June 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – On June 7, 2013 La Mesa Police Detective Dale Perry indentified the robbery suspect from the Sierra Market (3800 Massachusetts Avenue) robbery that occurred on January 28, 2013. In the Sierra Market robbery, the clerk got into an altercation with the suspect and was injured.

On June 7, 2013 at approximately 10:00 am, La Mesa Police detectives arrested 43 year-old Johnny McGee of San Diego and 38 year-old Gina E. Ludwig of San Diego for the robbery. 

June 11, 2013 (La Mesa) – At 12:30 a.m. on June 8,  the crew of the Sheriff’s ASTREA 3 helicopter was repeatedly struck by a green laser. ASTREA 3, piloted by Deputy Dollard with Tactical Flight Officer Deputy Brown, was flying in the La Mesa area when Deputy Brown noticed a green laser was striking him. Deputy Dollard positioned the aircraft so that Deputy Brown could locate the suspect using the Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) camera. While orbiting an apartment complex in the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue, La Mesa, the suspect stood on his balcony and illuminated ASTREA 3 with the laser.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2013 (La Mesa) – A SIG alert has been issued in La Mesa, where an EDCO trash truck overturned, spilling a dumpster onto the ramp from Severin Drive to Interstate 8 west.  

In addition, 100 gallons of diesel fuel have been spilled, the California Highway Patrol website reports, and a HAZMAT team has been called to the scene.

May 24, 2013 (La Mesa) –La Mesa Police responded to a robbery report at 1:24 a.m. at the USA gas station in the 7900 block of University.  A suspect wearing a Spiderman mask pulled a black, semi-automatic pistol out and told a customer to lie on the floor, then began kicking the customer, according to police.

The suspect demanded money from the clerk.  The masked man was last seen running northbound on La Mesa Boulevard. The loss was approximately $300 and the clerk was not injured. The male customer left on a bicycle after the robbery and before police arrived; he has not been located.

May 22, 2013 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host a free senior discussion group presentation on “Alternatives to Google: Finding Health Information Online,” from 10 to 11 a.m. today. The public is invited to attend, and RSVP is not required. The speaker will be Kathy Quinn, library director of the Herrick Library.

Quinn, with 21 years of experience as a librarian and researcher, will share tips on how to find reliable, accurate and trustworthy information on the Internet about your health. The presentation will include a demonstration of the links to health information available on the Herrick Library website. Handouts on how to evaluate health websites and reliable sites to search will be provided.

Mother misled investigators about location of drownings, authorities say

May 13, 2013 (Mt. Helix) --A one-year-old girl is dead and her two-year-old brother have died after their mother awoke this morning and found both children unconscious  in a swimming pool. The family had been staying at the residence on Mt. Helix at 10011 Sunset Avenue in unincorporated La Mesa.

The mother pulled the children from the pool with help from her friend and drove to La Mesa Fire Station #13 for assistance. “After arrival at the fire station, the friend ran away and has not been located,” Lt Gle,n Giannantonio with the San Diego Sheriff’s Homicide Detail reported.

By Janis Mork

May 11, 2013 (La Mesa)- “From Collier To Carrefour”, a fundraiser held April 28 at Collier Park, raised funds to send young adult leaders to a summer camp in Carrefour, Haiti through New Format, a Bible study for young adults that is part of Journey Community Church. 

Celebration Aims to Get 100,000 to Support Fair Trade

May 1, 2013 (La Mesa) - La Mesa Fair Trade and San Diego Fair Trade will hold a Fair Trade Day on Saturday, May 11 in celebration of World Fair Trade Day. N. Americans will gather from May 4-19, to invite friends, coworkers and neighbors to participate in Fair Trade activities for World Fair Trade Day, the largest Fair Trade event of the year. Participants will support trade justice and celebrate the producers, businesses and advocates who practice Fair Trade.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy ECM news partner 10 News and Heartland Fire

April 26, 2013 (La Mesa)—Jackson Pavlicek of La Mesa is under arrest for reckless burning of property.  According to La Mesa Police, Pavlicek extinguished a cigarette in the backyard of a home in the 9600 block Dillon Drive on the Grossmont Knoll, igniting dry brush.  The fire quickly spread to the house and also damaged the roof of a neighboring home, as well as trees and fences. 

Heartland Fire & Rescue crews from La Mesa, Lemon Grove and El Cajon, as well as units from Santee, San Diego and Cal Fire, had the fire fully contained in about one hour. The blaze sent smoke billowing forth that was visible from State Route 125. 

April 25, 2013 (La  Mesa)—Three robbers, one armed with a handgun, held up the Los Piños Taco Shop at 5660 Lake Murray Boulevard in La Mesa last night at approximately 9:52 p.m. They remain at large despite a search by the Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter and a canine unit.

All three are described as African-American men in their late teens or early 20s, wearing bandanas over their faces.  Each was approximately 5’10 and weighs around 165 pounds.  One wore eye glasses and another had a dark gray hooded sweatshirt. All wore dark clothing.

April 24, 2013 (La Mesa) – The Lake Jennings March Photo Contest garnered 83 spectacular entries from individuals throughout Southern California and Arizona, from age 8 and older. Photographers roamed the banks, paddled into the deep, hung out in Hermit Cove, watched the wild life, and clicked shutters. Winning entries were selected in both the Youth and Adult categories. Photos can be viewed on the Helix Water District or Lake Jennings’ Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.519785861417321.1073741828.301972993198610&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.519785861417321.1073741828.301972993198610&type=1

Daughters of the Appalachians debuts April 25-27

By Miriam Raftery

April 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – A 76-year tradition returns to La Mesa with the revival of the Lamplighters Community Theatre.  On April 25-27, the group will present “Daughters of the Appalachians”  in the Lamplighters’ first performance since 2006, when the old theater was torn down to make way for the new La  Mesa police station.

The theatrical group was founded back in 1937, originally known as the La Mesa Little Theatre. In 1976, the organization became Lamplighters Community Theatre, performing in the Ben Polak Fine Arts Center until its demolition force the limelight to go dark.  But now , like a phoenix, the group has found new life—and a new theater is rising in La Mesa, a city which just celebrated its centennial. The new Lamplighters theatrical performances will take place at the La Mesa Village Center, 5915 Severin Drive in La Mesa, at the corner of Severin and Amaya drives.

April 18, 2013 (La Mesa) – Biz Center Art, the art gallery in residence at the La Mesa Biz Center, is featuring art based on the idea of "POSSIBILITIES", what is possible in the creative mind of an artist with an opening reception from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 20th. Local artists' work will be shown, as well as our feature artist Peter Hammar, a New York artist from Stockholm Sweden. There  will also be work displayed by the STAR program, survivors of trafficking.

The "Possibilities" opening is  a fundraiser for STAT (Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking) program. Representatives will be on hand to discuss their projects and there will be a raffle of art by Biz Center artists as well as various services by tenants of the La Mesa Biz Center.

April 12, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- The cause of today's spot fires along Interstate 8 was accidental, says Heartland Fire spoksman Sonny Saghera.  Heartland responded to reports of several small fires along westbound I-8 from West Main Street in El Cajon to Severin Drive in La Meas around 1 p.m. today. 

Heartland Fire & Rescue units from La Mesa and El Cajon, assisted by engines from Cal Fire and Santee, were dispatched to contain the four individual fires approximately 100 yards apart from each other.  A structure on Murray Drive in La Mesa was briefly threatened, but fire crews aggressively attacked the flames to keep them along the freeway’s shoulder. 

March 27, 2013 (La Mesa)—The federal government has slashed Community Development Block Grant funding for La Mesa from $800,000 a few years ago down to just $350,000 this year. As a result, the City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to completely eliminate funds for all public services funded by CDGB, except for fair housing. The cuts fall largely on programs that help the elderly, poor and disabled.

Funds will be axed for the Alzheimer’s Association, East County YMCA Summer Camp, Meals on Wheels of Greater San Diego, San Diego Youth Services, Elder help, Interfaith Shelter Network, Senior Community Centers, and more.

Mayor Art Madrid called the elimination of public services a “tough decision” necessitated by federal sequestration cuts. Sequestration mandates cuts across the board in nearly all federal agencies as a result of Congress failing to reach agreement on how to reduce federal debt and resolve the federal budget.  Democrats sought a combination of revenue increases and budget cuts, while Republicans have blocked such proposals, holding out for cuts-only solutions.