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.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Herman Smith, San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept.

March 30, 2018 (Jacumba Hot Springs) — A hearing is set for April 27 on proposed release of Herman Smith at 42920 Desert Rose Ranch Road in Jacumba Hot Springs.  Smith has been convicted of sexually violent crimes including rape by force in 1993, oral copulation with a minor under age 14 by force or fear, and sodomizing a victim under age 14 with force. He has also been convicted of raping a drugged victim.

By Miriam Raftery

March 27, 2018 (Lemon Grove) – Christopher Williams, the medical marijuana dispensary advocate who has filed a claim against Lemon Grove detailed an alleged assault by Councilman David Arambula, is speaking out to dispute Arambula’s self-defense claim.

Williams also contends that city staff stalled his applications for multiple dispensaries by claiming not to have received results of a Department of Justice screening of all applicants, when e-mails from the DOJ indicate the results were sent to the city earlier.

Arambula is also drawing criticism from current and former councilmembers for failing to disclose the scuffle that sent Williams to a hospital for treatment of significant injuries including a fractured rib, gash on his face and bite marks on his arm. Mayor Racquel Vasquez is named as a potential witness in Williams claim, along with Taisha Brown, a Democratic Party activist, but both have declined to speak with media.  Some members of the council contend they were kept in the dark by Arambula and Vasquez about the violent altercation even when voting on dispensary applications submitted by Williams for Pick Axe Holdings, LLC.

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2018 (San Diego) – The U.S. Commerce Department has announced that it will ask a question on citizenship status during the 2020 Census. The question was removed from the Census back in 1950, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross claims that the change will permit “more effective enforcement” of the Voting Rights Act. But critics contend the move will instead diminish minority representation in Congress.

The Constitution, in fact, requires that every resident be counted in the census every 10 years, whether or not they are citizens.  The results are used not only to determine how many Congressional districts each state will have, but also the amount of federal grants and subsidies that will be provided.  If minorities fail to participate for fear of answering a citizenship question, California and areas such as San Diego County with high minority populations and areas with high poverty rates could lose billions of dollars in federal funds.

By Miriam Raftery

March 28, 2018 (San Diego) –  Did the recent rains produce a “miracle March” to ease drought conditions?  No, says Alex Tardy, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.  The good news is that the March rains did bring our region up to 37 percent of normal, better than the parched conditions earlier in the winter season.  But the forecast through mid-April predicts warmer and dryer conditions than on average – and already, much of Southern California is listed a D-1 or D-2, that’s moderate to severe drought levels.

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

March 28, 2018 (San Diego) - Thousands more San Diegans will have access to substance abuse treatment thanks to a new delivery system approved today by the County Board of Supervisors.

The decision will triple spending on substance use disorders from $54.6 million to $179.6 million over the next three years to address opioid and other substance abuse that often exacerbate homelessness, mental illness and criminal behavior.

By Rick Griffin

Originally published in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

March 26, 2018 (San Diego) - After nearly 20 years in the public eye, Michael Turko has left KUSI-TV to become “a private figure.” The animated, investigative consumer reporter with a ponytail, known for his “Turko Files” reports and the phrase “it ain’t right,” is gone from the station where he had worked since 1999.

By Miriam Raftery

March 25, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine has reached out to officials in Santee and the County of San Diego after an investigative report by Voice of San Diego revealed that San Diego County is deleting emails after just 60 days, while the city of Santee retains e-mail records for just 180 days.  State law requires that email public records be retained for at least two years, according to Californians Aware, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving open government and access to public records.