By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Person of interest and suspect vehicle sought by deputies

June 25, 2021 (Spring Valley) – Kenneth Love II was shot and killed June 2, 2020 while working as a security guard at a marijuana dispensary in the 8700 block of Troy Street in Spring Valley.  A year later, Sheriff’s deputies are still actively working on solving the case and they are asking public help to identify the killer.

His family is offering a $3,000 reward in addition to a $1,000 reward offered by Crimestoppers for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

Source: Caltrans

June 23, 2021 (Campo) -- Caltrans crews anticipate closures at Interstate 8 (I-8) and Crestwood Road in Campo for four weeks beginning Tuesday, July 6 to replace guardrail systems. The work will require full closures of the westbound I-8/Crestwood Road on-ramp and the eastbound I-8/Crestwood Road off-ramp near the Golden Acorn Casino, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through early August. Please see the map below showing the closure locations.  

Southeastern Coalition hosts event to get 1,000 vaccinations in June

June 23, 2021 (San Diego) – A Vaxx Parking Lot Party for youth and families will be held on June 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center 404 Euclid Ave., San Diego, CA 92114. The event will have music, food trucks, graffiti artboards and other family-friendly activities. 

Photo: CC by SA via Bing

Source: CHP 

June 22, 2021 (Sacramento) --  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is partnering with 11 other highway patrols, state patrols, and state police agencies for the Western States Traffic Safety Coalition traffic safety campaign, giving motorists “a dozen reasons not to speed.” 

Speeding violations will be the target of law enforcement in California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming from Friday, June 25, through Sunday, June 27, 2021.

“Excessive speed and unsafe driving are a threat to everyone on the roadway,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “The CHP and our allied state partners will be out in force this weekend with the common goal of saving lives through speed enforcement.”

“Parents are finding their children dead from fentanyl overdoses, boyfriends finding their girlfriends dead, and children are being put at risk by this alarming spike,” said DA Summer Stephan.

Source: San Diego District Attorney

June 21, 2021 (San Diego) -- The top law enforcement leaders in San Diego County are sounding the alarm about a concerning increase in overdose deaths related to fentanyl, especially among younger people. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Department and Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association are pushing out the warning on social media in an effort to educate youth and parents that if the pill you’re taking didn’t come from a pharmacy, it could kill you.

In 2019, there were 151 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in San Diego County. According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 461 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in San Diego County in 2020, triple the number from the year before. While still early, the projection for 2021 is 700 such overdose deaths. 

The District Attorney’s Office is part of the Narcotics Task Force Team 10, which responds to an average of 5 to 6 calls per week; most of them fatal overdoses and most involving a fentanyl-related overdose. The deaths are occurring in every part of the county and affecting every demographic. 

Update June 20, 2021 11 a.m. -- The fire is holding at 343 acres and remains 5% contained, Cal Fire reports this morning.

Update 8 p.m.  --  Cal Fire tweet:  #OverlandFire off of Canebrake Canyon Road and Great Southern Overland Stage Route , East of Mount Laguna in San Diego County is 343 acres and 5% contained. Change in acreage due to better mapping. @CALFIRESANDIEGO

By Miriam Raftery

June 19, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – A brush fire burning near Canebrake along the Great Southern Overland trail has scorched 500 acres and is zero percent contained as of early this afternoon, Cal Fire reports. The #OverlandFire is east of Mount Laguna in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

No evacuations have been ordered as of 1:30 p.m. The fire is in a remote location and is not currently threatening any structures. However, a Cal Fire spokesman on Twitter indicated access for ground crews is difficult due to rugged terrain, requiring additional air resources that are now on scene.

Several Canebrake residents contacted ECM to clarify that the fire is not burning within the community of Canebrake, but to the west.

San Diego State University’s sixth president, who steered the institution through a transformative period of growth and expansion, has died.

By SDSU News Team

June 18, 2021 (San Diego) - Thomas B. Day, the sixth president of San Diego State University who began an 18-year-tenure in 1978 and saw the creation of six joint doctoral programs, significantly increased faculty research and led a major expansion of the university. 

Keynote speaker is best-selling author, Emmy award-winning actor, director and producer Henry Winkler

East County News Service

June 18, 2021 (San Diego) -- Local nonprofit San Diego Oasis in collaboration with the County of San Diego’s Aging and Independence Services (AIS), Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) and Live Well San Diego, San Diego Oasis will host “Vital Aging 2021: Resilient and Ready!,” an online conference that will provide those 60 and older with information and resources related to aging. The online event will be held Thursday, June 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.  This is a free virtual event.

By Miriam Raftery

June 14, 2021 (Sacramento) – With case-rates dropping and California now having the third-lowest rate of positive COVID-19 test results in the nation, the state is poised to end its color-coded tiers and lift most restrictions tomorrow. But employers have been in limbo as Cal-OSHA delayed a decision last week on rules to protect workers.

Now, Cal-OSHA is expected to approve new workplace rules proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom this week, which would allow fully vaccinated workers in most workplaces to remove masks and end social distancing requirements starting June 17^th.

That’s a turnaround from an earlier proposal by Cal-OSHA, which would have required all workers to wear masks if anyone in the workplace wasn’t vaccinated but drew objections from employers’ groups.

By Ben Christopher, CalMatters

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

Photo:  Carlos Hernandez holds his mask while getting a haircut by Sarah Cordiey at Spiros Barber Shop in Long Beach on June 9, 2021. "During the pandemic, I got depression and anxiety," said Hernandez, who saw his family for the first time last week in more than one year. "But then when I got [fully] vaccinated I felt a lot better." Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

June 14, 2021 (San Diego) - California’s grand reopening day is almost here, but it comes with a few asterisks. 

By Miriam Raftery

June 11, 2021 (Casa De Oro, CA)  - “We are looking for the public’s help in locating this vehicle and driver,” Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol says of a white, two-door Honda Accord that ran over and seriously injured a woman in the early morning hours of June 10 in Casa de Oro. The victim’s identity is also unknown.

The accident occurred around 12:38 a.m., when an unidentified driver heading east on Kenora Drive drove directly over an unidentified woman who for unknown reasons was laying on the roadway on Kenora Drive east of Kenwood Drive.

East County News Service

UPDATE: As of Saturday, June 12 at 11:05 a.m., the precautionary boil water notice has been lifted, reports Ready San Diego.

June 11, 2021 (San Diego) -- The City of San Diego is advising the public to not drink tap water without boiling it first in the Encanto area. This includes the area north of Brooklyn Avenue, south of State Route 94, west of 69th Street and east of Kelton Road, as well as Leppert Court, the 1100-1469 blocks of Watwood Road and the 1000-1400 blocks of Larwood Road

The Boil Water Notice was issued after a construction crew damaged a water main near Imperial Avenue and 65th Street Thursday.The city expects to have the problem resolved by Sunday. Until then, those affected should comply with the notice to avoid potential illness.