By Miriam Raftery

October 12, 2011 (Santee)—Without a squawk of opposition from the audience, the Santee City Council voted 3-2 to let city residents keep chickens. Roosters, however, are still banned, since only hens for egg production are allowed.

September 23, 2011 (Santee)--Sip wine while tapping your toes to some lively music at the Santee Wine and Bluegrass Festival this Saturday, September 24.   The festival runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 550 Park Center Drive, Santee, CA 92071. Advance tickets are $30; tickets purchased after September 12 are $35.

Voepel's beliefs share much in common with Flat Earth Society views

By Miriam Raftery
 

July 30, 2011 (Santee) – Santee’s Sheriff Station will be among law enforcement outlets nationwide to participate in National Night Out, America’s Night Out Against Crime on August 2 from 5-7 p.m. Activities include block parties, cookouts, a neighborhood walk, safety fairs, child fingerprinting, raffles, free shredding, free disposal of expired or unwanted prescription drugs, games, entertainment and more.

Photos by Mark and Miriam Raftery

 
July 6, 2011 (Santee) -- The City of Santee hosted its annual "Santee Salutes" patriotic celebration on July 4th, drawing families from across East County for this major event.

Scroll down to view photos of participants enjoying fun in the sun, followed by fireworks in the park after dark.

 
June 28, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- Communities across San Diego's inland regions will host a variety of events celebrating Independence Day on Monday, July 4th including festivals, parades, picnics, an ice cream social, Western-themed events, and of course, fireworks. 
 
 
Below are highlights of celebrations planned in numerous East County and inland San Diego areas:

May 29. 2011 (Santee)--Villas at Mission Trails, a new condominium project located east of Mission Trails Regional Park, has broken ground.

May 23, 2011 (Santee) --The Santee Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Third Annual Street Fair on Saturday, May 28, 2011 from 10am to 7pm to support the Santee Food Bank. The Street Fair will be on Riverview Parkway at Mission Gorge Road, next to the Trolley Square shopping center. Around 300 Food booths and vendor displays, and rides will be open from 10am to 7pm. A beer garden sponsored and operated by Santee Sportsplex will be open from 6 pm to 11pm.

May 7 5K Run/walk will give public glimpse of new park lands—see it first in our ECM video adventure

By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Pam Wilmer
Video by Billy Ortiz

April 27, 2011 (Santee) – San Diego River Run is moving its 5K fun run/walk to the Walker Lakes property in Santee this year.  Participants will be the first members of the public to experience this site, which will soon become part of the San Diego River Trail, which is not yet open to the public.

East County Magazine’s Billy Ortiz got a special preview tour.  View his video adventure here.

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.  

Suspects also accused of using stolen credit cards at local businesses

By Miriam Raftery

April 12, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Sheriff detectives, following an extensive theft and fraud investigation, have made several arrests related to vehicle burglaries at local hiking trails including the El Capitan Preserve in Lakeside, Blue Sky Open Space Trail in Santee, and trailheads at Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego.

By Miriam Raftery

March 20, 2011 (Santee) – An estimated 20,000 people turned out to run, walk, bike and party atop the last link of Highway 52 at yesterday’s “Sea to Santee” celebration. Now open to traffic, the new freeway segment is the last link connecting Highway 67 in East County to Interstate 5 and La Jolla.

Transportation improvements have historically heralded changes in East County, starting with cattle drives and the coming of stagecoach and railway lines in the 19th century. Invention of the "horseless carriage" brought construction of Highways 94 and 80, connecting East County to San Diego and Arizona. The aviation era led to the airfield at Gillespie Field. More recently, construction of Interstate 8, Highway 67 and now Highway 52 further improved access to East County for visitors from around the county and across the nation. 

The new highway will also make it faster for East County residents to reach San Diego destinations including employment and yes, beaches.  Surf's up, Santee!

March 3, 2011 (Santee) -- Grab your gardening gloves and head on out to the SanTree Fest, a fun family event in Santee.  Guests can volunteer to help plant  over 50  trees or assist with river cleanup, enjoy live musical entertainment, sample healthy foods, enjoy kid crafts, and visit interactive environmental booths.

On our visit last year, some booths were also giving away plants, flowers, and even a potted pine tree. Kids and grown-ups had fun getting dirty--while helping to beautify the community.