You're invited to East County Magazine's first "media meet-up" in the community!

Tues., Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at Downtown Café, 182 East Main St., El Cajon

If you believe community reporting is important in your neighborhood, or that wildfire reporting is important to sustain, please join us and share this invitation with your friends!   

Tell us what news matters most to you - and help our nonprofit award-winning media outlet cover the stories that you believe are important! We're your community media - because East County matters to us all.

February 1, 2015 (San Diego)--San Diego County’s older adults have new opportunities to stretch, lift weights and help maintain an active lifestyle as the County’s popular Feeling Fit Club expands with three new locations—including two in East County.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

January 31, 2015 (Santee) – A young girl was injured after a fire broke out in a unit downstairs from the apartment she was in with her grandmother  Friday afternoon on Mission Gorge Road in Santee. A firefighter battling the blaze also sustained injury, 10 News reports.

“I have seen so much evidence of corruption at the CPUC that it is appalling. Judges who appeared sympathetic to the consumer were regularly changed out for those who would do what Peevey wanted, which meant what the utilities wanted” – Susan Brinchman, , La Mesa

By Miriam Raftery

January 30, 2015 (San Francisco) – Investigators from the California Attorney General’s office reportedly raided the home of former Public Utilities Commission Chairman Michael Peevey this week, seizing computers and smart phones.  State law enforcement officials also seized evidence from the home of Pacific Gas & Electric Company executive Brian Cherry, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

By Miriam Raftery; Kristin Kjaero contributed to this story

Big changes could soon be coming to Grossmont Center

January 28, 2015 (La Mesa)--At the La Mesa City Council meeting on Tuesday night January 27^th, Steve Cushman  gave a presentation  regarding the future of the regional shopping mall and surrounding properties owned by the Cushman family.

A 50-year lease with developers of the shopping center expired in mid-January and now the shopping mall and adjacent properties are reverting back to the Cushman family.  That includes 125 acres, extending beyond the mall itself to many surrounding sites.

By Miriam Raftery

January 26, 2015 (San Diego) – A 15-year-old boy hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park on Sunday was bitten by a rattlesnake.

By Miriam Raftery

January 26, 2015 (San Diego) – Multiple flights have received threats posted on Twitter in recent days, including a threat against a Southwest flight from San Diego to Dallas.  All of the threats proved false – but not before causing added screenings and concerns.

East County News Service

January 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Here are some of the most important items on agendas of our local boards, commissions and councils this week in San Diego’s East County.

By Miriam Raftery

January 22, 2015 (Lemon Grove) – A woman crossing Skyline Drive at Alton Drive in Lemon was struck by a vehicle on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. and sustained life threatening injuries.

By Miriam Raftery

January 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The National Weather Service has issued a Drought Report following the recent rains. While the winter storms have brought some relief, water supplies remain low, though the situation may ease in coming months.

Massive release of emails between CPUC and utilities also ordered by administrative law judge

By Miriam Raftery

January 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Taking the helm of the scandal-ridden California Public Utilities Commission, new president Michael Picker announced reforms aimed at ending back-door access by utilities to state regulators and improving transparency to the public.

View video: http://www.justice.gov/opa/video/ag-holder-delivers-remarks-honoring-life-and-legacy-dr-martin-luther-king-jr

January 17, 2015 (Washington D.C.)--In a speech at a Justice Department ceremony Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder honored slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on what would have been King's 80th birthday.  He praised King as  “a man who helped to lead a really sweeping movement that forever changed the face of America and inspired people around the world to reach for opportunity and to reach for inclusion.”

He hailed the Civil Rights movement’s achievements but noted, “Even today, in 2015, our journey remains incomplete” citing economic and education inequities and recent assaults on the Voting Rights Act. 

Holder also praised the “brave men and women of law enforcement,” but added that the nation must improve police officer safety at the same time that it confronts the sense of mistrust between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve.

January 16, 2015 (Lakeside) 2 p.m. – A SWAT team stand-off at Barona following a reported shooting has shut down a section of San Vicente Road.  There is a heavy law enforcement presence; avoid the area until further notice, the Sheriff advises.

A woman is in custody but the situation is ongoing, reports 10 News, which has a news crew en route to the scene.  Tribal police and the Sheriff’s Department are responding.

East County News Service

January 14, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The Gillespie Field Development Council has three open seats, including two seats from El Cajon and one from the County,

At the last meeting, the Council voted against expanding the board from the current five seats to seven seats.  But some, including Citizens Against Gillespie Expansion (CAGE) wants to see a council that includes representation from citizens in the community, not just cities and pilots’ interests.

Overnight mail service ends; privatization push triggers boycott of Staples

By Hayden Parsley

Miriam Raftery also  contributed to this report.

Click here to hear our radio interview with Tom Wood and Eddie B. Cooper Jr. with the American Postal Workers Union Local 197 in San Diego.

January 9, 2015 (San Diego) – Many Americans are shocked to learn that effective January 5^th, the U.S. Postal Service has stopped all overnight deliveries. Nationwide, 82 mail processing plants are closing, hours have been cut at Post Offices, and patrons are being steered toward competitors such as Staples, triggering a backlash in the form of a Staples boycott.

It’s all part of an effort by conservatives in Congress to slow down, outsource and privatize postal services—a move that could ultimately lead to the demise of the Post Office completely. That could mean price hikes for stamps and delivery services, lay-offs for workers, inconveniences and new costs for businesses, as well as potential cuts in delivery for rural residents.  That’s concerning for those reliant on mail deliveries of vital items such as prescription medications.