East County News Service

Photo: Joylin Gutierrez, 6, and her suspected captor, her non-custodial parent Wendy Guttierez

Update:  Authorities indicate the abductor may have taken Joylin Gutierrez into Mexico.

February 22, 2022 (Spring Valley) -- The Rancho San Diego Sheriff's Station wants your help in locating a missing six-year-old girl from Spring Valley.

On Tuesday, February 22 around 1:15 p.m., Joylin Gutierrez was taken from Kempton Elementary School located in the 700 block of Kempton Street in Spring Valley. Joylin  is Hispanic, three feet tall with long brown hair and brown eyes.  She was last seen wearing a pink or purple sweater.

 Joylin is believed to be with her biological, non-custodial parent, 45-year-old Wendy Gutierrez.

They were last seen around 4:00 p.m. in the area near East Plaza Boulevard and South Harbison Avenue in National City.

By Miriam Raftery

Image: CC via Bing

February 18, 2022 (San Diego) – After revelations that San Francisco police used DNA collected from rape kits to charge a rape victim with a property crime, San Francisco’s District Attorney Chesa Boudin dismissed the charges and called the police actions a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

So East County Magazine asked the San Diego Sheriff department whether it has submitted rape victims’ DNA collected at hospitals to a database that could be used to link rape victims to other crimes.

Within hours of our request, Lieutenant Amber Baggs, the Sheriff’s Media Relations Director, sent this response:  “No we do NOT do this.  I read the article as well and checked with our Crime Lab Director. We do not match victim's DNA to other crimes. Thank you for asking so this can be clarified.”

By Miriam Raftery and  Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Photo via El Cajon Citizens of the Year

February 1, 2022 (El Cajon) – Pastor Harold Brown overcame homelessness and other hardships to become a community leader dedicated to helping others. As founder and CEO of the East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC) in El Cajon, he championed programs that have helped thousands of people escape homelessness and find hope instead of despair. Brown was also senior pastor of Christian Fellowship  of El Cajon.

Following a long battle with lung cancer, he was hospitalized last week with pneumonia and passed away yesterday morning.

Community leaders voiced sorrow as well as praise for Rev. Brown’s remarkable achievements.

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Major colleges, universities and community colleges across the region have temporarily shifted back to virtual instruction due to the COVID-19 surge fueled by the Omicron variant and holiday gatherings.

East County News Service

Image via Public Domain Photos

December 30, 2021 (San Diego) – COVID-19 cases have spiked in the past 24 hours, with 5,976 cases reported yesterday, up from 3,650 cases one day earlier, County Health and Human Services reports.  To reduce the spread, County health officials are urging San Diegans to keep New Year’s celebrations small and limit them to family and close friends who are vaccinated and boosted if eligible to prevent the surge of COVID-19 cases that occurred last winter.

The County is also asking the public and businesses to continue following the current state and local guidance to slow the spread.

Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s deputy public health officer, says given the record number of cases and rapid emergency of the Omicron variant, “If you have New Year’s celebrations, limit them to people who live with you and make sure everyone present uses the strategies we know work.”

By Miriam Raftery

December 29, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Turbulent times continued in 2021, marred by a persistent pandemic, vaccine rollouts, political divisiveness including an insurrection at the nation’s capitol, and local controversies such as growing homelessness, a housing shortage, power outages, protests over mask mandates, and SANDAG’s proposed mileage tax, to name a few.

Some national issues, such as pandemic relief, the infrastructure bill, the end of the Afghanistan war, and court rulings on immigration had strong impacts on our region.

There were bright spots. California reopened its economy mid-year, allowing all businesses and event venues to finally reopen. Hometown hero Joe Musgrove pitched the Padres’ first no-hitter. Residents organized to halt sexually violent predators from being placed in a Mt. Helix community. La Mesa named a new police chief committed to rebuilding community trust. Major land acquisitions by the county preserved riverfront land in Lakeside and the former Starr Ranch in Campo for posterity.

Two new Congressional representatives from East County took office and a special election sent a new Assemblywoman to Sacramento, while redistricting at year’s end will bring even more sweeping changes in 2022. 

Below is a rundown on the top stories that impacted East County in 2021:

By Karen Pearlman 

Photos courtesy of Shane Harris

View video

December 28, 2021 (San Diego) -- Hundreds of kids who might have spent Christmas day feeling sad, neglected or lonely were instead uplifted with love, food, lots of wrapped presents and tons of snow imported into southeastern San Diego.

More than 500 people, most of them foster kids, homeless youths and struggling families in San Diego County, spent part of the morning on Christmas Day at the National Black Contractors Association on Imperial Avenue feeling connected. 

The event was the annual Shane Harris Community Christmas Day Breakfast and Gift Giveaway, organized by local civil rights champion Shane Harris. Gifts given away included more than 70 free laptops, Chromebooks and tablets.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via County of San Diego

December 13, 2021 (San Diego) – Starting Wednesday, all Californians will be required to wear a mask at indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status, under a mandate announced today by the state’s Department of Public Health.  The new rule will remain in place until at least January 15 and follows a 47% rise in cases since Thanksgiving, as well as a 14% increase in hospitalizations.

In addition, the state has changed the rules for people attending mega events to require a negative PCR test 48 hours before the event or an antigen test 24 hours before the event.

The state is also recommending, though not requiring, that travelers to California get a COVID-19 test three to five days after their arrival

East County News Service

December 11, 2021 (San Diego) – Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore will host an in-store book discussion and signing on December 12 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. with award-winning author Reina Menasche, host of the “Bookshelf” program on East County Magazine’s radio show. Her newest book, The Spirit of Shy Moon Lake, has received a rave review from San Diego Writers and Editors Guild:

“This novel casts a spell. It’s mystery grabs a reader by the spirit and does not leg to. An ordinary family: a teacher, a poet and a curious son, expect summer vacation, but then enter a deep mental, emotional and spiritual struggle. Be ready for a novel that effectively disrupts the peace with its power to contemplate historical accounts that unsettle us…”

Story and photos by Henri Migala

November 24, 2021 (San Diego) -- I have been to the Sistine Chapel in Rome several times. The first time was when the frescos were still dark and covered with centuries of candle wax, soot and grime, and then again after the restoration brought out the original vibrant colors. But I have never seen Michelangelo’s frescos with as much clarity and intimate detail as when standing beside the life-sized reproductions at the Sistine Chapel Exhibit in Mission Valley on exhibit now through January 16.

When Pope Julius, in 1508, tasked Michelangelo with painting the Sistine Chapel, the sculptor was very resistant, because he did not consider himself a painter. But it was precisely this masterpiece, or maybe more precisely, the many masterpieces, of the Sistine Chapel that the artist is best remembered. Covering over 5,000 square feet and depicting 343 religious figures, the Sistine Chapel artwork took Michelangelo four years to complete and is one of the greatest artistic achievements of all humankind.

November 24, 2021 (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

• El Cajon does about-face on redistricting maps process (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego judge dismisses lawsuit challenging state's school mask mandate (10 News)
• Sniffing Out COVID-19 at San Diego Ice Arena (NBC San Diego)
• San Diego City Council Eliminates Minimum Parking Requirements for Businesses (Times of San Diego)
• Staffing shortages challenging San Diego Fire-Rescue (KPBS)
• San Diego MTS determined to rehab ‘Impossible Railroad’ despite latest setback in the desert  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Residents applaud safety fixes on Mount Helix Drive (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• After record low, monarch butterflies return to California (AP News)
• California broadens access to Covid booster shots  (New York Times)
• Fearing a winter surge, California turbocharges its push for COVID booster shots  (Los Angeles Times)
• Here’s how many California kids have had a COVID vaccine, about a week into rollout  (Sacramento Bee)
• About 80 thieves ransack department store near San Francisco (10 News)

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

November 12, 2021 (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

• Invasion of privacy or crime prevention? Santee considers new camera program (Fox 5)
• Common Cause warns El Cajon it may be violating state election law (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Poway Unified School District received death threats, board meetings now virtual (10 News)
• EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Deputies’ Survey Airs Concerns, Resistance to Vaccines & Reforms (La Prensa)
• Rural Residents Largely on Their Own Negotiating Over Clean Energy Projects (Times of San Diego)
• La Mesa baker gets called into the spotlight (La Mesa Courier)
• The Pentagon released a new report showing….San Diego County receives more money from the Pentagon than almost any other county in the country.  (KPBS)
• Photographer lost 'entire life' in truck theft outside El Cajon theater (10 News)
• Recall effort launched against Poway Mayor Steve Vaus (10 News)

STATE

• Gavin Newsom reveals why he canceled Scotland trip: His kids staged an ‘intervention’ (Sacramento Bee)
• COVID-19 has cost LAFD $22.5 million in overtime, much of it to cover for sick firefighters (Los Angeles Times)
• Satellites reveal the secrets of water-guzzling farms in California (NPR)
• Can California Tourism Survive Climate Change? (New York Times)

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

476 of 605 officer deaths in 2020 and 2021 in the U.S. were due to COVID-19

By Miriam Raftery

October 17, 2021 (San Diego) – Law enforcement officers risk their lives daily to protect the public. Yet many have voiced fear over COVID-19 vaccines as their unions push back against mandates.

The irony is that according to the “Officer Down Memorial Page,” the greatest risk by far to the lives of police and other law enforcement officers isn’t an armed criminal. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 killed by far more law enforcement officers nationally and statewide than anything else. In California last year, COVID took the lives of more officers than all other causes of death combined.

By Miriam Raftery

October 13, 2021 (San Diego) – If you’re a San Diego County resident not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, you’re in a shrinking minority. San Diego County has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation with over 2.2 million people fully vaccinated. That’s 80% of everyone eligible (ages 12 and up), the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.  Even more, 89.2%, are at least partially vaccinated.

Yet hospitalizations and deaths continue – nearly all among unvaccinated people. In the past 30 days, 263 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in San Diego County – and 258 of those were not fully vaccinated. In the past week, 37 deaths were reported from COVID-19, and 31 of those were not fully vaccinated.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of the Pentagon: U.S. troops help evacuate Afghan refugees

October 8, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego Supervisors voted unanimously this week to adopt a proposal by East County Supervisor Joel Anderson to have the County Office of immigrant and Refugee Affairs work with refugee resettlement agencies to assist with a wave of Afghan refugees arriving in our region. The board also approved Anderson’s plan to ask the federal government to spend part of $9.5 billion in frozen Taliban assets to pay for refugee resettlements.

In addition, Supervisors approved a proposal by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer to create an Afghan Resettlement Task Force.

With the Taliban takeover of the country, those who helped American troops as translators or in other capacities faced risk of death if they remained, as did women’s rights and human rights advocates. Many fled Afghanistan with few personal possessions.

Anderson stated, “I am thankful that my colleagues recognize the importance of this measure that will ensure San Diego County is ready to welcome these refugees into our communities.” He added that his East County district has a large population of Afghans and others with Middle Eastern heritage.”