August 11, 2013 (El Cajon ) – Gas thieves have drained the tanks of at least five vehicles in El Cajon over the past week, 10 News reports.  The gas was stolen out of SUVs and Chevy trucks, vehicles with large gas tanks.   

Similar thefts have occurred in May and in the prior year, fueled by the high cost of gasoline.

August 6, 2013 (El Cajon) – Grossmont College’s Adult Reentry Program will host “A Daring Adventure,” a free orientation for adults interested in returning to school, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow in Griffin Gate (Building 60).  

August 1, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – On Tuesday, August 6, the El Cajon Police Department will be holding a National Night Out community event in the parking lot of the El Cajon Police Station located at 100 Civic Center Way from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Enjoy a wide variety of booths and displays from numerous organizations offering health and safety information with a special emphasis on ways you can better protect your family, your home and your vehicle.  Emergency vehicles will be on display and there will be a K-9 demonstration. For more information, please call (619) 579-4227.

July 30, 2013 (El Cajon) – Richard Campbell took this photo from his home in Fletcher Hills, looking east across a fog bank over the city of El Cajon.

July 29, 2013 (El Cajon) – At 12:43 a.m. on July 25, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in the City of El Cajon responded to reports of a structure fire in the 1-thousand block of Broadway in El Cajon.  Upon arrival firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the Classic Tattoo business located at 1024 Broadway.  Quick action by fire crews had the fire knocked down in less than 25 minutes.  Two adjoining businesses of the one story structure sustained smoke and water damage.  Heartland crews were assisted by fire units from Cal Fire and Santee fire departments.

By Janis Mork

 July 25, 2013 (El Cajon)- At the July 9 El Cajon City Council meeting, Council voted against putting sewer service charges on the property tax bill after 168 residents objected to the proposal.

Dennis Davies, Deputy Director of Public Works, informed Council of the proposal to take sewer bi-monthly bills (six times a year) and include those charges with the property tax bill.

July 13, 2013 (El Cajon) – The Young Actors Theater is presenting Les Miserables July 25-28 and August 1-4 at Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Center, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon.  Les Miserables, recently a blockbuster movie, is the story of Jean Valjean and his search for peace in 19th century France which culminates at the beginning of a revolutionary uprising.

July 1, 2013 (El Cajon) – Rancho San Diego resident Ann Durham, Director of the Health Workforce Initiative based at Grossmont College, has been named Deputy Sector Navigator (DSN) for Health for the San Diego/Imperial Region.

The appointment, announced this week by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Division of Workforce & Economic Development, means that Durham will have expanded responsibilities and budget under the "Doing What Matters" program.

June 25, 2013 (El Cajon) – Grossmont College will offer a “family-friendly” schedule of theater productions in the 2013-2014 season, starting Oct. 3-12 with Pygmalion, the George Bernard Shaw play that was converted into the musical My Fair Lady, and ending May 8-17 with “a new spin” on Alice in Wonderland, according to Beth Duggan, chair of the Theatre Arts Department.

In between those two offerings, students will also act in, design costumes and build sets for such productions as To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday by Michael Brady (Nov. 14-23); Follow Me by artist Dominic Pangborn (Dec. 6-7, followed by a tour of local elementary schools); Inside the Actors Process by Grossmont faculty member Jerry Hager (Feb. 7 and 8, followed by a tour of local high schools); and You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (March 13-22).

Celebrating our cultural & agricultural roots

JUNE 19 4:30-7:30 PM AT HERITAGE OF THE AMERICAS MUSEUM, EL CAJON

    Enjoy:

• International foods from Dolci Cafe Italiano, J's Greek Cuisine, Tiramisu Trattoria, Rubio's  & more
• Wine tasting with Campo Creek Vineyards, Maness Vineyards, and other wineries
• Meet authors of books on local history and culture from Sunbelt Publications
• Native American dancing with Eric RunningPath; Native American flute music by Jim Hannibal
• Live music by Krista Timm and Vicky Archibold from San Diego Performance Academy
• Learn from farmers, wine makers, a beekeeper, a chicken expert, A.R.C.H.E.S. and  San Diego Farm Bureau
• Get tips on solar power from Sullivan Solar
• Take a free museum tour
• Play the East County Trivia Quiz game and be on the radio!
• Win great prizes including  a resort vacation getaway, golf, restaurant gift certificates, garden basket, hand-made soaps, martial arts lessons, music lessons, pet owners' basket, Wild West Fest tickets, wine lovers' gifts, and more.

Don't miss this fun and festive event! Click "read more" and scroll down for details.

New Bus Line Runs Between SDSU and Downtown

June 9, 2013 (San Diego) – SANDAG will hold evening open house meetings on Monday and Thursday this week to inform the community about the upcoming construction of the Mid-City Rapid Bus Project. Mid-City Rapid will be a high-frequency, limited-stop bus service between San Diego State University and Downtown San Diego via Park and El Cajon Boulevards.

June 4, 2013 (El Cajon) -- A man who called police to report that his wife was not breathing on Sunday night is under arrest for murder.  Police found Gankil Wijdan, 39, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Medics tried to revive her but she was pronounced dead at the scene.  During question of Wijdan's husband, Salem Zora, 47, police found "inconsistencies" in his story, Lt. Mike Moulton with El Cajon Police stated.

May 30, 2013 (El Cajon)—Wing walking, mock air battles and pyrotechnics are among the attractions at this year’s Wings Over Gillespie Air Show. The event will take place June 1 and 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gillespie Field, 1960 Joe Crosson Drive in El Cajon.

Tickets start at $8 for the event, which also features a free Kid’s Zone, amusement rides and a beer garden. This year's Wings Over Gillespie features a collection of San Diego aircraft and World War II aircraft. 

May 30, 2013 (El Cajon ) – Round up the art lovers and music lovers in your family for the third annual Western Music Jubilee on Saturday, June 1 starting at 7 p.m. at the Cuyamaca Performing Arts Center.   The show stars Sourdough Slim, Dave Bourne, Mary Kaye, and the Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers.

It’s all to benefit educational programs at the Olaf Wieghorst  Museum in downtown El Cajon.Wieghorst was one of America’s premier western artists.  A cowboy and cavalryman who once pursued Pancho Villa,  his paintings hung in the White House and were owned by three presidents: Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

May 16, 2013 (El Cajon) – Children, seniors and families had fun exploring better ways to live at the free Farragut Circle Health & Safety Fair on May 11 in El Cajon.

The community outreach effort of the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program of the First Presbyterian Church of El Cajon drew a steady stream of people to the 500 block of Farragut Circle. Mother Goose and local princesses helped welcome the early crowds. 

“Everybody’s smiling,” said Jackie Jackson, library assistant at the Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library of the Grossmont Healthcare District in La Mesa. “This has to be the friendliest fair ever.”