16th annual air show commemorates historic Battle of Midway

June 3, 2011 (El Cajon) — The 16th Annual Wings Over Gillespie air show will feature the howl of airplane engines such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-25 Mitchell bombers, Northrop N9M Flying Wing, F4F Wildcat, the TBF Avenger, the A6M Zero, the SBD Dauntless, and many more “flying museums.” Also on hand will be USN/USMC helicopters and other displays, Navy SEALs,  military and law enforcement vehicles and equipment, and much more.

The air show performance days will be June 4–5,  with gates open from to 9 am to 4 pm, at Gillespie Field ,1960 Joe Crosson Road in El Cajon.

June 3, 2011 (El Cajon) --The concerts on the Prescott Promenade, located at 201 E. Main Street will be offered on Fridays through September 30th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Enjoy great music with no admission charge! Concerts are presented by the El Cajon Community Development Corporation and the downtown business district, and sponsored by Sycuan Casino and Taylor Guitars. 

 May 18, 2011 (El Cajon) -- Captain Sam Diego and all of his crew are busy preparing for the Cajon Valley Jamboree of 2001 to be held at  the Holy Trinity School Campus 405 Ballard Street, El Cajon from May 20 through May 22, 2011.
 

This year's theme, "Your Passport To Travel and Fun," is rallying the community together for plenty of fun right here in the heart of El Cajon. The Cajon Valley Jamboree is just as committed now as it was in 1948 in bringing the City of El Cajon and fostering communities spirit.

Click on Captain Sam Diego name to view his video preview of this event. 

May 7, 2011 (El Cajon) -- San Diego Sheriff's deputies received a 911 call from a victim of a carjacking around 5:30 last night. The driver had stopped at a stop sign while traveling north on Vista Grande Road in El Cajon, where a man with no shirt, covered in tattoos, asked for a ride to get gas. The victim refused and tried to accelerate away, Sergeant William Hout reports.

The suspect jumped in the vehicle through the open convertible top and placed the victim in a headlock, ordering the driver to stop and surrender his vehicle.

May 4, 2011 (El Cajon) - El Cajon Police officers responded to reports of gunshots at a residence on Lorna Street early Monday morning, just after 3:00 a.m. When they arrived, officers discovered a male victim who had suffered multiple injuries.

By Jeremy Los

“This issue has received band-aid approaches to fix it when it needs a tourniquet.” – La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid

“We look at them as a resource… they are the eyes and ears of the community… they certainly know when something is going on.” – El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis, on the homeless in his town

 "I do not feel there needs to be a regional center for the homeless in East County." -- Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom

"I am not in the homeless business." - Santee Mayor Randy Voepel

April 26, 2011 – Four East County mayors shared their reactions on a new study on the many homeless in our region. Their views differed dramatically on how to address the homeless problem.  In addition, three of the four mayors questioned the study findings and voiced doubts on the numbers of homeless people listed in their cities. 

According to the 2011 Point-In-Time Count by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, East County is now home to 8.9% of San Diego County’s homeless population, with El Cajon staking claim to the highest number of homeless people. However, the majority of El Cajon's homeless are in shelters--while in other East County communities, the homeless are living on the streets, in cars, or camped along riverbeds.  

April 23, 2011 (El Cajon) -- The Rotary Club of El Cajon will host its 20th Annual Charity Auction, which this year has a New Orleans Mardi Gras theme entitled "Beads, Bourbon & Beignets!"

Public comments will be heard at hearing; action comes after years of citizen complaints and recent media spotlight on polluter

By Miriam Raftery
 

April 21, 2011 (El Cajon) – East County Magazine photographer Dennis Richard, disgusted by the sight of smoke belching from the Neptune Society crematorium at 13065 Old Highway 80 in El Cajon, sent a photo to media outlets that started a firestorm of controversy.

“You can see from my picture; the smoke of ...human bodies blowing out of the smoke stack and drifting over Jack in the Box and the nearby neighborhoods,” he wrote.

April 20, 2011 (El Cajon) – A bullet fired by an El Cajon Police offer at a fleeing subject late last night passed through the man's wrist and lodged him his chest. 

Officers had responded to a call of several people on campus drinking and causing a disturbance at Johnson Elementary School at 500 East Madison Street around 11 p.m.  Two suspects fled and the officers were separated as they chased the suspects.

April 18, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- While beach denizens are contending with coastal fog, the sun is shining out here in East County--where it's just another day in paradise this time of year.  

We hope you'll enjoy our local photographers' images of springtime in East County!

Guitar Lessons: A Life’s Journey Turning Passion Into Business, By Bob Taylor, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2011, 230 pages.)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

April 8, 2011 (El Cajon)--Bob Taylor, co-founder and president of Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, California, has added a new title to his repertoire: author. in Guitar Lessons: A Life’s Journey Turning Passion Into Business, Taylor masterfully crafts a story in which the guitar becomes a metaphor for much more—sharing secrets for success in business and in life.

April 7, 2011 (Rancho San Diego)—Bring the family to visit with live native animals, join a guided nature hike, get free art and photography lessons, view a firetruck and more this Sunday, April 10.

Festivities to celebrate the 15th birthday of the San Diego National Wildlife Refugee will take place near the old steel bridge on Highway 94 at Singer Lane in Rancho San Diego from 1-5 p.m.
 

Schedule of events:

By Wanda B. Sekure
 

April 1, 2011 (El Cajon) -- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has declared El Cajon the safest city in America.

“Our underwriters found that El Cajon is ideally situated to minimize risks of a catastrophe,” said Commissioner Macon Wills. “Not only is El Cajon midway between the Rose Canyon and Elsinore earthquake fault lines, it also sits far enough north to avoid border violence, inland a good half-hour from the coast, and a full 53 miles away from the San Onofre nuclear power plant,” he noted, adding that the U.S. has recommended a 50-mile evacuation zone around Japan’s troubled reactors. “ If a nuke meltdown, tsunami or killer quake occurs,” Wills declared, “El Cajon is going to look like heaven.”

March 25, 2011 (El Cajon)--At the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Center this week, the 2011 Ambassadors for El Cajon and Rancho San Diego were chosen.

Miss El Cajon for 2011 is Savana Kalfayan, 18, a Valhalla High School student. Miss Teen El Cajon is Katie Hudgins, 16, a student at Grossmont High School. Natalie Potesan, 20, a Grossmont College student, was crowned Miss Rancho San Diego 2011, while MacKenzie Manns, 14, a student at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, was named Miss Teen Rancho San Diego.