By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2020 (Poway) – “We looked different, but got things done as usual,” Poway Mayor Steve Vaus posted on Facebook, with a masked photo, following last night’s city council meeting. The Council met in Council chambers, but without an audience. To comply with social distancing requirements, the public could watch live online, call in or send comments in ahead of time.

By a unanimous vote, the Council approved a moratorium on commercial evictions due to COVID-19 impacts until May 31, provided the commercial tenant notifies the landlord promptly. The documentation may be as simple as a statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that the tenant has suffered financial hardship due to the COVID-19 emergency. Tenants would still owe the rent after May 31, unless they negotiate long-term repayment or other arrangements with their landlord.

By Miriam Raftery

December 6, 2019 (Poway) – A boil-water order has been lifted in Poway, where residents can now drink tap water after first flushing out plumbing lines, replacing filters and throwing away ice. State testing found the water safe to drink, nearly a week after stormwater runoff contaminated a clearwell reservoir.

Hardest hit are restaurants forced to shut down, and their employees. The North San Diego Business Chamber is asking the community to dine in Poway Dec. 9-15, adding, “As the holidays approach, we ask that you dine at these businesses and support their employees, so they too can have a holiday season without any added stress.” Find a list of Poway restaurants at the bottom of this article.

By Miriam Raftery

A GoFundMe site has been set up to help T.J. Poucher recover from the devastating fire

October 28, 2019 (Poway) – T.J. Poucher, a Marine Corps veteran, awoke to a chemical smell and a choking feeling last Saturday night.  Cracking open a door, he was blasted by heat “like a jet engine” that singed his hair and face, he told NBC 7. 

Fortunately, his military training as an infantryman kicked in. “We thrive in chaos,” says Poucher, who knew he needed to break a window immediately. He escaped with his dog but burned his feet on the smouldering grass outside. 

Poucher is grateful that his teenage children were not there during the fire, but the blaze destroyed everything else – a lifetime of memories gone, along with his work truck, his equipment needed for his fish tank cleaning business, two saltwater aquariums filled with fish and coral, and more.

Review by Kathy Carpenter

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  a view of Iron Mountain along the trail in Poway

August 8, 2019 (Poway) - County supervisors Wednesday approved buying 160 acres near Iron Mountain in Poway to give threatened animals like deer and the California gnatcatcher more room to roam, and potentially, people more trails and connections to hike.

Updated 3:45 p.m. with information from the Sheriff's press conference and comments from Poway Mayor Steve Vaus

By Miriam Raftery

April 27, 2019 (Poway, CA)--An older woman has died and three others were injured in a shooting  today at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, Sheriff Gore confirmed in a news conference this afternoon.  The attack occurred during a Passover celebration.

ECM news partner 10 News reports that  Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, suffered a hand injury. Two men and a 10-year-old girl were also injured with shrapnel wounds; all are in stable condition and expected to recover. 

A white male, 19, from San Diego is in custody after he called authorities to surrender. He used an AR-type assault weapon, according to Sheriff Gore. He was arrested in nearby Rancho San Diego.  No motive has yet been disclosed.

NBC 7 reports that multiple sources confirm the suspect is John T. Earnest, who published a manifesto at 10 a.m. on Reddit threatening to live-stream the shooting in Poway. In a rant filled with racist remarks and Bible quotes, he also claimed credit for arson at an Escondido mosque a month ago. The killer stated that he was inspired by the recent deadly attack on a New Zeland mosque and by shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue last year.

East County News Service

November 4, 2018 (Poway) – You’re invited to swing into your holiday season at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, November 30^th at 8 p.m. with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party.  So, break out the zoot suits and swing dance dresses to take a step back in time to the ‘40s and ‘50s.

By Miriam Raftery

January 2, 2018 (Ramona) -- Recently, our editor's husband took a hike to Potato Chip Rock in the Mt. Woodson area near Poway with our Siberian husky, Juneau, who obligingly posed for photo ops.

The trail is about 7.5 miles and rated challenging; sturdy shoes are recommended for hikers. Dogs must be on leash and be sure to bring plenty of extra water if you bring your dog along. Start early, as the trail has very little shade.  Only dogs in good physical shape should be brought on this trail. 

By Miriam Raftery

December 24, 2015 (Poway) – Sheriff’s deputies responded to an accidental shooting shortly after noon today at the Poway Weapons and Gear shooting range in Poway.

July 10, 2015 (Poway) –CAL FIRE announces the arrest of Benjamin Cohen, 44 from Poway. He is suspected of intentionally starting 11 fires in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

By Leon Thompson

(Photo: Jeff Berkeley, left, performs with former Padres player Tim Flannery, right)

November 23, 2014  (Poway)--A sold-out crowd of tie-dye wearing, long-haired hippies with flowers in their hair descended on the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Saturday night to revisit Woodstock, the celebrated concert that changed the music world.  The music and an enthusiastic crowd rekindled the spirit of the original Woodstock, which I attended back in 1969.

Local musicians including Jeff Berkeley,  Eve Selis and former Padres’ Tim Flannery joined The Back to the Garden Band to re-create the iconic three-day outdoor concert that rocked the world in '69 with such greats as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who, Sly Stone, Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane, Credence Clearwater Revival, Santana and Richie Havens, to name a few.

Hear our interview before last year’s tournament with organizer/jousting competitor Jeffrey Hedgecock: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...  (note: dates mentioned in interview were for last year’s event)

October 9, 2014 (Poway) – An international jousting competition founded by Ramona resident and armor maker Jeffrey Hedgecock, will be held during the October 17-19 Tournament of the Phoenix and Festival of History. This fascinating event also features period camps from Rome to the Renaissance, all at the Poway Rodeo Grounds.

January 5, 2014 (Ramona) – Yesterday, El Cajon Police Department arrested Ramona resident Douglas Lane, 50, for a road rage incident on State Route 67 back on October 26 that resulted in injury to a bicyclist.

On October 26, 2013 at 9:48 a.m., Poway Sheriff’s deputies responded to a vehicle collision on State Route 67 north of Poway Road. Drivers of two vehicles were involved n a dispute over right of way as the highway merged from two lanes to one lane, said Deputy A. Meleen. 

October 26, 2013 (San Diego's East County) – The Sheriff’s Department is looking for witnesses with information on an accident that occurred around 9:48 this morning involving two vehicles that collided, causing a bicyclist to also be struck and severely injured.

Deputies reported that the two vehicles were involved in a dispute over right-of-way where State Route 67 merges from two lanes to a single lane at Poway Road. As the two vehicles merged, the passenger side of a Volvo S 60 collided with the driver’s side of a Dodge Ram 3500.  After the collision, the Dodge Ram veered right, striking a bicyclist traveling northbound in a marked bicycle lane.