July 10, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Walt Meyer snapped these idyllic images at Cedar Creek Falls, perhaps the most beautiful place in San Diego’s East County.  The towering waterfall is situated in Cleveland National Forest near Julian.

“The water was pretty and cold, but refreshing after the hike,” Meyer says. “The falls were beautiful.”

A permit is required from the U.S. Forest Service for this very strenuous hike, where many have suffered heat exhaustion or injuries, requiring rescues, and several have perished.

Hiking on a clear day in winter, or when temperatures are cooler, is recommended--and be sure to carry plenty of water for the steep, mostly shadeless climb out of  this Eden-like oasis.

East County News Service

Photo and budget breakdown via County News Service

June 28, 2023 (San Diego) – A new fire station in Jacumba and an animal shelter for Santee are among the projects funded by the County’s $8.17 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24, which Supervisors unanimously adopted on Tuesday.

The budget also has substantial allocations to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, build affordable homes, plant trees and help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost investment in mental health and addiction services, foster youths, justice reforms, and more.

Source: SANDAG

June 24, 2023 (San Diego)-- On Wednesday afternoon, SANDAG and Facilitating Access to Coordinated Transportation (FACT) representatives were joined by local community members to celebrate the launch of RideFACTNow, a new and first-of-its-kind on-demand specialized transportation service in the San Diego region.

The new on-demand service is for people using mobility devices, including wheelchairs, and will operate on a same-day basis with a maximum one-hour response time.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Amtrak Surfliner in San Clemente, by Steve Wilson, cc 2.0 via Wikipedia

June 7, 2023 (San Diego) – Railway tracks utilized by Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink trains have been shut down again, following a new landslide in San Clemente discovered early Monday morning.

Amtrak travelers from San Diego to Orange County will, however, be able to take a bus in Oceanside to bridge the gap, while Metrolink is offering stranded passengers $50 Uber vouchers to complete their trips.

By Miriam Raftery

May 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF) will hold a webinar on May 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Vesicular Stomatis Virus (VSV), a contagious livestock disease that has spread to at least six different communities in San Diego County. Registration is required for the webinar, which will be held on Zoom. Register here.

Dr. Angela Pelzel McCluskey, USDA equine epidemiologist, will provide an overview of Vesicular Stomatitis and the current situation report also providing perspective based on her firsthand experience managing numerous VS outbreaks in her previous roles. Dr. Katie Flynn,USEF Equine Health and Biosecurity veterinarian, will cover prevention measures for horses and their premises, as well as the biosecurity requirements being implemented at those USEF events with horses competing from VS Affected States.

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 23 properties are quarantined due to VSV, including 18 sites in San Diego County—seven more than in the last report five days earlier.  All but one case in the outbreak have occurred in equine species such as horses, but there is one suspected case  in a “backyard beef steer” at a local property with three cattle. The remaining cases are in Riverside County. 

The USDA has not responded to our media inquiry for specific locations impacted in our region, but the Ramona  Sentinel reports that the first six confirmed cases since the outbreak began May 17 were in Ramona, Lakeside, Campo, Jamul, Del Sur, and Descanso, according to local veterinarians. San Diego and Riverside counties are the only places in the nation with current cases.

Warnings issued for beaches from North County to South Bay, impacting beach safety for humans and dogs

East County News Service

File photo by Tony Webster,Friendship Park sewage warning sign in Imperial Beach cc 2.0

Update May 29, 2023: The closure is lifted for the Coronado Lifeguard Tower and North Beach Shorelines. Recent water quality samples meet State health standards.  Warnings at other beaches remain in effect.

May 27, 2023 (San Diego) – Sewage spills in Tijuana have contaminated many local beaches. Some South Bay beaches have been closed for months or more, including Imperial Beach and Tijuana Slough shoreline. Earlier this month, the Coronado shoreline was shutdown by county health officials, after earlier closing the Silver Strand.

This Memorial Day weekend, the county has also issued advisories warning consumers of pollution at the following beaches:

• San Diego River Outlet – Dog Beach, Ocean Beach
• North Cove, Vacation Isle
• Oceanside Pier at Surfrider Way
• Comfort Station at Leisure Lagoon
• Fanuel Park
• Fiesta Island Northwest Shoreline
• San Elijo Lagoon
• Childrens Pool
  

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

May 21, 2023 (San Diego) – In San Diego author Matt Coyle’s latest crime novel, private investigator Rick Cahill has become a father and husband. Having lived a tough life as an athlete and P.I., Rick’s repeated head traumas are paying their toll. He now has chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that gives him moments of fugues and moments of out-of-control rage. Treatments are not working out; he hides his disease from his family.

In this passage,  he shares his troubled thoughts:

April 14, 2023  (San Diego) -- 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

• SDG&E proposes adding flat fee to utility bills (KPBS)
• Duncan Hunter Blamed in Friendly Fire Incident That Killed 2 Marines in Fallujah (Times of San Diego)
• Fletcher Resignation: What Are Next Steps for County Supervisors and How Much Will It Cost? (KPBS)
• Proposed ordinance banning homeless from camping in public places sets off fiery debate (10 News)
• Border Patrol: Armed bandits robbed 3 migrant groups in Otay Mountain wilderness (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• three migrants shot and wounded in the same vicinity.
• Supervisors delay vote on sewer rate increase for 8 unincorporated communities (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Julian Man Dies From Flesh-Eating Bacteria After Chasing Dog Into Pond (NBC 7)
• Man surrenders to deputies, taken in for psychiatric evaluation after 7-hour standoff in Dulzura  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Bankruptcy court OKs sale of Borrego Health to DAP Health; regulatory approval pending  (Desert Sun)

STATE

• Feinstein asks for Judiciary replacement after calls for resignation (The Hill)
• Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other major cities could face huge water cuts in feds’ proposed plan to save the Colorado River (CNN)
• California Government Cuts Back In-Person Press Access in Post-COVID Era (Cal Matters)
• Ocean temperatures hit record as El Niño looms (CBS News)
• California’s snowpack is among the deepest ever. Now get ready for the perilous ‘big melt’ (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Undocumented California farmworkers would get path to state residency under new proposal (Sacramento Bee)
• Lawsuit seeks to uphold closing California’s last nuke plant (AP)

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

East County News Service

April 1, 2023 (Boulevard) – The Boulevard Community Planning Group will hold a public scoping hearing Wednesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. on the proposed 565-acre Starlight Solar project. County staff will present information and public comments will be accepted at the hearing at the Backcountry Resource Center,39919 Ribbonwood Rd., Boulevard (in the old fire station equipment bay).

It would be located south of I-8 and Old Highway 80 and east of Tierra Del Sol Road.  The project has proposed eight solar array areas with approximately 300,000 PV modules on support structures. It would connect to the Boulevard Substation.

The proposed 100 megawatt industrial-scale solar facility would include a battery energy storage system (BESS), collector substation, transformers, inverters, gen-tie line, and 24’ internal roads, water tanks for fire protection, security fencing, lighting, and signage.

March 21, 2023  (San Diego) -- 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

• Biden Meets With UK, Australian PMs In San Diego; Submarine Deal OK'd (Patch)
• Son of scientist fatally shot by law enforcement during confrontation in Little Italy sues city, county  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Former anchor claims victory in her discrimination lawsuit against KUSI (KPBS)
• San Diego County now has overdose reversal drug in vending machines  (KPBS)
• Man pleads guilty to murder for killing ex's twin daughters in Lemon Grove (10 News)
• Woman sentenced nearly 8 years for role in injuring El Cajon Police Officer (Times of San Diego)

STATE

• Newsom loosens rules to allow more floodwater to flow into underground reservoirs (Sacramento Bee)
• Storms end Southern California water restrictions for 7 Million (AP)
• More than 8,000 people in California were evacuated after a levee failed  (NPR)
• California Politics: State GOP starts convention with no prominent Senate candidate (Los Angeles Times)
• No California salmon: Fishery to be shut down this year (KPBS)
• California bill to protect doctors who mail abortion pills (KPBS)
• California will remake San Quentin prison, emphasizing rehab (AP)

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

Hearing April 5 for County Supervisors to weigh the Regional Decarbonization Framework

Public urged to speak at meeting and submit comments by March 31 deadline at project website

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview with Bill Powers, Protect Our Communities Foundation, recorded four days before the nonprofit group filed a lawsuit against the County.  The interview originally aired on KNSJ radio. View video of  interview.

March 8, 2023 (San Diego) – The Protect Our Communities Foundation (POCF) has filed a lawsuit against the County of San Diego contending that the County hired a  biased utility industry consultant direct the County’s Regional Decarbonization Framework (RDF) and that the RDF’s conclusions are skewed toward utilities’ interests over consumers’ interests based on flawed data. The suit also names the University of California as a defendant, contending that UCSD concealed researcher David Victor’s financial ties to the utility industry when it won a no-bid contract from the County to prepare the report that Victor co-authored.  

In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine aired on KNSJ radio four days before the suit was filed in late February, Bill Powers, an engineer and board member on the Protect Our Communities Foundation, discussed why the organization is taking a stand against the RDF. He contends that if approved by Supervisors as written, it could result in fast-tracking industrial-scale wind and solar projects in our backcountry, even waiving environmental impact reviews, when it would be more economical to build rooftop and parking lot solar in urban areas – without harm to local communities and environmental habitats.

East County News Service

February 24, 2023 (San Diego) --  The City of San Diego today announced that due to weather conditions and “an abundance of caution,” it has closed Mission Trails Regional Park, as well as Los Penasquitos Preserve, Chollas Lake and Maple Canyon parks.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo: Migrants wait in line while California border activists organize  group to enter  U.S. and seek asylum through  Chaparral entryway in Tijuana. Photo by Carlos A. Moreno for CalMatters

February 24, 2023 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Rapid Response Network issued a condemnation Wednesday of the Biden Administration’s proposed new restrictions on refugees seeking asylum in the United States.

The coalition of human-rights organizations, led by Jewish Family Service of San Diego, operates local migrant shelters funded by state government and private donors.

Federal government releases breakdown by Congressional district as Supreme Court readies to hear cases challenging program

By Miriam Raftery

February 17,2023 (San Diego)—The U.S. Department of Education has released a chart showing federal student loan forgiveness applications and approvals broken down by Congressional district.  The data shows that “In every single congressional district, at least half of eligible borrowers either applied or were deemed auto-eligible for debt relief, and that was only in the one month that the application was available before the program got blocked because of lawsuits.”

Nationally, about 40 million student borrowers were eligible for the program and around 26 million applications were received, of which 16 million were approved before a court blocked the program pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving borrowers in limbo for now.

In San Diego County, over 400,000 borrowers would be eligible for the loan forgiveness, if the high court allows it to move forward.  Over 240,000 of those have applied and around 154,000 local borrowers have been approved.

Here is the breakdown by district:

East County News Service

February 4, 2023 (San Diego) -- San Diego County jails have in recent years had the highest number of jail deaths of any major county in California. Many of those deaths have been due to drug overdoses, including Fentanyl. That’s prompted an investigation by the state auditor and calls for reforms from politicians.

Now, newly elected Sheriff Kelly Martinez (photo) has announced numerous changes aimed at improvement the health and safety of people in custody.  Those changes include: