By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Screenshot, Fox 5, of a resident's video; right below: Cal Fire photo of helicopter dropping water on the blaze

June 14, 2018 (Ramona)—The  Hope Fire caused minor damage to one residence and charred 35 acres in Ramona today 

Hearings planned in San Diego June 26 and 28

By Miriam Raftery

June 15, 2018 (San Diego) — Ratepayers may be in for an unpleasant shock.  San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for an 11% increase next year and increases of 6.9%, 5.1% and 4.9% in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

June 12, 2018  -- A brush fire that started near the Lake Murray dam in Del Cerro burned one acre and briefly threatened a home late this afternoon has been fully contained, San Diego Fire Department reports.

By Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2018 (Lakeside) – Lakeside Sheriff’s Department seeks help to find Bobby G. Applewhite, 69, who went missing yesterday at noon in lakeside. He has memory loss and is unfamiliar with the area.

He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt with black vertical stripes, brown Docker shorts, a tan boonie-style hat and Velcro sandals with long white socks,

Does photo released by Germany’s Chancellor show a bold president standing up for U.S. interests, or a petulant outsider betraying America’s strongest allies and being scolded by a powerful woman leader?  It all depends on your perspective.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Jesco Denzel, posted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel via Instagram

June 12, 2018 (Berlin) – Hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at a news conference that leaders of all seven nations at the G-7 summit signed a communique agreeing on a broad range of economic and foreign policy goals, a statement affirmed other allied leaders, President Donald Trump sent tweets aboard Air Force One blasting apart the reputed deal. Trump accused Trudeau of “false statements” and said he has instructed Congress “not to endorse the Communique.”

Further frustrating allies, Trump also called for Russia to be readmitted to the G-7. Russia was kicked out for its backing of the Crimean invasion, a violating of international law, the New York Times reports.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 11, 2018 (San Diego) - The County is looking for 1,049 chronically homeless people who frequently use emergency rooms for medical treatment, resulting in high Medi-Cal costs.

These people, identified in 2016, are being sought to be a part of Whole Person Wellness, a County program that will help them find a home and give them access to behavioral and physical health services, saving millions in Medi-Cal costs.

Update June 12, 2018 9:45 a.m. -- Church Road is reopened. The fire is 70% contained with forward spread stopped.

Update 7 p.m.:  Cal Fire reports the Church Fire is actually 2 fires, one that burned 9 acres and the other a spot fire at one acre. Forward spread has been stopped and the combined blaze is 30% contained.  Church Road remains closed from Highway 94 to Old Highway 80. One structure has been threatened and the resident self-evacuated. Crews remain on scene mopping up the fires.

June 11, 2018 (Campo) 3:25 p.m. -- Cal Fire reports a 4 acre brush fire, #ChurchIC, in Campo.

CHP has ordered a closure of Church Road at Old Highway 80, where the fire was reported a short time ago near the Golden Acorn Casino. The incident commander reports a structural threat and says the fire is burning at a moderate rate of spread.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: ECM news partner 10 News

June 11, 2018 (San Diego) – Nationally, the debate over how to stop school shootings has included proposals ranging from tighter gun control laws to arming teachers.  Some states have allowed the latter, but not California, where a new state law effective January 1^st prohibits bringing guns on campus statewide except for law enforcement personnel, educational or sports uses. 

Despite this legal impediment, the San Diego County Gun Owners, a political action committee, held a firearms training class for teachers on Sunday at Discount Gun Mart in San Diego. According to ECM news partner 10 News, about a dozen attendees showed up.

Five reasons to consider switching to a Time of Use plan

East County News Service

June 7, 2018  (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) new Time of Use (TOU) pricing plans are giving residents more choices and control over their energy bills. These plans offer savings for customers who can shift some of their energy use outside the higher cost on-peak hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. According to an SDG&E press release:

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2018 (Cleveland National Forest)—Nathalie Reed, a 20-year-old woman from Lemon Grove, died last night on at Three Sisters Falls in Cleveland National Forest.

Reed was hiking with a friend when her friend saw that she had become dehydrated and hypothermic. Reed fell into bushes and a bystander called 911, the Medical Examiner's report states.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call for help from Cal-Fire at 5:49 p.m. . Medical personnel along with deputies and a Sheriff’s helicopter arrived to find the victim was deceased, Sg. Chris Galve reports.

Update June 8, 2018 11 a.m. -- Cause of the fire has been determined to be a campfire on private land. The fire is now 85% contained.

Update June 7, 2018 10 a.m. -- Cal Fire reports the fire is holding at 265 acres and is now 30% contained. 

Update 4:30 p.m.: The fire is now 265 acres and 5% contaiued with forward spread stop. Evacuations have been lifted but a soft closure remains at La Posta Rd., Cal Fire reports.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Mark Siegmund, who called 911 to report the fire.

June 6, 2018 (Campo) – Cal Fire reports a fire called the #RecycleFire has burned 150 acres in Campo, prompting evacuation warnings for residents on North Campo Truck Trail.  The blaze is 0% contained.

The fire has caused closure of La Posta Road at State Route 94. The fire was reported at 10:24 a.m. in the 31000 block of highway 94.

Story and photos by Jonathan Goetz

June 6, 2018 (San Diego) – It was a strong night for Republicans running countywide in San Diego yesterday. The GOP swept all four countywide seats on the ballot June 5, 2018.

East County Magazine met up with all four winners at Golden Hall, and received some of their reactions as early results arrived at Golden Hall, Election Central.

 By Miriam Raftery

Jonathan Goetz contributed to this report.

 June 6, 2018 (San Diego) – District Attorney Summer Stephans and Sheriff Bill Gore looks likely to win reelection. 

With 15.3% of votes counted, she has over two-thirds of the votes at 64.53%.  Challenger Genevieve Jones-Wright, a progressive Democrat, has only 35.32% of the vote.

Sheriff Gore has 57.2% of the vote vs. Dave Myers, a Democratic Challenger from within Gore's own department, who has 42.6%. 

June 5, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- We're tweeting East County election results live on Twitter!  To follow us, go to www.Twitter.com and follow EastCountyMag.  We'll also post highlights on our site as the results become available.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left, by Monica Zech:  This dog found a fur-ever home with a visitor during the opening of the new shelter.

June 5, 2018 (El Cajon) – After years of doggedly determined planning efforts, El Cajon’s new animal shelter had its grand opening on Sunday.  An estimated 1,000 people flocked to the event, which resulted in 18 pet adoptions.

“We had a gloriously exhausting day,” says Jill Jones, manager of the facility at 1373 North Marshall Avenue.  “We found forever homes for eight dogs, four cats, five kittens and one tortoise.” The latter was adopted by Dirk Epperson, the city’s public works director and his family.