived.

East County News Service

June 21, 2019 (La Mesa) — The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce will host its 6th annual Summer Bash Business Expo on Thursday, August 15 from 5-8 p.m. at the La Mesa Community Center (4975 Memorial Drive).  Attendees can meet representatives from over 45 local businesses,  enterdrawings to win door prizes and savor foods and beverages from local restaurants, breweries and more.

East County News Service

June 2, 2019 (La Mesa) -- A free talk on “5G & Wireless: Keeping Safer in a Wireless World” by a wireless expert and attorney Dafna Tachover, is being held at 4700 Spring St., La Mesa, Suite 201, on Sunday 6/2/19 at 3 p.m.  Tachover previously worked in the Israeli Defense Forces as a telecommunication and computers officer. She is the founder the advocacy group “We are the Evidence” for rights of people impacted by wireless technology radiation and led a Supreme Court case in Israel that led to the strictest limitations in the world on Wi-Fi in schools.

Susan Brinchman with the Center for Electrosmog in La Mesa has been working for three months in an effort to consult with the County on a revision of its recent wireless ordinance approved Feb. 27 for unincorporated areas which she says “fell short in the area of protecting property owners and residents.  The County is now seeking public comments. View the latest draft ordinance: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/advance/smallcellwirelessfacilities.html