Source: County News Service

October 8, 2015 (San Diego)--Agriculture continues to be an economic heavyweight in San Diego County, totaling nearly $1.82 billion in value. Trendy crops — like grapes for the region’s budding wine industry — continue to rise. Specialty crops like cacti and succulents have blossomed in spite of, or maybe even because of, the ongoing drought.

Update Oct. 6, 2015 - La Mesa Police report that this missing juvenile has been found with friends in Imperial Beach and has been returned to her family.

Update Oct. 4, 2015 1 p.m. - Olivia's mother confirms that a friend received an Instragram message that appears to be from Olivia.  The message indicates she is safe but does not want to come home.  It is not certain whether the message was sent by Olivia or possibly by someone with access to her account.

East County News Service

October 4, 2015 (La Mesa) – Public help is sought to locate Olivia Miller, 14, A Guatay resident who vanished Friday night in La Mesa. She was last seen at 7 p.m. at the Journey Community Church at 8363 Center Drive.

According to La Mesa Police dispatch, Olivia is 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighs 110 pounds, has black hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a white baseball cap, black shirt and black pants. She may also have been wearing a white cardigan and carrying a brown backpack, her mother has advised East County Magazine.

Olivia’s mother, Sherrie Jockell, says Olivia had a picnic dinner with family at the church before services.  An assistant teacher in a class at church, Olivia never made it to class after dinner.  Family realized she was missing after the service, when she did not return to their car.  Olivia made no mention of going anywhere after church to her friends or family.

East County News Service

October 3, 2015 (El Cajon) – Neighbors helped an elderly man out of his home after a garage caught fire in the 2300 block of Charles Way before firefighters arrived Friday afternoon.

Heartland Fire and Rescue crews from El Cajon and La Mesa, assisted by the Santee and San Diego Fire Departments, were dispatched to the blaze. The first engine company arrived within four minutes to find a two-story detached garage with heavy fire and smoke.

East County News Service

September 30, 2015 (San Diego)—The Federal government’s Western Regional Climate Center is predicting with 92% certainty a strong El Niño from December to February.  Additionally, forecasters say there is a 50% chance that winter precipitation totals will be in the top 33% of historic values across Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.

San Diego Lifesaving Association Raising Funds for Lifeguard Injured On Duty

September 30, 2015 (San Diego)-- After completing a routine rescue at Windansea beach in La Jolla on August 15th, San Diego Lifeguard Gareth “Chappy” Chapman was struck by a large wave in shallow water and driven headfirst into the ground.  The resulting impact left Gareth with several broken vertebrae in his neck and back, but fortunately did not cause any permanent damage to his spinal cord or nervous system.

By Miriam Raftery

Currently, California drivers who want to challenge a ticket in court have to pay a fine or fee first, in many jurisdictions.  But Senate Bill 405, now awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s approval, would give motorists the right to fight tickets without paying a fine or fee unless they are found guilty.

 The U.S. justice system is supposed to presume innocence until someone is found guilty.  But traffic fines and add-on fees amount to hundreds of dollars in some cases. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that those fees block access to the justice system for the poor.

Two meetings set on rate hikes Sept. 30 and Oct. 7

East County News Service

September 29, 2015 (La Mesa) — Helix Water District’s Board has voted unanimously to rescind a 10 percent penalty assessed on its highest tier water users. The change comes after customers cut water use 28 percent, enabling the district to meet the 20 percent cuts mandated by the state. Board member Kathleen Hedberg asked for those penalized to receive rebates, but instead the funds will be used for water conservation outreach, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

But the district is moving forward on hefty water rate hikes for water users. The Grossmont-Mt. Helix Improvement Association (GMIA) opposes what it describes as a 70% rate hike over five years. The GMIA invites the public to a community forum on the rate hike on Wednesday, September 30^th at 7 p.m. at Murdock Elementary School (4354 Conrad Drive in La Mesa).

The GMIA has crafted a sample letter for those opposed to submit public comment: http://www.gmia.net/docs/SampleLetterToTheHelixWaterDistrict.pdf

By Janis Russell

September 27, 2015 (El Cajon)- At the Ronald Reagan Community Center in El Cajon last Wednesday, County Supervisor Dianne Jacob hosted a ‘Don’t Get Hooked’ event, geared towards seniors and caregivers. Seniors learned the common types of fraud/scams and how not to get reeled in. They also heard some real life stories of how some elderly people got caught in a scam and the results.

 Jacob teamed up with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to organize this event and bring more attention to this issue as well as offer advice. Seniors are most targeted because they are trusting.

East County News Service

September 25, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Magazine Editor Miriam Raftery was injured Wednesday when an F-150 pickup truck driver pulled out in front of her Toyota Camry on Avocado in El Cajon.  Raftery's vehicle was totaled and she was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. 

"I am grateful to be alive and appreciate the kind wishes sent by many in our community," said Raftery, who asked for patience as our staff works to catch up on a backload of articles, story ideas and e-mails recently submitted. "I also thank the El Cajon Police and Heartland Fire & Rescue for their prompt response to the accident scene," she added.

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego)--September is Truck and Heavy Equipment Fire Prevention Month at Waste Management and Waste Management of Southern California is extending its prevention efforts by reminding residents to properly dispose of barbecue coals to help prevent heat related cart and collection truck fires.

September 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Do-it-yourselfers in Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona and Spring Valley can score a free new oil filter for their car Saturday, Sept. 26 just by turning in a used one, thanks to the County of San Diego’s Department of Public Works and O’Reilly Auto Parts.

Driver, Don Godfrey of Lakeside, seriously injured

East County News Service

September 24, 2015 (El Cajon) – A red Ford F-250 pickup truck was struck by a trolley at 12:40 p.m. today in El Cajon and has sustained life-threatening injuries, Lt. Randy Soulard with the El Cajon Police Department reports.

Police officers and  Heartland Fire Department paramedics responded to the collision at Marshall Avenye and Billy Mitchell.  The pickup was traveling east on Billy Mitchell and the trolley was traveling north, paralleling Marshall. Preliminary evidence and witness statements at the scene indicate the driver of the pick-up truck may have traversed the railroad crossing arms and entered the path of the trolley. 10 News reports the truck was dragged about 50 feet.

By Miriam Raftery

September 22, 2015 (San Francisco)—The U.S. 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a victory to Stephanie Lenz, a mom who posted a 29-second video of her toddler dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” music.

Prince’s publisher, Universal Music, demanded that she take down the video, claiming copyright infringement.  She sued, and on Monday, the appellate court ruled her case can go to trial.  The judges also ruled that copyright holders must consider fair use before asking services such as YouTube to remove videos.

By Miriam Raftery

September 21, 2015 (San Diego)—On Sunday, as many as 90,000 SDG&E customers in San Diego County were without power for up to two hours.  As we reported, SDG&E tweeted that the outage was due to the California Independent Systems Organization ( CAISO) ordering SDG&E to “drop 150 MW of load in our service territory at around 1:15 p.m.” 

Today, CAISIO spokesman Steven Greenlee told East County Magazine that the problem originated locally.  “About 11:53 a.m. a generator in the San Diego area tripped offline,” he said.  With hot temperatures already raising demand for power, he said, “that generator overloaded the lines in the area.  That threatened to spread to other communities.” As a result, the ISO, which is above CAISIO and coordinates the entire western U.S. grid, serving as reliability coordinator, stepped in to protect the nation's power grid stability.