By Mike Allen

October 15, 2023 (Santee) -- For everything Santee, there’s an app for that.

Cell phone users or anyone with a digital device linked to the Internet can download the free application, called MySanteeCA, which allows users (with both Android and Apple versions) to access an array of things.  These include the city’s website, a permitting and licensing portal, a space to report city issues such as graffiti removal, and even the city’s own television channel, SanteeTV.

Popular family chicken event hosts ‘Meet the Flockers,' Oct. 7 in Fallbrook, Escondido & Santee

East County News Service

October 2, 2023 (Santee) -- – Flocktober is upon us and Hawthorne Country Store invites San Diegans to ‘Meet the Flockers,’ Saturday, Oct. 7 at all three of its locations in Escondido, Fallbrook, and Santee.  

By Mike Allen

September 1, 2023 (Santee) -- The owner of the Santee Drive-In Theater said the outdoor movie complex that opened in 1958 will shut down in January. In a press statement, Susan Boyd, a member of the Forte Family, said the business “is no longer economically viable.”

“We are facing loss of customers, higher costs, equipment obsolescence, competition from streaming services, and the inability to show some of the newly released films.  Like movie theaters across the country, we can’t afford to stay open,” she said.

Instead of letting the property sit vacant, the family selected North Palisade Partners of Los Angeles as buyers in a sale that’s expected to occur in 2024, according to the recent press statement.

This news confirms what East County Magazine reported in early May, based on several reliable sources.

By Mike Allen

August 4, 2023 (Santee) -- One year into the construction of the $950 million East County Advanced Water Purification Program (AWP_, the largest infrastructure project in the region’s history is starting to take shape.

Huge concrete and steel structures with names such as digesters, headworks, clarifiers, equalization tanks, and aeration basins are sprouting at the end of Fanita Parkway in Santee where the Ray Stoyer Water Recycling Plant used to exist.

The facility that once produced some 2 million gallons of water used for irrigation is being transformed to a far larger entity that will produce some 11.5 million gallons of drinkable water daily for about 500,000 East County residents.

By Mike Allen

Image:  Plan for roundabout by Dokken Engineering. Santee spent about $800,000 on engineering and design work since 2015, funds that will be lost if city doesn’t build it.

July 22, 2023 (Santee) -- Last month, the Santee City Council eliminated a project to build a roundabout at the Highway 67 off ramp at Woodside Avenue, costing the city about $800,000 it had spent on design and engineering plans going back to 2015.

The decision was made June 14, during a discussion of the city’s capital improvement program (CIP), essentially a wish list of projects over the next five years. While no formal vote was taken, at least three Santee councilmembers said the roundabout or traffic circle wasn’t necessary and would likely cause more traffic problems than the current, four-stop configuration.

By Staff, San Diego Jewish World, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

July 10, 2023 (San Diego) - In response to antisemitic and anti-LBGTQ flyers that were distributed this last weekend in the San Carlos and Del Cerro neighborhoods, in the vicinity respectively of Tifereth Israel Synagogue and Temple Emanu-El, the regional office of the Anti-Defamation League announced on Monday that it has “been working diligently with the San Diego Police Department , the San Diego Mayor’s Office and the District Attorney’s office to identify the perpetrators and support the targeted communities.”

By Miriam Raftery

July 4, 2023 (San Diego’s East County)—The San Diego Blood Bank has five blood drives coming up between July 12 and July 14 in the East County communities of El Cajon, Lakeside, and Santee.

Anyone age 17 and older who weighs at least 114 pounds and is in good health may be eligible to donate bloodand help save a life. A good meal and plenty of fluids are recommended prior to donation. Appointments are honored first and walk‑ins are welcome. Photo identification is required..

Below are details on the upcoming blood drives:

By Miriam Raftery

June 29, 2023 (Santee) – SDG&E has advised the city of Santee that Cuyamaca Street will be closed for six to eight weeks between Prospect Ave. and Weld. Blvd.to repair a gas leak in a transmission line. 

The street will be closed in both directions,  the city of Santee posted on social media.

By Christianne McCormick

Photos by Christianne McCormick and Monica Silver

June 19, 2023 (Santee) -- The Santee Pride Walk  on June 10^th was met with an outpour of support despite the City’s conservative culture. This pride walk, organized by the Santee United Methodist Church, attracted so many people from all parts of San Diego that attendants could barely fit along the sidewalks. Nearly all came to support diversity and the LGBTQ+ community, though several protesters also turned out.

Car after car honked to show support of the walk, which began on Edgemont Drive, then proceeded to Cuyamaca Street along Mission Gorge. Some supporters held their rainbow pride flags out of their car windows and sunroofs to show support for the marchers. An estimated 300 people were present for this event, far more than the 50 that organizers originally estimated would participate.

East County News Service

June 8, 2023 (Santee) –  Harken back in time to the 16^th century to experience the Renaissance on Saturday, June 17 in Santee.  Come as you are, or dress to experience the life of a noble, knight or peasant.

You can try your hand at archery, watch fighting tournaments all day long, learn a craft, learn a dance, listen to a bardic recital, or experience a battle of the bards. Enjoy fun for the entire family – and admission is free.

By Mike Allen

May 21, 2023 (Santee) -- Laura Koval is retiring from her regular job as director of the Santee Lakes park, but says she’s keeping her part-time job on the Santee City Council. In fact, she’s announced she intends to run again for the seat in 2024.

Working has been part of her life since she was a youngster. Beginning at the tender age of 17 as an usher for the San Diego Padres and continuing to her current job that will end next month, Koval has worn many different hats. But one she still wears proudly today has SD on it.

Koval, 58, worked for the Padres for 26 years, including during the team’s only two World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998.

Source: San Diego Sheriff

May 20, 2023 (Santee) -- Detectives with the Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit and the Santee Sheriff's Station want the public's help in identifying and locating a man wanted for groping a child in Santee. The alleged incident occurred  on Thursday, May 18 just before 4:00 p.m. near Big Rock Park in the 8100 block of Arlette Street.

“A 12-year-old student from Chett F. Harritt School was walking towards the park when a man approached her,” says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle. “The man inappropriately touched her chest. A friend who was with the victim tried to intervene by pushing away the suspect. He took off on an electric black and gray scooter. He was last seen going eastbound towards Mesa Road.”

East County News Service

May 15, 2023 (Santee) – A  Santee woman has been arrested on suspicion of mailing drug-laced letters to a county jail.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, on four separate occasions between December 2022 and April 2023, deputies assigned to the Sheriff's Mail Processing Center intercepted letters intended for an individual in a detention facility. They noticed the letters had the appearance of being soaked in an unknown liquid and dried.

Deputies tested the letters and determined they had been soaked in liquid methamphetamine. The letters were then seized as evidence.

UPDATE: The owner states that the property has not sold, however ECM has confirmed that it is in escrow. Read more:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/santee-drive-sale-sparks-outcry-property-escrow-city-confirms

 

By Mike Allen

May 6, 2023 (Santee) - The Santee Drive-In, which opened in 1958 and one of the last open-air drive-ins left in the county, is in escrow to a Los Angeles-based development firm, North Palisades Partners.

By Mike Allen

April 29, 2023 (Santee) - Santee’s City Council unanimously approved a four-story, 97-room hotel at the Trolley Square Shopping Center to be operated by either the Hilton or Marriott chains at its April 26 meeting.