East County News Service

Photo: CC by NC via Bing

November 5, 2021 (Los Angeles) -- California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued the following statement after three insurance companies complied with his order to submit additional data to the Department of Insurance about auto premium refunds they provided to consumers during the pandemic and as a result of state and local public health “stay at home” orders. On October 5, he ordered Allstate, CSAA, and Mercury to respond within 30 days or face legal action.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Elisa Serna, 24, died after hitting her head in a fall at Las Colinas in Santee, where she was denied drug withdrawal treatment

November 4, 2021 (Santee) – A nurse has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the 2019 death of a 24-year-old inmate at the Las Colinas women’s jail in Santee. District Attorney Summer Stephan announced the charges against the nurse, Danalee Pascua, who could face up to four years in prison.

By Henri Migala and Miriam Raftery

Photo, left, by Henri Migala:  around 200 residents attended a forum in La Mesa organized by Carl DeMaio of Reform California, which opposes the mileage tax

November 4, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) on Friday approved a controversial road usage tax, also known as a mileage tax. The measure drew strong opposition from East County residents and political leaders, who argue that its unfair to charge hefty taxes to inland residents who won’t benefit from ambitious transit projects planned in coastal areas.

By Miriam Raftery

November 3, 2021 (San Diego) – California’s 2021 thoroughbred racing season is off to a deadly start.  So far, 62 racehorses have died, prompting animal rights advocates and the San Diego Democratic Party to call for a state constitutional amendment to ban gambling on horse racing.

By Miriam Raftery 

Rebecca Jefferis Williamson contributed to this story.

Update (11:15 a.m.) : See link at end of story regarding Jason Robo. Robo allegedly bills himself as a comedian. 

Photo: Jason Robo’s personal attacks included racial slurs against the County’s Black public health officer.

November 3, 2021 (San Diego) – Personal attacks including profane and racist remarks by an anti-vaxxer during San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors meeting have prompted a prominent civil rights leader to call for limits on public speech.

A man identifying himself as Jason Robo testified that Chairman Nathan Fletcher should commit suicide, then made racial slurs against County Public Health Director Wilma  Wooten, who is Black. Among other things, Robo called Wooten a “f***king Aunt Jemima.”  (View video)

Update November 2, 2021:  The final, official results give Lothian the win with 4,474 votes, or 38.43% of the vote, a comfortable margin of nearly 2,000 votes. Out of 39, 346 registered voters, 11,686 cast votes. Afghsan too, 21.67%, Dillard 20.36%, Stieringer 10.95%, Brand 6.84%, and Louden 1.76%.

By Miriam Raftery

November 3, 2021 (La Mesa) – Realtor Laura Lothian appears poised to win the La Mesa City Council special election.  Preliminary results posted by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters show Lothian with 39.18% of the vote in the six-candidate race, more than double the vote tally of the next highest candidate.

With 2,000 votes yet to be tallied, Lothian has a lead of 1,451 votes over Patricia Dillard, who has 20.85% of the votes.

Source: Assemblymember Akilah Weber 

November 2, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- As many Californians struggle financially during the pandemic, the Golden State Stimulus program continues to provide cash assistance to those who were affected. Eligible Californians earning between $30,000 to $75,000 a year can soon expect to see the stimulus payments.

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2021 (El Cajon) --East County Magazine interviewed Rick Hall, President of the El Cajon Historical Society, via Zoom last week regarding the Society's efforts to preserve local history, funding challenges due to COVID-19, and encouraged residents including newcomers from around the world to share their stories as part of the city's ever-changing history.  The interview also aired on our radio show on KNSJ 89.1 FM.

Hall also talked about his own heritage as a descendant of one of El Cajon’s pioneering families and shared anecdotes from the city’s colorful past. 

Donations are needed to help sustain the Society’s efforts to keep history alive in our region, due to a loss of funds during the pandemic lockdowns.

By Brian Schrader

Photo: County administration building, from Flickr by Tony Webster

November 1, 2021 (San Diego) -- Everything old is new again, and California seems likely to revive an old idea to solve its modern challenges. Public banking isn’t a well-known or often discussed subject, but proponents believe that it might just be the catalyst of much needed reform in California.

In general, there are two kinds of public banks: investment banks and deposit-taking banks. The latter is the kind that most of us are familiar with—those that offer checking and savings accounts—and while there is an ongoing discussion about public deposit-taking banks, it’s the investment banks that are currently getting the most attention in San Diego and in Sacramento.

By Miriam Raftery

October 31, 2021 (Washington D.C.) – By a 6-3 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court declined an emergency request to block a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in Maine. Unlike mandates in most other states, Maine has no exemptions for religious beliefs. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Outlier’s Collective near Gillespie Field is one of five legal dispensaries that will be allowed to expand to include recreational, edible and drinkable cannabis products

October 30, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Five medical marijuana dispensaries that were legally licensed to open in San Diego County’s unincorporated areas faced closure after Supervisors in 2017 repealed legalization and allowed existing dispensaries to stay open only until April 2022.  But now the current board of Supervisors has voted to remove the sunset clause and allow the five legal dispensaries to continue operations, as well as expand by up to 10,000 square feet to add recreational cannabis products including edibles and beverages.

East County News Service

Oct. 29, 2021 (El Cajon) A Grossmont College campus visitor died on Friday, October 29 due to what appears to have been natural causes. The individual, whose identity has not been released, appears to have collapsed while exercising on the campus’ track, according to a statement issued by the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

The individual was found unresponsive by a campus employee about 10:35 a.m. The employee called 911. 

East County News Service

October 29, 2021 (Santee) – A celebration of life for Steve Krueger, the UPS driver killed by a plane that crashed in Santee on October 11, will be held at Santee Town Center Community Park on Sunday, November 7.  The service will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. fields 1 and 2.  The Santee Town Center Community Park is located at 550 Park Center Community Park, Santee.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of our driver Steve Krueger, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends," the company's statement read. "Those who knew Steve said he took pride in his work, and his positive attitude and joyful laugh made the hardest days a little lighter."

Krueger had worked for UPS for 30 years and was just months away from retirement. He had recently purchased a retirement home in Mammoth, NBC 7 reported.

By Miriam Raftery

October 27, 2021 (Washington D.C.) – Following a rise in complaints by school board members, teachers and school workers over threats of violence, harassment and intimidation, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced plans to convene a meeting with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement leaders to create strategies for addressing this trend.

In a press release, the Dept. of Justice also encouraged education officials to report threats to the FBI’s National Threat operations Center tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or via the FBI website at http://fbi.gov/tips. “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland states. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”

Republicans have criticized Garland for setting up what they term a “snitch line on parents” and seeking to suppress free speech. But in testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Garland made clear that he has no intention of targeting free speech, which he said is “totally protected by the First Amendment…We are only concerned about violence and threats of violence against school administrators, teachers, staff.” 

In response to the Dept. of Justice announcement, Congressman Darrell Issa, a Republican from the 50^th district which includes San Diego and much of East County, introduced the “Stand With Parents” resolution.