Our Rural section covers most San Diego County's inland communities south of I-8 to the border including Alpine, Barrett Junction, Boulevard, Campo, Deerhorn Valley, Dehesa, Dulzura, Jamul, Japatul, Lake Morena, Otay, Potrero, and Spring Valley.
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February 7, 2026 (Spring Valley) - Sheriff's Deputies have arrested Bruce Brian Ron, 34, on drug, weapon and fraud charges after serving a high-risk search warrant at a home in the 10300 block of Del Rio Road in Spring Valley yesterday at 6 a.m.
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February 6, 2026 (Spring Valley) – Shortly before 1:30 a.m. yesterday, Sheriff’s deputies from the Rancho San Diego station found a vehicle illegally parked in the1000 block of Grand Avenue in Spring Valley with several people inside. Deputies discovered that the driver, Dominique Lewis, was a convicted felon on parole.
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February 2, 2026 (Spring Valley) - The Spring Valley Community Alliance and Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce along with SEEDS partners invite residents and community members to the first-ever Spring Valley Changemakers Summit, a free community gathering designed to connect neighbors with local organizations and nonprofit partners, offering opportunities to learn about local projects, share ideas, and explore ways to get involved in shaping the future of Spring Valley.
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Feb. 1, 2026 (Borrego Springs) – K-RAM 90.5 FM is hitting the airwaves this week.
After years of radio static, the new station out of Borrego Springs will start broadcasting to the greater San Diego County desert community starting this Friday, Feb. 6. Its license was granted March 19, 2025.
Gabriel Wisdom, a legendary San Diego radio figure from the 1970s at KGB-FM in San Diego and at KMET Los Angeles, is behind the launch of KRAM 90.5 FM. The FCC licensed non-commercial station is in the old Wells Fargo bank building at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs, an unincorporated community of about 3,100 adjacent to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
K-RAM has a partnership to rebroadcast KPBS-FM out of San Diego, with plans to insert Borrego-centric news, community-based talk and weather. The station will also serve as a critical node for emergency information if cell towers or landlines fail during storms, wildfires, earthquakes or other crises.
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January 30, 2026 (Spring Valley) – A stolen car pursuit on January 22 ended with a San Diego Police officer shooting and injuring the suspect. SDPD has released video on the department's YouTube channel within hours of the shooting.
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January 28, 2026 (Spring Valley) – Dimone Cater, 33, has been arrested for allegedly making criminal threats, following an hours-long SWAT standoff in Spring Valley last night.
Deputies from the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s station responded shortly after 5:30 p.m. on January 26 to the neighbor dispute in the 9800 block of Austin Drive.
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January 26, 2026 (Spring Valley) — A three-alarm fire that broke out around 2:45 a.m. destroyed two businesses in a strip mall at 8300 Paradise Valley Road in Spring Valley, causing water and smoke damage to two others.
“A total of 18 businesses were saved due to the quick response from everyone involved,” San Miguel Fire District posted on Facebook.
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January 24, 2026 (Spring Valley) — The Spring Valley Historical Society will host noted historian and archaeologist Richard Carrico on Saturday, February 7, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., for a special presentation and book signing celebrating his newest work, El Presidio de San Diego: Excavating Southern California’s Lost City.
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Jan. 23, 2026 (San Diego County) -- More attention to security needs and new chips are making a difference in the safety of electronic benefits cards, also known as EBT cards.
San Diego County officials report that enhanced security measures and new chips have led to an 84 percent reduction in EBT card thefts affecting the county’s CalFresh, CalWORKs and General Relief recipients.
Nearly a year ago, the California Department of Social Services issued new EBT cards with chips similar to those in many credit cards. The card expiration date, card security code and all personal information also were moved to the back side of the card. Prior to the shift to improve security, California EBT cardholder information was traditionally printed on the front of the card.
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Jan. 22, 2026 (Santa Ysabel) – A family farm in the Julian mountains is bringing back its popular guided tour that brings rustic adventure and recreation education to the outdoors.
Fort Cross, at 4425 Highway 78, has evolved from a living history site into a premier destination for agriculture workshops and team building. The end of January tour, running from 1 to 3 p.m., offers visitors a curated activity rotation designed to keep guests of all ages moving and learning.
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Jan. 22, 2026 (Borrego Springs) -- The rugged beauty of the Anza-Borrego Desert will take center stage as the Anza-Borrego Foundation kicks off the 20th anniversary edition of the Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest.
The event starts the afternoon of Jan. 31 with the judge's critique at Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center. Winners will have their photographs shown at the 2026 Photo Contest exhibit, where the community and visitors will get to enjoy the desert through the eyes of the region’s most talented photographers.
The month-long celebration of visual storytelling begins with a day of reveals and expert insights, culminating in a gallery show that supports the continued preservation of California’s largest state park.
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January 19, 2026 (Spring Valley) – The Spring Valley Community Planning Group board elected executive officers for the 2026 term Tuesday, but not before some members expressed concerns about how they would fill vacancies. A few cited perceived interferences on behalf of District 1 County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre’s office.
Lora Lowes, board member and former chair, said she got a phone call from a representative of Aguirre before the meeting.
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Jan. 17, 2026 (San Diego County) -- San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson is looking for residents to help in the county's annual Point-in-Time Count, the one-day evaluation and counting of the region's population of those experiencing homelessness.
Every year, Anderson joins hundreds of residents and county employees in waking before the sun rises to take part in the snapshot of the county’s homeless population.
This year’s regional effort will take place from 4 to 8 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 29.
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Jan. 17, 2026 (Spring Valley) – Spring Valley resident Suzanne “Suzie” Chambers passed away surrounded by family members at her home on Jan. 2 at age 78, after a five-year battle with cancer.
Born Aug. 25, 1947 in Seattle, Wash., Chambers moved to San Diego in the 1970s with her first husband, Jim Garcia. She attended San Diego State University, then went on to build a life rooted in service, leadership and community.
She began her career with the Otay Water District in 1976 and later became the district’s first female executive and chief financial officer, retiring in 2000.
In 2013, Chambers and her daughters opened a Dream Dinners franchise in La Mesa, which they operated until 2025.
Her dedication to the community including volunteering at the Water Conservation Garden in Rancho San Diego, serving as a founding board member of the Rancho San Diego Friends of the Library and participating in the Over the Hill Gang Car Club. Her efforts helped build strong foundations for these organizations, enabling them to thrive.
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By Karen Pearlman with additional reporting by Miriam Raftery
Jan. 14, 2026 (Warner Springs) -- Dozens of local residents and business owners visited the CAL Fire Station in Warner Springs on Jan. 12 to glean information from the United States Navy and several other federal groups as well as state and county water agencies about PFAS and their impact on the waterways in the region.
The U.S. Navy announced late last year that PFAS were detected in groundwater in Warner Springs, with contamination believed to be linked to a former landfill, wastewater treatment site and spray aeration field at the Navy’s Remote Training Site in Warner Springs,at 34567 State Route 79. The Navy most recently sampled the groundwater in 2024 and is now offering testing of wells for residents in approximately a one-mile radius near the site.
The site reportedly was used by the Navy as a Survival Invasion Resistance Escape School, using what they learned from Vietnam era prisoners of war. There, pilots are taught thow to survive if you crash or must eject, how to navigate, not be found, or if found how to resist interrogation.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are "forever chemicals" that have been found in water as far away as the Arctic Ocean and as near as the Sweetwater Reservoir locally, as well as in Warner Springs.
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Fundraisers launched to help owners and employees at both restaurants
By Miriam Raftery
Photos courtesy of Lakeside Fire and Heartland Fire & Rescue
Updated January 17 with information on Panda Machi fundraiser
January 14, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – A pair of two-alarm fires in the past 24 hours have heavily damaged two local restaurant, Panda Machi Sushi Bar & Chinese Cuisine on Alpine Boulevard in Alpine and the Junction Bar & Grill on Jamacha Road in El Cajon. No one was injured, but it’s unclear how long the restaurants will remain closed.
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Jan. 10, 2026 (Alpine) -- A 38-year-old horse that went down and could not get back up in Alpine has been rescued by the San Diego Humane Society’s Emergency Response Team.
The nonprofit's ERT successfully completed a technical rescue today (Jan. 10) for the Palomino horse named Jasmine -- also affectionately known as "Jazzy."
The SDHS ERT technical rescue team was dispatched around 8 a.m. after reports that Jasmine (see photo at left, courtesy San Diego Humane Society) had gone down sometime late last night or early this morning, and was unable to get back up on her own. Because of her advanced age along with the duration of time she had been down, specialized equipment and expertise were required to safely assist her back to her feet.
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Jan. 9, 2026 (San Diego County) -- Detra Williams has been appointed as San Diego County's next Chief Deputy of Tax Collection, succeeding Chief Deputy David Baker, who has retired.
Williams was appointed to the position effective Jan. 6. County Treasurer-Tax Collector Larry Cohen announced the appointment on Jan. 6.
Williams has worked for the County of San Diego for nearly 35 years. She spent more than 20 years in the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office and held leadership roles in the District Attorney’s Office and other County departments.
In October, the County Board of Supervisors had selected Williams and three other finalists, including Cohen and Baker, as candidates to fill the role of Treasurer-Tax Collector during a public hearing.
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Photo: PFAS have been detected in Sweetwater Reservoir, via Sweetwater Water Authority
By Karen Pearlman
Jan. 8, 2025 (San Diego County) -- “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink” goes the line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, describing sailors surrounded by undrinkable ocean water.
That old phrase also fits today.
Obtaining clean, fresh water is not only a challenge but also part of a global crisis where much of the water is either saline, contaminated, or polluted — or a combination of all three.
Sweetwater Water Authority (SWA), the special district providing water to 200,000 customers in the South Bay area of San Diego County, has been at the forefront of the battle to fight “forever chemicals” that refuse to break down: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
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December 31, 2025 (Crest) – The Crest Fire Safe Council and Crest Community Association are honoring Kandhy Franklin for her decades of dedication, leadership, and commitment to making the community safer, stronger, and more connected.
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Dec. 24, 2025 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Sheriff's Substation is looking to the public for help in locating a wanted felon who escaped from custody.
Just after 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, Sheriff's Deputies observed Hiram Sanchez, 36, in the 7100 block of Broadway in Lemon Grove. He was wanted on an active and outstanding felony warrant. Deputies contacted Sanchez and placed him in handcuffs.
During the arrest, Sanchez fled from deputies on foot onto state Route 94, placing himself and the deputies in extreme danger. Deputies did not pursue Sanchez onto the freeway.
At some point, Sanchez slipped out of his handcuffs and continued to run away.
Deputies immediately coordinated with the California Highway Patrol as well as with the San Diego Police Department's helicopter and Sheriff's K-9 resources to conduct a thorough search of the area, but Sanchez was not located.
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Dec. 22, 2025 (San Diego) — Across the street from the calm San Diego Bay but amid a rising tide of global concern, some of San Diego County’s top elected officials, law enforcement and multi-faith leaders gathered Monday at the County Administration Center to send a singular message: Hate has no sanctuary in San Diego.
Organized by San Diego County Assessor Jordan Marks (shown speaking in photo above right), Monday afternoon’s "Rally for Light," marked the eighth and final day of Hanukkah, and the hour-long event ended with a ceremonial lighting of a 6-foot hanukkiah (menorah) by local faith leaders, county employees and community members.
While the event celebrated the "Festival of Lights," the atmosphere was underscored by a somber urgency following a string of recent anti-Semitic attacks reaching from San Francisco to an outdoor celebration on Bondi Beach in Australia.
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Dec. 19, 2025 (Crest) -- The Crest Fire Safe Council has been awarded a three-year Wildfire Prevention Grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to support a community-wide curbside chipping program aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving defensible space throughout Crest.
Crest encompasses approximately 4,180 acres, with nearly 2,900 residents and 1,395 structures, and lies entirely within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
The Crest Fire Safe Council has demonstrated sustained leadership in promoting defensible space and fuels-reduction efforts across the community. This grant represents both a continuation and expansion of those ongoing initiatives.
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Community Unites to Reimagine Campo’s School Field
By David Shorey, Institute for Public Strategies
Photo: Campo Elementary field (photo courtesy of Estrada Land Planning)
December 17, 2025 (Campo) -- In the Mountain Empire, where long bus rides, rugged terrain, and rising temperatures shape daily life, a new effort is underway to protect community health and strengthen resilience against extreme heat.
A partnership led by the Mountain Empire Unified School District(MEUSD), Institute for Public Strategies (IPS), San Diego Green Infrastructure Consortium, and Core Clarityis bringing residents together to redesign a 2.34-acre undeveloped field at Campo Elementary School. Today, this is an area where children play without shade, cooling, or protection during increasingly dangerous heatwaves.
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Dec. 9, 2025 (Alpine) – Sweetwater Authority’s plan to leave Loveland Reservoir with at least 25 percent of its water capacity during the most recent transfer of water into the Sweetwater Reservoir has not gone as originally planned, as shared with East County Magazine on Dec. 5.
Sweetwater Authority (SWA), the special district that oversees Loveland Reservoir and Sweetwater Reservoir as well as the Sweetwater Dam, reports on its website that the reservoir has dipped down to 21.2 percent of total capacity (as of 8 a.m. Dec. 9) before the water transfer was stopped just after 3:30 p.m. Dec. 9.
SWA manages local water from Sweetwater and Loveland reservoirs, pumps from aquifers like the San Diego Formation and uses a desalination plant for brackish river water.
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December 5, 2025 (Santee) -- Three years into construction, the massive East County Advanced Water Purification Program is approaching the finish line late next year when the region’s sewage now being treated at Point Loma will be pumped to a new Santee plant and converted to drinkable, purified water.
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Loveland Reservoir showing what is left of the public fishing zone. Photo by Ostan Patton
By Karen Pearlman
Dec. 5, 2025 (Alpine) – It’s been three years since Loveland Reservoir was drained by Sweetwater Authority to “deadpool” level for the first time ever, leaving the area susceptible to environmental challenges, killing fish and increasing fire hazards.
Now another extreme draining is underway by Sweetwater Authority (SWA), the special district that oversees Loveland Reservoir and Sweetwater Reservoir as well as the Sweetwater Dam.
Locals are concerned again now, with the Alpine-housed reservoir dipping below 32 percent of capacity as of Thursday morning. The reservoir has been steadily dropping from its 63 percent capacity in mid-November, as water transfers continue with water flowing downstream to serve drinking water customers in Chula Vista, National City and Bonita.
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A coyote peers out from near Cowles Mountain in 2023. Photo by Karen Pearlman
Dec. 4, 2025 (San Diego County) -- San Diego County officials are sharing information in response to a recent coyote attack that took place in the Westview UTC mall parking lot on Nov. 25.
The coyote attack injured two children and has prompted a coordinated response by the county and partner agencies to ensure public safety.
The coyote has since been euthanized, county officials say. The animal tested negative for rabies.
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December 3, 2025 (Alpine)—Paul Nichols, aka Retro One-Man Band will provide lively entertainment on the patio at Mike Hess Brewing in Alpine this Friday, December 5, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
He performs on fingerstyle and slide guitar, vocals, harmonicas, and foot percussion as well as signing in a wide variety of styles, from blues, roots, and roadhouse boogie to Latin, classics and instrumental jazz. He’s performed at many venues, including East County Magazine events over the years.
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East County News Service
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Source: Spring Valley Community Alliance
Graphic courtesy Ram Media Foundation
East County News Service
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East County News Service
By Paul Levikow
East County News Service.
Fundraisers launched to help owners and employees at both restaurants
East County News Service
Photo: PFAS have been detected in Sweetwater Reservoir, via Sweetwater Water Authority
By Diana Griffin, Chair, Crest Firesafe Council
East County News Service
Photos and story by Karen Pearlman
By Diana Griffin
Community Unites to Reimagine Campo’s School Field
By Mike Allen
East County News Service
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