12 local food businesses will compete to win three months of free rent in Parkway Plaza’s food court plus a $20,000 business investment 

September 15, 2022 (El Cajon) — Parkway Plaza regional shopping mall has announced that 12 local food businesses selected to participate in the mall’s first-ever Taste for the Space competition on October 15. They are competing for a prize package valued at over $50,000, including a $20,000 business investment and three months of free rent. 

“We are excited to have such a diverse group of businesses competing in our first-ever Taste for the Space,” said Petra Rich, Marketing and Business Development Manager. “They’re diverse in many aspects including cuisines, business models as well as ownership backgrounds. We have everything from French and vegan cuisines to Hungarian and Haitian; there are competitors that have a food truck or storefront and others who are mobile caterers. We’re also proud to say that the majority of businesses participating are minority-owned. The competition is going to be tight, so I hope everyone is ready to put their taste buds to the test.”

Story and photo courtesy of Courtesy of Parkway Plaza 

September 7, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Parkway Plaza, El Cajon’s premier shopping destination, is hosting the 2022 nationwide beauty summit series, CosmeCon. Celebrating female entrepreneurs, body positivity, self-confidence and owning your glow at Parkway Plaza, the event takes place on Saturday, September 10 from 12-3 p.m. 

By Miriam Raftery

September 4, 2022 (El Cajon) –  The El Cajon nonprofit License to Freedom has been counseling nine children in a Syrian refugee family traumatized first by war in their homeland, and now by the death of their mother, who was found shot in the family’s home. In an interview with East County Magazine originally aired on KNSJ radio,

Dilkhwaz Ahmed, founder of License to Freedom, provides an update on the children’s situation, also sharing information on the stresses facing refugee families. The  children’s father, Abdulhannan Abdurazaq Al Rawi, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

“It’s so hard,” Ahmed says, when asked how the children, ages 2-17, are doing. “In a situation like that, the community gets together.” She says other Syrian refugees in the community worked to help the children, as did people in the Sudanese community, since the babysitter is from Sudan. “One of their close friends, a family from Syria, decided to take the kids, and they have seven kids,” Ahmed said.  “The wife was best friends with the mom…it’s heartbreaking.”

108 Rescued Beagles reach El Cajon animal shelter and prepare for adoption

Story & photos by Josh Stotler

August 31, 2022 (El Cajon) -- As the wheels of the Embraer Brasilia touched down on the runway of Gillespie Field at 1:43 p.m., 108 rescued beagles officially became San Diegans. The dogs, rescued from Envigo, a Virginia-based company that breeds animals for sale to scientific research & testing facilities, arrived on time and in good spirits.

Update:  The suspect's last name as Al Rawi, not Al Wari. The earlier misspelling was provided by El Cajon Police based on a a translation error. Friends of his have voiced shock at his arrest and doubts about the accusations against him, calling him a good father and pillar of the Syrian community locally who has helped other refugees, 10 News reports.

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Abdulhannan Abdurazaq Al Rawi is under arrest for allegedly shooting and killing his wife, 37, in the bedroom of their El Cajon home at 1599 Soma Place. The couple's nine children, ages 2 to 17, were in the home at the time, according to Lieutenant Randy Soulard with EL Cajon Police.

Dilkhwaz Ahmed with License to Freedom, an El Cajon social services agency supporting refugees, posted on Facebook tonight “Please pray for these kids who lost their mom today. Out team of therapists and myself stayed with them all day to make sure they have a safe place to go. If you would like to support them, please let me know. They are refugees from Syria.”

East County News Service

August 20, 2022 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police Department seeks public help to identify a suspect in a fatal shooting last night. 

Officers responding to a report of one or more gunshots found a man with a gunshot injury in the parking lot at 441 Dominguez, El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery

August 19, 2022 (El Cajon) -- A man was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a three-hour standoff and garage fire in the unincorporated area of El Cajon.

By Christianne McCormick

August 12, 2022 (El Cajon) -- A new increased sales tax initiative was proposed during Tuesday night’s El Cajon city council meeting. If approved by voters on November 8, this measure would repeal proposition J, the half-cent sales tax enacted in 2008 to fund basic services, and replace it with a new one percent tax, or one cent per dollar.

The proposal passed unanimoulsly. Mayor Bill Wells joined with Councilmembers Gary Kendrick, Steve Goble, Phil Ortiz and Michelle Metschel to vote in favor of putting this initiative on the coming ballot.  

By Shiloh Ireland

August 10, 2022 (El Cajon) – County officials today launched the county’s first “safe parking” lot at the site of a former homeless encampment as 1297 North Magnolia Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon.

East County News Service

August 3, 2022 (El Cajon) – Joshua Lee Martinez, 32, of El Cajon has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a man in the head aboard a trolley near the Marshall Avenue station in El Cajon.

East County News Service

July 31, 2022 (El Cajon) – Robert Gehr snapped this dramatic sky image on July 31 from El Cajon, as thunderstorms swept into East County’s mountain areas.

East County News Service 

July 26, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Do you recognize any of these jewelry pieces? El Cajon Police

detectives are working a burglary series associated with elder abuse. Victims who were being cared for by a caregiver had personal items stolen, ECPD reports on its Facebook page. 

East County News Service

July 23, 2022 (El Cajon) – The driver of a black 2012 Toyota Prius has died after the vehicle struck a parked SUV.  The man, 38, was transported by paramedics to Scripps Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2022 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells and his 7-piece band will perform a concert at the Magnolia performing arts center on Saturday, August 6 to benefit the East County Transitional Living Center. The Center provides shelter and services to help homeless families and individuals transition off the streets.