By Mike Allen

June 21, 2024 (Santee) -- At the end of Santee Councilwoman Laura Koval’s District 3 town hall on June 18, she opened it up to questions, but there were no takers. Perhaps that’s a sign of satisfaction about the direction the all -Republican City Council has steered Santee over the past decade, or maybe it’s a lack of interest among residents.

She then tried to coax the assembly of about 30 people, mostly city staffers, and got this: “Tell us a fun Padres story.”

The former director of ticket sales for the Padres obliged, telling a story involving the team’s first World Series and the late Raiders defensive star Lyle Alzado. But she wasn’t challenged about any of the decisions she and her colleagues in the City Council have made in the past several years.

Plan also makes it easier for DACA recipients and immigrant college graduates to obtain work visas

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Immigrant rights march, via Wikimedia

June 18,2024 (Washington D.C.) – President Joe Biden today announced executive actions to protect a half million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation, if they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years. An estimated 50,000 children under 21 with a U.S. citizen parent will also be protected from deportation. 

Until now, undocumented spouses and children of citizens had to leave the U.S. to apply for permanent residency, a process that often separated families for years. A similar parole in place program is already used to protect undocumented families of military members.

The new, broader parole-in-place program will allow parents and children to stay in the U.S. for three years while they apply for permanent residency.  All applicants will be vetted by the Department of Homeland Security to assure the applicant does not pose a threat to public safety or national security.

Reuters reports that the majority of those set to benefit from the order are Mexicans, many of them in California.

In addition, Biden announced a program to make it easier for Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented college graduates to obtain work visas/green cards if they have been offered a job related to their degree.

By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2024 (Spring Valley) – A family that lost their home in a house fire Thursday on Dictionary Hill is searching for four missing pets—three dogs and a cat.

The home, located on La Mesa Avenue near Date Street in Spring Valley was destroyed. The blaze broke out around 6:30 p.m. June 13.  The family was not at home, though ironically the homeowner was golfing nearby and saw the smoke, not realizing his own house was in flames, CBS 8 reports.

According to San Miguel Fire Battalion Chief Roddey Blunt, the home’s hillside location made it challenging to contain the fire.  Windows blew out and wind drove flames through the residence, he said.

Hearing set for June 25; some neighbors are teed off

By Mike Allen

Photo: Augie Scalzitti at his home on Inverness Road looking at the Carlton Oaks Golf Course

June 15, 2024 (Santee) -- Augie Scalzitti is enjoying the good life in Santee, gazing from his deck to a stunning, clear view of the nearby Fortuna peaks and hills at Mission Trails Regional Park.

But that view will be dramatically altered if a proposed residential development for the Carlton Oaks Golf Resort that abuts his house on Inverness Road goes forward.

He points to a fence beneath his deck where trees and shrubs make up the “rough” part of Carlton Oaks’ carefully manicured 18-hole course. “They’re going to have to build that up about 10 feet, and the two-story homes will be another 30 feet above that,” he said. “When it’s done, I’ll be able to see into (future homeowner’s) bathroom.”

By Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2024 (Palomar) – Bears hadn’t been spotted on Palomar Mountain for roughly a decade—until now.  Over the past two weeks, multiple residents and business owners have posted photos and videos showing a black bear frequenting the area.

On May 21,  Deana Marie Freeman posted the photo (left) on social media, which she said was a bear outside her cabin along Fern Trail in the Bailey’s area of Palomar Mountain.  On May 26, Palomar Mountain Snow Play posted a video showing a bear running behind their store. A third video on June 2 shows a bear walking north on Canfield Road near the Palomar Mountain General Store (screenshot from video, right).

Story and photos by Josh Stotler

June 8, 2024 (Spring Valley) – A multi-agency response prevented a wind-driven brush fire in Spring Valley yesterday from destroying multiple homes threatened by the flames. The fire was originally dispatched as a residential structure fire near the 9800 block of Ivanho Street.  The first units on scene reported the blaze had extended to the vegetation on the back side of the residence.

As the fire grew, spreading across a grassy field, structures were threatened. The Incident Commander ordered additional engines and helicopter support. An evacuation order for zone SDC-2151 was broadcast as the fire came within a few feet of homes in the area.  Smoke was visible and could be smelled across Rancho San Diego, Spring Valley and parts of La Mesa.