October 4, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• San Diego County Adding Psychiatric Beds To Serve Growing Mentally Ill Population (KPBS)
• County agrees to pay $3 million to settle lawsuits filed by former foster children  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Visa change could hit San Diego hard (Voice of San Diego)
• Signature gathering underway to overturn Newland Sierra housing development approval (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Shark attacks 13-year-old boy diving for lobster at San Diego County beach (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Private prison $10K goes to Lincoln Club (San Diego Reader)
• Man finds $46K hidden in Goodwill donation (10 News)

STATE

• No gun sales under age 21 in California starting in 2019 (Sacramento Bee)
• Gov. Jerry Brown blocks medical marijuana on school campuses (Los Angeles Times)
• Booze until 4 a.m.? Not in California, governor says in veto of bill to keep bars open (Sacramento Bee)
• California will ban the sale of most animal-tested cosmetics starting in 2020 (Los Angeles Times)
• California Just Passed an Internet of Things Law (Mac Observer)
• California is requiring more women on boards. It may not stand up in court (San Francisco Chronicle)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Fact check: Kendrick mailer on Kalasho “fraud and sex scandals” is true.

Kalasho removes social media post accusing him of stalking opponent's home -- after being served with federal lawsuit for removing critical posts and violating First Amendment.

By Miriam Raftery

September 15, 2018 (El Cajon) – Redistricting has pitted Councilmembers Gary Kendrick and Ben Kalasho against each other in what’s shaping up to be one of the most contentious election battles in East County’s history.   

A mailer from Kendrick’s campaign warns voters, “Judge ruled against Ben Kalasho in fraud and sex scandals.”  No, that’s not fake news.  The flyer contains actual headlines and excerpts from East County Magazine and the San Diego Union-Tribune documenting the numerous legal findings, allegations and scandals involving Kalasho.

Hunter stripped of committee assignments over "deeply serious charges", House Speaker Paul Ryan acknowledges

Update: August 23, 2018: Congressman Hunter and his wife have entered not guilty pleas. ECM news partner 10 News has details: https://www.10news.com/news/rep-duncan-hunter-set-to-be-arraigned-follow....

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter and his wife, Margaret, have been indicted on federal charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud and falsifying campaign records to take over a quarter of a million dollars in campaign funds and use them for personal expenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced yesterday.

The indictment alleges that the Hunters also falsely represented personal expenses as purchases made to help wounded veterans and other charitable causes. in addition, a letter from Hunter's attorney to the Justice Department reveals, prosecutors suggest campaign funds were spent on "extramarital infidenlities and excessive drinking."

August 2, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• What Happens if Lemon Grove Sours on Cityhood? (Voice of San Diego)
• Local activist sues El Cajon City Councilman Ben Kalasho, claims he's blocking critics on Facebook (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Audit Reveals Tough Decisions Coming at SANDAG  (Voice of San Diego)
• Searing temperatures claim seven lives, send hundreds to Mexicali shelters (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Study: county pension benefits soar (San Diego Reader)
• Supervisors approve hundreds of new homes in north San Diego County (KPBS)

STATE

• Northern Calif. wildfire claims sixth victim (The Hill)
• State regulators approve San Onofre nuclear settlement, trimming $750M from original deal (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• CPUC wipes away Peevey/Edison collusion, criminal investigation (SD Reader/Don Bauder)
• California farmers and Mexican cheese sales, U.S. trade war takes a toll (Reuters)
• She desperately put a wet blanket over her great grandchildren as their home burned. All three died. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Yosemite fire: Flames threaten park’s giant Sequoia trees (San Jose Mercury News)
• 40 California Hospital Employees Lost Their Homes In A Wildfire. They Showed Up To Work Anyway. (BuzzFeed News)
• CA State Parks Revises Reservation Rules After Complaints From Campers (NBC 7)
• PG&E spends more than $1 million to lobby California officials on wildfire laws (Sacramento Bee)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, top: Carrizo Gorge federal wilderness area

June 29, 2018 (Alpine) – Most visitors to San Diego County head to the beaches or the well-known mountain town of Julian. But the County’s lesser traveled southeast region, known as the Alpine Mountain Empire, includes vast tracts of wilderness, quaint mountain towns, a historic train, museums, Native America reservations, resorts, parks and lakes.

By Miriam Raftery

June 21, 2018 (San Diego) – President Donald Trump has nominated Robert “Bob” Brewer to serve as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.  Brewer is a former assistant U.S. attorney and deputy district attorney who once ran for San Diego district attorney, but was defeated by incumbent Bonnie Dumanis. 

Brewer has prosecuted cases including espionage, bank robberies, smuggling, narcotics, murder for hire and civil rights violations.

He has spent most of his career, however, as a defense attorney representing clients such as Sempra Energy at a time when Sempra was facing bribery allegations in Mexico. In 2011, he was named San Diego’s criminal defense white collar lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers. He’s also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America.

By Miriam Raftery

San Diego’s Ramona Valley has emerged as a nationally recognized wine region that also has a historic downtown district and beautiful natural settings including many parks, preserves and trails to explore. You’ll also find seasonal activities such as a musical festival, country fair, grape stomp, camel dairy festivals and holiday celebrations.

By Miriam Raftery

May 18, 2018 (San Diego) – What should consumers know about saving money and choosing a financial institution?  What’s the difference between credit unions and big banks?  When does a home equity line of credit make sense, and what are new options when shopping and financing a car?

These are among the questions East County Magazine asked Jonathan Zide, vice president of Cabrillo Credit Union, which has branches in La Mesa, San Diego and Carlsbad. The local company has been serving our region since 1955, starting out helping federal Border Patrol agents. Today, it’s open to everyone.

May 3, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

Local

• Ruling Slams SDG&E’s Plan for a New Gas Pipeline (Voice of San Diego)
• Lemon Grove ready to move along on vision for future of downtown (SD Union-Tribune)
• ‘Shocking’ suicide rate at San Diego County Jails: report (Patch)
• Rep. Duncan Hunter attempts to create legal expense fund to cover costs of FBI investigation (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Tule Wind project knocked offline (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Burrowing owls get new ‘digs’ in East County (Fox 5)
• Settlements reached in 2 sexual-misconduct cases against San Diego County deputy, 13 cases remain (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lemon Grove names members of its new planning commission (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Outrage as neighborhood becomes dumping ground for dogs (10 News)
• State regulators launch probe into Dronenberg allegation (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The fastest woman on the planet in 2018 is ... a San Diego State senior.  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• State rejects appeal of SDSU lecturer who felt he wasn't treated fairly in discrimination case (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 State

• Does this California wildfire bill protect consumers? Or give utilities a blank check? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Here's how to watch the first mission from California to Mars (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Housing: What would the candidates for governor do? (Cal Matters)
• Land purchase makes a big cat crossing across I-15 possible (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

Photo: California National Guard

April 11, 2018 (San Diego)— Governor Jerry Brown has approved a request from President Donald Trump to send National Guard troops to the international border, funded by the federal government to combat “lawlessness,” according to the President’s request.

But in his response to the Trump administration, Brown indicated that the 400 troops sent by California will be utilized not for immigration enforcement, but rather for “new staffing will allow the Guard to do what it does best: support operations targeting transnational criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers along the border, the coast and throughout the state,” threats that are priorities for both Democrats and Republicans, including two prior administrations, Brown noted.

February 13, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• From homeless to hopeful in record time (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• From Fallujah to FBI investigation: the undoing of Duncan Hunter (Politico)
• San Diego Democrats stood by labor leader amid sexual misconduct allegation, got $10K the next day (San Diego Union Tribune)
• County’s outrageous targeting of reporter who exposed jail deaths (Voice of SD)
• Tijuana landslide destroys a neighborhood (San Diego Un ion-Tribune)
• Two federal prosecutors appointed to target opioid crisis in San Diego, Imperial counties (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sons of Charity bank statements leave more questions than answers  East County Californian)
• Report: Duncan Hunter’s wife is target of campaign finance probe (NBC 7)
• San Diego judge who Trump called `Mexican’ reviewing plans for border wall (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• California launches investigation after stunning admission by Aetna medical director (CNN)
• California Officials Set Up Invasive Swamp Rodent Hotline (NPR)
• California’s race for Governor tightens in latest polls (Sacramento Bee)
• Ballot breakdown: These initiatives are headed your way (Cal Matters)
• Cal-State University students struggling with lack of housing, food (KQED)
• California bill would ban tackle football before high school (KQED)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

January 19, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – A new report by humanitarian organizations  reveals that Border Patrol agents  have been systemically destroying water bottles left in desert areas for undocumented immigrants in the Arizona desert, condemning people to die of thirst.  While its unknown if this is occurring in California, this article in Britain’s The Guardian hit home for me in a visceral way, reminding me of an experience that brought me to tears.

On the 4^th of July In 2008, I rode alongwith Border Angels founder Enrique Morones. We discovered sabotage of water bottles his group had left in rugged locations--all slashed open, empty. My article, Dying to Come to America, was published in our very first edition of East County Magazine. Morones vividly described what it is like for people to die of dehydration – hallucinating, throwing off clothes and shoes. We saw the signs of this torment – a woman’s high-heeled shoe cast aside, a man’s crumpled shirt.  The heat was triple digits.

I went along to learn about experiences faced by people so desperate to come to America that they rely on water left by benevolent strangers to survive. I learned that coyotes, or human traffickers, often lie to the migrants, telling them it's just a short walk to freedom; some women dressed up to meet their husbands are unaware of the dangers. I choked up, imagining their pain. My story included photos of those slashed water bottles and graves of people--some so very young--who died crossing East County's rugged border mountains in their failed quest to find freedom.

By Miriam Raftery

January 11, 2018 (San Diego) – A federal grand jury has subpoenaed documents from a local business as part of a criminal investigation into Congressman Duncan Hunter’s campaign finances, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported yesterday.

The newspaper’s award-winning journalist Morgan  Cook reports that the grand jury will hear evidence and testimony from a witness also ordered to appear in San Diego later this month.  Potentially, the grand jury could issue one or more criminal indictments, casting a pall over Hunter’s effort to win a primary race in June and reelection to Congress in November.

Update January 9, 2018:  The dogs have been found and taken into custody by County Animal Control. No further details have been released pending investigation.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

January 8, 2018 (San Diego) – A man in his 70s was attacked by two pit bulls last night around 6 p.m. in the 6200 block of El Cajon Boulevard near San Diego State University.

The man suffered non-life threatening bites to his arms and legs and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Patrons of a barber shop assisted the victim. The bites were deep enough to expose bone,  10 News reports.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson

January 2, 2018 (San Diego)—Customers lined up before dawn at several of San Diego’s eight legal recreational marijuana shops that opened their doors January 1^st.  The city was among the first places in California to permit recreational cannabis sales under Prop 64, which voters approved in 2016 and which is now in effect.

ECM reporter Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson visited the Apothekare in Mission Valley on New Year’s Day.  “No, I do not smoke, but I am a writer and always curious,” she posted on Facebook. 

She found a line wrapped around the building outside and snaking through the dispensary’s interior as well.  To gain access, customers had to be “buzzed” in through two areas with security guards.