By Miriam Raftery

November 30, 2022 (La Mesa)  -- A $1,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest in the case of Cassidy Hopwood, an El Cajon teen who went missing in February. Her body was found March 13 behind a business in the 7900 block of El Cajon Blvd. in La Mesa, but she was not identified until November. 

Source:  California Department of Justice

November 28, 2022 (Oakland) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert warning Californians of scammers targeting the state’s middle-class tax refund. Californians eligible for this one-time refund will automatically receive a payment by January 2023 by direct deposit or on a debit card. Below, Attorney General Bonta provides tips to help Californians waiting for their tax refund protect themselves from scams. 

By Miriam Raftery

Updated 3 p.m. with new outage information

November 24, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Gusty winds howled across East County’s mountains and rural region last night and early today, Thanksgiving morning.  Strong winds are forecast to continue through Friday.

The National Weather Service reports peak gusts as high as 89 miles per hour on Sill Hill near Descanso and 75 mph on Cuyamaca Peak in San Diego’s inland region between 10 p.m. last night and 10 a.m. today. Many other local areas had strong winds as well.

SDG&E reports outages in Campo, Dulzura, and Potrero with power restoration expected around 6 p.m. due to a foreign object hitting a power line, putting a damper on Thanksgiving cooking. In Granite Hills/Bostonia areas of El Cajon, outages have left people without power until an estimated 6 p.m. power restoration time. Two outages in the Julian, Wynola, Pine Hills and Santa Ysabel areas is due to have power restored around 5:30 p.m. Outages in East County have a 4 p.m. projected power restoration time. An earlier outage in Live Oak Springs, Boulevard and Jacumba, has been restored. Find out the latest outage info at to the SDG&E outage map.  

East County News Service

November 24, 2022 (San Diego) – Pilots safely landed two helicopters that collided near San Diego’s Brown Field Tuesday shortly after 6 p.m. 

A  UH-60A Firehawk contracted by SDG&E for year-round firefighting in our region collided in midair with a U.S.  Navy MH-60R Seahawk with three crewmembers aboard.

Despite the damage, crews and their families have much to be thankful for. "Both aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries to personnel," said ENS. Bryan Blair, Assistant Public Affairs Officer for Commander, Naval Air Forces, NBC 7 reports.

By Mike Allen

Photo: CC by ND via Bing

November 22, 2022 (Santee) -- Santee may be late to the party that other city governments have joined, allowing the sale of cannabis, yet it’s in no hurry to figure out how it will be permitted and managed.

East County News Service

November 22, 2022 (San Diego) – A 6.2 earthquake struck in Baja California, Mexico around 8:39 a.m.  The quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 18 miles southwest of Las Brisas, 138 miles southwest of Mexicali, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

East County News Service

File photo

November 21, 2022 (Ramona) – An unidentified male pedestrian was struck by a 2020 Nissan Sentra at 1:19 a.m. in Ramona, suffering major injuries.

A 24-year-old man was driving the Nissan north on State Route 67, just south of Rancho De Oro Drive when the pedestrian was walking westbound across traffic lanes on the highway, according to Officer Jared Grieshaber with the California Highway Patrol.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  CC by Gage Skidmore; file image at Arizona rally

November 21, 2022 (Washington D.C.) – Twice impeached and under investigation for serious federal and state crimes, former president Donald Trump announced on Nov. 15 that he plans to run for president again in 2024.  The announcement, made at Trump’s Mar al Lago estate in Florida, came just days after most Trump-backed candidates suffered defeats in elections for Congress, Governor and other key positions across the nation.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., Trump’s reelection announcement prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special independent prosecutor to complete federal criminal investigations into Trump’s incitement of violence in the January 6, 2021 capitol insurrection, his refusal to take action to halt it, his removal of numerous classified documents from the White House, and other potentially serious federal crimes.  The appointment of Smith as independent prosecutor aims to eliminate the appearance of partisan politics from any future indictment or exoneration of Trump.

The federal prosecutor, Jack Smith, is a former federal prosecutor who has most recently been working to prosecute international war criminals at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. He formerly served as head of the Dept. of Justice’s Public Integrity Unit, which prosecutes public corruption cases such as bribery and election tampering.

Voepel drew calls for ouster after he likened the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack to Revolutionary War battles “firing first shots against tyranny.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Assemblyman Randy Voepel, via his social media

Updated Nov. 21 with details on charges filed against suspect

November 20, 2022 (Santee) – The mass shooting suspect accused of killing five people and wounding at least 25 more at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs last night is the grandson of local Assemblyman Randy Voepel, former Santee Mayor, the independent media outlet Heavy.com reports. 

Voepel lost his reelection bid to Assemblymember Marie Waldron, a fellow Republican whom he squared off against due to redistricting. ECM has reached out to a Voepel staffer seeking comments but has not yet received a response.

View video of forum: (note: forum ran longer than anticipated, so some questions at end were not recorded.)

By Christianne McCormick

November 17, 2022 (El Cajon) -- A highly anticipated forum on homelessness in El Cajon was held on October 22 at Grossmont College with city and county leaders. The panel, convened by Supervisor Joel Anderson, also included El Cajon Councilmembers Steve Goble and Phil Ortiz, City Manager Graham Mitchell and Police Chief Michael Moulton. All weighed in on the public’s concern about the growing issue throughout East County and especially in the city of El Cajon.  

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2022 (Washington D.C.) – Historically, the party that holds the presidency loses substantial seats in Congress during midterm elections – often dozens in the House alone. But the red wave forecast by political pundits failed to appear.

East County News Service

November 16, 2022 (La Mesa) – Charles William “Chuck” Muse, long-serving member and past president of the Helix Water District, died November 10.

"We at Helix Water District are saddened by the news of Chuck Muse’s passing," said Kathleen Coates Hedberg, current president of Helix Water District’s board of directors. "He served on the Helix Board from 2004-2016 and represented the communities of Lemon Grove and La Mesa. He was active in the community on many boards. We are grateful for his service and he will be missed."

By Chuck Westerheide, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 15, 2022 (San Diego) - During a major disaster, a county, city or state medical system may become overwhelmed with patients or, unfortunately, casualties of the disaster. The national government trains and sends out special teams such as the National Disaster Medical System Mortuary Operational Response Team, to assist in areas where their skills are needed.

By Miriam Raftery

November 14, 2022 (Jamul) – The Jamul-Dulzura Community Planning Group will hold a special virtual meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. The group will her a presentation by a subcommittee and vote on the proposed Jamul Casino Hotel and Event Center expansion project, which includes a 16-story hotel, new event center, multi-purpose/bingo hall and 6-story parking structure, and related infrastructure.

The vote is advisory in regards to the tribe’s environmental impact report; the project is on tribal land so the County has only limited jurisdiction.  The Jamul Indian VIllage tribe plans to begin construction in December.

To join the Virtual Meeting via the web, use the following link:

East County News Service

November 13, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified a body found on March 13 in La Mesa  as that of Cassidy Hopwood, according to El Cajon Police.  Hopwood, an El Cajon resident, was reported missing in February.

Both La Mesa and El Cajon Police have listed Hopwood’s age as 17. However, on Facebook, the RAD movement, an organization that helps families locate missing teens, states that she was 16 when she went missing and when she was found dead.

The group also leveled criticism at police handling of the case.