News

COUNTY TO HOST SECOND COMMUNITY BUDGET SESSION

 
May 28, 2024 (San Diego) -- If you missed the open house on the recommended County budget, a virtual community budget session will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.
 
County budget experts will give presentations on the County’s $8.48 billion recommended budget and then hold a moderated comment period.

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SCORCHING SCHOOLYARDS: CALIFORNIA GROUPS WANT MORE TREES, LESS ASPHALT AT SCHOOLS

Advocates say California's public schools lack outdoor shade to protect students from the sun and heat

BY ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE for Cal Matters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

May 28, 2024 (Sacramento, CA) -- Too few trees at California’s schools mean there’s little protecting students from a warming planet. Here’s how advocates say the state can pay for more shade.


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HEAR OUR EDITOR ON THE JOHN OLSEN SHOW

May 28, 2024 (Santee) -- This week,  John Olsen interviews Miriam Raftery, editor of the East County Magazine. She shares the range of information that our online news source provides (both existing and upcoming), how you can subscribe, and how you can support our community journalism and wildfire alerts.

Listen to the podcast at these links:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1508560/15109333-miriam-raftery-and-how-the-east-county-magazine-serves-our-communities

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0cxFKYwg6b0b1eSwcPHelR

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/miriam-raftery-and-how-the-east-county-magazine/id1541783400?i=1000656693561


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BOARD EXPANDS OPEN SPACE NEAR MOUNT OLYMPUS COUNTY PRESERVE

 

By Shauni Lyles, County of San Diego Communications Office

 

May 28, 2024 (Pala-Pauma) The County took steps last Wednesday to buy more land within the Pala-Pauma community for open space and species protection. The Board of Supervisors approved spending $1.2 million to buy 222 acres adjacent to the existing Mount Olympus County Preserve.


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PASSAGES: BASKETBALL CHAMPION AND HOMETOWN HERO BILL WALTON

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Miriam Raftery:  Left, Bill Walton at La Mesa's centennial in 2012; right, Walton at La Mesa Boys & Girls Club in 2014

May 27, 2024 (La Mesa)—NBA Hall of Famer and former Helix High School superstar  Bill Walton, 71, died this morning surrounded by his family after a prolonged battle with cancer. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Walton later became an award-winning sportscaster. But he also won hearts and minds in the La Mesa community through his philanthropic efforts, including raising millions of dollars to build the Bill Walton Gymnasium at the Boys & Girls Club in La Mesa, where he was mentored in his youth.

NBA Commission Adam Silver issued a statement recalling Walton as “truly one of a kind. As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.”  As a broadcaster, Walton overcame lifelong stuttering to deliver “insightful and colorful commentary which entertained generations of basketball fans,” said Silver.

He added,  “What I will remember most about him was his zest for life.  He was a regular presence at league events—always upbeat, smiling ear to ear and looking to share his wisdom and warmth.” Silver said that he envied Walton’s “boundless energy and admired the time he took with every person he encountered.”

Born November 5, 1952,  Walton developed an early love for sports.  As a boy, he watched the San Diego Chargers play at Sunset Park near Lake Murray.  “I saw all those guys and I dreamed,” he said in a speech at a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club gymnasium that now bears his name.


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RETHINK "PERPETUAL WAR," END PARTISAN ATTACKS, MEMORIAL DAY SPEAKER URGES

By Chris Stone and Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
 
May 27, 2024 (San Diego) -- At Miramar National Cemetery’s 13th annual Memorial Day ceremony, the director of San Diego State University’s Center for War and Society spoke of how he held D-Day troops in awe — citing the Americans’ “superhuman strength” at Omaha Beach.
 
“I’d seen combat in Iraq, but this seemed near impossible,” said the director, history professor Gregory A. Daddis.
 
In the audience of 400 were four World War II veterans, three of whom leave Wednesday for Normandy, France — for the 80th anniversary commemoration of D-Day.

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FLOOD VICTIMS REMINDER ABOUT MAY 31 DEADLINE TO RECEIVE A SHARE OF $1 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING EXPENSES

East County News Service
 
May 26, 2024 (El Cajon) – Two of San Diego’s largest realtor trade associations, the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), with an office in El Cajon, and the San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR), are reminding San Diego flood victims that Friday, May 31 is the deadline to apply for the opportunity to receive financial assistance.
 
The two realtor trade associations were jointly awarded in March a $1.16 million grant from the Realtors Relief Foundation (RRF) to assist flood survivors. RRF is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
 
Since then, officials with the two realtor associations said they have been meeting to review applications and reach out to community leaders and organizations about the RRF grant. Applications for more than 100 families are on schedule for approval, but the realtor groups are hoping to double this before the May 31 deadline.

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EAST COUNTY SCREENSAVERS FOR ALL FOUR SEASONS!

May 25, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Beautify your desktop with our "Four Seasons in East County" screensavers!  Donate $20 or more and we'll email these beautiful images to you to use as screensavers on your computer monitor.

Give now at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to support East County Magazine's nonprofit public interest news reporting and/or our East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts, and receive your "Four Seasons in East County" screensavers.

 

The costs of everything has gone up,  including our operations costs,  even as demand for news is on the rise as other local news outlets have closed down or cut content. Soyour support is needed to help assure that we can be there to cover news that matters most in your community.


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POINT-IN-TIME COUNT SHOWS KEY SHIFTS IN EAST COUNTY HOMELESS POPULATION

 

“The geographic shifts in populations of people experiencing homelessness to East and South County communities demonstrates the effect of the City of San Diego camping ban.”—Paul Downey, CEO, Serving Seniors

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)—The 2024 Point-in-Time Homeless Count reveals some significant changes for East County. East County’s total homeless population dropped by 28% overall from  January 2023 to January 2024, from 1,703 to 1,232.  That’s in sharp contrast to the county overall, which had  the number of homeless people increase by 3% to a total of 10,605,

However, some East County communities had sharp rises, notably in communities closest to San Diego, which recently enacted a ban on encampments:

  • La Mesa’s total homelessness rose 86%, with a 47.2% rise in unsheltered;
  • Lemon Grove’s unsheltered homeless numbers rose 85%

The sharp spikes in La Mesa and Lemon Grove may be due to  the city of San Diego’s ban on homeless encampments, suggests Paul Downey, Chief Executive Officer of Serving Seniors, a nonprofit helping low-income adults age 60 and up.


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SWEETWATER VOTES TO RESTORE FISHING FLOAT AT LOVELAND

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2024 (Alpine)—By a unanimous vote and without discussion, the Sweetwater Authority board of directors approved restoring the floating fishing dock at Loveland Reservoir in Alpine. Audience members applauded after the votes were cast.

The dock was severely damaged in a January 2023 storm, shortly after the reservoir was drained to dead pool status, an action which left the fishing float on dry land and which also killed off fish, much to the dismay of residents and visitors.

Russell Walsh, who has long advocated for restoration of floating fishing dock, said the vote reflects “a travesty being corrected by persistent citizens and hopefully increasingly willing Sweetwater Directors and upper management.”


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FIRE AT SANTEE’S ADVANCED WATER PURIFICATION PLANT EXTINGUISHED

By Mike Allen

Photos courtesy of Santee Fire Department

May 23, 2024 (Santee)-- A fire that sent large plumes of smoke across East County yesterday was caused when workers at the Advanced Water Purification (AWP) project in Santee were joining together two large pieces of plastic pipe.

Santee Fire Chief Justin Matsushita said while workers were fusing two large pipes that are 42 inches in diameter, the plastic material, called HDPE, caught fire and quickly overwhelmed the workers, prompting their 911 call.


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SECURITY CAMERAS SHOW MOUNTAIN LIONS IN LA MESA AND RANCHO SAN DIEGO

By Miriam Raftery

May 22, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)—Mountain lions are typically nocturnal and may travel many miles each night.  While rural residents are accustomed to the occasional cougar sighting, discovering that a mountain lion is their neighbor has startled residents in suburban La Mesa and Rancho San Diego over the past week.

On May 14, a video clearly documents a mountain lion in the backyard of a La Mesa home close to Lemon Avenue School near Jackson Drive, just west of State Route 125.

Another video taken on May 15 (screenshot, left) shows a mountain lion (also known as a puma or cougar) strolling along a swimming pool on Brabham Street in Rancho San Diego, not far from the library, ballfields and Cuyamaca College.


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BABY FROM LEMON GROVE KILLED BY FALLEN TREE, ALONG WITH HIS GRANDFATHER

East County News Service

May 22, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – A Lemon Grove family’s trip for a family wedding in New Jersey ended in a double tragedy. 

Ben Canales has started a fundraiser for his friends, Alex and Amber Gasin of Lemon Grove. The couple went to a Mets baseball game and left their 6-month-old son, Micah, with his grandfather. But a storm passed through that night, causing unimaginable devastation to the family.


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COUNTY EXPANDS PILOT SHALLOW RENTAL SUBSIDY PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS

By Cassie N. Saunders, County of San Diego Communications Office
 
May 22, 2024 (San Diego) -- The County is expanding a pilot shallow rental subsidy program for older adults to support an additional 160 older adults at risk of homelessness.  
 
The County of San Diego Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities’ program will provide at-risk San Diego County residents over 55-years-old with a $500 monthly rental subsidy for 18 months. The money will go directly to participants’ landlords. 
 
Applications can be submitted starting today, May 22. The participants will be selected at random. Those selected will join 222 households previously chosen for the original pilot program in early 2023, which was subsequently approved for expansion by the County Board of Supervisors. 

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DONORS HALL OF FAME

 

We deeply appreciate the support of local businesses and nonprofit organizations that have donated to suppport East County Magazine's news reporting in the public interest and/or our East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts!

Please support  these local businesses and organizations -- and let them know you that value their support of community journalism!

Our 1st quarter 2024 business and organizational donors and sponsors are:

 

Platinum Level Sponsors ($5,000 or more)

Grossmont  Healthcare District

 

 

 

Gold Level Sponsors ($1,000 to $4,999)

Moon Valley Nurseries

 

 

 

San Diego Chimney Sweeps

 

 

 

 

San Diego Regional Fire Foundation

 

 

 

 

Silver Level Sponsors: ($100 to $999)

Bronze Level Sponsors ($25 to $99)

  • Barn House Barbecue in Lemon Grove
  • Jessyka Heredia hairdresser,  El Cajon
  • Purple Owl Cafe in Julian

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SDSU TO HOST MOUNTAIN WEST BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Source: GoAztecs
 
Tickets start at $15 per game, $12 Student/Youth 3-12
 
May 20, 2024 (San Diego) -- San Diego State University will play host to the 2024 Mountain West Baseball Championship, May 23-26, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
 
After 30 games of conference play, Air Force, New Mexico, San José State and Fresno State have all clinched spots in the four-team double-elimination tournament, which will be held on The Mesa for the sixth time in the league's 25-year history (2001, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2022). The MW did not conduct a postseason baseball championship in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
On Thursday, second-seeded New Mexico (28-24, 17-13 MW) will battle No. 3 seed San José State (22-31, 16-14 MW) in the tournament opener at 1:30 p.m. PT, while regular-season conference champion and No. 1 seed Air Force (26-26, 18-12 MW) will square off against fourth-seeded Fresno State (29-26, 16-14) at 6 p.m.
 
 The complete MW Championship schedule is listed below.

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FLOATING FISHING DOCK REPAIRS ON AGENDA FOR SWEEWATER AUTHORITY ON WEDNESDAY

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 20, 2024 (Alpine)—Sweetwater Authority has still not replaced or repaired the floating fishing dock that was partially destroyed at Loveland Reservoir in Alpine more than a year ago by heavy storms back in January 2023.  On Wednesday,  agenda item 9.1 asks the board to decide whether or not to authorize buying and installing a replacement fishing platform in the reservoir.

“This is the second time this has been on the agenda since Sweetwater recovered the insurance funds,”says Russell Walsh, a citizens’ advocate who has been calling on Sweetwater to replace the floating fishing dock. According to Walsh, a majority vote is not guaranteed; he urges concerned residents to contact Sweetwater’s general manager, Carlos Quintero, to urge support. Residents can also speak at the meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday in person or remotely.


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PASSAGES: FAMED ARCHITECT AND ARTIST JAMES HUBBELL, 1931-2024

By Miriam Raftery

May 20, 2024 (Santa Ysabel) – The world has lost a creative giant.  Visionary artist and internationally acclaimed architect James Hubbell passed away on May 17 in Chula Vista at age 92, surrounded by family members including his wife, Anne.  

“We’ve lost a great friend, a generous, creative talent, and an extraordinary man,”  reads a statement issued by the Ilan-Lael Foundation, founded by Hubbell to inspire future generations of budding artists, architects and builders. 

Hubbell designed hundreds of public and private artworks. Locally, his creations include the Pacific Portal gazebo and Pacific Rim Park’s Pearl of the Pacific on Shelter Island, the Triton Restaurants in San Diego and Carlsbad, Kuchumaa Passage, a public artwork at Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort and Spa in Tecate, Mexico, and a mosaic foundation at Coronado Ferry Landing.

Internationally,  he headed up efforts to create a series of international peace parks at locations rimming the Pacific Ocean.  He also began a 30-year volunteer project to build Colegio La Esperanza, an elementary school embedded with mosaics to bring hope, education and beauty to students east of Tijuana, Mexico.


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GLOBAL CO2 INCREASE SETS NEW ALL-TIME RECORD

By Olivia Rosane, staff writer for Common Dreams
 
May 17, 2024 (Hawaii) -- The average monthly concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere jumped by a record 4.7 parts per million between March 2023 and March 2024, according to new data from NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
 
The spike, reported by the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography on Wednesday, reveals "the increasing pace of CO2 addition to the atmosphere by human activities," the university said.

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FIRE AT OTAY BATTERY STORAGE FACILITY PROMPTS EVACUATION WARNINGS, SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER FOR DONOVAN PRISON

Update May 28, 2024 -- All evacuation orders have been lifted, though firefighters remain on scene.

Update 9:30 p.m. --The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has issued an Evacuation Order. An Evacuation Order requires immediate movement out of the affected area due to an imminent threat to life. All persons in the impacted area should prepare to evacuate. Evacuation Order means there is extreme danger in your area.  You must leave now; do not wait. Contact your neighbors and share information.

By Miriam Raftery

May 17, 2024 (Otay Mesa) – The #CaminoFire at Gateway Energy Storage, a lithium battery storage facility  in Otay Mesa, flared up overnight and prompted county officials to issue an evacuation warning for businesses in the surrounding area due to the potential for release of toxic gasses.

The fire has also resulted in a shelter-in-place order for nearby Donovan State Prison. A road closure is in effect at Camino de la Fuente and Paseo de la Fuente.

According to Cal Fire’s incident update this morning, firefighters continue to battle the  thermal runaway fire involving lithium ion batteries.

The harmful gasses are “making access an issue for firefighters,” Cal Fire advises.”The building’s sprinkler system is currently being supplemented with the use of the existing standpipe system and the fire is still contained to the building of origin."


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SUPERVISORS APPROVE ADDING “MIDDLE EASTERN OR NORTH AFRICAN” CATEGORY TO COUNTY FORMS

By Miriam Raftery
 
May 16, 2024 (San Diego) – Arab-Americans have long been excluded from being counted on government forms, from the U.S. census to state and county documents. But that’s changing here in San Diego County, which has one of the state’s largest populations of people of Middle Eastern or North African descent.
 
By a unanimous vote, San Diego County Supervisors on May 1 became the first jurisdiction in California to approve creating a “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) category on County forms for individuals to self-identify as MENA.

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RESIDENTS FEAR FIRE AND TOXIC GASSES FROM PROPOSED ESCONDIDO CLEAN ENERGY BATTERY SITE

By Michael Howard
 
Photo by Michael Howard: Former Sempra executive Joseph Rowley is flanked by fellow Escondido residents against a proposed clean energy battery energy storage system in Escondido.
 
May 14, 2024 (Escondido) – The developer of a proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) slated to be built just over a quarter mile from Palomar Hospital in Escondido held its last in a series of three workshops last week at the San Marcos Community Center. The workshop was geared toward addressing the concerns of local citizens who have organized opposition to the project by gathering upwards of 2,700 signatures against the project.
 
The batteries are meant to bridge the energy gap between traditional energy sources provided by San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) and the spike of usage during peak times when historic “brown” or blackouts are ordered to mitigate capacity issues.

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MEASLES EXPOSURE AT MEDICAL CLINIC IN EL CAJON AND AT RADY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Shutterstock:  Measles vaccine

May 14,2024 (San Diego) -- County public health officials have confirmed the third case of measles in the region this year in a 13-month-old resident who recently traveled overseas. 

The unimmunized infant may have exposed others at the following times and locations: 

  • Children’s Primary Care Medical Group El Cajon located at 844 Jackman St., on May 12, from 9:10 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
  • Rady Children’s Emergency Department located at 3020 Children’s Way, 1st Floor in San Diego, on May 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. 

The County previously confirmed two other cases in the region this year. None of the three cases are linked, but all are associated with international travel. Before 2024, the last confirmed measles case in the County was in 2019. 

County epidemiologists are working with Children’s Primary Care Medical Group El Cajon and Rady Children’s Hospital to identify and follow up with patients and staff to determine if those possibly exposed at these locations have been vaccinated. They will also evaluate their potential for developing measles.


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ALVAREZ BILL WOULD MANDATE FAMILY ACCESS TO LOVED ONES IN LONG-TERM NURSING HOMES

By JW August

Reprinted, with permission of author, from Times of San Diego, a  member of the San Diego Online News Association.

Photo:  Lynn Dedrick’s mother Petey had Alzheimer’s and during the pandemic thought her daughter had forgotten her.

May 14, 2024 (San Diego) -- There are 250,000 California residents in long-term nursing homes. Their health and safety are at possible future risk, say a wide range of experts, unless we learn from the tough lessons of the pandemic. 

Those lessons are detailed in depth in a taxpayer-funded report released last fall that found “The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact” — not just on residents but their families. The report — California Long-Term Care Facility Access Policy Workgroup — is critical of decisions made by state health officials to lock down residents in nursing homes.

The findings form the basis of proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 2075, from San Diego Assemblyman David Alvarez. The bill is now working its way through Assembly committees in Sacramento. It’s already cleared both the Health and the Aging and Long Term Care committees and is now awaiting action by the Appropriations committee. It faces some of the same  hurdles which in 2022 stopped a similar effort.


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UNION COALITION CALLS FOR CA WORKER CLIMATE BILL OF RIGHTS

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

May 14, 2024 (Sacramento) -- Dozens of union members rallied last week in Sacramento, calling on lawmakers to pass a set of bills called the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights. The bills are intended to integrate worker's rights into the clean-energy transition.

The Climate Resilient Schools Act would create the first master plan to make sure our schools have clean, cool air, adequate shade and energy-efficient buildings and buses.


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BIG CUTS, NO NEW TAXES: NEWSOM'S PLAN FOR CALIFORNIA BUDGET DEFICIT

 
Photo by Fred Greaves, for CalMatters - Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses the media during a press conference unveiling his revised 2024-25 budget proposal at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on May 10, 2024. 
 
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
 
May 14, 2024 (Sacramento) -- Faced with ongoing weaknesses in state finances, Gov. Gavin Newsom has put forward a revised budget plan that he said aims to stabilize California in the longer term by addressing a “sizable deficit” estimated at $56 billion over the next two fiscal years.
 
Looking beyond the typical annual budget cycle, Newsom proposed on Friday more than $30 billion in ongoing and one-time spending cuts, including to education and climate objectives that have been among the governor’s own priorities, though he promised that “core programs” providing social services to needy Californians would be mostly untouched.

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HOUSE LOST IN BRUSH FIRE NEAR LOVELAND RESERVOIR

Update May 14, 2024:  This fire has been extinguished after charring 18 acres and destroying the home where it started.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

May 13, 2024 (Alpine)-- Cal Fire is responding to a brush fire, #Love21C, south of Loveland Reservoir in Alpine. The fire has burned 15 acres and is spreading at a moderate rate of speed, with potential for 100 acres, according to Cal Fire.  

The fire  started at  1900 Sloane Canyon Rd. and Loveland Reservoir and is zero percent contained, per the Watch Duty Ap.


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"I AM DEVASTATED, I FEAR FOR HIS LIFE." AUNT SPEAKS OUT FOR RUSSIAN MIGRANT ORDERED DEPORTED

By Bransen P. Harper 
 
Contributor: Patrick J. Watkins
 
May 10, 2024 (San Diego) – A young Russian migrant in Jacumba Hot Springs told East County Magazine several weeks ago that he fled his homeland after being persecuted and beaten for opposing Russia’s “unjust war of terror” in Ukraine.  But now his hopes of freedom in America have been dashed. 
 
An immigration judge has denied his asylum claim and ordered 19-year-old "Ruslan" deported, according to his aunt and his attorney. HIs real name is being withheld for his protection.

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CPUC PROPOSES REJECTING AT&T’S REQUEST TO WITHDRAW AS CARRIER OF LAST RESORT AND END LAND LINES, ALSO PLANS RULEMAKING PROCESS

“AT&T failed to demonstrate the availability of replacement providers...Additionally, public commenters at CPUC public forums highlighted the unreliability of voice alternatives such as mobile wireless or VOIP.” –CPUC

May 10, 2024 (Sacramento) – After hearing from consumers across the state and reviewing evidence in the record, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today issued a proposal rejecting AT&T’s request to withdraw as a carrier of last resort (COLR), which would have ended land line service across San Diego County and other areas. The CPUC also indicated that it intends to initiate a new Rulemaking process to address COLR telecommunications service obligations.

The proposal will be on the CPUC’s June 20 Voting Meeting agenda.

AT&T's plan to pull the plug on land line phone service has drawn strong opposition from rural residents in East County and elsewhere in California, as ECM reported in February, as well as from consumer advocates who warn that ending land lines would leave many in rural or remote locations with no reliable phone service at all, since Internet VOIP phone service is not widely available in many places and some areas also lack cell phone connectivity. Even for those with cell service, land lines have proven life-saving options when cell towers have burned down during wildfires in places such as rural Potrero.


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PROTESTS HELD AT LOCAL UNIVERSITIES OVER ISRAEL-GAZA WAR

By Patrick Watkins
Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report
 
Photos courtesy of ECM news partner KGTV 10 News
 
May 9, 2024 (San Diego) – Across the nation, campus protests have erupted over the war raging in the Middle East, including a large march at San Diego State University and an encampment at the University of California locally, the latter ending in arrests. 
 
Pro-Palestinian protesters have demanded an end to the war as well as an end to American funds and weapons being shipped to Israel, also calling on universities to divest from investments in Israel. 
 
Counter-protesters have expressed support for Israel and voiced concerns over their safety and comments they believe are anti-Semitic promoted by some supporters of the Palestinian cause. 

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