East County News Service

September 20, 2024 (San Diego's East County) --  Motorists should expect a delay traveling on eastbound Interstate 8 (i-8) Saturday, September 21 between 7:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. from Interstate805 to Greenfield Drive in El Cajon for the Funeral Procession of San Diego Police Officer Austin Machitar, who died of injuries sustained when a suspect crashed into his patrol vehicle during a chase. The procession will also affect the following ramps:

Eastbound I-8 at Interstate 15 (I-15)

Southbound I-15 to eastbound/westbound I-8

Northbound I-15 to eastbound I-8

Eastbound I-8 off-ramp to Mission Gorge Road/Fairmount Avenue

Southbound State Route 125 (SR-125) to eastbound I-8

Northbound SR-125 to eastbound I-8

Southbound State Route 67 to eastbound I-8

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo, California's 75th Assembly District (AD-75) courtesy: NBC San Diego.

September 19, 2024 (Lakeside) -- County Republican Party Chairman Corey Gustafson comes out swinging against former San Diego Councilman Carl Demaio in a letter leaked over the weekend in Times of San Diego. The GOP Chair rallies Republican Central Committee Members to support Lakeside Union School District Board Trustee Andrew Hayes in California's 75th Assembly District (AD-75), in the General election featuring two Republican candidates in what has become known as "California's jungle primary system."

The GOP Chair's letter broke over the weekend from Ken Stone, who summarizes in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association, the latest of many DeMaio controversies.  Stone writes that "perennial candidate Carl DeMaio is being accused of attempted bribery, bullying, threats and lies as his Reform California group endorses 'rogue' Republicans amid his own race for Assembly."

Update September 19, 2024 -- The stock market closed at all time highs across the board today, in response to yesterday's interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 500 points today, closing above 42,000 points for the first time in American history. The S&P 500 also closed at a record high, closing at 5713.64, the most ever.

By Miriam Raftery

September 18, 2024 (Washington D.C.)  -- In good news for homebuyers and other borrowers, the Federal Reserve today lowered interest rates by a full half percentage point.  It’s the first interest rate reduction since 2020 and more than the quarter point reduction that most market analysts had predicted. That brings rates down to between 4.75% and 5.25%, Forbes reports.

Moreover, Fed staff forecasts another cut in November or December, and potentially more cuts in 2025.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said of the economy,  “You see growth at a solid rate. You see inflation coming down. You see a labor market that’s still at very solid levels,” adding that he does not anticipate any recessionary effects from the lower Fed rates.

The Fed controls the federal funds rates (interest charged on cash reserve transactions between banks). But the central bank’s rate decisions typically spur lenders to lower rates, which could impact everything from car loans to credit card rates and student loan interest.

By: Jared Hernandez, Program Manager

September 17, 2024 (San Diego) -- Sexual harassment by landlords or property managers is a form of discrimination that violates the Fair Housing Act. This law, designed to ensure equal access to housing, prohibits not only discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability but also includes protections against sexual harassment. For many tenants, particularly vulnerable groups like low-income single mothers, sexual harassment can be a devastating barrier to securing safe and stable housing.

In a significant development, CSA of San Diego County, San Diego’s fair housing agency, announced in August the precedent-setting settlement of CSA v. Neri (case 3:23-cv-01369), a case alleging sexual harassment of female tenants by San Diego landlord Ron Neri. Under the terms of the settlement, Neri will pay a global amount of $275,000 and is required to change his business practices pursuant to a consent decree.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in July 2023, alleges that Neri violated the Fair Housing Act by targeting low-income single mothers with housing vouchers for sexual harassment. The plaintiffs included former, current, and prospective tenants. CSA of San Diego County, also a plaintiff, investigated the tenants’ claims. Neri contested all claims in the complaint and denied any liability.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Accused gunman Ryan Routh, via Facebook

September 16, 2024 (Palm Beach, Florida) – While former President Donald Trump was playing golf at his golf courses in Palm Beach, Florida yesterday afternoon, Secret Service agents posted a few holes away spotted a man pointing a rifle through shrubbery at the perimeter of the course.  An agent opened fire and the man fled, dropping a semi-automatic rifle and backpack. He was later apprehended.

Trump, the Republican nominee in the November presidential election, is safe. On his media outlet, he praised the Secret Service and law enforcement, writing,”THE JOB WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING.”  In a later fundraising email, he pledged, “Nothing will slow me down.”

A witness took a photo of the would-be assassin’s vehicle, enabling authorities to arrest Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a short time later. Routh was charged with being a felon in possession of a weapon and possessing a weapon without a serial number. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Routh was previously convicted of possessing a machine gun in 2022, among other prior offenses.  His social media posts indicate he voted for Trump in 2016 but came to regret that choice, criticizing Trump on foreign policy, particularly Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  Routh has stated that he intended to volunteer to fight for Ukraine.

By Miriam Raftery

View dramatic rescue by a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire battalion chief of a woman walking through flames in Airport Fire

September 13, 2024 (San Diego) –Firefighters have reached significant containment levels on two of the three major wildfires still burning across four Southern California counties. In addition, an arsonist has been arrested in connection with the devastating Line Fire in San Bernadino County. The federal government has approved resources to help fight all three large Southern California fires.

Click the links below for Cal Fire’s full updates, maps and current evacuation details.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

September 12, 2024 (Sacramento) --Hundreds of thousands of older Californians will see huge savings on prescription drugs starting in January, according to a new report from AARP.

That's because the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act caps prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year for people on Medicare, starting in 2025.

An estimated 271,000 people in the Golden State will hit the out-of-pocket maximum next year, Nina Weiler-Harwell, associate director of advocacy and community engagement for AARP California, said.

"Medicare drug plan enrollees nationwide who reach the new out-of-pocket cap will see an average savings of roughly $1,500," said Weiler-Harwell, "or 56% in 2025 for new prescription drugs."

On average, 40% of people on Medicare who reach the cap will save at $1,000 a year. And 12% will see savings of more than $3,000.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo,left via UCSD Wren Camera: Hellscape atop Santiago Peak in Orange County, where the Airport Fire destroyed communications towers.

September 10, 2024 (San Diego) – Several major wildfires have burned tens of thousand of acres, collectively threatening thousands of homes across southern California including San Bernadino, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.

Although the Roblar Fire on Camp Pendleton has charred  1,000 acres on Camp Pendleton and an unnamed fire is burning two miles south of the international border near Boulevard, none of these fires currently pose threats to lives or property in San Diego County, according to Cal Fire. However, drifting smoke from fires to the north has resulted in ash on vehicles and air quality concerns in North County.

Update September 11, 2024 -- Parole has been denied for Williams. At yesterday's hearing, Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner Kevin Chappell stated that Williams still poses a threat to public safety, telling Williams "“By your testimony today, it is really unclear if you understand why you committed this horrendous act of violence.”  Testimony was overwhelmingly against Williams' release, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2024 (Santee, CA) – It’s been 23 years since 15-year-old Charles Andrew “Andy” Williams took his father’s revolver to school and repeatedly opened fire, killing two students and injured 13 other people at Santana High School in Santee.

Tomorrow, as the result of a new law regarding youthful offenders, he will have his first parole hearing—drawing a strong response from community members, many stilll traumatized by loss and grief.

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Yesterday’s sweltering temperatures broke numerous all-time temperatures across our region, as the heat wave continues today with triple-digit  temperatures. New high temperature records for September 8 were set in several local communities, including some that have been keeping track of weather records for over a century:

LOCATION             NEW RECORD         OLD RECORD        PERIOD OF RECORD

ESCONDIDO             109                        104 in 1944              1893

RAMONA                   110                        103 in 2018              1974

ALPINE                      105                        104 in 1984              1951

EL CAJON                 108                        104 in 1984              1899

The highest minimum temperatures on record were also raised. San Diego tied  a record set back in 1875, with the low temperature a balmy 75 degrees. The follow communities also raised the record for highest minimum temperatures:

By Miriam Raftery

September 7, 2024 (El Cajon) – San Diego Police have arrested Jose Orozco, 53, for arson, after a landlord-tenant dispute. After the bedroom in his El Cajon residence on Coker Way was set on fire Friday night, detectives from El Cajon Police Dept. found   plastic bottle filled with gasoline and a rag on top in his vehicle. 

Orozco was later found by San Diego Police Department and arrested. He is charged with arson and possession of a destructive device.

East County News Service

September 5, 2024 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for nearly all of San Diego County, due to dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures of up to 116 degrees in the desert and 102 degrees in inland cities and 104 in East County’s mountain communities.

Nights will stay warm, with temperatures mostly in the 70s even after dark.

View the indictment here. 

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

September 4, 2024 (Washington D.C.) – Attorney General Merrick Garland today announced criminal indictments against two Russian nationals in a scheme to spread disinformation across social media under covert identities posing as U.S.-based media outlets. Their aim was to illegally influence the 2024 election, sow division among Americans, and spread propaganda favorable to Russia regarding its invasion of Ukraine. 

The defendants, Kostiantyn “Kostya” Kalashnikov and Elena “Lena”Afanasyeva, are both employees of Russia’s state-controlled media outlet in Moscow,  RT, formerly known as Russia Today.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Centers for Disease Control

September 3, 2024 (La Mesa)  - If you or your children visited Rady Grossmont Pediatric Unit in La Mesa on August 20,  or Rady Children’s Hospital Emergency Room in San Diego on August 25, you may have been exposed to measles. 

A 13-month-old unvaccinated infant who contracted measles while traveling overseas was seen at these locations. The child is the fourth case of measles locally this year.  Measles is a serious illness that spreads easily, so anyone with symptoms is urged to contact their healthcare provider.