By Fernanda Lopez Halvorson, County of San Diego Communications Office

Image Credit: CDC.gov

May 28, 2025 (San Diego) --County Public Health is working in close collaboration with Father Joe’s Villages and the San Diego Rescue Mission to notify residents, employees and volunteers who may have potentially been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) at the Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center (PMC) and the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse.  

The dates of potential exposure at Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center are from Feb. 14, 2025 to March 18, 2025, and from April 6, 2025 to May 7, 2025. Dates of potential exposure at the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse are from March 28, 2025 to April 11, 2025.

May 21, 2025 (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 round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• La Mesa-Spring Valley, Lemon Grove school mental health grants cut early by Trump administration (KPBS)
• Repair project may temporarily increase Tijuana River sewage flow, pollution (NBC 7)
• San Diego’s Beach Bonfires May Finally Burn Out (Voice of San DIego)
• San Diego’s first comprehensive neuroscience hospital opens [at Sharp Grossmont Hospital] (EC Californian)
• Wildfire-resilient neighborhood coming to Escondido (10 News)
• San Diego State Passport Office making move to Alvarado Road (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• Bomb Obliterates CA Clinic, Triggering Terrorism Probe: Report (Patch)
• Newsom proposes to freeze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented immigrants (CalMatters)
• State Farm wins first-ever emergency rate hike in California  (NBC 7)
• Just 17% of state residents could afford a family home in first part of year  (City News Service)
• Newsom’s push to ban homeless encampments is making housing advocates uncomfortable (Times of San Diego)

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

Rabies is nearly always fatal without treatment

Image Credit: PhotoSpin

Source: San Diego County News Service

May 10, 2025 (Escondido) -- County public health officials are looking for people who may have come in contact with a wild bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondidio on Wednesday, May 7 at 10:45 a.m. that later tested positive for rabies.    

The bat was found at the base of the public elevator in the African Loop near the hot air ballon ride. There is only one public elevator in the park.

By Pennell Paugh

April 30, 2025 (San Diego) -- San Diego writer, Peter Shaw recently released a debut novel: Murder on the Way: A Camino de Santiago Mystery.

On a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino family sends a hitman who poses as a pilgrim. His target stole a bag of the gang’s money, now travels as a pilgrim. To begin his new life, the target has undergone plastic surgery.

The reader, remaining in the hitman’s point of view, finds that the pilgrimage is changing the man dramatically.

By Karen Pearlman

April 25, 2025 (San Diego’s East County  – The Anza-Borrego Desert in inland San Diego County is captivating with its beauty and expansiveness, humbling and powerful in its quietness. A landscape of extremes -- sun-scorched earth and hidden blooms, rugged canyons carved by time, and sudden spring wildflowers when the rain gods have been kind -- the desert has a raw quality that strips everything down to the essentials of light, shadow, stone and sky.

Our desert region includes Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, famous for its spring wildflowers and rugged terrain; the city of Borrego Springs, the nation’s first “Dark Sky” community and ideal for stargazing; Agua Caliente State Park, known for its thermal pools; Ocotillo Wells, a wildly popular draw for off-road vehicles; and Jacumba Hot Springs, a town that has reinvented itself and become a destination on its own merits.

Padres lead NL west division in team’s best season start

By Karen Pearlman

Photo courtesy of San Diego Padres: Winning pitcher Michael King gets Gatorade ice bath after complete-game shutout of Colorado Rockies Sunday at Petco Park

April 13, 2025 (San Diego) – The San Diego Padres are all alone in first place in the National League West, above both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, with a winning ratio of .813. That's the most winning record in Major League Baseball, across all divisions.

And as the team improved to 13-3 after a 6-0 win over Colorado on Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout Petco Park crowd of 42,706, the Padres continue to leave opponents scoreless.

The Padres are off to their best start in the team’s 57-year history in Major League Baseball. The team currently tops the National League west standings, ahead of the Giants (11-4) and Dodgers (11-5).

East County News Service

April 9, 2025 (San Diego) – The balance of power on the County Board of Supervisors remains in limbo, as the special election to fill the District 1 vacancy left by Nora Vargas’ resignation now appears headed for a runoff.  No candidate has received 50% or more needed to decided the race outright.

As of this morning, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, a Republican, has 43.58% and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, a Democrat, has 31.62%. Mail-in ballots will continue to be counted until one week after Election Day.

April 4, 2025 (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 round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Updated state maps show San Diego County's areas at 'very high' risk for fires (10 News)
• CalTrans to invest $24 million in San Diego area infrastructure  (10 News)
• SpaceX rocket return creates sonic boom before splashdown near Oceanside (NBC)
• Bald Eagle and baby chick sightings on the rise across San Diego (CBS 8)
• Riverside reports first confirmed measles case since 2018 (Times of San Diego)
• Federal safety board lists Coronado Bridge as potentially at risk of 'catastrophic collapse' if hit by a vessel (CBS)

STATE

• California's water reservoirs on track as winter storms may boost snowpack (KPBS )
•  Do you have a California Real ID yet? What you need to apply ahead of deadline (Sacramento Bee)
• California needs $3.4 billion loan to cover Medi-Cal expenses (CBS)
• Dead fish stink up the Newsom-Trump truce on water (Politico)

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

March 21, 2025 (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 round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Issa Sues State, Saying Counting Mail-in Ballots After Election Day Violates Law (Times of San Diego)
• Supervisor pushing for notice to residents as federal funding in question (City News Service)
• Marni von Wilpert Announces Candidacy For State Senate in District 40 (Times of San Diego)
• Quiz: Where do the candidates for county supervisor in District 1 stand on the issues that matter to you? (KPBS)
• El Cajon-based raw cat food recalled after 2 pets sickened: Here's which products are affected (CBS)
• Fire destroys family-owned McDonald's restaurant in Spring Valley (KGTV)
• Imperial Beach mayor's EPA superfund request for Tijuana sewage denied (KGTV)

STATE

• California joins 19 Democratic states in suit to stop massive Education Department layoffs (Los Angeles Times)
• California’s Medi-Cal shortfall hits $6.2 billion with ‘unprecedented’ cost increases (KPBS)
• SoCal Edison investigating ‘zombie’ power line as possible start of Eaton Fire (KTLA)
• California has 30 new proposals to rein in AI. Trump could complicate them (Cal Matters)
• Gavin Newsom shocks LGBTQ allies with criticism of transgender athletes (Cal Matters)

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

East County News Service

February 11, 2025 (San Diego) -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is working to provide information for immigrants and their families in the wake of mass deportations and stringent immigration policies imposed by President Donald Trump. The information is available in English and Spanish, as well as translation options for other languages.

Catholic Charities has launched a webpage to provide “reliable information, such as the rights of immigrants, how to find a relative if he or she has been detained, and what legal documents may be needed, like power of attorney. Resources and training also will be available to parishes,” the diocese posted.

Click on these links to view resources including rights for immigrants:

emergencysafetyplan.org (English)

plandeemergencia.org  (Spanish)

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Opponents of resolution rallied Monday in El Cajon; CBS 8 video screenshot

Read the revised resolution on pages 57-59 from City Council agenda attachments

January 28, 2025 (El Cajon) – A crowd of about 75people opposed to mass deportations held a rally outside El Cajon’s City Hall yesterday to speak out against Mayor Bill Wells’ proposed resolution for the city to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The City Council will hold a hearing today at 3 p.m. on the controversial measure.

Changes have been made since the last meeting, adding praise for the city’s “vibrant and diverse immigrant communities” but also declaring the city’s intent to “comply with federal immigration law to the legal extent permissible under SB 54 and other applicable laws to remove violent criminals from our community.” SB 54 is a state law which prohibits cities from turning anyone over to federal immigration authorities unless they have been convicted in court of committed certain serious felony crimes, such as murder or rape. 

But President Donald Trump has declared a border emergency and  ordered immigration officials to conduct broad sweeps in immigrant communities. In recent days, people including citizens have been stopped,  asked for documents to prove citizenship, and many have been detained. Trump has stated his goal is to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.—going far beyond the small percentage convicted of felonies.

Impact has left refugee aid groups locally and nationally in shock

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Pentagon:  Troops evacuating Afghans after fall of Kabul

January 26, 2025 (San Diego) – Following an executive order issued by Donald Trump to suspend refugee resettlement,  the Trump administration has cancelled all flights for over 10,000 refugees already approved to resettle in the United States. According to Associated Press. This includes over 1,660 Afghans who helped America’s military as well as relatives of active-duty U.S. military personnel, Reuters reports.

The impacts hit hard in San Diego County, which in recent years has resettled more refugees from around the world than any other county in the U.S. including refugees from Africa, Asia, war-torn Middle-Eastern countries such as Iraq and Syria, Ukraine and other European nations, Haitian refugees fleeing natural disasters, and many more.

“This executive order is a step backwards for America,” the International Rescue Committee states on its website, urging the Trump administration to reverse the order. 

The Trump administration has taken down entirely the State Department's page on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Source: SDG&E

January 20, 2025 (San Diego)  – Due to extreme fire weather conditions and forecasted Santa Ana winds, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has notified 83,609 customers that it may have to turn off power to reduce wildfire risk as early as late today. Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) are approved by state regulators as a safety tool of last resort to mitigate fire risk during dangerous weather conditions.

As a result of dry conditions and expected Santa Ana windsup to 60 miles per hour locally, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning and High Wind Warning for parts of Orange and San Diego Counties beginning Monday morning through late Tuesday night.

SDG&E has activated its Emergency Operations Center and staffed it with key personnel to monitor weather conditions throughout the duration of the event, especially the wind speeds in the high fire risk areas of the county.

If SDG&E implements a PSPS for public safety, it will open Community Resource Centers to support impacted customers.

January 8, 2025 (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 round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Man sentenced 35 years to life for sex offenses with teen at El Cajon motel (10 News)
• Scripps Health Now Out-of-Network for Anthem Blue Cross Policyholders (Times of San Diego)
• Judge rules Humane Society should not send domesticated cats back outside (KPBS)
• La Mesa man saves passenger of burning car crash in his front yard (10 News)
• Nathan Fletcher’s Accuser Drops Sexual Assault Claim — for Now (Voice of San Diego)
• Spring Valley man faces federal charges over El Cajon bank robbery (10 News)
• Parents sue Grossmont hospital alleging negligence in death of 4-year-old son (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Hundreds of new laws in California take effect this year. Here's what to know for 2025. (CBS 8)
• Minimum car insurance coverage requirements are going up in California (KPBS)
• 2 dead and more than 1,000 homes, businesses, other buildings destroyed in fires (Los Angeles Times)
• California 2025: The Next Wave of New Employer Compliance Obligations Is About to Hit (National Law Review)

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

January 8, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for San Diego County mountains and valleys today and tomorrow due to high winds and extreme fire danger. The strong winds that have fueled two large wildfires decimating Los Angeles County are forecast to move into San Diego County next.

This is the driest winter period measured from October 1 through January 8 since 1850, according to the National Weather Service, increasing fire danger.

Due to high winds and potential power outages, schools in six local districts will be closed today. The San Diego County Office of Education announced the closures for:

• Julian Union Elementary School District
• Julian Union High School District
• Mountain Empire Unified School District
• Ramona Unified School District
• Spencer Valley School District
• Warner Unified School District

“The safety of students and school staff is of the utmost importance to San Diego County school districts,” officials said in a news release.

In Los Angeles County, devastating fires have collectively destroyed over 1,000 homes and two people have died, the Los Angeles Times reports.