February 2026 Articles

February 2025 Articles

We need your help! We have more news tips for East County issues than our budget can cover



February 3, 2026 (San Diego) – Last year tapped our resources at East County Magazine more than any on record, with so many major news stories. This year, we’ve had requests from readers to cover lots of important local issues, but costs have soared with inflation.

We need your help to report on local news and be ready for wildfires once brush dries out after heavy winter rains. Will you please share some love for local journalists and give to support our news coverage and emergency alerts?

Please donate now to help grow our East County reporting on land use issues, city councils, school boards, supervisors' actions and more, as we reflect voices often not heard in other media.  Plus assure that  we can send reporters to provide on-scene reporting of wildfires or other emergencies. You can choose to support the wildfire and emergency alerts, our news reporting, or both!


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

SDFC in first CONCACAF tilt with UNAM tonight

Photo courtesy SDFC
 
East County News Service
 
Feb. 3, 2026 (San Diego) – Before starting the regular Major League Soccer season later this month, tonight will showcase a first for San Diego FC.
 
The club will make its debut in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions Cup tonight against Mexico's Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., better known as Pumas UNAM.
 
The teams will play at 8 p.m. at SDFC's home at Snapdragon Stadium.

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

First-Ever Spring Valley Changemakers Summit Feb. 19 set to connect community and inspire action

Source:  Spring Valley Community Alliance

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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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

San Diego poet shares secrets and solace of a psychotherapist in The Best Sex I Never Had

Book by Susan Black Allen

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

February 2, 2026 (San Diego) -- San Diego resident and psychotherapist, Susan Black Allen has written her debut book of poetry – some are in free verse, some in more traditional structures.

Allen’s wit and emotional passion fill her gems. She covers many topics --- nature, sex and relationships, pets, her losses, and moments of pleasure. Other times, she seems to see and feel the world as others do --- some of whom may have been patients of hers.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

Get RAMped up and ready for a new radio station out of Borrego Springs

Graphic courtesy Ram Media Foundation
 
By Karen Pearlman
 
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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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

Deadlock with Iran: U.S. military threats escalate tensions amid rising violence

Iranian-Americans in San Diego march for peace after Iran kills thousands

By Alexander J. Schorr

February 2, 2026 (San Diego) — After thousands of protesters and others were killed in Iran, Iranian-Americans have taken to the streets across the United States. including here in San Diego to take a stand for freedom.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

La Mesa City Council unanimously approves changes to sidewalk dining guidelines

“This is so critical to La Mesa and to our businesses.” - Councilmember Laura Lothian

 

By Armando Rasing II

 

Photo by Miriam Raftery: Outdoor dining at Hacienda Cazadores

 

February 1, 2026 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday to adopt a new sidewalk dining policy in commercial zones, also reporting progress in meeting climate action goals.

 

The city temporarily allowed increased flexibility for outdoor dining areas in 2020 to help support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new sidewalk dining policies will take into effect on March 12, allowing businesses to maintain that flexibility with updated guidelines.  


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.