June 13, 2013 (Lakeside) – On June 14 from 4-7 p.m. the Bucking Delorian restaurant in Lakeside will host a fundraiser for the Menegos family.  Douglas Menegos was killed in a tragic car accident last week, after he was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on Highway 67. He left behind his wife, Lisa, and two children, Kara and Jake.

By Nadin Abbott

May 19, 2012 (Lakeside)—The East County Cailfornia Republican Assembly  and the Lakeside Tea Party sponsored a joint event tonight at the Veterans for Foreign Wars post in Lakeside. The event had three Congressional candidates for three different districts, the 50^th, 52nd, and 53^rd.

Lakeside's River Park Conservancy's 7th annual San Diego River Run 5k is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2014.  A  morning run will be followed by a day of fun.

This year, organizers are combining efforts with the City of Santee and their annual SanTree Fest. Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy the festivities directly after the race.



Also, new this year will be a beer garden where each participant over the age of 21 (with proof) will receive a wristband that entitles them to one (1) free beer following the race.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2014 (Lakeside) – San Diego residents Carlos Kristopher Vargas and Monica Yvette Lupercio, each 20 years old , died of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident April 19 on westbound Interstate 8  near the Lake Jennings exit in Lakeside.  Vargas and Lupercio  were passengers in the backseat, both wearing seatbelts when the vehicle drifted into the median. 

The driver , Mario Alberto Carranza, had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. Because of a prior DUI on his record, Carranza has been charged with murder. He pled not guilty and his hearing is set for May 1st.

Lakeside: Where the West is Still Alive

April 24, 2014 (Lakeside)-- Join the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce for the 49^th Annual Lakeside Western Days Parade on Saturday, April 26 at 9:35 a.m. along Woodside and Maine Avenue. This year’s parade theme is Lakeside: Where the West is Still Alive and celebrates the Lakeside Rodeo’s 50^th anniversary. For more information about the parade or the Chamber, visit www.lakesidechamber.org.

By Leon Thompson

April 23, 2014 (Lakeside) --At El Monte Park in Lakeside on March 29, the Kurdish people celebrated Kurdistan’s independence and the Kurdish New Year.  

According to Chinar Hussein who helped start the Kurdish Community Center in El Cajon it is fitting that the two events be celebrated together since it is like a “new beginning” for the Kurdish people.  She said one reason the occasion was so joyous is because this particular celebration is forbidden in their homeland, Kurdistan, a mountainous region that encompasses portions of  northern Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.

By Miriam Raftery

April 7, 2014 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies have arrested Steve Nakho, 24, for allegedly assaulting a man with a stick, then chased the victim with a knife Sunday night.  The victim told police he fled from the assailant and sought help at a USA gas station on Woodside Avenue.

Update: The Sheriff's investigation has concluded that this death was a suicide. A man who took the gun, prompting a search, said he did so to prevent students from picking up the weapon.

By Leon Thompson and Miriam Raftery

Photos by Leon Thompson; video by Billy Ortiz

April 3, 2014 (Lakeside) -- High school students walking home from El capitan HIgh School today made a grisly discovery--finding the body of a man who had been shot in an alley behind a laundromat and the KK Market. 

"At first it looked staged, it was so unreal, as if we were watching a movie," Markise Carter (photo, below right), one of the students who found the body, told East County Magazine.  "Then I saw the blood was still running."  Markise said the victim, a young white male perhaps 18 to 25 years old, had a bloody hole in his chest and a puddle of blood in his lap. He was bleeding from his ears, nose and mouth.

By Miriam Raftery

March 14, 2014 (Lakeside) – A body found smoldering in a rural area of Alpine on Sunday, March 9 has been identified as Kimberly Renee Hayes, 35, of Lakeside.  

A Sweetwater Authority employee found Hayes’ burning body on a dirt road off the 17500 block of Sequan Truck Trail near Japatul Road shortly before 5 a.m.  The Medical Examiner’s office indicates that her death was a homicide. 

Hayes had worked as an emergency medical technician with San Diego Fire Rescue and at Scripps Mercy Hospital. She had a 14-year-old daughter.  But recently, she led a troubled life.

March 11, 2014 (Lakeside)—A Lakeside man who scaled a security gate and prompted a SWAT team standoff for several hours on Sunday at the FBI headquarters in San Diego has been charged with destruction property, said San Diego Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn.

February 21, 2014 (Lakeside)--The Barona Cultural Center & Museum will host an arrow-making class as part of the Ancient Spirits Speak series of classes on Saturday March 1, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.