By Miriam Raftery 

October 19, 2019 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service is warning of critical fire weather from Sunday through Tuesday locally, with the highest risk on Tuesday. 

By Miriam Raftery

October 18, 2019 (La Mesa) – Westmont of La Mesa invites the public to a tour, buffet lunch, entertainment and prizes this Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. The upscale facility features independent living and assisted living, including memory care, at its location at 9000 Murray Drive at Wakarusa.

This 130,00-square foot, three story retirement community includes 50,000 square feet of common area space will include a common meeting room that can be used by community groups for meetings and workshops, along with a pool that can be used for aqua aerobics for residents, as well as the community.

By Miriam Raftery

October 17, 2019 (San Diego) – It’s rare for a political party to withhold endorsement of an incumbent.  But on Monday night, the San Diego Republican Party Central Committee opted against endorsing indicted Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, or any of his three Republican rivals.  

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  A model demonstrates an e-cigarette. Credit:  Michael Dorausch Wikimedia Commons.

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) - The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to impose a one-year ban on the sale and distribution of all electronic smoking devices within unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

Update:  Per SDPD, all evacuation orders and warnings associated with this incident have been lifted. The temporary evacuation point has been suspended and evacuees can return to their homes.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) – A brush fire named the “#FairmountFire” in San Diego’s Talmadge area has shut down the I-8 east ramp to Fairmount Avenue and Fairmount Ave. from Montezuma to Mead. Motorists are asked to avoid the area.

San Diego Police is evacuating homes on Norma, Constance and Natalie Drives.  A temporary evacuation center has been set up at Hoover High School.

Temporary evacuation center at Hoover HS for those affected. Firefighters are in the canyon areas working with on containment and watching hot spots.

More than 4,000 customers are without power; SDG&E estimates power will be restored by 9:30 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) – Today, County Supervisors will vote on a recommendation by Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher that would ask the Chief Administrative Officer to draft a recommended ordinance within 60 days aimed at protecting the public from a “public health crisis” linked to smoking including vaping products and more. The recommendations include restrictions on smoking and e-cigarettes or vaping products that would apply to all unincorporated parts of San Diego County.

New law will protect kids, help survivors heal and hold institutions accountable

East County News Service

October 14, 2019 (Sacramento) -- California took a gigantic step for child protection last week when Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California Child Victims Act, Assembly Bill  218.  The bill passed the state Senate unanimously and the Assembly by a 64 to 3 vote, with local Assemblyman Randy Voepel casting one of the few votes against the measure.

The new law goes into effect January 1, 2020. The law provides a three-year window for sexual abuse survivors to bring lawsuits against perpetrators and institutions that protected them in cases that were previously barred by the statute of limitations, no matter when the abuse occurred. Aside from the window, the bill also changes the statute of limitations and raises the age limit to file a sexual abuse lawsuit from age 26 to age 40, or within five years of the date a survivor discovers the psychological injury or illness caused by the abuse (whichever comes later).

East County News Service

October 13, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Elevated fire concerns continue this week due to low relative humidity and dry vegetation, with gusty winds starting Tuesday and increasing through Friday. Next weekend could see a return of dangerous Santa Ana conditions.

By Mike Allen

October 13, 2019 (Santee) -- Customers of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which encompasses about 72 square miles, will see their rates for both water and sewage increase starting Nov. 1--and then go up again, starting on Jan. 1.

By Miriam Raftery

October 12, 2019 (Sacramento) – A trio of new election reform laws signed by Governor Gavin Newsom set campaign contribution limits for local races, allow voters to register on Election Day at polling places and ban partisan gerrymandering of local districts.

By Miriam Raftery

Videos by Henri Migala

October 11, 2019 (San Diego) – Speaking to a crowd of some 8,500 at San Diego’s Waterfront Park on October 3, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren called  upon Americans to “dream big, fight hard, and win.” She laid out plans to rebuild America’s middle class by ending government corruption and corporate influence in Washington, making structural changes to increase the power of working people, and protecting our democracy.

Warren is polling in the top two among all major national polls taken recently, with some placing her above former Vice President Joe Biden, and others putting her in second place. Those polls were taken before the announcement that Senator Bernie Sanders had a heart attack and has cut back some campaign activiites, a fact that could move some Sanders supporters with concerns over his health into the Warren camp. 

View our videos (four parts) for full coverage of her San Diego town hall, or scroll down for highlights.

Part 1: Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher endorses Warren, who talks about her background:

Part 2: Warren talks about why she is running, the need to reduce corporate influence on government and increase power of working people   

Part 3:  Warren details her three big goals: stop corruption, make structural changes to the economy, and protect our democracy. She also takes audience questions

Part 4:  Warren fields final questions from audience members

Update: A second resource center has been opened at the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo.

395 customers of SDG&E are currently without power; outages could impact up to 17,771, the utility warns

October 11, 2019 (Descanso) -- San Diego Gas & Electric will open a Community Resource Center today, Friday, October 11 at 8:00 a.m. in Descanso, CA due to power outages the company initiated during the Santa Ana wind event.  Water and snacks will be available and residents can charge devices, as well as get up-to-date information about power outages at the Center.

Community Resource Center location: Descanso Public Library (9545 River Drive, Descanso, CA 91916) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Additional resouce centers may open if the outage area is extended.

By Mike Allen

Photo: Renewable  energy sources; Creative commons via N.A.

October 10, 2019 (Santee) -- Santee is having second thoughts about joining a joint powers authority with several North County cities to obtain more electrical power from renewable sources.

The proposed entity is a community choice aggregation program for the cities, giving them the ability to buy more power from sources such as solar and wind. Local utility San Diego Gas & Electric would continue to deliver and maintain transmission lines and billing operations, but the CCA would be responsible for buying all power.

Source:  City of La Mesa

October 9, 2019 (La Mesa) - On Tuesday, October 8, 2019, the La Mesa City Council approved the Livable La Mesa Action Plan to promote programs and systems-level change that will strengthen the quality of life for older adults in the community.