By Miriam Raftery

Photo: ECM news partner 10 News

Repair is difficult due to proximity to gas line and storm drain

April 17, 2018 (El Cajon) – A sink hole that formed overnight at Johnson Avenue and Vernon Way in El Cajon swallowed up a car, but fortunately emergency responders rescued the driver.

Helix Water District repair crews have begun making repairs and the intersection is now open to traffic on Vernon Way and southbound Johnson Avenue, though northbound Johnson remains closed.

By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Standing room only crowd included dozens of gun control supporters as well as gun rights advocates

April 17, 2018 (El Cajon) – Actions of the Cajon Valley Union School District have become targets for both sides in the gun violence debate. At the April 10^th board meeting, members came under fire over:

• Hillsdale Middle School students put on lunch detention for participating in an on-campus walk out during the nationwide March for Our Lives, an event aiming to to prevent gun violence on campuses;
•  Termination of a contract for counseling intern Margaret Katchur Morghen, who sat with students during detention as a “learning exercise on the First Amendment” and also spoke with media about the walk-out;
• School board member Jim Miller firing off a derisive letter to a retired teacher who had written to the Superintendent asking for actions to reduce gun violence at schools. Miller responded on behalf of the San Diego Gun Owners Political Action Committee, and wore a National Rifle Association (NRA) hat during the school board’s April 10, 2018 public meeting.

Those actions got the public up in arms, figuratively speaking. Gun rights advocates and people concerned about gun violence packed the hearing room at the April 10^th school board meeting.  Eight people testified during public comments, split evenly with four rounds on each side.

Updated April 17th with identiy of the victim.

By Miriam Raftery

April 16, 2018 (Ramona) – Sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call reporting gunshots and screams Sunday night shortly after 8:30 p.m. found a mortally wounded man on the ground in front of a home at 15921 Wood Rock Lane in Ramona, according to Lieutenant Michael Blevins. 

The victim has been identified as 21-year old Ivan Nivinskus.  The county Medical Examiner has ruled the death has been ruled a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

By Mike Allen

 View full-size map B adopted by Council here.

 April 14, 2018 (Santee) -- Santee’s ongoing process of shifting from voting for their representatives by all city voters to a system of district elections took another step to reality last week when the council adopted a map made by Mayor John Minto and held the first reading instituting the change.

 Minto offered a map he drew that divides the city into four areas and with a close balance of some 13,000 people in each district. His motion also called for a change in the cycle of elections that results in two council seats being elected every four years starting in 2020. The mayor’s position will remain at large, or selected by all city voters.

 His motion, which was seconded by Councilman Ronn Hall, passed 3-2 with Council members Brian Jones and Rob McNelis opposed. The second reading and adoption of the law and the map is scheduled for April 25.

Update April 20: The Design Review Committee hearing slated for April 23 has been postponed. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Jeff Phair, right, shares information with area resident Anthony McIvor, left, at site of planned La Mesa Summit Estates.

April 12, 2018 (La Mesa) – On a hilltop above the Serramar development in La Mesa’s Eastridge area, local builder Jeff Phair hopes to build La Mesa Summit Estates.  The proposal calls for 30 new homes—each with multi-generational suites complete with separate entrances, stacked washer/dryers, and media centers.  They’re designed for families that want space for parents, grandparents or grown children---and the concept came out of extensive meetings with neighbors.

 “All developers don’t wear black hats,” an article in The Phair Company’s newsletter is titled. The company has a policy of “cooperative community based planning” that calls for meeting with neighbors and incorporating their input into designs, where possible, before ever approaching city staff of elected officials.

East County News Service

Photo: California National Guard

April 11, 2018 (San Diego)— Governor Jerry Brown has approved a request from President Donald Trump to send National Guard troops to the international border, funded by the federal government to combat “lawlessness,” according to the President’s request.

But in his response to the Trump administration, Brown indicated that the 400 troops sent by California will be utilized not for immigration enforcement, but rather for “new staffing will allow the Guard to do what it does best: support operations targeting transnational criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers along the border, the coast and throughout the state,” threats that are priorities for both Democrats and Republicans, including two prior administrations, Brown noted.

East County News Service

April 9, 2018 (Santee) -- A Notice of Intent to Circulate a Petition for the Santee General Plan Protection Initiative was filed late Friday by Van Collinsworth, Preserve Wild Santee’s Geographer/Director, and by Santee City Councilman Stephen Houlahan. 

Update April 9, 2018: The good Samaritan who died has been identified as Kenneth Riddle, 46, of El Cajon. He leaves behind a wife and young daughter. A GoFundMe page to help the family has been established where donations can be made.

Update April 11, 2018: The driver who was killed has been identified as Lamont Taylor, 35, of El Cajon.

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2018 (El Cajon) – Two good Samaritans stopped to help a driver involved in a solo vehicle collision at 1:20 a.m.  on eastbound I-8 just west of El Cajon Boulevard in El Cajon.  The vehicle had come to rest in the number 2 lane of traffic.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

April 7, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) –  A horse trailer being towed by an F-250 truck overturned on the right side of westbound Interstate 8 shortly before noon today, about three miles west of Crestwood, according to Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol.

A witness told authorities she was following behind the trailer and saw it start to fishtail. The driver was unable to control the vehicle, which went off the roadway and overturned. The trailer separated from the truck and its top was sheered off. The witness reported numerous people exiting the overturned horse trailer.

By Miriam Raftery

April 6, 2018 (La Mesa) – Last week, La Mesa’s City Council approved the city’s first medical marijuana dispensary, New Origins, set to open in the La Mesa Medical Plaza on Center Street near El Cajon Boulevard.  But now the chief executive officer of Family Wellness Center in the same complex, is asking the city to rescind the permit.

East County News Service

April 5, 2018 (San Diego) -- Recently, California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has requested that online services cease listing unlicensed dispensaries operating in violation of state cannabis regulations. Several prominent online dispensary finder services have chosen to ignore this guidance from state regulators and continue to list unlicensed dispensaries.  But others are pledging to fully comply with state regulations by steering customers only to licensed dispensaries.

Today is last day to submit a map for final consideration at next Council meetings

By Mike Allen

 April 4, 2018 (Santee) -- Like it or not, and all five council members absolutely do not, Santee is adopting a system of district elections in advance of this November.

 Starting in late January, the council has been holding public hearings and soliciting comments about how boundary lines dividing the city into four quadrants should be drawn.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 3, 2018 (San Diego's East County) - You might think it’s too early for prime rattlesnake season but you should watch your step now. Dozens have already been sighted this year and the numbers have spiked in April the last two years.

East County News Service

Residents from 4,800 cities expected to participate in nationwide competition for Most Water-Wise Title in April; annual campaign to focus on clean water and watershed health

April 2, 2018 (Plano, Texas) – The annual month-long Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation has officially kicked off as part of an annual effort to raise awareness about the challenges faced by the nation to ensure a steady, reliable supply of clean water for the future. Presented nationally by the Wyland Foundation and Toyota, the campaign encourages U.S residents, led by mayors across the nation, to spread the word about the benefits of managing water resources.

The annual competition, which takes place each year from April 1-30, rewards residents who heed the call with a chance to win $5,000 toward their home utility bills, home irrigation makeovers, environmentally friendly clean products, and hundreds more eco-friendly prizes. Plus, a deserving charity will receive a 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid for its organization. Last year, mayors from 36 states encouraged residents to make over 420,000 pledges to promote drought resiliency, protect watersheds, and ultimately reduce stress on aging water infrastructure.

Source: County of San Diego

April 2, 2018 (San Diego) -- The County of San Diego Treasurer-Tax Collector Tax-Defaulted Property Tax Sale will take place online at https://sdttc.mytaxsale.com/ May 4-9, 2018. There are approximately 1170 parcels in the sale, with opening bids as low as $100.00.