News

GAS LEAK NEAR PARKWAY PLAZA FORCED EVACUATIONS, TROLLEY CLOSURE IN EL CAJON

Leak is now controlled; trolley service has resumed and streets have reopened

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

 

June 7, 2019 (El Cajon) – A 2-inch diameter gas line ruptured by construction crews at North Marshal Ave. and Petree Street shortly after noon today prompted evacuations of the Rock Church and multiple businesses including The Lexus car dealership and Black Bear Diner. 10 News reports diners were given just five minutes to flee.


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A SAN DIEGAN MEETS VETERAN AT D-DAY ANNIVERSARY WHO LIBERATED HIS MOTHER’S FAMILY

By Daniel Smiechowski, San Diego
 
June 6, 2019 (Colleville sur Mer, France) -- Today at the American Cemetery in Normandy under cloudy skies and a brisk chill, world leaders including President Trump, French President Emanuel Macron and former United States Secretary of State John Kerry along with an astounding 1300 American military personnel gathered to commemorate the Allied assault on Vichy France otherwise known as the D-Day landings or Operation Overlord. It was the greatest amphibious military undertaking in history led primarily by American and British forces. 

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COUNTY BRACING FOR TOUGH FIRE SEASON, ANNOUNCES COORDINATED EFFORT TO MEET CHALLENGES

Firebreaks planned to protect Crest and Guatay

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

June 6, 2019 (San Diego) -- Not wanting a repeat of devastation suffered in the deadly 2003 and 2007 firestorms in San Diego County, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob announced on Tuesday a highly coordinated fire prevention effort in anticipation of a tough fire season.

While recent heavy rains have been good for replenishing water supplies, Jacob stated at a press conference, “From a fire standpoint, what has happened, our backcountry brush is thicker than ever. That means there is more fuel to feed a fire when it hits. And it will."

Jacob, whose District 2 includes fire-prone East County, added, "Since the series of deadly firestorms in 2003 and 2007, the county has worked side-by-side with CAL FIRE and spent more than half-a-billion dollars on firefighting improvements.” This has included “new stations, aircraft, and the establishment of a bigger and better firefighting force."

Audio: 

Audio: Press conference on San Diego County fire plans for 2019

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HUNTER VOTES AGAINST WILDFIRE RELIEF BILL FOR CALIFORNIA VICTIMS

"I find it disgusting that Hunter would vote against the disaster relief bill to bring relief to those families caught in recent disasters, like the Camp fire that devastated Paradise. My sister and her husband lost their house and everything in it due to that fire..." -- Ray Lutz, El Cajon
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
Photo:  Lutz family's home in flames
 
June 5, 2019 (San Diego) – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter was one of only two California Republicans who voted against a $19.1 billion federal disaster relief bill that includes an estimated $12.6 billion to help survivors of devastating wildfires in our state.  

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GRANT TO BRING CAJON VALLEY’S “WORLD OF WORK” PROGRAM TO LA MESA-SPRING VALLEY, GROSSMONT HIGH AND VISTA SCHOOL DISTRICTS

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – A $1.2 million grant awarded by the national nonprofit American Student Assistance (ASA) will fund participation in the World of Work (WoW) program for over 33,000 students at 38 local schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley (LMSV), Vista Unified and Grossmont Union High School (GUHSD) districts.

The program was developed by the Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD) in partnership with the University of San Diego to provide  K-12 students to explore career options and identify their individuals strengths and interests. The program has rolled out in 27 schools in the past two years, been written up in national publications such as Forbes business magazine, and most recently drew attention in meetings with U.S. Department of Education representatives (photo left) and a presentation at the Brookings Institute.


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CAJON VALLEY AGREES TO COMPLY WITH BROWN ACT ON MEETING RECORDINGS, BUT DRAGS FEET ON OTHER RECORDS REQUESTS

By Miriam Raftery

Listen to audios of CVUSD meetings from Dec.-March (scroll down)

Photos: unobtrusive recording device on tripod used by ECM reporter at two recent meetings does not obstruct views or traffic.

June 6, 2019 (El Cajon) – It took cease and desist letters sent by two attorneys to the Cajon Valley Union School District for ECM to obtain recordings of public meetings previously denied, along with assurances that our reporters will not be threatened for recording school board meetings ourselves. But other important records requests remain pending beyond the time frames mandated by state law.  

More than five months after our initial Public Records Act request for tapes of public meetings, the Cajon Valley Union School District has turned over all but one recording from December 2018 through March 2019.  Miraculously, those include a Dec. 11, 2018 recording that the district previously informed ECM had been destroyed. The one missing audio file, for March 12, 2019, was not available to a technical difficulty, the district claims in a letter sent to Californians Aware attorney Terry Francke.  

The records were provided to Francke after the attorney notified the district that its refusal to provide copies of recordings violated the Ralph M. Brown Act (California’s public records act) to ECM reporter Paul Kruze and to board member Jill Barto.  The district’s purported destruction of the December recording after 30 days despite a records request made just one day after the meeting, as claimed by executive assistant Naomie Rodriguez, was also illegal, Francke informed the district.

The district sent its recordings only to Francke, with a short window to download copies, but never did provide copies directly to either Kruze or Barto, both have confirmed. Barto says the district has refused to provide CDs for any meeting prior to May, and that they told her they won’t provide CDs unless a request is made within 30 days of a meeting – backtracking off their vote in  late March to retain recordings for a year and make them available on CD, as ECM reported.

Audio: 


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IF YOU SEE THIS PLANT, REPORT IT: COUNTY GETS STATE GRANT TO HELP WHACK INVASIVE WEED

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 5, 2019 (San Diego) - The County of San Diego has received a $53,966 state grant to continue efforts to corral a native plant-threatening, fire hazard-creating invasive weed that even Australian cows don’t like.

Ward’s weed has taken over rangelands in Australia and is threatening to invade North America starting in San Diego County, which is home to fragile ecological habitats like coastal sage scrub.


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CAL FIRE SUSPENDS BURN PERMITS

By Miriam Raftery

 

Photo via Creative Commons

 

June 5, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has announced suspension of outdoor residential burn permits in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties for areas under state firefighting control, due to high fire danger.


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PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT AT TERRA-GEN WIND PROJECT MEETINGS IN BOULEVARD AND CAMPO JUNE 6 AND JUNE 19

By Miriam Raftery

June 5, 2019 (Campo) – Public participation is needed at two upcoming meetings on Terra-Gen’s proposal to install 60 wind turbines, each 586 feet tall and capable of producing 4.2 megawatts of power.  The turbines are proposed on the Campo tribal reservation, from north of I-8 to near the border in the south. 

“These turbines are about twice the size with twice the harmful energy and noise as existing local Kumeyaay Wind and Tule Wind turbines. If new turbines are approved, life for many area residents will change for the worst.” Says Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group which represents nearby communities. She adds, “People are already sick around existing turbines.”        

Below are details on upcoming meetings June 6 and June 19, where the public can learn more and speak out:    


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ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY AND CITY OF SAN DIEGO ARE VIOLATING LAWS BY PUMPING DOWN LAKE HODGES, LEAVING GREBE NESTS “HIGH AND DRY”

Updated with City of San Diego response and a wildlife biologist's reaction

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Grebe and chicks; grebe nest at risk

June 4, 2019 (Escondido) – A coalition of environmental groups has sent an urgent request to the San Diego County Water Authority asking for an emergency directive to halt pumping of water from Lake Hodges which has left grebe nests with eggs “high and dry” for the third time this season. The lake is in the city of San Diego, which has advised ECM today that it is taking steps to address the problem.

Grebes are famed for “dancing” across the water during mating system, drawing visitors for the spectacle. (View video of dancing grebes and a new video titled “Save the Grebe Chicks of Lake Hodges.”) 

The letter, signed by the Sierra Club, San Diego Audubon Society and four other environmental organizations, states that an estimated 300 eggs have been lost recently at Lake Hodges, from Western and Clark’s Grebes nests, some just days from hatching. 


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COUNTY SCREENS 14,000 MIGRANTS; FLU CASES RISE TO 149, BUT RATE OF OUTBREAK SLOWS

By Miriam Raftery
 
June 4, 2019 (San Diego) – As the federal government continues shipping migrants seeking asylum from Texas to San Diego, San Diego County Public Health reports that 14,000 have undergone health screenings here since May 19. Of those, 149, or about 1 of every 100 migrants locally, have been diagnosed with influenza (flu); 27 are currently quarantined in hotels, including 11 families.

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EXPERTS GIVE THEIR INSIGHTS ON LAKESIDE FIRE AND SECURITY ISSUES

By Mike Allen

June 4, 2019 (Lakeside) -- Lakeside has a good reputation as a relatively safe area, but like every area of the county, it’s got some crime and could be made even safer if citizens make an effort and speak out when they see problems.

That was the key message imparted by a panel of experts speaking May 29 at the Lakeside Community Center organized by the Institute for Public Strategies.


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FROM THE FIRE CHIEF’S CORNER: THE DEADLIEST DAYS OF SUMMER ARE HERE

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

June 3, 2019 (San Diego) -- Do you know about the 100 deadliest days of summer? No, I’m not referring to the danger of heat exhaustion or increased gun violence during the summer months—although those are very real risks in many places.

The 100 deadliest days are the days between the end of May and the beginning of September—the days when our teenage children hit the streets with lots of time on their hands.

What makes it deadly? Driving. Per mile driven, drivers aged 16 to 19 years old are nearly three times more likely than drivers older than 20 to be in a fatal crash. During the summer months, teenage deaths in vehicle accidents increase by 26% compared with the other months of the year.


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IDENTITIES RELEASED OF TWO TEENS KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH IN JAMUL, FOUR OTHERS INJURED

Updated with identies of the vicitms, provided by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2019 (Jamul) – The driver and a passenger in a 1997 green GMC Sonoma pickup truck are dead following a head-on collision with a Jeep at 11:45 p.m. last night on Lyons Valley Road in Jamul.  The driver, Martin Lopez Soto, 19, from Lemon Grove and his passenger, Hope Najera, 18, from Jamul, died at the scene after the GMC crossed the center line into the path of the Jeep. According to their Facebook posts, the couple recently became engaged.

Witnesses called 9-1-1 but both victims were found inside the vehicle without a pulse by first responders who were unable to revive the teens despite aggressive life-saving efforts. The Medical Examiner concluded that both died of blunt-force injuries.

The driver of the Jeep, an 18-year-old El Cajon woman, had three teen passengers in the vehicle. All four sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were either treated on scene or transported to local hospitals for medical evaluations, according to the California Highway Patrol.


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BREAKING NEWS: CALFIRE/COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO RETAKES REMAINING JULIAN FIRE STATION; DEFIES STAY TRIGGERED BY APPEAL

San Diego County fails to pay JCFPD paramedics as agreed in earlier court judgment

Update: Sheriff's office declines to comment on eviction of the JCFPD

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

June 3, 2019 (Julian) -- CAL FIRE, under the authority of the San Diego County Fire Authority, retook the remaining Julian fire station Sunday afternoon. The station  has been held by volunteers Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District (JCFPD) with court approval after the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) dissolved the JCFPD, pending the outcome of litigation by those trying to save the county's last volunteer firefighting district.

The move by CAL FIRE and the Sheriff’s Department failure to halt the takeover was in defiance of an appeal filed to the San Diego Superior Appellate Court Division immediately after Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp on Friday ordered members of the JCFPD to vacate Fire Station No. 56 in her Friday ruling.  The appeal triggers an automatic stay, the County’s director of communications acknowledged Friday, prior to the forced takeover this weekend. Judge Trapp on Friday also affirmed that no eviction should occur until an appeal could be heard, according to a witness present in the courtroom. ECM is working to obtain videotape of the judge’s statement.


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HUNTER DRAWS FIRE FOR ADMISSIONS HE SHOT AT CIVILIANS AND POSED WITH DEAD IRAQI SOLDIERS

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Duncan D. Hunter, right, via Duncan D. Hunter for Congress campaign

June 2, 2019 (San Diego) – Republican Congressman Duncan D. Hunter is drawing fire for admitting that he fired at civilians in Iraq while serving combat duty with the Marines, also posing with corpses of dead enemy combatants.

Hunter has been vocal in his public support of Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher, a San Diego-based Navy Seal charged with war crimes including shooting at civilians and fatally stabbing a young wounded prisoner, then posing with the corpse.

During a town hall meeting in Ramona over Memorial Day weekend, Hunter stated that Gallagher “did one bad thing that I’m guilty of too –taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid,” Times of San Diego reported, posting an audio recording.

Hunter doubled down on those remarks during a later taped interview with the online site Zero Blog Thirty, in which he stated, “So, I was an artillery officer and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killing probably hundreds of civilians,” adding, “probably killed women and children if there were any left in the city when we invaded. Do I get judged, too?”

As for the charges Gallagher faces of murdering a teenage ISIS fighter who had been brought in for medical treatment, Hunter told Zero Blog Thirty, ““I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care.” He added that even if Gallagher did stab the wounded prisoner to death, he still “deserves a break”, indicating Gallagher should not be held accountable for violating the Military Code of Justice.

Barstool Sports, which publishes the Zero Blog Thirty podcast, released a statement Sunday calling Hunter’s rhetoric “horrific.”


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CHP ASKS PUBLIC FOR HELP TO IDENTIFY MAN KILLED IN FIERY TOYOTA TUNDRA CRASH ON I-8 AT CRESTWOOD

By Miriam Raftery
 
Update: The victim has been identified as Monterro Friend, 34, of San Diego.
 
June 2, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Highway Patrol seeks public help to identity the driver of a blue Toyota Tundra killed shortly before 4 a.m. after his vehicle, traveling at a high rate of speed, struck a guardrail and went airborne over the side at Crestwood Road in rural East County.  The vehicle vaulted over traffic on Crestwood and hit the I-8 westbound bridge.  

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MOTORCYCLIST DIES AFTER COLLISION WITH TEEN DRIVER ON OLDE HIGHWAY 80

By Miriam Raftery
 
June 2, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – A 19-year-old Jamul woman driving a Hyundai Accent made a U-turn on Olde Highway 80 west of Bond Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon yesterday at 5:25 p.m., crossing directly into the path of a motorcycle.  The driver of the motorcycle, a 27-year-old Santee man on a black SSR Razkull 125, was ejected following the collision and sustained blunt force trauma.

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ATTORNEY AND WIRELESS EXPERT TO SPEAK IN LA MESA TODAY; LOCAL RESIDENTS RAISE CONCERNS OVER NEW COUNTY RULES ON 5G INSTALLATIONS NEAR HOMES

East County News Service

June 2, 2019 (La Mesa) -- A free talk on “5G & Wireless: Keeping Safer in a Wireless World” by a wireless expert and attorney Dafna Tachover, is being held at 4700 Spring St., La Mesa, Suite 201, on Sunday 6/2/19 at 3 p.m.  Tachover previously worked in the Israeli Defense Forces as a telecommunication and computers officer. She is the founder the advocacy group “We are the Evidence” for rights of people impacted by wireless technology radiation and led a Supreme Court case in Israel that led to the strictest limitations in the world on Wi-Fi in schools.

Susan Brinchman with the Center for Electrosmog in La Mesa has been working for three months in an effort to consult with the County on a revision of its recent wireless ordinance approved Feb. 27 for unincorporated areas which she says “fell short in the area of protecting property owners and residents.  The County is now seeking public comments. View the latest draft ordinance: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/advance/smallcellwirelessfacilities.html


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PEÑASQUITOS PRESERVE REOPENS AFTER DNA TEST PROVES LION KILLED IS SAME ONE THAT ATTACKED BOY

By Miriam Raftery


June 1, 2019 (Rancho Peñasquitos) – The Rancho Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve has reopened to the public after DNA testing proved that a mountain lion killed by state wildlife officers is the same one that attacked a 4-year-old boy.

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PASSAGES: DENNIS RUTH, MOUNTAIN MAN OF JACUMBA, IN KO PAH

Memorial gathering June 8 at 2 p.m. at Desert View Tower

East County News Service

May 31, 2019 (Jacumba) -- Local icon "Mountain Man" Dennis Ruth passed away May 23rd after a battle with cancer.  He spent his early years in Santee, and the rest of his life in the high desert community of In Ko Pah, near Jacumba. 
 
His stone cabin became a hidden local treasure which took him 30 years to build and where he lived without electricity with his dogs and mule named Big John. 
 

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RACE TO FILL DIANNE JACOB’S SUPERVISORIAL SEAT TAKES SHAPE

By Miriam Raftery

Photos (top left to bottom right):  Steve Vaus, Joel Anderson, Tom Lemmon, and Kenya Taylor

Update:  Lemmon has opted not to run.

May 30, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Stepping down due to term limits in 2020 after 28 years, San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob leaves some big shoes to fill.  Four candidates, two Republicans and two Democrats, have thus far announced plans to run for the 2nd Supervisorial district, which covers 2,000 square miles encompassing the eastern two-thirds of the county.

The contenders for the ostensibly nonpartisan race are Poway Mayor Steve Vaus and former State Senator Joel Anderson, both Republicans. Democrats Tom Lemmon, a labor leader who heads up the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, and Kenya Taylor, a mental health counselor and NAACP board member, are also in the running.

Below are highlights of their backgrounds and goals if elected, as well as analysis of the challenges each may need to overcome to win the race.


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EL CAJON EXPANDS NUMBER OF PETS ALLOWED

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  CC by SA

May 30, 2019 (El Cajon) – You might say that El Cajon is going to the dogs – and cats. The City Council has voted unanimously to allow pet owners to have up to four dogs, or four cats.  Owners can also have a combination of cats and dogs, up to a maximum of four.

Formerly, the city allowed no more than two dogs or cats per household, though exceptions were made for puppies and kittens not yet old enough for adoption.


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SHOOTING THREAT PROMPTS DISMISSAL AT BANCROFT ELEMENTARY

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2019 (Spring Valley) – A male caller, possibly a juvenile, called Bancroft Elementary School in Spring Valley at 2:44 p.m. today to state that there would be a shooting and warned the school to go on lockdown.  Staff put the school into lockdown and notified the Sheriff.

Sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded.  There were no further threats or substantiation, but the school dismissed students with law enforcement present.


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EAST COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS AMONG 11 INDICTED IN CHARTER SCHOOL FRAUD SCHEME

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan yesterday announced indictments against 11 individuals in a statewide charter school scheme that stole over $50 million in public funds.  Those indicted include Nancy Hauer, superintendent of the Dehesa Elementary School District in El Cajon, and Steve Van Zant, former superintendent of the Mountain Empire Unified School District that services Descanso, Pine Valley, Potrero and Campo.

The ringleaders, Sean McManus and Jason Schrock, CEO and president of A3 Education, sought out small school district with limited oversight experience and proposed that they authorize online charter schools to earn oversight fees paid for through public funds, according to the 253-page indictment handed down by a grand jury investigation May 17th after a year-long investigation that involved interviewing over 70 witnesses.


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ATTORNEY GENERAL BECERRA OBTAINS $1.5 MILLION IN JUDGMENTS AGAINST TELEMARKETERS WHO SCAMMED VULNERABLE INVESTORS

 

 

Source:  Calif. Attorney General’s office.

May 29, 2019 (Sacramento) - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced today judgments totaling $1,498,574 in a lawsuit against telemarketers who scammed investors. The company, Consumer Rights Legal Services (CRLS), and four individuals, including CRLS’s president and owner, James Davitt, cheated more than 150 victims by offering bogus “investment recovery services” that they claimed would recover money victims had lost from previous investments. Many of the victims were elderly and had already lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from previous schemes.


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WILDLIFE OFFICERS KILL MOUNTAIN LION SUSPECTED OF ATTACKING BOY IN PEÑASQUITOS PRESERVE

 
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
Photo: Mountain lion tracks, CC by SA-NC
 
May 28, 2019 (Rancho Peñasquitos) – After yesterday’s attack on a 4-year-old boy at the Rancho Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve run by the city of San Diego, wildlife officers investigating at the scene spotted mountain lion tracks and were approached by a lion that appeared to have little fear of humans. This is abnormal behavior for normally reclusive mountain lions, so the officers shot and killed the lion to protect public safety, according to the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife.
 
It is not yet confirmed that this is the same lion that attacked the child, who suffered non-life threatening head injuries. DNA samples from the boy have been shipped to a CDFW Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Sacramento along with the lion carcass for a necropsy and DNA analysis to confirm whether this was the animal responsible for the attack. The lion will also be tested for rabies.
 
Kirsten MacIntyire at CDFW confirms the lion was a female but that there were no signs of cubs.

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CHILD ATTACKED BY MOUNTAIN LION ON TRAIL AT PEÑASQUITOS PRESERVE

 
 
By Miriam Raftery

 
Photos: Waterfall in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, City of San Diego, Mountain lion, California Fish & Game Department



May 27, 2019 (Los Peñasquitos) – A young child has been transported to a hospital with head injuries after being attacked by a mountain lion, or possibly a bobcat, according to the San Diego Fire & Rescue Department.
 
The attack occurred aound 2:30 p.m. today at the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, just east of the waterfall on a popular hiking trail
 
Witnesses told 10 News that the boy’s father threw rocks to scare off the big cat.

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HAWK WATCH WINERY LOSES 300 BOTTLES OF WINE IN HIGHWAY MISHAP

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 27, 2019 (Warner Springs) - Hawk Watch Winery has lost 25 cases of wine—300 bottles—in a freak accident near their Warner Springs Winery. The owners posted on Facebook that on May 16, while maneuvering a curve in State Route 79, packing material broke and the load slipped off, shattering the fruits of their labors.


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SANTEE BANS SMOKING IN PARKS, EXCEPT AT CITY-SPONSORED EVENTS IN DESIGNATED AREAS

 
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
May 26, 2019 (Santee) – Lighting up a cigarette, cigar, or vaping device is now illegal in Santee parks, making the city the last in the region to outlaw smoking in public parks.  Council smoked out an exception, however, for designated smoking sections at special events  at Town Center Community Park, including summer concerts and the city’s annual Santee Salutes Fourth of July festivities, as well as Fido Fest.
 

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

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